54. The Tail
On the way out of her sister's house, Ri Su-min was reminded once again that the NIS wasn't incompetent.
"Officer Ri Su-min. You were caught with the patch-type earpiece, correct? We picked up an anomalous signal from the relay. Just be honest with us."
"Yes. I was caught."
"After that, was it all written communication?"
The NIS and police surveillance team waiting near the sisters' residence asked their questions. They really weren't incompetent after all.
"Yes. My sister figured it out. I think she'll try to flee overseas soon."
"Destination?"
"I don't know. But she left me a warning."
"A threat?"
"Yes."
She was mostly honest. There was just one thing she couldn't bring herself to reveal.
Her sister's order to kill Joo Sung-hyun.
Ri Su-min kept that one secret.
I need to wait and see a little longer.
Her sister, who had gone completely mad, threatening to sell her only younger sister to some grotesque place. If the enraged woman actually managed to escape...
She'd cooperate, playing it safe.
But what if her sister fell completely? What if her influence was erased?
Then she could just cut her loose.
In truth, she also wanted Joo Sung-hyun dead.
Ri Su-min agreed with her sister's words — it's all that bastard Joo Sung-hyun's fault.
The collapse of her once-successful sister, the fracture in their relationship — it was all Joo Sung-hyun's doing.
At first she'd thought it was nonsense, but now she knew better.
I should have believed my sister from the start.
What if she hadn't betrayed her sister so quickly, having been tricked by Joo Sung-hyun?
Her sister would have ended up far away, but...
Ri Su-min could have lived a fairly stable life.
Visiting her imprisoned sister occasionally, using the vast fortune her sister had stashed away to take care of her in prison, and incidentally maintaining a luxurious lifestyle for herself.
But that bastard Joo Sung-hyun had ruined it all.
She wasn't willing to follow her sister's orders even at the cost of her own safety, but if an opportunity presented itself, she'd take it.
Until then, she'd have to live under NIS protection. What choice did she have?
"Officer Ri Su-min. We'll escort you to temporary accommodations shortly."
"And my sister?"
"Her monitoring level has been changed. We'll share information if needed, but we can't involve you in the official operation."
"……."
"It'll be over soon."
It would be over soon. Ri Su-min wanted to believe that.
She let out a short sigh and sat in the surveillance team's vehicle, when—
"So it was the love gel that gave her away."
Joo Sung-hyun, the source of all evil, spoke up. He was also an informant, waiting alongside them.
If only that bastard hadn't existed, none of this would have happened!
To Ri Su-min, he was the enemy who had ruined her guaranteed future.
Plans destroyed by Joo Sung-hyun kept surfacing in her mind.
At least she'd made it to inspector in the police force.
After that, her plan had been to receive a building from her sister — not some run-down place in Annam where too many compatriots gathered, but a decent one in Dongtan — and live off the rental income.
She'd be old enough to meet a man by then, right?
Someone over 180cm tall, with the looks of her favorite idol, Xiumin. She'd wanted to give her long-guarded virginity to that person, ideally on their honeymoon.
How happy would she have been if that had all come true? But—
You ruined it.
Unable to control her anger, Ri Su-min glared at Joo Sung-hyun.
Joo Sung-hyun was looking right back at her.
999's younger sister was glaring at him.
"……." (0 / 0 / -)
Something was brewing. He already had a suspicion.
It was thanks to Ri Su-jin's movements.
If she'd noticed the tense atmosphere, she could have just fixed it. She would have been safe.
But Ri Su-jin had deliberately called her sister in, making it possible for the NIS and police to monitor her.
What reason would she have for putting herself in danger to summon her sister, and what reason for sending her away unharmed after doing so?
Ri Su-jin's target was ultimately him.
Or perhaps she wanted the traitorous sister and him to tear each other apart.
He could figure that out later. For now, there was something he needed to confirm with Ri Su-min.
"Officer Ri Su-min. I was just an ordinary public servant."
"Ordinary?" (0 / 0 / -)
"I passed the local civil service exam while still in school. I worked under the city hall, then transferred to the city council's administrative office, and returned to headquarters this year with a special promotion. My career path seems above average. I got a special promotion this year, after all."
Even so, he was a 9th-grade starter. There would be a ceiling, but—
"I had no complaints about my public service career."
"……."
"I worked just enough to avoid getting scolded, saved up some money, planned to move my parents from Gochang to a better place, and live a decent life as a salaryman."
He wasn't particularly interested in climbing the ladder.
The salary was what mattered.
That didn't mean he wanted to earn hundreds of millions like Ri Su-jin, making whore money, or pull in tens of millions like the other trash.
It was true that he got especially worked up when the trash abused their power, got their bags dumped on them, or stirred up trouble. He had to admit it now.
But that didn't mean he wanted to exterminate all the trash in the world. He could be satisfied just sending the ones that caught his eye.
"But thanks to my sister, my life has gotten somewhat tangled."
"What do you want from me?" (0 / 0 / -)
"I'm not asking you to do anything. Just answer my question."
"……?"
"You received orders from your sister, right?"
