A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 90

It felt like a heavy stone had been placed on my chest.

And my feelings for Choi Taejoon were like the grass pressed beneath that stone, flattened one moment, only to rise again as if nothing had happened. Every time, without fail, his face surfaced in my mind.

Thinking about him when I opened and closed my eyes, while eating, or even brushing my teeth was surprising but somewhat understandable.

But when the faces of actors in movies started morphing into his, that was a shock.

“Ugh. Let’s watch something else. Maybe the news?”

But switching to current affairs programs, documentaries, or even the news didn’t help. The moment I saw the words Breaking News or Urgent, my heart would sink. I’d be seized by an irrational fear—What if something happened to Choi Taejoon? The anxiety gnawed at me.

“I can’t even watch this.”

To begin with, my feelings weren’t something that could be weighed down by a mere stone. If anything, they were like ripples growing into waves after a rock was tossed into the middle of a lake.

And all of this was because of him—his thoughtless indifference.

Ever since our day at Daehak-ro, he hadn’t called once.

I tossed my phone aside and let out a long sigh, sinking into the couch. I knocked my head against a cushion a few times before groaning.

Would it be so hard to just call?

And then—almost as if the universe had heard me—the phone rang.

By the time I fumbled through the cushions and found it, the call was nearly about to disconnect.

“Y-yes, hello?”

—”It’s been a while, Woo Kyung.”

But it wasn’t Choi Taejoon.

It was Chief Baek.

Whenever I needed to contact him, I had always used a burner phone he had given me. But that phone had disappeared the day I was kicked out of my house.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to talk on this number.”

—”Don’t hang up. This is important.”

His voice was unusually serious—calm, but with an underlying weight. It was enough to make me swallow dryly as I waited for what he had to say next.

—”We need to meet. There’s something you need to hear.”

“What is it?”

—”I can’t say over the phone.”

“…Is this about Choi Taejoon?”

—”Meet me and you’ll find out. I’m in the tower lobby. I’ll come up.”

“Don’t. He said not to let anyone in.”

—”Then come down.”

“I can’t do that either.”

There was a long pause on the other end.

—”I’m not alone right now.”

Someone was with Chief Baek. I heard the phone being passed to another person.

Then, a raspy voice—hoarse and weary—spoke my name.

—”Woo Kyung… it’s me.”

It was a middle-aged man’s voice, completely unfamiliar.

“Who… who are you?”

—”Have you already forgotten your father’s voice?”

I felt my breath hitch.

“…Hyun Eui-taek?”

Chief Baek had said he was keeping an eye on him. It seemed like they were together now.

This man—the source of all my misfortunes.

If it hadn’t been for his debts, I wouldn’t have been forced into this life. I could have stayed a police officer, supported my younger siblings, gone home after work to enjoy a cold beer in peace.

I said nothing.

The phone was handed back to Chief Baek.

—”We’re coming up.”

“I said no. I was told not to meet anyone, to keep quiet.”

—”Family isn’t ‘just anyone.’”

“No. Unless this is a literal life-or-death situation—”

—”It is.”

“…What?”

—”If you don’t meet us now, your father is going to die.”

“Stop lying.”

—”Fine. Then wait for the news. If you hear about an unidentified body found floating in the Han River, just assume it’s him.”

He wasn’t my real father—no, not in any meaningful way.

But if I disappeared, he would be the only blood relative left for my younger siblings.

Damn it.

Before I could figure out what to do, the intercom buzzed.

—”A visitor is requesting to be let up. Should I send them in?”

A frail, scruffy man entered, his clothes tattered and worn. He grinned as he stepped inside, his yellowed teeth visible. Arms outstretched, he looked ready to pull me into a hug.

I instinctively took a step back.

“Mr. Hyun Eui-taek, as I mentioned, Officer Hyun is suffering from memory loss.”

“Ah…”

His expression twisted into something unreadable. Then, he strode further into the apartment without hesitation, his eyes darting around.

He ran his fingers over the paintings on the wall, the antique decorations, the expensive electronic devices.

“These look pricey. What is all this?”

Something about him made me uneasy.

I could easily imagine him sneaking things into his pocket and selling them later.

“Don’t touch anything. None of this is mine.”

“What, touching it is going to wear it out?”

I should have never let him in.

I had agreed because of the threat to his life, but now I regretted it.

