He Has to Pay the Price Properly Before He Dies
“He has to pay the price properly before he dies.”
Song Tan discovered that the faint trail of evidence led to a ruined shopping arcade.
He stood before the locked glass doors at the entrance, but the dusty, cracked surface had gone so dark he couldn’t see inside.
Rattle, rattle—
He pulled on the handle. It didn’t budge.
Song Tan took a step back.
He drew in a short breath, and the inner power sunk in his danjeon slowly began to stir.
The sensation of circulating energy that he had repeated tens of thousands of times in his days as Number Twenty-Eight rose through his body without the slightest trace of discomfort.
The force that had revolved around his waist gathered at his shoulder, then flowed down his forearm, and finally condensed at the tip of his fist.
Wooooom—
The instant his fist touched the glass with the strange sensation of air being shoved aside—
Crack—
The thick pane warped white from the inside.
Bang!!
Starting from the center, a spiderweb of fractures raced outward before the glass collapsed inward in one crash.
Without hesitation, Song Tan thrust his body through the opening.
Sharp shards sliced thin lines of blood across his skin, but his expression did not so much as twitch.
His eyes flashed in the darkness like something feral.
The first thing he saw was a man’s hand.
Raised as if ready to strike at any second.
And beneath it, he saw Mina slumped on the floor.
She had curled up on herself and was trembling all over, her cheek swollen red.
Song Tan’s gaze swept over her quickly.
Her clothes were rumpled, but it didn’t look like anything vile had been done to her.
The taut cord of tension that had been stretched so tight it was about to snap finally loosened with a sharp release, and a deep wave of relief washed over him.
Before long, though, a hot, crimson tide of fury surged up from inside him.
Grit—
From that moment on, he could hear a steady sound, as though someone were tapping a hammer against the inside of his skull.
Had he ever been this enraged, even after awakening to his former life?
When the school bullies tormented him?
When he became a police officer and dealt with every kind of bastard imaginable?
That had been more in the realm of irritation than anger.
But now his head was so hot it was hard to keep his reason intact.
He wanted nothing more than to tear Choi Du-gil to pieces alive and on the spot.
“Uncle Tani…?”
At Mina’s pitiful, trembling voice, the reason slipping from him came back.
What mattered right now was getting Mina away from that fiend.
He might even take her hostage if he got the chance.
“Wh-what are you saying? I’m asking you, you bastard!”
The man, frozen in confusion, shouted first and foremost to cover himself.
“I’m a police officer.”
Song Tan announced his identity with a cold face.
Choi Du-gil’s expression twisted grotesquely.
“Those stubborn bastards are fucking relentless! Aaagh! Why the hell are you all ganging up on me, you sons of bitches!”
Face bright red and frothing with rage, Choi Du-gil suddenly lunged toward Mina.
But—
Smack!
“Kuhk.”
He was struck in the forehead by the chunk of concrete Song Tan had thrown, and collapsed where he stood.
“Mina, are you okay?”
“Huuu… Unc…le…”
Only then did Mina escape her terror, bursting into tears with a sorrowful sob.
Song Tan walked over, patted her gently on the back, and lifted her into his arms with care.
“I’m sorry. Your uncle was a little late, wasn’t he?”
“Sniff, I was really scared… That ajusshi said he was taking me to Sister Mom…”
“I know, I know. None of this is your fault. You don’t need to say anything else.”
“Sniff… I want my mom… Sniff. Mom…”
“I got it. Uncle will call your mom right away. You trust me, don’t you?”
“Mhm. I know. Uncle Tani never lies…”
Thanks to the weight of trust she had built in him, Mina soon regained her calm.
Click—
He handcuffed one of Choi Du-gil’s wrists while he was unconscious, then hooked the remaining cuff to the stair railing.
If it had been up to Song Tan, he would have done something far more immediate and far more final, but he had already drained his inner power, and Mina’s stability came first.
After carrying Mina out of the shopping arcade, Song Tan immediately called his senior.
[Hey! Are you still working? That bastard Choi Du-gil, that son of a bitch. We can’t find where he disappeared to. The entire detective division’s in an uproar. If we don’t catch him, we’re all screwed. You need to get here fast too.]
“Choi Du-gil has been caught.”
[What?]
A brief note of bewilderment came through.
[Where?]
Song Tan briefly explained how Mina had been abducted by Choi Du-gil.
[That bastard, Choi Du-gil, the fucking dogshit excuse for a human being…!]
Rough curses exploded through the receiver.
Though it was only his voice, the sheer force of his anger came through clearly.
[Is the kid okay?]
