Devil Returns to School Days - Chapter 196: The Price of a Life Lived (6)

It was a late hour.

Taking advantage of the enveloping darkness, a group of people moved discreetly.

“There are about three guards near the villa.”

“Really?”

The man, seemingly the leader, was Seo Jun-young, whose sharp eyes glinted.

Three hours ago.

After receiving a call from Yoon Hyeon-min, he was offered the most tempting proposal since joining the Golden Circle.

[Kill Kim Hyunsung somehow. Then leave for overseas immediately, and I’ll guarantee your future. You’ve learned how crucial trust is, so feel free to keep this call as proof of our agreement.]

It was a tremendous opportunity.

The promise of financial security from the heir of the Taeyang Group meant a comfortable life from a single task. There was no reason to refuse. If he had any intention of living righteously, he wouldn’t have joined the Golden Circle in the first place. Seo Jun-young immediately gathered his subordinates, and several dozen men began to move under the cover of darkness.

The target was Taeyang Villa.

Their objective: Kim Hyunsung’s grandmother.

Kim Hyunsung’s current whereabouts were unknown, so they needed his grandmother as bait to lure him out.

‘They said Kim Hyunsung cherishes his family deeply. That’s why he assigned separate guards for his grandmother and younger sibling. What a fool. If he really intended to protect them, he should have known three guards wouldn’t be enough.’

There was no hesitation.

A surprise attack needed to be sudden to be effective.

Seo Jun-young led the charge, lunging at the guards as soon as they were identified.

“Who are you…?”

“Attack!”

Smack!

Thud, thud!

It happened in an instant.

They swarmed the guards, striking them unconscious and hiding their limp bodies in a nearby alley.

There was no need for further action.

News of the grandmother would spread soon enough, and by morning, everything would be resolved.

They entered the villa.

After thoroughly checking the surroundings, a technician they had prepped in advance got to work on the door.

Creak, creak.

The door mechanism was being manipulated.

It was a terrifying sight.

If someone had been watching from above, their heart would have dropped at the dozens of glinting eyes in the darkness. As the tension mounted, the technician finally unlocked the door, and Seo Jun-young cautiously led the group inside.

Shhh.

The house was quiet.

He advanced carefully.

When he opened the door to one of the rooms, his brow furrowed.

‘Not here?’

Something felt off.

And then—

A sudden scream erupted from outside.

“Aaagh!”

“Damn it, it’s a trap!”

Seo Jun-young whipped his head around.

This was completely unexpected.

* * *

Outside the villa.

Another group appeared.

It was as if they had been anticipating this situation. The person leading them shouted loudly.

“Attack!”

“Kill them all!”

Thud, thud, thud.

They charged en masse.

A massive man swung his fist the moment the enemies reacted.

Smack.

“Ugh!”

The target slammed into the ground.

His face caved in, blood splattered everywhere, and as if that weren’t enough, the man ruthlessly mowed down the nearby assailants. The members of the Golden Circle immediately recognized the familiar face. On their way to Daesan, they had memorized profiles of dangerous individuals, one of whom was listed as “Kim Hyunsung’s Dog,” Baek Seong-ho.

It was an exact match.

Baek Seong-ho charged into the crowd, his fists flying mercilessly.

Smack.

Bam, bam—!

And that was just the beginning.

Following him, others surged in.

Among them was Kim Siwoo.

Swish.

He dodged an incoming attack.

The attackers were mostly adults.

Their strikes were far too lethal for high school-level opponents, but Kim Siwoo wasn’t overwhelmed.

Bam!

“Gah!”

His high kick connected.

His retreating opponent collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut, and without missing a beat, Kim Siwoo turned to attack another foe. The commotion stirred up lights in the villa. Residents upstairs appeared at the windows, panicked, some hurriedly calling the police, but neither the Golden Circle nor Baek Seong-ho’s group showed any sign of halting their fight.

The chaos intensified.

Seo Jun-young’s face twisted in frustration.

Emerging from the villa, he shouted furiously.

“Push them back outside!”

Whoosh.

Smack—!

He struck Baek Seong-ho in the face.

