Chapter 421: War on Crime(3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 421: War on Crime(3)
Looking at the people here, my only thought was this:
These people must be really bored.
Supreme King, Supreme Dragon...
Seeing them play around with nicknames that reeked of old-school martial arts novels, they had to be bored out of their minds.
Then again, I was a former manager of the Bamboo Forest.
I was planning to hand the position over to a junior soon, but based on my experience so far, I could say this:
In a closed community or a street like this, you probably see the same faces every day.
When people get bored, they start talking nonsense, and before you know it, even the most trivial things get blown out of proportion.
For example, tall tales about a senior who graduated years ago, or legends about how some discharged sergeant was an absolute "ace" back in the day.
In reality, they’re just making a fuss over nothing to keep themselves entertained.
We have stuff like that too.
Seo Ye-rin’s Sex Master.
Anonymous 11’s Troll.
Anonymous 243’s Anime Master.
Don't we play around by turning people into "named" figures like that?
Anyway.
The fight between the Supreme King and the Supreme Dragon, of course, didn't happen.
"Let's go, Woo-jin."
Senior Ju-hee, who couldn't care less about the eyes on her, walked over to my side and took a protective stance.
"What? They're not fighting?"
"The Supreme King and the Supreme Dragon are on the same side!"
"Whoa, damn. That's crazy!"
Look at them. Just look at them.
Sigh, it’s exactly like the Bamboo Forest.
Look at them making a scene and rolling with the "bait" over nothing.
Everyone thought it was just another ordinary day, but seeing a special topic pop up had them all hyped.
Does this make me feel like a mastermind?
Since I basically had both the Supreme King and the Supreme Dragon in the palm of my hand.
I felt my shoulders puffing up with unearned pride.
"Senior, do you know what they call you here?"
"Huh? Me? What?"
She looked like she didn't have a single thought about it. It was the reaction of someone who truly had zero interest in this world.
"They call you the Supreme Dragon. Because of that dragon padded jacket you're wearing."
"……That was me?"
She slipped the jacket off and draped it over her shoulders.
As expected, she hated it.
"What kind of ridiculous nickname is that?"
"Supreme Dragon sounds pretty badass, though."
I heard Ahn Hyun-ho mutter from the side.
It seemed he was actually quite envious of nicknames like that.
Regardless, we headed back to 'Summer Night Beach.'
"Boss! We'll spread the boys out and find him!"
The bald uncle said there was no need to go anywhere else; if we waited here, they’d find Chan-woo for us.
We were led into the best private room.
"This is a bit underwhelming."
Maybe it was because it didn't look much different from a standard karaoke room, but it was a bit disappointing compared to my expectations.
At least the lackey who had been following us brought in some booze and fruit, so we could at least wet our whistles.
"Boss, to be honest, the streets are quite dangerous right now. Those Japanese Yakuza bastards—"
"Whoa, isn't this liquor super expensive?"
"Drink up."
The older guys started a serious conversation next to us, but our attention was fixed on the alcohol.
Just as Ahn Hyun-ho and I were about to take a drink, the ladies who had followed us in started to move.
They tried to slide into the seats next to us with smiles, but Senior Ju-hee shifted her weight, naturally blocking the spot beside me.
"Senior?"
"I'm the bodyguard."
"Right."
She then crossed her arms and lowered her head. It seemed she didn't want to create unnecessary tension.
It's that person from before.
The lady with the scorpion tattoo I saw on the menu was there too. Seeing her in person, she had a bright, beaming smile—
"Hey, Woo-jin. This is the one you picked. Please, go sit next to him."
"Oh, really? My, he's exactly my type."
"……."
This lady isn't a scorpion; she's a snake.
In an instant, she sat down on my other side—the side opposite Ju-hee—and linked her arm with mine. Her perfume was so strong it made my head ache slightly.
"Hmph?"
I heard a soft snort from Senior.
Before I knew it, she was glaring at me with wide eyes. I felt like her gaze was going to bore a hole through my cheek.
"Hyun-ho, when did I ever say that?"
I gave him a strained smile that signaled him to shut his trap, but the bastard was already sitting with a lady of his own, happily wagging his tongue while being fed grapes.
"You said it yourself. That she had that 'strong older sister' vibe and seemed like she'd be rough. You said you liked that."
Stop it.
"You said you liked the idea of her leading you roughly. What was it? A girl crush?"
I said stop it, you son of a bitch.
"Oh my, you read my charms perfectly, didn't you? Does our cutie have a lot of time tonight?"
You stop it too.
"I'm on the stronger side, so it might be tough for you."
Stop it, you crazy woman.
"Heh."
I have someone next to me who isn't just 'a bit strong,' but 'insanely strong.'
"U-Um, excuse me. I'm sorry, but I have a girlfriend. I don't think it's right for me to be like this with another woman."
"Oh? A pure love type?"
"Haha, yeah."
When I spoke politely, she looked disappointed.
Then, she picked up a piece of pineapple, popped it into my mouth, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"It's okay. I like 'playing with fire' kind of love, too."
"……!"
"Call me if you think of me. I have another scorpion on my back, not just my thigh."
She whispered that she'd show me that one too, then got up to leave.
What man wouldn't feel his heart skip a beat at a whisper like that? It was hard to deny she was a remarkably seductive woman.
Cr-crack! Crunch!
Senior Ju-hee was busy crushing ice with her teeth. With her arms crossed, her eyes followed the Scorpion Lady until she left the room.
As soon as the lady was gone, she whipped her head around to glare at me.
"So, that's your type?"
"……Why are you using formal speech?"
"Because I'm your bodyguard right now, Young Master."
"Ah, right."
"Would it be alright if I informed the Madams about this?"
"Wait a secoooond!"
