Chapter 163
Chapter 163
Snake (1)
Various people boarded the bus, found their seats, and sat down. There were a few parents holding their children’s hands, seemingly on an outing, people who looked like they had stories to tell, and friends on a graduation trip.
The last passenger to board was Han Yu-jun, dressed in his military uniform. As the departure time approached, the driver got on, and the doors closed.
(Yu-jun. You must always live a good and upright life.)
The bus departed from the terminal and left the city center. Ever since hearing the news of his father’s death, Han Yu-jun felt as if his father’s oft-repeated words were ringing in his ears like an auditory hallucination.
His father, who had been so full of pride in his life, was found as a corpse on the street. The police concluded it was an acute myocardial infarction, and his body was at the funeral home. The end for his father, who had seemed as steadfast as a mountain, was so wretchedly humble.
Lost in thought, he was jolted by a huge impact shortly after the bus entered a tunnel. A car driving recklessly from behind had caused a multi-vehicle pile-up.
(Hazardous materials)
Having briefly lost consciousness from the impact, Han Yu-jun saw the oil tanker stopped right in front of them and the oil pooling on the ground, instinctively sensing something was wrong. He shot up and shouted.
“Get off and get out of the tunnel!”
He woke up those who were still dazed, went to the driver’s seat, and helped the bus driver to his feet. Though they were too disoriented from the shock to understand what was happening, people followed Han Yu-jun’s urgent gestures and got off the bus.
“Oh my God…”
“What is this?”
They, too, realized the gravity of the situation from the oil pooling on the ground and the smell of something burning.
“That way, run that way!”
Everyone followed Han Yu-jun’s words and ran back, and seeing the people from the cars ahead suddenly running, a few drivers farther back got out of their vehicles and joined the exodus.
Even while evacuating, Han Yu-jun spotted someone looking bewildered inside a car and pounded fiercely on the hood.
“Get out!”
“What?”
“Leave your car and run!”
He pushed the back of the person who finally realized the danger and scrambled out of the car. Amid the chaos, Han Yu-jun scanned his surroundings, checking if anyone hadn’t heard. It was thanks to his father’s teaching to always help those in trouble.
Someone grabbed his arm. It was a married couple.
“Excuse me, what’s going on?”
“We have to get out of the tunnel!”
Han Yu-jun scooped up a child who was struggling to keep up with its parents and ran with all his might.
There was one other person running with a child in their arms. Son Jin-ho, who was always too busy with work to spend proper time with his child and had decided to take his daughter on a trip during a rare vacation, was on the same bus as Han Yu-jun.
Having injured his head from the impact on the bus, he couldn’t think straight due to the ringing in his ears. He blindly grabbed the small hand he felt next to him and ran out of the tunnel.
“Su-yeong, are you okay?”
Son Jin-ho’s expression hardened as he checked the child in his arms. This child was not his daughter.
“Jae-hyeon!”
“Mom…”
The child’s mother, who had been following behind, saw Son Jin-ho and bowed deeply.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Uh…”
Son Jin-ho frantically looked around. He was sure he had grabbed the child sitting next to him… and their clothes were even a similar color. He grimaced at the ringing in his ears.
“Su-yeong…? Su-yeong!”
As the ringing began to fade, he started to focus on the sounds around him. The ability to read thoughts, which he had suddenly developed after hitting his head in elementary school—he had used it to catch many criminals and save many lives.
(What on earth is happening?)
(What about my car? I just got it.)
(Please, let everything be okay.)
(Dad… where are you?)
Amid the jumble of people’s inner thoughts, he heard Son Su-yeong calling for him. Son Jin-ho turned his head. His daughter was still inside the tunnel.
(Dad, I’m scared…)
“Su-yeong!”
How could I have mistaken my own child? As Son Jin-ho tried to run back into the tunnel, Han Yu-jun, the last one to get out, stopped him.
“Mister, what are you doing!”
“Get out of my way!”
“You can’t go in there!”
