A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 80

Even before I reached the front door, the apartment hallway was already filled with the smell of food.

“…You’re home early. Are you making dinner?”

Park Ha-hyun, who had been in the kitchen, peeked out and greeted me with a smile.

“Welcome back. How was the hospital visit? How’s Choi Taejoon doing?”

“Oh… he’s doing much better now.”

Come to think of it, this didn’t look like just a simple dinner. There was a white chocolate cake and even a bouquet on the dining table.

“Park Ha-hyun, is it your birthday today?”

He grinned as if he had expected me to ask.

“It’s your birthday, senior! I was too busy this morning and didn’t get to celebrate properly.”

“…My birthday?”

“September 2nd. That’s today. Ah—wait, it’s burning!”

He rushed back into the kitchen in a flurry.

Both my real birthday and the birthday of Hyun Woo Kyung in this world were on September 2nd.

At this point, wasn’t this beyond coincidence? Not only did we share the same name, but the same birthday, too…? A chill ran down my spine as I rubbed my arms and walked into the kitchen.

“I completely forgot about my birthday….”

“Well, that’s understandable. You’ve had a lot going on lately.”

“How did you even remember?”

“I told you—I don’t forget anything about you.”

Park Ha-hyun gave me a knowing smile and glanced at me. According to him, in this world, he and Hyun Woo Kyung had dated in high school.

“Come on, stop standing there and go wash up! I’m about to start stir-frying the bulgogi.”

“I’ll help. Tell me what to do.”

“Wash up first. You just got back from the hospital.”

At his insistence, I was practically shoved out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

Through the cracked door, I could hear the sizzling sound of meat on the pan and Park Ha-hyun humming a tune as he cooked.

He had taken in an uninvited guest like me, and now he was even celebrating my birthday. I was grateful, but I couldn’t help but wonder—why was he doing all this?

He kept calling me senior, senior, but his behavior was more like an older brother at times, while at other times, he acted like an immature kid.

“Senior, why don’t I hear the water running?”

“O-Oh! I’m washing up now!”

Startled, I hurriedly grabbed my t-shirt and pulled it over my head.

The moment my face emerged from the collar, I locked eyes with my reflection in the mirror.

“…….”

“Want me to show you what real mischief looks like?”

As if triggered by my own thoughts, Choi Taejoon’s voice echoed vividly in my ears.

I could still feel the sensation of his fingers tracing my face, the warmth of his skin against mine, the suffocating tension in the air.

My whole body felt hot.

Had I looked this dumbstruck back then, too?

Shaking my head, I quickly stripped off the rest of my clothes and turned on the shower.

What would have happened if the doctor’s rounds hadn’t interrupted us that day?

I had bolted from the hospital room in a panic, but if I had stayed just a little longer…

Ever since that fight with Kang Jaewook, I had been wandering aimlessly around the hospital.

In this world, the number of people I knew barely filled the fingers on one hand—and even then, most of them were part of the organization.

I tried contacting Minsu, but he wasn’t answering. I even went to the lodging of the Gaenari Crew, only to find it empty.

Now that I thought about it, I vaguely recalled hearing that they frequently changed locations for security reasons.

Should I just pretend nothing happened and go back to Choi Taejoon’s house? He still had a few days left in the hospital—maybe I could stay there until he was discharged….

With nowhere else to go, I decided to head to the tower.

“Outsiders are not allowed entry.”

Unfortunately, the security guard took one look at my disheveled state and refused to let me in. Even when I explained that I lived there and personally knew the owner, it didn’t work.

Thankfully, another guard recognized me.

“I think I’ve seen him with the resident before.”

Thanks to that, I was at least able to go up to the apartment.

— Incorrect password. Please try again.

…What? Did I press the wrong button?

I tried several more times, but the mechanical voice repeated the same message.

At some point, the password had been changed. Even the elevator required a code, meaning I was locked out completely.

“Get him out of here.”

“W-Wait a second!”

And just like that, I was thrown out of the tower.

To make matters worse, all of my belongings had been left in Director Kim’s van.

All I had left was just enough money to cover the fare to the hospital.

With nowhere else to go, I ended up back at the hospital where Choi Taejoon was admitted.

The only thing I could do was spend my days dozing off in the hospital lounge, barely scraping by. If only Choi Taejoon would regain consciousness soon.

Then, out of nowhere, a thought struck me.

