Things That Deserve To Die - Chapter 2

There was an endless line in the church yard where the free lunch room was set up, and people gathered around the blue table as soon as the seats were empty. One of the volunteers was captured on camera by Reporter Yoon’s camera, which was filming here and there.

The man in the green apron was a handsome man who stood out from afar. He was tall, well-built, and smiled sympathetically at people.

“He is handsome.”

Reporter Kwak, who was eating ice cream next to him, looked over.

“Kang Il-hyun?”

“Who would think that man is a gangster. When you look at the shell, you can tell he’s more than just an actor, right?”

“If there is one thing that distinguishes him from other actors, it must be that he actually cuts people off.”

Reporter Yoon took his gaze away from the camera and looked back at his senior reporter Kwak.

“Did you see it?”

“Do I have to see it to know? Everyone knows that his business is a gangster company. You know that a member of the National Assembly committed suicide three years ago and was found dead, right? That’s all-,”

“You’ve worked hard.” A man appeared between the two people who were secretly chatting and handed them a vitamin drink. The man smiled as brightly as he could, but his eyes and the energy he exuded were unusual. On the back of the man’s hand, there were numerous small scars that even years couldn’t erase.

“I look forward to your article. We are doing a lot of good things.”

The man made eye contact with reporter Kwak and gave emphasis to the word ‘good things’. Reporter Kwak, who was nervous, grabbed two drinks quickly and responded with a forced smile. The man in front of him was a secretary working under Kang Il-hyun. In terms of the rank of the secretarial organization, the horse would be about the right arm.

What was his name… Park Tae-soo?

Park Tae-soo, who appeared out of nowhere and handed him a drink, nodded and then disappeared. Reporter Kwak lowered his voice towards reporter Yoon.

“Hey, did he just hear that?”

“What if he heard it? It’s not like I made up some nonsense.”

Reporter Kwak subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Am I sweating? Did it seem obvious that I was nervous?”

“Why are you so scared? Who would kill you?”

At the mention of killing him, reporter Kwak stared at the drink in his hand. If he throws it away, they might see it, and he feels uncomfortable at the thought of drinking it. While he was thinking about it, reporter Yoon, who was standing next to him, opened the lid and drank it. He reached out his hand to stop him, but he had already drunk it all.

“Hey. Why are you drinking that? I suspected there was something in it.”

Reporter Yoon pointed to Kang Il-hyun, who was serving with a smile. Park Tae-soo, who had just handed over the drink to them, was standing next to him, and Kang Il-hyun, who was listening, was staring at reporter Yoon and reporter Kwak. Surprised, reporter Kwak quietly turned his back and called reporter Yoon.

“Damn it. Why is he looking here?”

“Well, I’m curious as well.”

Reporter Yoon sipped his drink and nodded his head in gratitude. Kang Il-hyun smiled politely and handed out food to the people in line once more. When he made eye contact with the homeless one by one, smiled, and even shook hands with those who occasionally reached out his hand, he was like a politician.

“Fuck it, it’s dirty.”

Kang Tae-han, who took off his glasses, squeezed plenty of alcohol on his hands and rubbed them again. He held his hand to receive gratitude from the homeless for making the meal. He even washed it clean with water, but the uncomfortable feeling did not disappear.

“They’re like cockroaches. They just rush in because they’re happy that we’re giving them food for free.”

He spits on the ground and pulls a cigarette from his pocket. A subordinate standing nearby quickly came over and lit the fire. He inhaled a cigarette and exhaled it in the stuffy air.

Despite the fact that it was May, the weather was scorching. There was a lot of talk on TV about this summer being the worst heat wave ever, but in someways, the same news always came out around this time.

A little farther away, his younger brother Kang Il-hyun was taking pictures with the volunteers. Tae-han smiled mockingly as he saw his brother pretending to be a good person. Disgusting bastard. After taking pictures, he said goodbye to the volunteers, then took off his apron and handed it to the subordinate standing next to him.

They then talked for a while before walking to Tae-han’s place. They drew everyone’s attention with their nearly 190-centimeter height, strong skeleton, and Western-style body shape. The shirt’s sleeves were folded to reveal a solid forearm, and the shape of the muscles changed with each arm movement. That was why women drool to see what they do. He was such bad luck.

Kang Il-hyun, who had approached him, took bottled water and moistened his throat.

“Aren’t you good at acting? You can be an actor at this point.”

Kang Il-hyun threw the bottle of water he had drank into the trash can when Kang Tae-han was sarcastic.

“Stop shaming people when you’re being sarcastic. I went to the reporter earlier.”

