Don’t Mess with the Puppy! - Vol.1 Chapter 2 Part 11
The Dog Clan’s casino opened for business at night. Park Geon-tae, who had arrived late in the evening, sat in his office with a serious face, lost in thought.
〈Your youngest likes grilled eel.〉
Yoon Chi-young had definitely said that last time. It could have been a simple remark, but Park Geon-tae couldn’t just let it go.
‘There’s no way that kid could have eaten something as expensive as eel.’
Heeseong worked 6.5 days a week and slept whenever he had a day off. He was the kind of guy who would rather sleep than eat, acting like a sleep demon. It was because his body was so weak. On top of that, he didn’t get paid much, since Park Geon-tae had taken it upon himself to manage his salary, so he probably didn’t have any money to buy food.
That’s why Park Geon-tae found Yoon Chi-young’s words unsettling. It could be a clue that the Wolf Clan was harboring the missing Heeseong.
‘If Gyeon Heeseong is alive… my boss will eventually find out that I embezzled the money.’
This time, Park Geon-tae had embezzled the drugs he had received from the Wolf Clan for his own personal gain. And he had pinned the blame squarely on Heeseong.
The drugs that Hyeon Heeseong had received that day were worth about 100 million won.
In the casino, the money that came and went wasn’t a big deal, but for Park Geon-tae, it was money he personally needed.
‘I thought I was finally getting the hang of this world… Damn it.’
In his youth, Park Geon-tae incurred a significant debt at the casino due to gambling and ended up working there with nothing to his name. Just when he had almost paid off his debt through hard work and even secured the position of casino manager, he found a new dream.
He met a woman he wanted to marry. Having lived his whole life as an orphan without a family, Park Geon-tae longed to build a happy home. To do so, he needed to fully settle his debts and leave this underworld before the woman discovered his true identity and ran away.
“Let’s do this one last job and then we’re out.”
The words he had said to Heeseong were actually meant for himself.
However, Park Geon-tae didn’t feel particularly sorry for deceiving Heeseong.
‘I took in that abandoned guy, fed him, sheltered him, cleaned up his messes, and raised him, damn it.’
Although he had used Heeseong’s earnings to pay off his own debts, Park Geon-tae felt he was fully entitled to do so. After all, hadn’t he taken care of Heeseong for five years? He had grown up entirely on his own.
With no guilt, he planned the job boldly. The wolves wouldn’t dare touch the leader of the Gyeon clan, so in their territory, they handled Heeseong and smuggled out the goods.
By delaying the final payment and making a fuss about looking for his “beloved brother” a while later, he expected the wolves, with their strong territorial instincts, to show their teeth for such a trivial intrusion. He thought that even the leader of the Dog clan would curse out the youngest for running away with the goods and let it slide.
“But what if… what if Yoon Chi-young is keeping Heeseong alive and taking him with him…
‘…Is that cannibalistic wolf cub threatening me?’
In any case, he might be seriously angry because I committed a foul deed in the werewolf territory.
‘But no matter what, there’s no way that psychopath cub would play with a dog, right?’
Geon-tae Park didn’t have the slightest thought that Yoon Chi-young would feel any affection for Heeseong. Even if he had taken Heeseong, it was clear that he would just play with him like a simple gambling interest and then throw him away. Heeseong’s personality was also dirty, so he wasn’t the kind of guy who could meet anyone normally.
However, even if it wasn’t a romantic relationship, it was dangerous if Yoon Chi-young was taking Heeseong with him. If this plan failed, he would become the target of the werewolves.
In the end, Geon-tae Park tried to get information through his connections. Fortunately, there was one crazy guy who was constantly looking for Heeseong.
“Damn it, why are you asking me about Yoon Chi-young? Bring me Heeseong!”
It was Kwon Ki-hyuk, the talkative one.
He had recently put a cast on his right arm and would only come to the casino drunk and look for Heeseong. Every time, his eyes would turn red and glow with madness, as if he was looking for his parents’ enemy.
“President Kwon. I’m really frustrated too…”
Geon-tae Park gently soothed and flattered him in a room attached to the casino.
In any case, Kwon Ki-hyuk was on good terms with Yoon Chi-young. Besides, he was looking for Heeseong like crazy, so he might give him some information if he dropped a hint.
“Actually, our Heeseong disappeared from the werewolf territory this time. But no matter how hard we look, we can’t find any trace of him…”
“In Yoon Chi-young’s territory, Heeseong?”
“Yes. He’s a small dog with a white body.”
“…”
Kwon Ki-hyuk’s brows furrowed as if something seemed off. Lost in thought for a moment, he took another sip of his drink and asked.
“Can an adult’s true form be a puppy?”
“Yes. Gyeon Heeseong was especially small. His father was a Jindo dog, but I heard his mother was a very small Maltese…”
Park Geon-tae spoke without hesitation about Heeseong’s secret, which he had kept hidden all his life. Given his current precarious situation, he needed to spill some information to grasp at any leads.
Kwon Ki-hyuk then chuckled.
“This situation seems f*cking hilarious… Hand me a pen.”
He searched for a pen and quickly sketched something on paper with his left hand. It was a crude drawing, resembling two potatoes stuck together with folded ears added on top. He then showed his creation to Park Geon-tae.
“Is his true form really this small?”
“…Yes.”
“Ha, damn. Then it’s true.”
Kwon Ki-hyuk laughed as if he hadn’t even considered the possibility.
“Yoon Chi-young recently started carrying around a white puppy. One with a limp in its hind leg.”
“……!”
That greatly increased the chances of it being Gyeon Heeseong. The people he had hired mentioned stabbing Gyeon Heeseong in the thigh. Park Geon-tae felt a chill. He didn’t know what Yoon Chi-young was plotting, but his own scheme couldn’t be discovered.
“Boss. If you could provide more details, we could…”
“I’ll tell you.”
Kwon Ki-hyuk leaned back arrogantly in his seat. Looking particularly haggard since his arm broke, he crumpled the paper and tossed it aside, saying,
“When you find Gyeon Heeseong, you must sell him to me.”
“……”
“I’ll give you everything, information or whatever, if you promise.”
Park Geon-tae caught sight of the crumpled paper. The roughly drawn puppy was visible on it. Although it was an uncomfortable topic, his “beloved brother” wasn’t worth trading his own life for. Besides, Park Geon-tae wanted to deal with this matter and wash his hands clean, once and for all.
Still, he asked, holding onto a sliver of hope.
“What do you intend to use Gyeon Heeseong for?”
“Why?”
Kwon Ki-hyuk chewed on his food and tilted his head loosely. His red eyes flashed in the whites of his eyes, which were bloodshot.
“I’m going to play with that hole until it breaks. Does the price change depending on how it’s used? How much do you want?”
“…No. We’ll hand him over as soon as we’re done with him.”
Park Geon-tae needed his help. Yoon Chi-young’s information was not only difficult to obtain, but since this talkative man also wanted Gyeon Heeseong, it was a win-win situation anyway.
‘How much will I have to hand over Heeseong to make up for my losses?’
Moreover, if he handed Heeseong over to this perverted talker, he would be able to make a lot of money.
That night, Park Geon-tae began to think carefully as he listened to all sorts of information from Kwon Ki-hyuk. In order to figure out the intentions of the cunning werewolf.
**
