Chapter 189 – Welcome – Part 2

Chapter 189 – Welcome – Part 2

At Woojin’s words that he was going alone, Lee Hyerim reluctantly nodded.

Oh? Yeah…

Then, I’ll be going out.

Lee Hyerim watched Woojin’s back as he turned and headed for the exit.

When Woojin’s figure had completely disappeared, she fixed her gaze on the cake on the table.

Woojin’s favorite strawberry cake.

“He didn’t even eat it all….”

Lee Hyerim muttered, then reached into her bag and pulled out a small piece of paper.

It was her business card, and on the back, there was a handwritten message.

[Hyerim Pass]

She wanted to help Woojin and do something for him, but she couldn’t think of anything good.

No, one idea did come to her.

Since Woojin didn’t want any material gifts, the idea that came to mind was to help him do everything he wanted to try.

[Hyerim Pass]

When she first wrote this by hand with that thought, it felt so cheesy and childish, but now her feelings had changed.

Because it was something meaningful to her.

However, there was something she was a little worried about.

What Woojin’s reaction would be when she gave it to him.

***

Woojin, who had left the coffee shop, was walking casually down the street.

Of course, he wasn’t unaware of the person carefully following him.

When he was with Lee Hyerim at the coffee shop, he had noticed him observing them from outside the window.

Woojin muttered,

“As expected… when dominated by emotions, one’s vision narrows, and they tend to act immediately.”

That’s exactly what Representative Lee Jeongho, or rather, the organism Lee Jeongho, was demonstrating.

An immediate reaction, unable to overcome emotions, creates a vulnerability.

Woojin, who had been walking and slowly nodding his head, soon turned into an alley.

Woojin, who had been navigating the winding alley as if approaching the center of a spiderweb, stopped.

The brightly shining streetlights illuminated Woojin.

“It’s atmospheric.”

He suddenly remembered taking a selfie with Lee Hyerim in a place like this.

‘Hey, smile a little.’

‘Like this?’

‘No, let’s just take the picture.’

Woojin, who had been smiling, reminiscing about old times, opened his mouth as he looked at a dark corner.

“Who are you?”

A man in a hat stepped forward.

“Follow me quietly. If you don’t want to get hurt.”

Just then, thugs in suits appeared from the room, surrounding Woojin.

“Let’s go quietly.”

Woojin looked at them one by one.

They were all unfamiliar faces.

Woojin nodded calmly.

“Alright.”

A slight look of bewilderment appeared in their eyes.

It was because he was not only calm despite being kidnapped, but also not struggling at all.

He literally didn’t ask any questions or argue.

Then a thug approached Woojin.

And he put his hand inside Woojin’s suit.

Woojin felt a momentary prick, as the thug was pointing a knife at him.

“Follow me quietly. Otherwise, you’ll have a hole in your stomach.”

Woojin nodded.

“Let’s go, wherever that is.”

The thug looked at Woojin as if he were crazy, then began to drag Woojin away.

Soon after, they got into a van, and one of the thugs put a black bag over Woojin’s face.

“Where are we going?”

“If you utter another word from now on, it won’t be fun.”

“Yes.”

“Is this bastard crazy…?”

The brows of those surrounding Woojin furrowed.

It was because his tone seemed like he was playing a game.

Did he know what kind of fate awaited him?

But no more words came from Woojin’s mouth.

Just then, the Thug in the passenger seat brought his cellphone to his ear.

“The item is in transit. Yes, understood. I’ll have him ready until you arrive.”

When he hung up the phone, silence filled the car.

Without even the sound of the radio, the car only offered the rumbling of its journey to the destination and the wind noise.

After driving for three hours, the car finally came to a stop.

“Get out.”

Woojin, with the bag over his head, was led by their hands.

The texture felt as he stepped on the ground, and the smell. The temperature, the murkiness and dampness of the air.

That information was constantly filling Woojin’s mind.

Soon, Woojin climbed the stairs, moved a little further, and then stopped.

‘Eighth floor.’

Someone pulled off the bag covering Woojin’s head.

Woojin looked around.

As expected, it was a desolate construction site.

There were five men.

“This is a very old-fashioned way of doing things. But crime can happen anywhere.”

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard? Sit down.”

The Thug gestured to a chair, and Woojin sat there.

Then he approached and met Woojin’s gaze.

“Listen to me carefully.”

“Yes.”

Thug’s brow furrowed.

He’s quick to talk back even in this situation.

“Why did you get involved with Shinhwa Group?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

He sighed lowly through his nose at Woojin’s answer and stepped back.

“Beat him.”

They encircled Woojin.

Immediately, a wooden stick fell on Woojin’s shoulder, and other fists also began to strike Woojin’s face.

Woojin vividly felt those sensations.

More than anything, pain immediately reacts and instructs the brain.

To get away from the pain and escape.

It was a survival instinct to protect himself.

Conversely, it is this pain that makes him fully feel that he is alive.

Woojin did not resist and took their violence directly onto his body.

However, he particularly avoided and protected his left hand.

Because the watch Hyerim had given him a long time ago was on it.

***

One hour later.

Thick blood flowed from Woojin’s mouth as he sat in the chair. There were also traces of blood flowing from his head, and his eyebrow was torn.

His white dress shirt was also soaked in blood.

Perhaps exhausted from being beaten, Woojin couldn’t lift his head.

But he was faintly smiling.

Looking at the watch that Lee Hyerim had given him, which, unlike him, had not a single scratch.

