Chapter 21 : Good Deal (1)

“Ugh… Hah… Huh… Hah…”

“….”

Min Cheol-woo was breathing irregularly, and Yuri, who was watching him, sighed and pulled the curtains.

She had done everything she could.

The surgery was over, the bleeding was stopped, and the sutures were finished.

She didn’t know if the bleeding was stopped because it was controlled or because his blood had run out from him dying, but either way, it was done.

Now, she was just waiting, praying for him to wake up with the transfusion pack and IV in place.

Yuri’s hands were trembling.

“Ha…”

The image of her hands still covered in blood was vivid in her mind.

The sight of her using metal chopsticks instead of clamps to pry open her younger sister’s stomach was still clear.

Blood kept pouring out, and Cheol-woo groaned as though he was about to die…

It was a nightmare. Yuri’s eyes reddened.

The thought that her brother might never wake up made her chest tighten.

Just as she was sinking into despair, Yuri suddenly turned her head sharply to the side.

“What are you? A doctor?”

“I’m not a doctor… I’m a nurse…”

Mi-young whispered, almost inaudibly, “I used to work as a nurse officer in North Korea… until three years ago.”

Mi-young was feeling suffocated.

That woman’s eyes were already filled with the intent to find someone to blame if her boyfriend died.

Were they lovers? Probably.

The venom in her gaze… Ugh, it was enough to send chills down her spine.

It was almost a reflex, but Yuri kept sharpening her knife, making a constant scraping sound, which was terrifying.

If Cheol-woo didn’t wake up, it seemed like she would slit his throat herself.

“A nurse performs surgery? Do you even know the human anatomy?”

“Well, when I was in North Korea, I had to remove bullets from the right side of the abdomen a few times… I kind of know…”

Mi-young added in a small voice,

“I don’t know much about other areas. When people get shot in other places, they usually go to the crematorium.”

“Kind of? Kind of?”

“I-I did my best! The equipment and the environment were terrible, but it was a miracle we stopped the bleeding!”

“Don’t make excuses, damn it. If he dies, I won’t let you off the hook. You better save him, no matter what.”

“No. It’s not an excuse. I mean… Ah…”

Mi-young felt like she was about to go crazy from frustration.

That shoddy surgery—did I want to do it?

It was forced upon me, by that idiot!

I’m not a doctor! I worked as a nurse in China for a while, and then for three years in Korea, working at a counter, and then suddenly…

When I was told to remove a tiny capsule stuck 5 cm inside the abdomen, I almost fainted.

Doing surgery on a wound that had already been stitched once? Isn’t that insane?

It’s the most painful thing to hit the same spot twice.

Even with fancy equipment and a renowned doctor, survival wouldn’t be guaranteed.

It wasn’t about the doctor’s skill; it was entirely up to the person’s recovery.

“It was a tough surgery, so…”

“Hey!”

Can he survive this?

Mi-young was skeptical.

If he recovered, that wouldn’t be a human; that would be a monster.

It was easy to say he would survive, but the aftermath?

Yuri was constantly playing with her knife, and it gave Mi-young chills just thinking about the consequences.

“I promise I’ll save him!”

“I will try my best…”

“Damn it.”

Yuri, with tears in her eyes, grabbed Mi-young by the collar.

Mi-young was annoyed, thinking, “Why are you grabbing me?”

If you hadn’t done the surgery in the first place, things would have been fine, right?

Why did you have to dig your own stomach just to escape?

‘Idiots.’

These guys, they had become famous in the past few days.

They had caused chaos in Seoul, and the fact that they hadn’t been caught yet already proved their ability.

If they went back to the Geummyeong Group now, they’d probably get treated well.

Why the hell are they running away? Why?

Having grown up in Korea, didn’t they know how good life was here?

Mi-young just couldn’t understand.

“Seriously, ha… If Cheol-woo dies… Ah…”

Yuri’s mind went blank.

When she was assisting with the surgery, her mind was as empty as a blank sheet of paper.

She just followed the instructions without thinking.

But now that the surgery was over, her mind was a mess, and she felt like she was going crazy.

What should she do if Cheol-woo dies?

She had come this far, relying only on him—what would she do?

Her breathing became heavy, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

As her eyes welled up with tears, a single drop fell and rolled down her cheek.

“What are you two doing? Let’s go.”

“…?”

The curtain was pulled back, and Cheol-woo, holding his abdomen, walked out.

She thought he might be using his last bit of strength to act tough, but it didn’t seem like that.

His complexion was perfectly normal.

When she pulled back the curtain, the blood bags and IV were more than half full.

What is this? Is this even a human being? Mi-young was dumbfounded.

“Why are your eyes like that?”

“I had to wipe off my makeup.”

What? Wasn’t she crying just a second ago?