It wasn’t hard to see why he had piled up so much debt—he had no self-awareness, no restraint. Even after making his children suffer, he had likely kept gambling.

Thankfully, Chief Baek intervened, guiding him to the sofa.

“Just sit down and keep quiet. Don’t make a scene.”

“Alright, alright. I get it.”

With an exaggerated sigh, he finally settled down.

But then, Chief Baek walked to the window and let out a whistle.

“Wow, Woo Kyung. This is where you live? The world’s really changed. Even a gangster bastard gets to live in a place like this. Look, you can even see the Han River Bridge. You can see beyond it too.”

“…Just get to the point. Why is his life in danger?”

“Is this place bugged?”

“How would I know? And even if it were, would they tell me?”

For once, Chief Baek was dressed in a sharp suit, looking exactly like the image I had of him before I was possessed. The way he peered at others through those gold-rimmed glasses, his thin lips, and his sarcastic tone—all of it matched perfectly.

“Come with me.”

He led me to the kitchen, turned the faucet on to full blast, and began speaking quickly.

“There’s been a complication.”

There had been complications from the start.

Chief Baek frowned and lowered his voice.

“The enemy has found out there’s a police informant in Choi Taejoon’s inner circle.”

My shoulders stiffened.

“A-an informant? You mean, they found out?”

“Yeah. It seems like it’s been exposed.”

So the moment had finally come. I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to steady myself before asking,

“S-so… how much do they know?”

Is this how I die? If Choi Taejoon knew, what would happen next?

Chief Baek stared at me intently before abruptly changing the subject.

“How are things between you and Choi Taejoon these days?”

“…What?”

“You two seem close. How far have you gone?”

What the hell kind of nonsense—was this really why he came here?

“…You have three minutes.”

I glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and spoke coldly.

“The owner of this house explicitly said not to let anyone in, but you lied about my father dying to get inside. So get to the point. Now that I’ve been exposed, what? Are you here to pull me out?”

Please. Tell me I can stop now.

“That part wasn’t a lie about your father. But quitting? No. If anything, this is when you need to see it through to the end.”

To the end.

Did he mean getting caught, tortured, and dumped into the sea? I scoffed. It was easy for him to say—it wasn’t his life at stake.

“So what, you’re telling me to see it through until I die?”

Chief Baek tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing.

“Not you. Park Ha-hyun.”

The rushing water suddenly sounded distant.

He picked up an apple from the table and tossed it lightly between his hands, watching my reaction.

“You’re not the one who’s going to die. Park Ha-hyun is.”

“…Why?”

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

“Because Choi Taejoon chose you.”

“…Oh.”

“There’s no need for guilt. Anyone caught would have ended up like this, and you knew that from the start.”

What he was really saying was that they were going to hand over Park Ha-hyun to Taeseong and keep me. Because I was the one Choi Taejoon had chosen.

“You just have to stay quiet. Whether Park Ha-hyun lives or dies, keep your mouth shut and don’t do anything stupid.”

“…Is there really no other way?”

If I hadn’t known what happened to people once Taeseong got their hands on them, I wouldn’t have hesitated so much.

But I did know.

I knew exactly how they tortured, tormented, and eventually killed people.

“Unless you want to die in his place.”

That wasn’t an option.

I didn’t want to die.

But I didn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s death either.

“W-what if… we both just live? Can’t that happen?”

“It’s impossible.”

Damn it, Park Ha-hyun. Instead of provoking Choi Taejoon, you should’ve figured out a way to survive.

But even so, I wasn’t going to throw myself onto the chopping block in his place. I had struggled too hard and come too far to die a meaningless death now.

“…Give me time to think.”

“What’s there to think about? What, are you suddenly attached to Park Ha-hyun?”

Attached? Hell no. He pissed me off every time we met.

But just because someone was annoying and got on my nerves didn’t mean they deserved to die. I wasn’t that cruel.

At the same time, I wasn’t an idiot willing to take the fall for him either.

Still, how was I supposed to just nod and say, Sure, go ahead and kill him instead of me?

I searched for something to say, something to stall.

“…He and I went to the same high school. We’re from the same hometown.”

“What?”

Chief Baek’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That bastard was born in Seoul. Then he went straight to the U.S. You’re a Jeju native, aren’t you?”

Bottom of Form

Support A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive