42 – How Gangsters Deal with School Violence (13)
1.
“Do we really have to sit huddled in this dark alley to talk? There are cafes and restaurants around. It’s cold at night.”
“From now on, we’ll be talking about things that could get reported if people overhear.”
“······Is that so? Then I guess we have no choice.”
Actually, whether it’s a cafe or a restaurant, there are secret places to have a conversation, but this place suited Ha Hyuk-su.
It’s not like I didn’t enter the building because my arm, which blocked the kick, hurt.
“Ugh… Now that the sweat has cooled, it’s damn cold. Let’s finish quickly!”
I’ll annoy you. Catch a cold.
Careful not to let my inner thoughts show, I kindly responded to Ha Hyuk-su’s impatience.
“Yes, should we get straight to the point then?”
“Yeah, but before that, there’s something I need to address.”
You said let’s finish quickly because it’s cold, and now there’s something to address?
“What is it?”
I wonder how important it is for him to address something before we finish quickly, so I asked, and Ha Hyuk-su’s voice came out so serious.
“The things you said earlier to provoke me. How much of it was true?”
Ah, that. Yeah, that’s worth addressing.
“What you said and what I’ve experienced are completely different. So, I’m asking. Were the things you said to me all lies?”
Mr. Ha Hyuk-su seemed to have taken a liking to me as he kicked his leg, and he began to doubt the words I had just said.
Indeed, there is nothing that can establish a deep connection with someone as much as physical conversation.
Feeling proud that Mr. Ha Hyuk-su no longer held any animosity towards me, I truthfully answered his question.
“Except for the part where Lira is a product and the promise to properly handle it, there is no false statement.”
“What?!”
“I am a gangster with a criminal record, and our agency was founded by a former gangster. The CEO is an unknown celebrity who is the only one affiliated with a fallen producer.”
Mr. Ha Hyuk-su, who had been staring at me with half-opened mouth in response to my calm and honest answer, paused for a moment and added a small detail to his question.
“Corpse disposal? Were you also called the King of Disposal?”
Since this question could potentially lead to misunderstandings and the collapse of our relationship, I had to give a clear answer rather than an ambiguous one with double meanings.
“Oh, that? A corpse is a corpse, and the King of Disposal is the King of Disposal. But I haven’t dealt with human corpses before. I used to handle the carcasses of animals I caught in the mountains when I lived there.”
“I-in the mountains?”
“Yes, a tall mountain in the north. I lived there when I was young.”
“I-I see. Then this is the last question. Asking about your criminal history or being a gangster won’t get the answer I want. I’ll ask you a simple question.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Mr. Ha Hyuk-su stared at me with a slightly tense and firm expression, and in a voice that desperately hoped for the desired answer, he threw a question at me.
“Have you lived an upright life?”
An upright life. There was no need to hesitate with this question.
Although I am undoubtedly a criminal with a gangster background, and all my actions are considered social evils, if faced with the same situation, I would undoubtedly act the same way.
That is why I could confidently answer Mr. Ha Hyuk-su’s question.
“Yes, I have. I will continue to live like this in the future.”
“······Ha, is that so? Alright then.”
Having received a satisfactory response, Mr. Hahyuksoo nodded.
Then, he mumbled, ‘By the way, talking about a mountain in the north. Are you referring to Baekdu Mountain? Is this guy a spy? Considering his impressive combat skills and quick-wittedness, it seems like he might have professionally learned such things, but… Nah, that can’t be it, right?’
It was a somewhat difficult-to-overhear muttering, but in any case, there was no longer any concern on Mr. Hahyuksoo’s face regarding my presence. Misunderstandings were cleared, and now only the main topic remained.
“······Now, Mr. Hahyuksoo has acknowledged me. So, as the manager of Lira, shall we get into the main discussion?”
“I didn’t acknowledge that, punk! If you’re not going to take responsibility for our Lira’s entire life, you can’t make her an idol!”
“Oh. So, if I take responsibility, can I make her an idol? Okay, I’ll take responsibility.”
It wasn’t like I cared if the girl group with Haanhee and Lira as members failed. Even if they did fail, taking care of at least one of them wouldn’t be a big deal for me.
There are plenty of ways to make money, and among them, there are many things I can do to earn a lot of money. So, even if Lira fails one in a billion, I can easily take care of it.
“So, if I take responsibility, you’ll let me make Lira an idol?”
“Huh······.”
As I confidently provided a straightforward answer based on my confidence, Mr. Hahyuksoo stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“Do you think you, a guy like you, can have our Lira?!”
He suddenly shouted, raising his voice.
Earlier, he said he wouldn’t let me make her an idol if I didn’t take responsibility, and now he’s saying he won’t let her go. Which side is he on?
Moreover, there was clearly a flaw in Mr. Hahyuksoo’s words that needed to be addressed.
I pointed out the error in his words with a serious tone.
“Mr. Hahyuksoo, Lira is not your possession. So, saying you can’t give her away is fundamentally wrong.”
