Chapter 9

Inspector Park Min-jae (1)

First love, first experience, first murder.

Firsts are always special to people.

And I was no exception.

Resonance of Sin allows me to glimpse the lives of others.

And the way it works is quite different from watching a movie or drama on television. I feel an overwhelming sense of immersion and unity, almost as though I have become the victim myself.

That was probably why I had reacted so intensely to Bae Do-hyeon, my first target. At least for those brief moments, I was Eunji.

That was also why I could remember the face of this police officer, Park Min-jae.

“Let's just say we have some bad history.”

“Fuck, that crooked cop bastard. Looks like he's been going around committing every kind of dirty deed imaginable.”

“So where can I find this guy now? Somewhere as discreet as possible.”

“Somewhere discreet······.”

Yu Dong-cheol thought deeply for a moment before opening his mouth.

“But why does it have to be discreet? You tore that iron door off earlier, and now this. My arm. Just looking at those things, you're a complete monster. With strength like that, couldn't you just follow him around and crack his skull open somewhere deserted? Why go through all this trouble?”

I shook my head at the ignorant loan shark's words.

“Do you know how many CCTV cameras there are in South Korea?”

“Who knows? Maybe a few hundred thousand?”

“There are more than 1.6 million installed by public institutions and local governments alone. If you include private CCTV cameras installed at businesses, apartment complexes, and residential buildings, there are at least sixteen million nationwide. In Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, there are practically no blind spots from one end of an alley to the other. That means when you're walking down the street, the camera watching you changes about every three seconds. Understand?”

Yu Dong-cheol asked back with a dumbfounded expression.

“But if you pull a hat down low and cover your face with something like a scarf······.”

“You think covering your face solves everything? Where are you going to take off that hat and scarf? And where are you going to put them on before heading out? Once investigators start tracking your movements, they'll inevitably uncover everything. And do you know what's even scarier?”

I pointed through the officetel window toward the cars speeding along the road.

“Every single one of those is a moving CCTV camera.”

“Dashcams?”

“Exactly, dashcams. There are more than twenty-five million registered vehicles in South Korea. Ninety percent of them have dashcams that record continuously. Suppose you get lucky and find a CCTV blind spot. You think there won't be any cars parked in that alley? All the police have to do is collect the dashcam memory cards from the parked cars, and they'll definitely trace your movements.”

These were things a third-rate delinquent who operated on the fringes of the law had never considered.

Yu Dong-cheol questioned me.

“But in movies, people somehow manage to avoid all that stuff, don't they? Besides, if what you're saying is true, South Korea's crime clearance rate should be one hundred percent. But it isn't.”

“That's a manpower problem.”

“A manpower problem?”

“Think about how many crimes are committed in South Korea. There simply isn't enough time or money to catch every petty criminal who shows up each day. And they'd have to complete paperwork for every single one of those cases too. So the reason South Korea's clearance rate isn't one hundred percent isn't a matter of 'capability.' It's a matter of 'manpower.'”

I tapped Park Min-jae's face on the monitor with my index finger.

“But what if an active-duty violent crimes detective gets kidnapped by an unknown assailant? By force, no less? I guarantee they'll pursue the culprit even if it means hundreds of investigators from the provincial police agency have to work themselves to exhaustion. No matter how strong I am, I'll die just like anyone else if I get shot. So when there's an opportunity to use your head, you should use it.”

“Ha, you clever bastard.”

“Now that you understand, cut the pointless chatter and tell me Park Min-jae's movements. You must have looked into a few places yourself.”

After hesitating briefly, Yu Dong-cheol finally spoke.

“Ah, fuck, this is driving me crazy. You absolutely cannot tell anyone I gave you this information.”

Yu Dong-cheol manipulated his laptop mouse with a deeply troubled expression. A satellite map appeared on the screen, showing the area behind Bupyeong Station's North Plaza, where multifamily residential buildings and entertainment establishments were chaotically mixed together.

“It's a place where guys from the Bucheon Police Station's Violent Crimes Division provide protection. They stop by every Thursday to collect money······.”

His voice dropped.

“Actually, my financier is connected to that side too······.”

“Your financier?”

“Yeah. They're called the Bucheon Family Gang. They're different from neighborhood punks like us. They're genuine organized criminals, with knife fighters and everything.”

“Genuine organized criminals with knife fighters?”

I glanced at the destroyed fire door.

“Well, obviously you're a monster, so it probably doesn't matter to you. But I'm not. It's obvious you're going to cause another huge mess when you go there. If even a single syllable of my name comes up, I'm as good as dead.”

“Don't worry. That won't happen.”

“Yeah, I'm seriously counting on you.”

Yu Dong-cheol zoomed in on the satellite map.

“Here.”

“What about CCTV?”

“You think they'd have any? It's an office run by gangsters who operate escort services using minors. Why would they leave evidence of their own crimes? They've got one fake camera mounted at the building entrance, and they've completely disconnected the cameras inside the third floor and around the emergency stairwell. Park Min-jae doesn't want anyone recording him taking bribes either, so whenever he visits that alley, he deliberately uses the dark passage by the emergency exit where there aren't any cameras. As far as I can tell, that's the only place you could take him down without getting caught······.”

Yu Dong-cheol was still trembling nervously, his broken wrist shaking.

“Car model and license plate.”

“Black Grandeur IG. It's a long-term rental with a 'Heo' plate. The number is 382 Heo 91X8.”

After committing the information written in the notes to memory, I rose from my chair without hesitation.

“Then I'll be going. Get that wrist treated properly. And live a good life from now on. Unless you want to see me again.”