His tone was a little cooler, as it was one tone lower than the average person’s.

“Reporter? Who?”

Il-hyun took out a cigarette, lit it, and cast an oblique glance at Tae-han. Kang Tae-han, who wears glasses, escorted his mother out of the United States. Besides, he always had a frown on his forehead, which made him nervous. When he exhaled cigarette smoke on that face, the wrinkles deepened between his eyebrows.

Tae-han coughed at the rising cigarette smoke with his hand and cursed.

“And please, smile a little in front of people. It’s not like someone will hit you if you smile.”

“That’s your specialty. You smile as much as you want.”

Il-hyun smoked a cigarette and flicked it forward.

“Let’s get over this. You have to be on the same page with your hands and mouth to eat.”

Tae-han’s eyes widened as he heard those words. Although they have different mothers, he couldn’t help but be offended by his eight years younger brother teaching him regularly. He beat him upside down to repent of his mistake when he was younger, but it was difficult to do so after he grew taller and bigger.

He pondered the last time he has beaten Kang Il-hyun. Maybe when he was in first grade. Even then, for some reason, there were shouts and merciless foot stomping on him. But that day was different. Kang Il-hyun, who was being beaten, grabbed the knife the housekeeper was holding and shoved it into Tae-han’s side, so he had to be taken to the emergency room.

Sometimes he remembers that moment. Kang Il-hyun was clearly smiling.

[If you hit me one more time, hyung, it’ll be your heart next.]

Kang Tae-han and his gangster brothers have grown up without a drop of blood on their hands since childhood. Kang Hoon, his father, ate, drank, and got drunk in the fertile land he had cultivated, and there was no way to fight a stronger man without being trampled on.

However, Kang Il-hyun was different. Even though he grew up the same way, he became violent and cunning like a person who always craved blood. Despite making enemies everywhere, his work was neatly done, and he remained loyal to his father, Chairman Kang. That irritated Tae-han as well.

As he recalled the old memories for a moment and ruined his mood, Tae-han’s wife, Park Seon-joo, who finished greeting the volunteers, walked with a dignified step. Unlike usual, looking at her neatly tied hairstyle and makeup, Tae-han snorted again this time. There were other actors here as well.

“You did a great job, honey. Young master, as well.”

“Sister-in-law did most of the hard work. You look more beautiful today.”

She smiled and covered her mouth as she heard her brother-in-law’s compliment. Tae-han, who was standing nearby, smirked once more. She was having a good time. Park Seon-joo fixed her gaze and stared for a while, but Tae-han pretended not to see and turned away.

Then Park Tae-soo approached cautiously with a cell phone.

“Sir. I think you should answer the phone.”

Kang Il-hyun answered the phone call. Life appeared in his eyes for a brief moment while he was listening to the other person and then disappeared.

“I’m leaving, so get it under control.”

Il-hyun handed over his cell phone after finishing the call and instructed Park Tae-soo.

“Bring the car. I’m leaving right now.”

When Tae-soo disappeared immediately, Tae-han asked out of curiosity.

“Where are you going?”

Il-hyun smiled coldly.

“Our younger brother caused an accident. That is also very big.”

Oh, that jerk. Tae-han spat out the curse words first, without hesitation. They had a half-brother, who was a pain in the family. The guy, who has just turned 20, has been involved in the nightlife, but more recently has been involved in drugs and has frequently caused scandals.

“Hyung, I will go first. See you at the dinner meeting tomorrow. Go home safely, both of you.”

After saying farewell politely, Il-hyun walked to his car which was parked in the church’s backyard. The smile on his smiling face completely disappeared and he became cold like an ice cube. Tae-soo, who had been waiting, opened the rear seat door and immediately moved to the driver’s seat.

“Who is injured?”

“Six people have minor injuries and one is unconscious. There was a fight before stabbing with a knife. Fortunately, Senator Seo’s son was not seriously injured.”

Il-hyun spits a short curse and then instructed Tae-soo.

“Call Senator Seo. Tell him I’ll see him in the evening.”

“What are you going to do with the unconscious friend?”

“Get rid of him. It would be a headache when he wakes up.”

“Yes.”

His fingers on the armrest moved as if he was planning a disaster. His moving fingers stopped, and their gazes met in the mirror.

“No.  Keep him alive for the time being.”

If he keeps him alive, he’ll be useful later. The car started and Il-hyun’s gaze was drawn out the window. A fight broke out after several people hung out, drank, and used drugs, and they were taken to the hospital. If he looked at it, there was no one innocent there, so it didn’t matter if anyone died. It was the same with Kang Seok-Joo. It was just annoying that he had more work to do.