A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 123

“You, Choi Taejoon. I created everything about you.”

“Your hair color, your eye color, your birthday, your personality, even the way you talk—there’s nothing about you that wasn’t crafted by me.”

Park Ha Hyun’s face twisted, his rage bubbling over into every trembling muscle.

“And yet, you have the audacity to tell me that Hyun Wookyung is just Wookyung?”

His voice cracked, breath coming out ragged. His frustration contorted his face into something ugly.

“How… How dare you say that to me?”

If Taejoon hadn’t experienced <Terminal>, he wouldn’t have believed a single word of this.

But he had.

And he had considered, more than once, the terrifying possibility that his world was no different from <Terminal>—that everything he knew was just another story.

A bitter, hazy smile spread across his face.

“…So that’s all this is?”

“What?”

Ha Hyun’s voice dripped with irritation.

Taejoon exhaled slowly, his palm swiping the blood from his neck as if he found it all tedious.

Rather than feeling suffocated by the weight of this revelation—

It was almost liberating.

“Then that means you don’t want anything from me, does it?”

He asked so casually it was almost ridiculous.

Ha Hyun’s brow furrowed.

“What are you saying? Didn’t you hear me? This is <Alcohol Swab>, and I wrote this story—”

<Alcohol Swab>…

The words echoed in his mind.

Taejoon’s lips twitched, amusement flickering behind his exhausted gaze.

Ha Hyun’s grip on his gun tightened.

“I am the original author of <Alcohol Swab>!”

“Good for you.”

The moment those flat, disinterested words left Taejoon’s mouth, Ha Hyun’s concentration wavered.

It was slight—just a shift in focus.

But that was all Taejoon needed.

In that split-second opening, he lunged.

Ha Hyun’s gun fired.

The bullet whizzed past, grazing Wookyung’s temple.

Then—another shot.

This one aimed directly at Wookyung’s chest.

But before it could reach its mark—

Taejoon’s fist slammed into Ha Hyun’s jaw.

The force of the blow sent Ha Hyun crashing to the ground.

Another shot rang out as he fell—

The bullet ricocheting off the walls.

There was no time to check if Wookyung was hit.

Because at that moment, Ha Hyun, now on his back, snarled—

“Choi Taejoon—DIE!”

He fired.

Once. Twice.

Three. Four.

Gunfire erupted in rapid succession.

The bullets slammed into Taejoon’s body.

The impact sent him stumbling.

Ha Hyun, still on the floor, used the momentum to kick the precariously balanced drum barrel over the edge.

“It’s over!”

“No!”

Taejoon lunged forward.

“Wookyung!”

His arm shot out—

And he caught the barrel just in time.

His fingers burned from the strain, muscles trembling with effort.

His heart pounded against his ribs—

Or was that just the force of the gunshots he had taken?

His mind spiraled, dread pooling in his gut.

What if Wookyung is already dead?

What if I was too late?

His body refused to listen to those thoughts.

With every ounce of remaining strength, Taejoon hauled the barrel back to safety.

He nearly collapsed as he dragged himself over to check inside.

Behind him, Ha Hyun let out a hoarse, wheezing laugh.

“Haha… Now both of you… Choi Taejoon, Hyun Wookyung… You’re both dead, right?”

It should be over.

Taejoon should be riddled with bullets, dying.

Wookyung should be gone, having fallen to his death.

And yet—

“Why… Why aren’t you dead?”

The horror in Ha Hyun’s voice was almost pitiful.

“Are you… still alive?”

Through the torn, bloodied fabric of Taejoon’s shirt—

A sliver of black material was visible.

A bulletproof vest.

The one Wookyung had insisted he wear that morning.

Ha Hyun’s hand trembled as he lifted his gun again—

But no matter how many times he pulled the trigger—

Click.

Click.

The gun was empty.

A cold sweat broke across his forehead.

In desperation, his fingers fumbled for Taejoon’s gun, which he had tucked into his waistband earlier.

But before he could lift it—

Taejoon was already on top of him.

A blur of motion—

The gun was wrenched from his grasp.

And then—

A dark, polished barrel pressed against Ha Hyun’s forehead.

“Die, Park Ha Hyun.”

Taejoon’s voice was deathly calm.

“No—wait! Wait! Choi Taejoon, listen to me—”

Ha Hyun’s bloodied hands shoved against Taejoon’s shoulder, panic clawing at his voice.

“You can’t kill me! If I die—everything ends!”

The words came out frantic, desperate.

“If the creator dies, the world dies with him! This place—it was designed that way! If I disappear—then so does this world!”

His breath hitched, eyes widening in manic terror.

“You and Wookyung—won’t exist anywhere!”

Taejoon’s gaze remained unwavering.

“You’re saying… you wrote the script?”

“What?”

For a moment, Ha Hyun was caught off guard.

Taejoon’s voice was low, rough, laced with something unreadable.

His eyes—

Bloodshot. Furious.

But his expression was eerily blank.

Like something inside him had already been decided.

“You, Choi Taejoon… I created everything about you.”

“Your hair color, your eye color, your birthday, your personality, even the way you talk—there’s nothing about you that wasn’t crafted by me.”

