Siwoo placed his hand on Joo-cheol’s shoulder. As Siwoo’s hand landed again on the shoulder that had once been crushed, Joo-cheol instinctively flinched.
“No, you were with Sanho. Right now. That’s not nothing.”
“Damn it, Baek Sanho came to find me first…!”
“Yeah, so you met. You were face to face. You with Sanho….”
Joo-cheol reflexively looked at the half-torn shirt of Sanho as he lunged forward. Siwoo coldly narrowed his eyes at Joo-cheol’s gaze. Siwoo’s grip began to tighten. Joo-cheol’s pupils were stained with fear, but at the same time, a sense of indignation spread within him. It soon transformed into a clear light of anger, beginning to struggle.
“Those bastards, they really think they can disregard people to this extent—”
“It’s not disregard, it’s restraint.”
“Restraint? Ha, you think you’re so great for holding back?”
It seemed that Joo-cheol finally gathered his senses, focusing his gaze. With a flushed face, he suddenly shoved his hand into his jacket.
“Do you think I’ll just sit here and take it?”
It was a very brief moment, but Siwoo saw Joo-cheol pulling something heavy from inside his jacket. The faint light filtering into the dim alley reflected off the blue metal. It was a knife that looked to be at least 30cm long. Before the blade was fully revealed, Siwoo grabbed Joo-cheol’s arm tightly.
“Hyung!!!!!!”
Siwoo tried to twist Joo-cheol’s arm to stop him, but Sanho was a bit quicker. The moment the large knife glinted in Sanho’s dark eyes, he hurriedly pushed himself between Joo-cheol and Siwoo. Sanho’s dark eyes were stained with fear. As Sanho suddenly blocked the space between them, Siwoo’s hand loosened in surprise. Just as if to protect Siwoo, Sanho’s arms stretched out, and an extremely strange sound echoed in his ears.
“…San….”
It was the sound of a knife slicing through the air and cutting skin. The knife swung by Joo-cheol scraped along under Sanho’s straight collarbone. Red blood began to drip down the path the blade had passed. The moment felt painfully slow, etched vividly in Siwoo’s mind. Sanho’s wide-open eyes and his body collapsing forward.
“Sanho…!”
Siwoo barely caught Sanho’s body as it leaned forward. He turned his body around and pulled Sanho deeply into his embrace. Blood gushed out from the shallow but long wound on Sanho’s collarbone. The two bodies began to be soaked in hot blood.
“Look at me. Look at me, Sanho.”
Siwoo urgently fumbled over Sanho’s wound. Sanho’s once pale face was quickly losing its color. As he hastily lowered his gaze to stop the bleeding, another strange sound reached his ears. The sound of a well-sharpened knife slicing through the air was quite horrific. But that wasn’t all. A strange pain followed.
“Damn bastards…! Just die!!!!”
A burning pain was felt below his ribs. A large knife, about 30cm long, was deeply embedded in Siwoo’s side. Sanho’s face, drained of color, twisted in an instant.
“Hyung!!!!”
However, Siwoo did not loosen his grip on Sanho. The thought of needing to pull Sanho away from Joo-cheol dominated his mind. Pressing down on Sanho’s wound, he used his other hand to wipe the blood that had splattered on Sanho’s eyes.
“Turn around and run. Out of the alley.”
“That’s not… Hyung, right now you….”
“Sanho, just run without thinking.”
Joo-cheol tightened his grip on the knife handle and pulled it out with a swift motion. With a splatter, the sound of blood spraying accompanied the blade rising into the air. Siwoo only slightly frowned, not moving. He stared intently at Sanho, his lips moving. Don’t worry about me. Okay?
As Sanho hesitated and took a step back, Siwoo turned his body. He moved in front of Joo-cheol to keep Sanho out of his line of sight. Siwoo’s face, now smeared with blood, looked at Joo-cheol. Despite holding the knife, Joo-cheol trembled like a cornered rat.
“You, you could really kill me. I’m serious…!”
As Joo-cheol shouted with a trembling voice, Siwoo took a step closer. Behind him, he could hear Sanho’s hurried footsteps fading away. After blinking once, blood that had flowed down his eyelid gathered on his eyelashes and fell.
A sense of relief washed over him. The fact that Sanho had escaped was a huge comfort. Without giving any space, he gripped Joo-cheol’s hand tightly. Joo-cheol’s other hand, which was broken, began to twist with a sound as harsh as the pain.
“I don’t think you can kill me.”
“Ugh… Let go!!!!”
“If you were going to kill me, you should have stabbed my neck.”
Joo-cheol struggled wildly, but soon could not endure it and dropped the knife. Blood, whose it was he didn’t know, splattered across Siwoo’s cheek. Joo-cheol, having dropped the knife, seemed to collapse to his knees as if his strength had left him. Sitting there with his hands crushed, he gasped for breath and looked up at Siwoo. Siwoo placed his foot on Joo-cheol’s limp ankle. It was a slow movement, but it was not hesitant. As he began to apply pressure, the ankle cracked with a loud sound. Joo-cheol, mouth slightly agape, could not even scream.
“I should have just pulled out your tongue instead. Not your limbs.”
Siwoo glanced at the other ankle that was now twisted. Joo-cheol, half-conscious from the pain, shook his head frantically, but that was all he could do. He could only watch as the other ankle also crumbled. Looking at Joo-cheol, whose limbs were all broken and sprawled out, Siwoo pushed the knife handle with his toes. The knife scraped against the filthy alley floor as it slid away.
“…….”
Pressing down on the gushing wound with one hand, Siwoo took out his phone from his pocket. Without even looking at the screen, he pressed the side button two or three times in succession. Soon, he dropped the phone as if throwing it away and exhaled a sigh.
