Chapter 24 – Trouble Breaks Out
In the end, trouble came.
The other Daejeongssummoned Yeong-woo.
His body had healed.
But the memory of the beating remained vivid.
Other memories fade with time.
They grow dull.
But the memory of being beaten does not fade easily.
Because the body remembers.
Yeong-woo gripped a short blade in reverse and walked not toward the meeting hall,
but behind the barracks.
A dozen men waited there.
Gathered like street thugs in a back alley.
If there is no righteousness,
men are no different from that.
Such is life.
In a filthy world,
the only reason I can still stand upright
is because I chose words like justiceand righteousness.
"You came."
It was Yun Ji-woong.
A lackey of Seo Ui-taek, the commander of the West Gate defenses.
The brat was pathetic.
He would do anything Seo Ui-taek ordered.
A dog.
A man who never showed himself in ordinary matters had stepped forward.
That meant, without doubt, this was Seo Ui-taek's command.
"Mm. Why?"
"You're speaking casually now?"
"We're both Daejeongs."
"The same?"
"We've been Daejeongs far longer than—"
Yeong-woo cut him off.
"Then you're incompetent."
"If you've been one that long and still remain one."
"You bastard. Want another round?"
Yeong-woo stepped back slowly.
"Mm."
"I don't mind."
"I prepared for this."
"I knew a day like this would come."
In both hands he held blades.
One was a short dagger, no longer than half a palm,
gripped in reverse.
The other was longer,
about the length of his forearm,
held normally.
"One of us dies today."
"You'll die too."
"Sure."
"That's life."
"Rolling like dogs with dogs in a dog's world."
"You really made up your mind."
Yun Ji-woong gestured to the others.
But the other Daejeongs did not move.
They knew Yeong-woo's madness.
When they had ganged up on him before,
one man had ended up leaving the army
and returning home crippled.
And not just him.
Several others who joined the beating had not escaped injury either.
It had not felt like human strength.
They had grabbed him firmly,
yet his small body moved.
Twisted.
Exploded.
It felt as if the explosion itself would injure them.
Yeong-woo's body had seemed ready to burst like a fire bomb.
Dense.
Elastic.
Power packed tight within.
And now he had brought blades.
This was no longer a matter of grabbing and beating.
The moment contact happened,
someone would be cut.
A sword wound does not heal easily.
It is not like fists.
Steel tears flesh,
cuts muscle,
breaks bone.
Recovery is rare.
Fighting after being stabbed only happens in stories.
The instant a blade enters the body,
it feels as if a block of iron has been driven into your chest.
Your body simply stops.
Yun Ji-woong glanced left and right.
He saw the hesitation in the others' faces.
Fear.
He gave up on forcing them.
Instead, he spoke.
"Enough already."
"Everyone says they'll die because of you."
"Why are you trying so hard to impress someone?"
"Because of you, we're forced to do the same work."
Yeong-woo laughed coldly.
"You can't even say that to the man forcing you."
"What did you say?!"
"They told me the same thing."
"If I fail, they'll kill me."
"So I can't die just to make your lives comfortable."
"My life is hard enough."
"Let's finish it today."
Yeong-woo studied each of their faces carefully.
He memorized them.
Fortunately,
Kwak Eun-seopwas not among them.
"If you want to live," Yeong-woo said quietly,
"you'll have to kill me today."
"Because if I survive this—"
"I will hunt each of you down."
"And kill you."
"No matter what it takes."
Yun Ji-woong shouted,
"You mad bastard!"
Then he turned to the others.
"You heard him!"
"He says he'll kill all of you!"
Yeong-woo shook his head.
"No."
"You die today."
"I've been waiting for today."
Yun Ji-woong spat,
"Kill him."
"Bury him."
"Who would ever know?"
Their intentions were obvious.
For the sake of their group's comfort,
they could bury a living man.
An individual may be good.
But a group can be evil.
That is why one must be careful
about becoming part of a crowd.
If you join blindly,
you will commit every cruelty with them.