My Bloody Valentine - 83

Woo-sin, unable to eat or put down the hamburger he was holding, blinked his large eyes repeatedly. The junior detective sitting next to him stopped chewing and the situation for the colleagues in the front seats was not much different.

Taeshin, holding onto the open van door, scanned the interior and glanced at everyone. His gaze quickly returned to Woo-sin.

Although Woo-sin believed no one could match him in agility, flexibility, quick thinking, and reflexes, he couldn’t help but be taken aback by this unexpected situation.

“Uh? Yes? Oh, hello?”

Woo-sin stuttered, his lips parting awkwardly as he greeted Taeshin. Taeshin silently watched Woo-sin, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. The rest of the group, except for the two, exchanged awkward glances, frozen in place.

When Taeshin’s eyes met those of the rookie detective, Hwang Do-kyun, who was overwhelmed by Taeshin’s presence, he swallowed what he had been chewing and awkwardly smiled as he politely greeted him.

“Hello.”

Woo-sin glanced at this strange interaction and quickly turned away, searching for an excuse.

“Ah… um… the reason I’m here is… Well…”

“Han has been kidnapped.”

“What?”

Woo-sin carefully lowered the hamburger he was holding with both hands so as not to spill the sauce.

“I think it was orchestrated by Oh Seong-jin.”

“What do you mean?”

Woo-sin frowned and asked Taeshin, only to realize a moment later that he had been on a stakeout.

“Uh, the reason you’re telling me this is…?”

“I know you’re a cop.”

“…!”

Taeshin threw a glance at the detectives in the car and then spoke to Woo-sin.

“Come up to the 15th floor, to my room. Just you.”

He then let go of the door and turned away without hesitation. The door slid shut automatically, leaving a moment of silence in the van.

Whoosh, pop.

The sound of a straw breaking the silence could be heard, and the senior detective in the passenger seat, staring at Taeshin’s diminished back, asked,

“…When did you get caught?”

“That’s what I’m wondering…”

Woo-sin fell into a momentary daze. It had been quite a while since he last reported to Tarsenda.

The ambush by Oh Seong-jin’s side was proof that Jang Taeshin was no longer involved in their new business. His superior, Section Chief Go Young-soo, ordered Woo-sin to withdraw, stating that further infiltration would be meaningless.

Shortly after, Chairman Bae died. For a moment, Woo-sin suspected it was a premeditated operation, but it turned out to be due to a chronic illness.

With the leader’s death, a new professional manager took over as per his prior instructions, making Cheongsong Construction a completely legitimate business.

Thus, the Cheongsong faction seemed to be fading into the annals of history. There were no significant forces remaining nearby, and the only potential issue was internal division.

To prepare for any eventualities, a small police force, including Woo-sin, was stationed at Chairman Bae’s funeral. It was the most sensitive time, and a small spark could lead to a large fire.

They checked the license plates of incoming and outgoing vehicles and examined the visitors, but no suspicious movements were observed. After three days of surveillance, Taeshin returned to his original position, and the thought occurred to wait just half a day longer to monitor the situation, leading to the current scenario.

Woo-sin put the uneaten hamburger back into the paper bag.

“I’ll be right back.”

As he was wiping his hands with a wet tissue and about to go outside, he suddenly remembered something and turned around, tapping Hwang Do-kyun on the head, who had just greeted Taeshin.

“Hwang Do-kyun. What? Hello?”

“Oh! What about you, senior? Uh, the reason I’m here is… how embarrassing.”

“You better not cross me. We’ll see each other later.”

Woo-sin threw the wet tissue, which had oil on it, at Do-kyun’s face and quickly got out of the car.

Perhaps because he followed right behind, Taeshin was still standing in front of the elevator on the first floor. Woo-sin quietly stood next to him and stole a glance at Taeshin’s face.

He wanted to gauge Taeshin’s feelings. He was curious about what Han meant to him. However, he couldn’t read any emotions in Taeshin’s dry gaze.

Of course, there was one thing he wanted to know the most.

“How did you know? That I’m a cop?”

“….”

Taeshin gave Woo-sin a silent look. From the way he looked at him, it was clear that he was thinking, “What’s with the informal speech?” Woo-sin chuckled and replied.

“Ah, I’m the same age as Han.”

“….”

Taeshin turned his head back to the front and stepped into the elevator, which had just opened its doors. Woo-sin quickly followed him.

As he pressed the button for the 15th floor, Taeshin said,

“That day, I saw the hallway CCTV.”

“CCTV? Oh, when that guy, Jeong, stabbed him?”

Taeshin nodded slightly and continued.

