Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Penelope II
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Na Gang-in's voice over the radio sounded just like the guy who'd been yapping right behind Lee Tae-ho as he came down the stairs.
Na Gang-in explained.
"You've seen plenty of celebrity impersonators, right? That was me answering from the first and second floors too, saying everything was clear. By then, I'd already cleaned up the lower levels."
Lee Tae-ho finally pieced it together. He was genuinely impressed.
"I knew you were amazing, Na Gang-in, but this level? Situation analysis, combat, shooting, response—everything on point. You don't have a closet full of special forces gear at home, do you?"
Na Gang-in did have one set of special forces gear. But it was from the Earth Union's Strategic Special Forces in 2082.
Na Gang-in changed the subject.
"Is Eun-ha okay?"
"Yeah. She was fine until I came down."
"Good."
Lee Tae-ho added more info.
"Oh! They seemed to be treating Eun-ha like a special case."
Na Gang-in frowned and muttered softly.
"That's not a good situation, then."
Lee Tae-ho had a question too.
"Na Gang-in. Before the fight, you called me out to the hallway. Was there a reason?"
"If the boss got caught up with those guys and took a bullet, Min-ji would kill me. So I got you out of the battlefield first."
Lee Tae-ho recalled the moment as he chuckled at the joke.
'That look when he called me from the hallway...'
It was natural. Na Gang-in's voice alone could fool anyone into thinking they'd just run into Lee Tae-ho here by surprise. The four masked thugs had fallen for the act.
But Lee Tae-ho hadn't been fooled.
Na Gang-in's expression and gestures hadn't matched his words.
His face and hands had silently signaled come quietly behind me. That silent message came through clearer than anything he said.
And he'd mimicked a voice and speech pattern perfectly after hearing it just once to trick the enemy. Not just anyone could pull that off.
Lee Tae-ho realized.
'Acting skills! Na Gang-in's a natural! A damn good one!'
Director Son Tae-min wanted to bring Na Gang-in on as martial arts choreographer for his next film too. He'd even said if Na Gang-in had any acting chops at all, he'd give him a small role.
But what Na Gang-in had just shown was way beyond what Son Tae-min or Lee Tae-ho expected.
"Na Gang-in. That hallway performance. If this were an audition room, I'd have given you a standing ovation."
"It wasn't that good."
Na Gang-in had spoken the words and made the face when calling Lee Tae-ho. But Jeon Ji-in had fine-tuned the details of that expression. The gestures too.
Na Gang-in whispered.
"Ji-in-ah. Bragging like this feels a bit off from advertising, but is bragging a standard feature too?"
"So your bragging habit is just your personality?"
Na Gang-in muttered as he gathered pistols and magazines from the downed thugs.
"Yeah, sure. But I think I know."
"Now you're changing the subject too?"
"That was the plan. But listen—the guys downstairs had no vests, these did. Different gear. These aren't fresh hires or low-tier mercs; they're higher up."
He stripped the vests off the two and handed one to Lee Tae-ho.
"Now, let's go save Eun-ha."
Lee Tae-ho quickly offered.
"Give me a pistol, and I'll fight with you."
"You handle pistols okay?"
"I got out of active duty. Army Reserve Sergeant."
"What was your MOS?"
Lee Tae-ho hesitated.
"Well, Ministry of Defense PR unit..."
Na Gang-in handed over one pistol and a magazine. He stashed the other in the hallway.
"Fine. Boss, you watch these guys here."
"Ah, got it."
Na Gang-in got a bit more info on the upper floors from Lee Tae-ho, then headed up the stairs. As Lee Tae-ho watched him round the bend midway up, he thought.
'If Director Son Tae-min knew Na Gang-in had acting skills too, would he have reworked the Sunlit Days script more? Maybe even created a impactful supporting role...'
Suddenly, a rustle from beside him.
Lee Tae-ho whipped around in shock. The guy who'd been shot in the limbs and knocked out was stirring.
Lee Tae-ho's grip tightened instinctively. The pistol was already aimed at the enemy.
His finger slipped on the trigger.
The round chambered and fired with a muffled crack from the suppressor. Subsonic ammo kept it quiet, but the recoil jolted his hand more than expected.
The bullet slammed into the guy's torso as he tried to move.
"Guh!"
Lee Tae-ho panted raggedly, gun still trained on the thug.
"Huff! Huff!"
Na Gang-in poked his head down from the stairs.
"Problem?"
Lee Tae-ho blurted.
"Th-that bastard moved, so I shot... Wait, I shot a guy?"
His hands shook violently.
"Did I kill someone...?"
Na Gang-in said.
"Not dead. That special round has low penetration—even thin vests stop it. Just knocked him out again from the impact."
Lee Tae-ho sighed in relief.
"Phew. He's alive."
Na Gang-in advised.
"Aim for the head to drop 'em in one."
"J-just the body for me."
