Chapter 38: End

Okay. Okay. The blades of the skates quickly cut through the ice. Somewhere, a defender blocks the attacker with his body, but the attacking team's wing runs right in and clears the way. puck! The players' rock-like bodies collide in the air. Moans and heavy breathing are drowned out by the cheers of the audience. Everyone's attention is focused only on whether that black puck goes into the goal. To do that, you have to keep bumping into it and break through it with force. The rink is cool, but a fiery heat spreads above it. The coach's instructions were given to left wing Woo Min-jae. Destroy the opposing team's players with the readiness to incur major penalties. Woo Min-jae, who was replaced by Link, could already hear huge cheers from the fans. All they wanted was a fight. They grabbed each other by the collar, shook their fists, and hit each other with their elbows. It's not even a thing to touch someone's body knowingly or unknowingly with a stick. Shall we push through the fence? It was already thrilling to think about using all my might against someone. This is why Minjae liked ice hockey. A game where fighting becomes a strategy. A time when he could freely release the beast-like instincts he had suppressed. He lunged at his opponent, baring his teeth and grinning.

After giving up his activism and returning to Korea, Woo Min-jae couldn't believe his decision. However, as if he was possessed by something, he was already in front of Kwon Hee-chan. The moment I saw him, all my regrets disappeared. His heart pounded as if he were on the rink. He never imagined that he would feel this way, not amidst the cheers of others, but in front of just one person. He deliberately suppressed this heat and excitement. The feast in front of us was not yet complete. He wasn't something to smile and be happy about just because he liked his opponent, Ghana.

‘In the end, love also comes to an end. To avoid the worst end, it would be better to let them go one by one. It's easier if you give up in advance.'

Heechan said casually. His acceptance of himself had a completely different meaning than Minjae’s acceptance of him. A relationship that will end someday? Whose will it be? Minjae wanted to know why he thought like this. The first thing that comes to mind is that he must have been abandoned by someone. He's probably one of his parents. Minjae knew that Heechan resented his father for leaving home when he was in high school. And I don't know why it suddenly occurred to him. The haggard-looking man I met by chance on the street after the summer vacation of my second year of school began.

‘You ran away from home before the summer vacation of your second year in high school. 'What did you do then?'

Heechan's expression immediately turned cold at the question. The detonator was hit. I remembered sitting like a beggar in front of a Japanese restaurant and staring at someone inside. The question I really wanted to ask was this. Who was in it? Just then, the person in charge of his work came with the research data that Minjae had requested. It was information about Hee-chan’s father. What Minjae paid attention to was the apartment where Heechan's father lived with the woman he was having an affair with. It was near a Japanese restaurant. He looked back at Hee-chan playing her game. Did you run away from home to visit your father? However, looking at his appearance at the time, it seems that he was unable to come forward. How can you follow one person for days like a beggar? I don't know the ending. I eventually met my father, but we fought and broke up. Or maybe he just came back without meeting me. The important thing is that he feels abandoned. And this could be more serious than Minjae thought. Woo Min-jae didn't want to lose him. I was thinking of using any method. Fouling was just a strategy for him.

The reason why a good idea occurred to him was because of a stroke of luck. Withdrawing the investment when Hee-chan came was the right choice. Minjae deliberately attributed this to Heechan.

'You might be the goddess of luck for me.'

Although Heechan liked it, he just took it lightly. Does not matter. It's the same at first, but things will change if the coincidence repeats itself. Minjae’s plan was simple. Let's make a coincidence. Let's make a few coincidences so that he believes it's fate. You don't need much. If Hee-chan had an experience that others wouldn't believe, he would have doubts a few times and come to believe in Woo-myung. And soon after, the car was destroyed by a motorcycle that ran into it. Minjae deliberately did not reply to Heechan’s text. I put my cell phone and luggage back in the car that had been hit by the accident and left them with the restaurant manager who came downstairs.

He said, “If you get a call from this number, don’t answer it a few times and then answer it later.”

The manager was confused, but he couldn't pout when the building owner said something like that. A faint smile appeared on Minjae's lips as he rode the ambulance to the hospital with the motorcyclist. It was the first bad luck. Are you lucky now? One bad luck. Heechan didn't seem to care much about this yet. A few days later, he came to the office near Heechan's store that he had set up as a studio. Minjae couldn't take his eyes off Heechan who was sleeping on the sofa. The more I looked at him, the more curious he became. I have never lost my heart to someone like this. The terrible story of someone who loved someone so much that she ate him was more of a nod than a horror story. I wanted to get my hands on him quickly. However, Minjae managed to suppress his urge to become impatient. He walked away from Heechan and looked down at his distance. I wanted to quickly become entangled with him.