I frantically grabbed Senior Ju-hee's hand as she reached for her phone.
No matter what, if this got out, things could get truly dangerous.
"……."
Holding her hand with both of mine, I let out a torrent of words.
"S-Senior? You know this was completely unavoidable, right? It was so sudden."
"Right. Let's say that part was."
"Then—"
"But it's true that you picked that woman."
"……."
"Was Hyun-ho lying?"
"……."
I glanced over at Ahn Hyun-ho.
Look at that bastard, flirting and playing around with his lady.
I am definitely going to report this to Lee Gyu-a.
"Let go."
"Agh!"
Senior grabbed my hair and pulled me back, pinning me down.
It was so rough it brought a tear to my eye, but she just stared at me with an expressionless face.
"I heard you like it rough."
"……."
"Well, have some fruit. You seemed to be enjoying it."
With that, Senior began feeding me fruit.
Grapes, pineapple, apples, kiwi...
I was eating a colorful variety of fruits, but I couldn't tell if they were going down my throat or my nose.
But for now, it was best to just do as she said.
The moment she told the girls what happened here, there was a very high probability I’d be torn limb from limb.
"I didn't know the Young Master liked scorpions."
"No, it's not like I like them that much..."
"I'm not really into getting tattoos on my body."
"Ah, yes. I'm not a fan of tattoos either—"
"Instead, I can fold the Young Master up like a scorpion's tail."
"……."
"Shall I show you how?"
She asked while rolling up her sleeves. I ended up clinging to her and shouting.
"Ah, Senior! Seriously, why are you being like this! You're scaring me!"
"What do you mean, Young Master? I'm just trying to cater to your tastes."
"You're just threatening me!"
"……Young Master, I'm going out for a smoke. Care to join me?"
She glanced to both sides and asked in a low voice.
It felt like she was giving me an opening, so I quickly stood up and followed her outside.
"So, because of the Yakuza, the streets are in a total mess—"
"Sigh, that's why I told you not to touch this kind of business."
"Boss, but not all thugs are the same—!"
A thug is a fucking thug.
What, is one a radish kimchi and the other a water kimchi or fresh kimchi?
Maybe it was because I felt a sense of crisis, but I found myself reacting sharply even to those words.
"Ah."
As we were heading out, Senior's phone rang.
"Yeah, Ah-rin."
Yoo Ah-rin?!
I wondered why she was calling Senior out of the blue, but when I checked my own phone, I saw I already had a missed call.
I must have missed it while the Scorpion Lady was making her move.
"Huh? Woo-jin? He's right next to me. Where? A karaoke bar. We're looking for Chan-woo."
"……."
"Yeah, we're still looking. There are people helping us, so I think we'll find him soon."
She must have been worried since I didn't pick up.
"Sure, I'll put him on."
As soon as we stepped outside the bar, Senior handed me the phone.
Then, she took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth.
"Hello? Ah-rin?"
— Hey! Why aren't you picking up! I was about to come find you!
"No, sorry... things were just hectic."
— Nothing's wrong, right?
"No, really. The people here are friendly."
— Friendly?
"Phew."
Senior, who was listening to my conversation while smoking, slowly leaned in.
I thought she had something to say, but she moved her cigarette aside and spoke.
"You've got something dirty on you here."
"Huh?"
Then, she suddenly grabbed my neck, pulled me in, and pressed her lips against my cheek.
"Hwah?!"
— What? What was that?!
The reason I was startled wasn't just the kiss, but because her tongue came out to play.
She licked whatever was on my cheek, and it lasted longer than I expected.
— What's going on? Should I go there right now?! Which bastards are messing with my boyfriend—!
"No, no! It's nothing like that!"
Slurp, lick.
At this point, it felt more like she was tasting me than cleaning me.
I shifted my eyes to the side. Senior Ju-hee was staring right at me while continuing to lick.
It was the exact spot where the Scorpion Lady had kissed me earlier.
— Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?
"Ah, no... Senior just helped me get something dirty off."
— What? Is that all?
Then, Seo Ye-rin's voice came through the phone.
— That sounds like something a woman getting NTR'd would say.
— NTR? What are you talking about?
— Woo-jin, switch to video call.
Because of Seo Ye-rin's razor-sharp intuition, my voice cracked instantly.
"Huh?! R-Right now?"
And that would probably go down as one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
— …….
— …….
A brief silence.
Senior didn't seem to know what NTR meant, so she didn't feel the sense of crisis yet.
Then came the response.
— Where did you say you were? Hey! Choi I-seo! Stop sleeping and get up! Grab the gear!
Starting with Yoo Ah-rin, who had sensed something was off.
— Woo-jin.
"I-It's a misunderstanding. Ye-rin."
— Yeah, sure. I know.
Seo Ye-rin whispered with a laugh, her lips seemingly right against the phone.
— We'll be there soon, okay?
Click.
The call ended just like that.
As I looked down at the phone with a dazed expression, Senior Ju-hee finally seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. She stepped back slightly and asked.
"What's NTR?"
"……The act of stealing someone else's lover."
"Ah."
As the pieces of the conversation began to fit together in her head, she gave an awkward smile and slowly turned away.
"I-I'll head back inside first, okay?"
"We have to fix this! What am I supposed to do! I mean, why would you suddenly start kissing me there!"
"Well! It was annoying to see that woman's lipstick mark on your cheek, so I just..."
Still, I wondered where on earth she learned to wipe things off with her lips.
But then again, if I had to explain the situation in detail, the fact that I "picked" the Scorpion Lady was the snowball that started it all...
"I'm screwed."
Saving Chan-woo wasn't the priority anymore.
I might be in more danger than that guy.
"Ah, Jeong Chan-woo, you son of a bitch."
All this mess happened because I came here to save him.