Dong Kwantaek arrived a little later. He wasn't anywhere close by as he hadn't heard of this operation in the first place. But that was understandable. It wasn't meant to be anything big. Yet, he had gotten such a hurried call that he could not help feel nervous.
Upon leaving his car, he quickly understood what the urgency was about. Hsi friends and colleagues, the men in black, were scattered around the block, half-conscious. Those who remained awake had faces full of fear. This place looked like a demon had ravaged it. What exactly occurred? His face turned serious.
A few people took photos. Normally, he'd have stopped them, but he could only think about confirming the situation. He continued walking. A vague shadow appearing at the front of the museum. He sat on the floor, with the gangster surrounding him, but laying on the ground. For some reason, may it be instinct or experience, he was sure this was the perpetrator. His heart started beating faster until it culminated upon seeing the person's face.
"Would you look at that? The world is really small," Lee Dojin said and waved. "It's you."
Dong Kwantaek felt his face go livid. His eyes opened wide. It was him. He stepped a few steps back. There was no way he would not recognize him. Why was this guy here?
The old man did not realize Kwantaeks reaction, and he did not care to find out. He only saw the savior that would pull him out of this misery.
"It's you right?" Lee Dojin, like a little child, got excited. "You remember, we met in the mall. The place with the clothes. Remember me?"
"I do," he said with a low voice. How could he forget? His jaw still hurt thinking back to what happened that day.
"Hyung-nim, it's him! He's the one that made this mess!" shouted the old man, leaving Dong Kwantaek in a very awkward position.
"Yes, come on, let's go," Lee Dojin followed. "It might kill some boredom. Who knows, you may even serve as a warm-up. I'm sure it will be fun."
Dong Kwantaeks eyes twitched, seeing that boy's eagerness to brawl. There was no way in hell that he'd enter a fight with him again. He wasn't tired of life. The man was sure of one thing: If the two of them fought a hundred times, he'd lose about ninety-nine of them. And judging from the people around him, he would not be as lenient this time. ". . . I'll pass," he muttered. "I like being able to breathe."
The old man's face broke down in confusion. "Hyung-nim?" He didn't know what to say. His only lifeline had vanished just like that.
Kwantaek rubbed his eyes. He sighed and knelt down to be on the same eye-level as the old man. "Well, first of all, why don't you explain the situation."
The man nodded vigorously. He explained, just like Dong Kwantaek wanted, starting from the letter Ah Chul received about the kidnapping, to scouring through every nook and cranny trying to find Lee Dojin.No one really believed it was him who did it, but their boss had said to bring him there, for further questioning, so he was only following orders. He did so with great urgency, though it was unknown whether it was to help Yeurong or himself, and thus spilled the beans with Lee Dojin and the others listening right beside them.
Ah Yeurongs friends held their mouth, upon finding out her real identity. At first, they were shocked, but then they started to cry, knowing the danger she was in.
"I see. That's not good."
"So, uh, Hyung-nim," he glanced at Lee Dojin. "Are you going to help me?"
"Help you? Are you crazy?" Dong Kwantaek scoffed. "I'll tell you what. If you don't scram in 10 seconds, I'll break your legs."
"Wait are you serious?" His mouth stood agape. This went the opposite direction of what he expected.
Dong Kwantaek shook his head. "I am. That dude is stronger than me. No, of course. Do I look like I'm joking?" He clicked his tongue. "It's a tested theory."
"Oh, you flatter me," Lee Dojin said and laughed. He then turned serious. "Though who said they could go?" The people surrounding him shuddered from his cold voice. "I'm joking. Go take a rest, tomorrow's gonna be a hard day for all of you. All of humanity, to be exact."
The old man gulped. That was all he had to hear. Without any words, he quickly (or as quickly as his wounded body allowed him) gathered the other members of the gang and left. They couldn't take the car anymore, but they didn't care, as the breath of the beast silently watching over them pressed on their necks, making it hard to breathe. With their last hope dashed, they only hoped to disappear.
Dong Kwantaek sighed. He was unsure of how to handle this. But then again, what was he supposed to do? The young boy in front of him was like an insurmountable wall, unable to be crossed. It wasn't like he resided in the US where he could simply shoot the guy. Realizing how distant they were to each other, Kwantaeks turmoil diminished rapidly.
"Dojin, are you alright," Ji-ah said after the action died down. It was a question, but she already knew the answer and wasn't worried. Still, she had a reputation to uphold. "That was a little reckless of you."
The other teacher, Jowoon, snapped out of his trance, and he quickly reprimanded Lee Dojin. "That's right! What were you thinking! Getting into a brawl during schooltime? Wait until we return . . ." His words slowly slid off, as he saw Dojin's cold stare. "Ahem. We'll talk about this later."
Kim Jyejin, in the meanwhile, stood with her mouth agape. Her eyes also widened considerably. It didn't look like that, but her mind was in jambles. Naturally, she too had witnessed Lee Dojin fight. She understood he had changed—but that was too much. From all the people here, she knew Dojin the best. Her eyes fell on him. She didn't find the right words to say. her lips quivered. For a second, she only saw a stranger. This was not the boy she knew.
One of Yeurongs friends approached Kwantaek. With a low voice, she asked, "Uhm, do you know what happened to Yeurong."
He had taken out a smoke. Taking a puff, he thought to himself. "No clue. I know as much as you do. To be honest, I just got the news myself." Smoke escaped his lips. "Who's asking."
"A friend," the girl said.
"Friend huh?" He smiled. "Well, I did hear her father wanted her to live a normal life, but seeing it like that is rather weird." Kwantaek scratched his head. "But guess there's no use hiding it. There's a high change, she got abducted."
"But, that can't be." The girl fell to her knees. Her worry was genuine. The other girl helped her up, though she was shaking herself. They were good friends.
"Unfortunately, it's hard to track them down. Our gang obviously has a lot of enemies. It could be anyone. All they left was a stupid message telling us to end business at some place. But there are too many competitors to know who it could be." He pursed his lips. "Don't worry, we will find her."
Lee Dojin chimed in. "What do I have to do with all this? As far as I know, I don't have anything to do with you guys. You sure you weren't looking for that idiot couple?"
Dong Kwantaek smiled wryly. How was he supposed to answer that. "Uh. So, well. It was signed by you. Like, your name, on the letter."
"The hell?" He tilted his head. "Say, even if I abducted her, why'd I leave my name?"
"I know, I know. Still, if it were you, would you not take any lead there is to find the person important to you?" He clicked his tongue, taking a heavy puff of the smoke. "Clearly though, they had something against you, so there's at least this clue." Kwantaek sighed, Though it cost a lot of men to find out. "Whoever it was must be a coward."
Suddenly, something clicked in Jyejin's mind. "Coward. . . that sounds like Oh Sanbaek," she blurted out without thinking. He had been on her nerves the whole day after his 'apology', so it just popped into her mind again.
Dong Kwantaek looked at her. "Wait, I actually heard that name before." His brain rattled until his eyes widened. "Oh, got it! He's that one guy we've been looking for all the time! So you knew that guy? He's got some dealings with that private highschool. If I remember correctly, they are a pain in the ass for a lot of gangs right now. What's that place called again?"
"Sivilla." With one revelation after another, it didn't take long for Dojin to connect the dots. His expression turned unimaginably serious. A harsh smile crept up his face. He tried hiding it with his hand, but the bloodlust emitting from him could not be covered. A name kept ringing into his head. It all made sense. If it was that guy, it was possible. He had a knack for pulling countless strings and guiding them to his perverted liking. "Do Jiwoon."