Upon uttering these words, the only thing that came back was a loud shout echoing through the night streets.
Still, considering there were no curses mixed in, it seemed like Mr. Hahyuksoo no longer disliked me.
That’s fine.
2.
After finishing the conversation with Mr. Hahyuksoo about revenge preparation, I returned home to find it was a very late night, almost closer to dawn.
At this hour, the only people awake would be either the unemployed or web novel writers with messed-up sleep patterns.
Come to think of it, in the overseas where the young lady is, it must be daytime by now. Is she having lunch?
Beep beep beep beep. Ring ring ring.
Thinking of the young lady after a long time, I entered the keypad code for her birthday, 0707, and opened the door.
“I’m back. Phew, it was tough.”
Now that I no longer live alone, I could greet someone as I entered the entrance.
Of course, it was late at night, and both Hahyuksoo and Lirana must be tired after using a lot of energy throughout the day, so I had to lower my voice not to wake them up.
Now, I should shower and go to bed. But even if I sleep now, I won’t get enough sleep to match Hahyuksoo’s schedule. Tsk. I should have finished a bit earlier. It became like this because we got into a needless scuffle.
Thinking like that, a slight irritation towards Hahyuksoo arose.
Anyway, Hahyuksoo is the problem. Seriously, wouldn’t it be nice if Hahyuksoo catches a cold? Right? Does Hahyuksoo need to be in perfect condition for the successful completion of the plan?
Well, if a problem arises due to holding him outside for a long time on a cold winter night like today, then I can go and solve it when it happens.
Right now, there is only one thing I need to do – quickly shower and go to bed to get some sleep.
“Life of showering right after getting off work… Quite diligent, huh?”
Feeling proud of myself for being a model of a diligent office worker who goes to shower right after getting off work, I opened the bathroom door.
“What… what is this!”
※※※
“······Huhhh.”
“······Ah, dizzy. The world is spinning······.”
Although the two of them had collapsed on the bathroom floor, fortunately, they were conscious.
Listening to their conversation, it seemed like they had missed the timing to leave while bathing and were just giving each other signals or something.
Then, when I heard the sound of someone entering the password, both of them suddenly stood up from the bathtub, but as they came out, their feet got tangled, causing them to fall to the floor.
At that very moment when the two of them were sprawled on the floor, I opened the bathroom door and came in.
“Huhhh······ Huhhh······.”
“Ughhh······ I feel like I’m going to die······.”
I had so many questions about why the two of them were bathing together, why they were even paying attention to each other until they got dizzy when they could have just come out. But now, it didn’t seem like I would get any answers from the two of them in their current state.
For now, it’s probably best to let them rest.
Whiiing-
I didn’t expect that I would have to take out a fan to cool down in the winter.
By the way, taking out a fan on a winter night. Isn’t that just pure luxury?
With such unnecessary thoughts in mind, as I was about to go back to the bathroom to wash up, Lira, who had completely lost her strength, asked me in a voice like wilted vegetables.
“Oppa······ What about Dad······?”
To reassure Lira, I smiled brightly and answered.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Dad went out to take care of some things.”
3.
At the same time, Hahyuksoo sneaked into the taekwondo studio building where all the lights were off and there was no sign of anyone.
Of course, it would be awkward to say that he was infiltrating since this was Ha Hyuk-soo’s workplace, and he knew the password and even had a spare key.
However, it was the first time he had come in so late at night, and since he had come to get something secretly from the warden, Ha Hyuk-soo considered what he was doing now as infiltration.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
As he climbed the stairs and opened the door to the closed Taekwondo studio, Ha Hyuk-soo was greeted by pitch-black darkness.
In contrast to the bright Taekwondo studio filled with students, the cold, quiet, and dark appearance of the Taekwondo studio was so different that Ha Hyuk-soo cursed Kang Jin-hyuk, who had sent him here without him even realizing it.
“······Crazy bastard. Making me do this kind of thing for an adult. There really are no other gangsters.”
But in Ha Hyuk-soo’s grumbling full of complaints, there was no longer any enmity that could be seen on the surface, except for a sense of resignation.
It was because he saw Kang Jin-hyuk blocking his excessive actions by unilaterally defending against his kicks.
It’s not like everything went the way that bastard wanted, but if he hadn’t stopped me, I would have become a murderer. Lira would have become a daughter who had a murderer as a father.
Looking back, it was a moment so dangerous that it sent shivers down his spine.
Because he was about to leave his daughter, who was about to enter her senior year of high school, alone.
Ha Hyuk-soo was so grateful to Kang Jin-hyuk for preventing that catastrophe with all his enemies and anger, even though he could never express it due to his inherently rough personality.
“······Hmph.”
With a grunt, Ha Hyuk-soo faithfully carried out the tasks assigned to him by Kang Jin-hyuk and was able to obtain the item placed in the drawer of the warden’s office desk.
Alright, now let’s get out of here.
Having obtained the item he had set out to get, Ha Hyuk-soo cautiously felt his way through the dark path he had come and carefully left the Taekwondo studio.