PAHO 48

Security (警護), the act of protecting an important person up close in preparation for a dangerous situation. Although it was a cover job purely for the benefit of Samwon, Nam Gyeonhwa intended to be faithful to the task given to him.

Although he was reckless and violent, Na Taebeom was, one way or another, a person who had promised to help directly with the current situation. Since it was reasonable to cooperate with him for the sake of the future, Nam Gyeonhwa was determined to protect him regardless of the circumstances if a dangerous situation were to arise.

Thwack, thwack. The dull thuds repeated without stopping. Nam Gyeonhwa, who had been standing with a dazed expression at the dazzling display of violence unfolding before his eyes, turned his gaze to Na Taebeom. He had tossed the gang member he had beaten to a pulp to the side as if clearing away a sack, and then dusted off his hands. The man, who was a bloody mess, didn’t even let out a groan, as if he had lost consciousness. Although Na Taebeom was the one who had been attacked, looking at the situation, it seemed as if they were the ones being attacked by Na Taebeom. It was a one-sided and merciless act of violence.

“Come on, try me again.”

Na Taebeom, who wiped the blood that had collected under his chin, jerked his head. His white t-shirt, as well as his hands, were reddish, as if stained with red blood. The man, who was looking at his comrades sprawled out like deflated balloons, swallowed dryly.

“You, you son of a bitch!”

Finally, he picked up a claw hammer from the floor and rushed at Na Taebeom with a fierce shout. Na Taebeom, who lightly dodged the ridiculously swung hammer, kicked the man hard. He, who was hit on the shin, staggered for a moment and then counterattacked with all his might. He grabbed the man’s neck and pushed him against the partition, then punched the struggling man, who was choking, in the face. A wretched gasp that couldn’t even form a scream scattered.

Painful groans filled the VIP room, which had turned into a scene of chaos in an instant. Four of the six large men who had rushed in didn’t even seem to have the strength to get up. Is it okay to just watch the situation like this? No, in the first place, I started to question whether that man even needed security. Security or not, isn’t it an understatement to say that this is an excessive counterattack that goes beyond self-defense?

At that moment, a presence suddenly appeared behind Nam Gyeonhwa, who was standing blankly. As soon as he confirmed that the hand that had grabbed his shoulder was Choi Pilwon’s, Nam Gyeonhwa quickly pushed him away. Just as he suspected that he was trying to take advantage of a moment of carelessness to target a weak spot, Choi Pilwon, instead of attacking Nam Gyeonhwa, grabbed his arm and shook his head vigorously.

“Please, stop the director. At this rate, all my guys will die.”

“…What are you talking about?”

At the unexpected words, Nam Gyeonhwa frowned. Stop him? Wasn’t he the one who deliberately created an opportunity to meet with Na Taebeom and instigated the surprise attack? At his clearly untrusting expression, Choi Pilwon waved his hands wildly.

“This was all discussed with the director. The director said that internal security hasn’t been what it used to be lately, and he suggested that since I’m a newly appointed union head, we should try creating a mock situation. We were just accommodating the director.”

“A mock situation, you say? Then, what was that surprise attack just now?”

“That was obviously to make it look plausible. We also intended to just set the mood and then leave. When we talked about it before, he definitely didn’t say he would react this strongly.”

Hearing Choi Pilwon’s explanation, it suddenly seemed that for a surprise attack, their aggressive posture wasn’t that strong. It would have been enough to just block the entrance, without the need to go as far as to break down the partition wall and make an exaggerated appearance. Besides, no matter how good Na Taebeom was with his fists, wouldn’t the side with various weapons, including a claw hammer, have the advantage in a fight?

Most of all, while this level of commotion had been going on for several minutes, not only had no additional reinforcements arrived, but it was completely quiet. The number of employees who had greeted Na Taebeom with a nod on the way into the game arcade alone was well over ten. It was a situation where a doorman, or at the very least, an employee from within the game arcade, should have come running.

Thump. A heavy boom echoed from outside. Nam Gyeonhwa, who had pushed Choi Pilwon away, jumped over the plastered plank. As he passed through the messy linoleum floor covered with broken bottle fragments and rat droppings along the passage leading to the back of the establishment, he saw two figures beyond the flickering fluorescent light.

The gang member, whose eyes were red and swollen as if he had been beaten to a pulp in that short time, was on his knees in front of Na Taebeom, his hands clasped together, busy begging for his life. Na Taebeom, who was massaging the back of his neck and looking away as if the plea to be spared was utterly trivial, raised his fist.

“Director Na!”

Nam Gyeonhwa quickly rushed towards him, grabbed him by the waist, and pulled him back. The gang member, terrified by the fist that had narrowly missed, cowered flat.

“Director Na Taebeom, that’s enough.”

Nam Gyeonhwa, who turned the still panting man around, finally grabbed Na Taebeom by the collar. In the eyes boiling with excitement from being engrossed in throwing punches, Nam Gyeonhwa’s frowning face was reflected.

“He said it was a mock situation. What’s the reason for going this far?”

“Mock or not, those bastards came at me first.”

“Don’t you know what ‘mock’ means? A mock situation is when you do something like a practice, watching the opponent’s reaction! This is just a one-sided assault.”

