Three Eight-Chapter 73

Guppping fell backward, exhaling sharply. As Hongju forcefully pulled out the knife, yellow crumbs fluttered down.

"You might as well have slit my stomach. Who wants to die, you damn bastard!"

Hongju lunged, kneeling on the sofa and targeting the man hiding behind it.

"What are you talking about? Are you crazy?"

Clumsily swung, the knife whizzed past Guppping's face. Hongju gasped with trembling breath fueled by rage.

"Why didn’t you say you were dead? Because I have to earn money, huh? Hey, are you even human?"

"..."

Hongju almost leaped at Guppping, raising the knife high and then stabbing down. A sensation of slicing through something mushy followed, then a scream.

"Aah!"

Blood soon spurted from the area around Guppping's arm. Flailing, Guppping pushed Hongju away. The weakened Hongju blinked wildly as he regained his footing.

"Hey, Choi! Choi!"

The locked doorknob turned rapidly, and the door began to shake.

"Open it, the safe. Hurry up!"

"Ah, damn it. Hey, I think the ligament’s torn, Hongju! Bring Choi, quickly."

Blood streamed from Guppping's grasped arm as he pressed his back against the safe. Facing the excited Hongju, he now wore a pitiful expression. Blood dripped steadily through his fingers.

"Fucking do it. Open it before I slit your stomach."

Guppping hesitated as Hongju menacingly brandished the sharp blade. As Hongju closed in again, Guppping had no choice but to stand by the safe. His blood-soaked fingertips touched the keypad. The four digits were soon obscured by red stains.

"I don’t know what you heard, but it’s a misunderstanding. Eh? I, I don’t know anything. Really!"

Beep. The safe opened. Hongju tightly grasped Guppping's hair. The bloody knife tip pointed inside the safe. Guppping sneakily glanced aside, trying to find an opening.

"Get the promissory note."

"Ha, no. I... Huuk!"

The knife that had been aimed inside the safe now pointed at Guppping's throat. Swallowing would have pressed him against the blade.

"Get it."

"..."

Guppping, without taking his eyes off the knife, reached into the safe. Fumbling, he pulled out the most worn and tattered document. His hand trembled so much that the paper fluttered. Hongju grabbed the paper and tore it to shreds.

"I sold my kidney and liver for this, damn it, what are these papers worth!"

When I was young, these damn papers were so terrifying. I worked to ensure my father would be okay. That idiotic kid ended up as an adult still stupidly taking blows to the back of the head. Serves him right.

"Madman, you took me in? All you thought about was slathering it on my head!"

Hongju screamed, his veins bulging at his neck. Despite his fingernails scraping his fingers and wrists, he madly tore the paper apart. Soon, the documents lay scattered at his feet like rags.

"..."

Guppping, measuring his timing, pushed Hongju hard, retreating back. Pressed against the wall, he groped around. His blood-soaked fingertips touched a golf club. In a flash, Guppping's eyes gleamed.

"Raised for what? You raised me? That's not even funny."

Hongju trembled as he again pointed the knife at Guppping. Guppping quickly grabbed the golf club and swung it at Hongju. Clang! The knife flew out of his grasp from the impact.

"Ugh."

"Is, is he crazy?"

Guppping gripped the golf club with both hands, pressing his back against the wall. Hongju still gasped for breath, glaring at Guppping.

"You killed my father and now me, you madman! Damn, why didn’t you say!"

As Hongju charged fiercely, Guppping swung the golf club mercilessly. Avoiding the swinging club, Hongju lunged.

"Ugh!"

Bearing Hongju's weight, Guppping collided with the safe and collapsed to the floor, a long trail of blood streaking behind him.

"Damn, why is my dad's death my fault? You ungrateful, raised by me!"

Guppping yelled, and the trembling corners of Hongju's mouth slowly crept up.

"Gratitude? I came to pay it back, you bastard."

Without the mind to pick up the distant knife, Hongju rolled his bloodshot eyes and reached out. Grabbing whatever he could, he hurled it at Guppping. His rage poured over the huddled form of Guppping.

"What about the Philippines, you just spout bullshit!"

The trash that pushed 8-year-old Hongju onto the streets for small change. The bad guy who made him collect debts whether he got beaten or not. The bastard who unzipped his pants in front of the trembling Hongju. Enraged, his body swayed.

"Just die! Die, you madman! Someone like you doesn’t need to live!"

The veins in Hongju's neck bulged as he shouted. He had lived diligently without knowing his father had died, always thinking his father would come someday. Perhaps he endured all this just in case you would treat his father the same way.

