MIM 115

His brother was holed up in an old house, isolated in an area far from the city center. It was a three-story villa situated with mountains behind it, in a location without even a convenience store nearby. The surroundings were so quiet that it was hard to tell if anyone lived there or if it was abandoned. The foggy windows through which nothing could be seen were dreary, and despite being in a location where living without a car would be difficult, there were only two vehicles parked nearby, one of which was a truck.

The address he received was the home of a man named Lee Dongmyung, who lived alone. Regardless of who owned it, this place seemed to be used as a hideout by various criminals. The rundown villa entrance, where not a single resident could be seen, even had a doorman covered in tattoos. If he hadn’t made the deal, finding his brother here would have been like looking for a needle in a desert, considering he was hiding in a residence rather than a motel.

Over the past few hours, three or four men had come and gone from the building. They made quite a few trips, buying food or smoking cigarettes, and judging by how the combination of men changed slightly each time, there seemed to be at least a dozen men guarding inside. Their sturdy builds and disciplined postures made it easy to understand why they were here in the first place. They were all part of the same group and stayed here for the same purpose.

To protect his brother and kill him.

Ma Jae-seung silently stroked his gun while going over his plans. Having promised to stay intact, he had no intention of moving rashly and getting hurt. From his actual fighting experience during the raid, night was advantageous. Since he could detect and quickly respond to opponents’ movements even in darkness, it was better to act after dark when facing multiple enemies. One gun was enough even against multiple opponents.

He waited, hiding in the forest and watching until the sun had completely set.

Once night fell, the forest became pitch black. At the same time, he could tell which room his brother was staying in. In the three-story building that could house multiple households, only one unit had its lights on. The isolated villa had neither high walls nor a back door. Being only three stories tall and having a balcony on the second floor made it ridiculously easy to climb. For someone who had escaped through windows by climbing mansion walls with Shin-woo, this happened to be child’s play.

Ma Jae-seung crept like a wild animal and waited, hidden in the bushes behind the building. The men who came out in pairs or threes always smoked their cigarettes here in the back.

“He’s completely lost it. Says Gangwol district guy might break in, didn’t sleep at all yesterday.”

“Bit off more than he could chew. Worked out well for us, though.”

The voices grew closer. As expected, they stopped where cigarette butts had piled up. Everyone seemingly used that spot as an unofficial ashtray.

“Seriously, what’s he gonna do even if he stays awake? He’d be better off getting some sleep instead.”

“That’s what I’m saying. This isn’t even a place that’s easy to track…A couple who used to live on the first floor killed eight people and buried them nearby. Since then, it’s been practically abandoned, only known to those in the know.”

“It is the kind of place where no one would notice if someone died. With bears in the mountains behind us, who’d know who killed—”

Their casual conversation suddenly was cut off right then and there. Two cigarette lights illuminating the darkness were abruptly extinguished by a strong wind. Thud. Along with the sound of something heavy falling from above, someone’s weak scream squeaked under the weight. A chilling sound of bones cracking followed.

Green eyes gleamed in the pitch darkness.

“Shit, come this way!”

An intruder? No, a bear? The man who had instantly lost his companion in front of him frantically shouted while searching his clothes for his gun. While hurriedly adjusting his grip on the gun, countless thoughts raced through his mind. He couldn’t decide whether to fire immediately or aim while slowly backing away. If it was a wild bear…Just as he was about to aim his gun toward where his companion had been standing, gasping for breath roughly.

The green eyes were right in front of him.

Before he could scream, the man’s mouth was covered. A hand that gripped his face with unbelievable strength then seized his throat. His feet lifted off the ground as his body was raised into the air. Not a bear but a person. The man belatedly realized as he struggled until losing consciousness. As his eyes rolled back, the finger on the trigger lost strength and the gun fell to the ground.

Crack.

Once again, the sound of a neck breaking rang out. Ma Jae-seung threw aside the limp body and picked up the gun from the ground. Along with the sound of multiple people running, flashlight beams drew closer. Bang! Bang, bang. As soon as he heard gunshots, he leaped up in one breath and grabbed onto the second-floor balcony. Then he instantly climbed up and began shooting at the men’s heads from above.

“Arghhhh!”

“Where is that son of a—”

“Up there!”

As someone shouted, the second-floor window glass shattered. Ma Jae-seung leaped down from the balcony onto their heads, striking at the hands holding flashlights and firing his gun. The bright lights visible even from afar were like moving dart boards. 10 points. 10 points. 10 points. Blood sprayed from bullet-pierced hands, staining the lights red.

As the flashlights broke and rolled on the ground, the men’s vision darkened again. After some shouting, the lights came on near the third-floor balcony. Though it wasn’t bright enough to illuminate everything, it was enough to pierce the pitch-black darkness seeping in from the forest.

Of the men who had run behind the building, only two remained standing. When they finally spotted Ma Jae-seung, it was too late. Like a shadow, he emerged from behind them, wrapping his arms around one man’s armpits in an embrace. Using the body as a shield against incoming bullets, he then grabbed the head of the remaining man who had run out of ammunition and smashed it against the concrete wall with a thud.

“Haah.”

Ma Jae-seung took a deep breath. As he turned his head toward the entrance, he saw taillights stretching across the ground. A parked car was attempting to escape in reverse. The doorman was in the driver’s seat, and next to him sat the pale-faced hyung clutching a black backpack tightly.

Think I’ll let you escape? Ma Jae-seung pushed off the ground with all his might and ran at full speed. After catching up to the car before it could gain speed, he dodged the doorman’s gun and jumped onto the hood. As his body completed a flip in mid-air, Ma Jae-seung emptied his remaining bullets into the driver’s seat.

The car, having lost its direction, drove straight into the forest and hit a tree. Bang. The sound of crushing metal rang out, followed by rising smoke. The deceased doorman’s upper body could be seen protruding through the shattered window.

Ma Jae-seung walked heavily toward the car, smelling the smoke. As he got closer, he saw the hyung with light brown-dyed hair. Unable to open the passenger door, he had broken the window and was trying to get out with one arm and leg extended.

“Spare me! Sp-spare me!”

The hyung, upon seeing Ma Jae-seung, jerked in terror. He had lost much more weight than when Ma Jae-seung had seen him during the hospital visit and was completely pale. Not only had he cut his hair short and dyed it a different color, but he had also shaved his eyebrows, drastically changing his appearance. It seemed he had planned to flee overseas if the operation failed.

“For a failure, this is pretty impressive, isn’t it?”

Standing with one leg planted, Ma Jae-seung smiled down at his hyung. After watching him struggle like a trapped mouse for a while, he finally tore off the passenger door himself. The hyung rolled out, coughing violently and gasping as if he might lose his breath at any time.

“I…I didn’t want to kill anyone. I said that would be going too far. How could family do that to family?”

“…”

“It was Mother’s plot. I was just used. Believe me, Jae-seung.”

Ma Jae-seung ignored these words and looked around. With bodies already scattered on the ground, one more wouldn’t look out of place.

Need to handle this quickly and let Mother know immediately that I killed hyung. When dealing with money, striking first without hesitation…

“Mother has Shin-woo. She kidnapped Shin-woo.”

As if reading Ma Jae-seung’s thoughts, the hyung grabbed his leg with sweat-covered hands. Shin-woo. At this unexpected name, Ma Jae-seung’s face froze in horror.