China

Ri Su-jin lay sprawled on the ground, having taken one punch to the ribs and another to the jaw."Su-min-ah…"999 / 2,071 / 10 years 3 months agoShe was muttering something about her younger sister—the sister she'd personally pushed into the arms of four different men. I swung one more time. Only then did Ri Su-jin fall completely silent.I sat beside her and began rifling through her smartphones.An Ultra 23, a Redmi Note 10, a 6S that was more than ten years old…The oldest one caught my interest the most."Let's borrow a finger, Director Ri Su-jin."Brokers always kept old phones around for deleted file recovery.Thankfully, it was set to fingerprint unlock. I pressed Ri Su-jin's unconscious finger against the home button, and the lock released. From a law enforcement perspective, it was a goldmine.Ten years of organizational management records and prostitute deployment logs. Call logs with subordinates saved under names like Wang Hao (driver), Zhang Long, and Young-jun (account)…On top of that: overseas remittance receipts from the 2010s, evidence of forged marriage records, and medical documents shared in a MeChat group chat.This'll do nicely.But I wasn't a cop.I'd have to report it to the NIS in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion—posing as a mere informant who'd risked everything to catch Ri Su-jin, the one the police had missed.But I had to be honest with myself…I had no intention of letting Korea punish Ri Su-jin.The punishment would be too light. Less than ten years in a comfortable prison. Realistically, eight.Given that Ri Su-jin had genuinely tried to kill me, I couldn't be satisfied with that.So I was looking for her "accident contact list."Given the nature of her business, accidents were inevitable.Prostitutes—especially foreign ones brought in on fake visas or overstaying illegally. Not everything went smoothly. There was no such thing as a 100% safe sex trade.With Ri Su-jin's track record, she'd definitely be keeping separate records of problem cases.Found it.A blacklist appeared in her notes app.

A goddamn mess of mixed languages. Typical of the Joseonjok.But I was certain this was the information I needed.Kim Hae-rin, who'd been raped by her fake husband and ended up in debt after failing to earn money, then returned to Yanbian.Park Soon-young, who'd paid Ri Su-jin a large sum as a placement fee back in 2015—only to be told, "Why would that be your money?"Choi Young-mi, who'd been lured to Korea by Ri Su-jin's local broker with the promise of "working as a marketer in Korea," just three weeks before she turned eighteen…Of course, Choi Young-mi ended up as a prostitute, not a marketer. She'd only started selling her body after turning eighteen, but she'd been deceived while still a minor.This is the knockout blow. I have enough material."Director Ri Su-jin. You were especially harsh on your fellow countrymen.""……."999 / 2,071 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠/ 10 years 3 months agoI wasn't talking to myself at the unconscious 999.Unlike Park Cheol-woo, I'd hit her a bit lighter, so Ri Su-jin was already blinking slowly, regaining awareness.She couldn't speak, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she could hear. So I kept talking."Honestly, from a purely business standpoint, this was the right call."Would a sex broker take moral responsibility for every woman whose life he'd ruined?Then the broker would be the one dying.Ri Su-jin probably hadn't been much of a big shot compared to the local recruiters before she grew to her current level. She'd likely had to swallow complaints from Korean club owners who bought foreign prostitutes. If she'd shown leniency toward the women in that situation…"She might have had to return to being a prostitute herself.""Ppang-jeu…"999 / 2,071 / 10 years 3 months ago"So she turned a blind eye and exploited them. She probably kept records of the women who went back to their home countries, just in case they dreamed of revenge."Even that level of record-keeping was limited to the Joseonjok women.For the Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, and Cambodian women whose presence itself threatened her operations, there were only brief notes acknowledging that such incidents had occurred.A moment when I viscerally realized that Ri Su-jin's base was in China.I immediately began chatting with the women Ri Su-jin had abandoned.

And I conveyed my concerns—subtly guiding them to move in the direction I wanted.There weren't just one or two of these women.Fortunately, I had plenty of time.While chatting, I glanced at Ri Su-jin, still lying unconscious."These ladies will definitely remember Director Ri Su-jin."Ri Su-jin blinked her unfocused eyes, then slipped back into unconsciousness.I left her there. Let her sleep comfortably.When she woke up, she might already be in her homeland. In a way, I'd granted her wish.Just not in the form she'd been expecting.

