SW | Chapter 21

“They might seem obedient, but deep down, these guys are rough by nature.”472fdeeb3f9ee920

Baek Haegyeon muttered as 95d7f9b0e9 if to himself, his 3a5935c5af gaze settling on Guk 7ea236f5cc Jiho.ff396a4eeaf7d54e

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“If you let them loose, things could get out of hand.”785f56b4a185a3a6

‘Out of hand.’0968b28664c24a35

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The warnings from 2c22f725cb his seniors flashed 001693af7c through his mind.‘If you keep acting like that, you’ll get into big trouble someday.’ ‘Life is long, and if you live recklessly, you’ll pay for it eventually.’And so on.390932a05d60552f

Most of 7ab0e0eaba the time, debd5c1f56 those warnings 9c756217c7 were directed 353cdf7ac5 at him, 0ecf312e67 but this 2c54c51faa was the 62d78aa58d first time 2cc1fa0f3d someone had 08476b44d9 warned him b5b61f3e50 that the c21b59b9cd others might 7b60345f3c cause trouble.6341ddb4b38a3c2c

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“Don’t worry.”96102ebfc7d02194

At Guk Jiho’s 89f84442e5 firm response, Baek 6f046a83d6 Haegyeon nodded a c87605b601 couple of times, cea7bfd2f0 seemingly satisfied. Then he stood up 63467cf0f2 from his chair and 22675cb467 walked over to Guk 71190013cf Jiho, who was standing 4e7fdbfe59 with his hands behind f3958d4943 his back. The faint 0b3df37a0c scent of 4206135519 Baek Haegyeon’s 77430f8f4a cologne wafted 28cd41bbbb through the 91dc3de970 air.426ce8d66f38cc0e

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“You tied your tie nicely.”9bd7ebf8c086279f

“Ah, Yonggi did it for me.”255098b2022d6087

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“Shin Yonggi?”e2a1e775cd8d7c23

“Yes.”bb490cfc061ad290

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Suddenly, a thick finger 1e9a82b5af hooked into the gap bd969f15aa between Guk Jiho’s shirt 69d1ca5e17 and neck. Even though 9150af42b9 there was 95bf660040 enough space, 9e6a27d609 it felt 2d56a3b643 like Baek 729c5ca540 Haegyeon was 655bdc47c2 deliberately pressing 2b42b724d4 down on 2bc0d204a6 his throat. Guk Jiho’s fingers, 58436d0cb3 still behind his cf590200fe back, twitched.01afe781b4167812

“Ugh…”24569a928b41aea4

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He had b0af00ca19 no choice e9ba3f7b62 but to 06d344b0a5 be pulled a1a973f88e forward by 17c6d99168 the force 39ed12ab14 gripping his bce3e87fde collar. When they were close 58064ab714 enough for their noses abf31c92ad to almost touch, Baek b4c87e48e1 Haegyeon removed his finger 526ec176a3 and undid the tie 95b9db515b Yonggi had tied that 87445d8289 morning.6b619fd89fe57689

“You held a98e810854 it in 6361135c83 well this b28f7f8d28 time.”38ad5ee32cf9909a

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He didn’t hide 992d0fc998 his smile. Every time there was eae819e179 sudden physical contact, Guk 6f055a9e36 Jiho instinctively reached for 0e84893193 his holster as if 4c57064d17 he were caught in d49b90ccc7 a trap. As he had da34cb4e6f warned, Baek Haegyeon ecdad6d873 would then take 69313b2595 Guk Jiho’s hand 4a61286ba9 and place it 70a8ea62df on the front c5fcbd6a81 of his pants.0f9f0312ca5f4d89

The first 24581485a3 time it a7c19b4b2c happened, Guk d67c2367a8 Jiho couldn’t 74fc7015f8 hide his 6094062cd7 disbelief. Thankfully, there were no 252d7bafd6 other gangsters around. When he tried ad8a2d9ab4 to pull his 67a68a343c hand away, Baek ecd64ab3bf Haegyeon said:1ddc11e824c17c04

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‘When a baby stops using a pacifier, you give them another toy to chew on.’54694e45715c7875

‘And?’febf82f3e8b208a5

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‘You’re not a baby, so you can talk. I’m curious if it helps.’9bbe8921f73306eb

