Octopussy Gate (5)
The quiet cafe near Gyeonggi Province, which mainly played live music, was nearly empty during the daytime.
"You made it?"
As soon as I arrived, Hyung-gwang stood up from his seat, scanning the surroundings. His face, bloodshot eyes darting to the window outside, was smeared with wounds and grime.
"...What the hell happened to you?"
"The guys who were calling me 'hyung' and 'dongsaeng' until yesterday are going nuts just to catch me. I barely escaped even now."
Hyung-gwang shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh.
"The guys working at Octopussy are supposed to be comrades sharing the same rice bowl. Why are they after you?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm the only one exposed as the drug pusher, so they're trying to cut off the tail."
"What's your angle showing up in front of me? Like you said, you're a caught-in-the-act drug dealer, and I'm a cop. We're not exactly in a position to sit here sipping tea like old pals."
"I've made up my mind. My life's fucked either way right now. So, can I ask you just one thing?"
Taking my silence as assent, he glanced around and lowered his voice.
"...How far do you plan to take this?"
"..."
"Not sure if you know, Detective, but this isn't just some simple potion sales gig. Gangnam police chief Yoon Hak-do's covering for them while chowing down on the stuff himself, and nobody knows who's above him."
"Why spill this to me?"
"...Honestly, I don't trust cops. Every one I've seen was trash just like us. But you took down even the Jungcheon station chief. You seem different from the rest, so I came to you."
He played up the corruption in my organization while flattering me as the exception. A classic ego-stroking tactic—smooth talk honed from hustling Gangnam's nightlife.
"Cut the bullshit. What do you want?"
"I'll turn myself in, so make sure I only get punished for my actual crimes. I only dealt in prescriptions, but they're pinning heroin and weed on me too. They'll make me rot my youth in prison."
"Fine. Let's hear your story first."
"Thank you!"
Prescription psychotropics, hard drugs, and marijuana all have different sentencing guidelines. Hyung-gwang glanced around cautiously before speaking.
"...So, Director Bang's just a figurehead, and Octopussy's real owner is someone else, right?"
"Yeah. I snuck peeks at the ledgers a few times—looks like three or four spots in Gangnam alone besides Octopussy. All under fake names, so I don't know who."
"When did the potions start circulating?"
"I've been there less than two years, and it started about a year ago. Sold discreetly to VIPs in clubs. No trace on urine tests, perfect for work. Even petty beefs got buried by the local precinct covering for us."
"...You're telling me this to save your own skin, right?"
"Yes."
Hyung-gwang bit his lip and leaned toward me.
"Running forever won't work—I'll get caught eventually. And I know better than anyone how that ends. Better if all the Octopussy bastards go down, then I might live."
"...Even if everything you say is true, there's no evidence. You don't even know the real boss behind Director Bang."
"I don't. But."
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"I know someone who has seen Octopussy's real owner."
"People actually live in a dump like this?"
Even the Jeep, famed for its off-road prowess, groaned in protest as its engine strained.
"Yeah. Fresh news I got yesterday from a semi-reliable senior. Seung-woo hyung lives here. But I didn't expect this kind of place. Who knew Seoul had neighborhoods like this!"
Hyung-gwang double-checked the address on his phone and clicked his tongue. The steep incline leveled out, revealing a labyrinth of tangled alleys. Vomit stains dotted the ground everywhere, and under the alleys' sole light—a utility pole—soju bottles piled up like a mountain.
"...This is it."
"Let's go in."
Hyung-gwang murmured in a low voice in front of the illegal structure commonly called a "booth room."
"It's 214...!"
"No money and you call us? Hell, a loser living here wouldn't have cash anyway! Fucking idiot thinks he's a man!"
As I grabbed the rusty wooden door's handle—paint peeling in spots—a harsh yell leaked from inside. The door flew open, and a woman in her early fifties burst out, panting heavily. Her thick makeup, meant to hide wrinkles, only looked awkward and pitiful.
"Who the hell are you...?"
She tried a coquettish act unfit for her age. Flashing my badge, she bolted without looking back. The half-open door reeked of rotting food.
"...S-Seung-woo hyung!"
"Who... are you?"
Hyung-gwang, entering first, gaped with a low sigh. In the booth room—its single window the only ventilation—a long-haired man struggled to rise. One pant leg hung loose from the knee down.
"The great Seung-woo hyung, reduced to this..."
"Who? Gimme... one bottle of soju..."
His emaciated hand trembled as it clutched Hyung-gwang's pant leg.
"Hyung-gwang. Go buy a few bottles of soju."
"But he's in that state...!"
"Severe alcohol dependency. To have a real talk, he needs a drink right now."
"Got it."
Hyung-gwang bit his lip in disbelief and stepped out. Scattered syringes littered the cramped room—too poor for his own drugs; someone else had been here.
"...Kekeke! Hyung-gwang, what brings you here?"
