Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 86
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[.. Would it be okay if I asked you for help later?]
“Uh… well… I’ll see.”
Kyung-wan didn’t shut it down outright and left the possibility open.
You never know, right? As you go through life, you might run into some bastard who makes you think, That asshole annoys me so much I’m definitely going to crush him someday.
When that happens, Vigilantes could be a useful means…
Because of that open-ended reply, the voice didn’t push like last time, nagging him to join their organization.
[Thank you.]
With just that single line, the channel closed.
He still didn’t know their name, but Kyung-wan didn’t feel the need to ask. Sometimes, not even asking for a name could be a form of consideration toward the other person.
Of course, it wasn’t really out of consideration on his part. It was more that if he learned their name, he might get entangled deeper than necessary, so he deliberately avoided asking.
But thinking about it, that was probably reassuring for that telepath as well.
After all, no matter how much of a criminal and a prisoner Kyung-wan was, he was in close cooperation with American investigative agencies like the FBI.
Anyway, while Kyung-wan was showing an uncooperative attitude regarding the ongoing graphite case, an unexpected visitor arrived.
“Uh… who were you again?”
Kyung-wan tilted his head at a face that seemed vaguely familiar. The man in front of him opened his mouth with a smile.
“We met once before at the Death Reporter task force.”
“Hmm… your name was…”
“Kang Woobin.”
“Oh! Right, right!”
Kyung-wan played along. Honestly, he didn’t remember the name at all, but the guy had brought fried chicken with him, was it really that hard to return a bit of lip service?
To be frank, in Kyung-wan’s mind, Kang Woobin wasn’t remembered by his real name, but by the following nickname.
‘Sandman.’
Kyung-wan lightly showed Kang Woobin the letters he’d scribbled on a cola bottle covered in condensation, then twisted open the cap and took a gulp.
“Ahhh~! So, you said you work in the entertainment industry. Why come all the way to see a prisoner like me?”
“At least back then, you didn’t quite feel real to me.”
“And?”
“But after meeting you in person at the police station and experiencing that famous Truth Twenty Questions, I developed a deep interest in you.”
“Sorry. That’s not really my thing.”
At Kyung-wan’s sudden joke, Kang Woobin, who hadn’t flinched even after seeing the word ‘Sandman’, couldn’t help but look a little flustered.
“.. Haha. You’re an interesting guy.”
“A shitty life has to be entertaining just to survive. Anyway, let’s get to the point.”
“Please eat while you listen. This might take a bit to explain.”
At that, Kyung-wan didn’t refuse and went back to tearing into the chicken leg he’d been working on.
Kang Woobin’s explanation was procedurally complex, but the core was simple.
He wanted to make a documentary about Kyung-wan.
“Why?”
“First, as someone who makes videos, it’s pure creative desire.”
“That’s it?”
“And then there’s this.”
Kang Woobin formed a circle with his thumb and index finger toward Kyung-wan.
It meant money.
Kyung-wan nodded. That much, he could accept. Still, there were issues.
“But will it be allowed? You know what I did in this country.”
At that, Kang Woobin began counting possibilities on his fingers.
“One, the Republic of Korea is a democratic country with freedom of expression.
Two, I’m not Korean, I’m American.
Three, you can go to the United States. Regularly, at that.”
“So you’re saying you don’t need permission from state agencies?”
“I mean you don’t need permission from the Korean government.”
“You do need permission from the U.S.?”
“No matter how liberal a country is, you can’t ignore public authority.”
“You’re setting this up very cleverly.”
At Kyung-wan’s words, Kang Woobin smiled.
Kyung-wan wasn’t American. What did what he did at the Korean National Assembly have to do with the United States?
Hollywood was deeply tied to American politics, and Kang Woobin, an American working in the entertainment industry, had connections there.
Putting those facts together, even if Korea’s vested interests and lawmakers hated it, a documentary about Kyung-wan could still be made.
Broadcasting it in Korea would be difficult, of course.
But Kang Woobin didn’t care.
In the information age, video content crossing borders was absurdly easy.
Kyung-wan asked,
“What if the Korean government refuses to let me leave the country?”
“On what grounds would they refuse? When we’ve already negotiated investigative cooperation?”
Kyung-wan was a useful investigative resource. Having agreed to cooperate on international crimes, refusing to let him go to the U.S. could be interpreted as a unilateral breach of contract by Korea.
Besides, Korea wasn’t exactly a clean country when it came to international crime. Along with foreign laborers, international criminal organizations had crept in as well. Busan Port had become a hub for drug logistics, to the point of even laundering mafia money.
Just look at the Black Noya case this time. Foreign hitmen had poured in to capture him, hadn’t they? By definition, they were international criminals too.
Kyung-wan shrugged.
“Well, if that’s the case. I don’t really care either way. Do I need to do anything special?”
“Just give the interviews sincerely.”
“Well, if that’s all…”
At Kang Woobin’s explanation, Kyung-wan nodded and agreed to the documentary.
= = = = =
Kyung-wan’s trips to the United States became regular.
The country was huge, so there were many cases, and the more cases there were, the more often there were incidents where suspects simply couldn’t be identified.
But it wasn’t like Kyung-wan could use his ability on every single case. The FBI wasn’t the only one aware of his power.
The CIA wanted to use him to determine which country their detainees were spies for.
The NSA wanted to use him to extract the names of other hackers from hackers they’d arrested.