Park Ha Hyun’s voice trembled with growing frustration, his face twisting with barely contained rage.

“And yet—you have the audacity to tell me that Hyun Wookyung is just Wookyung?”

His breath hitched, the sheer indignation making his body shake.

“How… How dare you say that to me?!”

Taejoon’s grip on his gun didn’t waver.

“Did you write <Terminal>, too?”

Ha Hyun’s expression flickered with surprise.

“Ah… That thing in Wookyung’s bag?”

Recognition dawned in his eyes.

A slow, eerie smile spread across his lips.

“Wait… Don’t tell me—you went there?”

His pupils dilated as if he had just uncovered the final missing piece of a puzzle.

“You—you transmigrated too, didn’t you?”

Taejoon’s face remained unreadable.

“I asked if you wrote it.”

Ha Hyun let out a breathy laugh, his entire body trembling in amusement.

“Ha! Now everything makes sense. That explains why our dear Executive Director Choi didn’t lose his mind the moment he saw me.

And why Wookyung is still alive when he should have been at the bottom of the sea ages ago.

And why you—”

He grinned, eyes glinting with twisted excitement.

“Why you’re so desperately obsessed with Wookyung.”

There was something deeply wrong about the way Ha Hyun spoke.

It was still his voice.

Still his face.

But the way he moved, the way his words slithered through the air—

It felt like a completely different person had taken over his body.

It was repulsive.

Sickening.

Taejoon wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

Ha Hyun tilted his head, as if savoring the moment.

“So, then… You understand what I’m saying now, don’t you?

Good. That makes this easier.

Taejoon-ah, listen carefully—you can’t kill me.”

His voice dropped into a near whisper, smooth as silk.

“Because if I die, everything disappears.”

The smile that stretched across his lips was eerily serene.

“I had fun, you know?”

His tone softened into something almost nostalgic.

“At first, it was fun.

I thought—‘Oh, great. At least this time, I don’t have to suffer at Choi Taejoon’s hands.’

I figured I could just watch from afar.

Taejoon is beautiful. Wookyung is beautiful.

And they’re both mine—so I thought it was fine as long as I cherished them from a distance.

But then…”

His smile faded.

“It got boring.”

Silence settled between them.

Then—

Ha Hyun’s hands shot forward, latching onto Taejoon’s wrist.

“Let’s just reset everything.”

His fingers squeezed, nails digging into Taejoon’s skin.

“We’ll start over from the beginning.

This time, you’ll treat me better instead of wasting your time with Wookyung.”

Taejoon barely heard him.

His mind was already moving to the next question.

“<Terminal>. Did you write it?”

Ha Hyun blinked.

Then—

He burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! Oh, now that’s interesting.

Did you seriously read that and not figure it out?”

His grin widened.

“Yeah, that was me. I wrote it.”

Taejoon let out a breath.

Something inside him clicked into place.

Ha Hyun was still rambling, oblivious to the shift in Taejoon’s demeanor.

“This world is mine.

If you want to keep living here, then listen carefully.

You cannot kill me.

If you do, this entire world collapses.

Everything vanishes.”

His voice dipped into a whisper.

“You and Wookyung—won’t exist anywhere.”

Taejoon’s gaze sharpened.

“You wrote it?”

Ha Hyun hesitated.

Taejoon inhaled deeply.

Then—

A cold, mirthless smile stretched across his lips.

“If this world is yours…”

The weight of the gun in his hand felt heavier than ever.

He turned, his gaze flickering to the drum barrel where Wookyung lay unconscious.

Then—

His eyes slowly returned to Ha Hyun.

A spark of something unreadable passed through Taejoon’s bloodshot gaze.

A decision had been made.

“Then this world doesn’t need to exist.”

Ha Hyun paled.

“What—what are you doing?”

Taejoon lifted the gun—

And pointed it at his own temple.

“Wait—stop!”

Ha Hyun’s voice cracked with panic.

Taejoon let out a quiet chuckle.

“You’re right, Ha Hyun.

This could all be a lie.

Or maybe it’s the truth.”

A pause.

“But if what you’re saying is true…”

His grip on the trigger tightened.

“Then I’d rather destroy it myself.”

Ha Hyun’s face contorted in sheer terror.

“NO—WAIT!”

Taejoon didn’t hesitate.

With unwavering resolve—

He turned the gun.

Pressed it against Ha Hyun’s forehead.

And pulled the trigger.

Ha Hyun’s face twisted in shock.

A single gunshot rang out.

His body slumped, expression frozen in sheer disbelief.

His lips parted as if he wanted to say something—

But no sound came.

Then—

He crumpled.

The life drained from his eyes.

His body collapsed onto the floor.

For a long moment, Taejoon simply stood there, staring at the corpse.

He exhaled heavily.

A deep, slow breath.

Then—

His gaze flickered toward his own hand.

He felt the weight of the gun.

It was heavy.

Almost unbearable.

His fingers trembled, not from fear—

But from the sheer finality of it.

A breath shuddered through him.

Then—

The gun slipped from his grasp.

It hit the floor with a dull thud.

His vision blurred.

His knees nearly buckled.

Ignoring the searing pain radiating from his wounds, Taejoon stumbled forward.

Toward Wookyung.