“How much longer do I have to wait? I’m going crazy here. The money isn’t ready yet? I’ll cut you some slack. Is that good enough? Just get me out of here already.”
Curses spilled from Sin Junggi’s mouth as he ended the call.
“Son of a bitch…”
He was so furious he almost hurled the phone, but he barely managed to restrain himself.
If it weren’t for this burner phone, he couldn’t even contact the broker.
So he had to protect this phone no matter what.
It was his only line of contact.
Fuming, Sin Junggi downed a can of beer in one go and collapsed weakly onto the bed.
Why had he agreed to this?
Regret washed over him—had he agreed too easily?
But even if he had refused, the result would have been the same.
He would have trembled in anxiety every single day.
He had to admit it now.
The life that had moved as perfectly as clockwork was gone.
All that remained was Sin Junggi, completely unraveled.
He was breaking down a little more every day.
Of course, when he’d first arrived in the Philippines, he’d even thought about establishing a new routine.
But the Philippines was a place he’d be leaving soon.
He figured it would be a pointless effort.
No one establishes a routine on a three-day, two-night trip.
Sin Junggi had thought the same.
That he would only be staying for a very short while.
But as that became a week, then a month, then two months, he felt like he was going mad.
His life had completely collapsed.
He’d wanted to build a routine, even if belatedly, but by then it was already too late.
He was terrified of people’s gazes and couldn’t go outside.
Eyes that seemed to stare at him from somewhere.
A feeling that everyone was looking only at him.
A feeling that they were carefully watching his every move.
It bothered him so much that he couldn’t go out.
He’d tried to create a routine even within his hotel room, but that too was impossible.
There were too many things that needlessly got on his nerves in the hotel room.
He couldn’t focus on anything.
When would the call come? He just stared at his phone.
All sorts of stray thoughts flooded his mind.
He wanted to escape.
If he could only escape from here, he felt he could even shave off around 10 billion won from the 30 billion.
Two days later.
Finally, the call he’d been waiting for came from the broker.
“Come out to the Zamboanga ferry terminal.”
It was done.
The time had finally come.
The fact that he was told to come to the ferry terminal meant he could probably leave immediately after getting the money.
Sin Junggi packed all his belongings and headed to the terminal.
He arrived at the Zamboanga ferry terminal overlooking the sea.
Perhaps because it was late evening after all operations had ended, the ferry terminal was nearly deserted.
Only the facility guards were there.
The guards looked at Sin Junggi strangely as he entered the terminal pulling his suitcase at such a late hour.
He hated those eyes.
He hated those eyes that watched what he was doing.
Sin Junggi sat in the empty terminal and waited for the broker.
When the appointed time came, the broker quietly appeared and sat down beside him.
“You waited a long time?”
“Yeah. A hell of a long time.”
“I tried to wrap things up quickly too, but the client kept delaying the payment.”
“Enough. Just give me the money. And the ID.”
“But you see… there’s a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“The client says they can’t pay the full amount.”
“I told you. It’s fine if the money’s a bit less. How much can you give?”
“Hold on…”
The broker took out his wallet and pulled some bills from it.
“Roughly about 4,000 pesos (around 100,000 won), I’d say.”
“What the hell are you doing right now?”
“I’m giving you the money you’re owed.”
“I was supposed to receive 30 billion won.”
“Didn’t you say it was fine if it was ‘a little’ less?”
“This isn’t ‘a little.’”
“That’s a matter of perspective. I think it’s plenty, as payment for saving your life.”
Sin Junggi looked back and forth between the bills the broker held out and the broker’s face, then burst into laughter.
“Hehehehehe. This is hilarious. So no forged ID either? Did I get scammed? Did you properly play me?”
“Oh~ you figured out the situation right away?”
“Is this even something you’d call ‘figuring out the situation’? You scumbags just pulled some scumbag move.”
“That stings a little.”
“The truth usually hurts. And look at what you’ve done. This is exactly what scumbags do.”
The broker smiled slightly, as if amused by the situation.
“Yeah, I admit it. I was a bit petty. Sorry. I apologize.”
“So what’s the offer?”
“Give me the data, and I’ll spare your life.”
“How cliché. So you mean you’ll take my life too?”
“Hahahaha. Sorry, you caught on to that too?”
“I watch a lot of movies.”
“But if you just hand over the data, I’ll really spare your life. I mean it.”
“I can’t believe your shallow bullshit anymore. Let’s just say we never had a deal.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why are you doing this? Unilateral termination incurs a penalty fee.”
