Chapter 245

***

Sniff-.

Jin-hyuk ignored the sound coming from behind him and walked silently.

“Welcome.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Seeing the SSS Agent guarding the VIP ward, I wondered what my uncles were up to now.

‘It must have been handled well. I saw the police mobile unit passing by earlier—was that it?’

Moon Seok-il has never let me down.

I trusted him with the task, so all I can do is wait quietly for the results.

I decided not to tell Jo Seol-chan what had happened.

– “If you were an ordinary person, you’d develop social anxiety. You might even go crazy. People say, ‘This is also a world where people live,’ but there are worlds you don’t need to know about.”

I somewhat agreed with Moon Seok-il’s thoughts.

Even though Jo Seol-chan has a tough mentality forged through a harsh upbringing, handling this would be a different story.

‘It’s better not to know.’

As long as it prevents a recurrence.

That’s why Moon Seok-il is personally taking action.

Sniff-. He headed to the hospital with a girl who was sniffling due to rhinitis.

Looking into the room from outside, I saw a grandmother talking to her family who had arrived earlier.

Thanks to the mother who brought Yoo Jin and Jeong Won to the hospital every day, the room was full of energy.

“Hi-ami, bi-yu-ung ae-udda-woo? Ae-abba babu-woo-woo-woong-.”

“That’s right, that’s right-. Oh, my baby is doing so well.”

Jeong Won seemed to like the grandmother, as he showed off an airshow with his favorite airplane toy in front of her. Nothing beats a baby’s antics as a laughter therapy.

When the mother left and Jeong Won went to Jo Seol-chan, Yoo Jin secretly released Haengun-i, the bird she had hidden in her arms, into the room.

“Grandma, this is Haengun-i.”

“Oh my-, how is its head so soft?”

The grandmother kept stroking the sparrow perched on her hand.

“Sometimes it brings bugs, but it doesn’t bring luck. Maybe the bug’s name is Haengun-i.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Lately, it’s been bringing twigs too, but I told it not to eat those and to throw them away, but it keeps bringing them. I think its appetite has changed.”

“Huh? What are you talking about now?”

There was a communication gap, but thanks to the kids, the grandmother didn’t seem to have a moment to feel lonely.

When Jin-hyuk opened the door and entered the room, Jo Seol-chan, who had been playing with Jeong Won’s airplane, brightened up.

“Oh, it’s me. You don’t have to come every day like this-.”

It hadn’t even been a few days since I was admitted, and I didn’t plan to come every day either. Jin-hyuk, hiding his true feelings, gestured behind him with his chin, and a girl who had been sniffling appeared with a bright smile.

“Jo Seol, I’m here too.”

“Huh, Eun-jeong came today too.”

“Jo Seol, you were waiting for me, right?”

“Huh?”

What are you talking about?

‘Sigh, I need to work out.’

Jin-hyuk ended up listening to UFO stories late into the night again and was about to head home.

Chatter-chatter-.

“It’s clear that a UFO was spotted in the town.”

“Huh? Where?”

“I don’t know. I saw police cars rushing by.”

“Maybe there was a thief or something?”

“It was the mobile unit.”

“Huh? The mobile unit?”

***

On a quiet road, between lined-up vans, dark-skinned men bustled about noisily.

Even without the police and 119 ambulance emblems, the flashing lights made their identities clear.

Amid the chaos, two relaxed individuals stood out, one of whom clicked her tongue.

Tsk tsk-.

“Can those guys even survive…?”

“They’ll live until they die.”

Moon Seok-il, who had irresponsibly spat out those words, adjusted his sunglasses.

He didn’t forget to pat Yeo Hyung-man’s shoulder in encouragement.

“Detective Yeo, don’t forget to treat us when you get promoted.”

“Oh my-, if I don’t want to end up like that, I’ll have to treat you twice, won’t I? Let’s have a drink at the shell bar.”

“Sure.”

“But do you have any special requests?”

A question about what crime they wanted to pin on them.

Moon Seok-il shrugged, showing no intention of getting involved.

“People can live without food, but they can’t live without committing crimes. Figure it out yourself. Isn’t that the police’s job? Just make sure no rumors get out.”

“Don’t worry. If any word leaks, I’ll be in trouble too.”

Yeo Hyung-man flailed her arms in panic.

Even if they were thugs, arresting them without due process? Not even directly subduing them, but those who had already been subdued? The media would tear the police apart in no time. Human rights groups would be the least of their worries. The image of the chief and others being stripped of their positions in an instant came to mind.

Watching Moon Seok-il’s group walking leisurely toward the city center, Yeo Hyung-man moved her lower jaw left and right, as if she had injured it herself.

“Even if they live, they’re crippled…”

Their jaws were severely broken.

The guys Moon Seok-il had taken down.