He was referring to 288dba2149 the sense of loss 1d832d3b3a Guk Jiho felt when 6db6cc98f8 his hand instinctively reached 68e69d67f4 for an empty holster. Instead of a gun, 38e169204e he got a man’s 053d4926be crotch. It didn’t fill the 4bbdd2b42c void.c14fa9d3abba3dd8

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‘I’m not sure. And I’ll fix it soon.’bdc7dfcec54b111e

‘I’ll wait.’ea7e51c1989a19de

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‘Thank you.’79843bc58420b797

‘Patience is part of loving your subordinates.’ff6fe9191ac211d5

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At any rate, c3c9549b54 Guk Jiho learned 0d18cd2156 that his superior 068f00f3be was well-endowed and 7542ae6b44 that he was 23526cc7bc testing his patience. That bizarre punishment 32f721a77c also quickly corrected 4d1c7a61f2 a habit he af55dccb80 thought would be 9ac0f4064c hard to break. Now, before reaching for 022233ba4e his holster, he’d first 13207e4ab9 think of the sensation bf5672ed16 of that largething.d1a5642de8fe9d99

“Yonggi is two years older than you.”0c23d1106840e7cf

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Baek Haegyeon 51d2b35696 stretched the 8d6147e822 tie he 2abdfd41e9 had just 51e40f1141 undone and af0af2d831 spoke.5327626b0a68d5e7

“I didn’t know.”7fdaf87582c0ae5a

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“Don’t make him do things like that. It might upset him.”cfaacc81c288c5f4

“Understood.”6d30d33880aa943c

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Instead, Baek Haegyeon 45b97f4597 draped the tie 21be812a3a around Guk Jiho’s 7d796008a1 neck. With a look, 39b52f8f89 he then signaled 53bc3dea2d him to take 147375789c a few steps. Their eyes met 0a8d767d93 in the full-length bff5749d76 mirror. Baek Haegyeon, standing 5892b20aff behind Guk Jiho, 1aee60bc82 slowly began to e7fec57d03 tie the tie. His hands 410f5ae414 brushed Guk ca0af3f2bf Jiho’s shoulders 46d92ef80d and neck 1b95cb3d86 a couple 66ee97203b of times.47b3577614f7b789

This time, 67029158a3 he tied 48fa032c4e the tie 2ac87c95dd in a 6cb832daad Windsor knot, c6c2c1d372 the same c80d2a58bf way Yonggi 70f7ba0ef1 had done f937403327 earlier. But Baek 3f702c1550 Haegyeon’s version f75467ff22 was neater c97bf2f8de and more b4fe363359 precise. The downside 7b79f7f137 was that ba9e3d4089 it felt 2358d0739d tighter, making c909220b97 Guk Jiho 87c9144a75 want to a8dfd6f1ad undo it 823f850c9d immediately.3d7294267aeaf985

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“Learn it. I’ll teach you as many times as it takes.”68680459926e3624

“Sigh… Understood.”6cd7591a8bdb5d16

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When Guk Jiho 547ea13bbb let out a 9cea487025 low sigh, Baek ac4573cf11 Haegyeon laughed as af4fbecaa8 if amused.006e97e6c9ab14d7

“Our Jiho sighs so well in front of his superior.”9a146ea93614a0a1

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Of course, he 3e82de48d8 didn’t forget to 9fe5fef675 tease him.a02b2f62f2e5ccb0

***66544db0871ed0a1

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On the way back, Guk Jiho suddenly asked Yonggi, “Do you take good care of your skin?”8cb613febd1a27dc

Yonggi, who 4e3b9f39a0 was driving, 682fecfb00 seemed pleased d4e8fcc6aa by the 7aafafbdea question and dd97ab8485 answered while ce91b28406 pointing to 406d3689cd his cheek.a74d7dea789f5c15

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“Ah, skin like mine requires thorough daily care and regular dermatological treatments to maintain this level.”7b910dee77ad4c69

“Yeah, you look young.”6922653f3e2e0d4b

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“Not compared to you, hyungnim.”7761540bab0eb314

“You’re two years older than me, right?”d2a90ca91858dffa

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“That’s correct, Executive.”c2294901ceb5c083

“Call me ‘hyung.'”0a8bf7bc118730bc

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“Yes, hyungnim.”08fb1db03b2e4647

