"Sir, upon inspection, some of the serial numbers on these gold bars don't exist, and some are duplicates," Manager Hwang Min-jun informed me, leaving me stunned. Looking back, I remembered seeing some English letters and numbers on the gold bars but overlooked their significance.
"Oh, really?" I replied, taken aback.
"Initially, we suspected they might be stolen. However, a quick check with the banks in the US confirmed that the owners still possess their gold bars. Nevertheless, there are still suspicions about the gold bars you brought. Could you please explain their origin?"
Hwang Min-jun's eyes were sharp and piercing.
"I found them in a dungeon. Is there an issue with their purity?" I bluffed, deciding to stick to my story.
Modern dungeons do occasionally appear, and I intended to use that as my alibi.
"Yes, the purity has been confirmed. They are genuine gold. But are you certain you found them in a dungeon?"
"Absolutely. I have more of them."
"I see."
Hwang Min-jun seemed sceptical, but he nodded without further comment.
"I'm sorry, but we conducted a background check on you. You're a sophomore at Gukcheon University and attend Youngcheon Dojo."
I realized Hwang Min-jun wasn't an ordinary manager. I began to feel tense. I hadn't expected to be put through such scrutiny just to sell some gold bars.
"…And?"
"Master Jin Woo-sung of the Youngcheon Sword Academy is one of our VIPs. I contacted him to verify your identity. You are a student of Youngcheon Dojo."
Jin Woo-sung. I hadn't met him personally, but I knew of him. He was Jin Se-young's father and a master of Youngcheon Dojo.
"That's right. I'm somewhat skilled in Youngcheon style."
"…I see. Regardless, I believe you. Although the gold bars are suspicious, finding them in a dungeon is plausible. And as a disciple of Master Jin Woo-sung, I trust you."
My expression brightened. I understood what Hwang Min-jun was getting at.
"Of course. Given their origin, it's understandable they might be suspected of being stolen."
"However, in such cases, the price drops due to the uncertain origin and the need for reprocessing. How about 60 million won per gold bar?"
"Sounds good. I have quite a few more gold bars, so this might happen again."
"Naturally. I'll buy them. Here's my card. Considering your connection to a VIP, I have no reason to doubt you. But the price reduction is inevitable."
I took Hwang Min-jun's card with a smile.
Despite his friendly demeanour, I could see through him.
"Sure, I understand."
Though I would take a slight loss, I could procure gold almost infinitely using the [Play Life] app.
"Do you also buy jewellery?"
"Oh, you have jewellery too? I specialize in gold, but I know a broker who handles various items. I'll give you their contact information."
He scribbled a phone number on the back of his card and handed it to me.
I suspected the broker he mentioned was an illegal one.
"Can this guy also procure items for me?"
"Yes, though he is quite money-hungry, his capabilities are outstanding. There's nothing he can't get."
"Really?"
We parted ways with a handshake and a smile.
***
A week had passed since I moved into the office.
On the first day, Oh Joon-hyuk visited for a housewarming, and we drank and hung out. The next day, I moved my belongings from the studio to my new place. The inventory feature was a huge help with moving my stuff.
"I'll take the car license test next week… I'll get a bike license later. I should buy a decent foreign car."
As I left for university, I got into the elevator. My apartment was on the 6th floor. I knew Han Ha-rin lived in the same building but didn't know which floor. We hadn't run into each other before.
The elevator stopped on the 4th floor. Han Ha-rin, with her usual cold expression, stepped in. It was the first time we'd encountered each other in the building.
"Oh, hello?" I greeted her.
She looked at me and slightly frowned.
"Do you live here?"
"I moved in recently. It's close to school, and the facilities are good."
"I see."
"Do you live on the 4th floor? I'm on the 6th. Let's get along as neighbours."
"..."
She didn't respond. I considered talking to her a few more times but decided to keep quiet.
Our relationship was nothing beyond being students in the same Hunter Department. She had rejected my confession before, and she didn't care about me at all. We were strangers.
