CH 36

Ja-kyung, who was waiting near the kitchen, knocked out a man in a cooking suit when he entered the bathroom, and then stripped him naked. He took him into the bathroom’s cubicle after tying his hands and feet. Ja-kyung changed his clothes and went to the kitchen.

It was dinnertime, and everyone was so preoccupied with preparing the food that they didn’t notice a stranger had infiltrated. Ja-kyung went to the food storage while avoiding people’s eyes and found a box marked by Wang Lun.

When he opened it, it was filled with green onions. When he put his hand inside, he could feel the hard plastic. Ja-kyung took it out after touching the lid. He was about to leave when he ran into a staff. The staff looked at Ja-kyung with a dissatisfied expression.

“Newbie?”

“Yes…”

“Who told you to come in here?”

Ja-kyung bowed his head.

“Chef Kim sent me here…”

“Kim Young-woo?”

After all, Kim is said to be the most common first name in Korea.

“Yes… Chef Kim Young-woo…”

“What did he tell you to bring?”

The man approached and Ja-kyung opened the box cover slightly and checked the contents.

“Green onions.”

“You punk, take it out and bring it to him, don’t be careless…”

I’m sorry. He bowed and the man motioned him to go with an annoyed look on his face. Ja-kyung turned around with a sigh. He bowed his head and walked away from the crowd, then moved with the box in his hand to the warehouse where the trash was collected.

He could smell a foul smell as soon as he opened the door. He shut the door, took off his cooking clothes, and changed back into his regular clothes. He took his gun, knife, and a smoke grenade from the box, and then came out after he hid them here and there. When he came out, he noticed Choi Ki-tae walking in the distance and quickly ran behind the wall.

He waited for him to leave before proceeding to climb the stairs. As he walked down the second-floor hallway, violins, cellos, and pianos appeared on the banquet hall stage, and the performance began. People’s attention was drawn to it. Everyone was dressed up, and it reminded him of a fairy tale ball.

Ja-kyung, who was walking while looking down, came to a halt in surprise. He frowned, wondering if he had seen it correctly, and double-checked. Why was that person there…

Kang Il-hyun, who was drinking champagne while watching the performance, turned his head. Ja-kyung sat down and hid beneath the railing. Fuck…!

A staff who spotted Ja-kyung approached quickly.

“Guest. Are you okay?”

Ja-kyung nodded his head.

[I’m okay. I just get dizzy for a moment.]

He spoke in Chinese, and the man also asked if he could accompany him to his room in Chinese. Ja-kyung shook his head and stood up slowly with his back to Kang Il-hyun. He looked around, but his attention was drawn to the stage. A woman in a dress stood next to him. He had no idea who she was, but she seemed to be close to Kang Il-hyun.

Ja-kyung walked close to the wall after thanking the staff to avoid being seen as much as possible. Wang Lun sat up after lying down when Ja-kyung entered the room. He had a bored expression on his face, probably from being alone without a cell phone.

“You’re here? The gun?”

Ja-kyung opened the jacket and confirmed the gun. Seeing his darkened face, Wang Lun asked with a worried expression.

“Are you okay? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

“He is outside.”

“Who?”

“Kang Il-hyun.”

Wang Lun couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Why?”

“I don’t know either. I heard he was arriving from Hong Kong tomorrow morning, so why…”

Wang Lun jumped up from his seat, placed his hand on his waist, and paced back and forth in the small room. Ja-kyung, who was perplexed, took out his gun and examined it. He had no idea why Il-hyun was here at this hour, but as long as he doesn’t stand out, he gonna fine. All he had to do was complete the work on time, move to the boat that Wang Lun’s men had moored nearby, and disappear.

“Will it be okay?”

“I don’t care, he didn’t see me.”

Ja-kyung looked at his watch. From the next room, a faint moan could be heard. A grunt and occasional pounding against the wall. Wang Lun frowned as he smoked a cigarette.

“Do people usually getting sexual in the early evening?”

He leaned his ear against the wall. Oppa, I like it so much, Wang Lun’s eyes narrowed at the sound of what had just been said on the other side. Someone knocked on the bedroom door just as Wang Lun was about to drop a cigarette from his mouth, and he fell off the wall, startled.

Ja-kyung winked at him to go out, then turned to the window so that his face was hidden. A staff with neatly tied hair knocked on the door. She handed the tablet and walked away. Wang Lun confirmed it.

There were pictures of men and women, as well as information about their body size, height, and weight. Those who had previously been chosen were locked out.

“Tell me if you have an idea.”

He went up to bed after handing the tablet to Ja-kyung. Wang Lun had an old lover who never left his side. He pretended to be strong, but when his lover said a word, he lowered his tail and became a gentle dog.

Ja-kyung put the tablet aside. He also laid down on the bed. The two spent time in the room. Dinner was also delivered to the room. There were about three hours left until work, so he had to stay as inconspicuous as possible until then.

Ja-kyung remembered Kang Il-hyun, who he saw from outside while lying on the bed. Why the hell did he come here? Of course, he may have invested in Choi Ki-tae’s family like Kang Seok-joo. But when Il-hyun told him he was going to Hong Kong and showed up in the wrong place, he felt a strange sense of betrayal.

