PAX 6

“If this is a request that cannot be passed on to the Director and his wife, then I cannot accept it, so please find another professional instead of….”

I barely dodged it, but I could vividly feel the chair whizzing past my hair. It felt like my entire scalp had frozen solid for a moment.

No sooner had I straightened my hunched body than I saw Ahn Yutan closing in within my field of vision. More accurately, his fist did.

I swatted away the rapidly enlarging fist and dodged to the side. Something hard slammed into my flank. Even as my breath was caught in my throat from the pain, I wondered if it had been his right leg or his left leg. If this much power came from a titanium leg, I thought it was bearable, but if it came from a bare leg, I thought he was one hell of a strong bastard.

I hit the wall and was trying to turn my body when a sharp pain flared in my head. Both of my arms were twisted behind my back and uncomfortably pinned. A black guard, who I hadn’t noticed arrive, was gripping my hair with his body pressed firmly against my back. I was pressed against the wall with one cheek smashed into it.

The white guard stood before me and thrust something familiar into my face. It was my knife, which he had taken earlier.

“Hey, what the fuck are you all doing? You can’t do that.”

I heard Ahn Yutan’s voice.

“Let him go. Now.”

Both guards quickly backed off.

“You don’t do that to a pigeon. There are rules, you know.”

That son of a bitch has been at it since earlier….

I held back a sigh, turned, and then leaped to the side. The chair that Ahn Yutan swung slammed into the wall with a thud. I ran toward the yard.

“He’s mine. Don’t interfere.”

I heard Ahn Yutan’s voice.

I reached the opposite end of the yard and stood there. The wall surrounding the yard was high, with rusted barbed wire tangled in circles installed at the top. There was an iron gate at the end of the fence, but given that it was full of overgrown grass beneath it, it was clear that it hadn’t been opened for a long time and was likely locked. Even if I somehow succeeded in getting out, it would only be a temporary solution. Just as Ahn Yutan had said, I was already inside that fucked-up radar of his, so leaving just this spot wouldn’t amount to anything.

No, it might be better to at least avoid this place for now. Rather than dying a senseless death here without anyone knowing, it might be better to go somewhere crowded and die a senseless death while informing others that it was Ahn Yutan who broke the rules and killed a pigeon.

While I was thinking, Ahn Yutan approached. With my back to the fence, I kept my eyes on Ahn Yutan and moved sideways.

Guardians Chief Ahn Juik and the other guards treated me poorly, but they had never caused me physical harm. Yet, here is Ahn Juik’s son who has suddenly appeared, acting like this.

Is it because he only lived in Seoul and doesn’t know how things work around here? Does he think such rules can be easily ignored?

“Over there, next to the Nagon District market, there’s a kid named Kim Junik who lives with his mom,” Ahn Yutan said. We moved while keeping a wide gap, watching each other. Ahn Yutan approached with a saunter, hands in his shorts pockets, while I moved sideways like a crab with my hands in front of me, maintaining the distance.

“That kid is Ahn Juik’s son. A child from another mother.”

Far off under the shade, the two guards stood watching us.

“He took his mother’s surname, but his given name was chosen to be similar to Ahn Juik’s. I guess he wanted to make sure he didn’t forget that he was Ahn Juik’s son.”

Should I try opening the iron gate at the end of the fence?

“Kim Junik’s mother must have a very tight lip because nobody knows this fact. I only found out recently. That son of a bitch Ahn Juik has a place where he sends money regularly, and when I dug into what it was, a story like that of a morning soap opera came rolling out.”

Trying to escape might further provoke Ahn Yutan’s anger.

“But did you know? Kim Junik was born three months earlier than me.”

There’s no guarantee I’d win if I fought him, and those two guards certainly wouldn’t just sit back and let me win. Even though Ahn Yutan told them not to interfere, that likely meant not to interfere while he was seizing the atmosphere. If the tide of the battle turned, it was obvious he would have them join in immediately to make it a 3-on-1 situation.

“That means the position of Guardians leader is going to go to him. Because he’s my hyung.”