A car in the middle of the tunnel exploded with a bang! The blast wave hit them. The two were thrown by the impact. Here, a special effect was planned to show Son Jin-ho’s ability transferring to Han Yu-jun.
“Ugh…”
“Oh no!”
“Did you call 911?!”
The people who had already evacuated gathered around the two. Though the voices of many people overlapped, Son Jin-ho clearly heard his daughter’s final scream.
“Su, yeong…”
With a look of despair, Son Jin-ho watched the flames roaring inside the tunnel through the gaps between people’s legs before losing consciousness.
“What do you think? I think it was fine.”
The director, Jeong Hyeon-sik, and Yu Yeon-seo, who were meticulously reviewing the performance on the monitor, nodded after some thought.
The director of photography was said to be quite famous in the field, and he managed to capture the thrilling situation without any special effects. Behind it all was the excellent direction of a director who was far from a rookie.
“Good. Yeon-seo, let’s get one more take of you alone.”
Yu Yeon-seo, who needed to shoot again from a different angle, wiped off the fake blood and checked his clothes. He went back into the tunnel, and on the director’s cue, Han Yu-jun emerged from the bus and evacuated the people.
“Cut. Hold on. The extras aren’t in sync.”
Because so many extras were involved, it took quite a long time to get an okay. Yu Yeon-seo showed no signs of fatigue, performing just as he had in the previous takes.
“He’s a really good actor.”
“Look at him throw himself into it. And I heard this is the director’s first time directing a drama.”
“The director isn’t the problem. That guy is.”
The staff watching from behind whispered among themselves. Their gazes turned to the assistant director, Eom Dong-pil. They hadn’t been filming for long, but he had already challenged the director’s opinions in various ways.
Director Lee Seul-gi herself just brushed it off with a ‘Yes, yes, I understand,’ but in that response, they caught a glimpse of her formidable nature. So they were less worried.
“I think our drama is going to do well, don’t you?”
“I know, right? I hope we do well so we can get a reward vacation too.”
“Nah, we’re not with Juseong. You think they’d take care of us like that?”
“A person can dream, can’t they?”
The reward vacation for ‘The Imperial Seal’ had drawn the envy not only of the public who saw it on social media but also of people in the same industry. It was said that people who used to avoid Yu Yeon-seo’s film sets were now desperately praying that he would be the lead in their next project.
The number of people who moved to JSENM after the strike was also said to have increased significantly. This was because of the expectation that Yu Yeon-seo, who had become an internal director, would essentially become a permanent fixture at JSENM.
“By the way, haven’t you noticed a lot of people on set lately? There’s no one here now since we’re in front of a tunnel, but…”
“Maybe a sighting was posted somewhere? With Yu Yeon-seo here, that makes sense.”
“No, I heard quite a few people have gathered at the next filming location too.”
“Really? Do you have a picture?”
The staff member held out their phone. It was a post from a regular person’s social media account.
(They’re filming Yu Yeon-seo’s drama here today!! Waiting till he comes lol! #Snake #YuYeonseo #WatchingDramaFilming #FinallySeeingACelebrity)
“What is this?”
There’s no way they’d know this much detail unless it was leaked…
Because of the accident in the tunnel, Son Jin-ho lost his only daughter and his ability to read thoughts.
“Let’s get a divorce.”
“…Alright.”
The only silver lining to losing his ability was that he could no longer read what his wife was thinking about the husband who had abandoned their daughter to save himself.
He hadn’t relied solely on his ability, but losing what was essentially a cheat code left a stain on his once-perfect police career.
His colleagues whispered that the once-perfect Son Jin-ho was getting old, that he’d lost his touch, that he was finally showing a human side. But what tormented him wasn’t their gossip; it was his daughter’s last voice. The agonizing scream as she called for her dad.
In the end, Son Jin-ho submitted his resignation and became a recluse in his home.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Son Jin-ho, who had passed out drunk, was roused by the incessant ringing of the doorbell. He barely managed to lift his sprawled body from the sofa and staggered to the front door.
