Substitute-Chapter 131

As soon as he entered the comfortable interior, Choi Minjae let out a sigh. Even with his life hanging by a thread, he was secretly disappointed that the whip-style punishment had been halted.

But he quickly smiled in satisfaction at the warm, pleasant room.

If only there hadn’t been the blackout.

“What should we do with this one?”

One of the naked men asked the old man.

His voice sounded exactly like their team leader. Choi Minjae furtively scanned the man’s body and felt himself get aroused.

He despised himself for that, but there was nothing he could do. What could he do about how he’d been born?

He gave up on himself.

“Bring him over here.”

The old man said it as he sat on a lobby sofa.

He looked like the very person who had organized this project, that is, the host. Choi Minjae, recalling the circumstances just before and after the lawyer’s death, was certain this old man was the boss.

Judging by his build and height you couldn’t guess his age, but his voice carried the weight of years.

Maybe in his sixties?

If he maintained that kind of shape, he might even be younger than he looked.

Choi Minjae knelt before the old man.

“May I call you Minjae?” the old man asked.

“Yes, sir! Anything is fine.”

“This fellow has no ordinary spirit. A man should be like that. Mm.”

The old man genuinely seemed pleased with him.

Choi Minjae stepped closer to him, delighted.

“I’ll tell you everything I know. So please give me a chance.”

He appealed eagerly.

But the old man waved a hand with a smile.

“All right, Minjae. We have plenty of time, so let’s talk at an appropriate hour. I’m a bit tired right now.”

There was no trace of fatigue in his tone or manner, and as Choi Minjae was about to say he would tell him everything immediately, he was grabbed by the guards and dragged away.

“Sir. Please give me a chance. I’ll be waiting. I’ll do anything for this project!”

Choi Minjae conveyed his sincerity as he was pulled away. Sincerity, he told himself, would reach the old man.

My host. The one I must serve with my life.

That phrase popped into his head, and tears poured out.

Choi Minjae sobbed without knowing why.

“Ha, this guy’s totally insane.”

“Pervert. Ptooey.”

As they entered the emergency stairs, the guards spat at Choi Minjae. He didn’t even know that would sting him.

Choi Minjae enjoyed their insult as he set foot on the stairs. It was so dark he felt sucked into an abyss.

Suddenly, fear gripped him.

Were they not just locking him up but planning to kill him?

Maybe “we’ll talk later” was their code.

Why hadn’t he thought of that, when the old man had killed the lawyer?

And if they’d captured four of them rather than one, they’d already have gathered plenty of information from them.

“Where are you taking me?” Choi Minjae asked in a trembling voice.

“Shut up. The pervert talks too much!”

He could no longer savor their contempt.

Should he beg for his life?

No. These two men didn’t have that kind of authority. They were dogs, after all.

Snapping back to his senses, Choi Minjae thought about escape. He really wanted to live.

Once that thought came, things that had been invisible came into view. He realized they hadn’t even bound him properly.

Although each had a hand on him, it was loose enough that he could break free if he wanted. Because he’d kept playing the Crew role so submissively, the host and the guards’ vigilance seemed to have slackened.

Choi Minjae, you’re a cop too!

He had been so absorbed in the Crew role that he’d forgotten who he really was, but before going undercover he had been a real beat cop. He had at least a first-degree black belt in taekwondo and had trained somewhat in hapkido. He was as tall and solidly built as these two men.

No one knew how taxing beat work could be. Dealing with drunken people’s outrageous behavior and abuse was beyond imagination. He had been hit many times; while trying to stop fights he’d fallen with them more than once.

As he eyed his chance and recalled his past, the radios of the two guards suddenly went off at the same time.

One of the guards who had been holding Choi Minjae released his grip to take the radio.

Choi Minjae didn’t miss the moment. He turned his body and shoved him with all his strength. The guard who had been on the radio instantly lost his balance and tumbled, his dying scream vanishing down the stairs.

Startled by their companion’s sudden fall, the others lunged at Choi Minjae. Their force was terrifying, but Choi Minjae was no pushover.

As they wrestled and traded punches, one guard twisted Choi Minjae’s right arm and broke it. It hurt so much that tears welled up. If things continued he would lose; it was clear. He knew instinctively that this man was a professional.

As a last resort, Choi Minjae grabbed the still-free arm and pulled the guard toward him, then threw himself down the stairs. The guard, who had not expected such a move, went with him, and the two rolled down the stairs together.

Thuds and screams echoed as the two bodies hit the steps.

As they tumbled down, Choi Minjae’s forehead split and his nose bled, but there was no time to check. The only thought was to get up before the other.

Dazed, Choi Minjae caught sight of an emergency exit sign.

He forcefully shook off the arm of the guard still clinging to him, scrambled up, and opened the door. He had entered the forbidden Basement Level 1.

He ran recklessly.

He ran with every ounce of strength toward the sole place of light in the darkness, until he tripped over an obstacle and fell.

****

The man threatened with a shotgun was not only the facilities manager in disguise.

Following the black-clad man’s orders, Kim Jiwon, who had entered the interior, encountered other guards whose limbs had been bound with cable ties and whose mouths were taped with blue tape. A guard with his hands bound behind his back lay face down on the floor.

“Walk.”

The barrel jabbed at Kim Jiwon’s back.

Kim Jiwon moved forward again and soon came upon another guard lying in the same posture. Rather than meeting him, the guard simply caught his eye.

After passing five guards bound at uneven intervals, Kim Jiwon then saw three staff members wearing the same coveralls as him. The three were tied back-to-back with something like rope.

