TE 6

Thunder echoed through the sealed workshop at the harbor, but it wasn’t thunder at all – it was the stench of blood. The regulars seemed immune to it, their senses long dulled, but Tae-beom could barely keep his empty stomach from heaving.

The metallic scent pierced his nostrils like needles.

Ironically, the one creating this nauseating smell was none other than himself.

The man whose hair was gripped in Tae-beom’s black leather gloves was barely conscious. His features were unrecognizable beneath the swelling, his skin-stained crimson with blood.

The vinyl sheeting had been meticulously laid out, covering every inch of floor and wall to ensure not a single drop of blood would escape. Tae-beom shook the blood-matted head in his grip. Though the man’s eyes were open, they rolled aimlessly, unable to focus.

This was Detective Pirani, who had been such a thorn in Pastor Moon Seokho’s side. After his team leader was “dealt with,” he had burned with renewed purpose, doggedly pursuing the organization alone. Now, his young life was about to reach its end.

“So much for South Korea being drug-free,” Tae-beom mused.

Ah, perhaps he wasn’t as far gone as he’d seemed.

The detective’s eyes snapped open, summoning his last reserves of strength to made eye contact with Tae-beom. Tae-beom could feel the detective’s desperation through his grip on the man’s scalp.

“If you want to change the world, you need to know the difference when to push through with your duty and when not to.”

From society’s view, he was truly righteous. If he had lived to expose the truth, he would have been celebrated as a true detective. But in death, he would receive only hollow condolences and pity.

No – even his death would never surface. No one would ever know of his righteousness.

Just like that ‘someone’ who thought they were untouchable.

“What about your widowed mother?”

“Ugh… ungh!”

Though barely three years younger than Tae-beom, the detective erupted at the mention of his sole weakness, thrashing with what little strength remained. But his struggles were as futile as an ant’s bite. A dying man could hardly pose a threat.

Tae-beom’s eyes darkened as he recalled the young detective’s background – raised by a single mother, pursuing his dream of becoming an officer.

Having family to protect, being their provider…

How could he be so reckless?

Drunk on justice without considering those he will left behind, and only now agonizing over his family’s future when it was too late.

Though it was time for the final act, the hand gripping the detective’s skull hesitated.

Fear of death, unyielding justice even at death’s door, anger, sorrow, regret – those dying eyes held every emotion, and they captured Tae-beom.

“Tae-beom.”

A stern voice called out. When Tae-beom met Kang Jinho’s gaze – Secretary Moon’s right hand – his facial muscles threatened to contort as if seized by a spasm.

“Are you hesitating?”

Here’s the next part of the literary translation:

Taebeom had earned his opportunity thanks to catching Jinho’s eye. But that didn’t mean the old fox who had survived so long under Moon Seokho truly cared for him like a brother.

Disappointment was seeping into his expression – perhaps this promising piece wasn’t living up to expectations after all.

The irony wasn’t lost on Taebeom. After ramming the young detective’s car with a truck, after beating him senseless to extract whatever information he might have, to hesitate at this final step was absurd. Even if Taebeom spared him now, the other members of the organization wouldn’t be so merciful.

His fate was sealed.

This belated conscience was laughable, even to himself.

The head in his blood-slicked grip swung violently.

A wet, dull thud followed, and blood spattered across Taebeom’s face. The crimson pool spreading across the transparent vinyl reflected the killer’s face like a mirror.

It was the perfect visage of a monster, befitting this nauseating scene.

Would that woman, raised in perfect safety and endless love, ever understand?

That in this world, there were far worse sins than mere adultery to repent for.

* * *

Park Hee-jung sat at her vanity in a revealing slip, preparing for bed. In the mirror’s reflection, she could see Moon Seokho lying on the bed, finishing a business call.

“Don’t let your guard down just because we dealt with one small fish. We never know where the next pest might pop up. More importantly, we still have other issues. Keeping our chef’s identity hidden is paramount.”

Hee-jung approached Seok-ho, whose mood seemed improved from yesterday, and embraced his waist as she lay beside him. Unlike yesterday when he had treated her with contempt, he now tenderly caressed her shoulder before hurriedly ending his call.

“Things seem to be going well?”

“We’ve at least dealt with one pest.”

“That’s some relief, at least.”

