The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 3 - The 365th Regression Begins (2)

 

 

“Waaah!”

 

After midnight, T.U. began to fill with people, so much so that there was hardly any space to stand. The crowd was dancing enthusiastically to the EDM blasting through the club, looking quite excited.

 

“What’s so fun about that?”

 

From where I stood, it didn’t look entertaining in the slightest.

 

I was watching from the top floor where the VIP rooms were, looking down at the stage.

 

Seo Do-hwan.

 

He was dancing earnestly amidst the crowd. Although, calling that dancing might be a stretch.

 

Anyway, after wriggling on the floor like a worm for a while, Seo Do-hwan, seeming thirsty, made his way down from the stage to the bar where the bartender was.

 

Naturally, I followed.

 

He took a seat and started sipping some cheap liquor. I sat down next to him and spoke to the bartender.

 

“I’ll have what he’s having.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The staff still didn’t recognize me as the new owner.

 

They knew ownership had changed—but not who the new boss actually was.

 

That’s why, when Seo Do-hwan spoke next, the bartender didn’t even flinch.

 

“Well, look who it is—the boss himself!”

 

He probably meant the “boss” of some other gang or company. It wasn’t important.

 

I just smiled at his greeting.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Come on, man. We look like we’re the same age—drop the formalities.”

 

“How old are you?”

 

Seo Do-hwan and I were the same age—twenty-seven. But I played dumb and asked anyway.

 

“Twenty-seven.”

 

“So, we’re the same age?”

 

I widened my eyes in mock surprise. Seo Do-hwan looked genuinely surprised and asked.

 

“Seriously? That makes it even more impressive—running a place like this at twenty-seven? How’d you pull that off?”

 

“Being born to the right parents, I guess.”

 

“Then I must’ve drawn the short straw. That’s why I’m stuck partying in your club instead of owning it.”

 

“You could say that.”

 

“Lucky you, unlucky me.”

 

He finished off his drink with a faint, bitter smile.

 

I casually swirled the glass in front of me and asked,

 

“Didn’t you say you were going to book a VIP room to help boost sales?”

 

“I don’t remember saying that.”

 

He grinned playfully.

 

Just then, someone called out.

 

“Hey! Seo Do-hwan!”

 

A familiar voice.

 

Not a returnee—but someone I had bad blood with. One of those guys you just can’t stand.

 

Seo Do-hwan got up from his seat at the sound.

 

“Well, I’m heading out. Enjoy your night, boss.”

 

And just like that, we parted ways without even formally introducing ourselves.

 

Not that it mattered—we already knew each other’s age, and we were bound to meet again soon.

 

More importantly—

 

“That guy who just left—does he come here often?”

 

“Huh? Oh, yes. He’s here every single night. Hasn’t missed a day.”

 

“With friends?”

 

“No, he used to come alone. But lately, he’s been hanging out with a group.”

 

“Since when?”

 

“Hmm… I’d say about a week ago?”

 

Seo Do-hwan’s friends.

 

The ones who had called him earlier.

 

Taking care of them was the top priority.

 

Because those bastards were the ones who first introduced him to drugs.

 

Absolute scum that had to be dealt with—no exceptions.

 

Still, for them to show up already?

 

‘So the timeline’s shifting again.’

 

Just because I regressed didn’t mean everything repeated exactly the same way. I mean, even I was making different moves than in the past, wasn’t I?

 

Maybe that’s why.

 

Every time I regressed, things always played out with small and large differences.

 

This time was no exception.

 

Originally, those drug-peddling bastards weren’t supposed to show up until after winter.

 

But now—they were already here.

 

‘No way…’

 

And you know how the saying goes: “No way” usually means trouble.

 

Just to be sure, I asked cautiously.

 

“Um, can I ask you something?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“I heard there’s someone here who… shares something good. That’s why I came.”

 

“Shares something good?”

 

I gave a smirk.

 

“Santa.”

 

“Santa? Sir, Christmas has long passed.”

 

Yeah, I knew that.

 

But I wasn’t talking about the jolly man in red. Among adults—especially addicts—‘Santa’ was a code word. Slang for a drug dealer who brought “gifts.”

