Chapter 67
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Aboard the Goddamned Ship
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Kangyul's kidnapping didn't come to light until quite some time had passed.
At first, they thought he was off somewhere with Yi Eoksang.
But when Jang Deokcheol spotted Yi Eoksang's phone lying abandoned in the parking lot, he sensed something was wrong.
"...Check the parking lot CCTV."
Park Jeong-a and Jang Deokcheol rewound the footage and gasped in horror.
"Kangyul!"
A masked figure had knocked out Yi Eoksang and bundled both of them into a car before driving off.
Jang Deokcheol quickly reported it to the police and put out an alert for the vehicle.
Not stopping there, he also called his friend Bae Ji-hoon and asked him to look into it.
"The young boss got kidnapped? Hold on. I'll ask around with everyone in the area."
The private investigators were worth every penny.
While the police just told them to wait, the investigators tracked down the car's location and owner.
"...It's a stolen car. And it was found abandoned near Incheon port with the doors open. Looks like..."
Bae Ji-hoon trailed off.
It appeared they had already been smuggled out overseas via ship.
Checking CCTVs along the route confirmed the car hadn't even stopped once.
"The good news is there weren't many ships departing around that time. I'll check everyone connected to them as best I can. Don't worry too much. We'll find him soon."
Park Jeong-a, who had been listening to Bae Ji-hoon alongside Jang Deokcheol, fainted and collapsed.
"Madam!"
"Mom!"
"Get an ambulance, quick!"
The moment Im Myeonghan heard about Kangyul's kidnapping, he rushed straight to the Ouan Hotel.
He already knew Baek Sangang wielded immense power in that world.
"Where's Uncle Baek?"
"He's waiting inside."
Im Myeonghan wiped the sweat streaming down his face and hurried in.
Baek Sangang tilted his head at the sight of the frantic Im Myeonghan.
But his expression hardened at Im Myeonghan's words.
"...Uncle! Kangyul's been kidnapped by some thugs!"
"Kidnapped?"
Baek Sangang immediately sent So-yul to investigate.
With each piece of intel coming in, the color drained from his face.
"...Uncle! What's going on? Who's behind Kangyul's kidnapping?"
"...Give me a moment. I'll contact you once I have it sorted."
"Uncle!!"
Im Myeonghan cried out desperately, but Baek Sangang didn't turn back.
He simply stood and passed through the inner door.
Baek Sangang closed the door and waited a beat.
"Has he gone?"
"Yes. It sounds like Park Jeong-a collapsed."
"...Damn it."
Baek Sangang clutched his head and staggered.
So-yul jumped to support him in alarm.
"Are you alright?!"
"Do I look alright?! This is because of me—Young Master Kangyul got kidnapped!"
When Im Myeonghan first mentioned the kidnapping, Baek Sangang thought it was just some lowlifes targeting a chaebol heir.
Those kinds he could track down to their eighth cousin with a few men.
But the more he learned, the more familiar they seemed.
"North Koreans—we paved the way for them. Why the hell would they target Young Master Kangyul?"
"We're still reaching out, but most have cut ties and gone to ground."
As expected for a kidnapping of a chaebol heir, they'd left almost no traces.
"We have to get Young Master Kangyul back—somehow!"
Baek Sangang spat the words through gritted teeth.
But unlike his resolve, options seemed few and far between.
The kidnapping of Kangyul blew up in the media.
He was the eldest son of Seonjin Group's Chairman Im Myeonghan, Korea's top conglomerate, and the kidnappers had pulled off a near-perfect crime.
The only solid clue was the deep-brimmed hat caught on camera in the parking lot.
And time marched on relentlessly.
'Ugh... What the hell. Why's everything spinning?'
Kangyul gradually came to, dizziness hitting him first.
Partly from the lingering anesthesia in his system, but the rhythmic rocking of the floor beneath him didn't help.
'...Urk!'
Kangyul tried to sit up as nausea surged.
But his body was securely bound to something.
