TPLTW Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Taegeon twirled the white flip phone between his index finger and thumb. It was so small and light that if it hadn’t been turned on, he would have mistaken it for a toy.

She was definitely a suspicious woman.

A woman who seemed younger than me and had her face carefully hidden as if not showing a single bit of flesh, and who had a flip phone that looked like a toy in the 21st century. Not only were there no text messages or call logs, there weren’t even any numbers saved in her contacts.

How can one not be suspicious of that?

Daegil was late getting home so he had no way of checking and he was feeling quite uneasy.

‘I wonder if they found out about this place and planted a confidant in here.’

In a situation where I couldn’t help but feel my tentacles stretch out, the first thing that crossed my mind was that kind of suspicion. But if I think about it carefully, there were many loopholes in that.

Could it be possible that the person they had planted as my confidant was sitting right in front of me with such an outrageous appearance? Let alone that she was trembling and showing her nervousness so clearly.

Yes. If it had been a confidant, they would have already cut his throat before he opened his eyes. Or maybe she would have put some kind of drug in the glass of water that he drank.

But I was alive and well, and although the cell phone was a bit suspicious, the woman handed it over without much thought.

Then….

“What the heck wrong with that woman… .”

Taegeon recalled a woman’s voice that he had vaguely heard from the other side of his dim consciousness.

“I think it would be better to go to a big hospital even now….”

I wasn’t sure if it was the same person, but the voice and accent seemed similar. If it was the same person, it was clear that it was a woman who had nothing to do with those guys.

Even though she seemed to know the old man, she even went out of her way to consider transferring me to a larger hospital.

Taegeon, who had been thinking hard, suddenly grabbed his throbbing forehead and swallowed a groan.

“Ah….”

Sporadic pain and a piercing headache again coursed through my body.

I was already distraught after waking up after four days, and when I opened my eyes again, I was met with an unusual face, which wasted my mental energy.

He bit his lips hard to endure the pain and slowly let out a long breath.

When I opened my closed eyes, the yellowish stained ceiling was spinning dizzyingly.

“Ugh….”

How did I end up lying here like this?

As I calmed my distracted mind, I realized belatedly that the current situation was absurd. The incident that happened just a few days ago felt like it happened in the distant past.

Chairman Jang Yong-taek of Cheongun Group.

The boss is dead.

He, who had integrated organizations across the country and led Cheongun to become a viable company, eventually passed away from tuberculosis.

Beep- The moment a single empty line appeared on the electrocardiogram that failed to read the heartbeat, the members of the organization who were watching his end in the hospital room all lowered their heads and swallowed their tears.

But the mourning lasted only a few seconds.

The eyes of Executive Director Jo Seok-hyeon, who was shedding crocodile tears while tightly holding the hand of the boss who was growing cold, changed in an instant. The eyes that had been smiling faintly turned to Vice Chairman Ma Sang-bae who was standing across from him.

The tension suddenly increased. A fight over the succession between Ma Sang-bae and Seok-hyeon began.

Of course, the board of directors assumed that Ma sang-bae would naturally become the chairman, but there was no way that the wicked and greedy Jo Seok-hyeon would miss this golden opportunity.

Cheongun had already been divided into the forces of ‘Ma’ and ‘Jo’ for a long time. So, even when Chairman Jang was alive, Jo Seok-hyeon was doing all kinds of dirty things behind the scenes and was desperate to kill Ma sang-bae.

As Ma sang-bae’s right-hand man, Taegeon has been by his side, protecting him steadfastly. However, the bastard continues to threaten Ma sang-bae’s life without getting tired, as if he is enjoying it.

I had been keeping an eye on the chairman’s mood so I didn’t step forward myself, but now that obstacle has disappeared.

It was clearly expected from the moment Chairman Jang fell that Jo Seok-hyeon would attack Ma sang-bae and try to take Cheongun.

It’s not that I wasn’t prepared, but the timing was unexpected.

Who would have thought that on the way to the ossuary carrying the boss’s remains, he would hit me in the back of the head?

It was a fierce battle. The fight that started during the day didn’t end even after the sun went down.

Ma sang-bae and Taegeon, who had not prepared anything, had no choice but to retreat after fighting with their bare hands. Jo Seok-hyeon, who had to end it all at once, persistently pursued Ma sang-bae and his forces to eliminate them.

Taegeon and his subordinate Chunseop, who were more desperate than anyone to protect Ma sang-bae, suffered even more severe bleeding.

As the darkness deepened, his stamina also declined. Whether they were alive or dead, they were scattered here and there, and it was impossible to tell whether Ma sang-bae was alive or dead.

“Sir! This won’t work. Get out of here first! Ah, hold on to your life, you must be safe!”

Taegeon’s last memory was leaving Yangpyeong, leaving Chunseop in charge of his boss’s safety.