Now, Yuri, with her tears completely wiped away, followed Mi-young with an expressionless face.

“How long have I been out?”

“About an hour. Don’t worry, I took care of the aftermath.”

“Let’s get out of here. Staying here for too long isn’t good.”

Cheol-woo quickly started packing his things.

This time, they had removed all the tracking devices, but it was still too soon to relax.

There had been almost no communication between Team 1 and Team 2, and it seemed like they were practically in a state of disarray.

However, when Director Park had warned Manager Jeong to be careful, it didn’t seem like things were completely falling apart.

The shooting on the Western Highway had been in a relatively quiet area, so it was manageable, but wasn’t this latest incident in the middle of the city?

And yet, no news articles had come out about it.

Instead, the internet and social media were buzzing about some film props featuring a Dullahan costume.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“Well… I want to go back to the CEO…”

“Go ahead. I’ll take you.”

“But the CEO might be uncomfortable with it…”

“Why’s that?”

“We parted on bad terms at the end…”

After listening to Mi-young’s lament, Cheol-woo muttered something under his breath, then stopped himself.

So, the CEO had made her employees take berserker pills, used them as meat shields, and escaped alone?

One of those employees was still alive here?

If it were him, he would find it awkward to face them again.

‘Why would she want to go back?’

According to Manager Jeong, Oriental Shipping had lost all influence in the Korean underground market.

And considering that Director Yoo had gone to Oriental Department Store to cause chaos, it was clear that CEO Han Siyeon had been cut off from the company and was now being hunted.

Her desperate attempt to go to Hong Kong must have been an effort to make up for everything.

If that’s the case, isn’t CEO Han completely broke now?

Why would she want to go back to that person?

It was a hard decision to understand, but Cheol-woo didn’t ask any more questions.

She had probably been gaslit or something.

He didn’t have the energy to waste on convincing someone who was already out of their mind.

“Well, let’s put the suitcase back in.”

“Huh? What? Huh?”

Cheol-woo was worried that if the CEO didn’t accept her back and she was rejected, it would cause trouble.

He had to force her into the situation somehow.

At Oriental Department Store, CEO Han Siyeon sat calmly drinking tea, while CEO Han Sirin couldn’t stay still and kept pacing around.

“Sit down. You’re making me dizzy.”

“I’m about to die because of you, and you’re saying I’m making you dizzy? Be honest. Is there anything left for me to be troubled about?”

“No, all the employees who followed me are dead at the Seoul branch.”

“Really? No one from your employees will suddenly show up?”

“Really.”

Whenever she thought of Director Yoo’s gaze, CEO Han Sirin’s heart raced.

How could someone be that strong?

She wasn’t like Min Cheol-woo; she was a different kind of crazy.

He used a silenced gun in a deserted area, but Director Yoo had shown up in a crowded place with a large rifle.

If things had gone wrong, it could have led to a disaster and they might have had to shut down the

department store.

She hated the thought of being caught in any kind of trouble with Director Yoo.

She just wanted to throw everything related to her sister out of Hong Kong as soon as possible.

[CEO, a vehicle is entering the safe house.]

It had arrived.

The savior who would take her troublesome sister to Hong Kong had finally come.

A smile began to form on CEO Han Sirin’s face.

“How many people?”

[Two.]

“Please bring them inside and connect me for a call.”

Soon, familiar faces appeared on the laptop screen.

They had been shooting in Gangnam a few hours ago, and it seemed they had been attacked again.

As it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay in Korea, the idea of going to Hong Kong was starting to seem sweet.

“Hello, both of you. We’re currently marked by Director Yoo, so it’s dangerous to go outside. We’re having a video call. Is that okay?”

[Yes, that’s fine.]

“Thanks to both of you, we avoided a big disaster. It seems there’s been a commotion at the Geumyeong

Security office… was it because of…?”

[Yes. We killed Manager Jeong on our way here.]

These crazy… CEO Han’s mouth slowly opened in disbelief.

They killed Manager Jeong while being chased?

Not just anyone, but Manager Jeong?

A chill ran down her spine.

This was exactly why Director Yoo was losing control.

“Thank you. By the way, we promised you a reward, right? I haven’t discussed the details yet, but I can offer each of you 300 million won in Korean money.”

“How does that sound?”

[Let’s put the reward discussion aside for now. Can we talk about something else first?]

“Sure, we can. We can settle it with something other than money.”

A faint smile appeared on CEO Han Sirin’s face.

Before setting the amount for the reward, there was only one thing to discuss, wasn’t there?

They would probably bring up the conditions for Hong Kong and demand changes by mentioning how they had helped get Director Yoo out of trouble.

Would they settle for a route to get weapons abroad in exchange for 300 million won?

The truck seemed to be carrying quite a bit, but weapons were consumables.

Parts and ammunition would need to be restocked.