Winter Season Chapter 2

“If you have watched for a long time, you should know better. That I cannot lift a finger against Chairman Gu or my hyung.”

Contrary to his bleakly sunken eyes, the tips of his well-shaped lips formed an arc. At the mocking voice flowing from between them, President Park’s body stiffened and his gaze wavered anxiously.

Seunghyeok placed the cigarette between his lips and then reached his hand into his inner jacket pocket. What came out from inside was a small Barbie doll toy with blonde hair and a pink dress.

When he dangled it in front of the bloodshot eyes, the face that had already been pale enough to be unbelievable for a human began to turn almost blue.

“Let’s see… Usually, these dolls are empty inside, but this one is a bit heavy. A bit strange, isn’t it?”

“N-no… how did you…”

“I feel like there might be several more boxes that look like this. Does President Park know where they are?”

“I-I don’t know…! I really don’t know a single thing about it…!”

Seunghyeok gave a fishy smile. It was because the way the ruined face was dyed with horror was so transparent. Seeing him stuck in despair, stammering out the same sounds, Seunghyeok felt there would be nothing more to gain from further questioning. Seunghyeok braced his hands on his knees and stood up.

“Section Chief Gu, wait, ju—”

“Please continue your thirty-year friendship with the old man in the afterlife, President Park.”

Seunghyeok grabbed the man’s hair and held it fixed in front of him. Then, before the man could say anything, he began to crush the cigarette right between his eyebrows. President Park’s eyes flew open as if they were about to pop out.

“Ugh, ugh…”

The man’s blood-crusted lips slowly parted, and soon a groan that sounded like something from a zombie movie leaked out. Seunghyeok frowned at the sight of the skin festering, yet he did not release the strength in his hand until the cigarette ember had completely faded.

“Kuaaaaagh!”

Thud, as the cigarette butt fell onto the snowfield mottled with blood, a scream followed a beat late and echoed through the world. The hulking men in the back quickly grabbed and fixed the arms of the man struggling in pain. Taeshik, who had approached at some point, offered a handkerchief to Seunghyeok and spoke.

“Hyung-nim, I brought what you asked for.”

Turning his head, Seunghyeok saw several hulking men behind Taeshik struggling to carry boulders half the size of an adult torso. He wiped the blood off his hands with the handkerchief and gestured toward President Park with his chin.

“Tie him especially loosely.”

“Yes, sir!”

Having finished speaking, Seunghyeok rubbed his shoe against the pure white snow. The light red bloodstains began to spread like watercolor paint on a drawing paper. Surveying the surroundings while scanning the inside of his cheek with his tongue, Seunghyeok clicked his tongue at the hulking men whose arms were trembling as they moved the rocks.

“Hey guys, do you want to go for a swim too?”

“…No, sir!”

“Let’s work out hard.”

“Yes, sir!”

At the sight of them looking only straight ahead with their bodies full of tension, Seunghyeok shook his head. Then, looking around at the snow-covered ground defiled by scattered bloodstains, a yellowish liquid of unknown identity, and the mud that had been on the soles of his shoes, he spoke to Taeshik.

“When it’s all over, don’t forget to bring water and clean it all up.”

“Understood, Hyung-nim. Are you going home? Shall I attach one of the boys to you?”

“Forget that, tell them to gather the boys at Nexus.”

“The boys who can come right away at dawn today are… Nexus?”

Taeshik, who was watching the gang members’ actions beside Seunghyeok, raised his head with a puzzled face. Seunghyeok frowned and swept back his fallen hair with one hand.

“I’m curious about how great it is that Chairman Gu was keeping it so wrapped up. Tell the manager to set it up to the maximum. Let’s take a look before we take over the keys.”

“U-understood. Then I will come to pick you up as soon as preparations are finished.”

As Seunghyeok turned his back with a nod, a noisy sound passed over his shoulder. Whether someone’s mouth was being muffled, groans of mm-ph and shouts of “I’ll finish it quickly so just stay still” were mixed together. Without looking back, Seunghyeok walked toward the car parked far away.

