"Stop!"
The man shouted, pointing his pistol from behind the bright light of the car that pierced my eyes.
His large silhouette looked blurry in the glare of the lights, but the gleaming black barrel of the pistol was clearly visible, like the eye of a wild beast.
The man beside him immediately shot. The bullet hit me as I tried to run and stumbled, falling.
The sound of the pistol breaking the dead silence of the early morning was piercing.
For a moment, I felt a sharp, burning sensation in my right leg, as if a hot iron had plunged into my flesh.
The bullet struck my right calf.
I groaned in pain.
Blood poured out; it hurt so much, as if the bullet had slammed into my shinbone.
I curled up, clutching my right leg, trying to crawl away, but it was futile.
The feeling of being trapped made me desperate.
'This is what happens when I'm careless. If only I'd shot him in the alley, this wouldn't have happened. Fate turned against me because of my own actions.'
I struggled to crawl.
My left knee ached as it contacted the snow, and every movement made the blood in my right calf flow faster.
I left a dark red trail on the expanse of frozen snow.
The sound of footsteps approached me from behind.
They stopped behind the car I had been driving.
Their tall shadows stretched over the snow, covering my back.
Then the right door of the car opened.
Toretto casually stepped out of the car, leaning against the rear trunk, watching me crawl away.
"You stupid bastard! Who do you think we are? I suspected you would target me. I was drinking just to make sure. Well, look now. The murderer walked right into the trap. Look how pathetic he is!"
Toretto let out a laugh.
It turned out they were indeed baiting me.
I just remembered the quick flash of a shadow moving slowly in the darkness when I was in the quiet park.
Someone must have been following me from the start.
Then the left rear door of the car opened.
The woman who I suspected was his wife walked casually, crossing her arms, and approached me.
The continuous bleeding from my right leg made my head dizzy.
My eyes blurred, and my mind spun.
I was helpless and stopped moving.
The sound of firm footsteps was right in front of me.
My slightly blurry eyes only caught a pair of black scarpin shoes in front of me.
Then I heard the click of a photo being taken through a smartphone.
The woman seemed to be taking my picture.
"Young Master, we have secured the murderer. Should we kill him before someone passes by this area?"
The woman seemed to be speaking through her smartphone.
With my eyes closed, I pretended to faint while regulating my breath and enduring the pain in my leg.
"Not yet, wait for me. I'll be there shortly."
The man's faint voice on the other end of the woman's smartphone was heard through the speaker.
Then the woman seemed to squat down and slapped me.
Slap! A hard slap to my right cheek until the left side of my face hit the snow-covered ground.
I remained still, showing no expression of pain.
Maybe she was trying to check on me.
Then, shortly after, the sound of a car approached from in front of me.
It stopped right behind the woman.
The door opened, then Toretto and the two men walked toward her.
"Good morning, Young Master."
They seemed to be saluting, but questions arose in my frantically spinning brain.
'Who is he? Young Master? Are they gangsters? But how can my target be a gangster? I didn't get this information! Messed up, truly messed up! I even killed his friend, but revenge is still revenge, even if I die this time.'
"Wake up! Enough with the act. Do you think I'm that stupid, Michael?"
The voice of the man they respected stood right in front of me.
I flinched, then opened my eyes wide, looking up, trying to see him.
'Why does he know me? When did I meet him? My eyes are a bit blurry, and the car's headlights, which are still on and very bright, prevent me from seeing him.'
"W-Who are you? Why do you know me? What do you want? If you want to kill me, then kill me!"
The man remained silent.
Then I saw the shadow turn to his subordinates.
Toretto, seeing me, looked vengeful, his eyes bulging, and his jaw clenched.
I didn't understand what they meant.
The man walked back and got into the car.
Then my two arms were grabbed and dragged by the two men I didn't know.
They opened the back door of the 'Young Master's' car, then threw me in until I collapsed limply, lying on my back on the back seat.
They closed the door again.
I heard the sound of the two cars in front starting up again, then they drove away, leaving me inside the 'Young Master's' car.
"Are you somewhat conscious now? Tch. Look what you've done, Michael, killing my adopted father's subordinate."