A sigh escaped me. Are they causing this kind of commotion because of a power struggle between brothers?

“So you want me to kill Kim Junik?”

“Yeah.”

But I know that Ahn Juik is in good health and hasn’t even hit sixty yet. They look like they’ll be in power for another 20 years, so why is there talk of a successor already?

“Are you saying Chief Ahn Juik is stepping down soon?”

“It doesn’t matter when Ahn Juik steps down. What’s more important is that we have to get rid of Kim Junik before the ambition for the Guardians leader position sprouts in his sagging chest.”

I thought for a moment.

“Just because he was born three months earlier, can’t we guarantee that the leadership position will go to Kim Junik, can we?”

“Hey, use your head a bit. Ahn Juik keeps me tucked away in Seoul and leaves Kim Junik in the middle of Nagon District. Looking at this alone, isn’t it clear who he’s pushing as his successor?”

It made sense.

“Then, if Kim Junik is suddenly murdered, wouldn’t Chief Ahn Juik suspect that side first?”

I pointed at Ahn Yutan with both hands, maintaining minimum courtesy.

“The sparks could fly to the Pachulso as well.”

“That’s why we have to disguise it as an accidental death.”

Don’t assign that to us, assign it to another firm, you crazy bastard.

“Is there a special reason why you must assign this to us?”

“I’m not assigning it to your firm, I’m assigning it to you.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the second-in-command.”

We’re going in circles.

“I am not the second-in-command….”

“I told you to be the second-in-command, so from today on, you are the second-in-command. Why is it so hard to understand?”

I forced down a sigh and nearly gagged.

“Hey, harbor some ambition in your chest. Don’t go walking around like a weakling.”

“How could I dare. I’m not the type to harbor such ambitions.”

To look as pathetic as possible, I hunched my shoulders and even adopted a forward head posture.

Ahn Yutan stood squinting under the sunlight, staring at me for a moment. As Ahn Yutan shifted his right leg, his titanium leg reflected the sunlight dazzlingly. I had heard that the assistive device industry had developed drastically since many people lost limbs after the cannibalism era, but perhaps because the assistive devices I mainly saw were low-end items used by Nagon District residents, seeing a high-end one move left me a bit awestruck. Not only did Ahn Yutan walk and run and move freely, but there seemed to be no problem with him beating a person with that leg.

“Then, is there someone you can introduce me to? Someone who can handle this properly.”

Oh, did that work?

Of course, there are contract killing firms in other cities. I didn’t know anyone personally, but I felt like I could at least search for them and make a connection.

“I will look into it….”

“Let’s talk inside.”

Ahn Yutan turned his body and headed toward the factory building.

Relieved at the thought that I could finally get out of this place with that crazy bastard, I followed behind him. It felt like this dog-like conversation was never going to end.

“Are you really saying you don’t intend to do it?”

When we got a bit closer, Ahn Yutan slowed his pace and asked.

“I am someone who is not fit for that kind of work….”

“Where does this dog-like bastard get off pretending to be a loser.”

Suddenly turning around, Ahn Yutan grabbed my neck. A “kat” sound popped out of my throat along with some saliva.

“If you were someone who couldn’t even do that, do you think I would have approached you? Huh? Are you looking down on me?”

While being held by the neck and shaken, my vision blurred quickly. I had to choose one of three things: die of asphyxiation like this, counterattack and then die fighting the three of them including the guards, or win against the three of them and make the entire Guardians my enemy. Life is always a series of choices like this.

While grabbing the strong arm that held my neck and struggling, I eventually struck Ahn Yutan’s jaw with the heel of my hand. Ahn Yutan, his head snapped back, let go of me and was pushed back.

Ahn Yutan, holding his jaw, stared at me with wide eyes.

“Does a bird of peace hit people?”

Before my labored breath could fully return, Ahn Yutan lunged at me again. Since he was, after all, Chief Ahn Juik’s son, I focused primarily on dodging as much as I could. I dodged his fist, swatted away a kick coming toward my lower abdomen, and blocked another flying fist with my arm.