 

I pulled a few checks from my wallet and slid them across the bar.

 

“Now, are you willing to talk? If not, just say so. I can offer more.”

 

The bartender swallowed nervously.

 

***

 

Turns out, money really does talk. The bartender quickly spilled the location of the bastard known as “Santa.”

 

So yeah… I’d been right.

 

The club ‘T.U’ had already turned into a nest of drug dealers. Even my grandfather didn’t know. If he had, he would’ve wiped out every trace of it before handing the place over to me.

 

‘When did it get this bad?’

 

This was the first time I’d found T.U overrun with drugs before I could take any preventative action.

 

But what could I do now? The water had already been spilled.

 

I couldn’t undo it—but I could clean it up. Like mopping a dirty floor. So, I made my decision.

 

First, I’d deal with that “Santa” bastard.

 

After sending a quick message to my driver, I made my way to the staff-only restroom the bartender had pointed out.

 

The moment I stepped in, a pungent, acrid smoke hit me in the face. I frowned and muttered,

 

“Smoking is prohibited indoors.”

 

“Huh?”

 

The man inside bit down on his cigarette and gave a half-assed apology.

 

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that.”

 

Yeah, right. If he was really sorry, he would’ve put it out.

 

Of course, he had no intention of doing that.

 

“So, who are you? This is a staff-only restroom.”

 

“Me? I’m the owner.”

 

“The owner? Ahh, yeah—I heard the club was changing hands!”

 

Only then did he finally stub out his cigarette—rubbing it against the wall—before standing up.

 

I tilted my head.

 

“Really? That’s odd. Where’d you hear that? I’m pretty sure the staff was told to keep it under wraps.”

 

Courtesy of my grandfather, no doubt.

 

Casually, I slipped a hand into my coat pocket and asked,

 

“Who told you about the ownership change? And since you knew that, you got bold, huh? Dealing drugs in my club?”

 

Zzzzap!

 

The stun gun I pulled out crackled menacingly.

 

The man’s face was drained of color. He threw his hands up in a panic.

 

“Whoa, whoa—hold on, man! Just calm down!”

 

Calm?

 

If Seo Do-hwan had gotten his hands on those drugs, the entire club would’ve gone to hell in no time—thanks to that damned ability of his.

 

‘So it was you bastards trying to get him hooked, huh?’

 

Smiling broadly, I took a step closer.

 

And just then—

 

“What the hell?! Damn it, kill him!”

 

Someone lunged at me from behind.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

It was Kim Chul-man—the guy who’d been blocking Seo Do-hwan at the club entrance. Damn it, so he was working with the drug dealers after all.

 

But I wasn’t about to just stand there and take it.

 

I jabbed him with the stun gun I was still holding.

 

“Ugh—ggu-guk!”

 

No matter how big he was, the stun gun had him paralyzed in seconds. Once Kim Chul-man hit the ground, I let out a light cough and rubbed my throat.

 

“What the hell’s going on in here? Why’s it so noisy?”

 

That’s when the staff-only bathroom door creaked open.

 

“Huh? Boss?”

 

“Seo Do-hwan?”

 

“Huh? How do you know my—”

 

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence.

 

The “friends” who had come in with him knocked him out cold the moment he stepped through the door.

 

“Seo Do-hwan!”

 

I had completely forgotten—

 

That bastard’s basically useless unless he’s on drugs.

 

In a panic, I reached for the stun gun again, hoping to flip the situation.

 

But just then, my vision spun.

 

That damn “Santa” had struck me on the head with a wooden club.

 

“Sh… Shit…”

 

As that bastard Santa cursed under his breath, my world faded to black.

 

‘Please… just don’t kill me. I don’t want to start this all over again.’

 

That was my final thought before I passed out.

 

***

 

Fortunately, I wasn’t dead.

 

Neither was Seo Do-hwan.

 

“Damn it! If the club changed owners, you should’ve told me! Where the hell is Kim?!”

 

“I don’t know. He’s been unreachable since yesterday, so I figured he vanished after passing the club over.”

 

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!”

 

“I only found out today! That guy said he was the new owner! If he hadn’t shown up, I’d still be in the dark!”

