A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 23

“What is all this? Huh? Look at that pretty face, completely ruined.”

Kang Jae Wook drew an aluminum bat across my cheek, the cold metal sending a shiver down my spine. My shoulders instinctively hunched from the chill.

“Crying like a baby.”

Of course, I was crying, I was scared out of my mind.

Using the bat as a cane, Kang crouched down, leveling his gaze with mine.

“Listen carefully, alright? Hyun Woo Kyung, you have two choices.”

This sadistic lunatic was enjoying himself way too much. His lips twitched and curved as though he could barely contain his excitement.

“You can be like your friend over there, stubbornly refusing to talk until you die. Or you can confess now and take fewer hits.”

He suddenly raised his eyebrows, as if remembering something.

“Oh, wait. There’s actually a third option. My mistake, there are three choices.”

With that, he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His voice dropped to a menacing whisper.

“Option three: entertain me. Let’s add that to the list.”

“E-entertain you…?”

“That’s right. We didn’t get to finish what we started that night, did we?”

“Oh.”

That’s it. Option three.

If I wanted to survive, that was the way.

I’d do whatever Kang Jae Wook wanted and escape this nightmare. Then, I’d lay low, hide somewhere far away, and quietly wait for my chance to die in peace.

Sure, it sounded like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, but compared to what awaited me right now, that seemed like paradise.

Resolving myself, I grabbed Kang’s wrist, the one holding my chin.

“If you spare me, I’ll do anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything. Just say the word.”

Kang’s grin faltered, his face twisting into a look of displeasure. Using the bat as leverage, he stood up and let out a short, disappointed sigh, staring down at me as I knelt.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“…What?”

With an indifferent expression, Kang spoke lazily.

“Oddly enough, I don’t feel like doing it with someone who’s so eager.”

You bastard.

“What? That’s not fair! You said there were three choices!”

“I just reduced it to two. Pick one—quickly.”

Before I knew it, I was clutching the hem of Kang’s pants. Even as Gwak tried to pry me off, I flailed desperately, shouting.

“You said you’d spare me if I entertained you! You promised!”

At that moment, Kang Jae Wook felt like my last lifeline, and I couldn’t let him go.

Kang let out a soft laugh.

“This is kind of cute.”

“What…?”

“Go on. Beg a little more—make it pathetic and pitiful.”

This lunatic.

“Is this why Choi Taejoon is so obsessed with you? He can’t think straight because of antics like this?”

Apparently intrigued again, Kang crouched down in front of me, a mix of amusement and menace dancing across his face.

His unpredictable nature, his violent streak, and his penchant for cruelty—it all made him impossible to read.

“Alright, let’s hear it. How exactly are you going to entertain me?”

This wasn’t something I could answer lightly. I needed to tailor my response carefully, considering his preferences, his twisted tastes, and what might satisfy him.

“Everything you like. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

“And what is it I like?”

“You know…”

“No, I don’t. Enlighten me.”

“Something… something dirty.”

Kang’s lips curled into a lecherous grin, and the bat in his hand slid slowly downward. With a light thunk, it landed between my legs.

“Like this?”

A chill ran through my entire body. I swallowed hard and nodded frantically.

“Y-yes! Exactly that. That’s what I meant!”

Kang tilted his head, his expression skeptical. Finally, his dubious look melted into a wide grin, his bright red lips stretching as if he’d made up his mind.

“Let’s see how good you are before I decide.”

Without warning, Kang’s hand clamped onto the back of my neck.

“Follow me. Gwak, open the door.”

The stubbornly shut door creaked open with a harsh metallic sound.

A wave of metallic tang and the acrid smell of disinfectant wafted through the opening, assaulting my senses.

Whatever was inside that room, it was clear nothing good would come of stepping through that doorway.

It felt like the kind of place where, once you entered, you’d never walk back out.

“W-wait. What are we doing in there?”

“What do you mean you’ll entertain me?”

His tone was as if asking why I’d even suggest such a thing.

“No, I mean not here—”

“Oh? Not here? So, what, you’d rather do it out in the open where everyone can see? You’re braver and more shameless than I thought.”

“No, that’s not it! I mean… there are places, right? A hotel, or even a motel…”

My only goal was to get out of this warehouse alive, but somehow, I had ended up being dragged further into the nightmare.

The once-locked steel door now shut tight behind us. Inside the warehouse, only Kang Jae Wook and I remained.

I took a step back, retreating instinctively. Despite the heat of midsummer and the lack of air conditioning, the room felt cold, the kind of chill that crept into your bones.

I couldn’t summon the courage to take a good look around the room. I didn’t need to—I already had a good idea of what kind of place this was and what had happened here.

“Calm down, and just hear me out,” I pleaded.

“Go ahead.”

“I don’t even know why I was brought here… shouldn’t I at least know the reason? If I’m going to suffer, I’d like to know why—it would feel a little less unfair that way.”

