Seo Tae-joon dropped his head, his face a swollen, discolored mask from the beating. The young man guarding him noticed a subtle change; Seo Tae-joon’s movements became smoother, as if he were finally regaining full control of his body.
“This tiny island is full of surprises,” Seo Tae-joon rasped, his voice a defiant rasp. “A man can’t even take Ji-woo on a picnic anymore without feeling uneasy.”
Seo Tae-joon frowned and turned to the man holding a knife on him. “Don’t you think it’s too dangerous a place to raise children?”
The young man gripping Seo Tae-joon’s arm stared, utterly bewildered by his hostage’s strange demeanor. In truth, he was more afraid of Seo Tae-joon than the other way around. He was no stranger to madness; the drugs they manufactured destroyed all sense of rationality, causing people to revert to their basest instincts. He thought he had seen it all, but he had never seen anything like this man.
When he’d caught Seo Tae-joon spying, the man had actually asked to be beaten. At his strange captive's request, the young man had thrown a few punches, but Seo Tae-joon had deemed it insufficient and began hitting himself. It was the most psychotic thing the young man had ever witnessed.
After Seo Tae-joon had battered himself black and blue, he’d turned to the young man and asked, “Do I look pathetic enough? My wife has a soft spot for the sick and pathetic.”
The young man was certain this man was on some new kind of drug, something he’d never seen before. He’d heard rumors about bath salts causing this sort of behavior. Maybe that’s why he was here, looking for a score? The possibilities churned in his mind.
Then Seo Tae-joon had taken it a step further, picking up a jagged rock. As if the punches weren’t enough, he began slamming it into his own nose and lips without a flicker of hesitation. The young man had actually tried to stop him, frightened as he watched the blood pour from Seo Tae-joon’s face without a single sign of pain or regret. When he was finished, Seo Tae-joon smeared dirt on his clothes, tousled his hair into a mess, and then handed the knife to him.
“Drag me in as a prisoner,” Seo Tae-joon had ordered.
“You don’t have to…” the young man began, wanting nothing more to do with this lunatic.
“Don’t know how to handle a spy you’ve caught, is that it?” Seo Tae-joon had prodded. The young man hadn’t known what to do. His first instinct had been to call for the others. They had killed plenty of people, but for some reason, he had a chilling certainty they wouldn’t be able to kill this man.
Now that they were back at the base, the young man was just praying he would survive the next few minutes. He watched as Seo Tae-joon walked over to the other prisoner—a woman tied to a chair—and knelt by her side.
“Are you hurt?” Seo Tae-joon asked Ji-woo softly. “I’m sorry I let them take you.”
Ji-woo’s heart ached with guilt for getting them into this mess. Up close, Seo Tae-joon’s face looked even worse. Her pulse hammered as a group of dealers slowly encircled them, steel pipes held loosely in their hands. Yet, Seo Tae-joon seemed oblivious to them, resting his chin on her thigh.
“Ji-woo, are you hungry?” he asked. “Should we set up our picnic here?”
She stared at him as if he had lost his mind. This might have been a peaceful cabin in the woods, if not for the piles of drugs and the men who looked intent on murdering them.
“Seo Tae-joon, we’re in serious trouble,” she said sharply, trying to snap him out of whatever delusion had claimed him.
He nodded slightly. Then, Seo Tae-joon turned and spat a mouthful of blood toward the men surrounding them. “Are you growing drugs here?” he asked.
“Who is this crazy bastard?” one of the dealers muttered.
Seo Tae-joon turned back to his wife. “Ji-woo, let’s move tomorrow.”
“What?” She was becoming truly afraid that he had completely broken.
“You work up in the mountains. Do you think I can let you go back after this? You won’t even let me come along to protect you. So, if you want to keep running into murderers…”
Seo Ki-seok’s plea echoed in Ji-woo’s memory. He had told her to make sure Seo Tae-joon never left Cheongdo. “I like Cheongdo,” she said firmly.
“Even when it’s this messed up?” Seo Tae-joon countered, gesturing to the men who had surrounded them and were now watching their domestic dispute like a television drama.
Ji-woo had no answer. How had it come to this? Beautiful Cheongdo. She had fallen in love with the island the moment she’d first set foot on it, seeking a place to call home. She could never leave this natural wonder, this perfect harmony of forest and sea.
“This is hilarious. You two really think you’re going home?” One of the dealers mocked them, then swung the sledgehammer he was holding onto Seo Tae-joon’s foot. A sickening crack echoed through the cabin, and for the first time, Seo Tae-joon howled in pain.
Ji-woo screamed. “We’ll pretend we haven’t seen anything!” she shrieked at the men. “We won’t say a word!”