novelraw Chapter 65 : “Then Shoot Me Here.”
Chapter 65 : “Then Shoot Me Here.”
Chapter 65: “Then Shoot Me Here.”
Along with the commotion outside, I rose from my seat as I caught the fishy smirk twisting at the corner of Seo Man-cheol’s lips.
“You’ve made another move, haven’t you.”
“Heh. Since you’ve thrown out that terrifying KCIA card, I ought to show one of my own, don’t you think? Got to balance the scales somehow, right?”
My mind raced. One possibility came to mind.
‘The Logistics Base Command, is it.’
Behind his respectable title as Chairman of the Busan Port Civil Operations Council, Seo Man-cheol hid his true identity as a “special civilian collaborator” of the Logistics Base Command.
That was why his influence reached every corner of Busan Port.
“You’re doing this relying on the Logistics Base Command?”
“At least here in Busan, there’s no one with more clout than the Logistics Command.”
His voice carried absolute confidence.
And indeed, in a port city like Busan, the power held by the Logistics Base Command was beyond imagination.
“How about it? Want to come with me and see for yourself?”
That confident tone and arrogant expression—one day, I swore, I’d crush them both with my own hands.
“Yes, let’s go. We should manage the situation, shouldn’t we? If the KCIA and the Logistics Command clash in this cramped police station, neither of us will walk out unscathed.”
“I don’t particularly care.”
I just shrugged. What an empty bluff.
If he truly didn’t care, he would’ve moved the Logistics Command from the start. The moment he heard the KCIA was involved, he must’ve scrambled to make contact.
Even Seo Man-cheol couldn’t directly move a commander. At most, he probably managed to stir up some field officer he had a connection with.
Seo Man-cheol and I exited the interrogation room together. The moment we stepped into the corridor, what awaited us was a squad of fully armed military police—and standing before them, a man in a crisp, regulation-perfect uniform.
‘Kwon Do-hyung…’
A face I knew well. Later, he’d become a National Assembly member and a loyal dog to Jeong Tae-soo.
Chief Oh Chung-seong shouted toward Kwon Do-hyung.
“Major Kwon! What the hell is this? You storm into a police station armed to the teeth?”
“And you, Chief Oh—what are you doing here?”
“That’s classified.”
“Classified, my ass.”
Kwon Do-hyung sneered with contempt.
“So, you joined the KCIA and now you think you’re somebody? Talking back to me, of all people. I still remember you crawling around like a mutt under my command just the other day. Heh… The revolutionary government really is something. Putting a nobody like you—who didn’t even graduate from the military academy—in such an important position.”
The two seemed to know each other well—or rather, it seemed to be a one-sided superior–subordinate relationship.
Oh Chung-seong’s voice trembled with anger at the open mockery.
“Watch your mouth, Major. Do you still think I’m under your command?”
“Then what, you think you’re above me now?”
But Kwon Do-hyung only laughed at him.
“Let’s see which happens first—me getting my star, or you climbing higher. Did you forget? You’re a hunting dog. I’m a bona fide Military Academy graduate, a pureblood.”
That was exactly what kind of man Kwon Do-hyung was.
In my past life, no matter how hard I struggled to prove my worth, he always looked down on me like I was some kind of bug.
He was the very embodiment of sickening elitism—a rat who groveled before the strong and trampled the weak without mercy.
Deciding there was no point in arguing further, Oh Chung-seong got to the point.
“So, a soldier who should be managing military supplies—what business does he have barging into a police interrogation room?”
“I came here because I have business.”
Kwon Do-hyung turned his gaze toward us. His sharp eyes locked on Kang-hyuk.
“That man—Kang-hyuk—is currently under secret military surveillance on suspicion of smuggling. We received intelligence that he’s been maintaining contact with unidentified individuals within the military facility of Busan Port. This is a matter directly tied to national security. We’ll be taking him into custody for investigation.”
At those words, Kang-hyuk’s face went pale.
“W–What are you talking about, sir! I was just carrying cargo at the docks!”
“Shut it, you smuggler scum!”
Kwon Do-hyung’s cold glare sliced through him. Oh Chung-seong quickly cut in, unconvinced.
“Smuggling, you say…? Do you really believe something that serious could happen without appearing on our intelligence network, Major?”
“Ha! What, you think the KCIA is omniscient now? A few days ago, a top-secret military operation took place in Busan Port. All civilians were restricted, and a no-entry order was issued. Yet that bastard was there. Chief Oh, you know exactly what that implies, don’t you?”
Unconsciously, I turned toward Kang-hyuk.
A top-secret operation… That must’ve been the transport of the new currency for the reform. The real details of that mission were so classified that not even Kwon Do-hyung or Oh Chung-seong would have known.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Kang-hyuk. But my gaze was fixed instead on Seo Man-cheol beside him.
The corners of his mouth were raised high—almost gleeful.
