AGENT 38

After walking for quite a while, he came upon a bar in the middle of the alley that led down to a basement, and there, the scent cut off abruptly.

“…Is it here?”

Was this perhaps a path leading to the back door of another nearby club? Since he had left the map in the car, he couldn’t verify it and hesitated to enter; however, thinking he should at least check since he had come this far, Yongnae cautiously stepped into the basement.

Upon descending, a soundproof door greeted him. The thickness of this door was likely why the scent had suddenly vanished. Yongnae pushed the door open with force.

Thump— Thump— Thump—

It seemed it really was the back door of a club. As soon as he opened the door and stepped inside, a dark passage appeared, and from afar, loud club music echoed like the sounding of a foghorn. This place appeared to be a corridor used by club staff.

But… a vibration like a foghorn?

A familiar feeling washed over him. When else had he felt this way? Was it yesterday when he felt it was noisy while entering the club with Changsik? But this was somehow different from then.

It felt like a drone— a drone— a vibrating sensation, just like right now…

For now, let’s just leave.

Now that he had confirmed the curly-haired man’s destination was a nearby club, he thought it would be better to go back and wait in the car. As Yongnae tried to open the soundproof door to exit,

“…Uh?”

No matter how hard he pushed, the door wouldn’t budge. Thinking it might be a pull-door, he pulled with all his might using both hands, but the door remained unmoved.

Ah, could it be a door that can only be opened from the outside?

After a small sigh of frustration, Yongnae gave up and moved further inside. It seemed his only option was to enter the club and exit through the main entrance.

While walking carefully through the maze-like space, he saw a door in the pitch-black hallway with light leaking out. Was that the entrance to the club’s interior? Yongnae grabbed the handle of the slightly ajar door.

“This is all I’ve got. I think Susu noticed something.”

“What? Why? How?”

“I don’t know. They say he went around poking into Won yesterday too.”

“No, but what am I supposed to do if you only give me this much? I’ve already told them over there that we have the quantity!”

At the Korean being spoken inside—no, at the conversation containing Susu’s name—Yongnae stopped all movement and pricked up his ears like a dog hearing the word “walk.”

“Hey. Fuck, is catering to those pigs important right now? If we get caught skimming this, both you and I are dead.”

“Still…!”

“What do you mean ‘still’? We just have to charge them double and triple since this is all there is.”

“Ha, damn… I already set everything up…”

“I don’t care. Just lay low for a while. Susu summoned me tomorrow, too.”

Ah… So, inferring from their conversation, it seemed the curly-haired man had been skimming E8 to sell to others, and Susu had caught wind of it. And this was the place where the skimmed goods were sold.

Regardless, if he kept following the curly-haired man, he could meet the man tomorrow. This was vital information. Yongnae let go of the handle and hid at the end of the hallway. He had to keep tailing the man from now on.

Click—

“What the. Did you come in without even closing the door properly? You, fuck, seriously! This is why word gets out—!”

The curly-haired man shouted at the person inside, slammed the door shut, and began walking down the hallway in the opposite direction from Yongnae. His back, which looked quite sensitive, seemed to clearly show the fear he currently harbored. Was he that afraid of Susu? I suppose that’s because he’s the boss’s right-hand man.

Hiding against the wall, Yongnae watched that retreating figure. Once the curly-haired man turned a corner, Yongnae stifled his footsteps and quickly followed behind.

“Shui? (Who?)”

“…!”

However, as soon as he turned the corner, the curly-haired man was standing still, waiting for Yongnae, as if he had already noticed someone was tailing him.

Yongnae had thought the man just looked like a common thug from a distance, but up close, he was quite large. The curly-haired man asked Yongnae with a menacing face.

“—, ————?”

Since they were in Hong Kong, the man must have assumed he was a local, as he was questioning him in Cantonese. Completely flustered because he didn’t know a word of Cantonese, Yongnae reflexively blurted out the only Chinese he knew.

“Ni hao ma…? (How are you…?)”

“Ah— fuck. You’re Korean.”

He tried to act like a customer who had simply lost his way, but it was no use. The curly-haired man grabbed Yongnae by the hair, opened a nearby room door, and threw him inside violently.

Ugh. His body was tossed, and his side slammed into a table. Yongnae let out a groan and tried to get up immediately, but before he could, thwack. The curly-haired man kicked Yongnae in the face.

Crazy, is he insane?

An unimaginable pain washed over his face. A nosebleed immediately erupted from Yongnae’s nose.

“Who are you.”

“Ah…”

“I asked who you are!”

The curly-haired man lifted his foot as if to kick Yongnae again, and the panicked Yongnae immediately raised his hands as if surrendering. No, at least give me time to speak. Why is his temper so short?

“Su, Susu…”

“What? Susu told you to tail me?!”

“…N-no.”

“Since when? Since when did he notice!”

“That’s not it…”

“I knew this would happen. I knew that motherfucker wouldn’t trust me from the start!”

Before Yongnae could even finish saying he was looking for Susu, the man reached his own conclusion and suddenly began to get agitated like a madman. He was kicking the wall and punching things in a frenzy. He looked just like an entitled old man causing a scene at a community center, demanding his taxes back because the country had done nothing for him.

“I’m finished anyway, right?”

Then, suddenly, the curly-haired man whipped around to glare at Yongnae. Having judged Yongnae to be someone sent by Susu, he radiated a murderous intent with half-crazed eyes.

Yongnae knew that crazed look. It was the same look he had seen just two months ago. Sure enough, the man pulled a jackknife from his pocket.

Ah… What kind of curse had hexed his twenty-seven-year-old life that he was experiencing this again?

“No, no! I wasn’t sent by Susu…!”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. What was that about Susu just now?”

“It’s not that! I was following you because I wanted to meet Susu…!”

Yongnae waved his hands frantically, showing his desperation. At that, a look of doubt appeared on the curly-haired man’s face. Why would he want to meet Susu?

“…Susu came to Korea two months ago.”

“So what. Did he kill your family there?”

“No…”

“Then, did he kill your lover?”

Why did he keep asking if Susu killed everyone? Even if Susu was generous but lacked mercy, he surely wasn’t the type of person who killed everyone he saw.

“It’s nothing like that…!”

“Then what is it!”

The man pressed Yongnae. His temper really was short. He figured if he kept adding this and that explanation, he would already be at death’s door.

So, Yongnae decided to give a simple answer as to why he was trying to meet Susu, even to the point of tailing the man.

“I fell for him then…!”

“…What?”

“At that time… I fell in love with Susu…”