A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive

Finally, I met Choi Taejoon.

It had been a long time since I had been struggling to survive in this unfamiliar place I had suddenly fallen into. Seeing Choi Taejoon, whom I first encountered on the day I transmigrated, felt oddly comforting, almost like meeting someone I had known all along.

“Watch your tone.”

Choi Taejoon clicked his tongue lightly, narrowing one eye in disapproval.

At the same time, the handsome man standing guard by the door scowled, his expression turning hostile. With a single word from Choi Taejoon, he looked ready to tear me apart like a piece of paper.

“My apologies, Executive Director Choi Taejoon.”

I deliberately enunciated the title “Executive Director” one syllable at a time, bowing politely with both hands clasped together before raising my head.

After all, you don’t address characters with titles like “sir” or “madam” when reading a novel. It was only natural that “Choi Taejoon” had stuck in my head like a nickname.

“How have you been? Everything okay?”

My bold question seemed to soften the frown around his eyes slightly, though his expression still asked, “Why on earth would you care?”

It wasn’t exactly an appropriate greeting given the situation, but knowing the original story, I couldn’t help my curiosity.

What had Choi Taejoon been up to all this time? Why hadn’t he appeared before me sooner? Had he been embroiled in the complicated political scheming within the organization? A slew of questions raced through my mind.

His neatly combed-back hair was slightly disheveled, suggesting he had been drinking. His cold eyes swept over my face and stopped at my swollen injury.

“Oh, this? I got hurt while working earlier…”

The lazy puff of smoke he blew in my direction stung my eyes.

I almost blurted, “Smoking is banned, even in bathrooms,” but I quickly clamped my mouth shut. The memory of the hotel incident came rushing back. I needed to be careful—I didn’t want to end up with my neck in a chokehold again.

Instinctively, I rubbed my neck as if to shield it and stepped back.

Wait. Would I actually die from being strangled? That wouldn’t be the worst way to go.

Choi Taejoon clicked his tongue again, this time with a faint air of pity, as if he were looking at someone utterly hopeless.

While washing his hands under running water, he asked, “You’re not still doing those idiotic things, are you?”

“Idiotic things?”

“Yes. Playing around as Director Kang’s little toy.”

The glare of his eyes, reflected in the mirror, bore down on me.

“Oh, no, not at all. I’m just focused on my work with Team Forsythia 2.”

How thoroughly had I been brainwashed over the past few days to refer to myself as part of Team Forsythia 2 without hesitation? Even I found it shocking.

“What team?”

“Team Forsythia 2. That’s our team name.”

The naming sense of the author must have been seriously lacking. The name felt oddly outdated, not at all fitting for an organization involved in criminal activities.

“…Well, I shouldn’t complain about naming sense. XHD09BF exists, after all.”

“What’s that?”

I accidentally let slip the group’s name and waved my hands frantically in denial.

“Nothing! It’s nothing.”

“You said the same thing that morning.”

“Pardon?”

Choi Taejoon stubbed out his cigarette with a doubtful expression.

“Manager Kim.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

The man standing by the door straightened and bowed his head as he answered.

Ah, so this was Manager Kim!

Choi Taejoon’s right-hand man and the person who had exposed Hyun Woo Kyung as a cop—a sworn enemy in the original novel but a steadfast ally to Choi Taejoon.

“Find out what XHD09BF is.”

“What?!”

Lost in my thoughts, I slapped a hand over my mouth in panic.

“How can anyone remember that after hearing it just once!”

Manager Kim even jotted it down.

“XHD09BF. Understood, Executive Director.”

“No, no! You won’t find anything even if you search for it. It’s from another world… I mean, it doesn’t exist in this one.”

Manager Kim checked his phone and replied, “Indeed, there’s nothing in the search results, Executive Director.”

“Keep looking. Who knows what schemes Director Kang might be up to.”

“Yes, sir.”

In a defeated tone, I added, “It’s an idol group name.”

Choi Taejoon’s forehead creased.

“An idol group?”

“Yes, just… an unpopular idol group for now. But they’ll definitely be famous someday…”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Shaking his head, he turned to leave but suddenly paused, glancing back at me as if he had more to say. After a moment of silence, he left without another word.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My face, swollen from the injury, made me look like some kind of alien.

