By Zephyria 
Gangsan rubbed his darkly bruised cheekbone and blinked his eyes. Kim Ha-yoon had held a knife to his throat and threatened him, so he had no choice but to open the door, but after that, he fainted and couldn’t remember what happened.
“You’re a man, how can you be so scared of something like that? You should have held out to the end.”
At Gilsu’s nagging, Gangsan looked around cautiously and pouted. Easier said than done. The blue blade looked like it would pierce his throat, how could he have held out?
“Don’t do that. He’s still young.”
“Young? We went through worse at that age.”
“Is he the same as us?”
When Jang-cheon joined in to take his side, Gilsu shook his head. Even though he spoke gruffly, he brought out the cream he had hidden in the corner. It was a cream for bruises and wounds, and it was quite effective.
Gangsan received the cream, opened the lid, smelled it, and immediately gagged. It smelled worse than rotten corpse. When he asked what it was, Gilsu glared at him. In the end, he reluctantly took a dab of cream and applied it to his face.
Unlike the foul smell, it felt cool as he applied it.
“It’s cool. What’s it made of?”
“Herbs and dog poop.”
Gangsan frowned at the word “dog poop,” and Jang-cheon told him not to.
“Why are you teasing him? Stop it.”
Gangsan handed the ointment he had finished applying to Jang-cheon. Hyung, apply it too. He also had bruises on his face and body from fighting with Kim Ha-yoon. But Jang-cheon refused outright. A man should get used to this kind of pain, he said, but he would rather die than admit it was because of the smell.
Then, as if by appointment, the four of them looked up at the upper floor. Ten minutes had passed since Kim Ha-yoon and Ire disappeared, and it was quiet. Kim Ha-yoon’s spirit seemed to have been broken, whether it was because he had been shot or because of what Ire had said, and he went upstairs willingly.
Gilsu rubbed his chin with a suspicious expression.
“What did that mean?”
“What?”
“Kiss. Why did that word suddenly come out there? Wasn’t it like a lover complaining to an ex?”
Jang-cheon and Baek Seol were silent for about three seconds before waving their hands and saying, “No way.” No matter how pretty Ire looked, it couldn’t be. But Gangsan thought differently. He clearly remembered how Kim Ha-yoon had treated him when he came to district b with Ire.
“He did that before. He glared at me like that.”
Gangsan glared and imitated Kim Ha-yoon. The three who were listening shifted their gaze back to the upper floor with a “no way” feeling.
“They’re not up there kissing… are they?”
Gilsu pretended to gag as he imagined it, and Jang-cheon and Gangsan’s faces darkened as well. Only Baek Seol was the exception. Kim Ha-yoon was said to be the successor of district a, so if he could be used well, it might be helpful to us, he thought.
As soon as he heard that, Gilsu began to laugh.
“You saw it earlier. That’s not the innocent Young Master you’re thinking of. He’s a monster.”
“That’s right. Have you forgotten whose hands our colleagues died in?”
Even when Jang-cheon stepped in, Baek Seol did not back down.
“Still, you never know, so I’ll go take a look. You never know what might happen.”
Kim Ha-yoon looked down at his handcuffed hands. It was called a handcuff, but it was made by connecting scrap metal from somewhere. He touched his ear with his hands tied, and felt pain. Even as he frowned, Ire in front of him only looked at him with cold eyes.
“Do you regret not blowing my head off?”
“You should have stayed put. Why did you crawl out and make a fuss?”
Kim Ha-yoon smiled crookedly. Crawl out and make a fuss?
“You have terrible manners for someone talking to a person who was once your superior.”
“Adults should act like adults to be treated with respect. Think about why the saying ‘If you can’t act your age, you should die’ exists.”
A line appeared on Kim Ha-yoon’s forehead at the mention of age.
“Did you go somewhere and practice saying harsh things?”
“I’ve always been like this. I put up with it because Captain gave me too much, and I shut my mouth even though I was disgusted.”
“What were you so disgusted by?”
“Everything. From Captain deceiving me to flirting with me, kissing, sex, everything.”
The smile disappeared from Kim Ha-yoon’s face at the endless stream of words. Shit. If he had a cigarette at times like this, he would feel relieved. The guy who had returned after almost two years was stabbing a knife into people’s hearts every time he spoke.
He couldn’t complain because of what he had done, but he couldn’t help but feel pain every time he was stabbed. Then he heard someone approaching and Baek Seol appeared. She handed a small container through the iron bars.
“Boss, this. It’s good to apply to wounds.”