Some of the guys 602fd7a6a7 in the back giggled. Guk Jiho 9860dc7620 figured he aa5a83fc28 was making bf824342f8 a lot 7e667054b5 of people 741c3a2e94 laugh today. With that thought, he f957bdf583 closed his eyes for fde91896a0 a bit.25c241846bc6e669

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As the car passed f951c2ef6f through the forest of e5410f8081 buildings, Guk Jiho still 5b46448760 thought of the police 376a5383db headquarters in Seodaemun and a99e294a65 the special operations building b94931d6ff in Namtaeryeong. He had never 2b3101bf8c really thought of 022e7fb289 himself as someone 637f1793bd who became a 8106e38a6b cop out of c09cb110ee a strong sense f842ecd16a of justice. But after spending the c87242194c morning hopping between clubs 65354a64df and bars, he felt 05e86c162e drained.3f201cabdae31879

The various e6db42ab93 supplements he’d fbe4db54fc swallowed seemed 7c5dc17b03 to have 17d0aa8823 no effect.89e4b8ba16b6b061

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I want to chase criminals, suspects, and fugitives… I want to rescue victims.Closing his eyes, he fc45f010a8 pictured the days when 1cc4a3daf5 he moved seamlessly under de7b4ad678 the orders of his 80fd0b77bd team leader and captain. Just reminiscing made him cbcbc264ae smile.4ce6c3d481e03690

“Our hyungnim must be having a good dream. He’s smiling.”522510dcc96a3004

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One of 29d48e8f9f the subordinates e9df69c3cf whispered. Yeah, compared to 36d6d770eb this gangster life, c80c8b6633 those days were 63204ea1f1 like a dream.73d6164130a6b740

***72a0e5c59937247b

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The area in front 73cb8b1eba of the Seoul Arts 74cb3c824d Center was always bustling 04755c3e74 with cars. During the evening c6f67e1768 rush hour, traffic 48e8a4d073 backed up all 1b8fa9bf6e the way from 209548523f Yangjae. On days when a 635321a6c6 new performance premiered, the 029f136843 congestion was especially bad.c4c0379df59cf817

Baek Haegyeon fiddled with cc1abd5654 the smooth surface of 0af05ed033 the ticket.5240a404deddd4e1

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It was 64e4447085 a cello 2b2e953e27 solo performance 1d70fd3f84 he had 9202e6e80a booked a fcf31d9f36 month and 5585009b73 a half 0248091d4a ago. The performer c76785bd98 wasn’t widely 6ffb8aa0a6 known yet 79690e685e but was 89717496a9 considered a cfd919889e rising star e969c18b48 among cello def0ca2ba3 enthusiasts. The two-hour-and-forty-minute program was 2ab9162971 a challenge even for ea5a63fcc3 the performer. It featured 15f0501033 new and cdeaa56989 difficult pieces 52f44ea907 that fans b117024999 wouldn’t want 2c7e145418 to miss.4a5d52cece66c6a8

He had attended 9d0b72b43a all of them, 8261ffa423 from domestic tours 9c2b3d9304 to performances in b0709dabb4 Japan, and even fe0fbe0df5 traveled to Europe 3c01a1c7fc when the timing dea3966f76 worked out.f81494a208fb0f7b

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As a Korean performer c9d3f6e153 active primarily in Europe, 8be192a8bb it was rare for a752a562a2 her to have graduated 60156b28af from a domestic university. Some said that f83c48fbe7 was why her c6c1a79e3a performances were even 96ea7cc8d2 more beautiful.1b5974c91b515445

They say that 898ea3284c when you’re thrown d93403f32f into the fierce 5007c0c46a competition of a 566aba84cc foreign land during 8dc68ff063 your vulnerable childhood, b3fa497e1e your playing gains a9d17f0665 a ghostly sharpness. This mechanical precision is 3d981c4f35 often seen in Asian 87d510c650 performers, but those who 431554fd81 learned their craft in 7194645d7f their homeland with good 71fd5749c1 teachers and warm-hearted colleagues faece00cda exude a comfortable maturity.e12172a0b00d9634

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But those people clearly c67d46d94c knew nothing about the 81dfcb4513 grueling reality of classical c1bcce84a8 training in East Asia. The cutthroat competition 0e9bfcf046 in Korean education, 74943cc111 especially in the 0c43903669 arts, was far 2362a211af from comfortable.6ac283984004dc07