That wasn’t all. For cold cases with no evidence to pinpoint suspects, he even had to go as far as the FBI’s Texas branch.
And on that trip, Kang Woobin tagged along.
“You got permission?”
“Yes. Here’s the official document.”
Kang Woobin showed the paperwork. Behind him, Kim Jun was glaring at Kang Woobin’s back with clear displeasure, but unless you had eyes in the back of your head, there was no way he’d notice.
Well, judging by the personality Kyung-wan sensed from Kang Woobin, even if he did face Kim Jun’s glare head-on, he probably wouldn’t flinch.
Kang Woobin briefly filmed Kyung-wan at work. Of course, anything that shouldn’t be released was edited or removed after review by Kim Jun and Tom.
“I thought you’d stubbornly resist in the name of press freedom, but you’re fixing things pretty obediently?”
At Kyung-wan’s comment, Kang Woobin replied with something that carried a bit of bite.
“Freedom always comes with responsibility and duty.”
A very American thing to say, richly, intensely American.
“But is it really okay to broadcast stuff like this?”
Wouldn’t it just heighten the alertness of terrorist groups and criminal organizations?
To that implication, Kang Woobin replied,
“Anyone who needs to know probably already knows how you’re cooperating with the U.S. The thing you did at the Korean National Assembly had way too much impact.”
The Korean government had tried in every direction to erase that scene, but it had already become a global meme source. Even now, just when people were starting to forget, clips and images would resurface.
Kyung-wan asked,
“So that means people who hate me are still targeting me?”
“Wouldn’t you think so?”
At Kang Woobin’s counterquestion, Kyung-wan looked at Kim Jun and Tom. Kang Woobin followed his gaze to the two of them.
“...”
“...”
Under the silent pressure from the two men, Kim Jun let out a deep sigh, muttered something rapidly to Tom, then spoke to Kyung-wan.
“Mr. Lee’s security level is extremely high.”
“I figured.”
“Any attempt to harm you will be detected and stopped in advance.”
“And backtracking is possible too, right?”
“.. Um… yes.”
Kim Jun hesitated, and instinctively realized that Kyung-wan had picked up on something he hadn’t said.
Every terrorist or assassination attempt against Kyung-wan was filtered through surveillance networks. It wasn’t purely for his protection. Since anyone targeting him was clearly dirty, there was also a system in place to trace them in reverse.
In other words, Kyung-wan was also serving as bait.
“You know it’s hard to catch two rabbits at once, right?”
When you set two objectives at the same time, your capabilities inevitably get split.
At Kyung-wan’s pointed remark, Kim Jun promised with a serious expression.
“Don’t worry. There will never be another hijacking incident like before.”
Kyung-wan nodded, accepting the words. Though inwardly, he thought only time would tell.
The Texas job was the final task of this U.S. trip.
Kyung-wan’s ability didn’t have legal evidentiary power, but just quietly identifying suspects was enough to unblock stalled investigations, making the schedule more than worthwhile.
When the group arrived in Dallas to catch their flight back to Seoul, Kang Woobin made a request of Kim Jun and Tom.
“Could we take a little time for an interview?”
“Haven’t we already given you plenty of interview time?”
“Yes, but for this one, I’m planning to invite a guest.”
“A guest?”
As Kim Jun tilted his head, Kang Woobin leaned in and whispered something into his ear, quiet enough that Kyung-wan couldn’t hear, then continued.
“The identity is solid, so there won’t be any issues.”
Kim Jun looked at Tom. Tom nodded, clearly intrigued.
With Tom’s approval, Kim Jun said to Kang Woobin,
“But we’ll be present at the interview location.”
“Of course.”
Kang Woobin nodded readily and gave Kyung-wan a thumbs-up.
“You can look forward to it.”
Look forward to what, exactly…?
The four of them headed to a hotel near the airport. There was still time before the flight departed.
While Kyung-wan sat waiting on the sofa in the room, there was a knock at the door.
Kim Jun moved first. He opened the door with clear caution. Meanwhile, Tom kept his eyes on Kang Woobin, still a veteran who never loosened the reins of surveillance.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
Was the visitor a woman? A female voice mixed into the greetings between Kim Jun and the visitor.
Soon, through the door Kim Jun had opened, a beauty entered, so stunning that a spontaneous “Wow!” almost escaped.
Her hair was jet-black like ebony, her skin so pale it seemed translucent. Her moist lips were red and fresh. Her features were alluring yet pure, and her figure was tall and slender while still generously curvaceous, she wouldn’t have looked out of place as a supermodel.
Truly a beauty worthy of Kang Woobin’s confident “you can look forward to it.”
But Kyung-wan wasn’t focused on her graceful figure. His gaze fixed on her face.
It looked familiar.
“Uh… so… um… I recognize the face, but…”
At Kyung-wan’s words, the beauty’s eyes narrowed.
“Oppa. Don’t tell me you forgot my name?”
“Was it Miyeon, or was it seaweed?”
At that, Miyeon bristled.
“Miyeon! Lee Miyeon! Do you already have dementia?”
“Was it Miyeon, or was it seaweed?”
“Oppa!”
“Sorry. I’ve got early dementia, you know.”
At Kyung-wan’s shameless response, Miyeon paid him back in full.
As she stood there dumbfounded, mouth agape, Kyung-wan turned to Kang Woobin and asked.