Scratching my chest absentmindedly, I stared at the door he had walked through.

This random encounter seemed to suggest that things were unfolding according to the original story, but something felt slightly off.

As I was about to head back to the room where the others were waiting, a lighter on the shelf caught my eye.

“This…”

It was the same lighter I had seen at the hotel last night.

Its edges were worn and shiny from use, and the gold plating on the lid was slightly peeled, yet it was well-maintained, as though it were something precious to him.

“Oh, it’s that one.”

If my memory served me right, this was a keepsake from Choi Taejoon’s father.

I picked up the lighter and, without hesitation, rushed out to follow him.

“Excuse me! Executive Director!”

“It’s my father’s keepsake. The first and last luxury he ever allowed himself, even though he couldn’t smoke.”

I remembered something Choi Taejoon had once said.

“Executive Director…!”

I had barely taken a few steps outside the building when the suffocating heat hit me. It was an unbearably hot summer night.

Yet, strangely, there was no sign of Choi Taejoon. Instead, a black sedan, likely his, was idling with the engine running.

Could he be in the car?

I glanced around once more, but tonight, there wasn’t even an ant crawling nearby. Left with no other choice, I peered into the car window.

“Ugh… what is this? I can’t see a thing.”

The dark tint on the windows made it impossible to see inside. It felt like someone was there, yet at the same time, it seemed empty.

“Is someone inside? Executive Director?”

I tapped on the window lightly, but there was no response.

Looking through the front windshield, I saw that the driver’s seat was empty. Just as I was about to turn away, realizing it was an empty car, I suddenly felt a hand grab me by the back of my neck.

“Ack!”

“What’s this punk doing?”

The force of the pull made me fall backward, landing hard on my tailbone.

“Stop loitering around and get lost.”

A group of men in black suits towered over me, glaring down with predatory eyes.

“No, it’s not like that! I just—this!”

“What’s this?”

Pain shot through my thigh as one of them kicked me repeatedly, like a fire spreading across my skin. Maybe it was my disheveled appearance that made me look suspicious, but they weren’t even trying to listen to my explanation.

“The lighter! I’m just returning the lighter!”

“What lighter?”

Finally, one of the men noticed the object in my hand and widened his eyes.

“Manager, isn’t that what the Executive Director went back inside to look for?”

“What?”

The kicks stopped abruptly.

“Yeah, he said he lost it and went back in to find it.”

“Oh, so this is it? Hand it over.”

The man snatched the lighter from my hand without hesitation.

“Hey, I think this is it. Let him know we found it.”

Apparently, Choi Taejoon had gone back into the bar to search for the lighter, which explained why I couldn’t find him.

At that moment, I felt a surge of injustice. Why did I have to get beaten up for this? And that lighter—I was the one who found it!

“Wait!”

My sharp shout made everyone look at me. I held out my palm in front of the man they called “Manager.”

“Give it back and apologize.”

The moment I tried to grab the lighter, a direct kick knocked me flat onto my back.

“I was going to let it slide, but you’re just a little thief.”

“What? A thief? Me?”

“Yeah, a thief.”

A solid punch landed on me, and bright flashes filled my vision. The man grabbed my collar and hauled me up as I stumbled.

“What about the possibility that I just happened to find something the owner left behind?”

“Let’s be real—you stole it. Admit it—ah!”

Fueled by desperation, I bit down hard on his hand. As he yelped in pain, the lighter fell to the ground. I quickly picked it up.

“I’m taking this with me.”

“You bastard! Give it back!”

“Apologize first. No, forget it. I don’t even want an apology anymore.”

I had to meet Choi Taejoon and explain everything to clear up this ridiculous misunderstanding. The man, clutching his bitten hand, now looked completely unhinged.

“You little thief!”

“How many times do I have to say I’m not a thief!”

But before I could take more than a few steps, I felt someone grab the back of my neck.

“Stop messing around and hand it over before you get hurt even more.”

The man tried to forcibly pry open my fingers, which were clenched tightly around the lighter. No matter how hard I resisted, my fingers were gradually being pulled apart against my will.

“What a mess.”

Before I could register what was happening, an immense force grabbed me by the back of my collar.

“…!”

I felt my body being lifted off the ground, and in the next instant, I was slammed back down onto the pavement.