We exited on the first floor.
Han Ha-rin walked towards the parking lot, while I headed to the bus stop since I didn't have a car yet.
"Wow, nice ass," I muttered, admiring her figure discreetly.
***
Moon Ji-hyuk was gathering information on the Tusung Gang while investigating the recent incidents one by one.
The alley blood pool incident. The Sae-eun Apartment incident.
Both cases involved three gangster corpses. As he dove into these, he finally found a lead.
"The K-Flex Room. Ma Bong-chun and his crew worked as security there."
The van found near the alley belonged to them. Why did they park it so close to K-Flex?
"They were trying to kill someone."
It made no sense for them to drive their van to a nearby alley unless they were targeting someone. However, their target wasn't Red Maniac.
"If it had been Red Maniac, they would have died without being able to do anything."
Their target was someone else. There was another blood trace in the alley, belonging to the person Ma Bong-chun had killed.
"Sacred Cock."
Moon Ji-hyuk had persistently followed leads at the K-Flex Room, threatening and persuading the women there until he got information.
"Sacred Cock. They shortened it to Sacock."
Sacock was a nickname. He joked about his cock being sacred while having sex with the women there.
The nickname spread among the women, and now, no one in the nightlife industry doesn't know about Sacock. He was quite the playboy.
Although prostitution occurred in the K-Flex Room, Moon Ji-hyuk couldn't arrest the women. His focus was on Red Maniac, not a prostitution case. That could be handled later.
"Sacock's first visit to K-Flex coincided with the alley blood pool incident."
Moon Ji-hyuk investigated Sacock.
Sacock, real name Kang Eugene, is 21 years old. I was presumed to be a university student with a lot of money. He frequents rooms in Gangnam alone, spending lavishly without hesitation, often dropping millions in a single night.
"The DNA from the blood in the alley matched that of a healthy man in his early 20s. Kang Eugene fits this profile perfectly."
Kang Eugene must have fought the three gangsters in the alley. Red Maniac intervened, fatally wounding the gangsters and kidnapping them.
"This theory makes the most sense. But why kidnap them from the scene? There were no signs of torture on the bodies."
It was unclear what Red Maniac did to the gangsters after the kidnapping. Why imprison them for a month without a clear reason?
"Anyway, there's undoubtedly a connection between Kang Eugene and Red Maniac."
Moon Ji-hyuk decided to dig deeper into Kang Eugene.
He visited all nearby universities, presented his police ID, and requested cooperation to find a student named Kang Eugene.
But he found nothing.
"There's someone with the same name, but the age doesn't match and the description is different."
Even after scouring universities in Seoul, there was no sign of him. This could mean that 'Kang Eugene' is a fake name or that he's not a college student at all.
"Kang's a common name… Kang Eugene is almost always out in Gangnam's night bars at night. The one he frequents the most is… Yeong-hye-jeong."
Yeong-hye-jeong.
The top entertainment establishment in South Korea.
I stumbled upon it during an investigation in the past, but Detective Team Leader Oh Jung-jin strictly warned us never to mess with Yeong-hye-jeong. Many high-ranking officials back it. Rumour has it that even the Commissioner of the National Police Agency is somewhat involved.
"And Yeong-hye-jeong is connected to the Tuseong gang… It's not a place a mere detective can handle. But…"
Moon Ji-hyuk closed his eyes tightly before opening them again. Another method would be to stake out Kang Eugene at a different bar. But there's no time. It's already been a month since the Kim Chun-seok scandal. It wouldn't be surprising if Jeokgwang committed another crime today.
"I need to meet Kang Eugene soon, even if it means taking some risks."
Instead of going straight to Yeong-hye-jeong, he decided to park and stake out nearby. However, within just 30 minutes, a group of burly men in suits surrounded his car.
The man who seemed to be their leader knocked on the window.
"I should have known. I can't believe they noticed my stakeout in just 30 minutes."
Moon Ji-hyuk sighed, holding his smartphone in one hand as he rolled down the window.