A while later, a loud splash echoed across the white-stained lakeshore. There was a sound of splashing for a moment, but even that seeped between the snow piled everywhere and became quiet.

In the silence where not even a breath could be heard, the only thing revealing its presence was the crunch of snow being stepped on by black dress shoes. Seunghyeok quickened his pace while massaging his stiff nape.

The twine connecting the man’s legs and the heavy rock would loosen after a few struggles and sink to the bottom of the lake. The momentary hope that he might live if he swam straight up would be shattered upon encountering the ice sheet frozen thick on the water’s surface.

Just in case, even if he pounded until his fists were crushed, it would be no use. Because an ice sheet frozen this solidly was something difficult to break even with a machine.

Only around that time would he realize. That something had gone truly, seriously wrong. Only after everything has happened and it becomes an irreversible moment does a human realize their mistake.

Faint sunlight fell from the cloudy sky as if it were about to snow at any moment. That light settled over the thickly piled snow and reflected hazily.

The biting wind brushed stingingly over the expressionless face as if protesting the deeds committed at the peaceful lakeshore.

White breath broke in front of his lips, and every time the long hem of his coat swayed, the white footprints became firmer.

The hardened footprints followed behind Seunghyeok like a brand.

༘⋆🤍˚ .❄️₊˚ෆ

The sound of music coming from the stage bounced here and there, reflected and echoing along the walls, gradually deteriorating into a disagreeable humming. When the sound of water coming from the faucet was added to that, Yihyeon felt like clamping both hands over his ears.

However, both hands were already occupied by a dripping wet sponge and slippery plates. Since he couldn’t move at all, Yihyeon expressed his feelings instead by lightly biting his lower lip.

The dishes that had been piled mountain-high were finally showing an end. Since they had held fruit or crackers at most, it was nothing compared to pots with burnt-on grease, but the problem was that the sizes were unnecessarily large, making them difficult to hold with one hand. After rinsing the bubbles off the plate he was wiping, he clenched and opened his fist once in the air, and only then did he feel the stiffness.

Even looking around, no remaining dishwashing tasks were visible. It seemed today’s work would be mostly finished once he handled the food waste bag sitting in the corner of the counter.

“Whew…”

Exhaling a short breath, Yihyeon picked up a plate from inside the sink again. He was wiping the black glass surface with dish soap on the sponge when a familiar voice came from behind.

“Yihyeon. They say to tidy up quickly and gather in the hall for a moment?”

When he turned his head, a man leaning obliquely at the kitchen entrance caught his eye. It was Subin, the person Yihyeon was closest to here.

Reflexively looking up at the wall clock at his words, Yihyeon let out a sigh instead of an answer. Six-thirty in the morning. Even if he went home as fast as possible, he would have to wake up after only a few hours of sleep, so a groundless summons could not be welcome.

Furthermore, the closing time had been pushed back an hour for the reason that it was the end of the year. Even if he finished cleaning up quickly, it was uncertain if he could barely leave before seven, and if he left after gathering in the hall, it would overlap with the commute time of office workers.

“…Now?”

Taking the same bus as office workers commuting in the morning while his body was steeped in the smell of cigarettes was something that even Yihyeon couldn’t help but find uncomfortable. Moreover, standing among neat people while stained with fatigue and the aura of alcohol, a sense of groundless shame or helplessness would sometimes surge up.

He wasn’t the type to be easily shaken by emotions, but it was certainly not a pleasant feeling.

“Yeah. They told the part-timers to go home and only the staff to come down. It didn’t seem like it would take long.”

“Did something happen downstairs?”

With the intention of finishing at least what he was doing, Yihyeon rubbed the sponge quickly. In the meantime, Subin approached closer toward the inside of the kitchen where Yihyeon was standing.

“It’s not that, it seems the person who is the club owner said he’s coming suddenly. The manager is having a fit right now wiping and cleaning this and that.”