Lee Taeseong gazed down at Wang Doki, who was kneeling on the cold floor. For someone who was supposedly the boss of an gang, he certainly had a keen sense of self-preservation.
Rather than becoming the leader through raw strength or charisma, it seemed more likely that he had clawed his way up using his knack for survival.
“……”
“Heh… He has nothing to do with us, so feel free to take him.”
As Taeseong remained silent and simply stared, Wang Doki, feeling the growing tension, hurriedly continued.
“Ah, do you need money? Drugs? Or perhaps women…?”
Without answering, Taeseong lifted the unconscious Yeo Gilsoo onto his shoulder and walked out of the container.
That was when something else caught his eye—a container different from the others, wrapped in layers of iron chains. A faint sound emanated from within.
A regular person wouldn’t have noticed, but Taeseong’s hearing was sharp enough to pick up the slightest noise.
Placing Yeo Gilsoo on the ground, he walked toward the chained container.
Seeing this, Wang Doki finally realized what was happening and shouted frantically.
“W-wait! You can’t go in there!”
Of course, Taeseong had no reason to listen. He tore the iron chains apart with his bare hands and pushed open the container door.
Inside, people of all ages and ethnicities were huddled together—teenagers, the elderly, men, and women alike.
But they all shared one thing in common: lifeless eyes.
Even when the door opened, none of them reacted.
Most of them were skeletal, as if they hadn’t eaten in days, and their ragged clothes were barely hanging onto their bodies. Shackles bound their hands and feet.
“……”
Human trafficking.
Or perhaps they were being used as drug mules.
Taeseong turned around.
Behind Wang Doki, more gang members emerged from the shadows, their expressions twisted with malice.
“I told you not to open it, didn’t I?! You just had to make things complicated!”
Some of them were even armed with guns.
‘Is that why they look so confident?’
Taeseong let out a short chuckle.
It was ridiculous how quickly their attitude changed just because they were holding guns.
“Oh? You’re laughing? Even now? You think I won’t shoot? Huh?! You have no idea how much I went through to get here! I spent twenty damn years in this business!”
So much for being perceptive.
If he had just begged for his life, maybe Taeseong would have spared him.
But it was too late now.
“Haa…”
Letting out a sigh, Taeseong decided to offer them one final mercy.
Since, to them, he must have seemed like an apocalyptic force, he figured he might as well give them a warning.
“If there’s anyone here who didn’t know what was happening in that container, raise your hand.”
“What the hell is this idiot babbling about? Quit messing around and just shoot him.”
“So, you all knew? No, wait. Maybe you’re just too scared to admit it in this situation. Alright. If anyone here wants to live, drop your weapons and run. This is your final warning.”
Two gang members exchanged nervous glances before abruptly tossing their weapons aside and sprinting away.
They knew they could be punished later, but their instincts screamed at them to escape now.
Clicking his tongue, Wang Doki sneered.
“Those idiots! You two are next, you hear me?! Just sit tight and wait for your turn!”
One of his underlings asked hesitantly.
“Boss… Should I really shoot? If I put a bullet in his head, will you make it worth my while?”
“Who do you think I am? I’m Wang Doki! Have you ever seen me go back on my word? Just pull the damn trigger. I’ll handle the aftermath. I know the chief at Incheon PD. Don’t worry about a thing.”
His subordinate nodded and pulled the trigger.
“Yes, sir! I trust you!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets struck Taeseong’s body.
And vanished.
The entire gang froze, their faces twisted in disbelief.
The bullets hadn’t left a single mark on Taeseong.
“Haa…”
Taeseong exhaled deeply, as if utterly fed up.
Then, he swept his hand from left to right.
Slice!
An invisible blade followed the motion of his hand.
“What the hell? Is that all? After all that talk, all you’re doing is waving your hand in the air? Hahaha! How old is this guy, still acting like a damn kid?”
“Shit, I got scared for nothing. What a joke.”
The Wang Doki gang members stood there dumbfounded—until a second later, when clean, precise lines appeared across their necks.
One by one, heads tumbled to the ground as blood sprayed into the air.
Among them was Wang Doki himself.
Just like that, the most notorious gang in Incheon was wiped out by a single man.
Taeseong surveyed the bloodied corpses before taking out his phone.
― “This is 112. What’s your emergency?”
