A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 78

Me?

That was the first time I had heard such a thing.

So, it wasn’t Choi Taejoon they had meant to kill, it was me.

Why had Choi Taejoon kept this to himself all this time? Why hadn’t he said anything until now?

Looking back, I had been too overwhelmed at the time to question it, but now it struck me as odd. The assassin had known my name.

Choi Taejoon, sensing Director Kim’s flustered state, spoke as if it was nothing of consequence.

“And the assassin’s confession—when he said, ‘Kang Jaewook sent me’—you were the only one who heard it, weren’t you?”

I was just as bewildered as Director Kim, though for different reasons.

Who could have wanted me dead? Someone who knew where my family home in Jeju was and that I would be there. But there was hardly anyone who would have such precise knowledge of my movements…

“So, you’re saying Kang Jaewook hired a hitman and sent him all the way to Jeju just to get rid of Hyun Woo Kyung? There’s nothing to gain from killing him. Would Kang Jaewook really go through all that trouble?”

It seemed Director Kim hadn’t even considered the possibility that I was the real target. Naturally, he had assumed it was Choi Taejoon.

A look of distress spread across Director Kim’s face.

“And the assassin told me, ‘I came to kill Hyun Woo Kyung,’ but told you, ‘I was supposed to kill Choi Taejoon.’ What would he gain from lying like that?”

“I… I don’t know,” Director Kim admitted.

Choi Taejoon’s voice was relaxed, his tone almost conversational, but his eyes gleamed with something sharp and dangerous.

“If the assassin wasn’t lying, then that means one of us is.”

Director Kim went completely silent, not even daring to breathe.

There was no way Choi Taejoon had misheard, and I knew he wasn’t lying. The fact that the assassin had ignored him and gone straight for me proved that Director Kim had to be the one who was lying.

A suffocating silence stretched between us until, at last, Director Kim spoke.

“…This was all my fault.”

He let out a long sigh, then lifted his gaze to meet Choi Taejoon’s.

“The moment the assassin mentioned Kang Jaewook’s name, I believed him without a second thought. I didn’t even consider the possibility that he might be lying. I should have questioned it at least once….”

So he wasn’t lying—he had simply been deceived.

Choi Taejoon’s voice turned cold.

“And so, based on nothing but the assassin’s word, you sent Hyun Woo Kyung to his death?”

“He said he would repay with his life. I simply honored that request.”

“Hyun Woo Kyung, is this true? Did you offer your life in return?”

It was true.

“Yes, I said that. But…”

That wasn’t the nuance I had intended at all. I never meant that I would lay down my life to repay Choi Taejoon for what he suffered. I had simply meant that if I was going to die anyway, I wanted it to be quick and painless.

I reiterated my point.

“I only meant that I felt responsible for what happened.”

“…I see. Then perhaps I misunderstood your words,” Director Kim said.

So in the end, it was all a misunderstanding. He had been tricked, not acting out of malice.

“I told you I wasn’t involved. How many times did I say it? And when I refused, you threatened to make Kim Minsu do it instead….”

“I never said such a thing.”

“What? You did!”

The audacity!

“I did not.”

“So I suppose you also didn’t see me being taken away?”

“No, I did not.”

The way he stood there, lying so boldly and confidently, almost made me question myself.

Choi Taejoon, who had been silently observing, suddenly fixed his gaze on Director Kim.

“Where were you this morning?”

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to the hospital. Unfortunately, my phone was broken, so I couldn’t be reached.”

Choi Taejoon exhaled sharply.

“Just one question. Did you truly believe Hyun Woo Kyung was capable of taking down Kang Jaewook?”

“Yes. I thought it was highly possible.”

“That incompetent fool? He’s unskilled, unprepared, and doesn’t know the first thing about this kind of thing. You thought he could kill Kang Jaewook?”

That was uncalled for. I wasn’t that useless.

“That’s precisely why I thought it could work. Kang Jaewook wouldn’t be on guard against him. If he waited for the right moment, when Jaewook let his guard down, he could strike. And even if killing him proved impossible, I believed he could at least make him suffer as much as you did.”

“…And what if Hyun Woo Kyung had died instead?”

At those words, Director Kim pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze.

“I hadn’t considered that.”

He hadn’t considered it—or he just hadn’t cared.

Choi Taejoon fell silent, lost in thought. Then, finally, he spoke.

