Chapter 13

Those Guys Who Aren’t Worth Feeling Sorry About

The Pizza Delivery Man

I unfastened my seat belt and said,

“When I was in high school, I was once shoved between the tetrapods and bullied. From a distance, tetrapods look cute, almost like little snacks, but once you’re inside them, they’re horrifying.”

“You really went through something terrible.”

Seeing Moon Mansik desperately trying to pretend that nothing was wrong made me sick.

“If you slip between the tetrapods, you’re trapped in a maze, and you’ll die. That’s why you can’t even escape when someone pisses on you from above. I still can’t forget that disgusting, fishy taste.”

“They were truly terrible people. They’ll be punished for what they did.”

I repeatedly pulled the seat belt tight with both hands before releasing it.

“As you said, Manager Moon, bad people should be punished. If they aren’t punished, then someone has to make sure they are. Don’t you agree?”

“Pardon? …Yes.”

“There doesn’t seem to be a God in this world. That’s why I sometimes think a silent God might actually be the cruelest evil of all.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, sir……”

Before Moon Mansik could finish speaking, the seat belt wrapped around his neck.

“What I’m saying is that God remained silent, so I stepped in instead.”

After I wrapped the tightened belt around him twice, his eyes bulged as though they were about to pop out.

Blood vessels spread across the whites of his eyes, his collarbones protruded, and he desperately tried to pull the seat belt free with both hands.

“I’m Kang Maru. I vividly remember you pissing on my face and laughing.”

I pressed my upper body against his and increased the pressure.

He punched me in the abdomen, but because our bodies were pressed tightly together, the impact was negligible.

“I also remember crawling like a dog with your shoe in my mouth. Meeting all of you has brought back memories I’d forgotten, one by one, and they’re knocking me down like dominoes.”

“Ugh… ngh.”

“I can’t control this anger.”

His eyes looked as though they were about to spill from their sockets.

The veins on his forehead stood out tautly.

I relaxed my grip.

“Haa… gasp… ngh. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“I’ll ask you one thing. Where is Gong Pil-hyo?”

“What?”

“The guy who grew up at Sanseong Orphanage. The one who commits rental deposit fraud. Where is he?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

“Just as I thought. You’re useless.”

There was no way he would lie when he was facing the possibility of losing his life.

I pulled the seat belt tight again.

“Ugh……”

“I’m sending you to the hell you created.”

I pressed my body even closer to him and looked out toward the sea.

The black ocean was still, with only the gentle sound of waves reaching my ears.

The foul smell of stomach acid came from his throat, followed by a sudden stench of feces.

“Phew.”

The struggling of his body stopped.

One thing had become certain.

When I put on the mask, forgiveness and mercy felt like luxuries I couldn’t afford.

[Revenge successful.

Revenge Credit: 5]

I put Moon Mansik in the trunk and left the coastal road.

Where would be the place where he would be discovered last?

I thought the abandoned factory where I had fled to avoid beatings during high school would be suitable.

It belonged to a company that had repeatedly dumped wastewater, accumulated fines, and eventually gone bankrupt.

Nothing had changed.

The ground was cracked in places, traces of wastewater had hardened here and there, and the factory building had been unable to withstand the passage of time, with parts of its exterior walls torn away.

No one ever came here.

I parked the car behind the factory and left the scene.

A Korean restaurant in Gangnam.

Team Leader Jo Tae-su met his junior, Sergeant Tae Han-su.

He worked on the detective team at Namgang Police Station.

“Hyung, it’s been a really long time. It must have been five or six months.”

“It feels like I’ve lost my right arm without you. Are you getting used to things now?”

“There are so many complicated cases that it’s killing me. There are also a lot of investigations we’re conducting in secret, so even if I had ten bodies, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Sounds like there are a lot of drug investigations.”

Tae Han-su shook his head.

