He was nervous that Jang Se-jun might follow him, feeling the tension creep up to the back of his neck. He tried to go to a random house and called the police. If the police came… would Jang Sejun be taken away as a kidnapper? He needed treatment, not punishment. If he testified in court that his biological brother was in heat, it would be considered for leniency. However, he was not sure if they would believe someone with an expunged social security number. Deciding against involving the police, he called for a taxi to escape from there. That was the last conscience of a mother who ran away leaving her child behind.
A light flickered in the distance across the street. Explaining the situation to a deaf grandmother would take forever with hand gestures. It would be troublesome if the grandmother turned out to be a corpse. The end of an elderly person abandoned by their children could only be death by starvation or suffocation from charcoal gas poisoning, and going there might just bring trouble upon himself for no reason.
Now, only a drunkard who binges on alcohol was left, if there was even any money left to lend for taxi fare.If he left any money in his pocket, he would not be a straggler. If the drunkard mistook Yaba for a thief and swung a knife at him, he’d be dead… Yaba felt a chill down his spine. Still, he thought it was better to be attacked with a knife than to be branded a murder suspect.
Yaba ran, praying that the deaf old woman was in the house. He hadn’t eaten in days, and his stamina was quickly depleted. The alley, strewn with briquettes and pieces of plywood, was endlessly long. This was the same road he had run down ten years ago to find Sejun, and now he was running to escape from him. Just when he turned around the wall… there was no sign of anyone’s presence. The textured air pressed against Yaba’s spine. An arm wrapped around his waist, his harsh breath pounding against his eardrums.
“You promised me you wouldn’t run away! I trusted you, Sejin, why did you break your word?”
“You made a promise that day, too, and then you disappeared!”
“That’s why I’m trying so hard to get forgiveness from you…!”
Sejun’s eyes flashed with madness as he was ready to brandish scissors right now. He turned around en route. Jang Sejun was not a child to be fooled by his mother’s lies. Yaba pushed him away and ran. He didn’t make it more than a few steps before he was grabbed by the nape of the neck. As his struggle intensified, Sejun lifted him onto his shoulders.
“Let’s move somewhere else, this house is making Sejin sick!”
“I don’t hate you anymore. I didn’t even hate you when you shoved your penis in my mouth when I was a kid, I don’t even have the strength left for that, so leave me alone!”
Hanging upside down, he hit Jang Sejun on the back. He was right. No matter how hard he shouted, there was no one to hear him. The house was just down the road. Jang Sejun’s abuse went back further than Yaba’s. She hadn’t taught him anything.
She never taught him that hurting people would be punished, or that it was unethical to have sex with his brother.His mother, rather than being called a mother, earned the name of a prostitute and abused herself by burning her legs with cigarette butts. So maybe that was why she decided to become a frozen corpse.
As he turned the corner into the alleyway, he could see clusters of shadows in his inverted vision. Whether they were coming or going, it was not certain. The man’s suit, slender bandaged hand, and shotgun at his side were out of place in this neighborhood.
Thud— The man lifted his foot. His foot struck Sejun’s stomach, causing him to curl up. Four men grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground. Someone pulled Yaba up. He saw a scorpion coiled around the man’s neck. The scorpion twitched.
“I almost jumped out of my skin at the sight of another healer. I’d like to believe you didn’t deceive me on purpose.”
Yaba pushed away Kang Giha’s hand. His knees wobbled, and his eyes locked with Cocaine’s over Kang Giha’s shoulder. He decided to ask the question he’d been dying to ask.
“What happened to Yiseok?”
Did you sing to him with that pretty little snout of yours? Did you heal him with all your might?
“What happened to him?”
Did Yiseok stay at your house? Did you two… touch each other?
Cocaine lowered his eyes. Yaba wanted to grind that aloof face into a concrete wall, or so he thought. Cocaine was finally getting his revenge from ten years ago.
“They say this place will soon be pushed out too, but it seems like the trash has gathered on its own. Now, we’re even.”
Cocaine finally spoke up.
“This isn’t about being even or not. You’re also having a tough time being with Sejun hyung too.”
“If you had any sense, you’d know which place is more hellish.”
“We can’t escape it, anyway.”
He was a force to be reckoned with. He had blindly believed in his naive malice that without Cocaine, he could reclaim what was taken from him. But then he realized that they were now on equal footing, and Cocaine would not allow it.
“You still think you’re qualitatively different from me, don’t you? I’m a cheap snitch, but you have a good cause. What you’re doing now is nothing more than what I did ten years ago.”