One of the three, whose mouth had been taped, mistook Kim Jiwon for his superior and emitted a groan-like sound, but nothing he said could be understood.

To be honest, Kim Jiwon couldn’t make sense of the situation.

A man who clearly seemed to be from the same organization as the guards and the management staff had restrained them. Why?

“Face the wall.”

“Over there.”

“If you don’t want to get hurt, shut your mouth.”

Kim Jiwon faced the wall, feeling the barrel against his back.

“Put both hands on the wall and raise them up.”

He had a pretty good idea what they intended.

But he shouldn’t be tied up. And he absolutely shouldn’t have his mouth taped.

“Where are the undercover cops?” Kim Jiwon asked, ignoring the warning to shut up.

Instead of answering, the man released the safety on the shotgun. He looked as if he would shoot if Kim Jiwon talked back again.

Why was this man threatening the facilities manager? What was his purpose?

Enemy or ally?

Kim Jiwon’s head was in a jumble.

In an instant his hands were twisted behind him and a cable tie bit into his wrists.

Next would be the legs, and finally [N O V E L I G H T] the mouth would be covered.

Kim Jiwon debated whether to reveal his real identity or quietly be bound like the others.

Then—

“We can’t do this. We need a cutter!” someone shouted from deeper inside.

For some reason the voice sounded familiar.

“What about carrying the drums?”

“They’re too full; it’s impossible.”

“Ha, damn it. Come here and search the technicians’ packs. Maybe there’s pliers.”

No sooner had the black-clad man finished speaking than the sound of someone running came.

A flashlight beam cut through the dark, and a man in black ran toward where the technicians were bound.

The man was the only guard who hadn’t been bound and the only one who had taken off his mask.

Gwak Chan.

He was wearing black.

Kim Jiwon’s relief lasted only a moment; he didn’t know how to interpret the situation.

Was the man pointing the gun and Gwak Chan on the same side?

If the gunman had taken Gwak Chan hostage—?

Damn. He was about to lose his mind.

“But one of them is in critical condition.” Gwak Chan called as he rummaged through the packs.

“Who?” came the reply, and at that moment Kim Jiwon’s knees buckled.

A man behind him kicked him mercilessly in the knee.

“Ugh.” Kim Jiwon groaned and dropped to his knees facing the wall, and the shotgun barrel pressed against his back as the man deftly cable-tied his ankles.

“The one in a swimsuit. Sergeant Lee Hyunsoo, I think.”

At the mention of “sergeant,” Kim Jiwon blurted.

“Gwak Chan!”

The hands tightening the cable tie paused.

Kim Jiwon turned his head and called Gwak Chan’s name again. Gwak Chan, squatting by the technicians and rummaging through their packs, looked up.

“Gwak Chan! It’s me. Jiwon, Kim Jiwon.”

The flashlight in Gwak Chan’s hand swung toward Kim Jiwon.

Kim Jiwon wanted to take off his mask and show his face, but with his hands bound behind him he couldn’t. Fortunately, the shotgun-wielding guard removed Kim Jiwon’s mask.

Seeing his battered, bloodied face, Gwak Chan frowned and asked, “Are you Kim Jiwon?”

Gwak Chan moved closer and examined him.

“How did this happen...?”

Gwak Chan was left speechless at Kim Jiwon’s condition, but he told the shotgun man that it was the person he knew.

Soon the cable ties that had bound Kim Jiwon were cut.

“Brother, what are you doing here?”

“Trying to check which cops were captured.”

Kim Jiwon answered without hesitation.

By saying that, he had effectively hinted at his true identity, but he didn’t care.

The pressing question was who the captured cops were.

“Where are they?” Kim Jiwon asked, looking up at Gwak Chan, who seemed bewildered.

Gwak Chan exchanged glances with the shotgun man and said, “Follow me.”

Guided by Gwak Chan’s flashlight, Kim Jiwon went to the stacked drums and found three men whose faces were as wrecked as his. Fortunately, from the clothes they were wearing he could tell what role they had used to infiltrate.

But there was no wetsuit.

“Where’s the remaining one?”

Kim Jiwon asked, turning to Gwak Chan.

“There were only three from the start.”

“Only three?”

“Yes.”

Gwak Chan briefly explained how he had come to this place and added that he had only seen the three.

Kim Jiwon approached the chained men and asked, “Where is Yun Jiwon Sergeant?”

“Who’s Yun Jiwon?” a man in black asked back.

The man in tracksuit answered the same.

They didn’t know who Yun Jiwon was. In fact, they didn’t even know each other.

Only after being captured did they learn that someone else had infiltrated besides themselves.

Except for Sergeant Lee Hyunsoo in the swimsuit, the other two were not actually police. The sole real cop and the youngest of the three, Sergeant Lee Hyunsoo, might have information, but as Gwak Chan had said he was in critical condition. Leaving him like that would be a disaster.

First they had to cut the chain that bound them together with the drums.

“Did you find anything?” Kim Jiwon asked.

“Only pliers.” Gwak Chan held up a palm-sized pair of pliers.

“There’s bound to be a cutter. I’ll ask around and come back. For now, use that to cut through.”

Gwak Chan said that and Kim Jiwon moved to the group in the same coveralls.

The shotgun-wielding man watching from nearby understood Kim Jiwon’s intention and trained the barrel on the three.

“Where’s the cutter?” Kim Jiwon asked, and one of the three indicated he would answer.

Kim Jiwon tore off the blue tape sealing the man’s mouth without hesitation.

There was no time to waste.