19. The Devil in Seoul
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Devil in Seoul
The large blade slammed into the cutting board, severing the fish’s head from its body. Slicing open its belly, he slid his fingers between its flesh, scooping out the entrails.
Heavy metal music blasted from the stereo sitting next to the bucket of fish guts. Wiping his sweaty forehead, he placed another dead fish on the cutting board, severing it with the butcher knife.
“Byrnes.”
His fingers dug into the fish’s stomach, ripping out its guts before tossing it into the bucket.
“Byrnes?”
He grabbed another fish, casually twirling the knife between his fingers.
“Byrnes!”
The knife flung in the air before ramming into the wall, slicing strands of hair from the man standing in the doorway. He froze in shock, staring at the green-eyed devil, painted with tattoos and mutilated with scars underneath the white tank top that clung to his sweaty, muscular body.
The man trembled, feet glued to the ground as the butcher casually approached him. “...mwo?*…” his deep voice rumbled.
The man struggled to find his words, staring into the eyes of a killer. Not that it had ever been confirmed, but there was enough talk around the warehouse that he would be stupid not to believe the rumors.
But not more stupid than he felt at this moment for bothering him. “Th-there’s… an-nother sh-shipment!” he stuttered in Korean.
Jamie cocked his head to the side, and the man flinched as he ripped the knife out of the wall. “Send it,” Jamie grunted in Korean, twirling his knife between his fingers before gutting the fish. His gloved fingers turned up the music on the stereo until it reached a deafening level.
His hair dangled in front of his eyes, mixing with his sweat. A joint hung from the corner of his mouth as he effortlessly slammed the large knife into the fish. The smell was overwhelmingly horrific. He was the only one back there, as he was the only one who could stand it.
But Jamie was desensitized to the smell. For it was nothing compared to the odor of rotting human flesh.
Feeling his phone buzz in his pocket, he slipped off his glove to grab it. A video popped up, and his eyes darkened. He stared at the video of Jax walking through Incheon airport. His thumb caressed the pointy edge of his blade as he zoomed in on Jax’s face.
The blade punctured his thumb.
There was a hesitant knock at the entryway before Jamie glanced at the elderly Korean man wearing a dirty apron and turned down the music.
The elderly man hesitated to speak. This foreigner terrified him. He did a good job. Worked fast. Was respectful. Highly skilled with a blade. Spoke fluent Korean. He was his best employee.
Yet… Jamie terrified him.
The way he spoke was dark and threatening. The look in his eyes sparked panic. His very presence felt like death. Trembling, the elderly man stammered in Korean. “You’ve been missing… for a few days…”
Jamie stared at his bleeding thumb. “I went to see family…” he responded in Korean.
He watched Jamie play with his wound. “I’m sorry… I don’t pay for time off…”
“That’s fine…” Jamie said simply. He sensed the foreigner wanted to be left alone. He never spoke to his other workers. He barely spoke to him except to take instructions. But he had to say it.
“The others keep complaining about an odor…” he said apprehensively.
“I’m surrounded by dead fish,” Jamie said as if it should have been obvious.
“It’s not that kind of smell… and it’s coming from your locker…”
Jamie paused, looking up pensively. A sinister smile spread across his face, darkening his features as if he suddenly remembered. His toothy grin put the elderly man on edge. “I’ll take care of it…” Jamie said casually, looking at his phone. The elderly man nodded before rushing out.
Fast-forwarding the video, Jamie abruptly stopped to zoom in on Caleb’s face. He absentmindedly rubbed a scar running along his shoulder.
“...my heart beats again…”
Holding his locker door open, Jamie blankly stared at the bloody, dismembered body parts piled on top of his gym bag.
“…who even is this…” He grabbed a severed arm and looked at the wedding ring on the bruised finger. “Oh… right…”
Grabbing a large garbage bag, he stuffed it with the body parts and tied it tightly before carrying it to the warehouse incinerator.
A light whistle flowing from his lips as he casually started the machine.
Tossing the last body part into the fire, he grabbed a small book from his back pocket and kissed it before lifting it above his head. “Moladh Roselyn…”
After cleaning up the trail of blood tracking from his locker, Jamie hooked his bag over his shoulder, slid on his headphones, and blasted heavy metal music as he strolled out of the warehouse.
Grabbing a pen from behind his ear, he scribbled into his bloodstained notebook and stopped short when he spotted his boss cornered by three men.
“Please! I just need more time,” the elderly man stammered.
