Chapter 1
Haa—
Haa—
A man and a woman crashed through dense undergrowth, gasping for breath. Their entire bodies were scratched and torn. Then the woman, running until her lungs felt like they would burst, snagged her foot on the bushes and fell.
“Ah—!”
“Baby, hurry! If they catch us here, we’re both dead!”
The man hauled her up, and they forced themselves to run again. Bursting out toward a river blanketed in mist, they climbed into a boat they’d prepared in advance.
“There! Get them!”
“Hey! Stop right there!”
As a group of men in black suits came charging after them, the woman began to tremble violently in fear.
Even as the men closed in, she refused to give up, pulling the cord with all her strength.
Vrooom— vroom—
As the engine roared to life, someone pulled out a gun.
“Shoot!”
Bang—!
The bullet struck the man’s leg, but he widened his eyes and kept the engine running.
Moments later, rough spray exploded into the air as the boat tore across the river at full speed.
“B-baby… blood… you’re bleeding….”
The woman sobbed as she pressed down on his wounded leg. The man gently stroked her hair, soothing her.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry.”
“Can we really escape?”
“Of course. Just trust me.”
“Yeah… I’d rather die after living even one day with the person I love than keep living with that bastard.”
The man nodded.
Though the violent current soaked their bodies, it could not wash away their love.
Thus, an unprecedented incident occurred.
JM Capital—ranked first among second-tier financial companies in the country—claimed to be a respectable firm. But like many loan companies, its origins lay in organized crime. And now, the chairman’s mistress had run away with a low-ranking gang member.
The men who failed to catch them stared ahead in sheer terror.
“We’re finished.”
Someone collapsed to the ground, all strength gone. Everyone shared the same expression.
Failing to capture the fugitives meant only one thing—
They might be killed by CEO Kang Seok-woo.
Somewhere in Gangnam, inside a gym.
Thud—!
Thud—!
Even while facing a massive opponent nearly two meters tall and well over 100 kilograms, the man did not give an inch.
As he snapped his arm forward, his muscles rippled powerfully. His clenched fist slammed squarely into his opponent’s jaw.
Crack—!
The opponent staggered. Even with protective gear on, the blow was devastating.
If this sparring match had been real combat, that single punch might have left the man unable to stand again.
JM Capital’s CEO—Kang Seok-woo.
Sweat poured from him with every punch. His face was beautiful enough to seem sculpted by an artist, yet his muscles were hard as stone and his movements as swift as a tiger’s. Judging by appearances alone, he looked like someone far removed from violence.
But in the underworld, he stood at the very top.
His foul mood bled clearly into the sparring session. The chilling atmosphere felt like a scene straight out of a thriller movie.
Watching him, his subordinate Joo-heon felt his fingertips tremble. A cold shiver ran down his spine.
A man rushed over and whispered a report into Joo-heon’s ear. As he listened, Joo-heon’s face drained of all color.
“…I understand.”
Crack—!
Thud—!
With Seok-woo’s final blow, the opponent collapsed backward. As expected, Seok-woo won.
Tossing aside his boxing gloves, Seok-woo looked at Joo-heon as if demanding an answer. His voice was deep and heavy enough to make limbs tremble.
“The results.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You think it’s acceptable to manage the men this poorly?”
“I-I’ll take responsibility—”
Just a few words, and Joo-heon’s legs nearly gave out.
Seok-woo was a man who never forgave failure.
“Lead the way. I’m going.”
“Y-you mean personally?”
“Get things ready.”
“…Yes. Yes, sir.”
Seok-woo peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt. As his back was revealed, the black tiger tattoo etched into his skin seemed to writhe, as if alive. Once again, the men prostrated themselves.
After changing into a clean shirt, Seok-woo strode ahead. The men trailing behind him looked half-dead with fear.
Clack. Clack.
As they descended into the company’s basement, men could be seen hanging in midair.