On the seventh floor, two masked thugs controlled most of the hostages. Two semi-auto pistols were plenty to handle dozens of unarmed civilians.
They'd tensed at the noises from below at first.
"What was that?"
"Korean cops already?"
The hostages' faces brightened a bit at the exchange.
Oh Gyu-cheol, the chef and owner of the restaurant, whispered.
"Cops are here."
The floor manager nodded hopefully.
"Long live Korea!"
But their hope faded fast. One masked guy checked his radio and told his buddy.
"They missed two during the fifth-floor sweep. That noise was them chasing 'em down."
"Fucking amateurs."
Oh Gyu-cheol grimaced.
"Not cops."
"We're screwed."
From inside the restaurant, the stairs weren't visible. The two stood by the entrance, chatting idly.
Then both glanced sideways at once.
Shock hit their faces as they snatched up their pistols.
Muffled shots rang out in succession. Bullets thudded into their torsos.
The vests held, but each impact shoved them back.
Thin trails lingered in the air as bullets cut through the dust. More hits drove the thugs further back. Not one or two rounds—dozens. To the onlookers, it looked like invisible arrows peppering their bodies.
The impacts kept them from firing back properly. They staggered deeper into the restaurant.
Chef Oh Gyu-cheol yelped in surprise.
"Wh-what the hell! What!"
One thug squeezed off a desperate shot backward.
A bullet flew straight ahead.
Na Gang-in dropped from the hallway ceiling almost simultaneously. The shot whizzed under his feet.
He rocketed a kick into the thug's chest mid-air.
The guy flew into the cafe wall and crashed.
Na Gang-in rebounded off the kick into another leap.
The other thug spun toward him.
Na Gang-in booted a decorative fixture for extra height.
The thug raised his pistol and fired high.
Bullets punched the ceiling. A light shattered.
No hits.
Na Gang-in sailed over the thug's head in a flash.
The thug thrust his pistol upward.
Na Gang-in snatched his wrist in mid-air.
The thug's arm yanked along, flipping his body backward.
Na Gang-in landed.
The wrist was already snapped. The pistol had flown free.
The thug screamed, back arched awkwardly.
"Argh!"
His left hand hit his pants pocket.
Na Gang-in kicked the thug's leg while yanking the arm hard. The body lifted into the air. He slammed the upper body down.
The thug blacked out without another sound.
Na Gang-in fished in the pocket and pulled out an item.
"Hey. Does this look like a bomb detonator to you?"
It was a jackknife.
"Our Ji-in looks like a total airhead up close."
The hostages gaped at first, then lit up realizing rescue had arrived.
Na Gang-in shushed them before cheers erupted, finger to lips.
"Shh."
They clamped mouths shut, but muffled cheers leaked out. Some sniffled.
Na Gang-in scanned faces.
Na Gang-in asked.
"Where are the others?"
Head chef Oh Gyu-cheol hurried over and whispered.
"They took Shin Eun-ha, a foreign woman, and Lee Tae-ho somewhere."
"Heard more masked guys. Exactly how many?"
"I saw four with Eun-ha and the foreigner, four with Lee Tae-ho. Not sure about outside the restaurant."
Na Gang-in had cleared up to the sixth. The four with Lee Tae-ho were done. The rest had to be at the seventh-floor corner or the roof.
He pocketed the new jackknife, swapped magazines on both pistols, and stripped the vests.
Then to the group.
"Everyone, head downstairs. Fifth-floor stairs has a friendly. Link up with the ones on the second floor too."
Oh Gyu-cheol ran Penelope. He felt some responsibility for this mess.
"Give me a pistol. I'll fight too."
Na Gang-in eyed him quietly.
"Could this guy be in on it with the enemy?"
"Or sold info without knowing this would happen."
He had no confidence arming anyone here.
Na Gang-in disassembled the two pistols from the seventh, removing firing pins.
"If you're sure you can dodge bullets, come along."
"Huh?"
"You saw the fight just now, right?"
Oh Gyu-cheol backpedaled fast.
"On second thought, my place is here. Can't just abandon my restaurant."
Head chef Oh Gyu-cheol led the group down. He ran into Lee Tae-ho midway on the fifth-floor stairs.
Oh Gyu-cheol sent the others ahead, then fussed.
"President Lee Tae-ho! Thought you were in deep shit getting dragged off."
Lee Tae-ho tensed at the crowd descending, then relaxed at the sight of Oh Gyu-cheol.
"I thought I was too. If not for Gang-in..."
"Eh? You know the guy who just saved us?"
Lee Tae-ho boasted.
"Yeah. This isn't the first time Gang-in and I've been through something like this. Haha."
Oh Gyu-cheol lowered his voice.
"Who the hell is he? Special forces agent? Spy?"
"His identity..."
Lee Tae-ho wasn't sure if he should say. He whispered back.
"The food truck uncle."
"Pardon?"
"Hard to believe, right? I didn't at first either. Ha, ha. Man, still can't wrap my head around it."