“If the other half of your relationship is fate, you won’t be able to leave me.”

Second bad luck. The lights went down. Although it was a bad thing that my junior almost got hurt. Minjae could only chuckle as other juniors ran to him in surprise and made a fuss.

“Are you okay, bro? Did you get a cut on your head?”

When Minjae just smiled and didn't answer, another junior next to him spoke.

“You must be really shocked.”

He put aside his junior's words and looked down at the cell phone where the text message had come from earlier. He deliberately put his cell phone in his bag and sat down. Heechan had not yet received a call. He was feeling faint. It means that his life has taken a turn toward the path he so desperately wanted among countless futures. There was blood flowing from my forehead, but I felt good. He almost wanted to laugh out loud.

The second piece of luck was unexpected. Even after hanging up the phone with the webtoon author, he looked down at his phone in disbelief. He deliberately tried not to think deeply about his future career. He planned to take it more leisurely until he found what he wanted to do. He didn't take writing seriously. When Hee-chan told him to keep writing because he would read it, he was momentarily shaken, but knowing his skills, he deliberately did not have expectations. It wasn't yet before he developed his skills further. Maybe it's a skill that will remain a hobby for him. However, the webtoon writer who had rejected the offer contacted me saying he would try it.

He said, ‘I kept thinking about the content. I thought it would be perfect to add this picture to this scene. It keeps coming to mind so I'm going to give it a try.'

There were a few conditions for content modification, but of course they were accepted. A hobby, something that used to happen only within my realm, has taken a step forward into the world. I felt strange. And I developed a desire to do well. At that time, I heard Hee-chan's voice and congratulated him on the success.

'Thanks to you.'

I meant it. Hee-chan still thinks it's nonsense, but then he just needs to get her to think about it seriously. He deliberately reminded Hee-chan of his bad luck.

‘Don’t worry about what happened to me. It has nothing to do with you.'

His expression hardened. okay. Keep taking care. Keep doubting.

Minjae thought a more dramatic element was needed. If just breaking his promise to meet wasn't enough, he wanted to come out stronger. What would be better? A third opportunity came when Heechan did not answer his phone due to a soccer game. Heechan, whom I met at the hotel, seemed shocked that something bad had happened just because he didn't answer his phone. For the next few days, he deliberately avoided Minjae. Minjae agreed to do as he wanted. He actually avoided it when Hee-chan first asked him to meet.

If he was feeling anxious when he took the bait, I definitely had to show him more. I avoided contact for a week and installed CCTV in Heechan's store. Chairman Organic was a good person to Minjae in many ways. He is a strict businessman, but when it comes to organic farming, strangely enough, he becomes a completely different person. Thanks to this, he was able to easily help in the name of sponsorship and monitor Hee-chan. You may know Hee-chan's friend who comes to visit in the morning and drinks with him. Isn’t that friend Han Nam-su still in a relationship? I was annoyed. But he was not impatient. Namsu’s advice to his opponent will ultimately work. When I got a call from the phone number he gave me.

'Never contact me first. If you really want to catch it, wait a month. Until I hear from you. Of course you will be contacted.'

The other person asked, feeling suspicious and anxious. Who are you? Who wants Han Nam-soo to end his unrequited love the most? It wasn't difficult to win over the other person. And judging from Han Nam-soo's condition seen on CCTV, it doesn't seem like it will take even a month. While Minjae, who was watching, left for a moment, the store was empty. Did you go out? During the week that Minjae could not meet Heechan, he saw him off on his way home. Even though the other person didn't know it, he saw Heechan's truck leaving in front of the building. I felt like I had to do at least this much to keep from going crazy. I grabbed my phone and went out of the building, checking the CCTV footage to see when I left. Then I heard two sounds at the same time. Heechan’s voice and the sound of a motorcycle. At that moment, Minjae knew that the two things he had been waiting for had come at the same time. His body stopped and reacted to Heechan. It was really him. When he saw the truck parked outside the store on CCTV footage, he thought it might have been him, but he was right. Motorcycles were also easy to predict. One of his close enemies kept sending people to kill him. The motorcycle was one of these that had been following him for several days. Perhaps he knew he would come out at this time every morning and waited. However, the motorcycle was loud and not threatening. On the contrary, when Minjae stepped forward, he just kept running away.

