Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: 039. Vampire Detective
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I fiddled with my smartphone naked in Hera's officetel, checking the real-time search trends on a portal site.
From last night until now, the top ten spots on the real-time search rankings were all dominated by terms related to me.
1. Red Madness
2. Murder Clown
3. Sunset Fitness Club Massacre
4. Red Clown
5. Sunset Fitness Murder Video
6. 28 Dead at Sunset Fitness
7. Devil's Clown
8. Clown's Red Sword
9. Red Madness on the Run
10. Sunset Fitness Gangster Hideout
"Red Madness..."
I muttered to myself.
Red Madness (赤狂).
The Red Lunatic. More precisely, a shorthand for the Red Blood Clown.
Until last night, they were calling me Murder Clown or Red Clown. Then, after photos surfaced of me drenched head to toe in blood, they switched to Blood Clown, and suddenly "Blood Clown" popped up in Korean.
Then, on a community site, some user posted a thread praising me as the "Crimson Blood Clown," and it blew up. Before long, everyone was calling me Red Madness.
"Gangsters, huh..."
The police had explained that Sunset Fitness Club was a gangster hideout, and they were classifying me as some kind of killer terrorist.
Gunfire had echoed through Sunset Fitness Club, and a massive stash of firearms was found with the bodies, so they disguised the dead vampire hunters as Chinese gangsters.
"I didn't take the guns they were using. Smart... Probably faking it as gangsters to explain the guns."
If they weren't gangsters, there'd be no good way to justify all those firearms. Plus, their vampire hunter identities couldn't be exposed.
"Oh. This girl. She's really famous now."
It was the woman whose photo I'd taken yesterday. Mosaic-blurred images of her face alongside my clown mask were floating all over the internet. She'd even appeared on a major broadcast emergency news segment.
-Miss K here met Red Madness in person and even took a photo with him. Miss K, did you feel your life was in danger at any point?
-No. I didn't even know he was a murderer. I thought it was just some cosplay event.
-Did you notice anything unusual about him?
-His clown mask was incredibly well-made. Even when he spoke, the mouth moved naturally. It felt like it wasn't a mask at all, but real skin.
-What about Red Madness's voice?
-It was pretty ordinary.
-Did Red Madness do anything to you?
-Oh. He spanked my butt.
-...Pardon? So, you're saying Red Madness assaulted you...?
-It wasn't really assault. More like sexual harassment.
-...Ah. I see.
The woman sexually harassed by Red Madness!
I snickered as I dug deeper into Red Madness. People were analyzing his photos left and right. Consensus was he was probably late 20s to mid-30s, with baseless rumors he was special forces. Ninety-nine percent was nonsense.
Most people were cursing Red Madness. He'd butchered over twenty people with a sword—a deranged murderer.
But some defended him. After all, his victims were armed vicious Chinese gangsters. Or maybe they were just pretending to defend him for the attention.
The internet was its usual mess.
'This is kinda fun.'
If Red Madness was someone else, I'd have skimmed it and gone looking for porn. But the Red Madness they were talking about was me.
I am Red Madness.
Whether they cursed me or defended me, it didn't matter. Just seeing them talk about me was amusing.
'Ah. What is this? Am I really an attention whore?'
I kept digging into Red Madness.
It had already spread overseas. They called me Red Clown abroad.
'No wonder it's blowing up. Slicing up 28 people with a sword in one night. In this modern age, not the Middle Ages.'
Overseas forums were on fire too, especially Japan. Because of the sword I used. Some were even calling me a samurai.
'It's a changpo sword, not a Japanese katana.'
Debates were raging. Japanese claiming it was a katana, Koreans countering it was a changpo sword.
I just chuckled and watched.
"Oppa. What're you doing~?"
Hera had woken up without me noticing and hugged me from behind. I felt the soft press of her breasts against my back. She was naked too, just like me.
"Just browsing the net. You're off today and tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. Fewer customers, so more days off."
"How about a date tomorrow?"
"...Heh? You with me?"
Hera knew my age but still called me oppa. Anyone older or richer was oppa to her.
"What? Don't want to?"
"No, it's not that. Just unexpected. It's been ages since I dated a guy. Sounds fun."
"No strings. Just for kicks."
"Don't worry, I won't misunderstand. Hmm. Feels like I can guess how the date ends."
I grinned.
No need to spell out what "date's end" meant. Everyone knew.
???
Moon Ji-hyuk glanced at his smartphone and couldn't help but smile faintly.
The message was from Yang Jeong-min, the traffic officer. They'd bumped into each other "fatefully" multiple times before, and now they texted casually.
Not quite friends, definitely not lovers. They were in that modern "talking" phase.
Yang Jeong-min - Stuck with overtime again ㅠㅠ
Moon Ji-hyuk - You too? Gangnam's been crazy lately, so I'm on overtime tonight too.
Yang Jeong-min - Oh! Wanna grab dinner soon then? I know a great spot.
Moon Ji-hyuk - Great spot?
Yang Jeong-min - Budae jjigae place 10 minutes from the station.
Moon Ji-hyuk - Ah, there. It's good. You like budae jjigae?