‘So that’s how it is. That bastard pulled the strings.’
If I hadn’t come for Kang-hyuk, everything would’ve gone according to Seo Man-cheol’s plan.
Kang-hyuk would’ve been branded a smuggler, dragged away by the Logistics Command, and then Seo Man-cheol would’ve played savior, drawing him into his fold.
Couldn’t get him through debt, so he resorted to something this low.
“T–That day, the foreman told me to finish the job ‘cause it was urgent… I really don’t know anything! Smuggling? What even is that?”
“That’s what we’ll find out—after we take you in. Arrest him immediately.”
Oh Chung-seong was losing ground. Unlike Kwon Do-hyung, he had no solid justification.
With the matter framed as a military security issue, even the KCIA couldn’t act recklessly. To stop this, either Deputy Director Noh Gi-tae had to intervene personally, or the commander of the Logistics Command himself had to step in.
At Kwon Do-hyung’s order, the MPs tightened their grips on their rifles and approached Kang-hyuk.
“Wait.”
If Kang-hyuk was dragged off to the Logistics Command, things would spiral out of control.
I stepped in front of the MPs. My sudden action made Kwon Do-hyung’s eyes turn feral.
“And who the hell are you? His accomplice?”
“Who testified that Kang-hyuk was there that night?”
“What?”
“You must have a witness, right? Otherwise, how could you be so sure?”
“…Is this guy a KCIA agent?”
Annoyed that I dared to challenge him, Kwon Do-hyung turned to Oh Chung-seong.
“No, he’s not.”
“Then what the hell is he, running his mouth like that? Did he get a death wish?”
Ignoring his words, I muttered quietly, as if to myself.
“Junggu District… Cheonseong Building, third floor…”
An address slipped from my lips. I didn’t finish the sentence and instead locked eyes with him.
As expected, the color drained from his face. His pupils quivered violently, like an earthquake had struck inside them.
“Should I go into more detail, right here?”
“Y–You…! What the hell are you?!”
Losing control, Kwon Do-hyung yanked a pistol from his belt. He stormed forward, pressing the cold muzzle against my forehead.
‘What am I, a walking target? First this guy, now that one—all of them point their guns at me.’
Cheonseong Building, Room 302. That was where Kwon Do-hyung had hidden all the ledgers containing his bribes and the scandals of his political rivals.
In my past life, Jeong Tae-soo had used that very ledger to make Kwon Do-hyung his obedient dog.
And the one who’d uncovered it… was me.
“Let’s not make this any messier than it needs to be, Major.”
I stared straight into his eyes without flinching from the cold muzzle pressing my forehead and said.
“Or you could just shoot me here. Of course, the moment my head gets a hole in it today, Major’s path to promotion would be ruined as well.”
Kwon Do-hyung was a man whose ambition to rise had pierced the heavens.
No matter how the Logistics Base Command was a place where vast interests gathered, being moved away from the power center in Seoul was effectively the same as being pushed off the fast track to promotion.
All the bribes he’d stubbornly pocketed, the dangerous smuggling he’d aided, and the meticulous ledgers listing all that filthy profit were simply stepping stones he’d prepared to get back into the core of power someday.
“If you’re not going to shoot, then at least move this lump of metal out of the way and go inside so the two of us can have a quiet conversation.”
I gestured toward the interrogation room where I had been talking with Seo Man-chul. Kwon Do-hyung’s hand trembled with rage.
But he didn’t pull the trigger.
In the end, he could only lower the pistol with that shaking hand.
“Everyone… go outside and wait.”
Kwon Do-hyung ordered his military police quietly. Once the soldiers filed out in an orderly fashion, he went into the interrogation room first.
“Captain. Please take care of the outside.”
I said to Oh Chung-seong.
Oh Chung-seong stared at me blankly as if he could not make sense of any of this, then reluctantly nodded.
Without waiting for his reply, I followed Kwon Do-hyung into the interrogation room. At that moment, Seo Man-chul tried to follow us in as if to assess the situation.
“Know when to butt in and when not to, Seo Man-chul.”
“What?”
Kwon Do-hyung, who had entered first, snapped at Seo Man-chul as if to vent his anger.
“Go out and wait, Mr. Seo!”
“Major!”
“I told you to wait outside!”
Kwon Do-hyung and Seo Man-chul were not equals. No matter how much he was dressed up as a special civilian collaborator, a thug was still a thug.
Humiliation flooded Seo Man-chul’s face. I watched him and lifted the corner of my mouth.
“What are you doing? Not going out?”
“…….”
Seo Man-chul glared at me as if to kill, then finally withdrew the foot he’d put inside the interrogation room and slammed the door.
“What a character. What on earth do you trust that guy for?”
I sat down with a sly smile. Kwon Do-hyung said nothing and glared at me.
“Sit down, Major. Your eyes will bleed.”
“You… what on earth are you?! How did you know about that place?”
