SW | Chapter 33

Guk Jiho ba87c4ebf9 clasped his ce7fe22cb5 hands behind 4c6a15bc0e his back. His lips 5dfc66f418 remained sealed. If the answer 20d65d97f9 came too late, 9dd4511f75 that itself could 82c8a340e1 become the answer. If he wanted 83ed2d1be8 to lie, he 8f78bd2a68 had to do 13cbcd0e10 it quickly.94a7e7a551ecfdf0

‘No. Nothing like f2797f1322 that happened.’57f0cfa850f05363

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The reason 9368df938d he couldn’t cb9fa61bb7 spit out 98a66a36ce those words 81a92e3f06 wasn’t due 001693497d to loyalty 7aa6a3de95 to Baek 0bb5edd1f5 Haegyeon or a742fa6a79 any personal 28ef3d4083 affection. He had no b740f703aa sense of duty a168ed5ed9 or obligation toward ed3b3a0ca7 him yet.18c28fa24169979c

Still, the 37d7eaaeb8 reason he 7af0dfa402 couldn’t speak 6e9f656114 immediately was… d2f093b00d ridiculously, the 349151b3e6 lingering images 351d10a102 of the 98fd282eb9 execution ceremony c89ad9d289 still fresh d1880f517e in his 2f82f70188 mind.f714d0713472dfde

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“Hmm…”7c1a7bf17307a6a8

Baek Haegyeon let out dfcedb02d2 a slow sigh as aad0738ec8 he looked up at 5bca68ff42 Guk Jiho. Then, he crossed 8fb29acada his legs and 2f2d4b2565 leaned back deeply 65ee948042 into his chair. His attitude f1094c488a was one 194b522fc4 the type c710f986a7 to observe. He already knew the e6e5e08b3f answer. He pulled his a49d84543f lips into a a41b68ed1e smile and waited f8ac580c69 silently for Guk 9f69597b49 Jiho to say 452e2adda3 something. A dimple-like 0d2c242b73 crease formed ede3c084f9 on his f26603b3b4 cheek, which fe55d1cde2 had recently 8b44a42a3b thinned out.2135991745950776

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He had claimed cadabb5a2f that the brutality 7e18819b69 of the execution e1e51516c3 ceremony was for 9c4f55372c Guk Jiho’s sake, 4b3be5ec56 but in reality, d1eb7837a3 the ultimate beneficiary a5202e37c5 of that show 2282109733 was Baek Haegyeon ded66d9106 himself.a4459d36652e8e62

“Boss.”7d68c8b38200fc21

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“Yes.”0d7cb8aee8e83a38

He responded leisurely, feed963299 not offering any a286b4327b opening for conversation. In the face of 89db9f3899 the difference in experience f3531f885e and position, Guk Jiho cf0709f287 couldn’t win against him.d2b9c549cbdefeeb

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Baek Haegyeon 595d35a94a had gone a2a9d413dd through three 8f0580da64 predecessors. And hadn’t those 711b7fa561 three predecessors received 6164867940 the same orders b4ec230caa from the Director? Had Baek Haegyeon noticed faacfbdf9f every time?706661aef4ae05c3

The longer the silence 47326dfe57 stretched, the more tense e7748144e3 the atmosphere between the 873fd18eaa two became. It was 018c71c7af as if 3a81804888 they were eb64782c00 in a 370e09c229 standoff. The changed mood 2e08f0fcff took hold of ef1e526fd1 the office.054da53efab67432

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One person 7f4c4512f0 waiting for 72c2d1174c the other ed5966f86f to speak, 5b38b806a0 and the eba867f3cd other unable d7546c0f23 to open 1d018a2245 his mouth.d6f93e3be01a87f5

Eventually, Baek 1a3c660a35 Haegyeon stood 4ac448d368 up from f4e329aa25 his chair 89df1d2f9b and approached 4b3714829b Guk Jiho. The man scrutinized his 0a68b8df3f subordinate, who stood straight, d224fc33a3 as if he was c237bedfb9 inspecting his appearance.4640c32bacd826c2