“There are a lot of cases involving powerful people who absolutely don’t want anything appearing in the media. Recently, there was a young woman who was robbed. Her hair was cut off, and everything was taken from her except her molars. We’re investigating it secretly right now.”

“A young woman? Is she the chairman’s daughter?”

“Her husband is a businessman, and her father-in-law is apparently a politician. So I think they don’t want the case appearing in the media.”

Jo Tae-su didn’t have enough breathing room to take an interest in cases from other areas.

Reading his expression, Tae Han-su said,

“You must have a lot going on. You look exhausted.”

“After Ma Pung-gang of the Yeopopa gang was released from prison, one incident after another has happened. I feel like I’m chasing a shadow.”

It was hard to imagine the legendary Jo Tae-su being unable to find his bearings.

With a major-crime clearance rate of over 95 percent, he had earned the nickname the Hunter.

He was a hunter who could catch criminals through cold analysis and animal instincts, or set traps and wait for them, and who never gave up until he caught his prey.

Tae Han-su smiled faintly.

“I can’t imagine you being lost, hyung.”

“Maybe I’m getting old and my brain’s gone dull. This is when I wish you were still by my side.”

The two had worked together for five years on the major-crimes team at Magang Police Station.

Known as Tae-su and Han-su, they had been an incredible team, so Jo Tae-su felt the loss keenly.

“I watched the video, too. Whoever did it has clearly trained in combat for a long time. Cutting off someone’s breathing with a throw isn’t something an ordinary person can do.”

“He’s extremely cautious. He knew exactly where there were no CCTV cameras and escaped through those areas.”

“In the end, you’ll win, hyung.”

“Who knows? I feel like everything’s gotten tangled up at the end of my career.”

Jo Tae-su narrowed his eyes as he drank his soju.

That cold sensation lingering down his back still hadn’t disappeared.

Hyeok-su had no choice but to watch as his store was destroyed.

“Do you think we’re joking around? We’ll come back in two days. If you haven’t remembered by then, you’re going to get wrecked too!”

The Dongtakpa thug left with three lackeys after smashing the store’s fixtures.

Hyeok-su collapsed onto the floor.

Shattered glass and broken tables were scattered everywhere.

Even though he had called the police when he saw them coming, twenty minutes had passed without anyone showing up.

“I want to kill them.”

Hyeok-su whispered under his breath and bit down hard on his lower lip.

Just then, the police arrived.

“What happened?”

“Why did you take so long?”

“The roads are narrow, so we were delayed. We’ll take your statement about the damage.”

Hyeok-su couldn’t shake the suspicion that the police were connected to the gangsters.

It had been the same when he first started working as a club promoter.

Even when he reported being assaulted to the police, he wasn’t protected, leading to a vicious cycle where he would suffer retaliation.

People said the world had changed, but he was still the weakest person in it.

“It’s fine. You don’t seem like you’ll be able to help, so just go.”

“We came out here, so we need to know the extent of the damage. We also have to file a report.”

“Ask your questions.”

Hyeok-su answered without much interest.

The police conducted a perfunctory investigation and left.

After staring blankly outside for a while, Hyeok-su bit his lip and started cleaning the floor.

“Hyuk-su!”

Kang Maru entered and was startled.

“Hyung.”

“What happened here? Looks like those guys came and caused a scene. Did you call the police?”

“They’re all in it together. They didn’t arrive until twenty-five minutes after I called.”

Kang Maru took the broom from Hyeok-su.

“I’ll finish cleaning this up. Does the Dongtakpa gang think you hired someone to retaliate against them?”

“Yeah. I can’t pretend I know something when I don’t. I signed a contract, so I can’t cancel it either. It’s driving me crazy.”

“This won’t do. We need to report this everywhere.”

“Will that really work?”

“The police are afraid of public opinion and audits. I’ll take care of it, so you stick to the plan.”

Hyeok-su let out heavy sighs.

“They’ll come back and smash everything again once I repair it.”

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. You have the CCTV footage, right?”

