Chapter 14 : I’ll Kill You All (3)

“Ha. This is fucking driving me insane.”

With a click-click, Cheol-woo shoved the freshly oiled guns into their cases, trying to calm his anger.

He thought his sister had finally figured out the situation and understood her position—but nope, not at all.

He’d assumed the jolt from the stun gun had knocked some sense into her, but apparently that was just a temporary shock.

Then again, it was strange to expect a civilian who got dragged into this mess just yesterday to fully adapt in a single day.

Cheol-woo was seriously considering whether he needed to put a GPS-and-camera-fitted pet collar on her from now on.

Is this a kidnapping? Or is she really just trying to make me an offer?

The phone buzzed non-stop, but Cheol-woo didn’t even glance at it.

Answering wouldn’t change anything.

If he picked up and she calmly said it wasn’t a kidnapping and started explaining the situation?

Could be reading from a script with a knife to her throat—or even with her voice altered.

Couldn’t rule that out.

What if he answered and heard her screaming with some scritch-scratch sound in the background?

That’d be all the more reason to storm in right away.

One way or another, he wouldn’t know the truth until he kicked the door in, so there was no reason to waste time or get worked up answering the phone.

If it really was a kidnapping, then the only way the other side could’ve known was through a leak inside Geummyeong Group.

Then again, with the way he’d been blasting through enemies lately, it’d be weirder if word hadn’t gotten out.

They probably figured they could lure in a runaway gunman from a rival faction with a sweet deal.

But it was a pointless move.

He left the scene in the first place to get away from that life.

Switching sides from Korea to some Chinese outfit wasn’t going to change anything.

Even if it wasn’t a kidnapping, it didn’t change much.

The side that did something sketchy first is the one at fault.

He figured he’d just wipe everyone out until they begged forgiveness for messing with someone’s sister—and then listen to whatever “offer” they wanted to pitch.

“Fuck it.”

Thud.

He shut the case and stood up abruptly.

No point running mental circles.

First, go there.

Shoot until the answers come out.

“Excuse me, could you try calling again…?”

“I’m still calling. He’s not answering.”

“Oh…”

Han Sajang’s face turned pale.

“Another Oriental?” she had said—and now it made sense.

Right.

This guy used to be in shootouts with us.

Realizing that, she shut her eyes tight.

Technically, it was her sister’s company that had fought with Geummyeong Security, while her own business was focused quietly on department store profits.

But who was going to care about the nuance?

Since she’d taken Han Siyeon’s side, she wasn’t really in a position to claim innocence anymore.

“Whew. Actually, this might work out. Since he’s coming in person anyway. I was hoping to talk with him directly.”

Han Sajang fanned herself, trying to cool down.

What? He’s on his way here to kill everyone, so clear out the customers?

If Yushil-jang had said that, she might have been nervous.

But coming from a runaway rookie, it was… kind of cute.

She figured he must just be really close to his sister.

“Your brother seems pretty pissed. Maybe we should just exchange contact info today and talk again once he’s calmed down?”

“Why bother? Let’s bring him in, clear up this ‘kidnapping’ misunderstanding, lighten the mood, and have a proper talk.”

“You really think it’s gonna go that smoothly?”

“Don’t rush. Sit down. I’m not doing this with any bad intentions. I really have a good proposal.”

Yuri gave a bitter smile.

This woman clearly had no idea who Cheol-woo was.

Even walking down the street, if he thought someone was tailing him, he’d pull the pin on a grenade without hesitation.

You think he’ll hold back just because this is a packed department store?

The smartest move now was for Yuri to make a run for it—fast—before Cheol-woo pulled his gun.

But this stubborn CEO didn’t look like she was going to let Yuri go anytime soon.

Not quite a kidnapping… but it was close enough now.

Yuri could already see what was coming, so she just closed her eyes and braced herself.

“Strengthen security on the first floor. I’ve sent his profile to the terminal—verify his face and, once found, disarm him and escort him to my office.”

As if it were the most natural thing, Han Sajang sent Cheol-woo’s name and face through the company network.

Do none of these Chinese bastards understand the concept of privacy? Yuri was dumbfounded.