I don't know how much money my relative spent, but it was clear that it wasn't spent properly. Still, how fortunate are we? Thanks to such an evil relative, Heechan's eyes were once again filled with shock.

‘It’s thanks to you. 'I lived because of you.'

It was third time lucky.

In fact, Minjae thought he needed a few more lucky and unlucky moments. But he had an unexpected helper. He was the owner of a lottery room. Minjae chased after Heechan this morning. He found out that the soccer game was canceled because of the rain, but he avoided the meeting, saying he was going to sleep. I followed him because I felt like he couldn't speak clearly and was hesitant. And he confirmed it directly with the lottery visitor.

'When he asked, I said it was fate.'

I found out that Lee Il had driven a wedge into Hee-chan. His wish was now only one step away. Now it is time to get rid of the contractors who are following him. Minjae deliberately lured them to an old construction site. They thought that Min-jae had come in after being chased by them, but they were the ones caught in the trap.

“That’s clumsy.”

It's as clumsy as the person who gave the instructions. Minjae's relative, who instigated the affair, must have saved quite a bit of money. After all, he lost so much money in the lawsuit, so he has a lot to worry about. But he was about to lose all his money. Four sturdy men chasing Minjae took out their knives without saying a word. Minjae also asked, picking up a piece of wood lying on the floor.

“Do you know that there is no CCTV here?”

“That means it’s perfect for killing you here.”

“No. I mean, there was CCTV on the way you were following me here. I even took pictures.”

The guys' eyes suddenly became grim. As if to throw his bait, Minjae puts his cell phone in his back pocket and shows his kindness.

"take it."

But he was not one to move easily. The four who followed Minjae had the upper hand in numbers, but they couldn't help but feel an ominous feeling. Why is that kid smiling like that? It was not just a smile with curved lips like you see in photos, but a completely different smile that showed teeth. Minjae took a step forward first, as if it were really someone else. The person close to him also stepped forward with a knife and swung right away.

Whiing~ Chang!

The swinging sword split the air. Minjae, who escaped to the side, hit the attacker's wrist with a wooden block. The fist flew into the attacker's face, causing him to let go of the knife due to the tremendous pain. There was no scream from him. He fell to the floor with one punch breaking his nose and his face covered in blood. What happened now? How can a big bastard move that fast? Those who remained were astonished. He was truly a different person. He was truly happy to see his bloody fist.

“It’s good. The smell of blood.”

Hee-chan, who came with a lawyer, looked angry, but he knew that Min-jae was okay. Hee-chan feels relieved and grateful that he saved Min-jae's life. He was now accepting this situation as fate.

“We found out who instigated it.”

“You’re who we expected, right?”

The lawyer nodded his head.

“Now there is evidence. Are you sure I can step on it?”

"sure."

From the moment Minjae first saw the lawyer, he thought he had something in common with him. He is a person who casually participates in deceiving Hee-chan and even praises it as a good plan. He smiled at him.

“I will step on it and chew on the bones.”

There are no obstacles now. Everything went as he wanted.

The owner of the lottery room told Minjae, who came in after Heechan left, what he wanted.

“When he asked, I said it was fate. I said that the strings of our relationship were completely tied and could not be undone. It seemed like he understood.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

What am I thankful for? The lottery room owner muttered expressionlessly and added,

“It’s all true.”

Sigh. Minjae smiled. The lottery room owner never forgot how he felt when he first saw him. He was a dangerous guy. The dragon that did not ascend to heaven remained on earth and tried to be with those below it. The energy was so strong that if there was nothing to stop it, he was a person who would pose a danger to the world in the future. But unexpectedly, that energy went somewhere else. So he will remain a dragon with hidden claws. This person stands tall in the center of the people.

"say it."

yes? The owner of the lottery room asked Minjae, who was looking at him out of curiosity.

“Of the good fortunes and misfortunes that have happened between the two of you, how many of them were planned and created on purpose?”

“About half. But I didn’t do it. Everything happened before that.”

Minjae looked into the other person's eyes and smiled brightly.

“It’s all a coincidence.”

FIN