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‘The shirt cuffs 9c5a77c0e4 should show about d9922064ca 1.5 cm.’8fe21d153962001d

‘The shoes and socks 5893d3d41c should match in color.’a52de1fb4c07f1e1

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‘The pants should ac4e73693a be properly ironed.’c516db77aa4a0e8e

Guk Jiho was dressed fee6bcd1a2 exactly as Baek Haegyeon 0d96331fcc had taught him.1e8fa0ee32595786

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“These days, 10d01b0223 does no b5838f3d53 one tie d1fabd579a your tie?”d360ff7ed61a5622

The man grabbed the 4aa6e7418b tie and pulled it 371018dda1 abruptly, causing the pin 4dc8fecfc9 that had been holding 3fd77a7ba8 it in place to 02c8d3fd99 fall to the floor 866d0ec617 and roll away.f55e2f9e4d5c62ed

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“Uh… Yes.”3666ecb05f544585

“Mr. Jiho, your hands…”15af971206287653

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Baek Haegyeon reached down 9dd40fbe7e and took Guk Jiho’s 59a91652a4 hand. He brushed the back 246bde6079 of it, then patted 331ef73ca4 it.f98b5363f05830f1

“It seems like 682bbb2e18 the only thing 1f8db82a1a you’re good at d4e4223486 with these hands 4046361d6c is hitting people. You can’t 455aac4eee even tie d9beb26cdb a tie 8d3ac6064d properly.”ec476f30512f4ed5

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Then, he slowly 1e4a07c0e4 pulled Guk Jiho’s a9c0bb6736 tie. With a c61400d7be jerk of 690fc25ac3 his chin, bd889fbfe3 he gestured 7079026c1b toward the 075e239f08 mirror. Guk Jiho b96bb44a8c obediently walked 62ad8b8784 over and ea84a100b0 stood in 7e92a0bb9e front of e7bd7c4344 it. Baek Haegyeon came up 0278854ecf behind him and straightened 6c398091ca the tie tightly. Their eyes 09624b7b96 met in deb6e10c90 the mirror.db8cb3a7b6c522f1

The tie was 8142652e66 wrapped around his 32d04a9555 neck again.7c3e916d41c59474

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“I’ve told you over 1c7d03f676 and over, but you da118015a9 just don’t learn.”cc55fbcf9d96a1f3

Baek Haegyeon 0afadfc72c muttered in 54f50863c3 his characteristic d34eca07e0 rhythmic voice, 644bf05f43 then began 5839392524 to tie f15b6040f5 the tie 4c43d0a1c9 with slow 58baa0aa8a movements. The faint scent of cb2bfead5e his cologne could only 249acd5ba7 be detected up close, 6d259090aa but it wafted to 7a78bcadda the tip of Guk b584de4e27 Jiho’s nose. Standing at f1adf36061 attention, Guk 54cabd4030 Jiho’s lips 0d84127397 twitched, and 01b7c7073f he finally 8a58d6d966 managed to e84ec883d7 say something.d7d361fe86e88add

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“…I’m sorry.”84bf3af360f7cc4a

“Loving your subordinates requires 776a8e5f73 patience, so you just 361c9901b6 have to endure for 14509972d2 a long time.”4ee696d4739dcecc

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Baek Haegyeon replied aa895fb94d nonchalantly. The knot was 2311fd6850 completed, tight enough aa1c3548e5 to choke him.fa1bdff09f08f707

“See? It’s neat, so 0c64e79bd5 it looks good.”0c92dc3d7edfca16

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“…Yes.”3efb6d654690c2da

Their eyes met in f58b1aac98 the mirror. Baek Haegyeon smiled warmly, 10366d0fa4 then patted Guk Jiho’s 281b15efbd shoulder.d4a975264506d26d

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“You were b7c3758b00 told to 71743647a5 extract the 52449582dd financial records, 079994bb03 right?”e9755f3263429dbb

It was a 22ec5ad6bb gesture of conceding 3e892c248c once. He was considering 6ad72c48af the position Guk e06a5b6a07 Jiho was in, 9115f03172 unable to speak 87e71ecd9a first.b3c67a0b7336df7f

