Chapter 142: The Hero (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: The Hero (2)
Ugh... Squatting in this cold spot for so long is making my body stiff.
I don't have much time as it is, and here I am, suffering through a stakeout in the twilight of my career.
Wait, no. It’s not the twilight; it’s just the beginning.
I’m still young, and I have a future ahead of me.
Trying to ruin a bright young man with a frame-up... it’s unforgivable.
If money or rights were on the line, I could at least understand that they were trying to gain something.
But to pull this kind of crap just because they were in a bad mood?
The sheer malice behind this plan makes my skin crawl.
I think of him as Han Byeong-sin, but shaking down Na Eun-jae didn't yield much of substance.
I managed to snag the Hongjeong Sect, Anna Gyeom, and a few others directly involved in the plan, but I couldn't find anything on the person above Na Eun-jae.
The money was funneled through several shell companies that only exist on paper, like Shell Company, cutting off the trail to the top.
In the end, I’ll have to beat the information out of the lackeys Na Eun-jae was ordering around, but I don't have high expectations.
What would they know? They probably only know as far as Na Eun-jae; they likely don't even know if there’s another big boss above her.
I’ve sent the data to Square Garden to track the funds, but if they pull it off, great—if not, there’s nothing I can do.
I just need to prove my innocence beyond a doubt and find another way to screw them over.
As I wait with a sigh, the target comes strolling along.
He’s tall and handsome. Did they say he was a model?
Seeing the man who has a similar build to mine, I step out from the shadows.
Startled by my appearance, the man relaxes slightly when he realizes I’m a fellow male, but then he looks closely at my face.
"Jeong Yeon-woo...?"
"Yeah. I’m the Jeong Yeon-woo you were busy playing."
The man turns and bolts without looking back.
Surprisingly quick decision-making.
But does he really think a civilian can outrun an Awakened?
I chase after the frantic man, sprinting through the alleys.
Guiding him through the geography I’d scouted beforehand, I block his path. Terrified, the man swerves and wedges himself into a narrow gap between two walls on the left.
That’s a dead end.
I hop onto the top of the wall and walk slowly, looking down at the man who can no longer move forward as the gap narrows.
A man stuck between walls... isn't this the kind of sexual fantasy the women in this world would love?
Though he’s so tightly wedged between the two walls that he can’t do anything.
"P-please, spare me."
As I look down at him, the man begs for mercy in a panic.
Since we’re not 'off the record' right now, I should act like a proper Hero.
I crouch on the wall and reach out a hand to him.
"I just want to hear the truth, Mr. Park Cheong-woo. Can you tell me?"
The man looks back and forth between my face and my hand.
What else are you going to do? You have to take my hand.
Gulping and visibly tense, the man agrees and takes my hand, crawling up out of the gap.
We sit on a bench in a neighborhood playground, and I give him a warm canned coffee I bought from a convenience store.
I’d secretly planted a GPS tracker on him earlier, thinking he might run while I was at the store, so I’ll have to remove that later.
Sitting beside the naive young man, I wait quietly for him to speak.
"I... I really didn't know I was being used for something like this."
"What were you told originally?"
Park Cheong-woo’s eyes dart around nervously before he speaks in a tiny, crawling voice.
"They said it was... part of a 'play'..."
......?
I stare at him blankly, not understanding what he means. Park Cheong-woo lowers his gaze and continues.
"It hasn't been long since I started modeling... so I do part-time jobs, like dates..."
"Ah... outcalls?"
"No, no. It’s legal... ahem... yes... some people call it that..."
Wow. A world where men go on outcalls. The more I experience this world, the newer it feels.
Park Cheong-woo keeps his head down, seemingly too ashamed to look at my face.
"The pay was good, and it didn't interfere with my modeling work..."
I don't care about your sob story; just answer what I asked.
"They said they’d give me a special bonus, so I figured I’d just run into another pervert today. You meet a lot of weird perverts doing this job."
Not interested. Get to the point.
I nod as if I understand, waiting for the core of the story to come out.
"I was asked to hit her outside. Hero Anna Gyeom... right? She said she was a Hero and that no matter how much a man like me hit her, she wouldn't even get a scratch, so she told me to beat her up."
"And you did it?"
"Yes... I recorded her saying she wouldn't take legal action. Among women, there are some who actually get turned on by being humiliated."
No, even so, that’s weird.
Did you not think there was something else going on, or were you just blinded by the money?
"I know it sounds strange, but some people get so used to things that they can't feel much from small stimulations. They feel a sense of transgression and shame simultaneously by doing it in a public place."
Why am I sitting here listening to another man talk about deviant sexual desires?
"Do you have the recording?"
"No. After that video appeared on the news, some people came and threatened me, saying I was an accomplice in this..."
"Is it this person?"
When I show him a photo I took on my smartphone, Park Cheong-woo shouts in surprise.
"Huh? Yes. That’s the person. How did you know?"
"I already caught them before coming here. You’re the last one, Mr. Park Cheong-woo."
At my words, Park Cheong-woo shuts his mouth and tenses up.
So he had the recording? Should I search his house again? No, they likely destroyed it as soon as they got it.
I didn't secure the evidence, but I got the testimony.
It’s a bit ambiguous, but the bigger catch was learning that Anna Gyeom participated voluntarily.
This means it’ll be hard to persuade Anna Gyeom to testify.
Until now, I thought Anna Gyeom might be a victim too, but whether she was threatened or not, she directly participated in this.
This won't be a rescue mission; it’ll be an interrogation.
"If there’s an opportunity later, could you testify for me?"
"Uh... but if my job is revealed... and those scary people..."
"Square Garden does not forgive the wicked."
Park Cheong-woo’s eyes waver at the hint to choose his side carefully.