His caressing hand moved lower, slipping between her arms. Moon Seok-ho reached inside her slip, kneading her young wife’s breasts to relieve the day’s fatigue. Though he was too on edge about the threat to his chef to be in the mood for more.

“Hee-jung.”

“Yes, darling?”

“What did you do today?”

“After you left, I spent time playing with Seo-chan. Seo-ha was out.”

He already knew about Seo-ha’s errands from Kang Jin-ho, and then from the new recruit he’d been keeping an eye on lately.

From what he’d heard, she seemed to have gone out just to get some air, but his daughter was so quiet it was impossible to know what had been troubling her.

He cast a sidelong glance at his wife.

She was young and beautiful, but perhaps it had been too much to hope she’d be a good stepmother as well. It was disappointing, certainly.

Here’s the next part of the literary translation:

Of course, Park Hee-jung wasn’t entirely oblivious to her husband’s thoughts. While he found it endearing when she took care of Seo-chan, she could see his disappointment at her awkwardness with Seo-ha.

But Hee-jung had no intention of playing mother to a girl barely five years younger than herself. And she was certain Seo-ha felt the same way.

Especially after their brief exchange before Moon Seok-ho came home, Hee-jung’s feelings toward her husband’s eldest daughter had soured considerably.

“It would be so nice if you and Seo-ha could get along better.”

“You know she’s uncomfortable around me.”

“That girl… who knows what she’s thinking?”

Hee-jung might not have the ability to manipulate the aging Moon Seokho, who treated women like trophies or accessories. But she did have the power to break the spirit of that arrogant girl who relied so heavily on her father’s favoritism.

“Actually, Seo-ha and I had a brief chat today.”

“You did? With Seo-ha? What did you talk about?”

Moon Seok-ho’s unexpected interest in this detail drew an unusually strong reaction.

Suppressing a smile, Hee-jung maintained an innocent expression as she prepared to speak.

To whisper cunning words that would destroy her stepdaughter.

* * *

The door slammed against the wall, the sound thundering through the quiet house. Seo-ha flinched instinctively, but before she could process what was happening, angry footsteps stormed toward where she lay in bed.

“Ah…”

Before she could even call out “Father,” her body went flying.

This wasn’t a figure of speech – she was literally thrown from the bed into the wall. If there was any fortune in this moment, it was that her head hadn’t hit first.

The impact sent shockwaves through her entire body, from her shoulder blades to her internal organs.

The pain was so intense that she couldn’t even utter a short scream. Her body was too busy trying to restore its basic functions to waste energy on crying out.

It had been so long. Since she’d experienced such direct violence from her father.

Before she could ask the foolish question of why this was happening, she spotted Park Hee-jung standing in the doorway.

Ah, now she understood.

Why her father was so enraged despite her having done nothing wrong.

And naturally, that woman had played a major role in it.

“Ha…”

As the shock subsided, a sound escaped Seo-ha’s lips – something between a groan and a bitter laugh.

One word from her about Park Hee-jung’s affair with the new recruit would be enough to end that woman.

Here she was trying to save someone’s life…

And that ignorant woman had provoked this situation by running her mouth to her father. The resentment toward Park Hee-jung surged so strongly that Seo-ha almost wished she could die, just to teach her a lesson about loose lips.

“Seoha, Seoha, Seoha, Seoha!”

But instead of exposing the woman’s crimes, Seo-ha found herself being violently shaken by her shoulders in her father’s iron grip.

“Moon Seo-ha!”

Her father’s face as he shouted her name inches from hers resembled a beast robbed of its prey. Just as wild, just as terrifying.

“Stop it, darling! You’ll kill her…!”

Her father, who had unleashed his violence without warning, tried to calm himself with deep breaths at his wife’s false display of concern as she fidgeted nervously in the doorway.

“Right, right…. nothing’s certain yet…”

Though he seemed to be speaking to Park Heejung, it was more like he was muttering to himself. Then, holding Seoha’s face between his hands, Moon Seokho spoke in a low voice.

“Seoha.”

Unlike his earlier shouting, his voice now carried an ominous tone. Knowing how unpredictable her father could be if she didn’t respond immediately, Seoha nodded despite her trembling body.0.

“Yes, Father…”

Looking at his seemingly obedient “good daughter,” Moon Seok-ho finally got to his point.

“Have you been lusting after a man?”