Episode 77
During the morning inspection, the security chief said something unexpected.
“Finally, orders were given to our cattle to participate in the search for Kang Tae-eun.”
After hearing the security chief’s words, there was a bit of a buzz around the area. In the meantime, he was in an exceptional position in the search for Sora Kang Tae-eun, who had a special personality, and he thought he would continue to do so, but orders were given.
Si-hyeon also had an expression on his face that said he had not expected it at all.
“What is the number of people?”
One of the guards sitting in front raised his hand and asked.
“There are two people.”
The security chief continued as if giving an explanation.
“Even though only two people will be selected, we expect from above that they will be able to do more than 10 regular prison guards. It also means sharing some of the burden of recruiting prison guards.”
In other cases, those who remained were shouldering the burden of work due to the departure of prison guards. It seemed like the decision was made that it would be better for the special detention center to show some form of sharing the burden. Moreover, in reality, two awakened people would certainly be of much greater help than several ordinary people.
“First, we will accept applicants. Are there any applicants among the daytime workers?”
The security chief asked.
There was just a fuss and no one willingly raised their hand. That’s also why, when he was selected as a search member, he had no choice but to leave his hometown and live in a foreign country. I don’t know if Kang Tae-eun is lucky enough to be caught right away, but if not, he might be like this for several months. So it was natural that he had no one to support him.
“No? If there aren’t, we’ll randomly select them later, so I knew… uh, that’s why I applied there?”
There was a vision where the security chief’s gaze was directed.
Sihyeon answered by raising his hand straight up.
“Yes, I will support you.”
Sihyeon felt something strange going on. If it is a coincidence, it may simply be a coincidence.
However, I didn’t think that the emergence of the quest had anything to do with this job. If I didn’t apply this time, I felt like I would never have a chance to catch Kang Tae-eun.
“Okay. First of all, Director Lee Si-hyeon….”
The security chief took out a notebook and wrote down the name.
Then he asked again.
“Is there anyone else?”
“I will also apply.”
Kang Baek raised his hand.
“Chief Nagangbaek… Is there anyone else?”
The security chief asked after writing down Kang Baek’s name, but this time no one raised their hand.
“Nothing. Okay. We will check the intentions of the overtime employees and notify them separately when a final decision is made. Then, we will conclude the morning inspection with this. Everyone, have a good day today.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“Why did you apply?”
Sihyeon asked before finishing the inspection and going up to the work station.
“Why? Can’t I apply?”
“It must be difficult.”
“Well, how hard can it be?”
Kangbaek said in a light voice as if it was no big deal.
“Confidence is good.”
“You have to have good confidence. And really, how many opportunities do prison guards have to do something like investigation? I wanted to try that.”
“If that’s the case, I’d rather become a police officer.”
“Hey, you said that when you knew I couldn’t see the blood.”
“I might see blood again this time.”
“Haha, no way. Ah, brother, don’t keep scaring me with strange words.”
Kang Baek, who did not know that Kang Tae-eun committed two murders even after escaping, laughed off Si-hyeon’s words. Seeing that, Sihyeon decided not to tell him about that fact for now.
This was because it was still a secret to the public, and it was thought that it would be highly unlikely that among so many searchers, they would witness the scene of Kang Tae-eun’s third murder, which had not even occurred yet.
“I guess there aren’t many applicants for the night shift, right?”
Looking at the atmosphere of the daytime department, it seemed that it would be no different from the overtime department.
“I guess so.”
“Maybe we can really be together?”
“That would be great.”
◈ ◈ ◈
That idea became a reality.
There was not a single applicant for the night shift. For that reason, Si-hyeon and Kang Baek were selected to search for Kang Tae-eun.
They were in front of security and the armory. There, we were provided with one K5 pistol and 10 rounds of live ammunition. I wondered what use an awakened person would need for a pistol, let alone a rifle with a long range, but I couldn’t help it since it was an order from above.
After receiving the handcuffs and keys, the armory manager told me to go to the head of the security department. They headed straight to the security manager’s office.
“Sit down.”
The head of the security department said.
As Si-hyeon and Kang-baek sat on the sofa next to the reception table, the head of the security department sat across from them.
“Did you apply because you knew what was going on?”
“I heard it was about the search for Kang Tae-eun.”
Sihyeon answered.
“Yes, this is not normal. In any case, it is true that the responsibility for the escape lies with our correctional headquarters.”
“….”
“Of course, there’s no need for you to feel too much pressure. You won’t be able to do your job properly if you have that mindset. Just know this.”
The head of the security department started talking about the two murders that Kang Tae-eun committed after escaping.
Sihyeon was able to remain calm because she had already heard this, but Kangbaek’s face turned white.
“Huh….”
He seemed to be moaning and fidgeting, making me wonder if he had applied for nothing.
“What’s wrong with your expression?”
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“Oh, no. It’s okay.”
When the head of the security department asked, Kang Baek took pains to answer that question. This is because it was a situation where it was difficult to come this far and then leave.
As Kang Baek forced a smile, the head of the security department continued his explanation again.
“Originally, the area in charge of each cow was the area where the cow was located. But after something like this happened in the metropolitan area, that completely changed. Shouldn’t we focus our manpower around the metropolitan area?”
“yes.”
“Besides, both murders occurred in the mountains. That’s why the Special Investigation Headquarters is also keeping an eye on the mountains in the metropolitan area.”
“yes.”
“The area that our special detention center will be in charge of is also related to that. We are asking you to take charge of the mountain in Paju City.”
“yes?”
Sihyeon, who had been listening silently, looked dumbfounded at the last words.
“The mountain in Paju? The two of you?”