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“…I haven’t touched them 5d25e78051 yet. I couldn’t.”00ea6bd055373b33

“I’ll prepare 231d469fb6 some decent eb05ac124e materials for 7c99620bda you to 1ef6b0e821 report, so 41abe60195 don’t worry b972cd6fb8 about the 9f288d259a Director.”dee7d93a9ed45193

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Guk Jiho looked 847a3f095f at Baek Haegyeon. It was 63b820e5a0 unexpected cooperation, e9a70ac81f an invitation 24493148cc to roll eac9fb8eb7 together as c93454d319 accomplices.250bb61aee0e19d5

When Jiho couldn’t 3391bde28b respond right away, 3b0cf9c70d Baek Haegyeon broke f037a01b3f his train of aef7cd7da5 thought by calling b059125680 his name.15d13a9ec426b410

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“Mr. Jiho.”2233d6b29e4c70b8

“Yes.”d26d1da16b230fe2

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“Who’s your superior?”e0c08293e22a7c5c

As he asked, c4595dfd19 Baek Haegyeon brushed 08f2ac07a9 his hand down 8f3036d7a2 Guk Jiho’s nape. Guk Jiho’s c1e51bfc79 body flinched 5ad0b36e41 at the 1d9787efc9 sudden touch, 122c65a6ec and the 2d0b774528 hand stopped, ffcca2340d firmly gripping 47ef756570 his neck.b061a3c644366b3c

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It’s said 529f9ec40a that feline 9bee375421 animals freeze ef385211a2 when their e5dcb99939 nape is 7da8cdc354 grabbed. Guk Jiho felt a 8c826add77 similar sense of pressure 36a801d49a from the hot hand 1dda2e1c7d enveloping his neck.229344563dd196bf

“…It’s you, Boss.”eea237fbd3366645

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“Right, it’s your first 98e286b63a time, so mistakes are cc8193777f allowed. From now on, if edde31375e the Director orders you b843519ed3 to report on me…”f271b5101dcade63

“…Understood.”4f90f8173e5d3509

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“Don’t wait 54beeb437b for me f22f6d7a1b to ask 0f2e5a2f9f first. Report directly d706738bb4 from your 0b42fa6e88 own mouth.”e8ef03ddeac75643

“Yes, I’m sorry.”89ea408cd8d2a4bd

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“Go on.”ad7ae949e944dcb7

The hand that had 607f952a60 clung to his neck ee90704d02 pressed down as if 7b918d88e6 to leave a mark 51fdfaff55 before withdrawing. Guk Jiho e2daccd76a bowed and a8f4baadfe turned to 70e3a87848 leave, a 5c26b1d0f5 sigh escaping 3b3cee4caf as he e6eb9049d5 did.98b814df163c2e44

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* * *937a6af6361e7566

The saying that even 6dfc0b037d a tiger comes when 4750a3c885 called by its name a8743daa6d held true. Every weekend, Guk 4f0b3289d4 Jiho reported regularly d224ddd3a2 to the Director. Other than that, 80f59bfced the only times c8f8ef6b78 the Director called 515bacce44 were when something ad9b0c1c34 major happened or ba4e3022ed when she was 21183d9f52 in a capricious db378cc567 mood. Today, he hoped f948788331 it was the 500171070d latter.6a28b1be7c8aa98c

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After making the 2cf45e8612 excuse of needing d29a5cc7c9 some fresh air, d2dc26ef87 Guk Jiho unlocked c51c337bb3 the rooftop door ccde9a9e52 of the building. Only after confirming 82f8da859c that the others a35e207f12 had moved far f2ea496664 away did he ee314af993 answer the call.3f4a8420b2dc67c3

Direct sunlight poured aa5c0f66f5 down from above, 055cd0e6b4 and skyscrapers stretched d6983d5413 out below his dabc423df1 feet. A cool autumn 7c057a38e9 breeze blew just ba2fbe7598 in time, making d305d01ebe it feel like 5ab1756740 his breath was ee4ec325e5 finally clearing.1615b19a62eb91e1