“She’s with me. Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be hurt.”
[And that son of a bitch Choi Du-gil?]
“I handcuffed him and left him tied to the stairs. I knocked him out because I thought he might use the child as a hostage.”
[Why didn’t you just kill the bastard while you were at it?]
“If he’s going to die, then he should at least pay the proper price before he does.”
Lee Joo-seok unconsciously reached for the back of his neck.
The chill brushing the nape of his neck was enough to make him do it.
[Anyway, wait a little. I’m coming right now.]
After ending the call with his senior, Song Tan also relayed the news to the nun running the shelter, who had probably been waiting with her neck stretched long enough to snap.
Not the full truth—just a somewhat reduced version.
If he didn’t, she might collapse from shock at her age.
[Oh my… That was close, truly close. How could something like that happen in broad daylight? Is Mina really all right?]
“Other than being a little shaken, she’s fine. But she keeps asking for her mother, so could you contact her for me?”
[Yes, yes. I’ll call her right away. Tan, I’m so glad you went there. If not for you, why, then it would have been truly…]
A brief silence fell over the line, likely because even imagining it was unbearable.
“For now, I’ll take Mina home.”
[Yes, bring her back quickly. The child must have been so frightened… Oh dear.]
Ending the call, Song Tan looked down at Mina, who was clinging to him tightly.
“Mina. Your mom will be here soon. Let’s go home for now.”
“Uncle…?”
The child’s face was still stained with fear.
Song Tan gave a faint smile and calmly straightened her bangs.
“Uncle’s going to take you home, then go back to work.”
“Punishing the bad people?”
“Yes, that’s right. Uncle’s a policeman, after all.”
“Then are you going to punish that bad ajusshi too?”
For a moment, the corner of Song Tan’s eye twitched.
“I will. So he can’t ever do something bad like that again, Uncle will punish him very thoroughly. I promise.”
When Song Tan held out his little finger, Mina broke into a small smile and hooked her own tiny finger around it.
At that exact moment—
Wii-oo—wii-oo—wii-oo—
The low wail of sirens drew nearer and nearer, and patrol cars began arriving around the ruined shopping arcade.
****
Interrogation Room, Violent Crimes Division, Annam Police Station.
The air in the room hung heavy and damp as ever.
Choi Du-gil sat with his cuffed hands propped under his chin, while Lee Joo-seok sat across from him.
“Now, now, you can’t just force me into a corner like that. I never had any such intentions, I’m telling you.”
“You broke your electronic ankle monitor and ran, and you’re saying you never had any such intentions?”
“I told you, I was so frustrated I snapped it in a fit of temper.”
Choi Du-gil dragged out the ends of his sentences on purpose.
He was clearly trying to get under the detective’s skin.
“Hoo.”
Lee Joo-seok let out a short breath to cool the hot blood in his head and continued the questioning.
“The CCTV caught everything. You lured that girl out after school, you bastard. Do you really think lying your way out will work?”
“Does giving a neighborhood kid a ride home count as luring?”
“Then you should’ve just taken her straight home. Why did you go into the ruined shopping arcade?”
“Wow, seriously? She kept begging to go inside because she was curious. Kids that age are always curious, aren’t they? Don’t you have kids, detective?”
“What the hell did you just say?”
“And besides, I’m probably a lot older than you, so stop calling me bastard this and bastard that. It’s unpleasant to hear.”
“Ha.”
Lee Joo-seok let out a hollow laugh and glared at Choi Du-gil as if he wanted to kill him.
Then, after a short sigh, he resumed his questioning.
“Why did you hit the child?”
“I told her to hurry up because we didn’t have time, but she kept whining and wouldn’t move, so I got annoyed and hit her once. That much I admit. A grown man shouldn’t be doing that to a kid. I’ll gladly take the blame for that.”
“Cut the crap. You were trying to commit a sex crime, and when it didn’t go well, that’s what happened.”
“That’s just your imagination, detective. Maybe you should lay off the porn for a while.”
Choi Du-gil gave a greasy smile and leaned in close to mutter, “And let’s be honest, isn’t it just something they all go through when they grow up anyway? I’m wrong?”
“You son of a bitch, I’ve had just about enough of you…”
Unable to hold back any longer, Lee Joo-seok shot to his feet.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged as though they might burst.
It was a hair’s breadth from turning into a fistfight then and there.
Creak—
“Senior.”
Song Tan came inside.
Only then did Lee Joo-seok, belatedly regaining his senses, turn his head with a face reddened to the roots.
“I know it’s rude to ask, but… may I take over?”
