Kill Your X Chapter 62

―So, I was really worried you might have been unfairly framed as a victim, Sunbae. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?

“Of course.”

I first made sure to reassure Hyun Jin. It was just a guess, but it was highly likely that the people who came to the school were related to Seo Seunghan. In fact, he had warned me early on that a stray arrow might fly my way.

Still, I thought that as long as I was Candidate Song’s son, they wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on me directly. But for them to go as far as my workplace to create a sense of crisis. This was not a good sign.

“It seems they’ve got something seriously wrong and are barking up the wrong tree. I’ve never been involved in a pyramid scheme, nor have I done anything to be chased by others. I’ve literally just been resting at home these days, so this is absurd.”

―That’s what I thought, right? Hah, but why am I so anxious? I guess it’s because there’s so much talk about gangsters in the news lately.

Hyun Jin went on for a while, expressing his concern for me. I tried my best to hide my troubled mind and acted as nonchalant as possible. I genuinely didn’t want a situation where Hyun Jin would also be in danger if I carelessly leaked information here.

“Anyway, thank you for letting me know. I didn’t even know something like that had happened since I haven’t heard from my colleagues either. Nothing’s wrong, so you don’t have to worry.”

―Sunbae. If you ever need my help with anything, please contact me anytime. I’m serious.

I thought I had spoken well, but Hyun Jin seemed half-convinced that something was wrong with my personal safety. Perhaps the tremor in my voice wasn’t completely hidden.

“Thank you. That’s really reassuring. By the way, have I told you this before?”

―Told me what?

“Actually, my father is a police officer. Not just any cop, but a high-ranking officer. He’s the current Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. I don’t know what kind of idiot has gotten something wrong and is causing a ruckus, but to do this to a police officer’s son of all people. Doesn’t seem like a very bright person.”

―There was a rumor going around that you were the son of some congressman or a district court judge, but it was neither, and your father is a police officer?

What on earth kind of nonsense rumors were spreading at school. It was just baffling.

After hanging up, I sat still in the car for a while.

Hyun Jin said they didn’t give out my information at the library in the end, but since they asked if my home address was correct, it was highly likely they had already stopped by my old house. The place was already empty since I had moved out, and the fact that I forgot to update my employee information at the library had unintentionally bought me some time.

But what were those people really planning to do by coming to find me? Could it be that they planned to use me as bait to lure out Seo Seunghan?

He had said that the group that attacked him before numbered in the dozens. If they found out he didn’t die and are now tracking me to finish the job…

The one in real danger isn’t me, but Seo Seunghan.

When my thoughts reached that point, I felt a slight chill. Because even knowing full well it’s a trap, it seemed like Seo Seunghan would actually be swayed in such a situation.

It seemed this wasn’t the time for me to be calmly wandering around outside, thinking I had nothing to do. At this rate, there was no telling when the location of the safe house Seo Seunghan had temporarily provided would be discovered.

Would it be better to go back to my parents’ house for a while? As I pondered my next shelter, I first called Seo Seunghan to inform him of the current situation. But.

―The number you have dialed is not in service.

“What the?”

The number had been working perfectly fine just last night. Of course, it was a burner phone, but a problem like this had never happened before.

Above all, even while he was away from home and busy, Seo Seunghan had consistently contacted me. This was the result of my threatening to kill him if he didn’t stay in touch.

What the hell is going on? I didn’t know for sure, but it didn’t seem like a good idea to return to Seo Seunghan’s safe house like this.

In a hurry, I punched in my parents’ address into the navigation and started driving. The last conversation I had with my father was awkward, but since he was rarely home anyway, it would be a decent place to hide for a bit. It was true that I was in-between places after missing the timing on a real estate deal, so I could just explain it to my mother by mixing in some of the truth.

I was stuck on the road for an infuriatingly long time due to rush hour before I finally arrived at my family home. Leaving the dozens of clothes I bought for Seo Seunghan in the trunk, I got out of the car, and my pants pocket vibrated. This time, it was a number with a blocked caller ID. Naturally, I thought it was Seo Seunghan and quickly brought the phone to my ear.

“Seunghan? It’s you, Seunghan, right?”

But my guess was splendidly wrong again.

―It’s not Seunghan, it’s me.

“Who… Don’t tell me, CEO Kang?”

―I don’t have time, so listen carefully to me from now on. Keep your wits about you.

The person on the phone was none other than CEO Kang of KNT Entertainment. I thought he had completely washed his hands of helping Seo Seunghan after sending the doctor.

―The safe house you’re staying at right now, right? Hurry and go to the dress-room and open the built-in closet. If you feel around the bottom, there should be a gap in the middle. Grab that and lift it up, and a small box will come out.