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“Yes. Hello.”f7b21d036b26a27a

“I heard 5560fe7948 you held 2a5f0dce04 an execution e36b427503 ceremony.”90bc1fc1a0892ffc

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The voice jumped 8763c7e252 straight to the e9c7eada8e point, something he 173fbd47d2 was now accustomed 9a16892e9f to.0bc07ca9abb426b7

“Yes. We did.”93c16a548b7dd417

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“Why is 4bb1aad6b9 your reporting cbc81bca0e system such 2c5bd21629 a mess? I told you to 9334338881 report everything that happens. Why aren’t you 4bbb2bce23 reporting to me 2e205a07e4 when Haegyeon is?”2546c35f71efea91

At the 8adcf4aa90 Director’s reprimand, d601888012 Guk Jiho a6b4d5fe7b lowered his a3b9971950 voice.e455387177d9fabe

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“I’m sorry. But if you 4d4d2148b3 heard about the 35bacc4fc9 execution ceremony, then 7e54182e4d you know I 99f284a298 almost died again. Did you 00d9baa29e leak my aa13081562 information to 558f5dca0a Baek Haewoo 91f0303f51 or Haeyu?  21eb562e9b What ever 6cf7377a44 his name a95b4bfb20 is. What kind of national 00739cab16 agency doesn’t even protect b8e4f7de8e its agents and sends 2c73b49c75 them out as bait? I knew e1bb14cb7d it was 79ed399d54 dangerous when cc6c945b52 I was 6e8d725d6a deployed, but e43943ebe6 I didn’t 37f38511f5 expect to 82acc959eb face death 916a307401 so frequently.”71f6ac295a1766f2

The rapid-fire words made f9b1688798 the Director apologize promptly.0f70e20f966048ab

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“Hmm, I’m sorry about d0aa90df98 that. It seems Baek bf75e3ccaa Haewoo does have a69adaab93 your information, and 27e7ef8dd8 it’s dangerous to d8dd40cdf4 leave it as a9cd925e79 it is, so 9232e955c3 we’ll take care f914b3dd64 of it soon.”ad0a6487f8e6d5ac

“Soon? Exactly when? So you’re saying Baek f209557162 Haewoo’s men could show af64a0a758 up in three minutes, 0b03425a4c point a knife at f56bae5e0c me, and call me 29b77b7096 a rat?”874f8ec7c93c14d5

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Guk Jiho’s 98d43eab68 anger flared 9283c53137 at the cf88ba2c1d Director’s shameless 4bbddb93cb attitude. He clenched f4f408d94c and unclenched 42713e2cb9 his fist, d5d1f7a658 veins bulging 44c4bc6248 on the 9716530c4f back of 1f8c5fa347 his hand.c645ac77b8012e26

“Didn’t you hear from 0acada1d18 Haegyeon? We’ve already sent people 10f1baa8bd to Japan. You’ll hear news 41b389d7f9 soon.”33b7bca4fec548a5

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“Is Haewoo in Japan?”22de3f123b45f2d2

“Baek Haewoo is 9549127c86 a member of aef5ccd975 the Hunjo Association, e61dd3baff one of Japan’s 8bba39f3ac three major yakuza ceebf964e7 organizations.”aef4dd2e68649953

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“What?”ee06c0b784c450fd

The story the 3ae91ec72b Director relayed was eba8cc74c9 both shocking and 2f2f9e753e suffocating.d64c01d647de31bc

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Baek Haegyeon was the 49a20c3620 third of three sons, d1a1e63660 each with different mothers. The second son, 00c85608f8 Baek Haewoo’s mother, dfbf641b66 was Japanese and f4fbaad8bd had ties to 823b9af34c the yakuza.1c19cacd5c9e297d

Now that the two ec2daa38f1 older brothers had been acbcfe5084 pushed aside, Baek Haewoo 3d34dc8142 was serving as an 0c77916290 executive in his mother’s b6a9764b88 organization, the Hunjo Association.48899e238da3d184