“Ugh, it smells like a widower’s den in here… Have you eaten?”
“Why are you here?”
“Came to see how you’re doing. Is this a house or a pigsty?”
The chief of the Inpo Police Station, who had rejected Son Jin-ho’s resignation and told him to take some time off, clicked his tongue at the sight of the disastrous state of the house and his friend, who was a complete mess.
“As you can see, I’m in no state to be a host.”
“Good grief, look at all these cup noodles. Don’t tell me you’re eating this for all three meals?”
“They’re edible.”
He knew his friend was trying to act fine in front of him. The chief didn’t openly pity him either.
The chief was tidying up his friend’s house a bit when he stopped, noticing a pile of investigation files on the dining table. Son Jin-ho covered the files with a newspaper.
He hadn’t been doing nothing while wallowing in despair. The owner of the car that caused the pile-up was a drug distributor that Narcotics Team 1 of the Inpo Police Station, where Son Jin-ho had belonged, was pursuing.
“Do you really want to catch those snakes?”
“…Why ask something so obvious?”
If it weren’t for that accident, my daughter would still be alive. Moreover, it was a staggering coincidence that a member of the drug syndicate he had been chasing at the time was involved in the accident. It was as if a god from above was pushing him to catch the culprit.
“Then come back. As the team leader of Narcotics Team 3.”
“Team 3? A new team, I take it?”
“It’s going to be the dedicated team for Snake.”
“What about Team 1?”
Team 1 had always been pursuing ‘Snake,’ a massive drug organization with deep roots in Korea. Handing over a case he used to be in charge of to a newly formed team? Would his colleagues accept that?
The chief sighed, then took a photo from his pocket and handed it to Son Jin-ho.
“…Gyeong-sik was found dead last night.”
“What?”
Park Gyeong-sik was Son Jin-ho’s partner and the leader of Team 1. Son Jin-ho urgently flipped through the photos. On the arm of Park Gyeong-sik, found in a street dumpster, was a needle mark.
“…Dumped in the trash? Are they mocking us?”
“Exactly. The autopsy found a lethal dose of fentanyl.”
“Tsk…”
“Anyway, this incident has worn out the guys in Team 1. They keep losing the trail whenever they get close, and they can’t seem to grasp what they’re up against…”
It was an organization they had been chasing for years without ever seeing its true form. Now that their team leader had lost his life in what seemed to be Snake’s doing, it was natural for them to lose their motivation. After a moment of thought, Son Jin-ho slapped the photo down on the table.
“Fine. I’ll take it.”
“Don’t let your emotions get in the way of the investigation. Got it?”
“I know.”
He was saying it because both his daughter and his partner were involved, but Son Jin-ho just gave a noncommittal nod.
“The guys who still have the will to fight will be moved to Team 3.”
“That’s a relief.”
Son Jin-ho bit his lower lip. Can I really catch them now that I’ve lost my ability? No, I have to. It’s the only way to avenge my daughter.
“Oh, and take this kid with you.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s a psycho.”
How much of a psycho must he be for a senior officer’s reputation to reach the chief’s ears? He opened the file the chief had put down. It contained Han Yu-jun’s personal information.
“Special forces background? That’s unusual… and he received a Good Samaritan Award?”
Why would a guy like this be a psycho? He looked up at the chief’s face.
“He has a habit of bringing people in and locking them up without any evidence or even being a strong suspect. I thought I was going to die cleaning up his messes.”
“What?”
“But he acts so strangely that we started seriously investigating the people he brings in, and what do you know? They always turn out to be the culprits. It’s like he can read people’s minds.”
Son Jin-ho’s mild interest turned to shock. No way… He searched for ‘Han Yu-jun’ and ‘Good Samaritan Award’ on his phone. A familiar face appeared in the photos and interviews. It was the soldier who had stopped him during the tunnel accident.
“Crazy, right? Weren’t you just like that when you first started taking cases?”
“…Do you know where he is now?”