*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
The sound of something hard breaking echoed. It was as if a hammer was smashing through the tough surface of a stone, but that wasn't the case. The horrific truth behind the sound was the process of a human's facial bones being pulverized into dust.
*Crack!*
Each time he raised and swung his fist.
*Rustle.*
The face, unmistakably human, was losing its form.
Jung Hyemin, Lee Suyoung, Mina.
The three stood frozen at the warehouse entrance, unable to approach. Their emotions were similar, yet what Hyemin and Suyoung felt diverged from Mina's experience. The ghastly human forms sprawled around and the men trembling in fear, too terrified to even open their mouths, painted a grim scene.
The longer the girls stood still, the closer Minwoo, pinned beneath him, came to death. Hyemin and Suyoung wanted to scream for him to stop, but the words caught in their throats, stuck as if glued to their tongues. Interfering with his rage might mean their own deaths. They had to wait for Sehwa to calm down a bit.
...But human compassion is remarkably powerful.
As they kept watching Minwoo, their eyes finally turned to Mina with desperate pleas. (Please, stop Sehwa.) Wasn't that why they brought her? But their hopes were in vain Mina stood dazed, staring blankly at the scene, unable to snap out of it.
As a torrent of emotions overwhelmed the two, Sehwa finally stopped his punches. Still straddling Minwoo's body, he looked at the girls and asked, "What are you doing just standing there?"
Normally, they would've been insanely jealous of the person pinned beneath him. But now, such feelings were absent. Being under him meant death. When the two trembled, lips quivering, unable to respond, Sehwa tilted his head and asked again, "Didn't you come looking for me? Oh, is it because of these guys?"
Standing up, Sehwa casually kicked Minwoo, continuing as if it were nothing.
"Don't get the wrong idea. They came at me first, so I had to use my hands. And they had weapons, too."
At his words, the three glanced down at the floor. A metal pipe. A wooden club. Hyemin's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Sehwa. How on earth? Six guys must've rushed him with those weapons and he's unscathed?
The question lingered in her mind, stirring her thoughts. Could she have won in that situation? Even if they were guys, facing them with weapons like that… What kind of life had he lived to end up like this? Her imagination turned to fear, gnawing at her.
Meanwhile, Suyoung trembled with a different kind of fear. The broken boys on the ground, and even the unharmed ones, came from influential families. Minwoo's mother was a prosecutor, no less. Yet Sehwa, who had caused this chaos, seemed utterly unbothered, as if he didn't care about the consequences. That infuriated her. It felt like there was something more behind him. Even if he didn't know who their parents were, no ordinary high schooler could do this to people. It was almost as if—
"Why are you all still standing there? I said I didn't start this," Sehwa said, frowning as if annoyed. He shook his hand once, and blood splattered everywhere.
"It felt like someone put them up to it. Ugh, I should've asked before beating them."
As he spoke, he looked at Minwoo's mangled face with a regretful click of his tongue.
"What… what would you do if you found them?" Hyemin asked cautiously, her teeth chattering.
Sehwa locked eyes with her.
A murderous glint flickered in his golden eyes.
The color she once thought beautiful now sent chills down her spine. It felt as if those wolf-like eyes were narrowing vertically, like a predator's. She could almost see herself being torn apart by a beast's fangs.
After staring silently at Hyemin, Sehwa spoke nonchalantly, "I'd kill them."
The resolute intent in his words made Hyemin and Suyoung bow their heads quickly. Their pale faces screamed guilt, as if they were the culprits. Hiding their expressions, they racked their brains for a way out of this mess. Otherwise, they might die.
At that moment, one of the sitting guys shouted, "L-Lee Suyoung! You're Lee Suyoung, right?!"
"Huh?"
"You told us to do it! Damn it… damn it, because of you…" The guy pointed at Suyoung, sobbing in despair. His cries filled the warehouse. Suyoung, momentarily stunned, frantically waved her hands.
"Sehwa, it's a misunderstanding! I didn't mean—"
Suyoung flailed in panic, but Sehwa approached her slowly, a cold smile on his lips. Blood clung to his hands, and a tattoo peeked out from his slightly unbuttoned collar. He looked like a fox ready to tear out her throat. With each step he took, her heartbeat grew louder. When he finally stood right in front of her, Suyoung shot a resentful glance at Hyemin and closed her eyes.
"I told you… you damn bitch…"
---
__
I thought she had a cute side. Who knew she'd pull something this sly?
"Suyoung."
"…"
Even at my low murmur, Suyoung kept her eyes tightly shut. Did she think that would calm my anger? She looked like a turtle, hiding in its shell, thinking that's enough. I brushed her face with my blood-stained hand, smearing her clean cheek with red.
"Care to explain why?"
"…"
Her lips remained sealed. Sighing, I swiftly grabbed her throat and squeezed. She flailed, smacking my arm.
"Gah! Stop, stop, please!"
When I let go, Suyoung gasped, tears streaming as she continued, "I swear, I didn't mean for it to go this far. I just told them to pick a small fight!"
