Chapter 441: Lustful Search (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 441: Lustful Search (4)
You can’t pressure someone just because their heart is beating fast.
That was the first reason I didn’t single him out in front of everyone.
The second was to apply even greater psychological pressure.
You know that saying, right? Even a mutt is halfway to a win in its own backyard.
He was surrounded by people who were practically on his side, including a gangster of a boss who could make him disappear without a trace if he stepped out of line. Trying to pressure him there?
It would have only made him clam up even more.
But what about the situation now?
“Fuck… what do I do?”
The guy was on a smoke break with me, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he let out a sigh laced with a curse, his anxiety palpable.
He must have felt it too.
The moment an S-rank Hunter started looking for Jo Yeon-hee, he knew things had gone terribly wrong.
He knew he’d stepped into a very dangerous place.
That’s why he was deliberating.
Which choice would carry the least risk for him?
This was the perfect opportunity.
While his resolve was wavering, I would drive a wedge in and pry his mind open.
…Still, maybe I shouldn’t have brought up the old man with the sack [a Korean bogeyman].
For that to be scary, you have to know who he is, but the guy looked completely clueless.
He shouted, as if in a last-ditch effort.
“T-Turn myself in? What are you talking about?!”
So that’s how he wanted to play it.
I once again pulled up Jo Yeon-hee’s photo on my smartphone and shoved it in his face.
The moment he saw it, his pupils trembled violently.
“You know something about this woman, don’t you?”
“I-I…!”
“I wouldn’t say you don’t know.”
I cut him off, trying to create a more terrifying atmosphere.
“You’re in a very dangerous situation right now.”
“D-Dangerous…?”
I could tell just by looking at his face.
He knew something about Jo Yeon-hee’s disappearance, but he wasn’t directly involved.
That meant there was a high probability he’d been paid for his silence by the culprit…
And the best way to get guys like this to talk is always the same.
“I don’t know who they are, but they must have paid you to keep your mouth shut. Right?”
“……”
“Back then, that amount was probably enough. No one was paying much attention to this woman’s disappearance. But… things have changed quite a bit now, haven’t they?”
An S-rank Hunter was chasing the truth of the case.
That fact alone would be putting considerable pressure on the culprit.
“They may have paid you, but you’re still a liability to them. What if they start thinking, ‘What if that bastard takes the money and spills everything anyway?’”
That’s exactly what would happen.
And they would choose the path that would give them the most peace of mind.
“If they kill you, everything is solved. The liability is gone, and the crime vanishes into thin air.”
“Gasp…!”
His breathing grew ragged.
He was probably imagining it as I spoke.
The culprit who gave him the money, strangling him.
“But if you tell me now, I can guarantee your safety. And the money you received to keep quiet… I’ll let you keep all of it.”
“…R-Really?”
As I threw out an offer he couldn’t refuse, his eyes widened and he immediately asked back.
“Of course.”
It was a lie, of course.
I’d guarantee his life, but he’d obviously have to cough up the money he took as a reward for turning a blind eye to a crime.
Hiding my true intentions, I put a friendly arm around his shoulder and gently prodded him.
“Come on, get it all off your chest. And let’s start fresh, huh?”
I know.
I know just how much money matters in a life that has nothing else going for it.
As if imagining a future where he could start over with that money in hand, he asked me.
“Really… i-if I talk, nothing bad will happen to me, right?”
“I told you so.”
After getting my confirmation, he made a look of resignation and began to speak.
“…I saw her, that woman. She was a customer who came to the club five days ago.”
“And?”
“One of our VIPs pointed her out. Of course, she accepted, too.”
I recalled the club’s interior I had seen just a little while ago.
The rooms lined up on the second floor looked expensive at a glance.
That must have been where the VIPs drank.
So, a VIP took a liking to Jo Yeon-hee there, and this guy arranged for them to meet.
“It definitely wasn’t a coercive atmosphere! They were having a good time drinking, the woman got drunk, and the VIP left the club with her. That was the last I saw of them.”
It was obvious what happened next.
When a man and a woman have a good time drinking, there’s only one place they’d go.
A motel.
Ah, since he was a VIP, maybe a hotel.
Motel or hotel.
That wasn’t what was important.
“So who was this VIP?”
“Th-That is.”
His face turned pale as he stammered and hesitated.
He paused for a moment.
Then, as if he’d made up his mind, he squeezed his eyes shut and forced the words out.
“I-It… it was Kim Tae-yang… the Hunter.”
“……”
The VIP’s completely unexpected identity left my mind blank for a moment.
So, right now…
“The VIP who met up with Jo Yeon-hee, got her drunk, and left with her… was the S-rank Hunter Kim Tae-yang?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right.”
With a dazed expression, I looked up at the club building, where young men and women were constantly coming and going.