It wasn’t even about them having Korean personal info—whatever, that’s common enough—but to be so brazenly trading it in front of her?

[Yes, Ma’am.]

[Confirmed.]

“….”

“Is this it? Why haven’t the rest of you responded?”

With her hand trembling around the radio, Han Sajang clenched her teeth.

Had she hired the new security guards too carelessly in the name of reinforcement?

The CEO was speaking, and not a single one of them responded.

What kind of unprofessional crap was this?

She started to feel anger bubbling up—but the unusually long silence made it fade into something else.

By now, someone should be stammering “A-ah—sorry, ma’am!” through the radio.

That would’ve been normal.

“First floor. What’s going on down there?”

[Ma’am. Could you take a look at the footage I just sent?]

[We’ve got a situation. Situation in progress. Security personnel down.]

“What the…?”

Han Sajang opened the terminal, and her jaw dropped.

On the CCTV, one of her guards was lying crumpled in a corner, blood dripping from the back of his head.

Other guards rushed in, trying to discreetly clean up the body before customers noticed.

The screen flipped rapidly.

Now it was the jewelry store’s camera.

A patrolling guard had stopped a man in a baseball cap and was reaching for his radio.

[Target spott—]

Bzzzt.

Cut.

The guard dropped like a sack of bricks.

What was that? Fainting? A stroke?

There was nothing visible.

He just collapsed out of nowhere.

Two more guards came running in behind, but they also went down without even pulling their guns.

The man in the baseball cap stepped casually over the fallen bodies.

Bzzzt—the feed changed again.

This time, the guy looked straight into the CCTV and gave a little “watch closely” signal.

Then he took a fist-sized lump of brown putty and smack—stuck it on the wall.

Next, he jammed a rusty old flip phone into it using a skewer.

Is that…? Fuck, is that what I think it is?

Han Sajang’s pupils were shaking like crazy.

[Ma’am. You need to evacuate immediately.]

The screen flicked again—to a steel door blown clean off its hinges.

For a moment, Han Sajang just stood there, stunned.

Then she got up with a breathless, “Ah—ah—.”

That door… it led to the emergency stairs behind the CEO’s office.

[Emergency stairs! We’re engaged in combat!]

[We don’t know how he got in…!]

[12th floor! Breached! He’s coming up! Stop him! Stop him!—Grenade! Fsssshh—]

[What are you doing?! Toss it already! Count to two and throw it!]

Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of gunfire and explosions crept closer from below.

Finally, her sister’s warning started to echo in her head.

“You’re saying he wiped out half of Team 1 and even humiliated Director Park? That’s… that’s impossible…”

Impossible.

And yet… it was happening.

Han Sajang grabbed her radio in a panic.

If she didn’t want all her staff dead, she had no choice but to listen to her sister.

“A-all personnel defending the emergency stairs, surrender now. Put down your weapons and stand against the wall. We will not resist the incoming individual.”

The gunfire ceased at last.

Moments later, step, step, step—footsteps grew louder—until BOOM! the door burst open in a cloud of smoke.

That door wasn’t even locked… Han Sajang was nearly in tears.

Yuri let out a long sigh with a face that screamed, Told you so.

“You’re Han Sajang?”

Cheol-woo, who had sprinted up 20 floors nonstop, was clutching his right side and panting heavily.

The guards in the stairwell were in such pitiful shape that he’d actually felt a bit guilty gunning them down—but once they surrendered, he was relieved.

Maybe this CEO wasn’t totally brain-dead after all.

Something’s off about this room.

Cheol-woo glanced around the office and felt a strange sense of imbalance.

Judging by the building’s layout, the room should be bigger.

But the CEO’s office was oddly compact.

Could there be a hidden space behind that wall?

Should I just start blasting that wall? he briefly considered—but given that they were finally cooperating, he decided to hold off.

Instead, he kept his attention sharp, watching that suspicious wall just in case.

“…Yes. I’m CEO Han Sirin.”

“Cheol-woo. I’m okay.”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

Cheol-woo’s cold eyes swept over Yuri from head to toe, sharp and accusatory.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Yuri bit her lip and avoided his gaze.

