The Raid on Altteul Credit Loan
The female employee asked again.
"Would it be possible for you to visit in person?"
"Of course. But I'm at work right now, so I probably won't be free until evening. Would that work?"
I deliberately chose a late hour.
Evenings always made people looser than daytime.
"If it's evening, around what time…?"
"As early as seven?"
"Ah, yes. Just a moment."
She seemed to check with someone, then returned with a slightly excited voice.
"Yes! That works. Do you know our office location? Shall I give you directions?"
"It's fine. I already looked it up."
"Understood. Then I'll book you for a seven o'clock visit this evening. Just in case, is this the number I should call if needed?"
"Yes, go ahead."
I answered readily to her cautious question.
"Thank you so much for calling! We'll see you this evening, then."
"Oh, is there any paperwork I should bring?"
I asked quickly before hanging up. But the reply was simple.
"No. For the first visit, a simple consultation is fine! Prepare the rest for tomorrow! Just come at ease."
"Got it. I'll be there by seven."
I hung up.
Kyaaaa!
Ooooh!
At that moment, cheers erupted from the office across the way.
"Tsk tsk… They're happy about it."
I shook my head, clicking my tongue, then crossed my arms again and watched their movements.
Just wait a little longer.
7:30 in the evening.
I deliberately delayed.
Just as expected, they called me every five minutes.
Of course I didn't answer. Looking across, they were all worked up, pacing the office.
Some got angry; some stormed outside in frustration.
When the missed calls hit ten…
Only then did I stand up, pull my mask and hat down deep, and head down from the rooftop.
It was finally time to put the scenario I'd crafted in my head into action.
As expected, their numbers had thinned a little.
Buzz-buzz— buzz-buzz—
Another call as I descended the stairs.
They must be desperate.
"Yeah. Ah, sorry. Work ran late so I was rushing over and didn't notice the calls. Yes. I'm right out front. Coming up now."
I hung up, entered the market street, then headed back toward the building with their office.
No big guys at the entrance either.
I went straight up to the third floor, where the protruding sign for Altteul Credit Loan came into view.
Without hesitation, I opened the door and walked in.
Inside, the female employee was hurriedly gathering documents.
And on the sofa beside her, two burly men were cleaning up the table and surroundings.
"Ah, I'm here for a loan consultation. The one who just called…"
"Yes! This way, please!"
The employee immediately guided me to the president's office where Jo Hyeontae was.
"Boss. The customer is here!"
"Oh! Tell him to come in."
The door opened, and as I entered, Jo Hyeontae—who looked like a fat snake—and one of his underlings greeted me. The underling's face was no joke.
"We were really worried when we couldn't reach you. Please, have a seat over here."
Jo Hyeontae wore a sycophantic smile I'd never seen before as he guided me to the sofa.
Once I sat, the two underlings from outside also came in and closed the door.
That made four of them watching me.
Really?
Something felt off. A chill air tightened around my body.
But I wasn't intimidated in the least.
I quickly scanned the surroundings, but no safe was visible.
They must have hidden it somewhere.
"But… your face…"
Jo Hyeontae tilted his head, trying to peer at me.
With half my face covered by the mask and the hat pulled low, there was no way he'd recognize me.
"Ah, I covered up as much as possible on the way here in case I ran into someone I know."
"I see. You can take it off now. No one else to see. Wait, but that voice sounds familiar from somewhere…"
"We've never met."
The moment Jo Hyeontae narrowed his eyes to ask, I cut him off firmly.
Then Jo Hyeontae put on that sycophantic smile again and hurriedly said,
"Ah, yes. If the customer says it's the first time, then it is. Haha! You brought your ID, right?"
"Before verifying identity, there's something I need to make absolutely clear."
"What?"
Jo Hyeontae's brow furrowed slightly.
"I need quite a lot of money…"
Trailing off, I looked him up and down, then continued.
"I'm doubtful whether this place even has the capacity to lend it."
"Just how much of a loan are you thinking of…?"
"I need eight hundred million with real estate as collateral."
"Eight hundred million?"
Jo Hyeontae repeated after me in surprise. But soon the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.
Borrowing eight hundred million from a loan shark would mean enormous interest, after all.
"Yes. Once that's confirmed, I'll verify my identity as well. Better for both sides to be sure, right? Eight hundred million isn't money you can just lend to anyone."
I paused briefly and locked eyes with Jo Hyeontae. Then I spoke again.
"Do you have any proof of operating funds? For example, a corporate account balance certificate, or perhaps I could see your Financial Supervisory Service registration number or moneylending business permit? Given the amount, I feel I should check before proceeding."
It was a rather arrogant demand, in a way.
But I deliberately prodded his pride.
And so I cast the bait.
Jo Hyeontae drummed his fingers on the chair armrest for a long while with a fierce expression. The atmosphere in the room turned ice-cold.
Right then.
"Hahaha!"
Jo Hyeontae laughed heartily and clapped his hands.
"Fine. I'll show you. What's so hard about that?"
He took the bait after all.