The black blood flowing from their mouths gave a clue as to where and how they were injured.

He turned sharply and shouted at his fellow detective.

“Hey! Is there anyone who can talk? Let’s get some statements.”

“All their jaws are broken. Except for the one with a wrist injury, there are no other wounds.”

It’s not over just because the bones heal and the joints recover.

The pain starting from the malocclusion will eventually transfer to the spine and lower back, and before long, the spine will curve, and one leg will become crippled.

‘What was his name… Yoon something?’

Not long ago, we caught a guy in Dangjin who had committed theft and robbery, but his spine was curved, and his leg was so badly injured that he couldn’t even run away.

He was just over twenty, uneducated, working odd jobs to survive, but when the work dried up, he said he was so hungry he had no choice but to steal. He even argued that it wasn’t a crime worth dying for.

Click- sizzle-.

Blocking the cold wind with his hand and flicking the lighter, his fingers felt precious. In his reckless youth, he often fought but never picked fights with those who looked strong. He felt oddly proud of that.

Yeo Hyung-man, who had lit a cigarette, got into the passenger seat and waved her hand in the air.

“For guys like us who didn’t get much education, having all our limbs intact is the best-. Let’s go-.”

“Yes. Let’s get moving.”

Wheee-.

Following the smoke drifting through the open window, the lined-up vehicles all started moving at once.

“Detective, what was that guy’s name again?”

“Who?”

“That young guy who was causing trouble in the city a while back. The one we put in for eating even just bean rice because his situation was so bad.”

“Ah-. The one who boasted in front of the captain that his father was a famous thug? Yoon- what was it?”

Yoon something had been beaten by someone during his school days and injured his jaw. He got treatment on time, but without a guardian or money, the treatment was temporarily stopped, and his body started acting up.

‘First, the injured nerves must have twisted his body.’

A guess based on the knowledge gained from dealing with numerous criminals.

We detained him as he requested. Even if he hadn’t requested it, he would have been detained anyway.

Living in this world with a body that’s inconvenient is hell in itself. It’s better to eat the food provided by the state. His father, a murderer, went missing while on the run.

‘Ugh- that guy’s temper was something else…’

Whether it was his inherently aggressive nature or the world that made him that way. I’ve met many criminals, but it’s hard to judge. Too busy trying to survive to analyze their psychology. No reason or time for it. Just their annoying behavior that tires me out.

Tsk tsk-. Can’t help but click my tongue.

Wheee-.

The ambulance at the back sped up and overtook Yeo Hyung-man’s car.

‘Those guys are lucky to be alive after running into scary people.’

From their perspective, maybe it’s better to die.

Proper treatment is hard to come by.

‘After the water business dried up, they turned to land business.’

With many organizations collapsing, thugs turned their eyes to construction and development. They’ve learned theft, extortion, and coercion to make money.

Illegally punishing illegality is also a crime. No matter how weak the law is, in a country ruled by law, the law is an absolute value that must be upheld.

For Yeo Hyung-man, who grew up under the thick protection of the law, the law was her religion, and the legal code was the ultimate scripture. Even if she was intimidated by Moon Seok-il for practical reasons like livelihood and career advancement.

‘He’s an interesting guy.’

Moon Seok-il is a peculiar person.

I once asked why, as a security officer for a large corporation, he does things a detective wouldn’t do. Why, with his skills, he doesn’t devote himself to the religion of law.

I expected a cynical answer like ‘because the law doesn’t do its job,’ but in his usual relaxed manner, he gave a humorous reply.

– “Think of me as a cultist worshiping idols.”

Then it’s a fitting act.

***

Jeong Sang-tae, chewing gum on the right, nudged Moon Seok-il’s arm.

“Death penalty, huh?”

“Yeah. Death penalty.”

“But why did you let them go? Feeling guilty? Scared to hit guys who don’t resist?”

Well, he’s got a point. Kang Heon-chang, who had been listening, muttered almost inaudibly.

Moon Seok-il chuckled.

“Private death. Private punishment from our company.”

“Hahaha! So it’s a death penalty? But didn’t you let them off too easy?”

That’s true too. Kang Heon-chang, chiming in, looked around at the lit-up signs of the shops and loosened his collar.

Kang Heon-chang isn’t a psychopath or a thug. He doesn’t have the bad habit of hitting guys who don’t resist. But letting them off without punishment and handing them over to the police didn’t sit right with him.

“No matter how you spin it, we’re criminals. We’re not cleaner or more righteous than those guys. We’re not qualified.”

With a gloomy expression, Jeong Sang-tae nodded and patted his back once before continuing.

“What’s the point of killing guys we don’t even know? They’ll live as cripples for life, not even getting harassed, and if things go wrong, they’ll end up in wheelchairs.”

