By Zephyria 
Tae-hwon grabbed the bars and shook them. The bars, locked with a thick padlock, rattled loudly. He wanted to open it immediately and help the horribly disfigured Han-seon, but there was no way for Tae-hwon to open it.
“D-do you have the key to this, this door?”
He asked urgently, but the fallen Han-seon was groaning, trembling as if he didn’t have the mind to answer. He seemed almost half-crazed. He kept begging into the air.
“I-I’m sorry. Young, Young Master Rae-i. Heueugh, I was wro-wrong.”
“Teacher, Teacher. No, what on earth happened…”
The distraught Tae-hwon contorted his face. He couldn’t understand what had happened. Why was Han-seon in such a state, and why was he begging Kwon Rae-i?
‘Wait. Could it be.’
At that moment, his brain quickly spun and came up with the right answer. Tae-hwon instinctively stood up and stepped back. Almost at the same time, a new face appeared at the entrance. Leading a string of burly henchmen.
“Yippee, what a catch! We, we really caught a shark!”
Clap, clap, clap! The face of the man who came in clapping loudly was immediately recognizable.
Hazelnut-colored curly hair and light brown eyes. A large mouth that opened easily. A friendly, affable appearance and snake-like eyes were the same as they were 10 years ago.
Of course, he had grown taller and more mature than Tae-hwon remembered, but his innate characteristics remained unchanged.
“Young Master Kwon Hyeon-oh, is it?”
Yes. It was Kwon Hyeon-oh.
Chairman Kwon Jung-il’s second young master. He had found Woo Tae-hwon. The situation was clear at a glance. Kwon Hyeon-oh had tortured Han-seon and forced him to confess even the most intimate secrets.
“Oh, Han-seon. I thought you were just spouting nonsense. Who would have believed that Rae-i and Woo Tae-hwon were really in cahoots like this? Hehehehe!”
Wearing a white suit, he stepped over Han-seon with his boots and came into the entrance. He kept clapping and giggling as he looked at Tae-hwon standing in front of the bars. He was almost laughing out loud. Tae-hwon watched him, freezing like an ice cube.
‘Shit. I’m screwed.’
He had been discovered.
He had finally been exposed.
And right in front of him like this. In a situation where there was nowhere to run.
Tae-hwon slowly stepped back. This house was barred everywhere. Tae-hwon, no different from a rat in a trap, couldn’t go anywhere and would eventually be caught.
‘Why now, of all times? Why now?’
Tae-hwon clenched his teeth tightly.
He thought he was ready to throw away his life at any time and pay for his sins. He had no reason to continue a life stained with blood, a life of nothing but pain that had never been warm for a single moment. He believed that he could end it now, and that he could accept it whenever that time came. Woo Tae-hwon had always been standing alone, untouched and empty.
But not now.
He couldn’t do that now.
Woo Tae-hwon had gained an unconditional ally and the only person he could lean on and rely on. He had someone he had shared his heart with and promised a future together. If Tae-hwon were to be caught and die like this, leaving him behind, then…
What should he do?
He hadn’t been able to repay Kwon Rae-i for anything yet.
He hadn’t been able to give him any answer, then or now.
But if Woo Tae-hwon were to be caught and killed like this, it would be a tragedy beyond death. Tae-hwon couldn’t leave Kwon Rae-i alone. He didn’t want to commit such a cruel act.
“Hey, what are you doing? Open it.”
“Yes, boss.”
Following Kwon Hyeon-oh’s instructions, the burly thugs who had rushed in after him swarmed towards the bars. They each had tools like crowbars and sledgehammers in their hands, and one of them even had a cutter. It seemed they had been told in advance that the bars were locked.
While they were cutting the chain with the cutter, the remaining guys pressured Tae-hwon by banging on the bars with their blunt tools.
“Woo Tae-hwon! We’ve got you, you bastard!”
“That traitor! I heard his right arm is fucked up?”
“I heard his head is broken too, and he’s become a spaced-out idiot.”
So that’s it. Han-seon had confessed everything…
Well, judging by his wretched state, he could roughly guess how much he had been tortured. And Tae-hwon would soon be subjected to the same torture. No, it would definitely be worse. That’s what it meant to execute a traitor to the organization.
‘They’ll beat him so badly that he’ll look like a lump of meat instead of a human being, and they’ll record the last moments of his dying breath and preserve it as a video.’
Tae-hwon retreated further, facing the imposing figures. This was his only chance to act. Trapped behind bars, he had to make a final stand. Despite the dire situation, Tae-hwon had no intention of succumbing helplessly.
He turned abruptly and headed for the kitchen. First, he needed a weapon. Without hesitation, he flung open a cabinet door and grabbed a kitchen knife with his left hand. He took a ragged breath, tensing his forearm.
‘My right arm isn’t hindering me too much.’
Though still in recovery, he could now perform everyday movements well enough. He figured he could exert some force for a short time. It wouldn’t move as powerfully as before the tendon rupture, but it wouldn’t be a hindrance.
Besides, he couldn’t afford to worry about injuries right now. Even if the tendon broke again, surviving was the priority. No matter how many punks came at him with tools, Woo Tae-hwon had to survive.
Tae-hwon assumed a defensive stance in the narrow pantry, crouching low. He intended to stab anyone who came close. At the same time, a loud cracking sound echoed from the front door. The lock broke, the bars were torn away, and angry men stormed into the house with muddy feet.
“Catch him now!”
“He went that way! After him!”
“Where’s Kwon Rae-i? Where’s that rat hiding?”
Fortunately, some of the men scattered. Three went upstairs to search, and three entered the kitchen to capture Woo Tae-hwon. One carried a crowbar, another a heavy sledgehammer, and the third was empty-handed. The one with the sledgehammer charged first, eager to be the one to capture Woo Tae-hwon.
As the man rushed within striking distance, swinging the hammer handle, Tae-hwon didn’t flinch. He watched the movement until the perfect moment, then slammed the pantry door shut, blocking the hammer with the door.
Bang!
The wooden door splintered, and the hammerhead became lodged in the plywood. As the man struggled to pull the hammer free, his eyes blazing, Tae-hwon pushed the door open and reached for his throat. The sharp blade plunged straight into his vital spot.
Screech. The man gasped as the knife sliced his neck. Blood dripped.
“Guh, damn it, that bastard, ugh!”
“Hey, get out of the way, you’re in the way!”
The man with the crowbar intervened, swinging the pointed end at Tae-hwon’s head. Tae-hwon pulled the door back to block the attack and slashed with the knife, narrowly grazing his arm. The third man, who had followed close behind, threw a punch at Tae-hwon.
Tae-hwon quickly retreated, but he couldn’t evade the next attack. The hard crowbar struck his shoulder hard.
“Kuh!”
Tae-hwon winced, enduring the pain from the heavy blow. He tried to close the pantry door again, but it was too late. The man who had abandoned the hammer in the door aimed a punch at Tae-hwon’s head. Tae-hwon slashed with the knife and retreated further into the pantry, using the shelves for cover, waiting for an opening.
The passage was narrow, allowing only one enemy to enter at a time.
“Woo Tae-hwon!”
“Get out here!”
The men smashed and kicked the shelves that blocked their way. Canned goods and food supplies tumbled down, and a flour sack burst open. The rising dust obscured their vision.
His heart raced wildly. The wall was behind him now. There was nowhere left to hide, nowhere to run.