Episode 74
Tiriring.
The alarm went off.
With sleepy eyes, Sihyeon reached out and turned off the alarm.
“Haam.”
I yawned and stretched. Yesterday, at a company dinner, I tried my best to appeal to the head of the security department and the dispatcher.
Thanks to that, my bones hurt, probably because I drank a lot. I don’t know if the appeal worked well, but the atmosphere was good anyway. It was comforting to think that one way or another it would work out.
Sihyeon slowly got up from the bed.
Today was a holiday. I didn’t have any other plans, and I was planning on relaxing at home and watching a movie.
At that time, a chat notification sound rang. Sihyeon checked his phone.
-Are you free today?
It was a message sent by producer Han Yi-seol.
After finding out that Lee Seol’s younger brother was involved in the incident with Black Cross, it was somehow difficult to treat him as comfortably as before.
However, it was difficult to calmly tell the story away. It’s not something else, it’s something Black Cross is involved with. No sister would be quiet if she found out that her younger brother was a member of the Black Cross organization. That alone was too much of a risk to fall into.
Anyway, there was no solution as of now.
[Yes, there is.]
Sihyeon answered honestly. It’s just that it’s hard to deal with it as comfortably as before, not that it’s something to avoid. There was no reason to go that far. It was her brother who had wronged her, not her.
-Then, would you like to have lunch with me today?
Lee Seol sent a message again.
Sihyeon tilted her head slightly. This is because I wasn’t the type of person to suddenly make an appointment like this in the morning. He was the type to contact me at least a day in advance.
What kind of wind was blowing?
[Good. Where shall we meet?]
-Ganghwa too.
[Ganghwado?]
It was unexpected. I thought she would ask me to meet her in Seoul.
-yes. Actually, I’m on my way to Ganghwa right now.
[Huh, really? Do you have anything to see in Ganghwa Island?]
-Yes, there is. I heard it from senior Juncheol. If you go to Ganghwa Island, the prison guard will buy you an eel.
[…] No, this guy is the real one.]
Sihyeon laughed.
[It’s amazing, really. All rumors spread through this brother… .]
-Hehe, that’s what happens in the world. Anyway, we are currently flying to Ganghwa Island, so please wait a moment.
[Hmm, I’d rather eat a flea’s liver or rob a government official’s thin wallet. Also, a public broadcaster PD.]
-Oh, if you’re level 7, isn’t that 6-dupum even if you’re not a Jingol? You speak weakly in front of the people.
[Ah, the real PD… .]
-You know this isn’t a joke, it’s serious, right? I’m going to meet you now.
◈ ◈ ◈
Sihyeon and Lee Seol met at a real eel restaurant.
“You dyed your hair.”
Sihyeon said while looking at Lee Seol’s changed hair color. I always saw her with black hair tied up with pins, but her style changed to dyed light brown and long wavy hair.
“Yes, are you okay?”
“You look good on me. Your expression seems a little brighter.”
“Good job.”
Lee Seol smiled. She was wearing a white see-through blouse that slightly revealed her cleavage and a tight black skirt that highlighted the curves of her body.
Thanks to this, Sihyeon had to make an effort to direct her gaze towards the face rather than the body.
They sat down by the window. It was cooler there and the scenery was nice, so I felt like I was at peace.
“What do you like? Salt? Seasoning?”
Sihyeon asked before ordering.
“Salt.”
“You seem to have similar tastes as me.”
Sihyeon also liked salt rather than seasoning. Both were delicious, but I felt like I was getting bitten if I ate too much seasoning.
“Boss, here are two salts.”
Sihyeon placed an order.
“Oh, you don’t drink alcohol?”
“You can’t drive drunk.”
“No, you can’t drive drunk, but can you send messages while driving?”
“Actually, it was before we left.”
“I thought so too.”
“You know very well.”
Lee Seol continued speaking with a smile.
“How is your life on Ganghwa Island? Isn’t it a bit frustrating?”
Since I moved to the countryside after living in a big city, it seemed natural that I would feel frustrated. There is a big difference from the surrounding environment.
“It’s better than I thought. I wouldn’t have known it before, but these days, we have the internet.”
“For some reason, you seemed to have a good expression on your face.”
“Do you look good?”
“yes.”
“It’s probably because the job is easy.”
“Are you comfortable?”
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“Yes, the number of inmates has decreased compared to before, so it’s less busy.”
Even if they were awakened, there were Sangvis guards, so there was nothing particularly difficult to deal with, and since the number of inmates had decreased significantly, it was natural for them to feel at ease.
“Just thinking about it, dealing with the awakened people won’t be easy… I guess that’s because the guards are so good at their job.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Sihyeon crossed her arms and deliberately made an arrogant expression.
“Oh my, our prison guard has put a lot of weight on his shoulders since he became level 7. Won’t we lose contact when he gets to level 5?”
Lee Seol also narrowed his eyes and joked.
“Of course. Please don’t find it on your own.”
“Hehe, this is sad, so I need to get promoted quickly.”
“You should.”
After chatting for a while, the grilled salt eel was fully cooked.
Perhaps because it is a famous restaurant in Ganghwa Island, it was delicious and I never got tired of it no matter how many times I came here.
Lee Seol also said it was delicious and raised his thumb.
“My eyes are not wrong.”
She opened her mouth.
“yes?”
“When I was filming the documentary, I felt that the prison guard was someone who would become big.”
“Oh, I was lucky enough to awaken, otherwise I would still have been level 8.”