He’s right.

Making them live as disabled for life is a much harsher punishment than killing them.

Even if they try to harass, there’s nothing to fear. If it comes to that, we can just send them away.

“We just do as we’re told.”

“Chairman’s orders?”

“Jin-hyuk said to handle the guys he didn’t deal with personally. Do I look powerful?”

Jin-hyuk is said to resemble Hong Ki-jun, but the two are clearly on different paths.

Hong Ki-jun is decisive and harsh, while Son Jin-hyuk seems to have removed the coldness from Hong Ki-jun. That doesn’t mean he’s kind.

– “Death is too easy a punishment.”

Since we’re moving Jo Seol-chan’s house anyway, it’s better to cleanly resolve the compensation issue. To do that, it’s more realistic to squeeze out as much as possible rather than letting the problem grow. Yeo Hyung-man will leak the source to the prosecution to set the sentence and make a deal. Moon Seok-il has already laid the groundwork for that.

“Hyung, where do you think those two went? The guys who went to Seol-chan’s place.”

“They probably handled it themselves. Isn’t it obvious? They’re probably floating somewhere in the sea by now…”

According to the information extracted from the subdued guys, they were low-level members or hired hands from other organizations, used for dirty work and then disposed of—so-called knife catchers. The meaning and form have changed with the market and times.

“Why didn’t you hand them over to the police and dealt with them yourself?”

“We didn’t assume failure at all. If they spilled everything to the police, it would be even more troublesome.”

“Ah-.”

Kang Heon-chang was also a seasoned warrior, but he still had a lot to learn from Jeong Sang-tae. Especially about the outside world.

Nodding at Jeong Sang-tae’s words, Kang Heon-chang pondered for a moment and then shouted as if he had made an amazing discovery.

“Ha-! Did In-rang get involved to help his lover and ended up like this?”

“Man, what kind of nonsense are you spouting in your sleep-?”

“Think about it. How did those guys end up in this backwater eating dirt? They’re not the type to live here. Didn’t you see their flashy dragon tattoos?”

After disciplining the loan sharks at the tea house, they wrecked a nightclub, and that incident led the New Boss faction from Seoul to invade General Farm, only to be crushed by Yang Gang-wook. An enraged Son Kwang-yeon demanded Hong Ki-jun take responsibility, and Hong Ki-jun unleashed the Sado agents, cleaning up not only the New Boss faction but also the corporate thugs.

“Oh-, now that you mention it, that’s true?”

“Hehe-. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Heon-chang, you’re smarter than In-rang.”

Then, in the end, the loan shark Jang Jin-nam threw turned into a boomerang and came back to Jo Seol-chan.

Jeong Sang-tae scratched his forehead, suddenly feeling tired.

That’s why it’s easier to just kill them cleanly and be done with it. Those guys are only alive thanks to the law and the system. At this point, I really don’t know who the law is protecting.

Moon Seok-il, who had been aware of the whole process, kept his words to himself.

He couldn’t share everything with his colleagues, but this was something he had discussed with Jin-hyuk when deciding how to handle this case. Jin-hyuk had vaguely analyzed the background.

“It’s a shame I didn’t get to see those two guys.”

“Jin-hyuk probably feels the same.”

Moon Seok-il consoled Jeong Sang-tae, who was feeling regretful.

At least he’s a bit more humane than Hong Ki-jun.

Generous when he needs to be, merciless when angry.

He even wrecked a 5-ton truck.

Moon Seok-il stretched greatly.

A refreshing feeling that went to the bones. The satisfaction only those who have completed their homework can feel.

The more you see, the more you experience, the more astonishing and terrifying he becomes.

Even Chairman Hong Ki-jun didn’t foresee this far.

“Bastard, maybe I should carve him into a charm and carry him around instead of a knife.”

Wouldn’t it be more effective than any talisman?

Kang Heon-chang, who understood Moon Seok-il’s intention, chuckled.

“Why carry a photo when you can just keep it?”

“Ah…”

Kang Heon-chang, who had made a rather smart remark, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket. It was a newspaper clipping of Jin-hyuk’s photo.

Jeong Sang-tae also took out the same photo from his wallet and unfolded it.

“I’ve been carrying this because of that grim reaper-like guy. I look at it so I don’t make mistakes.”

“Me too. I feel uneasy if I don’t see it. It’s a talisman that keeps me on edge.”

Moon Seok-il made a rare dumbfounded expression.

“You crazy bastards.”

“Ah, why-. You’re brave, so you wouldn’t understand our feelings.”

“Still, what are you, some kind of uncle squad?”

At the unexpected expression, Kang Heon-chang pursed his lips.

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Yeah, it does…

I forgot that talking to you guys for too long makes me dumb too. Moon Seok-il quickened his pace.