"I was such a fool because of you..."

Running away, getting caught, beaten, and insulted. He endured wanting to die, then resigned, then avoided, and then fell into self-loathing again. Shivering in the cold, sweating profusely in the heat, the time he spent on the streets flashed before his eyes.

It had been 15 years of living in disarray. It felt as though someone was stirring his brain with a firestarter.

Bang! The door burst open as Choi rushed in.

"Hey, Hongju! What are you doing!"

"How stupid must I have been, how much!"

Hongju began to kick Guppping. The strength from his emaciated body was unbelievably fierce. Once the pent-up anger was unleashed, it was unstoppable.

"Why are you like this, you bastard!"

"Let go!"

Choi grabbed Hongju from behind. Hongju struggled furiously, his pale face now flushed with blood.

"Stop, just stop!"

Even the big Choi was sweating as he barely pulled Hongju away. Guppping's eyes gleamed as he saw Hongju restrained. He picked up the fallen golf club and staggered to his feet.

"Hey, shit. Hold that tight."

"What?"

Guppping, standing completely on two legs, brushed the back of his head. His palm quickly soaked with fresh blood.

"Ha, madman. Where did you hear your dad died? Eh?"

Hongju struggled breathlessly to free himself from Choi's grip.

"Answer me, you bastard! Where did you hear it?"

Guppping brought the golf club down on Hongju's abdomen. Thud! The dull sound was like venting anger, striking his ribs and thighs next. The pain felt as if his innards would burst, but Hongju glared fiercely at Guppping.

"Hey, let him go."

Guppping swept his hair back, his fingertips flicking. Choi, completely unaware of the situation, looked down in confusion. He was internally worried that Hongju might die.

"Hurry up and get out!"

Guppping swung the golf club widely at Choi. Choi, hesitating, finally relaxed his grip on Hongju.

"You bastard. I'll send you to your long-awaited father, from me."

Hot breath escaped Hongju as Guppping roughly grabbed his hair. He dragged the limp body behind a desk. Blood drops from someone unknown dripped down as Guppping and Hongju passed by. Choi stood helplessly.

"I raised you too kindly? Where do you get off talking back?"

Guppping gripped Hongju's collar with his blood-dripping hand and then forcefully tore it halfway.

"Let go!"

Hongju struggled with his last bit of strength.

"Ugh!"

Guppping was knocked down by an elbow to his jaw. He clutched his numb cheek then quickly stood up. His eyes then flared up again.

"This raggedy bastard! Just die! Where do you get off resisting!"

The kicking continued. Hongju swallowed the bone-crushing pain. Why had he foolishly endured this? Why had

he cowardly cowered before formless threats? His father, who would have come to replace him, was dead and gone from this world.

"Hu, hoo."

Blood-soaked, Hongju let out a wheezy laugh. Guppping, having tossed aside the golf club, continued to kick.

"Are you laughing? You want to die that badly?"

His bloodied lips curled up sinisterly. Guppping squinted his eyes.

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That was when. Ptui. Hongju spat in Guppping's face. Bitter saliva mixed with blood trickled stickily down Guppping's cheek.

"Who's the bastard here?"

"Shit!"

Guppping convulsed, starting to beat Hongju's face. Amid the gruesome sounds of flesh ripping and tearing, Hongju's laughter mingled. Biting his lips, Choi finally rushed at Guppping.

"Stop it! The kid's gonna die!"

"Let go! You bastard!"

Guppping started swinging his fists even at Choi trying to restrain him. The scuffle knocked over desks and chairs rolled around.

"What's going on?"

"Stop Guppping!"

Doksa arrived with a shocked expression. Hongju pushed up his split lips, grinning. His eyelids, wet with tears, slowly blinked. The sensation of hot liquid streaming down his cheek was vivid. Was it blood, or tears?

"Calm down!"

In the chaotic scene, his mind gradually faded. The vibration in his trouser pocket was felt, but there was no time to check. The pain and rage enveloping his body subsided. It was like the calm after a typhoon, the storm abated, and the heat died down. Nothing remained.

"These bastards, they all look down on me?"

Hongju heard the angry shouting as he shrugged his stiff shoulders. Ah, the father he had longed to find. He finally found him. There was no need to cling to President Mukyeong. Just to die. Now he could meet him.

"Hongju, are you okay? Snap out of it!"

"......"

He recalled the last wrinkled face he saw in the documents. The awkward smile kept haunting him. Surely his father in heaven heard all the resentment he had harbored. It made him feel sorry.

"......"

Slowly closing and then fully dropping, Hongju's eyelids shut.