I was stalling for time, hoping for even the faintest chance to escape.

“Oh, the reason?”

Kang’s expression shifted, a mocking smirk spreading across his face. He clearly thought I was playing dumb to hide something.

Scratching his temple with a finger, he sneered.

“Of course, you wouldn’t know.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“You know, my biggest business is the drug trade, right?”

Uh… was it? I had no idea.

“Well, I changed the location of a deal with one of my clients three times. Each time, the new location was top secret, known only to a select few.”

Kang took another step closer. I pressed my back against the rough brick wall, the cold surface biting through my shirt.

“And yet, the cops showed up. They stormed in like they knew exactly where we’d be.”

This wasn’t my doing. I had no idea what he was talking about. My confusion must have shown, as I stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“I-it wasn’t me! I don’t know anything about that—I swear!”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know. The one who tipped off the cops was…”

Kang shrugged, a wicked grin spreading across his glossy face.

“Me. I reported it to the police.”

“What?”

I shouldn’t have asked. Him admitting that to me only confirmed one thing—he had no intention of letting me leave this place alive.

I clamped my hands over my ears and shook my head furiously.

“I didn’t hear that! I didn’t hear anything!”

“Thanks to me, I got all the money and all the drugs. Genius, aren’t I?”

“Just stop! I’ll pretend I never heard it!”

“All that’s left now is to pin this on someone. I need a scapegoat, someone I can frame as the rat. The more brutally and violently I deal with them, the angrier parties might be pacified.”

“Then you already know I’m not the informant! Why are you doing this to me? Why me?”

I shouted, my voice trembling with rage and desperation. It wasn’t fair—none of it was. I had fought so hard to avoid this fate, yet here I was, about to die at Kang Jae Wook’s hands instead of Choi Taejoon’s, just like in the original story.

“From this moment on, you’re the rat.”

“I’m not!”

Kang’s lips stretched into a wide, cruel smile before he suddenly sobered, his expression turning cold and serious.

“If I say you’re the rat, then you’re the rat.”

“You know I’m not!”

“Lying will only make your nose grow longer.”

With that, Kang grabbed my swollen nose, which had puffed up from all the crying, and yanked it hard. I jerked back in pain, but his gaze had already shifted downward.

“Or should I check if something else grew longer instead?”

“W-wait! There are plenty of other people to frame! Why does it have to be me?”

“Because right now, you’re the most interesting thing to Choi Taejoon. Torturing you is the most fun I can have. If you want to blame someone, blame him—not me.”

No matter how much I tried to avoid it, the end result was the same. I was destined to suffer and die like this.

Would it have been better to just let them beat me to death outside? Perhaps that would have been the more dignified way to go.

Kang’s cold, calloused hand slid over the back of my neck, his touch sending shivers down my spine.

The low hum of his tuneless whistling echoed in my ears like tinnitus. It felt like the confident Hyun Woo Kyung from just minutes ago, the one who believed he could find a way out of this, was already dead.

“Woo Kyung, don’t be so scared. We’ll have some fun, and I’ll make sure you don’t suffer too much when you die. You and that pathetic guy outside can hold hands on your way to the afterlife.”

Don’t suffer too much, he says. As if. He was the kind of man who’d drag it out, toying with me right up until the moment of death. That was the worst possible fate, and I wanted nothing more than to avoid it.

I drew in a sharp breath, trying to steady myself.

If this was how it was going to end—if I couldn’t do anything to change it, and if this was the fate Alcohol Swab’s Hyun Woo Kyung had to endure—then I’d face it. Maybe not with courage, but at least with dignity.

“…So, you’re really going to kill me, huh?”

“It’s a shame, really. Someone as pretty as you should’ve been kept alive. But if you want to place blame, direct it at Choi Taejoon, not me.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Fine. Kill me, then.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve wanted to die for a while now. I’ve been itching for it.”

Kang’s eyes glinted with a mix of curiosity and mockery.

“Oh? Is that so?”

“I’ve been desperate for death. Finally, my chance has come.”

Maybe I had truly let go at this point. I’d tried everything to avoid the worst-case scenario, but if nothing worked, then all that was left was resignation.

A faint, bitter smile spread across my cracked lips.

“Got a knife? Bring it here.”

“Why the hell is this brat suddenly talking down to me?”

“Does it matter? I’m about to die anyway. I’ve got seniority when it comes to dying, so let me talk how I want.”

Kang’s eyes wavered for a moment before he burst into laughter. His amusement was genuine, though it had a tinge of madness.

“You’re something else, Hyun Woo Kyung. I might just fall for you.”

“They say if you slice the carotid artery or the aorta, you’ll bleed out painfully slow. Start with that, won’t you?”

Where was Choi Taejoon right now?

I didn’t know why, but in this moment, his face came to mind. His voice echoed faintly, almost like a hallucination.

— Hyun Woo Kyung!

It was as if he was calling out to me, desperate and urgent, from just beyond the door.

Support