"Could you wait outside for a moment? For security reasons…"
He said carefully with a slightly apologetic look. Apparently he was going to open a secret safe and didn't want me to see its location.
"Ah, yes. Of course."
I nodded cheerfully and stood up. Then, guided by the two big guys, I went out the door.
One underling stood firmly in front of the door.
I waited a bit.
Giving Jo Hyeontae time to open the safe.
And before even a minute passed, I pointed to the right window and spoke.
"Huh? What's that?"
"What?"
Just as expected, the underling turned his head mindlessly in the direction I pointed.
I didn't miss the timing and quickly approached, grabbing the doorknob and turning it.
"Ah! I left my phone inside."
"Ah! You can't go in right now!!"
Bang!
"Huh?"
"What?!"
Opening the door and stepping in, Jo Hyeontae and the two underlings froze like a paused frame.
Jo Hyeontae was staring at me with wide eyes, the secret safe hidden in the corner of the wall still open.
"So the safe was… over there?"
I locked the door and smiled faintly at Jo Hyeontae.
"What the hell?"
"The safe?"
The three who still hadn't grasped the situation looked at me with dumbfounded expressions.
Then their faces gradually hardened. They seemed to realize I wasn't an ordinary customer.
"Y-you, who are you? Who sent you! A cop?"
"Hmm. Is who I am important? Or why I came?"
"…!"
A chill air flowed through the room.
Jo Hyeontae slowly stood and reached for the baseball bat leaning against one side.
And the two underlings each slipped a hand into their waistbands and coats. Ready to draw knives any second.
I quickly scanned the room.
In front was a sofa, and a glass ashtray on the table.
Beside that, a shelf and a stainless steel water bottle.
On the lower shelf were thick books, stuck in unorganized.
Suddenly, my head tingled as thoughts flashed through at lightning speed.
The safe was still open, three people total. Space was narrow, one exit. So use the room's environment to subdue them in one strike.
That was when they moved.
"Get him!"
At Jo Hyeontae's shout, the underlings drew knives from their clothes and charged.
Jo Hyeontae also grabbed the baseball bat and quickly came out from behind the desk.
My body reacted on its own.
First, I grabbed the sofa in front and flipped it forward.
Crash!
As the approaching underlings flinched in surprise, I snatched the ashtray from the table and threw it straight at one of them.
Thud!
"Gah!"
The underling approaching with a knife had his head snap back and collapsed right there.
The ashtray had struck his forehead dead-on.
I immediately grabbed the stainless steel water bottle from the shelf and swung it hard at the underling coming around the other side.
Whoosh—
Clang!
"Ugh!"
The bottle collided with the knife he was holding, and the impact made him drop the knife and lose his balance.
Perfect timing, accuracy, and force strong enough to make my hand tingle.
I didn't stop there and chopped down hard on the back of his neck with the edge of my hand.
Thud!
"Gah!"
The underling who crumpled to the floor as if slammed down no longer moved, and finally Jo Hyeontae charged with a scream.
"Dieee!!"
Whoosh—
Then he swung the baseball bat with all his might.
This would be hard to dodge.
I quickly pulled a book from the lower shelf and pressed it against my body toward the incoming bat.
Bang!
With a sound like beating a drum, the baseball bat slammed hard into the book. The impact twisted Jo Hyeontae's grip as if it would tear.
"Grrraah!"
The moment his face contorted in pain, I grabbed the book with my other hand and smashed the side of it into his Adam's apple.
Thud!
"Guh!"
Jo Hyeontae flew backward and slammed into the wall.
Then he clutched his throat, face twisting in agony. His face turned red as veins bulged on his forehead.
The two underlings were already out cold, not even twitching.
It all happened in an instant.
"Hoo."
I took a light breath and approached him.
Jo Hyeontae looked up at me with a dazed expression, as if he couldn't believe the situation.
The safe beside him was still wide open. Inside were various document folders, a USB, thick contracts, document envelopes, and it was full of cash and gold bars.
"Ugh… Y-you, what are you… uh…"
Jo Hyeontae still clutched his throat as he spoke laboriously.
"……"
I looked down at him indifferently without answering, then went straight to the safe and collected the USB, document folders, and contracts.
"N-no!"
Jo Hyeontae shouted weakly while clutching his neck. Of course, his legs had given out so he couldn't even stand.
Having secured the evidence, I boldly opened the door again and went outside.
The two minions waiting outside were easy enough to subdue with one hand.
"Whew, nothing to it."
Leaving the building, I glanced back once at the upper floor, then quickly moved my feet.
Time to disappear.
The next day.
In the morning, while prepping ingredients after coming to work, the young woman studying criminal law came out to tidy the hall and discovered the documents left on the counter by the entrance.
"Huh? What's this?"
She'd clearly cleaned the counter, so she noticed right away, and approaching, she found all sorts of real estate-related documents, a USB, and a note saying to hand them over to the police.
Hand these over to the police.
"Who on earth…?"
As she examined the materials, her pupils shook greatly.
She was studying law.
She knew better than anyone what the documents she was looking at meant.