Rising Sun.
It seemed there was something more lurking here than I had ever imagined.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The next morning.
I handed the club waiter, a guy named Jeong-sik, over to the Association and requested protection for him.
Along with the information that he’d pocketed a hundred million won in exchange for covering up a lead in the case.
“Understood. We will keep him well protected.”
Since Yoon Ji-an said so, the guy would be safe.
His money, of course, would not be.
Next, I met with Director Kim Seong-tae and informed him of the shocking truth of the case.
“W-What did you just say…?”
“You heard me correctly.”
“A-Are you saying that Hunter Kim Tae-yang is the culprit in this disappearance case?”
“It’s too early to say for sure.”
It wasn’t certain yet.
For all I knew, there was a chance Jo Yeon-hee was kidnapped after spending the night with Kim Tae-yang and parting ways.
However.
“The probability is high, though.”
I hoped it wasn’t true, but it was also a fact that the probability of him having committed the crime was extremely high.
He had a notoriously explosive and hot-headed personality.
On top of that, he was in an exceptionally foul mood after I defeated him when he acted as an examiner during my promotion match.
Even a half-hearted punch from him would be unbearable for an ordinary person.
Even more so if the target was a delicate woman.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kim Seong-tae asked with a heavy expression.
“What do you plan to do?”
What’s next?
Simple.
“I’m going in.”
“…You mean Hunter Kim Tae-yang’s residence?”
“To be precise, anywhere and everywhere related to him.”
“……”
His face grew even darker.
“This won’t be easy. If, by some chance, Hunter Kim Tae-yang is not the culprit, you could face serious backlash, Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
“I’m already prepared for that.”
The risks of failure were not small.
In the worst-case scenario, if an offended Kim Tae-yang so much as mentioned leaving for Japan, China, or the US, a torrent of criticism would rain down on me for my rash judgment.
Is immigrating that easy?
For him, it is.
Whether it was a lie or the truth, I was certain he was the type of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to say it.
Even knowing that, this was something I had to do.
A person’s life was on the line.
Honestly, given the lack of news, the probability that she was already dead was high, but…
“I have to do my best, as much as I can.”
Hope was not lost.
At least, not until I saw it with my own eyes.
As if reading my unchangeable resolve, he answered with resignation.
“Sigh… I understand. One way or another, I’ve already bet on you, Hunter Kim Do-jin. I’ll trust you and help you this time as well.”
“Oh.”
That was unexpected.
I thought he didn’t have an ounce of loyalty in him.
“Please wait just a moment. I’ll get the staff ready immediately.”
After saying that, he stood up and made a call.
“Prepare to move out.”
That was all it took.
“The target is an S-rank Hunter.”
It didn’t take long for the Association’s high-ranking Hunters to arm themselves and prepare for deployment.
I headed with them to a residential area in Hannam-dong.
A wealthy neighborhood, much like Pyeongchang-dong, lined with massive houses.
We surrounded one of them.
“The perimeter is secure.”
After receiving the report from the team leader, I immediately went to the gate of the enormous mansion and rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong!
Soon, the voice of a female servant came through.
—Who is it?
“This is S-rank Hunter Kim Do-jin. I’m here to see Hunter Kim Tae-yang.”
—I was not informed of any expected guests.
The woman’s voice coming from beyond the intercom turned cold.
It seemed she sensed something was off.
“Something came up unexpectedly.”
—…I understand. Please come in for now.
Click!
With the sound of the lock disengaging, the main gate opened.
I walked past a garden that was well-maintained despite the chilly winter weather and reached the front door, which was a good distance away.
The moment I opened the door and stepped into the spacious living room.
“Huh? The hell are you?”
A swaggering voice stopped me in my tracks.
I turned my head and saw Kim Tae-yang.
His torso, covered in bulging muscles, was completely bare.
Seeing the sweat dripping down his body, I wondered if he had been training for once in his life.
“I asked why you’re here, you bastard.”
He strode toward me, looking down with an intimidating glare. I asked him.
“Jo Yeon-hee.”
“……”
“The woman you took from the club five… no, six days ago.”
Just as I was about to question his face, which was hardening the longer I spoke…
Click!
“Oppa~ what’s going on?”
A woman wearing nothing but a thin gown emerged from the room Kim Tae-yang had just come from.
The moment I saw her, I felt a shock as if I’d been struck in the head with a hammer.
Long, black hair, a youthful face, and slightly upturned eyes.
She was identical.
Identical to the face I had saved on my smartphone.
“Ms. Jo Yeon-hee…?”
Hoping against hope, I called her name, and she answered.
“Yes, I’m Jo Yeon-hee… but who are you?”
“……”
She was alive.
And perfectly fine, at that.