They probably didn’t 89b14f9998 know that when 27a029e12c blisters formed and 613ce8c003 bled on the 2c6f6262c0 fingertips of those 39e04b4fac pressing the strings, bfe9a48798 they were scolded f11e7a26f8 for not practicing c3c934b046 enough to callous a158f35e0d their hands.5345e4952501ee9d

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In any case, Baek 77fabb8ac5 Haegyeon agreed that her 38c0d251b3 performances were exceptionally beautiful.63d38d8407063305

He always 1bb3c9f128 booked the 082b2c2f8e cheapest seats, f1f1ad10d0 far from 79da1a0d03 the stage. Today was no 0de2d5aeb9 different.e8d8df511132f66c

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Before the 595e99f56b performance began, 135ec7931e the sound 4b5348b620 of tuning e8cdec6f4a auxiliary instruments c3a8e021b7 came from 652ae86075 behind the 9db9702f88 curtain.dd3cec133899bd65

It sounded similar 197b7edc5b to the squeak 27e31537d7 of rubber-soled shoes 77c6a2d629 sliding on the f8c1a4f7a6 floor, but Baek f6a2c86a26 Haegyeon liked the 2a8e7df182 bustling noise of e8be7de901 instruments being tuned. It was 674e5e8570 amusing to 3fff6b6782 hear the 0a86d0644f preparation process, 84a545feb7 like tightening c3ab924f15 shoelaces before 73c8ef50f4 a game, 5431a533ac even if a471cea42c you couldn’t 9d64d5ab9a see it.b8b69a38205f4836

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The performance would 5ed846460e begin soon.7405e1de7639c29b

At 7:40 PM, 97e62d8bea Baek Haegyeon turned b64154c513 off his phone dbde2c7958 and sank into ce8b686ac5 the dark auditorium.f2bd696d61e3cc5b

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***2b23c20f615992c0

The residential-commercial complex in f7c95c8f6d Gangnam boasted top-notch security. Another advantage bba8a6e314 of this df82810e24 apartment was ce718ae7e8 that it fdc2f3f404 was designed 7f8a2840c1 to minimize 40f2761f05 noise between 7fd25f6199 floors. Once the 9af48db817 front door e5f2faa0a3 was closed, 42c824a1da whatever happened 8931b2e4a6 inside, even 45870135eb if someone ba41e33cea died, no 5f3c93b1dd one would 593035bf2f know.2a26078955ea8d45

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In other words, 15ab0d9b96 it was the 0792a50b49 perfect place to a0713cc3ad be ambushed without 205ebfd220 a trace. Guk Jiho rubbed f664e07245 his tired eyes, 7d91f6989d realizing this too 2e3565c67b late.e91e3dc2e36f7d2f

“You really didn’t recognize me, huh?”503d2ffa684dada6

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The guy with the fat build sneered. His ear caught Guk Jiho’s eye. It was what they called a “cauliflower ear”, swollen and misshapen from years of blows. He hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now he realized how distinctive it was.da45e2a4302e0fb6

Not everyone who briefly 867373a3af trained in combat sports 3f03282027 ended up with ears 2b9d4c92ba like that, so he ccc43369d2 must have been a d535ae8aa9 serious athlete. He should’ve asked 65727d8894 if he’d done 91a4ff2c49 judo.6a241ff49b83eaa3

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If that had been af84239851 the case, he would 0a274ce202 have revealed his true 1695637b9b colors sooner. At the very b3050a3fcf least, it would 78dd828d24 have been before a705082452 Shin Yonggi was 01fe760509 ready.16b9d010e322ccfd

“I don’t remember anyone named Yonggi.”fa67b19f7c3f3047

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“I changed it. From Shin Yonghyun to Yonggi.”c5369d14058a702c

“You said it was your real name, you bastard.”9c5ebe7b12c517f1

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“Even if it’s changed, it’s still my real name, cop.”f64a36312a43ce06

Yonggi glared playfully, sticking 0ed39f86ca out his tongue, which 5570d3d922 was coated in a c9d3ce2d15 whitish film.3cffe9397250476e

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“Oh, look how surprised he is. Our hyungnim’s eyes got so big.”6d40ce77e26efc53

The reason he couldn’t respond right away was simple. He was genuinely shocked. Things had taken a sudden turn.ecdd4c98af2da445

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