The order she hadn't reported to the NIS — the one related to him.
Something like kill him, or watch him.
Ri Su-jin was smart enough not to believe her not-very-bright sister could handle him. She probably thought it would be nice if she did, but it didn't matter if she didn't.
It wasn't threatening.
And yet, there was a reason he was holding Ri Su-min and questioning her.
"Did you perhaps report to the NIS any orders or threats you received from your sister? Anything related to me?"
"……." (0 / 0 / -)
"You didn't. Then are you willing to testify now?"
Ri Su-min set her face instead of answering. So she had hidden it after all.
She'd have to be sent away too.
Whether trash or virgin, whether coerced or not, he couldn't just leave someone who was trying to kill him.
"I misunderstood. Sorry for taking your time."
Ri Su-min was escorted by the NIS to a safe temporary residence.
She'd be safe for a while, at least.
Until he caught her sister, 999.
…
It was 4 AM.
If 999 wanted to escape, this was the only window of time.
The NIS could only do staking — surveillance without force — along with communications and financial preservation orders, and running CCTV. That was all.
So everyone was waiting. Don't run, just until the warrant comes out.
But Ri Su-jin clearly had no intention of being caught.
"Four women approaching the surveillance target's front door. All similar body types, all wearing hats and masks. Unlikely to be ordinary visitors."
"This looks like pre-coordinated movement."
"Whores... organization members?"
"Possibly intentional disruption."
Four whores suddenly appeared and entered Ri Su-jin's house.
Their partner counts: 534, 56, 180, 39. Overflowing with trash power.
All were in the early 160s in height, with their faces covered by hats and masks.
It was certain this wasn't a gathering of Korean-Chinese whores to strengthen their final bonds. Ri Su-jin had probably called them for some kind of mission.
They all seemed to know what the mission was.
Stand-ins. Shadow doubles.
Anyone could predict it, but it was always effective. Especially at a time like this.
"Hey. They're coming out!"
The real one and the stand-ins. Five whores in total emerged from Ri Su-jin's house one after another.
A whore getting into a car from the underground garage, a whore walking out the front door and waiting for a taxi, a whore exiting through the back door and moving on... and a whore escorted by men presumed to be Ri Su-jin's subordinates, walking leisurely on foot.
Their outfits were also roughly similar. Combined with the hats and masks.
This was organized disruption.
Their destinations are probably different too.
Incheon North Port, Incheon International Airport, Busan Port, Gimhae Airport... maybe even other smuggling routes.
This kind of disruption qualified as "clear concern of flight."
By the letter of the law, emergency arrest was possible.
But no one moved.
Because they were all public servants.
Even if it was clear the stand-ins were "visible," arresting the wrong person would be an illegal arrest.
Wrongful arrest just to catch one prostitution broker?
Korea wasn't a society that would tolerate that.
In the end, it was just legal surveillance and tracking. That was all.
From this point on, he wasn't even allowed to watch.
He was kicked out, but he was actually grateful.
"Yes. I'll leave quietly."
He'd been looking for an excuse to leave anyway.
The four whores who had exited through the front door or garage...
Their appearances were all about the same, so he couldn't distinguish them either.
But the numbers above their heads were different.
The whore who left in a taxi had a partner count of 180.
The two who left by car had counts of 534 and 39 respectively.
They were the shadow-double whores.
But the number above the woman who walked out to the main road and left on foot was very familiar.
(999 / 2,071 / 10 years 3 months)
Ri Su-jin, who had deployed four stand-ins to confuse the surveillance team.
As expected, she wasn't an ordinary whore.
The connections to gather four whores of similar height at this hour, the audacity to walk boldly despite knowing she was being watched.
Considering her overseas escape plan had been suddenly disrupted because of her sister, her ability to act was considerable.
Still, 999 couldn't hide.
The heavy number was visible even through the low-transparency coated window.
Got you.
999 was still in his sight.
He knew the geography of this neighborhood well enough to chase and catch her.
He decided not to inform the NIS and police, who were busy with legal tracking.
He didn't have the eloquence to explain that she was the real Ri Su-jin.
Anyway, they were the ones who had excluded him. Even if he wanted to report, there was no way to do it. He was just an informant.
No choice. I'll have to chase her alone.
He quietly followed Ri Su-jin on his own.
A collection yard near Pyeongtaek Port.
Ri Su-jin finally removed her mask and let out a sigh.
That's it. I'm safe now.
LIA-089. The name of the ferry that would take Ri Su-jin to China.
The destination was Yantai Port.
She wasn't buying a ticket and boarding normally. Of course it was smuggling.
With the cooperation of a forwarder employee she usually worked with, she'd arrive in Yantai inside a container.
From there, an overnight train to Dandong. Then a bus to Yanji.
One of the routes used when picking up or sending slightly dangerous goods — wanted whores — in China.
I didn't think I'd be the one using it.
The container door slowly closed as she stepped inside.
Ri Su-jin sat back on a small pallet, laughing hollowly.
She'd safely arrive in China by tomorrow, she told herself.
She'd shaken off the NIS and police, so there was nothing to worry about anymore.