Already beaten into bloody pulp, they groaned in agony. They were the members who had failed to catch Pil-mo—the low-ranker who’d fled with the chairman’s mistress. Those closest to Pil-mo were nearly at death’s door.
Those accused of helping him trembled in terror at Seok-woo’s arrival.
“Please spare us! Sir, really—! We had no idea he’d do something like that—!”
Seok-woo merely looked at them silently. One man suddenly wet himself.
Until yesterday, they had been Seok-woo’s men.
Not anymore.
Unable to watch any longer, Joo-heon spoke.
“Say anything you know. That’s the only way you live.”
“I—I really don’t know!”
“Anything at all.”
“He wasn’t the talkative type… ah—right! He said his younger sibling ran a business.”
“Younger sibling?”
“I don’t know which market, but somewhere in Seoul… said they ran a snack shop in a market.”
Step. Step.
The sound of approaching shoes felt like the footsteps of the Grim Reaper.
Reading the room, Joo-heon pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Seok-woo. Seok-woo lit it, took a deep drag, and blew smoke into the face of the hanging man.
The man choked, gasping in sheer terror.
“Find them. Even if you have to tear all of Seoul apart.”
Crash—!
Startled by thunder, Hee-yeon shut the window.
Whoooosh—
Whoooosh—
Rain battered the glass violently, filling her with unease. Then her phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
Is it my brother?
For five years, she had had no contact with him—only money deposited regularly into her account as proof he was alive. Yet she felt a strange certainty. She answered.
—Hee-yeon. It’s me.
Her blood seemed to freeze.
The brother who had never once called, only sent money, had been a source of resentment more times than she could count. The brother who had abandoned his own flesh and blood when she was barely more than a newborn—how could she not hate him?
“Oppa! Don’t you think this is too much? How could you go five years without—”
—I ran into some trouble.
“What kind of trouble?”
—Just wait a little until I sort things out. The boss isn’t that bad of a person— ah, wait. I have to hang up. Aah!
“Oppa! Oppa!”
After rambling incoherently, the call ended with a scream. Hee-yeon’s mind spun in confusion.
A boss?
He’d been sending money steadily—was he really working at a company now?
Had he finally started living like a normal person?
Then why did he sound like someone being hunted?
Craaaash—!
Thunder split the sky again. Lightning flashed through the dark house, and something felt deeply wrong.
A terrible premonition crept in. The sudden call after five years, his frantic tone—it all pointed to one thing.
He’d done something terribly wrong.
“Oppa…”
Two days later.
Under sun-bleached striped awnings and among vendors haggling with customers, Hee-yeon pulled a cart loaded with large boxes and raised her voice.
“Excuse me—coming through.”
Her shop was located in a back alley of the market where the rent was cheapest. Though the location was out of the way, the food was good, so students often came.
The distance from one end of the market to the other was about 500 meters. She stopped repeatedly to rest, checking her phone again and again.
What on earth happened?
Considering what he’d said during that call after five years, something serious must have happened to her brother.
Her anxiety grew heavier. She wiped the sweat streaming down her forehead.
Then she pulled the cart again and headed toward the alley where her shop was.
She stopped abruptly.
“…What?”
Unlike the bustling shops she’d passed, the back alley was eerily silent. The neighboring store had its tarp completely pulled down.
It was strange.
It wasn’t a holiday, yet every shop in the alley was closed.
A sense of dread crept in—especially after that phone call.
Just as her heart tightened, she saw her aunt—completely intimidated—standing before a group of burly men in black suits.
“Auntie!”
“H-Hee-yeon!”
The aunt rushed over the moment she saw her. She was her mother’s closest friend, the woman who had taken in and raised the orphaned siblings. Even in hardship, she had cared for them like her own children. Seeing her tremble with fear made Hee-yeon’s stomach drop.
“Auntie, are you okay? What’s going on?”
“They’ve been sitting here since morning, not letting anyone do business… Th-they look like gangsters… what do we do?”
“…!”