“I do, but they’ll think I reported them. If that happens, they might really kill me……”

“You trust me, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take care of it. You just do your job.”

He was someone who eventually fulfilled even the vague hopes people placed in him.

That’s why Hyeok-su trusted Kang Maru, even though he didn’t trust the police.

Pitter-patter—

Raindrops slid down the window in long streaks.

I sat inside a convenience store diagonally across from the pojangmacha and watched.

I had hidden my face behind thick-rimmed glasses and a mask, but the CCTV cameras still made me uneasy.

A woman eating ramen at the next table glanced at me.

She seemed intrigued by the fact that I was wearing a poncho raincoat.

I ignored her, chewing on a sausage while staring ahead.

Had about ten minutes passed?

The thug known as Deong-eori and the bald man approached Hyeok-su’s shop.

They entered the pojangmacha, grabbed Hyeok-su by the head, and threatened him.

Then they kicked the tables and threw chairs.

My anger gauge steadily climbed.

Hyeok-su, just hang in there a little longer.

The man who had grabbed Hyeok-su by the hair shook him before casually tapping his cheek.

I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Hyeok-su kept bowing his head.

They were obviously going to continue harassing him, so it had to end tonight.

The two men kicked the standing signboard and headed toward the convenience store.

Whoosh—

The rain grew heavier.

The two men entered the convenience store and bought cigarettes.

“Hyung, that bastard doesn’t seem to know anything.”

“We have to keep going until Dong-man hyung tells us to stop.”

They must have been talking about Chu Dong-man.

I’d heard about the higher-ranking members of the gang from Hyeok-su. Chu Dong-man was apparently an enforcer for the Dongtakpa gang and a former martial arts fighter.

“Will the police just sit back and do nothing?”

“Detective Jung is on our side. Don’t worry.”

Just as Hyeok-su had said, the police were connected to them.

That made my actions all the more justified.

I studied their faces.

They looked as if someone had stepped on steamed buns.

I made eye contact with the bald man.

“What the fuck are you looking at, asshole?”

I quickly turned my head away.

“I’ll rip your fucking eyes out!”

“Sorry.”

For now, I lowered my head.

But soon, you two would pay the price.

“Hey, let’s hurry up and go inside and order some pizza.”

“Let’s go.”

They opened their umbrellas and left the convenience store.

I followed them slowly, keeping some distance between us.

At the end of the road, they turned left and entered an alley, leading to an apartment building complex.

The rain poured down heavily.

“Fuck! It’s coming down like crazy. Let’s run!”

The two disappeared into the alley on the right.

Where did they go?

They couldn’t have gone far.

I slowly walked along, checking the villas on either side, when I heard a loud voice.

“Wipe off the rainwater before you come inside!”

I checked the direction of the voice.

It came from the basement of the second villa.

I slowly moved toward it and listened.

“Did you take care of it?”

“We smashed the chairs and tables and scared him. That bastard doesn’t seem to know anything.”

“What could that idiot possibly know? We just do what we’re told. It’s Dong-man hyung’s order, so make sure it’s done properly.”

“Understood, hyung. Can we order pizza?”

“Order two.”

“Thank you.”

BOOOOM! CRASH—BOOM—BANG!

Thunder and lightning struck as the rain grew even heavier.

Now it was time to punish them.

The fact that they had even ordered pizza made it perfect.

After taking a moment to steady my breathing, I pulled a sledgehammer from my bag.

BOOM—RUMBLE!

The alley flashed with lightning.

I entered the villa and walked down the stairs.

Knock, knock.

When I knocked on the door, a sharp voice called out.

“Who is it?”

“Pizza delivery.”

“Already?”

The front door swung open, and Deong-eori frowned when he saw me.

Naturally, he was shocked to see that I was holding a sledgehammer instead of pizza.

He realized what was happening a moment too late and recoiled in horror.

“What the—?!”

The sledgehammer shot forward and smashed into his collarbone.

Now it was time for punishment.