Was the food here that damn good? he wanted to ask.

Yuri picked up on the look and almost replied, Yeah, it was amazing, but shut her mouth just in time.

Cheol-woo pulled a handkerchief from the table and calmly began wiping the blood off his Maigon pistol.

“Well, now that I’m already here, it’d be a bit weird to just turn back. Let’s hear the ‘good proposal’ you mentioned.”

“Huh?”

“The good proposal. You said you had one.”

Cheol-woo casually sat down next to Han Sajang.

This bastard.

After killing all my staff, he sits down and casually talks about proposals?

So, the fact that he came to pick up his sister and the proposal are unrelated, huh?

Han Sajang’s energy drained as soon as she realized he had shot everyone without any personal grudge. This wasn’t just some ordinary lunatic.

My sister might actually like this guy…

It was a shame that her staff had died, but at least the deal wasn’t completely ruined.

Maybe this was something to be grateful for, amidst the misfortune?

Han Sajang let out a strange sound—whether a suppressed sob or a weird gurgle—then cleared her throat.

She tried to act composed, but the next moment, she threw the blood-soaked handkerchief back on the table and stifled a hiccup.

She gathered herself and spoke.

“There’s a company called Oriental Shipping under the same head office as Dongyang Department Store. The CEO of the Korea branch is my sister, Han Siyeon. She wants to work with you. This might sound unpleasant, but we’ve done some background checks on you. You want to leave Korea, don’t you?”

“….”

Cheol-woo remained silent, his expression unreadable. It was hard to tell if he was acknowledging her or just tuning her out.

Meanwhile, he continued loading bullets into the magazine with his hands.

Han Sajang, irritated by the clicking sound, continued speaking without showing it.

“My sister, CEO Han Siyeon, has a route to get you out of Korea safely. You won’t have to worry about Gold Ming Group getting in the way. You’ll take a ship that’ll get you to Hong Kong first. You know about the situation in Hong Kong, right?”

Lately, the news had been filled with stories about Hong Kong.

Big protests were clashing with the police, with Mainland Chinese officers reportedly mixed in.

The protests had escalated to violent confrontations, and the Chinese government had imposed a lockdown on Hong Kong.

All land routes were blocked, and even the internet cables had been severed.

“Hong Kong’s security is terrible right now. It’s in a state of lockdown. While CEO Han Siyeon handles some matters there, all you’ll need to do is provide security. After that, we’ll give you both passports and identities that allow you to travel freely. How does that sound?”

“Receiving the passports and identities first?”

“That would be difficult. Once you get those, how can I guarantee you won’t kill CEO Han Siyeon and our people, steal the ship, and escape?”

“Thank you for the great offer, but I’ll have to decline. Let’s go, sis.”

“Uh.”

“Ah, wait!?”

As Cheol-woo stood up and grabbed Yuri’s hand, Han Sajang froze, her voice trailing off.

Cheol-woo, seeing her reaction, figured there was a lot more she was hiding.

Not just a little, but a lot.

The situation in Hong Kong, what CEO Han Siyeon was doing there, the connection between Dongyang Department Store and Oriental Shipping—there was a mountain of information that needed to be revealed.

Yet she was acting like she was the one being swindled.

He had no more patience to sit there and listen. It wasn’t worth it.

“Fine! I’ll give you the identities first!”

Han Sajang blurted out as if trying to salvage the deal, but Cheol-woo was already done.

Done enough.

Click.

Cheol-woo casually tossed a large, remote-looking device onto the floor.

Han Sajang, looking confused and slightly frightened, asked, “What is that?”

Cheol-woo grinned and replied with a smirk.

“It’s a detonator. I’ve set up four more of them besides the ones shown on the CCTV. So, you better figure out how to disarm them.”

“…!?”

Leaving those words behind, Cheol-woo and Yuri disappeared into the emergency stairs.

Han Sajang sat there on the sofa, staring at the detonator she held with both hands, her body collapsing with exhaustion.

Maybe she should’ve listened to her sister.

Tears welled up in her eyes.