A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 103

The heavy rain had intensified on our way back home. The windshield wipers struggled to keep up, barely managing to clear the sheets of water pounding against the glass.

“…You were planning to keep it a secret from me until the end, weren’t you?”

Choi Taejoon, still focused on the road, gave a slight nod.

“I knew it….”

I leaned back in my seat, mumbling in protest.

“But how long are you going to keep it from everyone else? He can’t just keep pretending to be dead forever.”

“Until things are settled. Besides, Director Kim could use some rest. This actually worked out well.”

“You really care about him, don’t you?”

Choi Taejoon’s eyes flicked toward me.

“Are you jealous?”

“J-jealous? Me? No way.”

“Then why do you sound so sharp?”

“I don’t! I’m perfectly round and soft!”

“What do you mean, care about him?”

“Well… You two have known each other for a long time, worked together for years. Of course, he’s important to you.”

As I spoke, I realized something felt off.

A moment ago, I didn’t mind it, but now… for some reason, it was bothering me.

Sensing my mood, Choi Taejoon tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The corner of his lips twitched ever so slightly before settling back into place.

“I just want to let someone rest after working them to the bone. I didn’t realize you were such a petty, jealous person, Hyun Wookyung.”

“W-who’s petty? That’s not what I meant!”

“And there’s nothing in this world worth caring about. If you lose something, you just find a replacement.”

“…You must have something you want to keep.”

“I don’t.”

“Then what about the things in your study’s safe? You only keep important things in there.”

“That’s not because they’re precious—it’s because other people shouldn’t see them.”

“…What about family?”

“Is family supposed to be important?”

I had no response.

I knew enough about his childhood—especially before he met Vice Chairman Gil—to understand why he would say that.

I thought about the lighter he always carried, the one that had belonged to his father. But after hearing him say is family supposed to be important? I couldn’t bring myself to bring it up.

“…Then what about friends?”

“Wouldn’t know. Never had any.”

“…Money, oxygen, health, happiness, dreams, hope!”

At that point, I just started listing random things out of desperation.

Choi Taejoon, now thoroughly uninterested, didn’t even bother responding.

“…Then what about me? What about Hyun Wookyung?”

The words slipped out before I even realized it.

I clamped my lips shut, stunned at myself.

Trying to cover up my awkwardness, I quickly added,

“A-anyway… I think it’s good that you’re looking after Director Kim. Like you said, he needed the rest. And me? Being jealous of him? That’s ridiculous.”

“If you’re jealous of Kim Sun-oh, just say so. I’ll lock you up at home like him—pretend you’re dead and everything.”

I knew he didn’t mean it, but it was a chilling joke nonetheless.

“L-lock me up? Absolutely not!”

If that were the case, he might as well just kill me for real.

A few months ago, I might have blurted that out without thinking, but now, I swallowed the words and rested my head against the window instead.

That wasn’t an option anymore.

Choi Taejoon had stopped seeing me as someone he would kill. In fact, he now seemed more concerned about keeping even a single strand of my hair from harm.

It was clear—I was never going to die at his hands.

Each morning, I felt relieved that I was still with him, yet by nighttime, I missed my family.

The perfect scenario would be having both—Choi Taejoon by my side and my family as well.

But I knew that was impossible.

Just as I was lost in thought, the sharp ring of an incoming call snapped me back to reality.

It was from Assistant Manager Yoon.

• • “Executive Director!”

His urgent voice blared through the car’s speaker.

• • “The redevelopment association leader just announced he’s going to make a conscience statement! And the residents’ representative is planning a press conference!”

Choi Taejoon had barely opened his mouth before exhaling a short sigh.

It was exactly what we had predicted moments ago.

• • “It looks like Kang Jaewook is deliberately stirring up trouble.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Wait for me.”

After hanging up, Choi Taejoon let out a quiet sigh and muttered,

“Looks like you’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”

“…What?”

“If you get scared, call me.”

It took me a second to understand.

Once I did, I let out an awkward laugh and waved my hands dismissively.

“I’m not a child. I’ll be fine.”

But the relentless downpour and booming thunder made the night feel particularly eerie.

Either way, we needed to wrap this up quickly—only then would Choi Taejoon stop getting dragged out in the middle of the night like this.

“…Executive Director.”

I carefully spoke up.

“Kang Jaewook’s illegal possession of weapons case… He’s still appealing, isn’t he?”

Choi Taejoon gave me a look, as if wondering how I knew that. But then, as if piecing things together, he spoke in a cool, detached tone.

“You want to tie him down so he can’t make a move?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Restrict Kang Jaewook’s movements and, like you said earlier, turn Manager Kwak to our side?”

“Right! If we do that, we can at least put a stop to his rampage for now.”