“It’s termination due to breach of contract, so it’s fine.”
“No, it’s a unilateral termination.”
“Euhuhuhu. Crazy. Do we even have a contract?”
“We do. Here, my word is the contract, the law, the judge, and the prosecutor. You just need to listen to what I say.”
“What?”
“Guys!!”
“Yes.”
“Take him away.”
Before he knew it, men had surrounded Sin Junggi.
They dragged him to a warehouse in the terminal basement.
A dark underground warehouse where not a single ray of light entered.
A single dim lightbulb barely illuminated the space.
It was a place where a person could die and no one would ever know.
Plastic sheeting was laid out on the floor, and a single chair was placed on top of it.
Sin Junggi was forced to sit in the chair and then tied up.
And then they just started hitting him.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Stop~”
When the broker spoke, the men who had been beating Sin Junggi fell back.
“I know I’m saying this late in the game, but I invested a lot of effort to reel you in. Yet none of it ever went my way. You killed the girl I’d planted to seduce you. I left you here for so long hoping that someone with your OCD wouldn’t be able to endure this situation and would blow up on his own, but you held out until the very end. Truly impressive. I applaud you.”
“Hehe. Haven’t you ever thought your scenario is third-rate?”
“Really? I was incredibly satisfied. With this level of work, wouldn’t it even be worth aiming for the Academy Awards?”
“With a scenario riddled with clichés like that, you’d have a hard time even at a short film festival.”
“Really?”
“Want me to tell you the ending? In the end, nothing will go your way. You won’t get the data, and you’ll just end up being some petty thief who targeted a tourist’s bag.”
“We’ll have to wait and see about that ending. Boys, knock away.”
“Yes.”
The beating started once again.
“There’s a passage in Scripture. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Let’s see if that verse is true. I’m quite the devout believer.”
“Hey, you bastards, don’t hit his face. You’ll ruin it.”
Sin Junggi shouted even as he was being beaten, and the broker watched that sight with amusement.
“Kuhahahaha. As expected, you’re an interesting man. Focus on his face.”
Before long, Sin Junggi’s appearance had changed into something horrific.
Several of his teeth had fallen out, and white teeth were scattered on the plastic sheeting.
His mouth was filled with blood.
Even so, Sin Junggi didn’t reveal where the data was.
Meanwhile, others were carefully examining the suitcase and belongings Sin Junggi had brought.
Of course, he wouldn’t have hidden it there, but just in case, they were inspecting his belongings, tearing through everything one by one.
To find the data.
“It’s not here.”
“Of course it’s not. You must have hidden it away somewhere safe. Sin Junggi, you must be tired too. Let’s wrap this up quickly. Quickly, quickly, so we can sleep. It’s getting late.”
“If I fall asleep now, I’ll never wake up anyway, so I want to stay up a bit longer. It’s my last night in this world, so I should enjoy it a bit more.”
“Wow, I like this bastard. Then we should knock some more so he can enjoy himself longer. Boys. Knock away.”
“Yes.”
That was when it happened.
A group of strange men came swarming in.
Even at a glance, there were dozens of them.
“You bastards should sleep at night. It’s loud as hell. Don’t the little birdies know to sleep early?”
“Wh… what?”
“What do you mean, what? We’re just rebels passing by. But damn, looks like all you New People’s Army (NPA) bastards are gathered here.”
His identity exposed, the broker glared at them with surprise and a sharp gleam in his eyes.
“Wh… who are you? Who the hell…”
“Would knowing who I am help? What’s the point in asking when you won’t know me anyway?”
“These bastards, for real. Boys, they come first. Knock them around starting with them.”
“Yes.”
The broker pointed at the rebels and gave the command.
As the NPA men rushed forward at the command, Simon drew his gun and fired a shot into the air.
Bang.
“The first shot is a warning. From the next one, live rounds. Whoever wants to sleep early tonight, come on. I’ll put you to sleep forever.”
At the sound of the gunshot, the NPA men faltered.
Because they hadn’t expected gunfire today and had come unarmed.
“Kneel if you want to live, come on if you want to die.”
At Simon’s words, the NPA men quietly began to kneel.
It was because what he said might have sounded like a joke, but it didn’t sound like one at all.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a game with no chance of winning.
They were all armed with guns.
Taking down one or two wouldn’t make a difference.
The moment they moved, their bodies would turn into beehives.
In an instant, everyone was kneeling and the situation was under control.
“Tie all these bastards up, and get that one treated first.”
“Yes.”
