My Bloody Valentine - 86

How much time had passed?

Wooshin anxiously looked down at his wristwatch. It had barely been ten minutes, let alone thirty.

If he informed the higher-ups, they would undoubtedly ignore Taeshin’s request to wait thirty minutes and launch an immediate raid on the scene. If that happened, as Taeshin feared, Han could get hurt. And the police wouldn’t care too much about such collateral damage.

As Wooshin continued to ponder, a luxurious-looking limousine sedan passed right in front of him.

Who on earth could be in that car? The vehicle parked right behind Taeshin’s. One by one, the doors opened, and four men got out. Wooshin’s sharp eyes scanned the newcomers.

The man getting out first immediately caught his attention. He recognized him from somewhere.

He looked to be in his early to mid-thirties, more like a rapidly promoted corporate elite than a member of a criminal organization. His closely cropped hair stood up sharply, revealing a visibly balding scalp, and he wore a simple but luxurious suit made from high-quality fabric.

If it weren’t for the bumbling minions around him in poorly fitting off-the-shelf suits, it would not be an exaggeration to say he embodied a professional type.

Who was he? Where had he seen him?

As Wooshin narrowed his eyes and traced his memory, it suddenly clicked.

“Ah…!”

It was the face he had seen on the screen during the joint briefing with the drug investigation team at the station. Information flooded Wooshin’s mind.

A member of the underworld. His name was Yang Xian.

He watched as the members of the organization stationed in front of the establishment looked startled and began to murmur. They must not have expected this guest.

Since they had not received permission from the higher-ups, the guards at the entrance initially blocked their way. At that moment, Yang quietly displayed his jacket. The reason was obvious. He was armed.

Wooshin could roughly guess what kind of gun he had. A Chinese Tokarev.

Originally designed as a standard-issue handgun for the Soviet army, it was mass-produced in China. Most of it flowed into Japan, and some occasionally made their way into South Korea, causing gun incidents.

Sure enough, the guards who checked inside Yang’s jacket turned pale and retreated. Yang smoothly passed through the gaping entrance, walking in casually.

A three-way confrontation seemed imminent. Moreover, Yang was an uninvited guest, and he was armed.

“Damn…”

In his confusion, Wooshin scratched his head. He looked down at his wristwatch again, but only five more minutes had passed.

“Ah, damn it!”

Not caring anymore, Wooshin ruffled his hair and began to cross the street. Pulling out his phone, he called, and to his relief, Manager Ko answered immediately.

“Manager.”

— Kim Wooshin, you bastard! Where the hell are you? I heard you went to meet Jang Taeshin! Is that true?

“That’s not the issue. I’m at the establishment called Jade, 802 Dong, ○○. Oh Seong-jin is about to do something.”

— What? What do you mean? Weren’t you supposed to meet Jang Taeshin? Why is Oh Seong-jin suddenly involved?!

“Oh Seong-jin has kidnapped one of Jang Taeshin’s people. And Jang Taeshin has gone in alone.”

— What? What are you saying? Did I hear you right? Oh Seong-jin kidnapped someone from Jang Taeshin’s side?

“Also, Yang Xian, that bastard, has gone in as well. He seems to be carrying a gun.”

— What?

Manager Ko’s blood pressure seemed to rise dangerously high, even through the phone.

“The atmosphere isn’t good. It feels like something is about to happen.”

— How do you know all this?

“I’ll explain later. Just send support quickly. You can use sanitary regulations or prostitution as a pretext!”

— Do you think it’s that easy?!

Just as Wooshin was about to continue the call, a metallic clank echoed. He quickly turned his gaze to see a steel shutter descending from the ceiling above the entrance of the establishment.

It appeared the automatic fire door was being used for another purpose. They were trying to prevent anyone from entering or exiting.

“Shit! They’re closing the shutter! I’m going in! It’s Jade, Manager! 802 Dong, ○○!”

Wooshin shoved his phone into his pocket and ran straight toward the closing door, sliding through just before it shut.

❖ ❖ ❖

Han had hidden in a room with a washing machine and dryer that seemed to be for shared use. It was only then that she realized her words had been right. The laundry room next to the refrigerator was indeed this place.

However, there was something off. She had spoken as if there was an escape route here, as if she had succeeded in escaping before. But there were no doors visible anywhere in the room.