At the scolding words, Na Taebeom’s eyebrows twitched as he looked at Nam Gyeonhwa. Convinced that he was about to get hit, the moment he tensed his whole body, Na Taebeom took a deep breath and forcibly removed the hand that was holding his collar. He didn’t punch him in the face, nor did he grab him and subdue him on the floor. All he did was grip his wrist so tightly that it hurt. Suddenly, the sound of a siren grew closer, and soon, the sound of military boots was heard nearby. It seemed that the Special Guard, to whom he had sent an emergency call, had finally arrived.

“What a mess.”

Jo Hongbin, who glanced at the large men being loaded into a van, clicked his tongue. The pachinko parlor he had stopped by to monitor the situation, on the rumor that a big fight had broken out in the Nam-dong entertainment district, was unfolding in a completely different way than he had thought.

A mock situation was a rite of passage that anyone who was assigned the operating rights to a gambling den or game arcade in Nakdo would experience at least once. As the law was useless, Nakdo operated strictly on personal connections and the trust that held those connections together. This mock situation was also a kind of test created to assess Nam Gyeonhwa, whom he had decided to bring in as his exclusive security, and if things had gone according to plan, Nam Gyeonhwa should have fought or blocked those large men.

Among the Special Guard members who were going back and forth to check for any suspicious signs in the surrounding area, Na Taebeom was sitting on a tattered sofa, wrapping a bandage around his fist. Judging by his clothes, which were a mess with blood, and the scratches on his cheek and neck, it was clear who the main culprit behind the current mess was.

Nam Gyeonhwa, who was standing with his hands behind his back and quietly observing the surroundings, recognized Jo Hongbin standing outside the door and gave him a nod. He, who had thrown the shawl draped over his shoulders back, deliberately made his shoes click as he strode up to them.

“Director, what on earth happened? Goodness, the rumor has already spread all the way to the Northeast. That Mr. Choi’s district is in an uproar.”

At Jo Hongbin’s dramatic voice, Na Taebeom, who had glanced at him, said nonchalantly.

“It’s nothing to make a fuss about. As you can see, the business is perfectly fine, so all we need to do is rebuild that temporary wall. And I’ll pay for the medical bills of the guys who were carried away.”

“Well, that’s true, but I heard it was a mock situation. Did Mr. Choi make some mistake towards you, Director?”

“Who knows.”

At the vague one-word answer that was neither a yes nor a no, Jo Hongbin, who was blinking his eyes in confusion, slowly raised his head towards Nam Gyeonhwa. At the look that asked what the situation was in place of words, Nam Gyeonhwa quietly shook his head. His expression was one that clearly showed that he, too, did not know and was at a loss.

Whether he didn’t like the way he was being treated or it was a simple whim, in the end, it was Choi Pilwon who had gone through an undeserved commotion. However, for Jo Hongbin, who was close with the previous union head, he felt a sense of satisfaction rather than pity for the man who had kicked out his long-time lover, whom he had even supported through prison, and taken the union head position.

Rather, Yeo Eunjae, who was on standby at the medical center attached to Wieyeonggwan, was probably in a much more pitiful situation. He was about to have to treat several large men who had been brought in unexpectedly in the middle of the day.

“Earlier, Mr. Choi said that the Northeast union head was going around saying that I’ve taken up a new hobby. Fucking men in the ass, or something.”

Na Taebeom, who had opened his heavy mouth, stared at Jo Hongbin with his chin resting on his hand.

“In Mr. Jo’s eyes, it seems like my hobby is fucking men in the ass.”

“Oh, my goodness, did Mr. Choi say that? I never said that. I just said that you seemed less sensitive about homos than before, Director. I didn’t use the vulgar expression ‘got a taste for fucking men in the ass.’”

“I’m less sensitive about homos? Based on what?”

At the look that urged him to speak quickly, Jo Hongbin just swallowed an awkward laugh. At a recent poker game where the union heads had met, he had just said in passing, “It seems Director Na Taebeom has developed an interest in men.” To think he would go and tattle about that. He was about to be blamed for all the remaining trouble, and his mouth felt bitter.

“It seems the search from the Special Guard side is finished.”

Nam Gyeonhwa, who couldn’t bear to watch the tense atmosphere any longer, took the opportunity when the Special Guard squad leader approached and lightly pushed Jo Hongbin away, pretending not to have heard anything. Even seeing Jo Hongbin discreetly leaving the scene, Na Taebeom could only sit there, unable to chase after him.

The squad leader, who stood in front of Na Taebeom, who was leaning his body on the armrest as if tired, and gave a crisp salute, reported that the all-around search was complete and that there were no major issues. In fact, since the situation was planned to include the Special Guard’s training, it was nothing more than a formal procedure.

The inside of the car was bleak.

Even Gwon Jongdae, who usually drove quietly, couldn’t bear the weight of the silence and turned on the audio. The car, which was engulfed in K-pop that was popular half a century ago due to playing the wrong track list, sank into an even more uncomfortable atmosphere. Unlike Gwon Jongdae, who was anxiously checking the rearview mirror, Na Taebeom just had his eyes gently closed.

“Aren’t you angry?”

Nam Gyeonhwa, who had been staring out the car window, glanced to his side at the sudden sound of an annoyed voice. Na Taebeom, with his arms crossed, was looking at him sullenly.