At Simon’s words, the men moved in perfect unison.
One of those who went to move the collapsed Sin Junggi brought back something strange.
“But Captain. Do you know what this is?”
“What is it?”
“A few of this bastard’s teeth seem to have fallen out, but this one looks a bit different from the others.”
“Really?”
Looking closely, it did look different.
“We should keep this safe for now.”
“Yes.”
Ding.
Right then, a message rang.
A photo was attached to a message that read, “Have you seen this person? Let me know if you have.”
Huh?
Isn’t this bastard?
“Hey. Look at this. It’s this bastard, right?”
“His face is a mess, so I’m not sure, but I think it’s him.”
Simon immediately sent a reply.
—Isn’t this bastard?
*******
Emerald Resort.
“I think we found him.”
“What? What did you say?”
At my words, not only Team Leader Bak Dojin and Deputy Hwang Onyu, but even Secretary Seong Junhui were startled.
It hadn’t even been three minutes since I’d handed over the photo.
Not enough time for a cup of instant noodles to cook.
In that short span of time, they’d found a person the National Intelligence Service had searched for months without a trace.
And even attached a photo.
“Wha… how?”
“I suppose we were just lucky. This friend was in danger, but it seems our friends helped him out.”
“Oh, thank you so much. You’ve done a great deed for the country. We won’t forget this favor.”
“Not at all. What did I even do? I just made a single phone call.”
“That was an enormous help to us. Where was he caught? Was there a data leak?”
“I’m not sure about that either.”
“Haha. I suppose you wouldn’t be. I apologize… I’m a bit impatient.”
“That’s understandable. I understand.”
“Then… how do we proceed with the handover?”
“Pardon?”
“We need to take Sin Junggi into custody, but how should we…”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“What?”
“You asked me to find him, so I found him. Now you want me to escort him back as well? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
“… Ah, that’s not…”
“I think I’ve already given you all the help I can. I’ll give you the contact info of the friend who has Sin Junggi in custody, so contact him directly and take him.”
“Yes…”
“Then I’ll be going now. Secretary Seong Junhui, I’d like to see you separately sometime soon. Let’s have a meal, both to thank you regarding the Poapi matter and just to catch up. I’ll head over to Cebu.”
“Let’s do that. I’ll be waiting.”
“Then take care.”
I said my goodbyes and left the conference room first.
My body was a wreck from flying all day, and getting caught up in an incident like that made me even more exhausted.
As soon as I entered the suite, I left a text for Simon and then fell asleep immediately without even washing up properly.
“Hello. I am Seong Junhui, a diplomat from Korea. I am calling after receiving your contact from Mr. Gong Inbae.”
“Ah~ I’ve been expecting your call.”
Due to the nature of the National Intelligence Service being unable to step forward, Secretary Seong Junhui had no choice but to make the call instead.
“Then this conversation will be quick. We need to take Sin Junggi into custody; where should we go?”
“They say Korea is a country of ‘quickly, quickly,’ and you really are fast. Is the money all ready already?”
“Money?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to take Sin Junggi into custody?”
“That’s right, isn’t it?”
“You were just going to come and take only Sin Junggi and nothing else?”
“Well, yes?”
“Shouldn’t you at least pay us for our trouble?”
“But we didn’t even request this from you…”
“Then why are you trying to take Sin Junggi when you didn’t request it?”
“……”
“Ten million dollars. It’s not that expensive a price. I slashed it drastically since you’re a friend of Inbae’s. Usually for a catch this big, we’d start at thirty million minimum. It’s all thanks to Inbae. Make sure you buy him a meal later.”
“For that amount, we’d need headquarters’ cooperation…”
“You Korean civil servants are really something. Why are you telling me about your internal processes? It’s not like I’m the one who approves it. If I sign off, can you immediately pay the ten million dollars? Why are you making useless talk sound useful?”
“No…”
“So handle your own business, and we’ll just take the ten million dollars. We give you Sin Junggi after we get the money. It’s simple. Got it?”
“But…”
“Ten million dollars is only valid until the end of this month. Once this month passes, the conditions change. We have to feed, clothe, and house him, and that costs a good deal. We have to pay the guys watching him too. So if you can’t do it, tell us early. So we don’t waste time and can dispose of him quickly.”
“…”
“Call me when the money’s ready. Don’t make us wait too long.”
As the call ended, Secretary Seong Junhui looked at Team Leader Bak Dojin and Deputy Hwang Onyu with a bewildered expression.
They were making the exact same bewildered expressions.