Now that he was actually listening, I got excited.

“And from what I know, Manager Kwak has a lover.”

His eyes widened at my words.

In the original story, Kang Jaewook’s downfall began when his most trusted subordinate, Manager Kwak, switched sides after his lover was taken hostage.

“How do you even know that?”

Judging from his reaction, Choi Taejoon was already aware of the hidden lover. But since I couldn’t exactly explain how I knew, I hesitated.

He muttered under his breath as if thinking aloud.

“…That kind of information is available in police databases too?”

“Uh….”

The fact that he was so calm about it made it even harder for me to respond.

I could tell exactly what he was thinking—he already suspected everything.

I had been talking so freely just moments ago, but now I was at a loss for words.

Seeing me falter, Choi Taejoon let out a short laugh.

“No point in acting like you’re thinking it over. It’s too late for that.”

“I’m not acting. It’s just… If I really were a cop, wouldn’t you have beaten me to a pulp and dumped me in a barrel to be thrown into the sea?”

“Oh. That? That just means if anyone so much as lays a finger on you, I’ll be the one throwing them into the sea.”

His unexpectedly cheeky response made me laugh in disbelief.

“Anyway, just like they tried to use me to get information on you, why not use me to access what the police know? And I know it’s hard to believe, but I never actually handed anything over to Team Leader Baek.”

Now that my identity had been exposed, I had to say this—I had been waiting for the right moment.

“I swear, I never did anything to harm you or Taeseong Industries. I wouldn’t, and I couldn’t.”

All I had done was get beaten up left and right—I never even had time to be a proper spy.

At first, Team Leader Baek had probably planned to use me for intel, but when he saw how close I was getting to Choi Taejoon, he seemed to give up.

To him, it was enough that I had caught Choi Taejoon’s attention.

“…And I wanted to quit, but they wouldn’t let me go.”

“I’m not so desperate or pathetic that I need to use you for information. I appreciate the thought, but you don’t need to concern yourself with that.”

He paused for a moment, then glanced at me.

“Just focus on picking a travel destination.”

“…A travel destination?”

“When this is over, let’s go. Overseas, domestic—I don’t care. Pick somewhere.”

Thankfully, he seemed to have sorted out his feelings, at least enough to pretend like nothing was wrong in front of me.

And maybe he was right—his network was likely more extensive than the police’s.

But unlike him, I had an advantage—I knew the future.

I just needed to figure out how to use it to help him.

As I was deep in thought, he suddenly spoke.

“…You’re much more important.”

It was so out of nowhere that I blinked at him, confused.

“…Huh? What is?”

“You asked me earlier—if you were important to me.”

His tone was casual, but his words carried weight.

“You’re very important.”

I was stunned into silence.

Now that I saw his expression and heard his tone, I understood why he hadn’t answered immediately before.

Feeling inexplicably warm, I rubbed my earlobe and avoided his gaze.

“So stay by my side. For a long, long time. And don’t overthink things.”

His unexpected confession, delivered in such a matter-of-fact tone, left me at a complete loss for words.

Loud voices echoed down the long hallway, seeping through the closed doors of the conference room.

Choi Taejoon frowned.

His headache was already bad enough, and now the shouts of angry men were only making it worse.

“This is crossing the line!”

He was about to enter the room but hesitated, glancing out the hallway window instead.

The heavy downpour outside was still going strong.

Letting Wookyung go home alone on a night like this didn’t sit well with him.

The conference room arguments continued.

“We can’t just let this go!”

“The Executive Director must have a plan. He wouldn’t just let this slide, right?”

“But everything is too quiet! Just give the order, and we’ll take care of that bastard Kang Jaewook right now.”

Between the outbursts, Assistant Manager Yoon’s voice could be heard trying to calm the others down.

Behind him, Team Leader Seo murmured quietly,

“…These idiots don’t know how the world works.”

The large man, clad in a sharp black suit, stood motionless, staring at the conference room door.

Even to Choi Taejoon, he looked intimidating.

But at the moment, violence was the last thing on his mind.

He had just made a confession, only for Wookyung to not say anything in return.

Wide-eyed, looking completely flustered, he had scrambled out of the car and rushed inside without saying a word.

Now, Choi Taejoon was wondering if he had messed up.

Had he made Wookyung uncomfortable?

Had he said too much?

And to make things worse, he had taken someone so easily scared to Director Kim’s house on a stormy night.

Was Wookyung going to have nightmares because of that?

Maybe he should’ve taken him to the office instead.

As his thoughts drifted back to the noisy conference room, Team Leader Seo finally spoke.

“…Should I just take care of those loudmouths?”

For a moment, Choi Taejoon just stared at him.

It took a second to process what he meant.

Then, realizing, he let out a soft chuckle.

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