I, half-conscious, tried to sit up and lean against the seat. I removed my mask.
My hat was still left in the previous car.
I took off my suit jacket, placing it beside me.
The blood was still flowing from my right calf.
"Who are you? Why do you know me? I tried to cover my face—yet you speak to me as if you do."
My lips were pale.
I spoke vaguely while leaning back and looking up, maintaining my consciousness.
He pressed the gas pedal, driving slowly. The car turned back in the previous direction, then accelerated slightly.
"Huh! How long has it been that you've forgotten me? Weren't we at the same orphanage? It's lucky they didn't kill you instantly. Tomas, do you still remember?"
I was surprised when he finished explaining while driving.
I remembered the name Tomas from the orphanage days.
"Tomas? But why is he the 'Young Master'?
Are you lying to me? Isn't Tomas still at the church? Since when did he become the 'Young Master'?"
I tried to convince myself if it was true, but I remembered the incident where an orphanage child could be adopted.
If he was indeed adopted, when did that happen? And why would a gangster want to adopt us—poor orphanage children?
'My eyes can no longer see. I don't hear his voice; it seems he's explaining something.'
I passed out from the severe blood loss from my calf, and the cold air began to grip my body.
Darkness.
Silence.
Not long after, I regained consciousness, slowly opening my eyes.
My body felt warm now, and I felt my back resting on a soft fabric.
My leg felt tightly bound by something.
I reached for the fabric beneath me for support, then sat up, holding my head which still felt heavy.
I opened my eyes and looked around.
It turned out I was in my own room.
'Why am I in my own room? I remember being taken away by someone. My head hurts remembering it!'
My room was dark, with no light at all, only light streaks from the outside gaps.
I daydreamed for a moment while looking at the wall clock, which indicated it was now 5 AM.
My hearing began to improve; I heard footsteps approaching.
I glanced to the left side, where my suit jacket was draped over the chair near me.
I reached for it, looking for the Glock pistol I had bought.
After searching the jacket's inner pocket, it turned out the pistol wasn't there.
I put the jacket back.
'Maybe he took it when I was unconscious.'
I saw my right calf wrapped in bandages.
Cotton bulged out from the side of the bandage. Perhaps Brother Fuji was the one who treated me.
I felt the bullet had been removed from inside my calf.
My room door opened slowly.
Brother Fuji's silhouette appeared, with someone's shadow behind him.
"Michael, are you awake?"
Brother Fuji walked toward the window, opening it.
The morning air entered my room.
He pulled a chair, brought it closer to me, then sat down, looking at me.
Meanwhile, the man picked up my jacket, placed it on the bed, then sat on the left side of my brother.
"Michael, tell me what happened. Why did you kill him? Did you ask for that address yesterday with the sole intention of murdering him?"
I remained silent, turning to look at the man who was sitting.
I remembered: he was Tomas.
I sighed.
"Brother, I just wanted revenge."
I looked at Tomas.
"Isn't that right, Tomas? Maybe you've heard it from Brother Fuji."
"Michael, actually, I want to apologize for keeping this from you. All this time, I've been secretly working with Tomas to meet our needs. I'm distributing drugs in the western region. I... I didn't expect you to kill that person."
I laughed slightly upon hearing Brother Fuji's explanation.
I felt relieved that the 'Young Master' was Tomas, one of our Seven Friends from the orphanage.
Brother Fuji was silent, looking shocked when I laughed softly.
He turned toward Tomas.
Tomas also looked confused after seeing Brother Fuji, observing my behavior.
"Brother, you too... I didn't expect it. However, I have a more interesting idea."
"What is it?"
"Tomas, how about we work together? I want to kill those two targets who made me pass out five years ago."
Tomas, who had already heard Brother Fuji's story about me, just smiled slightly, then patted my shoulder.
"Okay. But let me take care of the killing. You get enough rest this time. Remember, that incident might raise questions for my adopted father. So, after you recover, join me openly. Brother Fuji too."
I nodded with my eyes closed, smiling.
It turns out this reunion brought an unexpected destiny.
Perhaps the future will be something more interesting.
The three of us then began to joke, laughing as we recalled our childhood.