'What... where am I?'
Only then did the memory of his kidnapping flood back.
He looked around, but it was too dark to make out anything close by.
Rustle—
Something stirred right beside him.
Kangyul stared intently at the sound, tense as a wire.
"...Boss?"
A faint voice pierced the darkness—it was Yi Sang-eok.
"Mr. Yi?"
"Ah, good, you're awake. Glad you're okay."
"...What the hell happened?"
"Not entirely sure. But one thing's clear: we're on a ship."
Yi Sang-eok had woken up well before Kangyul.
Like Kangyul, he was tied to a sturdy pillar.
'Need something to cut these ropes.'
Yi Sang-eok wriggled, checking his chest pocket.
The nail clippers Gbek had given him as a token of friendship were still there.
The kidnappers had stripped them of possessions, but overlooked this tiny thing.
Snip, snip—
After much sawing, he finally broke free.
Yi Sang-eok didn't move rashly.
He cautiously scoped the surroundings, mapping the layout.
Splash—
'Waves?'
Water crashed against the wall beyond.
The rocking floor had made him suspect, but this confirmed it.
'Inside a ship!'
This had to be the lowest deck or a hold.
Steeling his nerves, Yi Sang-eok explored further.
His eyes adjusted to the dark, shapes faintly emerging.
Rustle—
Something moved behind him.
He crouched, peering into the gloom, and spotted a familiar figure.
"...Boss?"
Whether fortune or curse, Kangyul was imprisoned here too.
"I'll get you loose right now."
Yi Sang-eok sliced through Kangyul's bonds with the clippers.
"Ugh... my shoulder."
"You okay?"
"...Yeah. I can move. But who the hell are these guys?"
"No idea. Using drugs and stun guns? Not your average thugs."
Kangyul started to reply when rhythmic thuds echoed from above.
Footsteps.
And muffled voices followed.
"You feed the ones below?"
"What, we're almost there. Why bother feeding them?"
"That's your problem, comrade. What if they don't wake from the drugs and croak? Check if they're alive first and stuff 'em with food!"
Kangyul and Yi Sang-eok exchanged glances.
'Comrade!'
unmistakable North Korean dialect.
Footsteps approached.
Without a word, they rushed back to the pillars, collapsing and feigning unconsciousness.
Clank—
The door opened, light flooding in.
Kangyul kept his head bowed, terrified of being caught awake.
"...Still out cold."
Only shallow breaths filled the room.
"Yeah? Shove the food in then. They'll eat when they wake."
"Got it."
The guard who opened the door turned to fetch the food.
Yi Sang-eok sprang up the instant he left and dashed to the door.
Clank—
"...Boss! We have to move!"
Kangyul jumped up and joined him.
"Gotta get off this ship first."
Yi Sang-eok cracked the door and peeked out.
A man stood with his back to them, gazing at the sea.
Their earlier talk checked out—a bright lighthouse loomed nearby.
'A soldier!'
But not South Korean.
North Korean, in dark brown fatigues.
Yi Sang-eok slipped out quietly.
Kangyul followed through the gap, silent as possible.
'Before the food guy comes back.'
They crept across the empty deck when Yi Sang-eok spotted something and grabbed it.
His camera bag and aid supplies from before he went down.
Yi Sang-eok stuffed the items into the bag haphazardly.
Thud, thud!
The food-runner's footsteps approached.
Yi Sang-eok scooped up Kangyul and leaped into the sea.
'Hngh!'
Kangyul held his breath and pinched his nose.
Icy water hit like a deep freeze.
"...To shore!"
Yi Sang-eok tucked Kangyul under one arm and swam carefully.
Halfway there, a shout exploded from the ship.
"The bastards escaped! They're gone!"
"What?! Where'd they go—they were just here!"
"I-I don't know!"
"You fucking idiot!"
Splash!
Chaos erupted on deck, and shore soldiers scrambled into action.
"Run!"
Kangyul shivered violently but nodded.
They bolted toward the mountains.