"Why?"
"It was… Hyemin's request."
Leaving the teary, wronged-looking Suyoung, I turned to Hyemin. She froze, head bowed.
"Reason."
"…I'm sorry…"
"Gah!"
When Hyemin hesitated, I grabbed Suyoung's throat again. Instinctively, she could've fought back, but she didn't. Her bloodshot eyes begged Hyemin to answer, screaming, *Say something if you don't want me to die.*
Finally, Hyemin blurted out, "I… I did it because I like you!"
"Because you like me?"
"…Yes. I planned to start a fight so I could step in and save you… to win your favor. I swear I didn't know it would turn out like this…"
Her face flushed as she stammered out her explanation. I smiled partly pitying, partly annoyed. It didn't seem like she meant harm, but the damage was done. What could be done now? Smirking slightly, I released Suyoung's throat.
"Hyemin, can you put spilled water back in the bucket?"
As I stared at her with murderous eyes, tears began to well up in hers.
"Sob… I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Please… please have mercy, just this once."
Seeing Hyemin tremble like crazy sparked a slight doubt. Getting hit a bit wouldn't kill her. Why were these girls so terrified? Was it because the scene was so gruesome? I glanced around the warehouse. Okay, it was pretty brutal.
*They're so pathetic…*
As I scanned the room indifferently, the girls flinched, likely thinking they'd end up like the others. When I gave them a cold stare, they exchanged a determined look and dropped to their knees with a thud. I frowned, caught off guard.
"What's this?"
"We won't… do it again. Please… spare us."
Who said anything about killing them? A short hospital stay would've been enough, so why were they acting like this? I clicked my tongue, thinking these girls had no pride, begging on their knees like that. It killed the mood. After a brief moment of thought, I held up my palm, showing the deep, red gash across it.
"See this?"
"Gasp! Yes… we see it. Are you saying… we'll end up like that?"
What are they talking about? I'm just asking for hospital bills. Have they watched too many gangster movies? As I furrowed my brow, they glanced at a knife on the floor, giving me the most pitiful looks they could muster. Before I could tell them to stop being dramatic and get up, Mina rushed toward me.
"Sehwa! Your hand… what happened? How did this happen?"
Mina, who'd looked betrayed as if she'd just learned her sweet partner was a psychopath, now wore a worried expression. As she gently held my hand, she growled at the others, "I told you to stop."
"It's fine," I said, then turned to Mina. "Hey, Mina, are these two loaded?"
"…Both come from business families."
"Oh, really?"
As expected. I figured they'd be from influential families to pull something like this, and I hit the jackpot. Smiling, I pulled Mina behind me by her shoulder, then gestured for the girls to stand. When they hesitantly rose, I continued, "I'll give you two options."
I clenched my fist and raised my index and middle fingers.
"First," I said, folding my middle finger, "pay the price."
"Second," I folded my index finger, "we settle this and get along."
It was a reasonable choice. I'd already vented my anger, so beating them further wouldn't gain me anything. Better to get hospital bills and compensation make some money instead. They probably didn't want more trouble either.
"Which one…?" Hyemin asked cautiously.
I held up two fingers. "Both of you, together, this much."
Twenty million won should cover it. And since that kid's mom was a prosecutor…
"Make sure these guys don't sue me."
They groaned, looking troubled, which made my eyes narrow. Because of them, my hand was wrecked, and I half-killed those guys, which could cause me headaches later. And they couldn't even do that?
Sighing, I approached them slowly, muttering, "Got it."
"No, no! It's just… the amount is too much. We only get allowances…"
(Don't want to ask your parents? Then you shouldn't have done this.)
I glared at Suyoung with murderous intent. She lowered her eyes, mumbling, "We'll figure it out…"
Finally hearing what I wanted, I smiled and patted their shoulders, staining their clothes with blood. They trembled, muttering endless "thank you." Mina, watching this, grabbed my arm, clearly displeased.
"…Sehwa, let's go to the hospital first."
Looking down, I saw blood dripping from my hand, pooling on the floor. *It's worse than I thought.* I met Mina's blue eyes, which shook with worry but somehow looked cute. Deciding to handle the urgent matter first, I called out,
"Hyemin, Suyoung."
"Yes…?"
"Clean this up. And why the formal speech? Relax, just relax."
How scared were they to speak so politely? It was both funny and pitiful, so I gave a small smile. Unable to meet my gaze, they bowed their heads almost to the ground. I left them there and walked out of the warehouse, with Mina sticking close by my side. She tilted her head, pouting, which somehow felt playful. Unable to resist, I ruffled her glossy silver hair with my uninjured hand.
"Why are you following me?"
"To take you to the hospital."
"No need for that. It just needs stitches."
"…"
Mina shot me a sharp look. I chuckled, shaking my head at her clear determination.
"Do what you want. Which hospital?"
"A big one. We need the ER. A taxi from here will get us there fast."
"…?"
She sounded like she'd been through this before.
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Translated by Reversalmanhwa.web.id
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