 

I stirred awake to the sound of shouting voices.

 

It was Kim Chul-man and the Santa bastard arguing with each other. But they weren’t the only ones in the room.

 

“Why the hell did you guys show up at the worst possible time?!”

 

“Hey, don’t forget—we’re the reason you’re still alive.”

 

“Yeah, if we hadn’t shown up when we did, you’d be dead meat.”

 

Seo Do-hwan’s so-called “friends” were there too.

 

“Shut it! What the hell do we do about them now?!”

 

My head was slumped forward, so they hadn’t realized I was awake yet.

 

Perfect.

 

I stayed still, feigning unconsciousness, and carefully listened in on the junkies’ conversation.

 

“Should we just drug them?”

 

“…What?”

 

“Seriously, what other choice do we have? The new boss clearly isn’t into our stuff, and if we let him go like this, he’ll turn us all in.”

 

“Then why not just bury them?”

 

“Idiot. You don’t bury someone unless you’re sure you can get away with it. That punk we dragged in earlier? Maybe. But the new owner? If he disappears, the whole place gets raided.”

 

Good call.

 

‘Is that really better though?’

 

Maybe not—but between being drugged or dumped in a shallow grave in the mountains, I’d rather be drugged.

 

“Then we drug them and call the cops?”

 

“Don’t call it in right away—let’s get them so high they can’t tell up from down, then make the report.”

 

“Yeah, that’ll help distract the cops. We’ve got our jackpot coming up soon anyway.”

 

Jackpot?

 

That piqued my curiosity. And before long, I found out what they meant.

 

Once the dealers left the room for a moment, I finally got a look around.

 

The storage room was stacked with white powder.

 

It looked like tons of it. I couldn’t help but let out a soft, disbelieving laugh.

 

If that stuff had gotten into Seo Do-hwan’s hands…

 

Just the thought was terrifying.

 

I shook my head violently, trying to dispel the image—and winced as pain shot through my skull.

 

Then I glanced over at the guy lying next to me.

 

“Hey, Mr. Seo Do-hwan. Time to wake up.”

 

No response.

 

He was completely out cold.

 

Grimacing, I dragged my bound body a little closer and nudged his face with my foot.

 

“Mr. Seo Do-hwan.”

 

“Ugh…”

 

He groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

 

“Damn… Feels like my head’s about to explode…”

 

As he winced in pain and noticed me, Seo Do-hwan’s eyes went wide in shock.

 

“You…!” he blurted. “How do you know my name?!”

 

“Is that really what matters right now? Maybe take a look around and figure out the situation first.”

 

“What situation?”

 

He shouted back, then looked around in confusion.

 

“Huh? Why am I tied up? And why are you tied up, boss?”

 

“Because we got caught. That’s why.”

 

“Caught by who?”

 

“Drug dealers.”

 

“Drug dealers?”

 

Seo Do-hwan tilted his head, looking completely lost.

 

“Wait—boss, are we the only ones here? Where are the guys I came with? Did you see them?”

 

“They are the drug dealers.”

 

“What?! No way!!”

 

He shouted in disbelief, and I replied flatly.

 

“Pretty sure they planned to offer you drugs today.”

 

“How the hell would you know that?!”

 

“I heard them.”

 

Truthfully, I didn’t know for certain—but there was enough circumstantial evidence to back it up.

 

“Anyway, can you grab the knife from my back pocket?”

 

“A knife? You carry one around?”

 

“Yeah. I’m pretty valuable, you know.”

 

“Oh, is that why you got tied up right next to me like this?”

 

Says the guy who’s in the exact same situation. What a jerk.

 

Still, Seo Do-hwan did what I asked.

 

“Okay, I got the knife.”

 

“Good. Now cut the rope around my wrists—just a little. Not all the way. Just enough so I can break free with some effort.”

 

“Why not cut it completely? Can’t we just make a run for it?”

 

“No, we can’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because we’re taking them down. Right here. Right now.”

 

“Taking who down?”

 

“The drug dealers.”

 

At that, Seo Do-hwan dropped the knife to the floor.

 

“Boss… you’re insane, aren’t you?”

 

Look who’s talking.

 

I gave him a long, hard frown in response.