After briefly explaining the situation and his location, he ended the call.
Then, lifting Yeo Gilsoo onto his shoulder once more, he walked to his car.
Twenty minutes after Taeseong left, the police finally arrived.
Staring at the carnage before them, they were speechless.
Some officers couldn’t hold back their nausea and vomited right there.
Even a veteran detective with over fifteen years on the force had never seen anything like this.
“Hey! If you’re gonna puke, do it somewhere else! Not at the crime scene!”
“Boss, aren’t these the Wang Doki guys?”
“Yeah. And there’s Wang Doki himself… or at least his head.”
“Who the hell did this?”
“No idea. But whoever it was… they’re like a goddamn ghost. Every single body here was cut.”
“You’re telling me someone did all this with just a blade?”
“I said I don’t know, damn it.”
Not long after, a black car pulled up nearby.
Several men in sharp black suits stepped out.
“Hey, this is a crime scene. You can’t be here.”
“Step back.”
The man in the lead handed over a business card.
“Tree.”
“……”
“What is it, sir?”
“Pack it up.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I said, pack it up.”
Yeo Gilsoo opened his eyes.
As soon as he did, the first thing that entered his vision was a man.
“Are you awake?”
It was that lunatic who had come to the chicken shop earlier.
‘Shit. Why is that bastard here?’
Yeo Gilsoo retraced his memories.
‘That guy definitely mentioned that prosecutor couple’s name. Then he brought up Ilseong Group… Damn it, Wang Doki, that son of a bitch!’
It was only then that he remembered Wang Doki hitting him on the back of the head. Yeo Gilsoo’s mind started working rapidly.
First, he needed to assess the current situation. Where was this place? Why had that guy brought him here? What did he want from him?
‘It’s too dark to make out clearly. Is this some kind of factory? Whatever the case, he must have deliberately kidnapped me. The only fortunate thing is that my hands and feet are intact. He must be confident in his own strength, which is why he left me unrestrained.’
He continued piecing things together.
‘Is he the son of that prosecutor couple? He must have come for revenge… Damn it. What should I say? Should I just keep denying everything?’
Lee Taeseong stared at him intently and spoke.
“I can hear your brain working from here.”
“…What do you want from me?”
“I’m going to ask you a few questions. If you answer truthfully, at the very least, you won’t die painfully. But… if you lie, I’ll make sure you beg for death.”
“A-Alright.”
It was too dark to see clearly, but Taeseong’s red glowing eyes stood out, eerily distinct.
Even someone like Yeo Gilsoo, who had been through all sorts of hardships, could tell this man was no ordinary person.
However, the weight on the other side of the scale was simply too overwhelming.
“Did you kill Lee Wangbok and Kim Yeongja?”
Yeo Gilsoo lowered his head and murmured in a voice full of remorse.
“…Yes. I’m truly sorry. I should have been more careful… I was so exhausted from work that I ended up causing such a terrible accident. I truly, truly apologize. I have no face to show their family. I should have gone to see them and apologized first, but circumstances didn’t allow it.”
His eyes caught sight of something in Taeseong’s hand—a doll.
‘What the hell? A doll? Shit, why does it only have a head? What kind of lunatic brings a doll here?’
A grown man holding nothing but a doll’s head—it was an eerie sight.
‘Huh? Wait a second. Did its nose just get longer? …Am I seeing things?’
Taeseong glanced at the Pinocchio doll in his hand before reaching out and grabbing Yeo Gilsoo’s right hand.
“…W-What are you doing?”
“Do you have a family?”
Tears trickled down from Yeo Gilsoo’s eyes.
“Yes. I have an elderly mother with dementia and a young daughter. I run the chicken shop to support them. As a human being, I should have visited the grieving family and apologized first… but I was struggling just to get by. I didn’t have the means. I’m truly sorry.”
His tone carried genuine sorrow.
But Taeseong wasn’t looking at him.
He was looking at the Pinocchio doll in his hand.
Sliiiiide—
Sure enough, the nose grew even longer.
Seeing that, Taeseong’s lips curled upward.
“How nostalgic.”
“What?”
The moment Taeseong tightened his grip on Yeo Gilsoo’s fingers, his bones shattered, turning into something soft and jelly-like.
“AAAAAAARGH!”