Yaba punched Cocaine in the jaw with all the force he could muster, scraping away the dregs of emotion. Cocaine fell to the ground, clutching his jaw. His eyes, filled with humiliation, were beautiful. Even in such a beaten state, the sight of Jang Sejun, who had become pale, was worth seeing. He didn’t know then that there was betrayal even among blood brothers, and he didn’t know that empathy born from shared suffering could turn into malice.
“I will forgive you, with this.”
After ten years of suffocating in silence, Cocaine would forgive him for this one thing. He did not have the precision or patience to dream of revenge through elaborate efforts over a long period of time. Then, whom should he seek forgiveness from?
“Settle our past grievances later.”
Kang Giha crouched down in front of the battered Sejun. He gently touched Sejun’s cheek with the back of his bandaged hand.
“I got beaten up by a lowlife like this. It would be a shame to let him get away with it, wouldn’t it?”
Cocaine became pale.
“This was all my doing, so don’t touch Sejun hyung!”
“If you give your fingers instead of this guy, I’ll consider it.”
Kang Giha smiled in satisfaction as Cocaine closed his mouth. There was nothing he could do. Kang Giha sliced off Sejun’s pinky finger with a machete. The thugs pressed Sejun to his knees as he twisted his limbs. Cocaine closed his eyes and shuddered. The cutters targeted his ring finger next. A lump of emotion rose in his throat.
“Don’t do it—!”
The window to the alley vibrated. Kang Giha glanced at his shoulder and turned around. Sejun’s eyes widened in surprise. The man who had castrated his faith and the man who had castrated his balls were an odd pairing, but his hatred for Sejun was different from that of Kang Giha. Today would be the last time that he would be unable to completely hate Jang Sejun due to the tight blood relationship. Yaba shuddered and said.
“Don’t do it. Son of a bitch.”
Kang Giha relaxed and muttered something unintelligible.
“I guess it’s true what they say about not being able to manifest without true fear and despair. I didn’t bring any anesthetic. Don’t let him have a seizure.”
The thugs grabbed Yaba and covered his mouth. Kang Giha called Cocaine to his side, distancing himself from him. The look on his face was similar to the one he’d seen before when he was wary of Cocaine. He glanced at him and added.
“Did he get into a fight with this punk?”
Apparently, Cocaine hadn’t told him who Jang Sejun was. Kang Giha stuck Sejun’s ring finger into the cutter again. The cutter bit into his callused finger. “Don’t do it!” The sound was muffled by the thug’s hand. But at that moment, a cluster of footsteps rushed by. An irritable voice followed.
“There’s nowhere to park in this neighborhood! He said he’s somewhere around here, so scour the place!”
All eyes turned to the end of the alley. A group of men with metal pipes and rotary knives were gathering, and in the center of it all walked Cha Myunghwan. He grunted, then froze, as if electrocuted by a high-voltage current. Even in the dark, his lips moving could be visible.
“…Swindler… You…”
“…”
“You… you’ve been alive all this time, how…! Do you know how much I’ve suffered because of you…!”
Yaba’s face involuntarily scrunched up. He hadn’t imagined he would reunite with Cha Myunghwan here. His head, which had been filled with anger just a moment ago, was clouded.
“Why are you here…!”
Cha Myunghwan stepped forward and grabbed Yaba’s shoulder, but Kang Giha ripped the grasp off with great strength. The other men’s shoulders squared off, hands tightening around iron pipes and cleavers. Cha Myunghwan raised an eyebrow.
“What are you doing?”
Kang Giha was polite.
“You must have my permission to take my guys, CEO Cha.”
“Are you the boss? Then you know better than anyone that if the client says ‘crawl,’ you crawl.”
“I barely kept you alive, CEO Cha, and I’m sure Cocaine will feel sorry for you if you end up dying in vain in a place like this.”
“What did you say to me, you son of a bitch! Do you want to be buried alive?”
Cha Myunghwan shoved Kang Giha away and grabbed Yaba’s shoulder again. Nevertheless, Kang Giha grabbed his hand and broke it. Before he could do anything, Cha Myunghwan was flattened into a frog. His bodyguard grabbed Kang Giha and threw him to the ground. Kang Giha regained his balance and drove his fist into the bodyguard’s jaw. It was from then on; the battle began regardless of who was first.
“Kill them all!”
“Motherfuckers!”
There was a chaos of shouting and pushing. Crushed, Sejun, who had been pinned down, kicked the thug in the stomach and disappeared into the alley and when he emerged a moment later, he was clutching a pair of shears, the look in his eyes changing as he held them. With the long shears, Sejun cut through their flesh and struck at the others’ bones. Despite their numerical advantage, the enemies hesitated.
Sejun rescued Cocaine, who was surrounded by thugs, and then carrying Cocaine under his arm, disappeared into the dark alley. It was the moment a mad zealot repaid the grace of God. Several men followed Jang Se-jun. Sticks and cleavers flew through the air along with the men’s curses.
The neighborhood, on the verge of demolition, was littered with concrete chips and debris. Cha Myunghwan, who had fallen asleep, grabbed Yaba and ran.
“Block them properly. You bastards! Do you know how surprised I was to hear about this? Why didn’t you call me when you were alive?!”
Cha Myunghwan was busy ordering his bodyguards, flinching, ducking, and scowling. Yaba said.
“Why should I contact you?”
“Why?! Did you just ask why?! Just you wait until we get out of here! Stay right next to me!”
“Getting beaten up a few times and you’re scared.”
“Don’t mess with me. I’m just not at full strength right now! You bastards! Do you know who I am… Urgh!”
Kang Giha’s subordinates gave Cha Myunghwan a thrashing with sticks. He was slammed against a concrete corner. The bodyguards focused more on protecting Cha Myung-hwan than attacking.
“Take him this way!”
“You stupid fuckers, take care of the swindler, not me! Where’s the swindler?!”
Cha Myunghwan was escaped out of the alleyway by his bodyguards, and arrived at a place far away from the battle site. He then kicked his bodyguards in the shins.
“Bring him back no matter what! If you lose him, I’ll lose everything!”
One bodyguard stayed with him, while the other ran back to the battlefield. The hand that touched the swindler never stopped shaking. As soon as he got the text, he called up his connections, and put his fists together. He came here in disbelief, but Yaba was alive— he was alive!
Looking at the guy’s scruffy appearance, it seems that all the hardships were not for naught, but the venomous face and frosty tone of voice was as always… Cha Myunghwan blushed unnecessarily. He regained his composure and looked at the neighborhood where the swindler was. At that moment, an unidentifiable roar shook the earth. At that moment, an unidentifiable roar shook the earth. Cha Myunghwan squinted his eyes and looked at the night sky.
“Why is that…”
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He was nervous that Jang Se-jun might follow him, feeling the tension creep up to the back of his neck. He tried to go to a random house and called the police. If the police came… would Jang Sejun be taken away as a kidnapper? He needed treatment, not punishment. If he testified in court that his biological brother was in heat, it would be considered for leniency. However, he was not sure if they would believe someone with an expunged social security number. Deciding against involving the police, he called for a taxi to escape from there. That was the last conscience of a mother who ran away leaving her child behind.
A light flickered in the distance across the street. Explaining the situation to a deaf grandmother would take forever with hand gestures. It would be troublesome if the grandmother turned out to be a corpse. The end of an elderly person abandoned by their children could only be death by starvation or suffocation from charcoal gas poisoning, and going there might just bring trouble upon himself for no reason.
Now, only a drunkard who binges on alcohol was left, if there was even any money left to lend for taxi fare.If he left any money in his pocket, he would not be a straggler. If the drunkard mistook Yaba for a thief and swung a knife at him, he’d be dead… Yaba felt a chill down his spine. Still, he thought it was better to be attacked with a knife than to be branded a murder suspect.
Yaba ran, praying that the deaf old woman was in the house. He hadn’t eaten in days, and his stamina was quickly depleted. The alley, strewn with briquettes and pieces of plywood, was endlessly long. This was the same road he had run down ten years ago to find Sejun, and now he was running to escape from him. Just when he turned around the wall… there was no sign of anyone’s presence. The textured air pressed against Yaba’s spine. An arm wrapped around his waist, his harsh breath pounding against his eardrums.
“You promised me you wouldn’t run away! I trusted you, Sejin, why did you break your word?”
“You made a promise that day, too, and then you disappeared!”
“That’s why I’m trying so hard to get forgiveness from you…!”
Sejun’s eyes flashed with madness as he was ready to brandish scissors right now. He turned around en route. Jang Sejun was not a child to be fooled by his mother’s lies. Yaba pushed him away and ran. He didn’t make it more than a few steps before he was grabbed by the nape of the neck. As his struggle intensified, Sejun lifted him onto his shoulders.
“Let’s move somewhere else, this house is making Sejin sick!”
“I don’t hate you anymore. I didn’t even hate you when you shoved your penis in my mouth when I was a kid, I don’t even have the strength left for that, so leave me alone!”
Hanging upside down, he hit Jang Sejun on the back. He was right. No matter how hard he shouted, there was no one to hear him. The house was just down the road. Jang Sejun’s abuse went back further than Yaba’s. She hadn’t taught him anything.
She never taught him that hurting people would be punished, or that it was unethical to have sex with his brother.His mother, rather than being called a mother, earned the name of a prostitute and abused herself by burning her legs with cigarette butts. So maybe that was why she decided to become a frozen corpse.
As he turned the corner into the alleyway, he could see clusters of shadows in his inverted vision. Whether they were coming or going, it was not certain. The man’s suit, slender bandaged hand, and shotgun at his side were out of place in this neighborhood.
Thud— The man lifted his foot. His foot struck Sejun’s stomach, causing him to curl up. Four men grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground. Someone pulled Yaba up. He saw a scorpion coiled around the man’s neck. The scorpion twitched.
“I almost jumped out of my skin at the sight of another healer. I’d like to believe you didn’t deceive me on purpose.”
Yaba pushed away Kang Giha’s hand. His knees wobbled, and his eyes locked with Cocaine’s over Kang Giha’s shoulder. He decided to ask the question he’d been dying to ask.
“What happened to Yiseok?”
Did you sing to him with that pretty little snout of yours? Did you heal him with all your might?
“What happened to him?”
Did Yiseok stay at your house? Did you two… touch each other?
Cocaine lowered his eyes. Yaba wanted to grind that aloof face into a concrete wall, or so he thought. Cocaine was finally getting his revenge from ten years ago.
“They say this place will soon be pushed out too, but it seems like the trash has gathered on its own. Now, we’re even.”
Cocaine finally spoke up.
“This isn’t about being even or not. You’re also having a tough time being with Sejun hyung too.”
“If you had any sense, you’d know which place is more hellish.”
“We can’t escape it, anyway.”
He was a force to be reckoned with. He had blindly believed in his naive malice that without Cocaine, he could reclaim what was taken from him. But then he realized that they were now on equal footing, and Cocaine would not allow it.
“You still think you’re qualitatively different from me, don’t you? I’m a cheap snitch, but you have a good cause. What you’re doing now is nothing more than what I did ten years ago.”
Yaba punched Cocaine in the jaw with all the force he could muster, scraping away the dregs of emotion. Cocaine fell to the ground, clutching his jaw. His eyes, filled with humiliation, were beautiful. Even in such a beaten state, the sight of Jang Sejun, who had become pale, was worth seeing. He didn’t know then that there was betrayal even among blood brothers, and he didn’t know that empathy born from shared suffering could turn into malice.
“I will forgive you, with this.”
After ten years of suffocating in silence, Cocaine would forgive him for this one thing. He did not have the precision or patience to dream of revenge through elaborate efforts over a long period of time. Then, whom should he seek forgiveness from?
“Settle our past grievances later.”
Kang Giha crouched down in front of the battered Sejun. He gently touched Sejun’s cheek with the back of his bandaged hand.
“I got beaten up by a lowlife like this. It would be a shame to let him get away with it, wouldn’t it?”
Cocaine became pale.
“This was all my doing, so don’t touch Sejun hyung!”
“If you give your fingers instead of this guy, I’ll consider it.”
Kang Giha smiled in satisfaction as Cocaine closed his mouth. There was nothing he could do. Kang Giha sliced off Sejun’s pinky finger with a machete. The thugs pressed Sejun to his knees as he twisted his limbs. Cocaine closed his eyes and shuddered. The cutters targeted his ring finger next. A lump of emotion rose in his throat.
“Don’t do it—!”
The window to the alley vibrated. Kang Giha glanced at his shoulder and turned around. Sejun’s eyes widened in surprise. The man who had castrated his faith and the man who had castrated his balls were an odd pairing, but his hatred for Sejun was different from that of Kang Giha. Today would be the last time that he would be unable to completely hate Jang Sejun due to the tight blood relationship. Yaba shuddered and said.
“Don’t do it. Son of a bitch.”
Kang Giha relaxed and muttered something unintelligible.
“I guess it’s true what they say about not being able to manifest without true fear and despair. I didn’t bring any anesthetic. Don’t let him have a seizure.”
The thugs grabbed Yaba and covered his mouth. Kang Giha called Cocaine to his side, distancing himself from him. The look on his face was similar to the one he’d seen before when he was wary of Cocaine. He glanced at him and added.
“Did he get into a fight with this punk?”