One of the men grabbed Woojin’s head and lifted it up.

“Now you feel like talking, don’t you? It seems like new ideas will just pop into your head, won’t they?”

Woojin forced open his mouth, which was hard to open.

“The reason I… approached Shinhwa Group was…”

Just then, the sound of someone’s shoes was heard.

Soon, Yoon Heechan, who had received direct orders from Lee Jeongho, appeared.

Wearing glasses, he looked utterly ordinary, like a typical office worker.

A wedding ring was also on his left hand, which looked neat and ordinary.

As Yoon Heechan approached, the thugs bowed their heads slightly.

He put one hand in his pocket and fixed his gaze on Woojin.

His eyes, which held Woojin in their gaze, seemed to contain no emotion whatsoever.

And he opened his mouth in a businesslike manner.

“Did he confess?”

At his words, the thug who had been pressuring Woojin spoke up.

“He was just about to speak.”

“Give me your cell phone.”

The subordinate immediately handed his cell phone to Yoon Heechan.

Yoon Heechan captured Woojin’s image with the cell phone.

Click.

Yoon Heechan, who had returned the cell phone to him, said,

“Don’t send it, show it to him directly. And then, break the cell phone.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Woojin raised his head and looked at Yoon Heechan.

“If you just let me go… I won’t tell anyone. So…”

Yoon Heechan, who had been silently watching Woojin, slowly nodded his head.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s in a state to talk, does it?”

Yoon Heechan took off his outer garment.

And he extended his hand to his subordinate, receiving a saw.

The hacksaw was aimed straight at Woojin’s ear.

His expressionless face showed a firm resolve to cut off his ear immediately.

Then he looked at his subordinates.

“What are you doing? Go show him the pictures. Only the youngest stays.”

At the same time, all four bowed their heads and began to leave.

Yoon Heechan, ignoring them, slightly withdrew the saw he had placed on Woojin’s ear.

“Still, I’m someone who respects the other person’s opinion. Would you prefer the ear first? Or a finger?”

***

He got into the car and re-checked the picture of Woojin in tatters.

Just then, he received a call.

“Yes, I’ve answered the call.”

-What happened?

“The situation seems to be concluded. Only Director Yoon is left, and we are returning.”

-Is that so?

“Yes, I’ll see you immediately.”

At that time.

Woojin muttered to Yoon Heechan, who was holding the hacksaw.

“Isn’t that… a bit too much?”

Seeing Woojin’s slight smile, Yoon Heechan put down the hacksaw.

“The kids are in a bad way with their hands. Please understand.”

Woojin tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling, and said,

“Report it.”

Yoon Heechan immediately made a phone call somewhere.

The person on the other end was surprisingly Kim Taehyun.

Yoon Heechan maintained the same calm expression as before,

“Detective Kim Taehyun? This is Yoon Heechan. I called to surrender.”

Confession?

“Mr. Shin Woojin is currently…”

Woojin couldn’t help but smile faintly.

This was because Detective Kim Taehyun’s voice was bellowing from the cellphone Yoon Heechan was holding.

Woojin had already bribed Yoon Heechan in advance.

Representative Lee Jeongho, who had once failed at patricide, had planted his eyes everywhere so that they could watch and monitor each other.

Simply put, Yoon Heechan’s actions in front of his subordinates were a ‘show’.

Bribing Yoon Heechan was easy.

He was a sociopath who only pursued his own calculated self-interest.

He would use any means and methods for his success, feeling no burden on his conscience.

He only calculates and considers his own safety, profit, and loss.

‘Representative Lee Jeongho will target me. And I know that fact and can prepare for it. What will you do? Just think of it as a short visit to prison.’

Yoon Heechan didn’t hesitate much at Woojin’s words.

In reality, Lee Hyerim’s stock within the Shinhwa Group was steadily rising.

There was no need to take a difficult roundabout route.

“Are you alright?”

Yoon Heechan offered Woojin a handkerchief and asked.

Woojin wiped his face roughly with the handkerchief and replied.

“What’s the name of that… squinty-eyed, big guy?”

“Huh? I think you mean Kim Inseok.”

“Kim Inseok… Kim Inseok….”

Woojin opened his mouth, recalling him once more.

“Because I kept hitting the same spot.”

He kept hitting the same spot.

His fist went up instinctively, but he barely managed to hold back.

It felt like an hour had passed.

Woojin!

Detective Kim Taehyun’s voice and Detective Choi Gicheol’s voice echoed loudly from the first floor.

Woojin, who had stood up, looked at various parts of his body.

There were no broken bones or fatal injuries.

His wounds would heal quickly after some time.

This show was a necessary action.

An action to give hope to Representative Lee Jeongho, and then send him to a place where he could no longer squirm like a final struggle.

Mix lies with the truth.

Woojin!

Woojin, who had been looking at the wide-open space, turned around at Kim Taehyun’s voice, which had reached the 8th floor.

Woojin said,

“Have you eaten yet?”

Kim Taehyun and Choi Gicheol’s eyes widened at Woojin’s appearance.

It was Choi Gicheol who moved first.

Choi Gicheol immediately ran towards Yoon Heechan, who was visible.

Yoon Heechan calmly raised one hand as if to stop Choi Gicheol, and spoke in a businesslike tone, as before.

“We’re on the same side.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, you bastard!”

Choi Gicheol’s dropkick landed squarely on Yoon Heechan’s chest.

“Gasp!”