Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Ji-ah is in Danger (4)
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My head hurt like it was splitting open.
"Wow... fuck. She's fucking pretty. Like an aspiring celebrity or something?"
"Hey. Don't even think about touching her. You wanna die by the boss?"
'I have to go to work...'
What was I doing right now? Was I lying down?
"Ugh..."
"She seems to be waking up?"
"What? The drug's wearing off already? Hey. Can you hear me? Nod if you can."
Unfamiliar men's voices rang out. I couldn't see anything in front of me.
It wasn't that it was dark; it felt like something was blocking my view.
Yeah, like I was wearing a blindfold.
And my hands and feet wouldn't move. Was I tied up?
'Why?'
My head was filled with question marks. My mind felt foggy, like it was shrouded in mist.
"What does her old man's job even do, selling off his own daughter?"
"He's just a fucking idiot. Borrowed money from the boss to gamble."
I was definitely on my way to the boss's store.
I played with Min-ah unnie, and then she went to meet a friend while I headed to the boss's store alone.
"Kekeke. When you put it like that, this girl seems kinda pitiful."
Ah.
I remembered.
"Mmph! Mmph!!"
"Ah. Screaming won't do shit. This is underground."
"Mmph. Mmph!!"
I screamed with all my might, but something was stuck over my mouth, so no proper sound came out.
"Ah. Fucking noisy for real."
I remembered everything. Meeting my dad, and then those weird people surrounding me.
"Mmph!!!!"
"Fuck! Shut up!"
A man's bellow filled my ears.
Thud. Thud. Something was approaching me, and then,
Puk!
"Kehek..."
And with that, the sensation of being kicked hit me, followed by excruciating pain exploding in my abdomen.
"Kehek... ek..."
It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.
The sudden pain made it impossible to even breathe.
"Hey! Fuck. Won't you calm the hell down? If they find out we just hit her, we're dead meat."
"Haa... it's fine. It's the stomach. Won't show anyway."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
The terror that the pain might come again.
And amid the anxiety of what would happen next,
'Help me...'
For some reason, I recalled the face of the boss I'd seen that morning—the last time I'd seen him.
"Hey. I'm asking where Ji-ah is."
I said it to the guy who still couldn't steady himself from the shoulder throw's impact.
"Kuhk..."
He just let out a pained groan instead of answering. But what was I supposed to do?
As I debated hitting him once more,
"Boss!" "Do-han!"
Yoon Seol and Hwa-young rushed over, their faces full of alarm.
"You're doing judo interrogation!"
"Ah, somehow it just turned into beating him with judo..."
What was supposed to be judo interrogation ended up just being a judo beatdown.
Same two characters, so half right, at least.
"...Actually, this worked out better. They don't seem to have noticed the commotion... Let's move him to my car first."
As Yoon Seol gave me a look of disbelief, Hwa-young hoisted the guy up with a casual "just as well."
'Wow.'
He looked at least twice my weight.
Watching her lift him effortlessly like a slightly oversized teddy bear made me feel strangely reassured.
That aside.
"What are you planning to do with him in the car?"
I asked Hwa-young out of pure curiosity, and
"Conversation."
she answered with a slight smile.
.
And shortly after.
"Please spare me. I beg you. I'll tell you everything—just no, no burning, please..."
After a one-on-one chat with Hwa-young inside the car, the guy had become astonishingly compliant.
'What the hell happened in there...'
The change came right after she'd sent me and Yoon Seol out of the car briefly.
I decided not to pry too deep—probably best chalked up to Hero Hwa-young's overwhelming charisma.
Life's full of things better left unknown.
"Ahaha."
From Yoon Seol's glance, she was probably thinking the same.
Anyway.
I cut straight to the point with the guy, now cooperative after his quick change of heart.
"Black hair, yellow eyes, white blouse and black skirt—girl."
"S-saw her!"
As expected.
"Is she in that store right now?"
"Y-yeah, probably."
Probably. What a vague, slippery answer.
If she's there, say yes; if not, say no.
Hwa-young clearly didn't like his attitude either and said to him,
"Probably?"
"Hiiik!!!!"
He jolted in terror and words poured out like a waterfall.
"F-few hours ago, the collection crew drugged her and took her in! I'm just security, so I don't know what's going on inside, but since I didn't see her leave, she's gotta be still in there!"
"Drug? You guys gave that young girl..."
"J-just a simple sleeping pill! Big boss is picky about damaging the merchandise, so we knock 'em out with sleepers first, as far as I know!"
"...You. Calling a person 'merchandise'?"
Yoon Seol's voice came out cold—completely furious, unlike her usual self.
A chill ran through my body at the same time.
"S-spare me! S-sorry! I misspoke!"
"...Seol-ah. Calm down."
"Ah."
At Hwa-young's urging, Yoon Seol settled down and glanced sheepishly my way.
She seemed a bit embarrassed about losing her temper.
But I totally got it. Even I felt like Yoon Seol...
'No.'
Even angrier than that. My fist had been clenched so tight since earlier it was starting to ache.
But venting on him took a backseat to finding Ji-ah.
"You said the collection guys definitely took Ji-ah inside, right?"
"Y-yes! Th-they probably didn't touch her yet! Normally when we grab a girl, big boss samples her fir..."
Ah. Couldn't hold back.
Ppak!
I couldn't resist and smashed his face; he rolled his eyes back and passed out on the spot.
"Honey, I get how you feel, but try to calm down a bit. Getting worked up won't help right now."
"...Yes."