Lee Joo-seok, still scowling, flinched without realizing it.
Meeting those cold eyes—cold enough to cut if touched—was enough to make him hesitate.
“Please do.”
Seeing Song Tan bow politely, Lee Joo-seok rose from his seat with a rustle.
As he brushed past, he whispered under his breath, “Don’t let that bastard run circles around your tongue.”
Lee Joo-seok left, and at last Song Tan faced Choi Du-gil alone.
Choi Du-gil, who had been sizing him up from across the table, suddenly pointed at him with his handcuffed fingers.
“Oh? You’re that detective, aren’t you? The one who threw a rock at me and knocked me out?”
When Song Tan said nothing and only looked at him, Choi Du-gil snickered.
“No, seriously. Even if I could tolerate a taser, you throw a fist-sized stone at a guy’s head? That’s attempted murder, isn’t it?”
“If I’d meant to kill you, I would’ve thrown broken glass.”
That reaction, slightly different from an ordinary detective’s, made Choi Du-gil twitch.
Then, unwilling to look weak, he deliberately raised his voice.
“Anyway, I’m not letting this go. I’m suing you, so remember that.”
“Do that as you please. We’ll do our job.”
Choi Du-gil smirked and leaned his face closer.
“What I’m saying is the same thing. I gave that little brat a ride out of pure good will. There was no luring, no deception, no threats—none of that. And because of my past, it seems like you’re trying to shove me into that category again. I already paid my debt and came out clean. I’m living a new life. Breaking the monitor? Hitting the brat once? I admit that much. I’ll gladly take my punishment. But I absolutely will not admit to trying to commit a sex crime.”
He tapped the table with his finger.
“Let’s not make each other miserable over something you can’t prove anyway.”
Leaning back in his chair, Choi Du-gil spread his fingers.
“Let’s see. Damaging the electronic ankle monitor and violating probation—fine, I’ll own that. And even if, by some rotten twist of luck, the charge of luring a minor is somehow accepted…”
His eyes rolled as though he were calculating something, then his face twisted.
“God damn it, I’ll probably rot for, what, three more years? Haa… shit. All because of some kid I never even asked for.”
Song Tan watched him quietly for a long moment before asking in a low voice, “Have you said everything you wanted to say?”
“Yep, yep. My mouth’s tired, so I’m invoking my right to remain silent until the lawyer gets here. I’m not saying another word, so keep that in mind.”
“That’s a wise decision.”
“?”
Song Tan rose slowly from his seat and reached out toward Choi Du-gil with an expression full of concern.
“By the way, are you hurt anywhere?”
As though checking his injuries, Song Tan’s hand brushed behind Choi Du-gil’s earlobe.
He had blocked the flow of qi rising to the vocal cords at the Yamun Point.
“…..?”
Startled by the sudden feeling of his breath catching in his throat, Choi Du-gil unconsciously reached up and rubbed his own neck.
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”
Leaning forward, Song Tan subtly blocked the camera’s view of the room’s interior and began tapping lightly over Choi Du-gil’s body as if with lightning-fast fingers.
As a result, the muscles stiffened while the nerves stayed awake.
In other words, he became a temporary vegetable.
Having finished all his preparations, Song Tan sat back down and calmly looked at Choi Du-gil.
There was a flicker of panic in Choi Du-gil’s wide-open eyes, still sitting there obediently with nothing but his gaze moving.
“It seems you truly have no intention of opening your mouth. Very well. That is also Choi Du-gil’s right. But I have my duty to carry out as a detective, so I’ll do the talking by myself.”
Song Tan let out a sigh that seemed almost disappointed and tapped Choi Du-gil’s arm, where only his eyes were still darting around.
“Still, I want to believe that Choi Du-gil is sincerely reflecting on himself.”
The last remaining thread of inner power sealed off Choi Du-gil’s Misaligned Bone Point.
Then the muscles all over Choi Du-gil’s body gave a single convulsive ripple.
Of course, no one could see it through his loose clothing.
Choi Du-gil’s body began trembling faintly, and a thin red web started spreading through his eyes.
That, too, was so subtle it would only be noticeable if you were right in front of him.
Song Tan lifted his wrist and glanced at his watch before smiling faintly.
“You’ll have to stay here with me for the next hour or so… Please bear with me. Of course, it’ll probably look as though I’m the only one talking.”
The Blood Questioner’s secret art, a technique so vicious even the notorious masters of the demonic path were said to have soiled themselves with filth, had arrived in the present world.
Nether Silence Bone-Twisting Tendon-Cleaving Technique.