Chapter 97…
Releasing Yeonju’s Grudge.
“What the hell… what the hell are you?”
Jang Sang-soo, his face smeared with blood, asked while holding a knife.
Until just a moment ago, he had felt like Gwak Cheol-seong.
But now, he was acting exactly like the original Woo Soo-han again.
There was no trace of the viciousness Jang Sang-soo had shown before.
He looked shocked, stiff-faced—
but this was the first time he had ever fallen into real panic.
A sudden sense of fear washed over him.
It even felt as though something had been taken away.
“You’ve turned into such a coward for a so-called boss.”
“Who are you! Just tell me who you are already!”
He swung the knife, but it didn’t look threatening at all.
It was more like a desperate last struggle.
“Yeah. You made a little money and thought life was good, huh?”
“Ugh…”
“I asked this friend of mine here for a favor. To settle my grudge by beating you down.”
“T-that’s impossible…”
“Who would’ve thought the little punk who used to get beaten up for stealing potatoes at the market would one day stab me in the back, huh?”
“W-wait… you’re really… Brother Cheol-seong?”
At that moment, Soo-han’s expression turned fierce as he slowly stepped toward Jang Sang-soo.
“Don’t call me brother. You lost that right.”
“Eek!”
Jang clutched the knife with both hands and stumbled backward.
“Aaah!”
When his back hit the wall, realizing there was nowhere to run, he lunged forward instinctively.
Thud!
But Soo-han easily sidestepped and kicked him, making him drop the knife.
“Ugh!”
Before Jang could even groan, Soo-han grabbed him by the collar—
and in that instant, a flash of light sparkled.
Smack!
“Puh!”
A mix of blood and saliva splattered to the side.
Soo-han had slapped him hard while still gripping his collar.
“That mouth of yours is the problem.”
Slap! Smack! Whack! Thud!
Soo-han kept slapping him, again and again, like hammering a nail.
The crisp smacking soon turned into dull thuds.
Jang’s legs gave out, but Soo-han’s tight grip kept him from falling.
“Haa…”
Only one side of Jang’s face was hit, but it had swollen up like a loaf of bread.
When he finally drooped his head, Soo-han released his grip.
Jang’s body collapsed to the floor with a heavy thump.
“Now that’s refreshing.”
Soo-han exhaled deeply, looking satisfied.
Then, light began to flicker around his body.
Memories of Uncle Cheol-seong’s life flashed through my mind.
There wasn’t much to it—
brawls on the streets, fights over bars, drinking with his gang.
There was none of the movie-like “gangster romance.”
Just a thug’s life, plain and simple.
Not exactly fond memories…
except for one thing—
the way he sincerely cared for his men, calling each one a “little brother.”
That part had felt genuine.
So when someone like Jang Sang-soo betrayed him,
it must’ve broken his heart completely.
[Thanks, kid. You helped me settle my grudge.]
“Well… I should thank you too—ugh!”
My palm throbbed like it was about to burst.
When I looked down, blood was seeping between my fingers, the skin raw and red.
No wonder those slaps had sounded so loud.
[Sorry for using your hand so rough.]
“It’s fine. I’m alive, so it’s fine.”
Gwak Cheol-seong’s translucent body started to scatter like mist.
[Guess I’m headed for hell… but I’ll pray for your future, kid.]
“Ah, okay.”
[Good. That’s enough for me.]
Leaving behind those words, Cheol-seong dissolved into glittering light and vanished.
“Ugh…”
My head spun for a moment.
I hurriedly took Jang’s phone from his pocket and called Director Yoo.
Thankfully, I remembered the number—
it’s not like I had many people to call anyway.
[Baeksan Group, Executive Office—]
“Director Yoo!”
[…Soo-han? Is that you, Soo-han?!]
A startled voice came through.
“I’m… at the warehouse… please… help me…”
And with that, I collapsed.
Sleep hit me like a wave.
“Did the old man die too?”
“Damn it… I can’t even hit you right now.”
When I opened my eyes, the old man was standing in front of me.
If he was talking, I must still be alive.
“Thank goodness. You’ve been asleep for two days.”
Director Yoo was standing beside him, relief on his face.
“Two days?! So… what happened?”
“They’ve all been arrested. Though… none of them are in good condition.”
“Huh… it’s self-defense, right?”
Considering it was one versus eleven, including Jang Sang-soo himself—
of course it was.
“The evidence is solid, but you’ll still have to give a statement.”
“A statement?”
“Yes. We’ll need your testimony. The others were… severely beaten.”
“I’m hurt too! My whole body hurts! Especially my palm!”
I made sure to sound as pitiful as possible.
The old man just scowled.
“I should’ve slapped that mouth of yours myself.”
“You can’t! My face is my livelihood!”
“Then why’d you barge in there, idiot!”
“It’s not like I went there willingly!”
The old man shouted at me like I’d done something terrible.
“Why do you accept everything people give you?!”
“It was a fan gift! The kid said she was my fan and looked nice!”
“And you just drank the drink she gave you? It had sleeping pills in it!”
“…”
So that 50,000 won bill she was waving around… that was it, huh.