Though Seo Jun-young had been chosen by Yoon Hyeon-min for his aptitude in killing, even someone as formidable as Baek Seong-ho staggered backward under his assault. The fight spilled out of the villa, the confined space now a chaotic battleground with punches flying between a mass of bodies. Amid it all, Seo Jun-young stood out, not only overpowering Baek Seong-ho but also taking down other opponents in the skirmish.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Confusion gripped him.

Protecting family was expected.

But an empty house, and an ambush prepared as if they had foreseen this attack?

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

The Golden Circle’s movements had been supposed to be swift and unexpected, yet their adversaries seemed fully prepared. Regardless, the blade had already been drawn. Whether their plans had been leaked or not, there was no turning back now. Seo Jun-young bellowed again.

“Kill them all!”

Bam!

Bam, smack—!

He carved a path forward.

Intent on taking everyone down and figuring out his next move later.

Thud, thud, thud.

Bang—

“You damn gorilla!”

Baek Seong-ho barreled into him.

Seo Jun-young braced against the tackle, stabilizing his lower body before raining down powerful elbow strikes on Baek Seong-ho’s back. Baek Seong-ho trembled under the pain, yet he managed to lift Seo Jun-young off the ground.

It was a dire moment.

Seo Jun-young reacted quickly.

As a former professional mixed martial artist, he caught Baek Seong-ho’s arm with his legs and twisted.

Crack.

“Argh!”

The sound of a broken arm echoed.

Baek Seong-ho was undeniably strong.

But after taking him down, Seo Jun-young staggered to his feet.

At that moment.

Seo Jun-young froze.

This should have been a moment to capitalize on his momentum, yet someone who shouldn’t have been there appeared before his eyes.

“…Kim Hyunsung.”

The Golden Circle’s target.

He was standing right there.

* * *

Kim Hyunsung’s appearance.

It confirmed an undeniable truth.

“…There was a traitor on the inside.”

“That’s right. Just before you left Seoul, someone contacted me. They told me the Golden Circle was targeting me and my family.”

Kim Hyunsung’s face.

It was marred with rage.

They had targeted his family.

They had tried to kill him by using his family as hostages.

As expected, Yoon Hyeon-min was a societal scourge.

A demon who sacrificed others without hesitation for his own gain, someone who had no place in society.

Kim Hyunsung took a step forward.

As he descended upon Daesan, a singular thought had cemented itself in his mind.

‘I’ll kill them all.’

This incident.

He had no intention of forgiving anyone involved.

Seo Jun-young, showing signs of nervousness, charged forward as the distance closed between them.

“Damn it.”

Tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

It didn’t matter how he got to Seoul as long as he got there.

Now that Kim Hyunsung was in front of him, killing him would mean fulfilling the contract.

Seo Jun-young’s fists swung menacingly.

Kim Hyunsung dodged the punches and retaliated, but Seo Jun-young wasn’t one to take hits so easily. After all, his opponent was just a high schooler. No matter how skilled Kim Hyunsung might be for his age, Seo Jun-young believed he could take advantage of the situation and finish him off while he was alone.

And just as he believed.

Whoosh.

Smack—!

Seo Jun-young’s fist feinted, landing a heavy blow to Kim Hyunsung’s abdomen.

The punch had targeted his liver, and no matter how resilient one might be, Seo Jun-young expected him to collapse, spitting saliva.

But then.

“…!”

Their gazes locked.

Blood vessels burst, dyeing Kim Hyunsung’s eyes red.

Would Seo Jun-young understand?

The kind of life Kim Hyunsung had lived?

Even in the direst of circumstances, Kim Hyunsung had been the type to claw at his own legs, grit his teeth, and rise again, even after being struck in a vital spot. A sense of dread crept over Seo Jun-young. His mind screamed warnings of danger, but it was already too late. He had stepped into Kim Hyunsung’s range.

Smack—!

A fist connected.

