The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary-Chapter 135

He cursed the pitch-black road for not having a single streetlight. He couldn’t see the expression on Lee Hyuk’s face, couldn’t tell how he was looking at him.

"Hey! Grab that bastard!" Park Yul, who had been momentarily thrown off by Lee Hyuk’s sudden appearance, yelled at Hyesung as he tried to escape.

Hyesung turned to see men in black suits chasing him like grim reapers. His head spun as he tried to comprehend the situation.

Just as one of the thugs reached out to grab Hyesung’s collar, a fist came flying from the side, landing with brutal speed on the man’s face.

Hyesung stopped and turned his head. The man, his nose smashed and bleeding profusely, let out a pitiful groan as he collapsed to the ground.

Suddenly, Hyesung felt a strong arm wrap around his waist, pulling him close. It was a familiar, thick arm, and Hyesung instinctively burrowed deeper into the embrace, inhaling the comforting scent. It was a primal, instinctive act, driven by the need to find stability.

"Mister…"

Lee Hyuk grabbed Hyesung’s shoulders, quickly assessing his condition. There was a cut near his temple, his cheek was reddened, and both hands were caked with dried blood. His clothes were dirty, covered in footprints. But what caught Lee Hyuk’s eye the most was the vivid handprint around Hyesung’s pale neck.

The fire in Lee Hyuk’s dark eyes gradually dimmed, replaced by a cold, terrifying calm.

A shiver ran down Hyesung’s spine. This was a side of Lee Hyuk he had never seen in the six years they had known each other. It was different from the fury he had shown when dealing with Kim Doo-sung.

"Mister, this isn’t…" Hyesung began to explain, but before he could finish, Lee Hyuk took off his coat and draped it over Hyesung, then slowly stood up.

With each step Lee Hyuk took, the Yushinpa men instinctively retreated. They recognized the danger he posed, unable to approach due to the lethal aura surrounding him.

Hyesung noticed that the scent of Lee Hyuk’s pheromones had changed. The usual refreshing, comforting scent was gone.

Lee Hyuk was walking straight toward the person who had orchestrated all of this: Park Yul.

"Shit! What are you all standing around for? Stop him!" Park Yul, clearly not expecting Lee Hyuk to show up, was visibly panicking. His trembling hands betrayed his fear, a stark contrast to the bravado he had shown earlier.

The Yushinpa men, responding to Park Yul’s orders, lunged at Lee Hyuk, but before they could even touch him, they were met with brutal force. Lee Hyuk’s powerful punches sent them sprawling to the ground.

Witnessing their comrades being easily taken down by Lee Hyuk’s sheer strength, the remaining thugs froze, their morale shattered.

"Hey."

Lee Hyuk finally spoke, his voice calm as he stood in front of Park Yul, having cleared all obstacles in his path.

"If you were lucky enough to survive the last time, you should’ve kept your head down. I don’t care if you suck up to Jung Se-jin, stab me in the back, or try to destroy Taesung."

His voice was rough, probably due to having been unconscious for days.

"But you shouldn’t have touched him."

Lee Hyuk sneered.

Park Yul, trembling uncontrollably, gripped his knife tightly. This was a completely different feeling from when they fought in the bar. Back then, he was driven by adrenaline and a thirst for revenge. Now, all he felt was pure, unadulterated fear.

And Park Yul knew this fear well. He had only felt it once before, the day Lee Hyuk nearly killed him.

"Maybe it’s my fault," Lee Hyuk continued, his voice laced with bitterness. "If I had finished you off back then, none of this would have happened."

Park Yul’s fear turned to desperation. "What are you talking about, you idiot?!"

He snarled, pulling a knife from his pocket. Hyesung, alarmed, tried to stand, but his legs refused to cooperate.

Park Yul didn’t hesitate as he lunged at Lee Hyuk with the blade. Lee Hyuk didn’t move, merely extending his right hand.

Blood began to drip onto the asphalt as Lee Hyuk caught the blade with his bare hand.

As the pain registered, an eerie light flickered in Lee Hyuk’s eyes—a look that was anything but positive.

"You… you son of a…"

Park Yul struggled to pull the knife free, but it was no use. The more he tried, the harder Lee Hyuk squeezed.

When the blood loss became too much, Lee Hyuk yanked the knife from Park Yul’s grasp and threw it far away.

"Did you hit him?" Lee Hyuk asked.