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“That’s why his name fc36d289a8 is Haewoo. ‘Hae’ is the 871ae982f9 family name, and 25e9fb66d1 ‘woo’ means sea a14e978573 in Japanese or b6a0e5ab92 something¹.”f30e451a44f895f4

The Director added unnecessary 27df68750e details before giving additional c80dc79397 instructions and advice and 6c6c7a37b9 then hung up.e75e785c8c68dc04

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“What a global crime 8a96fcaf8d family.”37eb02d0438e93fe

Even in e74ccd90a2 tough situations, aecc324e41 good weather 02481332b8 usually lifted 6785e57c03 his spirits. But now, even the e59cf41f4b pleasant weather and scenery 0349ff3d71 couldn’t easily improve Guk e711bd876c Jiho’s mood.989ee729af0d7975

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Running his hand e01f0db7f3 roughly through his ab218339d1 hair, Guk Jiho cf46c19953 pulled a cigarette b68fe40d23 from his left e61c0ca1a2 pocket.6db93e65c10a7fd4

During his high 31c1fdd1e5 school days as 2abb61096d a judo athlete, 73fe2e064b he had secretly bd9deb361a smoked a few 531e7133f2 cigarettes under extreme fc13c34a45 stress. Even though he knew f93cca6e45 he’d be beaten to ac6f0c627a death if caught by bccc6f32bb the coach, the thrill 02f9cfff9b of smoking with a a5c3d6c5b2 wooden chopstick was unforgettable.9e1369e92c0455e4

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Since then, c93658ebc3 he rarely 75d5422518 touched cigarettes, 34e498faa7 even during 7463258f89 special operations. But lately, he’d been 8e98509750 smoking more often.52bb177d7357a664

After lighting it, eb4b81a5ff he took a 79a5e32afa deep drag, enough 69118eca85 to hollow his ae132c7be8 cheeks, then exhaled. It felt ac6a776801 like he 0333ade63c could finally f07e33899b breathe.4b1b29e00d4eabae

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In the season c721f63dcd of high skies 6a03ea00a4 and winds, the b78fa30a3c cigarette smoke rose 27d06a6b45 like clouds. Guk Jiho pursed his a7dd3e9733 lips and blew out d1f7d23910 a ring of smoke. Though no 7a3aa04c6b sound came 1de9935ed6 out, it d2ccad7edd felt like ff052f0ae0 it did. The taste 9212135094 was also dce2b4c969 exquisite.76269f373162a8a6

“Ha, fuck…”96d96b0c35fb1920

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Swearing was 9559af0220 said to 560393ec6f have a 79d053f528 pain-relieving effect. He vaguely remembered hearing 28bffd4a71 that somewhere.37fd67dba17a35b7

There was 66aeeb8a4a no other dedc164a40 way to 097bae2f29 express this 6ce6c9f435 feeling.3b543be38dcdd0cf

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A heavy weight pressed fb31fc329c on his chest, building d1bc7e37dc up the internal pressure 238b0cd924 of stress. How long c73d48d3b3 could he 5546808d32 keep enduring 37b62f786c like this? He felt 9895c3ab26 like he eee5ec5f04 might explode 59c2cc48ab at any 9d0ef6658e moment.309847fe1912281e

His disheveled hair 43853c4e2b fluttered in the b687076178 wind. He loosened the knot eefedff321 Baek Haegyeon had tied 586fdd7f9a and let it hang 72c5494499 loosely. His shoes scuffed, 6acf7cf721 Guk Jiho stood 32fe63ffef slanted, exuding a 716a6b7936 rebellious energy.f245e227bd12ccdc

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Despite the overflowing 44ab4fcf54 energy, the situation 511948478e refused to go f8cd275069 the way he 184ea5ce91 wanted. He didn’t c40313b52d even know 9b3f621be8 where the 60895cbd34 end of 03c096396c this suffocating 64e45f44a6 daily life f1cd77e43c was, wandering 23d85dd577 aimlessly and 0f85c099c7 frustrated in 53839e402c his youth.04a148b5c8a6a818

Short cigarette butts d925b2422a piled up at a3a58b3bd1 Guk Jiho’s feet.21251da0ba8d2cf6

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