“Don’t you know that luck is equal to skill? People who reach the top in any field naturally have skill, but they also often have a lot of luck, right?”
“Yes, well, I will think positively for now.”
“We’ll see. We’ll see.”
Lee Seol said with a confident expression.
Many conversations continued after that. Then, an unexpected topic came up when I ordered another grilled salt dish. There was talk about escaped serial killer Kang Tae-eun.
“Is that true?”
Sihyeon asked with a surprised face.
It was because I heard something unexpected.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s in the country.”
Lee Seol spoke once again with a stern expression.
“Is there any reason to think so?”
More than eight months have already passed since Kang Tae-eun escaped.
But so far, no trace has been found. Even though a bounty of 1 billion was placed, easily exceeding the 500 million that was the highest bounty of all time, and a huge amount of manpower was mobilized, there was no result at all. So, there was a strong theory circulating on the Internet that he had already received help from someone and left for a foreign country. That’s why you can’t even find a trace.
Sihyeon also agreed with that thought. So he was surprised when he heard from Lee Seol that he was in Korea.
“Of course, I said that because there was a reason, right?”
“What is that?”
Sihyeon asked as if urging an answer. Because I was curious.
“Do you know that Kang Tae-eun kidnapped and murdered eight women?”
“Yes, I know.”
Since it was such a noisy event, it naturally remained in my memory.
“I see. Then do you know what the characteristics of Kang Tae-eun’s crime are?”
“I remember that well….”
“It must be hard to remember even that.”
When Sihyeon said she didn’t know, Lee Seol began to explain.
Kang Tae-eun’s serial murders had several characteristics.
First, only women.
This was a characteristic of many serial killers who targeted those weaker than themselves.
Second, murder is always killing.
All victims were killed by being stabbed in the neck with a sharp weapon.
Third, the corpse is always cut into pieces. Only the face.
All victims’ bodies had been decapitated with sharp blades.
Fourth, there are no traces of s*xual assault at all.
Because of this, profilers predicted that there was a high probability that the culprit was s*xually impaired. However, Kang Tae-eun, who was actually caught, was not a s*xual impotent.
These four were the characteristics of Kang Tae-eun’s crime known to the media.
“After hearing the explanation, I remember hearing about it.”
After listening to Lee Seol’s explanation, Sihyeon nodded.
“But why are the characteristics of the crime suddenly… really?”
As if realizing something, Sihyeon looked at Lee Seol with heavy eyes.
Lee Seol looked around for a moment before answering. Only after making sure that there was no one around to hear, he spoke again in a low voice.
“Yes, that’s true. In the past three months, two women have been murdered in exactly the same way.”
“That can’t be possible… isn’t it a copycat crime?”
No matter how crazy he is, would he commit another murder in a situation like this where the military, police, and even prison guards are frantically searching the entire country? Moreover, in a situation where there is a large bounty on the line.
It was not easy to believe.
“No. The police say they decided from the beginning that Kang Tae-eun committed the crime.”
“Because the characteristics of the crime are the same?”
“That’s not all.”
Lee Seol took a sip of water and continued speaking.
“In fact, it is said that there is one more characteristic of Kang Tae-eun’s crime that was not disclosed to the media.”
“yes?”
“But they say even that matches. So the police are confident that Kang Tae-eun committed the crime.”
“Huh.”
Sihyeon made a serious face. Just escaping was a big deal, but he committed the murder we were worried about. This wasn’t a big deal or a big deal. It was something that would turn the country upside down.
“But why is such a huge event still not being reported…?”
Sihyeon also lowered her voice.
“The fact that the murder occurred was reported. However, the government requested an embargo for the information that it was related to Kang Tae-eun. It is not yet certain and could interfere with the investigation, so please cooperate.”
“….”
“If more murders occur, the government will no longer be able to stop them. Then there will be a real uproar.”
Lee Seol said with a look of genuine concern.
“I guess we should catch it quickly.”
“Yes, please do so.”
Sihyeon bit her lip.
He is truly the worst crazy person. Since such a worst crazy person has been released into the world, the Correctional Headquarters will have no choice but to feel great responsibility. In his heart, he wanted to help catch that guy.
Among the prison guards, there were many who worked hard to search for Kang Tae-eun. However, the special detention center was running without anything to do with that work. For now, all I could do was hope that they would be caught as soon as possible.
◈ ◈ ◈
Tick.
A man was cutting his toenails with his feet on the table. He was a man whose facial lines were all sharp and gave the impression of a knife.
He had his toenails neatly trimmed to the point where they were completely blunt.
Squeak.
I heard the door open and a stocky, scarred man came in. He was the White Wall of the Black Cross.
“What happened?”
The man who was cutting his toenails asked first.
“Dark Moon.”
Baekwol called the man’s name. That man was Kang Tae-eun, the dark moon whose appearance was completely changed through plastic surgery.
“so why?”
“Cheonbyeon told me not to do useless things.”
“I heard that too.”
Kang Tae-eun looked at Baekwol with an expression of incomprehension.
“But why do you suddenly say that?”
“Be careful.”
Baekwol said with an expressionless face.
“It’s so absurd. They talk as if I’m doing something useless. How could that be possible?”
“I clearly conveyed the message to be self-respecting.”
“Ah, what a frustrating guy. Yes, talk as much as you want. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Kang Tae-eun turned his gaze towards the toenails again.
Tick.
And then I started trimming my toenails again. Baekwol stared at the figure, then turned his back and disappeared.
“You unlucky bastard.”
Kang Tae-eun muttered with a cold expression.
fantasy,