Apparently, Cocaine hadn’t told him who Jang Sejun was. Kang Giha stuck Sejun’s ring finger into the cutter again. The cutter bit into his callused finger. “Don’t do it!” The sound was muffled by the thug’s hand. But at that moment, a cluster of footsteps rushed by. An irritable voice followed.
“There’s nowhere to park in this neighborhood! He said he’s somewhere around here, so scour the place!”
All eyes turned to the end of the alley. A group of men with metal pipes and rotary knives were gathering, and in the center of it all walked Cha Myunghwan. He grunted, then froze, as if electrocuted by a high-voltage current. Even in the dark, his lips moving could be visible.
“…Swindler… You…”
“…”
“You… you’ve been alive all this time, how…! Do you know how much I’ve suffered because of you…!”
Yaba’s face involuntarily scrunched up. He hadn’t imagined he would reunite with Cha Myunghwan here. His head, which had been filled with anger just a moment ago, was clouded.
“Why are you here…!”
Cha Myunghwan stepped forward and grabbed Yaba’s shoulder, but Kang Giha ripped the grasp off with great strength. The other men’s shoulders squared off, hands tightening around iron pipes and cleavers. Cha Myunghwan raised an eyebrow.
“What are you doing?”
Kang Giha was polite.
“You must have my permission to take my guys, CEO Cha.”
“Are you the boss? Then you know better than anyone that if the client says ‘crawl,’ you crawl.”
“I barely kept you alive, CEO Cha, and I’m sure Cocaine will feel sorry for you if you end up dying in vain in a place like this.”
“What did you say to me, you son of a bitch! Do you want to be buried alive?”
Cha Myunghwan shoved Kang Giha away and grabbed Yaba’s shoulder again. Nevertheless, Kang Giha grabbed his hand and broke it. Before he could do anything, Cha Myunghwan was flattened into a frog. His bodyguard grabbed Kang Giha and threw him to the ground. Kang Giha regained his balance and drove his fist into the bodyguard’s jaw. It was from then on; the battle began regardless of who was first.
“Kill them all!”
“Motherfuckers!”
There was a chaos of shouting and pushing. Crushed, Sejun, who had been pinned down, kicked the thug in the stomach and disappeared into the alley and when he emerged a moment later, he was clutching a pair of shears, the look in his eyes changing as he held them. With the long shears, Sejun cut through their flesh and struck at the others’ bones. Despite their numerical advantage, the enemies hesitated.
Sejun rescued Cocaine, who was surrounded by thugs, and then carrying Cocaine under his arm, disappeared into the dark alley. It was the moment a mad zealot repaid the grace of God. Several men followed Jang Se-jun. Sticks and cleavers flew through the air along with the men’s curses.
The neighborhood, on the verge of demolition, was littered with concrete chips and debris. Cha Myunghwan, who had fallen asleep, grabbed Yaba and ran.
“Block them properly. You bastards! Do you know how surprised I was to hear about this? Why didn’t you call me when you were alive?!”
Cha Myunghwan was busy ordering his bodyguards, flinching, ducking, and scowling. Yaba said.
“Why should I contact you?”
“Why?! Did you just ask why?! Just you wait until we get out of here! Stay right next to me!”
“Getting beaten up a few times and you’re scared.”
“Don’t mess with me. I’m just not at full strength right now! You bastards! Do you know who I am… Urgh!”
Kang Giha’s subordinates gave Cha Myunghwan a thrashing with sticks. He was slammed against a concrete corner. The bodyguards focused more on protecting Cha Myung-hwan than attacking.
“Take him this way!”
“You stupid fuckers, take care of the swindler, not me! Where’s the swindler?!”
Cha Myunghwan was escaped out of the alleyway by his bodyguards, and arrived at a place far away from the battle site. He then kicked his bodyguards in the shins.
“Bring him back no matter what! If you lose him, I’ll lose everything!”
One bodyguard stayed with him, while the other ran back to the battlefield. The hand that touched the swindler never stopped shaking. As soon as he got the text, he called up his connections, and put his fists together. He came here in disbelief, but Yaba was alive— he was alive!
Looking at the guy’s scruffy appearance, it seems that all the hardships were not for naught, but the venomous face and frosty tone of voice was as always… Cha Myunghwan blushed unnecessarily. He regained his composure and looked at the neighborhood where the swindler was. At that moment, an unidentifiable roar shook the earth. At that moment, an unidentifiable roar shook the earth. Cha Myunghwan squinted his eyes and looked at the night sky.
“Why is that…”
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