I wonder what happened to Sang-bae. I wonder if Chunseop is still alive.

Taegeon opened the woman’s flip phone and called Chun-seop. But the bastard’s phone was turned off. The same was true for Ma sang-bae’s phone.

Taegeon closed the folder and looked at the ceiling with a blank expression.

I feel lost. I feel like I’m facing a wall in the dark. I don’t know where to start and how to sort out this situation. My mind is going blank.

It was a moment when I just clenched my fists helplessly.

Dripping.

There was a knock at the door. There was no answer, but the door opened timidly on its own.

“Excuse me….”

Taegeon lay down and looked down to see the face stuck in the crack of the door.

“Oh! You’re awake, hyung.”

Earlier it was a masked woman, but this time it was a young boy wearing a scooter helmet. When I look closely, I think I saw that face next to the old man when I first opened my eyes.

The unidentified helmeted man shook his iron briefcase and opened his mouth wide.

“Would you like some Jjajangmyeon from Jjangkae?”
(*Jjangkae is a Korean-Chinese restaurant where Soo-cheol works)

“… … .”

What the heck is this stupid kid?

I wonder what on earth happened at the old man’s house in past the seven years that I haven’t been here.

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“Soo-cheol!”

Haein, who was coming out to get the food for the man, stopped Soo-cheol in shock. Soo-cheol, who had been dragged a few steps by her arm, blinked with a blank face.

“Why?”

Haein lowered her voice as she looked through the half-open door.

“What kind of food are you offering to someone who woke up after four days?”

“Ah. Can’t he have Jjajangmyeon?”

Oh my, look at this clear and refreshing child.

“No. He can’t eat it. His digestive function will be completely reduced, and it will be in big trouble. For the time being, he’ll have to eat only porridge.”

“Ah….”

Soo-cheol looked down at the iron suitcase with a somewhat regretful expression. The delicious smell of Jjajangmyeon was thick and wafting through the gap of the size of a fingernail.

“But didn’t you bring this for free?”

Soo-cheol pouted his lips as if asking what nonsense I was saying and sat down on the porch.

“No, I didn’t. I bought it with the money that I deducted from my hourly wage.”

“… … .”

Haein looked at Soo-cheol with a surprised face. He was a guy who couldn’t go to school because of his financial situation and was earning money, but he was using hourly wages to take care of others.

Moreover, the Jajangmyeon that Soo-cheol had taken out onto the porch was three bowls in total, one for himself and one for Haein.

“They even cut my hourly wage because of this….”

Soo-cheol sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. His already red face was frozen to a bloody red. He must have felt even worse after riding his scooter all the way from town to here in the cold wind.

It was the first time that Soo-cheol had given his heart to someone like this. For some reason, Soo-cheol seemed to really like this man whom he had never seen before. He was obviously a gangster, but he didn’t seem scared.

“But I can digest Jajangmyeon well even if I fast for three days. Is that different for everyone?”

It was last spring. Soo-cheol’s stepfather, who would get drunk whenever he wanted, had locked him up in the house and starved him for three days.

The townspeople felt sorry for Soo-cheol, but they were reluctant to step forward. At first, they helped Soo-cheol without knowing what was going on, but when his stepfather retaliated against them in various ways, at some point, they all turned a blind eye to it.

But Haein had no car to destroy in revenge, no house to bury her garbage in, and at that moment she had no fear.

I also gained strength from hearing that the house where I was staying, owned by my grandfather, was like a sanctuary where even Soo-cheol’s stepfather, the world’s most corrupt man, could not do anything he wanted.

And above all, I couldn’t pretend not to know Soo-cheol because of my old memories of being young and helpless. Even though we only saw each other a few times in passing back then.

Haein, who had been anxious for three days in front of Soo-cheol’s house, finally reported his stepfather to the police station.

Thanks to that, Soo-cheol’s stepfather was already serving a prison sentence. He was already wanted for fraud, assault, and rape.

The very first words that Soo-cheol said after being freed from his chains was,

“Sister. I want to eat Jjajangmyeon.”

That day, Soo-cheol ate two bowls of Jajangmyeon while sitting down. As the saying goes, even though he had poured flour into his stomach after starving for three days, he was still fine.

Haein, who was recalling memories from that time, tried to comfort Soo-cheol with an apologetic expression.

“That guy was badly injured and unconscious, so flour-based food will be even harder for him. When he gets better….”

“Hey, helmet.”

It was then that a man’s voice came through.

Their gazes turned to the room door at the same time. Soo-cheol smiled happily and opened the door that had been shaking in the wind.

Suddenly, the man sat up again and was leaning against the wall, looking over at me.

“Yes?”

Soo-cheol responded cheerfully. The man looked at Haein for a while and then turned his gaze towards Soo-cheol.

“Bring it in.”

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