"What?"

With another dull thud, Lee Hyuk’s fist connected with Park Yul’s face. As Park Yul staggered back with a groan, Lee Hyuk delivered a powerful punch to his stomach.

"Ugh…"

"Where did you hit him?" Lee Hyuk’s voice was disturbingly calm, as if he were having a casual conversation rather than beating someone senseless.

Park Yul tried to fight back, but a punch to his side sent him crashing to the ground. What followed was a relentless barrage of kicks.

"You even used your feet, huh? You piece of shit. There’s barely any place to hit on that small body of his."

"Argh! Damn it… Ugh…"

Each kick sent blood splattering across the asphalt.

Seeing their boss getting beaten so easily, the remaining Yushinpa men stood frozen, paralyzed with fear. They didn’t even consider stepping in to help. Perhaps they instinctively understood the truth: attacking Lee Hyuk would be a death sentence. Both Park Yul and his men knew that the only reason they had subdued Lee Hyuk at the bar was because they had drugged him.

Now, even though Lee Hyuk had only recently risen from his sickbed, he was completely overpowering Park Yul.

"Stop… please… stop! I’m sorry… I was wrong!"

Lee Hyuk continued his assault, not stopping until Park Yul was unrecognizable. His teeth were scattered on the ground, his nose crushed beyond recognition, and his eyes swollen shut, barely able to open.

"Still got enough strength to scream?"

Hyesung watched Lee Hyuk’s back, a growing sense of unease creeping over him.

One of the reasons Hyesung had always followed Lee Hyuk was that he had never taken a life. Despite being a gangster, Lee Hyuk had never treated human life lightly. He had always rejected jobs involving assassination, even when Taesung had been offered contracts for it.

Hyesung’s memory of Lee Hyuk’s confident words, "I don’t have a habit of killing people," from the day they first met, was beginning to blur.

"Don’t bother apologizing. It’s too late for that."

Lee Hyuk’s voice was detached as he grabbed Park Yul by the throat, slowly squeezing.

"Ugh…"

Park Yul’s body began to convulse as blood-tinged foam bubbled from his mouth. His hands clawed weakly at Lee Hyuk’s, but his movements grew slower and slower.

"Mister!"

Hyesung suddenly shouted, his voice cutting through the tension.

"I… I’m hurt! I need… I need to go to the hospital…"

"…"

The murderous grip on Park Yul’s throat loosened slightly.

"Hah… ugh… ha…"

Freed from Lee Hyuk’s grasp, Park Yul gasped for air, his chest heaving as he rolled on the ground.

Lee Hyuk slowly stood up and walked over to Hyesung.

The Yushinpa men, terrified, immediately parted to let him pass.

"Where does it hurt?"

Lee Hyuk crouched in front of Hyesung, his voice softening as he examined him.

"Where does it hurt the most?"

He pressed his lips gently against Hyesung’s injured hands.

"It all hurts… so, please…"

Just then, the sound of engines roared behind them as three black sedans pulled up. The occupants were none other than the men from Seohyun Trading—the Seohyun gang members.

Each holding a weapon, they charged toward Park Yul’s group.

“Take down those bastards! The rest of you, find the deputy chief!”

Hyesung glanced around in surprise, wondering if Kim Seong-han had called for backup. Just as he was taking in the scene, he felt himself being lifted into the air.

“Mister.”

“Let’s get you to the hospital.”

Lee Hyuk gently picked Hyesung up, cradling him in his arms as he walked toward the car he had arrived in. Even though it was only a short distance, Lee Hyuk held Hyesung tightly, as if he were something precious that could slip away at any moment.

He carefully placed Hyesung in the passenger seat, making sure he was comfortable before climbing into the driver’s seat himself. He then meticulously fastened Hyesung’s seatbelt.

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The engine roared to life, and the car sped down the road, retracing the path it had come from.

Hyesung, still shaken, glanced at Lee Hyuk, who was staring straight ahead, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel.

“Mister, about what happened…”

“Hyesung, later.”

Lee Hyuk’s voice was heavy, the weight of his words matched by the intensity of his pheromones that filled the car.

It wasn’t hard for Hyesung to realize that Lee Hyuk was angry. Sensing this, Hyesung closed his mouth, deciding it was best not to push any further.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. Lee Hyuk hadn’t held his hand, hadn’t looked at him directly. The lack of that usual comfort stung more than he wanted to admit.