“Then shouldn’t you be the one taking responsibility for this disaster, Director Kim?”

He glanced down at his abdomen, wrapped tightly after the second surgery, then turned his gaze to my bruised and battered face.

If the first accident had been caused by me, then this one was entirely the result of Director Kim’s misunderstanding and misjudgment. That was why he had to take responsibility.

“…I will take responsibility.”

“How?”

Director Kim remained silent. Choi Taejoon let out a quiet sigh, as if he had expected that response.

“Hyun Woo Kyung at least showed a willingness to pay with his life. What about you, Director Kim?”

Director Kim’s rough, cracked voice settled into the quiet hospital room.

“…I threw my life away long ago.”

A heavy sigh, filled with resignation and regret, followed his words.

At least this much was true.

In the original novel Alcohol Swab, Director Kim’s loyalty and devotion to Choi Taejoon were almost heartbreaking.

But if memory served, Choi Taejoon had always remained coldly distant. He had only ever valued Director Kim as a useful subordinate, never once engaging in any real emotional exchange.

“Stay out of my sight for a while.”

As expected, Choi Taejoon cut off what was practically a confession of loyalty without hesitation.

Not only did he reject him, but he also drove a nail into the coffin. That statement made it clear—he didn’t trust Director Kim.

“You need time to get your thoughts in order. Consider this a suspension.”

It wasn’t just Director Kim who was taken aback by the sudden order.

“Wait. Hold on a second.”

Just how many things could Choi Taejoon actually handle on his own without Director Kim? If anyone was going to be inconvenienced, it was him. What was the point of this bravado?

I had expected Director Kim to protest, but instead, he accepted it calmly, as if he had anticipated it.

“Yes, sir. Please get some rest.” He then turned to me. “And Hyun Woo Kyung.”

He stared at me for a moment before giving a small nod.

“…Good luck.”

“Oh, um… you too, Director Kim.”

I reflexively bowed my head in return.

I was sure I wasn’t imagining things—his “good luck” had sounded more like a declaration of war. And the way his lips twisted in a smirk at my awkward reply only confirmed it.

I stared blankly at Director Kim’s retreating back before hesitantly speaking.

“Uh… what exactly are you planning? You’re going to be really inconvenienced now.”

With Director Kim gone, the hospital room was eerily quiet. I shuffled back half a step.

“Well, I should get going too—”

“Hyun Woo Kyung. Stay.”

“Stay? Why?”

“That.”

Choi Taejoon pointed at something with his finger.

The bouquet I had brought.

But earlier, he had told me to just leave it and let someone else take care of it.

“Oh.”

Without another word, I pushed aside my mixed feelings and went to find an empty vase. Filling it with water, I unwrapped the bouquet and arranged the flowers inside.

The fresh scent quickly spread throughout the room.

“What’s with the flowers?”

Choi Taejoon’s voice, noticeably softer now, reached my ears as I adjusted the arrangement.

“Oh… I saw them while passing by. They looked nice, smelled good, and were pretty, so I thought I’d bring them.”

Holding the bouquet carefully in both hands, I placed it into the vase.

The florist had trimmed them so that they would look good even with minimal effort, and sure enough, they seemed well-arranged with just a few adjustments. I stepped back, clapped my hands together, and smiled in satisfaction.

“Ta-da! Done. What do you think?”

Choi Taejoon’s expression was less than pleased.

“What? Is it weird? It looks fine to me….”

“…It’s a mess.”

“Huh? A mess?”

I turned back to look at the vase. Sure, I had arranged it haphazardly, but it wasn’t that bad. Was Choi Taejoon secretly some kind of floral arrangement expert?

“Oh… Really? Which part is messy? This? Here? Or this one?”

I started adjusting a few stems, trying to see what was wrong.

“No. Not that.”

“…….”

“Your face.”

“…My face?”

Was he serious?

Did he just call me ugly to my face?

I glared at him, my voice rising in protest.

“You can’t just say that to someone’s face—”

“Come here.”

Ignoring me completely, Choi Taejoon motioned for me to come closer.

“…Why?”

“Just come.”

“…I’m here.”

I stood hesitantly at the foot of his bed, eyeing him warily.

He gestured again.

“Closer.”

“This close…?”

“Closer.”

Step by step, I moved forward until I was standing right in front of him.

And then, before I knew it, I was practically at his nose.

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