Han felt doubt creeping back in. Was it possible she had been dreaming? Had her strong desire to escape led her to hallucinate?

But her intuition screamed otherwise. She didn’t think she was lying.

Shaking her head to dispel her doubts, Han began to carefully feel along the walls with her fingertips. She then realized that the washing machine was in an awkward position.

Despite there being a faucet in the middle of the wall facing the entrance, the washing machine was pushed tightly against the left wall, connected by a long extension hose.

Was there really a need to place the washing machine there?

Han approached the washing machine, which seemed oddly placed, and pushed it hard. The machine, on wheels, slid away embarrassingly easily, revealing the wall behind it.

“…!”

Behind the washing machine was a door large enough for an adult to crawl through. It was common for illegal establishments to have a secret passage leading to a neighboring building.

Feeling that her efforts in dressing as a woman had been in vain, Han approached the door. Just as she was about to grab the doorknob, she heard noises from outside. Her movements came to an abrupt halt.

“Hey, Woong-a, Cheol-min. Have you guys eaten yet?”

“No, not yet.”

It seemed that the men guarding this place were closer than she had thought, as their conversation was clearly audible.

“The guys upstairs ordered jjajangmyeon, so why haven’t you eaten yet?”

“We haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Then you should have gone up and said something. Have you been starving all this time?”

Han assessed the situation and concluded that it might not be so bad for her. She hoped the men’s conversation would drown out the sound of her opening the door.

Carefully, Han grasped the doorknob and waited for the men’s chatter to grow louder.

“Why did you come down, hyung?”

“There’s no need for both of you to stay here, so one of you has to go back up.”

“What? Why?”

“Why else? Jang is here.”

At the mention of ‘Director Jang,’ everything Han was doing came to a sudden stop, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

“Didn’t he say he was coming alone? There’s been a ruckus about whether to make a stew or pickle something… Aren’t there ten people up there?”

Han’s eyes trembled.

“The situation has changed. Suddenly, the Chinese are here.”

“Chinese? The ones working with Director Oh?”

“Yeah, but… it doesn’t seem like Director Oh called them.”

“Then who are we supposed to protect Director Oh from? Is it Director Jang or the Chinese?”

“I don’t know. They’re both the kind of people you can’t figure out.”

“Ugh… what on earth is going on?”

Han remained silent, holding her breath as she listened to their conversation.

“The important thing is that Director Jang isn’t coming out alive today.”

After their conversation ended, she heard footsteps from several men walking away. Since there had been three conversing, now only one person remained to guard the area.

Han stood there, still gripping the doorknob, lost in thought.

In essence, the Taeshin she knew was as good as dead. He had neither childhood memories nor his original personality left; the Taeshin that lived now was a completely new identity.

And she had contributed to that. Han could no longer allow him to die. If it wasn’t just her own powerlessness, she wanted to become some other existence.

Unbeknownst to herself, Han’s fists clenched, and she caught sight of an object she had seen a few times at Tacenda.

The hallway of the establishment was easily soiled by the vomit and urine of drunk patrons, and it was common to use harsh detergents to mask the smell.

Han picked up a container of detergent that was stored with cleaning supplies. The label warned not to let it touch the skin, and to seek immediate medical attention if it splashed into the eyes or was ingested.

A glimmer shone in Han’s eyes.

A few minutes later, a guard monitoring the back room spotted a woman emerging from the laundry room. She walked with her shoulders leaning against the wall, dragging her feet as if she couldn’t maintain her balance—one of the typical signs of drug addiction.

Addicting someone to drugs was a far more effective way to hold a person captive than making them indebted. Plus, each time they asked for drugs, they could charge large sums of money, further entangling them in debt, making it impossible to escape.

The man watched the woman approaching with her long hair hanging down like a ghost from a horror movie, looking at her with disdain as he clicked his tongue.

“Tch, who do you think you are, wandering around recklessly? Did you come crawling out again for drugs?”

“…”

“Learn to gauge the situation before you throw a tantrum, okay?”

The man pretended to swing his fist to hit her. Han momentarily flinched as if frightened, then quickly threw the plastic bag she had hidden behind her back at the man’s face.

“Ah!”

The man, covered in floor detergent, groaned like a beast and sank to the ground, clutching his face.

Han jumped over the writhing man and began to run wildly.