"What is it? If you're threatening me, I'll call the police."
"Aren't you the police, Detective Moon Ji-hyuk?"
Park Chan-sung's tone was polite as usual, but to Moon Ji-hyuk, it felt more threatening.
"You've already identified me. Impressive."
"We're quite sensitive about information. May I ask why you're staking out here? Detective Moon Ji-hyuk, you're with the Red Maniac task force, aren't you? It doesn't seem like you're targeting us."
'Tuseong gang. They're scarier than I thought.'
Sweat was starting to drip. This was Yeong-hye-jeong, showing the power of South Korea's top gang, Tuseong.
"Would you please answer the question? Our patience isn't endless."
"… It's an investigation related to Red Maniac. I know Kang Eugene frequents Yeong-hye-jeong."
"Oh, is that so? As you said, Mr. Kang Eugene is a regular here, so we can't just let this slide."
Park Chan-sung grabbed the window frame.
"Detective Moon. This kind of behaviour is problematic. This is Yeong-hye-jeong. We barely have any customers these days because of all the noise in the country. Trying to scare away the few we have left isn't good."
"I'm not here to arrest Kang Eugene. I just have some questions."
"Let's be clear. You can't arrest him because you don't have a warrant. You're openly staking out in front of us… You must think very little of Yeong-hye-jeong."
Moon Ji-hyuk sensed that his tone was getting harsher. If he stayed any longer, they'd likely take action, even against a detective.
'It's best to back off for now.'
Bzzzzz! Bzzzzz!
Moon Ji-hyuk's smartphone buzzed in his pocket.
He glanced at it, frowning.
There was a call from team Leader Oh Jung-jin. The reason for his call was obvious.
"You have a call. It might be urgent. Are you not going to answer?"
"I'll back off this time. Next time, I'll come as a customer."
"You're welcome as a customer. Business is slow these days. But do you have enough money?"
"…"
Moon Ji-hyuk kept silent, thinking about his bank account. Recently, there have been quite a few expenses. He wasn't sure he had much spare cash.
"Detective Moon. Do you wear makeup?"
"…What?"
Moon Ji-hyuk was startled. It felt like his heart dropped. He wore makeup to hide his vampire's pale skin.
Park Chan-sung smirked and bowed his head slightly.
"I'm sensitive to cosmetics. I can tell up close if someone's wearing makeup. I'll let it go this time since you're backing off. But next time, I might indulge my curiosity."
"…"
Moon Ji-hyuk gripped the steering wheel tightly.
They suspected he was a vampire. No, they almost certainly knew. It was a kind of threat.
"…Understood."
As Park Chan-sung backed away, a taxi stopped nearby, and Kang Eugene got out.
"Oh? Director Park Chan-sung, what are you doing out here with the guys?"
Kang Eugene visited Yeong-hye-jeong so often that he knew Park Chan-sung well enough to exchange greetings.
"…Mr. Yoo-jin. Well…"
Park Chan-sung explained the situation. At this point, Kang Eugene was a VIP. There was no need to hide anything.
"Oh? He has something to ask me. Then I should answer. So, your name is Detective Moon Ji-hyuk?"
"Yes. I'm Detective Moon Ji-hyuk, currently with the Red Maniac task force."
Moon Ji-hyuk spoke politely. Kang Eugene, unlike Park Chan-sung, hadn't threatened him. He wasn't officially conducting an investigation yet. Besides, it was their first meeting.
"Detective, buy me a steak dinner, and I'll cooperate. Ah! I only eat steak from the high-end restaurant nearby. What do you say?"
"There's no reason I can't treat you to dinner."
"But aren't you going to answer that call? It's been ringing for a while. It must be urgent."
"Excuse me for a moment."
Moon Ji-hyuk rolled up the window and answered the call.
[Hey! Moon Ji-hyuk! You idiot! What do you think you're doing?! Didn't I tell you to leave Yeong-hye-jeong alone?!]
The loud voice on the other end made Moon Ji-hyuk's face contort.