“I hope there are no scars….”
“Ugh….”
“If Sanho has a scar… every time he sees it, he’ll think of you.”
“…Ugh. Ugh.”
“Then every time, I think I’ll want to kill you.”
From a distance, the sound of sirens faintly reached his ears. Siwoo turned his head to look outside the alley. It didn’t quite match the current situation, but a small laugh escaped him.
“Ah… scars aren’t that important… even if he has them, he’ll still be pretty.”
It seemed he had bled more than he thought. As Siwoo blinked, feeling his vision blur, bright lights illuminated the alley. The sirens, which had crept closer without him noticing, were now blaring in his ears. Hyung, Hyung! Even the voice mixed with tears sounded sweet, making it clear that he was losing consciousness.
***
Beep, beep, beep.
The first sound that reached him was a rhythmic mechanical noise. A steady curve appeared on the monitor connected to the IV drip. Siwoo pushed up his eyelids and opened his eyes. Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the medication, he felt dazed. Staring at the white ceiling, Siwoo blinked.
“…….”
The white steam seeping from the humidifier floated peacefully in the air. The spacious room, reminiscent of a hotel, was undoubtedly a VIP room in a hospital. Leaning his heavy body against the head of the bed, the blanket, densely embroidered with the hospital logo, crumpled. He stared intently at the large IV needle stuck in his arm and placed his hand on the carefully wrapped bandage over the wound.
There was no significant pain. Just a dull throbbing sensation remained. As Siwoo gazed at the tidy hospital room, memories slowly began to surface. The filthy alley, the bright light illuminating it, the shadow standing in front of the light. And the desperate voice.
Hyung, Hyung!
The hazy memory, dulled by medication, began to sharpen. The image of a face crying, drenched in bright red blood, flashed before him, causing Siwoo’s eyes to widen in shock.
“Sanho…!”
Without hesitation, Siwoo sat up. His body felt heavy, like a sponge soaked with water, but that wasn’t what mattered. When he roughly pulled out the IV needle from his arm, the door quietly opened.
“Oh my, patient!”
The nurse, holding a chart, rushed over with a pale face upon seeing Siwoo standing up from the bed. Blood dripped from the spot where the IV needle had been removed.
“Patient, you need to lie down. You’ve already lost a lot of blood… you can’t do this….”
“What day is it now? How long has it been since then….”
“Please lie down first, you need to lie down—.”
“Where’s Sanho? Wasn’t there a patient who came in with me? He was cut badly….”
A man in a white coat entered the room behind the flustered nurse. Upon seeing the familiar face of his long-time doctor, Siwoo slowly closed his mouth. The doctor, seeing the nurse trying to stop him, seemed to grasp the situation at once. He let out a deep sigh and cast a reproachful glance at Siwoo.
“Director, please calm down. You mustn’t overexert yourself.”
“I’m fine—.”
“No, you’re not fine. This is already overexerting yourself. Please lie down, and I’ll explain everything.”
With his eyebrows furrowed, Siwoo bit his lip. Seeing Siwoo quiet down a bit, the nurse sighed in relief and guided him back to the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Siwoo looked at the doctor. The image of Sanho’s face, splattered with blood, kept flashing before his eyes. His heart raced. Siwoo took a deep breath, trying to focus on the situation.
As he quietly watched the nurse insert the IV needle again, Siwoo raised his gaze to the doctor.
“…What happened?”
“Fortunately, you didn’t injure any organs. It was truly a stroke of luck. If the blade had been angled even slightly differently….”
“No, not that. What about Sanho?”
The doctor’s lips pressed tightly together. Just as the nurse finished connecting the IV, he subtly gestured to her. The quick-witted nurse nodded and stepped aside. Silence fell again in the large hospital room. The doctor slowly opened his mouth.
“Are you referring to the person who was with you at the scene?”
Before Siwoo could respond, he shook his head and continued.
“We don’t know the exact situation either. We received a report of a violent incident occurring near the club, and all we know is that you were brought to the emergency room. I heard there were two victims, but you were the only one who came to the hospital.”
“Then….”
“Manager Jung will explain the details when he arrives. That’s all I know.”
Looking at Siwoo’s pale expression, the doctor sighed softly again.
“You were unconscious for three days. That’s to be expected. You lost a lot of blood. As I mentioned, it was truly a stroke of luck. If the blade had been angled even slightly differently, it would have pierced your spleen. That would have been life-threatening.”
“Such things—.”
“Director.”
The doctor pulled a round chair closer and sat down, looking at Siwoo intently. He had been watching Siwoo since he was very young. A deep concern shadowed his face.
“Have you experienced any health issues recently?”
Siwoo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Instead of answering, he shook his head.
“Any issues with pheromones… or any other reactions?”
“…No, not at all.”
“A long time ago, I hinted at something to the chairman on the day you manifested.”
“…….”
“You might be reacting to a specific pheromone. It’s quite rare, but of course, we need to conduct further tests to be sure.”
“What do you mean by that….”
“It’s a kind of imprint—.”
Just then, the doctor’s phone rang loudly. He glanced at the screen and pressed his lips together. Looking back at Siwoo, he said,
“It seems the chairman has arrived.”
***
Siwoo, clutching his side and struggling to walk, squinted at the blinding lights. Red blood gushed out between his fingers that were wrapped around the wound. As his narrowed eyes found him, they quickly widened. Siwoo’s lips moved as if to say something. It’s okay… Siwoo tried to run towards him, but a thick arm firmly blocked his way. Desperately reaching out, he shouted.
“Hyung, Hyung!”