“First, sit down and let’s talk. My neck hurts from keeping looking up.”
A murderous gleam flashed in Kwon Do-hyung’s eyes. It was chilling enough to think he might kill with that look.
But I sat down, took his anger head-on, and did not beat around the bush.
“No matter how good Seo Man-chul’s money is, you should have kept a line. Turning an otherwise decent person into a smuggler — how could you use him like that? Aren’t you ashamed, a soldier supposed to defend the nation?”
I provoked him first. Given his state, there was nothing better than this. As I expected, my provocation barely registered with him.
With a voice threaded through with shock and fury, Kwon Do-hyung growled.
“How did you possibly know about that place? No one else knows it besides me.”
“There must be quite a few people who know about it by now.”
“Because of you…!”
“Major. If I knew, don’t you think others would already know as well?”
“You—what exactly are you! Oh Chung-seong wouldn’t come out so obediently…!”
I cut him off and spoke softly. My voice was small, but the atmosphere in the room shifted in an instant.
“Someone who can send you back to Seoul.”
At my words, all of Kwon Do-hyung’s movement froze. His wavering pupils desperately chased the meaning of what I had thrown out.
“What… what did you say? Send me… back to Seoul?”
His voice betrayed an uncontrollable agitation.
“Not right away. But I have the ability to make that happen.”
Kwon Do-hyung was not yet entirely in Jeong Tae-soo’s grip. If that was the case, making this unbridled embodiment of ambition into my tool wasn’t a bad option.
“Hah… Do you think that’s so easy? Do you think I haven’t been trying to find a way all this time….”
“Bribes? Fine. Weaknesses? Those matter too. But if only that much could move the hearts of those at the top, then no officer would be unfairly denied promotion in this country.”
“But… you say that’s possible?”
“Major. Things that money can’t fix are simply because the money wasn’t large enough.”
I looked him straight in the eye and then tugged up the corner of my mouth.
“And I can make an amount of money large enough that they can’t refuse.”
Kwon Do-hyung scowled so his forehead wrinkled as he glared at me. My confident posture and certain words sent him into thought.
But trusting my words immediately and taking my offered hand would be premature; I had shown him nothing yet.
Suspicion still filled his eyes.
I reached into my bag and pulled out a bundle of dollars, not the exchange-wrapped banknotes on the table, and tossed them in front of him.
A stiff stack of $10 bills wrapped with a band.
“One thousand dollars. One hundred ten-dollar bills.”
Kwon Do-hyung’s gaze locked onto the dollar bundle in an instant.
“If you just leave here today, that money will be yours, Major.”
I tapped the table to catch his eye. I could plainly see him swallow dryly.
“You don’t have to let go of Seo Man-chul if you don’t want to, Major. I don’t plan on fighting to the death with him either. My goal is one thing only: Kang Hyuk’s freedom. Just remove the filthy manacles Seo Man-chul has fastened to that child.”
After a long moment of deliberation, Kwon Do-hyung’s hand finally moved toward the bundle of dollars on the table.
“Really… all I have to do is leave?”
“Yes. And later, when I have the ability to transfer you to a post in Seoul, you can take my hand then. Until that time, carry on as you have been.”
Then, as if he’d suddenly remembered, I added.
“Oh, and you’d do well to move that secret safe elsewhere. There may already be people besides me who know about it.”
Kwon Do-hyung, who had been trying to keep calm, nodded. He tried to sound composed, but his voice betrayed an unmistakable note of expectation.
“I hope that day… doesn’t take too long.”
“It won’t take that long.”
“All right. For now, continue the business you’ve been doing with Mr. Seo.”
“Yes, do that. I’m not interested in Busan’s interests. Ah, of course I might ask a small favor later…”
I deliberately left the sentence dangling at the end. I wanted him to picture himself restored to power easily.
“That will be very simple for you, Major. I’ll contact you when the time comes.”
Kwon Do-hyung shoved the bundle of dollars deep into his uniform pants pocket, then took a small business card from his wallet and handed it to me.
“This is a direct line to me. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
“Yes, Major.”
Kwon Do-hyung’s gaze lingered on my bag for a moment, then he rose without another word and left the room.
No sooner had he gone than Seo Man-chul, who had been waiting outside, rushed up and called after him.
“Major!”
“Mr. Seo. Make sure today’s matter is handled properly.”
“Major! What in God’s name is this…!”
“Even if he’s Mr. Seo, you can’t turn a decent civilian into a smuggler. Don’t handle things like this from now on.”
Seo Man-chul looked bewildered at the unexpected lecture, but Kwon Do-hyung just tapped his shoulder once and walked out of the detective division.
Seo Man-chul stood staring blankly at Kwon Do-hyung’s retreating back. I spoke to his wavering behind in a low, ice-cold voice.
“Come in, Mr. Seo. We have to finish tidying up too.”