After handing it over, Baek Seol giggled and quickly disappeared. Why is she doing that? He looked at her suspiciously before returning to his seat and throwing the container on the table.
“Apply it.”
Kim Ha-yoon didn’t even touch the container and only stared at Ire persistently.
“Where were you for two days? You didn’t go to negotiate alone, did you?”
“…….”
Ire kept his mouth shut. On the way, he saw the military moving. He had abandoned Kim Ha-yoon’s car tens of kilometers away, but he wasn’t relieved. Once the heavy rain stopped and the helicopter and drone search began, it might only be a matter of time before they invaded this place.
“What are your demands? Let’s hear them.”
“I’m going to talk to Captain’s father.”
Kim Ha-yoon crossed his arms and kept his mouth shut. But before long, he revealed the truth.
“That old man is unconscious. People think it’s just a simple illness, but the doctor says the chances are slim. I’m acting as the Supreme Chairman’s proxy, so you can tell me. Do you know what that means?”
Ire’s face gradually distorted as he listened. Even as he said that his father was on the verge of death, his face was very calm. When he asked why he was only saying it now, Kim Ha-yoon smiled.
“If I had said it, would your treatment of me be different?”
“…….”
“There are soldiers outside looking for me, right?”
When he didn’t deny it, Kim Ha-yoon continued.
“Don’t worry. Besides the car I was in, there’s another car with a tracking device heading south. They’ll be too busy chasing after that. Do you think I wouldn’t have anticipated this situation? I knew you were after me, and that I could die if I came here. But I still came. To see you.”
Ire glared at him.
“I know you’re trying to use my body.”
Kim Ha-yoon smiled slyly.
“I’m still attracted to your body. To be more honest, I want to kiss you, and I want to have sex too. Of course, you’re disgusted by an old bastard like me doing this.”
Ire glared at him as if he wanted to kill him. He didn’t want to know if he was serious, and he wasn’t curious. However, he thought it was true that he had risked his life. If not, he would have killed them all when he was first captured. Just like he had slaughtered Hairy and his gang.
“Will you tell me now? What do you want by using me as a hostage?”
Ire, who had been silent, took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. Kim Ha-yoon’s eyes gradually widened. He was not only leaning back in his chair, but also leaning forward.
“Where did you get that?”
If he wasn’t mistaken, what was in front of him was gold ore. There was a time when gold prices soared like crazy after the virus spread and the value of currency plummeted. Since then, the situation had been resolved and the economy had recovered, but gold was still recognized as the best real asset.
“I’ll tell you the location of this, so give us a share.”
Ha-yoon smiled with an interesting expression.
“You found it, so we should do the mining?”
He nodded obediently. After all, they didn’t have the ability or equipment to mine the gold mine. Moreover, it was difficult to move around without being noticed because of the location. Then Kim Ha-yoon tilted his head.
“Is this naive, or stupid? You should hide it so that no one knows. Why are you telling me everything?”
Ire was silent, and Kim Ha-yoon waited without pressing him further.
“Actually, there was something strange there besides gold.”
When he asked what it was, he shook his head, saying he didn’t know exactly. A hint of fear flashed in his blue-gray eyes for a moment. What had made him afraid? He suddenly wondered.
“Okay, let’s say it’s real gold. What are the other conditions?”
“There’s an abandoned power plant in district d.”
Kim Ha-yoon knew the place too. In the past, the electricity produced there was used by the entire city center. The power plant closed down as the virus spread, and now it only exuded an eerie energy as if ghosts would come out.
“Please provide support from district a so that we can restore it. As you know, we don’t have anyone who can handle it on our side. And….”
Ire, who was hesitating, brought up a story that was hard to believe.
“We want independence from district a.”
At this point, he understood. What Ire wanted. Why he had settled in this abandoned land. He wanted to create a new city here, and at the end of it was probably a longing for his family. He felt ridiculously twisted when he thought that only he was excluded from his life.
Kim Ha-yoon stared at the gold ore before finally opening his mouth.
“But is it real?”
He nodded. When he said that he had already entrusted it to an expert for verification, Kim Ha-yoon raised his eyebrows.
“Besides gold. I’m talking about your promiscuous sex life.”
“…….”
“I heard you’re too busy rolling around messily.”
Ah…. Ire cursed Gilsu inwardly. That damn bastard had spread rumors everywhere, so everyone misunderstood that he was a playboy. Even recently, he had gone to another organization and had a difficult time when they suddenly brought a woman into his bed.
When he didn’t answer, Kim Ha-yoon’s eyes became more and more fierce.
“Shit, is it true?”