He then sat up, embarrassed by his emotions. Wang Lun asked why from the other side and Ja-kyung shook his head. He lay down again, erased his thoughts about Kang Il-hyun, and concentrated solely on the plan to complete the job safely.

***

As midnight approached, the number of people significantly decreased as everyone went into their bedrooms. Ja-kyung came out and walked down the hallway while wearing sunglasses. Moans and noises could be heard from inside the door from time to time. By this point, they were most likely enjoying the pleasure of taking the drugs provided as a service.

Choi Ki-tae’s security guards carried guns everywhere and carried out strict surveillance. When he looked down, the remaining crowd was still gathered and conversing. Fortunately, Kang Il-hyun was nowhere to be seen. Ja-kyung approached the guard, held out a bundle of fifty thousand won in cash, and secretly whispered.

“Hey… I’d like to get more drugs. The price doesn’t matter. The strongest one.”

The guard checked Ja-kyung’s status and called somewhere on the radio. Soon after, a man in a suit and glasses appeared from downstairs. The handsome man greeted Ja-kyung politely and checked the invitation and room key.

Although the man’s nameplate read Chief, he remembered seeing him with Chairman Choi at the banquet hall.

“Please go back to your room and wait, I’ll bring it to you.”

Ja-kyung nodded as the man smiled kindly. When the man titled Chief turned around, all of the lights on the ship went out. Noise could be heard here and there as the room darkened. Confused, the Chief searched for someone via walkie-talkie. It would have been nice to have a flashlight, but there was none available because even the staff had returned their cell phones.

The staff from downstairs came out with a flashlight and lit it, but it did not even start to illuminate the spacious interior of the ship. However, the vigilante was wearing sunglasses with infrared function, so people’s movements were easily captured.

Ja-kyung strode forward and bumped into the man titled Chief. He staggered at the sudden impact, dropped the walkie-talkie, and grabbed the railing.

“Ah!”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry. I can’t see ahead.”

“That’s all right, sir. Could you please go back to your room? We will bring the items you need as soon as the power is restored.”

In the meantime, he does not lose his composure and was even kind. Ja-kyung picked up the walkie-talkie and the in-ear that the man had dropped, stepped back, and walked into the hallway opposite the bedroom. On the way, the doors of the rooms opened and people shouted everywhere.

The staff was busy reassuring the panicked guests. Despite the fact that Wang Lun entered the basement and turned off the power, it does not take long for it to recover. Because the emergency power had been damaged, there was a high probability of suspicion being raised immediately upon discovery.

It took approximately 30 minutes to recover. He needed to find and kill Choi Moon-seong. His walking speed quickened. He steered clear of the people who were wandering around in the dark. A few staff members carried flashlights and turned on the lights, leading those in the room to their rooms.

On the chaos cruise, Ja-kyung wore an in-ear. He could hear the communications on the walkie-talkie. Several voices were mixed together.

[The emergency power line was cut.]

[I want you to control the entrance and strengthen security.]

[How long will it take to restore?]

[Estimated to take about 30 minutes.]

[Fuck. Get it back in any way. And release the other guys and make sure they catch who did this. Security team checks CCTV when the electricity comes on.]

It was Choi Ki-tae’s angry voice.

[Yes.]

[And add more people to the VIP massage room.]

[How much do you mean?]

[I don’t know, you bastard! Send as many people there as possible. Because Father is there now.]

Ja-kyung unfolded the map of the cruise in his mind. The VIP massage room was in the far back corner of the first floor. He wasn’t sure if Chairman Choi was really getting massages there, but it was a place with tight security before the lights went out.

He checked the time and dashed downstairs. Unsurprisingly, the staff who had gathered after hearing the radio were encamped in front of it. They also had an emergency light. Some even used lighters to light the room.

Ja-kyung, who was holding his breath behind the wall, pulled out a smoke bomb from his arms. When he pressed the button and threw it as hard as he could at the location, two smoke bombs fell to the floor and a huge cloud of smoke rose. People gathered in the dark smoke were confused and panicked

What is this? ring a fire extinguisher! Is there a fire? Don’t light the lighter! Shouts and coughing could be heard from all directions. Ja-kyung raised his mask which partially covered his face, held his breath, and blended between them. In a situation where he couldn’t see properly because of the smoke, he followed the wall and entered inside.

The staff inside were also surprised when the smoke came in, so it was a mountain of confusion. Ja-kyung pretended to be a staff and yelled at them.

“There is a fire outside! Everyone goes out. Hurry up! You have to go quickly!”

The guards guarding the inside looked bewildered as the staff ran out screaming. As Ja-kyung attempted to enter further, one of the guards lit up his face to confirm. Who are you? He asked Ja-kyung. Ja-kyung then took off his sunglasses. Don’t you know me?

Ja-kyung swung his fists as the man approached. The man flew back and Ja-kyung used his feet to kick the man in the chest. As soon as he pulled out his knife to kill him, the light turned on and the room brightened.