A laugh-filled voice sent shivers down his spine. The faint smell of alcohol and blood churned his stomach. A sudden chill ran through him. He might die here today, he realized.
He didn’t want to die like this. Not out of fear, but out of shame. Even worse was dying at the hands of some faceless thug while watching out for thieves.
“Heh…”
His opponent was bigger, putting him at a disadvantage in close combat. He needed to create some distance, then take him on. But at that moment, unexpectedly, the streetlights flickered on, illuminating the surroundings. As he faced his blood-soaked opponent, his breath caught in his throat.
“…”
A murderous intent emanated from the man’s dark eyes, as black as the night. Unlike Ire, who was struggling with all his might, the man even wore a relaxed smile. But soon the smile vanished from his face. His eyes flicked down, then up, as if confirming something.
“Is this… heaven?”
It couldn’t be. The man added the afterthought and relaxed his arm. Seizing the opportunity, Ire pushed him away and created some distance. The man, pushed back, didn’t attack but slowly scanned Ire from head to toe. Thinking he had bought himself some time, Ire quickly began to explain.
“Believe it or not, I’m not with those guys from earlier. I just took money to keep watch. I have no grudge against you, and I’ll never tell anyone what I saw tonight. No one. So let’s not make things ugly and just split up here. Fighting won’t do either of us any good.”
The man didn’t answer but pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. “Damn it, it’s all wet.” He cursed quietly, then put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a lighter. A moment later, the man exhaled a long stream of smoke and threw the axe in front of Ire.
The blood-stained axe landed on the ground with a thud.
Ire stared down at the tattered pieces of flesh clinging to the axe blade with a hardened expression.
“Pick it up.”
He slowly raised his head and stared at the man. The man pointed at the axe with the hand holding the cigarette.
“If you hit me even once in ten minutes, I’ll let you live.”
What was this crazy, murderous bastard talking about? Part of him felt his pride wounded. How much did he look down on him? He wanted to tell him to forget the axe and fight him hand-to-hand, but this wasn’t the time for pointless bravado. Seeing that he was unharmed even after being ambushed, the man was clearly skilled in combat.
His hesitation didn’t last long. Ire picked up the axe, gripped the handle tightly, and moved his right shoulder back to loosen his stiff muscles. The man, watching, flicked his cigarette to the side and smiled brightly.
“Not a coward, I see. I like that.”
Ire gritted his teeth.
“Shut up. I have no intention of pleasing you.”
Ire kicked off the ground and swung the axe. Someone tall should be slow, but his opponent was faster than anyone he had ever seen.
“I’d rather have a snail than you.”
“Damn it!”
“You make unnecessarily large movements and get excited easily.”
“I told you to shut up!”
The man’s taunting smile made him lose all composure. In a fit of anger, he threw the axe at the man, who simply moved his head slightly to dodge it. He heard the axe hit the ground, and the man clicked his tongue.
“You need to fix your temper.”
As he threw a punch, the man grabbed his arm, turned him around, and struck his face with his elbow. “Ugh,” his head spun from the impact, and his vision blurred. He immediately took a defensive stance. He blocked his face but failed to avoid a blow to his abdomen, which felt like his internal organs were being torn apart.
“Ugh!”
Just as his legs gave way, a foot came flying at him. He quickly dodged by tilting his head back, and the man’s eyes widened slightly. Emboldened, he swung his elbow like the man had done. It missed, but it wasn’t the one-sided beating it had been at first. Or so he thought.
As time passed, he realized with growing certainty that the man was toying with him. Coughing, blood poured from his mouth and nose. He staggered, trying to stay on his feet, but the man casually glanced at his wristwatch and clapped his hands.
“I’ll admit you’re tough. But you went over ten minutes, so what should I do? Should I kill you?”
Ire spat the blood pooling in his mouth onto the ground and took a stance. When he gestured for him to come at him, the man grinned widely. He liked his tenacity. After a moment of consideration, the man put his hand in his pants pocket and rolled his tongue around in his mouth.
“Okay, I’ll let you live. But…”
Ire was curious and nervous about what he would say next.
“Take off your pants.”
What…? He frowned, and the man gestured to his lower body.
“I said, take them off.”
“…”
“Don’t want to?”
“…”
“Just curious if your dick is as pretty as your face.”
“…”
“Is your dick more important than your life? Or maybe, you don’t have one?”
The man raised an eyebrow and seemed genuinely curious as he asked, “Maybe you don’t have one?” Sometimes people mistook him for a girl because of his long hair, but hearing such a thing after fighting him, the man was clearly lacking something.
Ire bit his lower lip and picked up the axe that had fallen beside him. To hell with it, let’s just die here together. He’d rather smash his own head in with the axe and commit suicide than drop his pants and wave his dick in front of a guy like him.
The man, who had been silently watching, gave a sly smile with his blood-soaked face.
“More principled than I thought. You pass.”
“Stop talking and come at me. I still have the strength to deal with the likes of you!”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Shut up and just come at me!”
Just then, the sound of a car was heard from somewhere. It was rare for a vehicle to pass by here at this hour. Headlights appeared in the distance and grew closer. The man turned to look at it. No, he turned his back completely, leaving himself defenseless.
Ire hesitated to attack but soon gave up and ran away. But no matter how far he ran, he didn’t sense anything following him. He abandoned his pride and quickly slipped between the buildings to hide.
Catching his breath, he peered outside. The car that had been approaching came to a stop. It was a luxury vehicle that he wouldn’t normally see here. Had the police from District A, who had heard about the incident, arrived? “Damn it, they’re not going to pin this on me, are they? They should be arresting that bastard.”
He wondered if he should go back and tell them that the man was the culprit, but a man in military uniform got out of the car and gave a polite bow.
…That bastard was a soldier?
Judging from the vehicle and the person who got out, the man seemed to be of quite a high rank. Was that why he could kill people without hesitation? But even if he was from District A, murder wasn’t allowed.
The man looked around, and Ire quickly ducked to hide. Soon after, he heard the sound of the car leaving and belatedly walked out of the building. Drops of blood that Ire had shed were scattered on the ground.
“…”
The man knew he had escaped here but didn’t come after him. He didn’t know if he had spared him on purpose or if he had other intentions, but it wasn’t a good sign. Ire waited for the car to disappear completely, then moved Hairy’s head, which was lying like trash in the corner of the streetlight, to a more visible spot. Then he quietly turned away.
Lieutenant Park, who was driving, glanced at Kim Ha-yoon in the back seat through the rearview mirror. He was frowning and touching his cheek as he wiped the blood from his face with a towel. Lieutenant Park noticed the wound on Kim Ha-yoon’s cheek, and his expression darkened.
“Are you hurt?”
Kim Ha-yoon smiled silently and looked out the window. The scenery of District B, growing more distant, came into view. He had occasionally come outside the district, but this was his first experience like this. Being attacked was one thing, but fighting someone to the point of sweating…
The opponent was agile and strong. He also had a good eye and quickly imitated the moves he made. He was still young and made mistakes, but he was clearly too good to waste in a place like that. And that hair color and those eyes…
“Lieutenant Park.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tomorrow, find someone in District B. He has a striking appearance, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”
“What should I do when I find him?”
“Soothe him gently and bring him here. Don’t hit him.”
“What if he resists?”
“Then beat him half to death and bring him here.”
Kim Ha-yoon thought for a moment, then added an afterthought, as if he had changed his mind.
“No, don’t hit his face.”