“CEO Kang, wait a minute.”

―Take the small revolver and all the bullets from there and get out of that house right away. Load the gun so you can shoot it at any time and tuck it into your waistband. You’ve been to the army, so you know how to shoot a gun, right?

“Why a gun all of a sudden? More importantly, CEO Kang, I can’t get in touch with Seunghan right now.”

―The Kumto-pa tailed him. Because of the phone he set up exclusively to contact you.

My mouth fell open on its own. Without even giving me a moment to be surprised, CEO Kang fired off his words rapidly.

―They thought he’d be in a critical state after barely surviving a fight of dozens against one just a few days ago, but they found out he was alive and well and exchanging messages with the Russians. It’s only a matter of time before the tables are turned.

Now that the rebellion was confirmed, the boss would also act out of desperation, CEO Kang groaned.

―The situation isn’t easy enough to prioritize your safety. Seunghan is probably looking for another solution on his own by now, but before that, you need to know how to protect your own life. I’ll give you another address, so grab the gun and go there. And don’t you move a muscle from there until I give you the next signal.

“CEO Kang. I understand the situation, but I don’t think it’ll be easy to go get the gun right now. Thankfully, though, I’m in front of my parents’ house right now.”

―What, your parents’ house?

CEO Kang exploded in anger.

―Hey, you stupid bastard! Do you not grasp the situation at all? Of all the places to hide, why the hell would you crawl in there, huh?

I soon found out why he was so furious. As I stood there blankly, I came to my senses and felt an ominous presence approaching from nearby. One, two, three… a rough count revealed at least seven people. It seemed these were the thugs Hyun Jin mentioned on the phone earlier, the ones who came looking for me at the school.

A completely incomprehensible scene unfolded before my eyes. Some of the thugs were even coming out of my house.

Clutching the phone, which I didn’t know when had been disconnected, I looked around. As if they had no intention of hiding that I was their target, men in black suits slowly closed in on me.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead. I wasn’t Seo Seunghan, and fighting against multiple people at such close range was a reckless act. Just as I was about to scream as loud as I could, my mouth was gagged in an instant.

“Keuheub! Eub!”

Almost simultaneously, my hands were tied behind my back and my lower back was kicked by a shoe-clad foot. They moved in perfect unison, as if this wasn’t the first or second time they’d subdued someone like me. They lifted my fallen body like a piece of luggage and shoved me into the back seat of a nearby vehicle. At that moment, I saw someone standing tall in front of the house’s entrance.

It was my father. Whether our relationship was good or bad, a sense of relief washed over me upon spotting a family member in a critical situation. I struggled as much as possible to let him know I was here.

“Eub! Eueub! Kkeueub!”

Did my efforts work? Although it was quite a distance, I could clearly tell his gaze had landed in my direction. But that was it.

Contrary to my expectation that he would be startled and take some action, my father simply stood there with his hands behind his back, watching me get taken away by those men. As if it had nothing to do with him.

Only then did I realize. There had been a huge flaw in my thinking from the very beginning.

My father had definitely joined hands with the Kumto-pa. I didn’t know to whom the scales of power had tipped, but I had assumed they wouldn’t easily touch me, my father’s son. But the reality was different.

In the end, my father chose not to protect me. Was it because I had recently shown that I knew the hidden truth of the police disappearance case? Or perhaps…

Soon, a blindfold was put on, and my vision was blocked. An emotion that couldn’t be fully expressed by the word ‘betrayal’ swirled inside me.

✽✽✽

About thirty minutes might have passed. Only after the car’s engine was turned off were the blindfold and gag removed. I thought I would be in a dark place like the first time I was kidnapped as a high school student, but that wasn’t the case. The gangster lackeys took me to a high-end restaurant in a building in downtown Seoul. The interior had an atmosphere that seemed mainly used for entertaining high-ranking officials.

They obviously weren’t going to grab someone off the street, feed them an expensive meal, and send them on their way, and coming this far made it even harder to grasp their intentions. It seemed they had rented out the entire multi-story restaurant, as not a single employee was seen passing in the hallway. Even if I did run into someone, they wouldn’t be able to help me.

The image of my father turning his back on my kidnapping kept flashing before my eyes. I thought I had no more room for expectations, but perhaps a shred of affection remained, as my eyes grew hot against my will.

“Hyungnim. We’ve brought the item you mentioned.”

Finally, we stopped in front of a large sliding door. The hulking figures on either side held my arms in a tight grip, making escape still impossible to even dream of.

“Come in.”