I know that Paju City is very big. So how many mountains are there? Asking me to take charge of such a place was understandable as to what I was talking about.
“Ah, of course I’m asking you to pick a few mountains and take charge of them. Let’s see. Bihaksan Mountain, Nogosan Mountain, Wollongsan Mountain, Bongseosan Mountain, and Papyeongsan Mountain.”
The security manager took out a note with something written on it and read it.
Hearing that, Kang Baek’s face turned earthy. He thought that because it was a search, he would drive around the city center in a patrol car or walk around the city while patrolling, but it was a mountain… .
It felt like I had been hit hard on the head with a hammer.
“You can take charge of the search one day at a time, starting from Mt. Bihak. You know what I mean, right? Oh, and by the way.”
“yes.”
For some reason, I felt uneasy every time the security manager talked.
Sihyeon waited for the security manager to speak with a stern face.
“The two murders took place at night, not during the day. That means the important time is at night, not during the day.”
“That means….”
“You can spend the day resting freely, then go up the mountain at night and lie in wait. Most of the guards are originally in charge of daytime searches, but since you are awakened, you have been given more important yet difficult work.”
“The mountains at night?”
Kang Baek asked back with an expression that made him feel terrible just hearing it.
Just thinking about it gave me the smell of hard work.
“Okay. But why did you look like that before? Where does it hurt?”
“Oh, no. Ahaha.”
“Really? Then that’s enough.”
The head of the security department turned his gaze back to Sihyeon. He then handed me a note with the name of the mountain in charge written on it.
“The number written at the end is the phone number of the Special Investigation Headquarters for the Kang Tae-eun escape case. If anything happens while you’re undercover, you can call there.”
“All right.”
Sihyeon took the note and took it with her.
“If there are any changes, So will contact you first.”
“yes.”
“Okay, you don’t have to come to work here starting next Monday. You just have to go to the mountain I mentioned earlier and work undercover. You don’t have to wear uniforms to work, but you have to carry your firearm and handcuffs with you.”
“I will. Oh, by the way, can I ask you a few questions?”
Sihyeon said.
The security manager nodded.
“say it.”
“What we’re doing at night means that during the daytime, other people are assigned to take on missions?”
“Yes, there are personnel deployed during the day. But it is not undercover work like you, but search work. Did you know that there are many military bases in Paju? The soldiers are working hard.”
The soldiers also had a hard time. It was unfair that they were forcibly taken away, but they were even mobilized to search for escaped death row inmates.
“What are the exact shift times?”
“You can enter the mountain by 7 p.m. And come down the mountain at 7 a.m. the next day. No one will criticize you for coming down a little early, but try to be on time as much as possible.”
“I see. I understand.”
“Okay, it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but it’s something I supported, so bear with it and cheer up.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“Ugh… what is this?”
As soon as he left the security manager’s office, Kang Baek said that with a shocked look on his face.
“I know.”
Sihyeon also smiled bitterly. Although he actively applied, he never imagined that he would be in charge of this kind of work. He was not a person who was very friendly with mountain climbing, but this incident made him want to climb more and more.
Kang Baek had a gloomy expression. She seemed to regret applying.
“…I hope that person is caught quickly.”
“I agree.”
Sihyeon wholeheartedly agreed with that statement.
◈ ◈ ◈
Sihyeon and Kangbaek found a lodging in Paju. I thought about commuting from Ganghwado Island, but I thought it would be difficult to do so for a long period of time, even if it only took a day or two, so I decided to just find a place to stay. I thought that only then would I be able to travel undercover in the mountains of Paju with a little more ease.
As I became a 7th grade civil servant, my salary went up a lot, and I also had money from raids, so there was no major financial burden.
“Let’s prepare properly and let’s go.”
Sihyeon said.
The mountains at night were completely different from those during the day. Even hikers who were skilled at mountaineering could not guarantee that they would be able to find the correct path on a dark mountain.
For the average person, climbing a mountain at night could be quite dangerous. If you slip and fall while climbing a mountain, you could fall and be seriously injured. Additionally, if you got lost and became stranded, it was difficult to get rescued because it was dark.
Because of this, some mountains have a sign written at the beginning of the trail asking people to refrain from climbing after 8 p.m. Of course, Si-hyeon and Kang-baek were awakened people, so the situation was a little different from that of ordinary people, but there was no harm in preparing thoroughly.
“That’s right, brother.”
Kang Baek wore a thick jumper. Since it was still early winter, she didn’t have the weather to wear that much clothing, but the mountains at night were different.
The mountains at night are cold. The higher it was, the more so it was. Bihaksan Mountain was about 450m above sea level, so it wasn’t a high mountain, but it wasn’t low either. In addition, thick clothing was essential because one had to spend the night relying only on clothes without any sleeping gear such as a tent or sleeping bag.
“I’ll take the flashlight.”
Even if you are an awakened person, it is not like you can see clearly at night as if you were using vision goggles. Of course, there were awakened people with such abilities, but those were exceptional cases. A flashlight was essential.
“Gun… If you lose it, there will be trouble, so be careful.”
Kangbaek said as if reminding himself.
If you lose your firearm, words are not the end. It was a matter of punishment.
Sihyeon was also checking whether the pistol was securely fastened to the body.
I was planning to leave right after eating an early dinner, but as I was taking care of everything, it was already completely dark outside.
“Let’s go first. We’ll be late.”
Sihyeon opened the car door. Even though I said I would take care of everything, there may have been some shortcomings.
However, such shortcomings must be realized through direct experience. It was impossible to prepare perfectly from the beginning.
“Yes, brother.”
Kang Baek followed suit and got into the car.
They headed to Bihaksan Mountain in Paju to do their first undercover work.
fantasy,