Yang Jeong-min - Love it! I even make it at home sometimes.
Moon Ji-hyuk - Whoa. You make budae jjigae yourself?
Yang Jeong-min - It's not that hard, surprisingly.
He started typing I'd love to try it sometime. but hesitated.
Wasn't that too obvious—like saying he wanted to come over?
What should he reply? Never dated before, Moon Ji-hyuk pondered deeply.
Yang Jeong-min - I make really good budae jjigae. Wanna come over and try it?
Moon Ji-hyuk froze. He was a healthy guy, a virgin who'd never dated. His mind raced with fantasies.
No, no. She probably doesn't mean it like that. Jeong-min's got that innocent side.
His fingers moved.
Moon Ji-hyuk - If you're offering, I'd love to.
Yang Jeong-min - Then, strike while the iron's hot... Free this weekend?
Moon Ji-hyuk - This weekend? Too many cases; not sure yet.
Yang Jeong-min - Fingers crossed.
"Oh. Detective Moon. You're beaming. Girlfriend?"
"N-no, sir."
Moon Ji-hyuk pocketed his phone as Team Leader Oh Jeong-jin approached.
"Don't play dumb. That's dating face. Get it out of your system while you're young. Plenty regret not doing it later."
"...Anyway, what's up? Another case?"
"You know Red Madness?"
Red Madness.
The clown-masked killer from the Sunset Fitness Club massacre yesterday.
Moon Ji-hyuk's face hardened. From the evidence, he was convinced Red Madness was a pureblood vampire.
"...Who at the station doesn't?"
"Yeah. Brass is on high alert because of him."
"Are we catching him?"
Catching Red Madness was exactly what Moon Ji-hyuk wanted. The monster had to be stopped for the public good—and he had personal info to extract.
"Nah. HQ's forming a dedicated Red Madness task force."
"...I see."
Moon Ji-hyuk was a bit disappointed, but he'd expected it. Too big for regular detectives.
"They want recommendations for the task force."
"You recommending someone...? Me?"
"You're our top performer lately. Last perp was basically your solo catch."
He hated to admit it, but his vampire night boosts were helping detective work.
"Don't want to? Just say no one's qualified. No pressure."
"...No. I want in."
"Good. I'll recommend you."
"Thanks. Any other task force details?"
"Few other nominees like you from other teams. About 30 total—pretty big. Half aren't cops; external experts."
"External experts? For real?"
"Solid intel. Blows my mind. Who else catches criminals besides police? Brass is nuts."
Moon Ji-hyuk's face stiffened.
If HQ knew Red Madness was a vampire, external experts could only mean...
"They're rushing it. You'll probably start tomorrow. That arson case? Wasn't it a gas leak?"
"Yes. Evidence of arson."
"Hand it to Detective Park. Prep for tomorrow. Go home early today. Task force'll be busier."
Oh Jeong-jin returned to his desk.
Moon Ji-hyuk stared at his desk, lost in thought. If external experts were vampire hunters... he'd have to tread carefully.
Maybe they know how to turn human again. Could learn all about vampire hunters. Risky, but a golden opportunity.
???
"What do you think? I tried on what you picked."
Hera posed in front of me. Navy wrap skirt, white blouse, wine-red cardigan. Her brown layered hair swayed elegantly.
"...Wow. You look stunning."
I said exactly what came to mind.
"I'm surprised. Didn't peg you for this style."
"My type's pretty girls."
"I know. But you specified the whole outfit."
Truth was, the clothes I'd picked for Hera matched actress Shin Hye-jin's real-life style. Earrings, hairstyle—everything eerily similar.
She looks just like Shin Hye-jin. Well, her real name is Shin Hye-jin, so yeah...
I scanned her from toes to hair tips, over and over. No doubt: actress Shin Hye-jin.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
Hera grinned and parted her cardigan. My eyes widened. The thin white blouse revealed the black bra hugging her bursting D-cups.
"Oppa, your eyes are gonna pop out. We've seen it all. Why fuss over a bra?"
"...A woman's body never gets old. Dressed is hot, undressed is hotter."
Honestly, I'd started seeing Hera as actress Shin Hye-jin. And it worked, so today, that's who she'd be.
Ah. Deciding that just made me horny.
I pulled her waist close.
"Hera-ya. Let's take a pic."
"Pics again? You love filming~. Last time it was even sex videos."
"Memories. And you like it too? You filmed my jerk-off vid."
"Hehehe. Still watch it sometimes."
We filmed photos or videos during sex.
Hera resisted at first. But I persisted, and now she loved it. Faces fully visible.
I had her vids; she had mine.
Lately, splurged on a pro streaming camera over a million won. Sex without it felt off now.
I wrapped an arm around her slim waist, switched to selfie video mode—not photo.
"Push your chest out. Ah, tongue out too."
French kiss. Tongues slick with saliva, rubbing and tangling.
My hand slid up, kneading her full breasts.
"Haah... Date... not happening?"
My hand unbuttoned her blouse instinctively, stroking her deep cleavage.
"Ah. Right."
I yanked my hand back. Plan was a leisurely, thrilling date savoring her body.
"These damn hands never listen."