Seo Jun-young’s face contorted as it absorbed the blow. He attempted to counterattack, swinging wildly, but Kim Hyunsung exchanged punches while steadily overpowering him. The venomous aura emanating from Kim Hyunsung consumed Seo Jun-young like wildfire. Before long, Seo Jun-young crumbled after feeble resistance, and Kim Hyunsung grabbed his collar as he lay on the ground.

Wham!

He struck him in the face.

Wham, wham!

Seo Jun-young flailed, his pleading eyes begging for mercy.

It didn’t faze Kim Hyunsung in the slightest.

Wham, wham, wham!

If one crossed the line.

They needed to understand they could pay with their life.

The reason Kim Hyunsung had resolved to survive again was contingent on the safety of his family and loved ones.

Without them his life was disposable.

His hands showed no hesitation.

When Seo Jun-young’s body went completely limp, his face drenched in blood, Kim Hyunsung raised his head, his own face similarly stained red.

“…”

“…”

The fight was over.

Seo Jun-young had lost.

His men surrendered.

Kim Hyunsung spoke coldly to them.

“Contact Yoon Hyeon-min. Now.”

* * *

Click.

When he answered the call.

Yoon Hyeon-min instinctively understood.

“…How did they know?”

The plan had failed.

Hearing Kim Hyunsung’s voice on the other end, Yoon Hyeon-min couldn’t hide his despair.

[You should’ve known the Golden Circle no longer operates under your control.]

Kim Hyunsung’s tone was calm.

The fiery rage that had burned inside him cooled as he spoke to Yoon Hyeon-min.

[The Golden Line betrayed you, and now even direct orders from you have reached my ears. You won’t be able to trust anyone anymore. In this hopeless situation where you can only escape with help, there’s no one left in the world to extend a hand. That’s karma. When everything seems fine, you might think your life is on the right track, but when you hit rock bottom, the wrongs you’ve committed come back to haunt you like a boomerang.]

Why was it?

Through the phone.

It felt as though Yoon Hyeon-min could see Kim Hyunsung’s smirking lips.

[You can look forward to it. The future that’s coming for you.]

Click.

The call ended.

Yoon Hyeon-min stared at his phone with a complicated expression.

What he had thought of as a last resort had failed before it could even take off, thwarted by betrayal from within.

Kim Hyunsung was right.

He couldn’t trust anyone now.

The fortress he had built had crumbled to dust.

There was no one in the world willing to step forward for a leader who avoided responsibility.

“I can’t let it end like this.”

Not yet.

For his life to end with just one failure, Yoon Hyeon-min had too much to lose.

He swallowed his unease.

Closing his eyes tightly.

He still.

He still believed there was a chance.

After all, that was how he had lived his life up until now.

Yoon Hyeon-min refused to accept reality.

* * *

The next day.

Yoon Hyeon-min went to see his father.

He looked haggard after a sleepless night.

It was a face unrecognizable as the pride of the Taeyang Group, and he immediately knelt before his father.

“Father. Please save me, just this once.”

Blood ties.

That was all he had left to rely on.

He hoped his father’s affection would rescue him from this abyss.

Chairman Yoon Byeong-ho’s gaze was unreadable.

Looking down at his son, he spoke.

“…Once, you were the greatest pride of my life. There was a time when raising you, succeeding where so many fail with their children, brought me more satisfaction than the Taeyang Group I built. But now that I strip away my influence. You are incapable of anything on your own.”

“Father! I was wrong! I’m your only son, you can’t just let it end like this!”

Yoon Hyeon-min raised his head abruptly.

A sense of foreboding swept over him.

His father’s tone carried an ominous weight, and he knew this was the time to beg.

But.

From the moment his failure was exposed.

Chairman Yoon Byeong-ho had severed something within himself.

“My son. Though I love you deeply, this company is the treasure of the Yoon family that cannot be traded for anything.”

He turned his head away.

At that moment.

The door burst open.

The sound of rushing footsteps mixed with Yoon Hyeon-min’s desperate cries.

“Father! Father! Please, Father!”

His voice grew more distant.

Yoon Byeong-ho stood by the window, gazing outside with a cold expression.

(TL Note: It’s always satisfying to see someone arrogant reduced to someone like this. Ugh, all the pent up frustration is now gone. )