Cancel the order I gave Su-min.That's… right.That was the first thought to surface in Ri Su-jin's mind as she dimly regained consciousness.The traitor who'd turned her back on family. Ri Su-min.The resentment was still there. If she'd made it safely to Yanji as planned, she would have left her sister alone.She'd planned to contact Su-min again if she ended up ruining her life by getting tangled with Joo Sung-hyun and going to prison. She'd even manage her from there.But the situation had changed now. She'd been caught by Joo Sung-hyun first.I'm going to be taken to Korea anyway.She felt like she'd been asleep for a long time… Maybe she was already in Korea.That inhuman, cursed bastard Joo Sung-hyun would have contacted the NIS and the police in advance.The coast guard would have started tracking her ferry before it left territorial waters, and there was a high chance they'd arrested her on board and brought her to Pyeongtaek Port.If so, the next steps were obvious.First, temporary detention at the coast guard station.Then, since she'd been caught ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attempting illegal entry, she'd be sent to Suwon District Prosecutors' Office… Even she knew detention was unavoidable. Probably the women's wing of Suwon Detention Center.The expected sentence, including the illegal entry charge, would be roughly eight years.Eight years. That's long.Ri Su-jin was thinking about how to prepare for life after detention.Her head throbbed from the beating Joo Sung-hyun had given her…But she couldn't let go of her wits.Because detention didn't mean the end of her life.To reduce her sentence, to live a little more comfortably inside prison… to keep the faint spark of a comeback alive, she had to pull herself together now. Honestly, her heart still ached, but she endured it.She wasn't dead yet. She could survive eight years.As Ri Su-jin barely held back the throbbing pain in her head and tried to recall the number of a Joseonjok lawyer—"Way, chilai!"Chinese. Get up quickly."Huh…?"Ri Su-jin forced her heavy eyelids open and looked around.Concrete walls with peeling paint.Gray tile floor, a single bug crawling across it.And a metal table in the center.Not… Korea?She'd naturally assumed it was Korea.As Ri Su-jin blinked blankly, a figure entered her field of vision."Qingxing le ma?"Are you awake?Awake… yes. Sort of.Ri Su-jin wanted to deny it. It was the man's uniform that stopped her.Dark navy uniform, silver rank insignia glinting on the shoulder, a red-lettered patch on the chest.That bastard wasn't a Korean cop. That was…Gong'an.Chinese public security. The Criminal Investigation Division of the Public Security Bureau.Ri Su-jin knew exactly what these people were. How could she not? She'd experienced them firsthand when she lived in Yanbian. They were the kind of people you truly wanted to avoid—completely different from the civilian public security officers who did similar work to Korean police. These were the ones who'd ruin your life if you got tangled with them.No. Absolutely not.Ri Su-jin tried to say something, then shook her head.No way. This can't be China…It had been Ri Su-jin herself who'd planned to flee to China.But not like this.She'd intended to stay at the safe house she'd arranged in Yanji, rebuild her network, take revenge, and rehabilitate."Sir, there's been some mistake— Ah. This is China.""Deng zhe."She'd asked where she was, and the answer was wait—wait for what?As Ri Su-jin stood bewildered, the public security officer gestured impatiently.Soon, three women in their twenties and thirties entered.They were all faces Ri Su-jin recognized."What are you doing here…?"Kim Hae-rin, Lin Xiaohong, Choi Young-mi…These were the women she'd placed—or tried to place—in entertainment venues in southern Gyeonggi Province. Two Joseonjok, one Han Chinese…Ri Su-jin had brought more than a few prostitutes into Korea over the years, but the ones who'd just entered shared something in common.Unlucky prostitutes whose lives had been ruined.That's why they all looked so worn down.One woman bared her uneven teeth in a mocking grin at Ri Su-jin. Another had sunken cheeks and bruised eyes. A third, still apparently "active," wore a floral dress…"No, no."The word that came to her mind was elementary.This wasn't a formal procedure. This was how the gong'an worked. Once they'd identified a criminal target, they'd seat them and bring in victims (or witnesses) for a face-to-face confrontation to confirm the facts.It wasn't a court trial or a formal interrogation, but it carried special weight.It was the procedure by which the gong'an declared they were going to kill you.Once caught, it was a stamp that you couldn't escape, even in death."No, this isn't right… Please send me back to Korea.""Pi xiong zi!"As Ri Su-jin struggled, the public security officers sneered and gestured to the victim prostitutes.Soon, the prostitutes' testimonies began.She'd been raped by her fake husband, but Ri Su-jin had forced her to go to the club. Her passport had been confiscated, she'd been slapped, and sent to a massage parlor. In exchange for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠helping her avoid raids, that bitch had taken ten million won from her…And most critically—"Young-mi, wait!""When I was still a minor, that woman tried to send me to a club."It was testimony of trafficking a minor.Cross-border human trafficking carried a ten-year sentence, but when a minor was involved, the situation became far more serious.It immediately entered the death penalty range. In China, they really did kill you.With that out in the open, there was no way the gong'an would send her back to Korea. Ri Su-jin hadn't personally ordered the recruiters to bring in minors, but—"That woman."The victim was pointing at Ri Su-jin. And at that exact moment, the gong'an said there were still ten more victims—either on their way or being contacted—and to wait.The moment she understood what Joo Sung-hyun had meant by "I still have more prepared.""Aaaaaah—!!"Ri Su-jin's scream echoed off the walls.Of course, there was no one there to help her.