"Seung-woo hyung, you with it now?"
Maeng Seung-woo's eyes narrowed after chugging a soju bottle without breathing. He let out a hollow laugh, filling the tiny room with booze stench.
"Heard you got screwed by Director Bang, but not this bad. Sorry, hyung."
"...What do you have to be sorry for? You still under that Octopussy fuck Bang Gyu-tae?"
"Yes."
His brow twitched at Director Bang's name.
"How long's that bastard been at Octopussy?"
"Just over two years now."
"...Two years. Kekeke! He'll be joining me soon. Shelf life's almost up."
"Shelf life? What the hell does that mean?"
"...More importantly, who's this?"
Maeng Seung-woo's gaze shifted to me after his cryptic words.
"Oh! This guy's a cop. Investigating Octopussy."
"Investigation? Ha! Korean cops taking down Octopussy? Bullshit!"
"He's not like the cops we know. Detective Kang Cheol-gu!"
"Kang Cheol-gu? Kang Cheol-gu...! The one who nabbed that chaebol third-gen?"
Maeng Seung-woo's pupils dilated as he mulled my name. His eyes, fixed on his baggy pants, twisted upward before slowly meeting mine.
"Kekeke! Nothing left to lose anyway! If you make those bastards end up like me, I'll cooperate."
"...I promise."
"You said it clear."
Maeng Seung-woo chugged more soju with shaking hands, then finally spoke.
"What do you want to know?"
"Octopussy's real owner."
"...Straight to the kill, huh. Fine. Octopussy's real boss is Park Seung-hyun."
"What?! Park Seung-hyun? That idol-turned-actor Park Seung-hyun? He came as a customer often, but... why would someone with everything do that?"
Hyung-gwang blurted in shock.
"Park Seung-hyun isn't doing it for money. You know he's swimming in cash. He's after something beyond that."
"Speak plainly! What the hell does that mean?"
Ignoring Hyung-gwang, Maeng Seung-woo closed his eyes. The booze brought memories flooding back crystal clear.
'Kekeke! See that, Seung-woo?'
Park Seung-hyun snickered at the hidden camera recording live. In the flashy lounge room, middle-aged men and early-20s women shared sticky drinking parties.
'Those guys you see? All ministers and assemblymen in this country. The true faces of the pricks who dismissed me as a has-been are just that pathetic.'
'You plan to blackmail them with this footage?'
'Blackmail?! What bullshit. I ply them with booze, girls, wads of cash. Keep pushing them up the ladder.'
'...What?'
'Know how much a word from them carries weight up high? In a world where info is power. Process intel from one spot, and its value explodes dozens-fold. I supply it where it's wanted, collect fees—not cash, but fresh info. Pure 21st-century innovation.'
Park Seung-hyun's eyes gleamed with cold madness.
'...Later? They bare their own dirt to rip at others' weaknesses. Humans are that easy to handle.'
Park had smirked at the booze-and-women-addled officials. Even when discarding Maeng Seung-woo after his usefulness expired, that signature grin lingered.
'If I could just wipe that smug, overlooking laugh once...!'
Maeng Seung-woo shook his head fiercely. The cop's heavy voice cut through to his ear.
"Do as I say, and I'll deliver the ending you want."
This cop exuded absolute confidence it would happen. A vague hope flickered—maybe he could take on Park Seung-hyun. Maeng Seung-woo's breath quickened.
"What do I do?"
"What's your deal with Director Bang—Bang Gyu-tae?"
"He was my underling learning the ropes before stabbing me in the back to impress Park Seung-hyun. Why that bastard?"
"I'll tell you your job."
Maeng Seung-woo's ragged breath escaped at Kang Cheol-gu's low voice.
* * *
"Director Bang, factory all cleaned up?"
"Yes. Looks like a normal home to anyone now."
In the new officetel packed with ornate display cases, Park Seung-hyun spoke gravely.
"Still no sign of that MD fucker?"
"S-Sorry!"
Almost better if he'd yelled and cursed like usual. Bang swallowed dryly at Park's calm probe.
"...I see. Anyway, you'll have to answer the police summons. Nothing to sweat—I handled it all. Just go and come back easy."
"Yes, sir."
Park Seung-hyun's eyes narrowed slyly at Bang's retreating back.
'Come to think, Bang Gyu-tae's been around two years now. Even without this blowing up, it was time to trash him.'
He nodded slowly, pulling strong whiskey from the case and downing it straight. Something felt off. Normally, one call from Bang would've ended it, but the probe dragged into witness summonses. Yoon Hak-do, his police cover, was dodging openly. Pressuring the line above wrapped it neatly, but his entertainer-honed instincts from cutthroat showbiz screamed warnings.
'Kang Cheol-gu, was it!'
The man from Octopussy's first floor that day. The spark of all this.
'Time to rattle him a bit.'
Park Seung-hyun nodded with a faint smile.