But one of the opposing men roughly grabbed him by his shirt, slamming him violently into the wall.
Casually whistling to the music blasting from his earphones, Jamie strolled up to them. A metal hook encrusted with fish guts slipped between his fingers.
“You don’t have any more time!” one of them threatened when the hook went straight through his chin and was violently yanked, ripping his jaw from his face.
Jamie grabbed another’s face and roughly slid the hook across his neck, slicing his throat open. Dropping the bleeding corpse, Jamie grabbed the last man and held the hook to his face as he cried hysterically.
“Stop! P-please don’t!” the elderly man begged.
Jamie cocked a confused brow before he shrugged and dropped the crying man. “The incinerator is still on,” Jamie said, lighting a joint and walking off.
Tossing his bag into the backseat, Jamie hopped into his old pick-up truck and pulled out of the parking lot before driving down the small streets of the busy Korean city.
A joint hung from his lips as his eyes scanned the city skyline, lighting up the dark sky with festive night lights.
Every so often, he glanced at his phone.
His truck pulled to a stop near a narrow, busy alleyway, nestled in the hidden, isolated parts of the city.
The enclosed space made it darker than its surroundings, with a dim glow from the small shops that bordered it.
He spotted several women standing around, wearing enticing lingerie as they paraded themselves for the intrigued men who stopped by to take a look.
Grabbing his bag, he hopped out of the truck and strolled down the alleyway, passing several women.
“JJ!”
“You’re back!”
“We missed you, Aegiya!”
“You stink of fish, JJ… again!”
Jamie grinned as he nodded at the women before stopping at a small office shop. Spotting the elderly woman sitting at a desk, he knocked on the wall until she looked up at him.
“Ah! JJ! Didn’t think you’d come today,” she said, adjusting her bifocals. “The girls were asking for you.” She ran the alley and took care of her girls. Her nurturing demeanor earned her the title ‘Eomeoni’.
Swinging his bloody hook around his finger, Jamie leaned back against the wall as he glanced down the alley, watching the women. “...rough shift?”
“Eh… A few clients were a little pushy, but I had it under control. Two new girls started today. They’re always nervous the first time,” she said, flipping through papers.
“Which ones?”
“Stall 14 and Stall 17. Stall 17 is an African immigrant. Pretty girl, but her Korean isn’t good, and clients are impatient. Make sure to check on her. But don’t scare her. You always scare the new girls.”
Jamie snorted. “It’s the eyes. They think I’m the devil.”
“They think you’re the devil because you rip men to pieces like paper,” she lectured. Jamie shrugged, and she shook her head with a chuckle. “You have a client as well,” she added, holding out a card.
Jamie raised a curious brow. “A regular?”
“No. An English tourist.”
Jamie rolled his eyes, and she laughed. “She offered more than enough to fix the roof you destroyed.”
“I told you I was going to fix it.”
“I want a fancy roof with brick. Not wood, JJ,” she grinned.
Jamie smirked as he pushed himself off the wall.
“Such a princess,” he said, walking away.
With one hand in his pocket and the other swinging his hook, Jamie whistled quietly as he walked down the alleyway, eyeing each woman who walked in and out of her cabin to escort out satisfied clients and welcome new ones.
A few women waved at him excitedly. Others seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that he was there. Most of them disappeared the moment they saw him.
Stopping at Stall 14, Jamie knocked on the door until a beautiful young Korean woman with short pink hair, wearing a black bra and thong, opened it. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and she began to panic, rambling in Korean.
“Relax. I’m just checking to make sure you’re alright,” Jamie responded. Biting her lip, she nodded and looked over her shoulder. Jamie tilted his head and saw a naked man sitting on her bed. He nodded before continuing on his way.
His hook grazed the wall before he finally stopped at Stall 17.
He went to knock when the door opened. Ducking his head, Jamie stepped inside the cabin.
His pale green eyes glanced around the room, taking in the bed at the center.
The room smelled like sweet vanilla as a candle burned in the corner.
“Annyeong?*…” he called out. Another door swung open before a beautiful dark-skinned woman with blonde cornrows falling past her shoulders stepped outside as she was fixing her bra.
His eyes fell on her full-figured form, barely covered by the sheer, light-pink skirt dancing above her thick thighs.
Her round, dimpled stomach and soft waist emphasized her large hips.
Her fingers tugged at the tiny, sheer pink bra barely covering her large breasts decorated with light-toned stretchmarks.