After a moment of agonizing, he nods with a grim expression.
He must have realized he can't escape this situation anymore.
"Nice jacket. Keep wearing it."
"Huh? Oh, thank you. This is from the Galleria Luxury Hall..."
I turn away before hearing the rest of his sentence.
Now, only Anna Gyeom remains.
Once Anna Gyeom is in my hands, the other side won't be able to ignore it, so they’ll try to dispose of her.
I didn't have much time.
The police were under heavy fire from public opinion.
Their station had been raided, and they couldn't even catch the wanted Jeong Yeon-woo.
On top of that, Jeong Yeon-woo was scouring the country, tearing through the Hongjeong Sect and other domestic criminal organizations like a comb through hair.
The public sentiment, which had been negative toward Jeong Yeon-woo, was gradually turning positive as he caught criminals three or four times a day and reported them to the police.
And as his reputation improved, the police were the ones being mocked.
The comments were full of people asking what the police were doing while the wanted Jeong Yeon-woo was the one catching criminals.
From claims that they weren't unable to catch him but were refusing to, to posts comparing the entire police force to the wanted Jeong Yeon-woo to see who was better—the sentiment was clear.
The police were simply flabbergasted by Jeong Yeon-woo’s movements.
It was as if the wanted man had multiple bodies, appearing all over the place.
Just when they’d get a lead from Incheon, he’d be in Suwon. While they were canvassing Suwon for him, a report would come in from Seoul that he’d neutralized a criminal.
He didn't just neutralize them; he left behind clear evidence of their crimes, leaving the police with nothing to do but haul the criminals he left behind to jail.
On the internet, more and more posts mocked the police, saying they were just eating the meal Jeong Yeon-woo had already prepared for them.
And this touched a nerve with the high-ranking officials who valued their honor.
"If he is truly innocent, he should present himself to the police and undergo investigation. Even a Hero is subject to the law, and what Hero Jeong Yeon-woo is doing is a crime."
A high-ranking official, having summoned reporters, criticized him harshly.
"Ignoring the police and acting as he pleases is not the conduct of a Hero. Furthermore, excluding the Hongjeong Sect members, the criminals Jeong Yeon-woo has caught are petty thugs completely unrelated to this case. This is nothing more than a 'Robin Hood' act intended to garner popularity."
Mocking comments from viewers watching the live stream filled the chat window, but unfortunately, the official could not see the public’s reaction.
"Believing that the judicial system will collapse at this rate, the police have no choice but to take strong measures. As of this moment, we are suspending Jeong Yeon-woo’s Hero license."
The chat window exploded at the official’s announcement.
It wasn't a full revocation, but a suspension was still a severe disciplinary action.
Jeong Yeon-woo could no longer engage in Hero activities until the government lifted the suspension.
He couldn't enter dungeons, nor could he continue catching criminals at his own discretion.
It meant that even if he used violence to subdue a criminal, he would be subject to strict legal sanctions as an Awakened.
Unlike the public, who felt the measure was too harsh, the police official was resolute.
"Heh... that idiot. He should have known who he was messing with."
Han Byeong-su, who was watching the video, snickered, imagining Jeong Yeon-woo’s crumpled face, while Im Jin-ah cheered.
Conversely, the members of Black Unicorn gathered at the clan office to watch the video, looking despondent.
"...Master... what’s going to happen...?"
No one answered Kwon Ye-jin’s hollow question; they only wore dark expressions.
Amidst the varying reactions, the police official ignored the reporters' questions and left the podium.
"As of this moment, we are suspending Jeong Yeon-woo’s Hero license."
Well, isn't that interesting.
I turn off the video I was watching and put my smartphone away.
The regulations are what they are, and I understand, but government agencies are frustratingly stiff everywhere you go.
Does a suspension mean the Association is also viewing this situation as grave?
I haven't even approached the Association because I didn't think I could handle them, but Lee Ru-da will figure something out.
I scan the area around a mountain villa where Anna Gyeom is hiding.
Whoa, the security is tight.
Five Awakened, ten guards with handguns tucked in their coats, and even two trained dogs.
There seem to be hidden security systems as well.
The villa isn't that large, but this won't be easy to breach.
I click my tongue as I observe, then decide to change my tactics.
If I can't go in, I’ll just make her come out.
After practicing my pronunciation and voice a few times, I call 112.
"This is 112 emergency services."
"Uh, excuse me... I think I saw someone who looks like Jeong Yeon-woo..."
"Pardon? Hello?"
I put on a voice that sounds terrified, and the dispatcher asks me to repeat myself as if they can't hear well.
"I said I saw someone who looks like Jeong Yeon-woo."
"Really? Where are you?"
I give them the address of the villa.
To the officer asking for a description and the situation, I follow the role I’d prepared, saying I saw a suspicious group in the neighborhood and realized one of them looked like Jeong Yeon-woo.
Even if they’re suspicious, they have to come out and check since a report was made.
I discard the smartphone and head to the path leading out, placing a tracker in the middle of the road.
Hiding in a corner while suppressing my presence as much as possible, I watch as the villa becomes noisy. Soon, Anna Gyeom hurriedly exits with the Awakened and gets into a car.
As expected, they’re in league with the local police. Time for Plan B.
Whether they’re in league or not, the result doesn't change.
The moment they were spotted by 'the public,' this location is no longer a secret.
From their perspective, they have no choice but to move, and I just have to hunt the bug as it scurries out.
As the car carrying Anna Gyeom passes near my hiding spot, I press the switch.
The small tracker I’d placed on the road earlier leaps up and attaches itself to the undercarriage of the car.
I wait until the car, oblivious, disappears leisurely down the road before standing up and mounting the motorcycle I’d prepared.
Now that I’ve flushed them out, let’s see what they do.