“Fuck, live a good life, my ass······. Who does he think he is, some champion of justice? Why doesn't he put on a mask and a cape while he's at it?”

Leaving behind Yu Dong-cheol's quiet grumbling, I walked out through the doorway where the electronic lock had been ripped away.

The night sky was growing dark.

For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that wearing an actual mask might make things a little safer.

____________

—Bzzzt, bzzzt.

A streetlamp flickered irregularly, apparently because its filament was nearing the end of its life.

“Ha, those bastards. They should file a complaint with the district office and get things like this replaced promptly. Fucking gangsters, ignorant as always.”

He turned off his car's engine, got out, and strode confidently into the back alley. He had traveled this route so many times that he could practically navigate it with his eyes closed.

He climbed the emergency stairs behind the building to the third floor. The back door, which was normally always locked, opened naturally, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Welcome, boss!!”

“Who's your boss, you gangster bastard? Never mind that. Where's Boss Kang, and why are you standing here instead?”

“Ah, well, there's been a slight problem on the second floor, so he went down for a moment.”

“A problem?”

“It's nothing serious. Just some troublesome customer.”

“Ha······. Min-woo, get your act together. You know that if some disturbance breaks out, it becomes a headache for both sides, right? What about the money? Don't tell me I have to wait until Boss Park finishes dealing with whatever's going on downstairs and comes back up.”

“Oh, of course not. I've got it prepared right here.”

“I don't need to count it, right? I'm trusting you.”

Detective Park opened the door and left.

“Hey, is he gone?”

“Yes, he's gone, boss.”

“Ha, that fucking bastard. He's getting more disrespectful every time I see him.”

“Should we just bury him?”

“Don't talk fucking nonsense, you idiot. Do you know who's backing that bastard? Stop spouting bullshit and go do your job.”

As Park Min-jae descended the stairs, he discreetly checked the thick envelope inside his jacket, and the corners of his mouth curled into a grin. Of course, not all this money was his. Park Min-jae himself only received a few scraps from the table. But that was still something. Besides, securing a connection to this network meant that, given enough time, he too could eventually reach a position where he could sit back and collect money without lifting a finger.

The streetlamp that had been flickering earlier was still blinking irregularly.

—Bzzzt, bzzzt.

In the distance, orange light flickered across the sleek hood of a black Grandeur.

It was just as Park Min-jae was about to take his car keys out of his pocket.

“Detective Park Min-jae?”

From one corner of the alley.

A low, dry voice emerged from the deep shadows behind a garbage collection bin. Park Min-jae's body instinctively stiffened. The sharp instincts he had developed over six years in the Violent Crimes Division sounded an alarm. He slowly withdrew the hand he had been moving toward his pocket and reached instead toward the telescopic baton hanging from the opposite side of his waist.

“Who's there?”

When Park Min-jae saw the figure slowly emerging from the thick darkness of the alley, he involuntarily cursed.

“Ha, fuck. What kind of idiot is this supposed to be?”

Average-looking height. A slender build. A black hoodie pulled low over his head. And even a cheap mask that looked like something someone would wear to a kindergarten party. The whole appearance was so blatantly suspicious that it almost made him laugh.

“The world's become a frightening place these days.”

“What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Even the so-called protectors of the people feel no shame about conspiring with gangsters and pocketing bribes.”

“Ha, you fucking bastard. I don't know what kind of punk you are or how you found me, but if you mess with me right now, things are going to get serious. So leave while I'm still asking nicely. You'd be lucky if the police caught you. If those gangsters upstairs come down here, you could end up buried so deep in the sea off Incheon that no one would ever find your body. Understand?”

“I thought that was the kind of thing I paid my taxes for you to investigate.”

“Taxes, my ass. I've never met a bastard who talks like that who actually pays taxes.”

—Click.

Park Min-jae drew the telescopic baton from his waist and extended it.

“I'm warning you for the very last time. I'm going to count to three. If you run away before I finish, I'll pretend none of this ever happened. Ha······.”

Before he could even count to one,

the man wearing the cheap mask vanished from Park Min-jae's field of vision in an instant.

—CRUNCH!!

“AAAAAAAGH!!!”

Park Min-jae's right arm, which had been holding the telescopic baton, bent in a direction no arm should ever bend. The baton fell helplessly to the ground. Park Min-jae instinctively reached with his left hand to draw the gas gun concealed inside his jacket, but it was useless.

—BANG!!

Bareum grabbed Park Min-jae by the collar and slammed him straight into the building wall.

The impact was so overwhelming that the thick concrete wall vibrated. Park Min-jae felt as though all the oxygen had been driven from his lungs at once.

“Ghuuugh······.”

Tears, snot, and saliva.

Fluid streamed from every opening on his face.

“Shh! You're disturbing the neighborhood. You need to be quiet.”

A firm hand clamped over Park Min-jae's mouth.

It was not the grip of a human being. It felt as though his face had been fixed in place by a massive piece of machinery. Such strength could never come from someone of that build. No, regardless of physique, this wasn't human strength.

And at that moment,

[Prolonged physical contact with an evildoer has been detected.]

[Unique Skill 'Resonance of Sin' has been activated.]

[Resonance of Sin: Synchronized with the remnant of target 'Park Min-jae's' deepest sin.]

My vision distorted.

The flickering orange light of the streetlamp disappeared into complete darkness, and at the end of that darkness appeared Park Min-jae's face, so savage and despicable that his current cowardly demeanor was almost impossible to imagine.

© Myoyeop#12ipk

Author's Note

Updates will continue as normal over the weekend.

Thank you!!