Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Narrative for the Villain
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A quiet sigh escaped as he moved stealthily.
He'd requested patrol support from the town police station, but they said they had no manpower.
They only mentioned that neither of the two stations had a fixed jurisdiction. Even without going into details due to official duties, the police must be busy just handling the drunks in town.
Jin-hyuk hadn't expected help from the police anyway. He knew how poor their working conditions were and that they couldn't handle this kind of opponent.
'The land is vast, and the cops are few.'
In a rural place like this, patrol cars only showed up formally when unexploded shells or casings were found. If it really was a ghost or grim reaper, not even the Marines could catch it, let alone the police.
Srake-srake-clack-snap.
The lanky, unripe beans not yet harvested rubbed against each other in the autumn wind, wailing. Thanks to that, it was easy to scatter his footsteps into the air. Jin-hyuk paused amid the bustle of the autumn field. An unexpected figure had stolen his attention.
"You rascal. Where you slinking off to like a thieving cat? Off to catch rats?"
Cheon Gil-ryong flashed a childlike grin that belied his age. His outfit was the same as before, but oddly, he was cradling combat boots in hands gloved with leather half-mitts. The book propping up the boots looked like a hymnal, and in his other hand dangled an olive drab camouflage uniform.
Jin-hyuk's eyes filled with curiosity at the strikingly conspicuous sight.
"Hello."
"Yeah, yeah. I beat the spirit out of those punks and gave 'em a stern warning, so don't kill 'em. Can't have young blood spoiling the tidy yard those geezers lit up like fireworks. It'd be a damn shame."
"Pardon...?"
Without waiting for a reply, Cheon Gil-ryong brushed past without even glancing at Jin-hyuk. His stride was vigorous and unbefitting an elder, followed by a tail of holy humming.
'What was that about?'
Don't kill them?
He vaguely caught that the "young punk" meant himself.
Bang!
Mun Seok-il closed the trunk with vacant eyes.
What a weird day. First, he sees a young guy effortlessly dragging a wild boar, then some old man suddenly shows up and cleans out their car.
- "You grubby bastards! What'd you come crawling to this backwater to steal?"
The old man had an overwhelming presence.
He rummaged through the car and snatched their candy and gum. Even Mun Seok-il, once branded a delinquent in school, was left slack-jawed by the old man's intensity.
- "Hey, you there. Open this up."
He even made them pop the trunk, and a junior, cowed by the elder's aura, complied in a daze. Mun Seok-il couldn't even scold him, lacking the will to resist himself.
- "Ho ho, fine gear. What size?"
They were A-grade combat boots Mun Seok-il had taken when he discharged. The old man kicked off his rubber shoes to compare sizes, leaving no room for lies about it not fitting.
Beyond the boots, they even surrendered the camo uniform. The old man clearly knew tall folks could cuff the hems.
But the bandit grandpa didn't stop there; his eyes were sharp too.
- "Hey, what's in your pocket?"
Mun Seok-il's buddy Jeong Sang-tae lost the leather half-mitts from his jacket pocket. They were a gift from a U.S. serviceman he'd bonded with during high-altitude insertion training—something he treasured.
- "Got gifts too. Since you're wandering far from home on a holiday, I'll share some blessings. Beg for your lives. He's not a heartless sort; mercy might sway him. I'm telling you myself 'cause you don't look like short-lifers."
The enigmatic old man vanished after spouting that riddle, taking the boots, gloves, uniform, and snacks with him.
Mun Seok-il patted Jeong Sang-tae's shoulder as he sulked over the gloves.
"Ha, weird day. Just roll with it."
"It's not the day; it's the town that's weird, right?"
"Yeah. Feels haunted."
The others nodded in agreement.
One junior shivered like he'd pissed during winter training. A snarky comeback might've eased the injustice, but facing the straw-hat, hemp-robed totem grandpa, words just wouldn't come—they'd only gawked.
It was inexplicable. They'd frozen like they'd seen ghosts, as if scripted.
"Hyung, can't we just ditch this job?"
"What about your wife? And the client's mom?"
Mun Seok-il scolded the whining junior.
Reminded of reality, the juniors fell silent.
Mun Seok-il shook his head hard, trying to shake off the unease.
It wasn't just the grandpa nagging at them.
Meanwhile, the rattled crew kept chattering.
"Even with the big payout, it's creepy."
"True, but the job's just to grab the couple."
"This the right house?"
"Positive. Checked a bunch."
He tried playing it cool to shift the mood, but no one's face lit up.
"What a Chuseok this is."
"No chance like now."
They'd intercepted a radio signal by chance; with the security team away, this was their only shot.
"Hyung, wanna sneak in and snag some food?"
"Idiot. We robbers now?"
"Ditched their daughter on holiday? Where to?"
"Probably with an uncle, out boozing. We're here; let's wait."
Chaotic chatter flew. Anxiety was sky-high. Even the bold ones were spooked, so Mun Seok-il stepped up.
"Enough."
They needed a wake-up. Shaky like this before the job? No good.
"How many years in ANGBU? All that experience down the drain, you fools. Toughen up."
*
'ANGBU— that's the old NIS, right?'
Jin-hyuk caught his breath, watching them talk oblivious to his approach. Thanks to growing pains, he no longer led with fists. These guys didn't seem pushovers.
'Hired to drag someone off?'
He sensed why the men felt off. Good intentions would've brought them to the door.
Now he got Cheon Gil-ryong's warning.
'Worried I'd go berserk.'
In a place where even quiet deaths went unnoticed—no CCTV, narrow cement road for one car. Strangers with shady intent had ample motive for murder on Jin-hyuk's part. If he were vicious, anyway.
Anger mixed with relief.
'They're human.'
Good he'd checked; if they'd come while he was gone... Horrifying.
"Not robbers—what then?"
The men's voices hushed instantly. They startled at Jin-hyuk's sudden voice but turned slowly, faces calmly composed.
Jin-hyuk's eyes narrowed at their poise.
'Trained agents.'
Their eyes hid behind translucent brown shades, but Jin-hyuk read their thoughts clear: When'd he get here? Heard us?
No answer, so Jin-hyuk growled again.
"Heard it all. Can't just send you packing quietly. Who are you?"
Family was everything to Jin-hyuk.
He wouldn't let anyone harm them.
Jin-hyuk slowly unleashed the boiling killing intent tickling his heart.
Shaaa-.
Cold overtook the field, devouring it bit by bit, shoving aside the warm breeze.
His senses, taut like a rubber band, locked on the intruders.
Which one first-.
"Sir, hold up."
One man palmed toward Jin-hyuk—a universal freeze signal.
Sir? Talking to me? Jin-hyuk turned instinctively, scratching his cheek.
The man gathered his comrades.
'What the...'
Unpredictable situation turned weirder. Jin-hyuk stared blankly. Waiting on command looked silly, but he spun his brain fast. Had to.
As they huddled whispering, Jin-hyuk recalled his talk with Hong Gi-jun.
At the school field.
- "World's got more jealous folks than admirers. In a human world like that, strutting 'I'm the best' is a way. Reduces enemies."
Advice for a teen bad at socializing. Worried about mishaps, too. His friend the dad obsessed with playing with his son—who acted younger than the kid—so maybe stepping in to curb teenage angst.
- "Reduces enemies?"
- "You're young, Jin-hyuk; you don't get it yet. People, especially men, size up the great ones: How smart? Rich? Tough? If they can't touch 'em dead or alive, they tuck tail. No challenge. Only two types try: those with grudges or madmen."
Recalling Hong Gi-jun's—maybe one-sided—lesson, Jin-hyuk eyed them. His keen ears caught their murmurs.
Surprising. No hostility in words or tone. Even Yun Seong-dong's punks had reeked of it; for shady intruders, they were mild.
- "Don't keep bootlickers close. They'll stab your back anytime."
Jin-hyuk stepped forward, intent clear in the motion. Unlike them, no gaps.
One raised his palm again, signaling meeting. Wait a bit more... Absurd: meeting mid-standoff, buying time from foes. Maybe cocky with numbers.
The air felt ridiculous. His released intent embarrassed him into a wry smile.
'Making me look foolish.'
Jin-hyuk held back the urge to flick their foreheads. They were elders, after all.
- "Most reliable allies? Poach from enemies' payroll. Simple: pay more. Once compromised, they hustle to prove loyalty. Prep work needed—no blind handouts. Hear their woes or..."
Workaholic Jin-hyuk found this worldly wisdom alien. But from a guy who outclimbed rivals to chair a group past forty—worth copying.
Problem: Jin-hyuk had no cash for that. Time for another way.
- "Surer than money: buy their lives. Like Heungbu fixing the swallow bridge after snake. Real tactic our chaebols use. But don't break it on purpose like Nolbu, got it?"
Wait, these guys treating him like an outcast?
"Excuse me..."