“Normal people aim for the vital points first in a fight.”

Most people in this line of work come out in an aggressive posture without thinking. They need to inflict a fatal wound on their opponent as quickly as possible so that they can’t get back up and stab them.

However, Woo-sin’s movements in the video were somewhat different.

“But you targeted the knees or the tops of the feet to incapacitate your opponent. It was a fight that a cop trained in martial arts could manage.”

“…Ah.”

Woo-sin realized late that his infiltration had not been perfect. At the same time, seeing Taeshin, who had swiftly recognized the difference, made him let out a hollow laugh as he followed Taeshin out of the elevator.

The hallway on the 15th floor was still bustling with men in black suits. They were gathered in groups, their anxious faces reflecting a tense atmosphere, recalling how frantically Taeshin had reacted when Han first escaped months ago.

As Taeshin entered the hallway, the men quickly stepped aside and bowed to greet him.

The uneasy mood continued in his hotel room. Myungseop was pacing back and forth in the living room, unable to sit or stand still, while Junho sat at Taeshin’s desk, intently staring at the monitor. The disappearance of someone who wasn’t even an organization member caused excessive turmoil.

“Director, here. I found it.”

Junho paused the video at the problematic part and turned the monitor toward Taeshin. Woo-sin and Taeshin stepped forward to look at the screen. The paused video resumed with one of Taeshin’s subordinates receiving a call at the door.

Junho pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said,

“Someone probably caused the contact accident on purpose.”

“That would be the case.”

The man in the hotel uniform made no attempt to hide his face, nor was he wearing gloves. Seeing this, Woo-sin commented,

“…He doesn’t seem to be Korean.”

“They say he spoke with someone on our side.”

In response to Junho’s words, Woo-sin replied,

“He’s probably a mercenary from Yanbian. Those who illegally entered. They’re like ghosts, with no fingerprints or any records in the administrative network.”

At that moment, Taeshin’s phone on the desk started vibrating. Everyone’s gaze turned toward it.

Kidnappers usually make calls to demand ransom.

“….”

Looking down at the screen, Taeshin answered the call with an expressionless demeanor. Woo-sin leaned in close to hear the conversation.

“Yes.”

— Long time no see? Director Jang.

“Is that so?”

— Did you send Chairman Bae off well? You followed me just like your father, didn’t you?

Taeshin’s eyebrows slightly furrowed at Oh Seong-jin’s characteristic mocking tone.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries. What do you want to say?”

— You probably know that I have something, right? Your girlfriend, Director Jang.

“….”

Taeshin’s eyes sparked with a fierce light. The veins on his temples stood out sharply.

“…Where do I need to go?”

— It’s at 802, ○○-dong. Come alone. If you want to see your pretty girlfriend in one piece.

“I’ll be there soon.”

As soon as Taeshin hung up, Woo-sin pulled his phone from his back pocket and urgently dialed a number.

“Sol, please look up an address for me. Yeah, it’s urgent. 802, ○○-dong. Who’s the owner? Uh-huh. Okay? Got it.”

After hanging up, Woo-sin explained,

“There’s a place called ‘Jade,’ which has been shut down for illegal prostitution. A guy named Noh Il-young is the representative.”

“Ah, Noh Il-young. He’s one of Oh Seong-jin’s right-hand men.”

Upon hearing the name, Junho quickly interjected.

“According to the people who were on the raid, they split the basement floor and cleverly created a back room. Han is probably there.”

“Basement floor, back room….”

Taeshin, muttering Woo-sin’s words to himself, grabbed his jacket and stood up. Junho looked at him with confusion and asked,

“What are you doing? Are you going?”

“You said to come.”

“You know what that means, right? Why would Oh Seong-jin ask you to come? Alone? It’s obvious it’s a trap. Do you really intend to go by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Hyung!”

In his urgency, the term ‘hyung’ slipped out instead of ‘Director.’ As Junho called out, Taeshin calmly passed him and gave Woo-sin a small gesture with his eyes. It meant to follow him.

The two walked side by side down the hallway and entered the elevator again. Woo-sin turned to see Taeshin pressing the button for the basement 3rd floor. The atmosphere felt thick, as if deep in thought, making it difficult to speak.

“Are you really going alone?”

“For now.”

Standing in front of his sedan, Taeshin pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. He held one between his teeth and offered the case to Woo-sin, who accepted it without hesitation.

*Click,* the silver lighter sparked to life. Without exchanging a word, they smoked for a while. As the cigarette smoke hung thickly between them, Taeshin finally spoke as it began to dissipate.

“I need your help.”