She lived in the same building, too.
How do I even get revenge for this?
“Are you awake?”
“Huh?”
A detective entered the room—
someone familiar.
“The stingy guy who never bought me soup…”
“…”
It was the same officer from the station where I’d met Mansoo.
“If I bought soup for every petty criminal, do you know how much that’d cost?”
“Still, it tastes better when you eat it there.”
“Excuse me?”
He gave me a look like I was some kind of ex-con.
“Oh, I meant back when I was homeless! There was this kind cop who bought me soup after I peed on the police station wall because I was freezing. Good guy.”
“…Let’s just move on.”
“It’s true, though.”
“Anyway, based on forensic analysis, Mr. Woo Soo-han, it was clearly self-defense.”
Justice prevails!
“But what exactly happened? The forensic team said you had multiple sedatives in your system—
you shouldn’t even have been able to stand.”
“That’s why I slept here for two days.”
“…”
He almost cursed, but the old man’s glare stopped him.
“To be honest, I don’t remember much. I was terrified. They beat me, forced water down my throat, and talked about burning evidence in an incinerator or something. I barely managed to escape and fight back…”
“Wait. Did you say incinerator?”
Now I had to choose my words carefully.
“Yeah. They bragged about burning a lot of things—
said they’d melt me down too, in the same furnace, to erase all evidence.”
“What the hell… keep talking!”
“So I asked, ‘Wouldn’t you get caught for that?’
And they said they’d already beaten another girl to death before—
a trainee named Jo Yeon-ju—
and nothing ever happened to them.”
Well, I was the only witness anyway.
Yeon-ju, this is for you.
I’ll make sure they never walk free again.
The detective eagerly scribbled down everything I said.
Fortunately, Jang Sang-soo and his gang were all arrested.
Not only for my kidnapping and attempted murder,
but they also found human remains matching missing persons linked to Pure Entertainment.
With the incinerator evidence, and what the ghosts had told me,
Jang’s own bragging filled in the rest.
Even the former manager confessed everything once he realized it was over.
They were going down, one by one.
I stayed in the hospital for two more days.
The old man wanted me to stay longer, but hospital food is… still hospital food.
And I was sick of it.
They said I was lucky—
no serious internal injuries, just inflammation from the beatings.
But that’s skill.
I know how to take a beating:
twist your body so the other guy feels like he’s hitting harder,
scream convincingly, and take it where it won’t bruise too much.
Only my palm bone was fractured, though.
Cheol-seong really didn’t hold back.
Can’t even complain to a ghost about it.
After arranging outpatient care, I finally went home.
I stopped at the door for a moment.
“Did she… move on already?”
All this had started just to release Yeon-ju’s grudge.
Now that it was over,
I felt strangely reluctant to go in.
You know that feeling—
when the dog that always greets you at the door isn’t there anymore?
[Mister?]
“Huh? Whoa!”
I jumped.
Yeon-ju’s head popped out through the gate.
[Mister, are you okay? I heard you were badly hurt!]
Then her whole body appeared, eyes glistening with tears.
“Uh… let’s go inside first.”
Seeing that she was still here left me both surprised and relieved.
When I opened the door, Gam-dong came running out.
“Hyung!”
“Didn’t you say you were busy?”
“Come on, how could I not be here when you’re discharged?”
“Oh… I guess that’s true.”
It felt… unfamiliar.
Having someone worry and wait for me.
The old man had worried too, I guess,
but his “worry” came out as endless nagging—
enough to make my ears bleed.
I’d kept thinking, Does this old man’s mouth ever age?
and Poor Director Yoo, how does he stand this every day?
Honestly, that nagging was 30% of the reason I left the hospital early.
“Anyway, thanks for worrying. You too, Yeon-ju.”
“She’s here?”
“Yeah.”
[Why are you thanking me?]
Right. Time to say goodbye to the ghost.
“Yeon-ju, I’ve settled your grudge.”
[Huh?]
“I made sure Jang Sang-soo got locked up. I testified about your case too.”
[Oh…]
“So now you can finally—”
[Thank you.]
“No, really, it’s nothing…”
Yeon-ju’s eyes welled up as she looked at me.
She must’ve suffered so much—
alone, wandering all this time.
[So you got hurt because of me?]
“It’s fine. Nothing serious.”
[Thank you. But please… don’t do dangerous things like that again.]
“Yeah.”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected it to get that serious.
[Really… thank you.]
“Y-Yeon-ju…”
Gam-dong suddenly burst into tears beside me.
They’d gotten close, sharing meals and all.
Partings are always sad—
especially when you’ll never meet again.
[Tell Gam-dong not to cry. I’m okay.]
“She says not to cry, Gam-dong.”
“W-what?”
[I said I’m fine.]
“She’s fine, so don’t cry.”
But Gam-dong couldn’t stop crying, snot and all.
[Oh, come on. Don’t just stand there—get him some tissues.]
“Oh, right.”
I handed Gam-dong a tissue, then looked back at Yeon-ju.
She smiled brightly.
[Then we should throw a discharge party, right?]
…Wait, you’re not leaving?