"Looks like this Ji-ah kid's inside that store... If I tell you to wait here, you won't listen, right?"
I nodded at Hwa-young's words.
"Yeah. Let's go. If it gets dangerous, hide behind me and Seol right away."
She gave a wry smile, like she'd expected as much.
Yoon Seol chimed in too.
"...Don't push yourself, Boss. Once we go in, we'll take down the guys."
"Yes."
After that, we got out of the car and charged straight into the store where Ji-ah was held.
.
The inside of the store was bathed in a faint pink glow.
Similar to a regular karaoke bar, but with a more sleazy vibe.
"What?"
A rough-looking guy sat at the counter. He spoke up as he spotted us at the entrance.
"...Didn't hear anything about customers. Who the hell are you? Women too?"
I said right away to him,
"The girl you guys snatched a few hours ago. Where is she?"
"...You cops or something?"
Misreading my words as police, he put on a fawning expression.
"Like I told the ones who came last time, we absolutely don't do that kind of th..."
"Shut up. Where?"
"Haa. Fuck... Got a warrant? I'm suing!"
The guy started yelling instead.
I brushed him off lightly and headed for the hallway behind him.
Rooms lined the corridor, blocked by frosted glass so you couldn't see inside.
Looked like we'd have to check them one by one.
"Hey, stop... Uh, ice? W-wait a sec...!"
"...Hands off the boss."
The guy who'd followed and grabbed my shoulder—
"B-body!!!!"
—let out a lifeless scream as everything but his face flash-froze.
He toppled over, unable to keep his balance.
I crouched in front of him and asked,
"Hey. Asking again. The black-haired girl you guys grabbed a few hours ago. Where?"
"Th-that's..."
Impressive in a way. Still not talking in this situation?
"Answer quick. I don't care if the rest freezes too."
"Hiiik!!! I'll talk!!"
He cracked under Yoon Seol's threat and finally spilled.
"F-farthest room back, behind the karaoke machine—there's a door to the basement. We hide the merchandise there originally, then later for training..."
'Merchandise?'
"Yoon Seol. Freeze him."
"Yes."
Now frozen solid like a panicked fish.
She'd left his nose and mouth, so he'd probably live.
"Merchandise? Training? ...Farthest room, right? Let's head there. Honey."
"Yes."
On the way to the back room, Spider Gang guys started pouring out one by one, hearing the commotion.
Yoon Seol promptly froze them:
"Bro, what's goi—who the hell are you?"
Froze.
"Jin-su?! You bastards!!!"
Froze again.
"What’s all the racket..."
Froze once more.
Before long, the store
"Wow."
had turned into an Ice Age scene.
"...Guess I don't have much to do."
Hwa-young smacked her lips, a bit awkwardly.
Her flame powers weren't ideal for a confined space like this.
Kkiiik.
We moved to the back room he'd mentioned.
"Wh-who the hell are you?!"
"Kyaaak!!!"
'Sigh.'
Ignoring the customers in the midst of some steamy action, we shoved the karaoke machine aside as instructed.
"Huh, nothing here?"
"...Hold on."
The wallpaper on the floor was slightly misaligned. There was a small handle nearby—lifted it up, and...
"Thorough."
...an iron trapdoor appeared.
'No wonder they couldn't find it hidden like this.'
Made sense why the police search last time turned up nothing.
Opened it, revealing a ladder leading down. Ji-ah was probably in the basement below.
"Wait."
Just as I was about to head down, Hwa-young whispered softly, sensing something.
And then.
Multiple footsteps grew closer, and
"Our guys sprawled at the entrance. That you?"
a swarm of Spider Gang thugs burst into the room we'd entered.
'Filthy numbers.'
At a glance, two-dozen or so: a bald guy up front looking like the leader, and typical tattooed, potbellied thugs twice as heavy as average.
Seemed the entrance guard had called for backup.
"God. Never thought I'd say this..."
Hwa-young's face lit up with excitement. She cleared her throat and said quietly to me and Yoon Seol,
"Leave this to me and head down first."
She added,
"Bring back Ji-ah."
Then she pushed our backs.
'She'll be okay...'
Even for Hwa-young, the numbers were too much. Room too small.
Did my worry show on my face?
Yoon Seol patted my shoulder lightly.
"...She'll be fine. We're called heroes for a reason."
Her eyes were more serious than ever.
No choice—I said to Hwa-young, facing off against them,
"Be careful, Hwa-young."
She flashed a thumbs-up.
"Let's go, Yoon Seol."
"Yes."
Seeing that oddly reassured me as I entered the door in the floor.
'Foul stench.'
Not very deep for a ladder setup—about 2 meters down.
Seemed like they'd remodeled an existing basement.
Incandescent bulbs dangled from the ceiling, giving off a dank vibe.
'Another door.'
Moving forward, another iron door greeted us.
...Felt like Ji-ah was beyond it.
But of course, locked.
As I considered knocking and pretending to be a member,
"...Step aside for a sec, Boss."
Yoon Seol said to me.
Maybe freezing the handle off? But no—
"Hup."
She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath...
Kwang! Bang! Kwang!
...and with three roundhouse kicks, crumpled the iron door like paper.
'Wow.'
Admiration aside, the revealed interior:
A surgery table and tools of unknown purpose, and several human-like shapes.
"What?!"
"F-fuck. Hold up—this is an iron door?"
Two guys who looked like Spider Gang.
And,
"Ji-ah...?"
...a girl lying bound and motionless, blindfolded.