Wait—wasn’t Hyun Woo Kyung a cop?

That meant there had to be a salary, some kind of paycheck. But where was all that money going?

If Team Leader Baek hadn’t pocketed it, then years’ worth of wages should have been accumulating somewhere.

As despicable and ruthless as he was, he wasn’t the type to embezzle or commit outright theft—at least, I hoped not. He was still a police officer, after all.

But I had no way to contact him. He had always been the one to call me first, and even then, the number was always restricted.

That left me with one last option—Park Ha-hyun.

The reason I hesitated to reach out was simple. Anything involving Park Ha-hyun always seemed to get unnecessarily complicated.

That guy was like one of those chain-letter curses—always smiling, always friendly, but somehow making every situation more exhausting and unpleasant.

Sure, I was grateful that he had helped my siblings, but with him, luck often disguised itself as misfortune.

Then, a lightbulb went off in my head.

“Oh. Email!”

Team Leader Baek had always told me to check my emails. I had never actually bothered before, but maybe if I sent a message, I could finally get in touch with him.

My mind raced. I bolted to the hospital’s business center and logged into a computer.

Except… I didn’t know what email address Hyun Woo Kyung used as a police officer. Even if I did, I had no clue what his username or password was.

Of course, I wouldn’t. I knew nothing. I should have thought about this sooner. Regret washed over me, but it was too late now.

I stared blankly at the computer screen before deciding to try logging into one of the websites I used in my real world. Just a shot in the dark.

And somehow… it worked.

“…No way.”

Three unread emails.

All from names I didn’t recognize.

The problem was, I needed to enter a password to reply. I tried every combination I could think of, but nothing worked.

I only had ten attempts. After using up nine, I was down to my last chance.

If this didn’t work, my only option would be to ask Park Ha-hyun for help. Ugh. The thought alone made me cringe, but I had no one else to turn to.

“…Screw it. Please let this work.”

I typed in XHD09BF—the name of my group from my original world.

“…Huh?”

The screen flickered.

And then—the emails opened.

Instead of relief, a chill ran down my spine.

There was no way the Hyun Woo Kyung from this world would have known my group name. And there was definitely no way Team Leader Baek or Park Ha-hyun would have known either.

The timing didn’t make sense.

Alcohol Swab was an old novel. My group hadn’t even existed when it was first published.

…Had I just guessed someone’s Wi-Fi password by accident?

Or worse—was this the author’s Wi-Fi password? Had they just slapped the same cryptic code into all their stories without thinking twice?

The emails themselves were a mess—strange numbers, awkwardly structured Korean sentences. None of it made sense.

“…Whatever. I just need to send a reply.”

Shaking off the eerie feeling, I hit reply and typed a brief message:

Please help me. I’m in the hospital lounge on the 8th floor. I don’t have a phone, I can’t contact anyone, and I’m completely out of money.

After sending it, I trudged back to the lounge—my temporary home.

I could only hope that Team Leader Baek would check his email soon.

But when I woke up, it wasn’t Team Leader Baek standing in front of me.

It was Park Ha-hyun.

“Eat up, senior.”

And just like that, I ended up crashing at Park Ha-hyun’s place.

“You made all this?”

He plucked out the candle from the cake and grinned.

“I didn’t make everything—just a few things. The rest was delivery.”

Japchae, bulgogi, seaweed soup, assorted side dishes, and freshly cooked rice. Delivery or not, it was clear he had put in a lot of effort.

“Thanks. Seriously. This looks amazing.”

I scooped up some rice with my chopsticks and took a bite. The japchae had the perfect balance of flavors, the bulgogi had a subtle smoky aroma, and the tonkatsu was fried to crispy perfection. Everything was exactly to my taste.

“Good, right?”

“Yeah. It’s really good. But… how did you know I like tonkatsu?”

“I know everything about you, senior.”

“Ha… Don’t say that. It’s kind of creepy.”

But instead of laughing it off, Park Ha-hyun’s expression grew serious.

“You know what’s actually scary?”

“…What?”

Something about his tone made me uneasy.

This time, I had a feeling he was about to drop something big.

“I know all of your embarrassing past mistakes, too.”

“…My what?”

Memories I didn’t know about?

Well, technically, it wasn’t my past, it was Hyun Woo Kyung’s past from Alcohol Swab.

Support A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive