Infected - Chapter 2



Only Noblemtl

Episode 1

A high-rise building in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul.

Unlike the above-ground area, which is bustling with people and shops, a gambling scene is taking place underground, behind iron bars.

People of various appearances were sitting at countless tables.

A person who shuffles while smoking a cigarette.

A person who is intoxicated with victory and enjoys the joy of victory.

Even people who squandered their entire fortune and were left pulling out their hair.

Above them, the cigarette smoke rose in puffs and floated beneath the ceiling.

Through the smoky smoke, a small cash register could be seen behind the shoulder of a man running errands for cigarettes at each table.

Inside the cashier’s office stood a man with a fierce expression, black hair, slitted eyes, and tattoos that stretched from the back of his hand to his face.

After passing the safe behind him, which was thickly stacked with money, there was a small door, and beyond the door was a warehouse that felt empty, in contrast to the scenery we had seen before.

Dust was piled high on the adult entertainment machines and construction materials that were strewn about haphazardly.

And a man sitting on a chair in the middle.

A snake tattoo running up his neck was so creepy that it would make a normal person flinch without even realizing it.

But for some reason, despite his scary appearance, he had a troubled expression.

It was because of the man named ‘Han Jae-jeong’ sitting on the sofa across from me.

Jaejae is sitting comfortably as if it were his own home, with his legs propped up on a rusty stove that he doesn’t even know when it was last used.

Just looking at the expression, it was confusing to know who owned this place.

At that moment, the snake tattooed subordinate opened the door and entered the warehouse.

The subordinate, who had been approaching with a thumping sound because of his thick body, immediately bowed his head to the snake tattoo and handed over a small notebook.

“Brother, we are busy today.”

The fool the subordinate was talking about was the victim of the gambling table that would be sacrificed today.

Jae-ui’s eyes sharpened as he watched the notebook being passed to the snake tattooed hand.

Then, the man with the snake tattoo who had been watching him suddenly stood up and kicked his subordinate’s shin with his shoe.

The subordinate, startled by the unexpected violence, stamped his feet without even being able to grab his shins.

“If this kid sees an adult, he should say hello!”

“I greeted you… … .”

“Am I the only one here? Huh? Can’t you see Detective Han? Get out!”

Only then did the subordinate greet Jaegye, who was half-lying on the sofa, and hurriedly left the warehouse.

As the subordinate closed the door and left, Snake Tattoo sat down on the chair with a bright smile like a child, as if nothing had happened.

“You really live by manners. It’s different from how you look.”

“Oh, brother. Don’t talk nonsense. Those of us who live in the shadows like us need to be more polite. There are all kinds of rude guys running around, and if we don’t have something like this, things will be a mess.”

Finance shook its head.

“I can say hello first, and if we don’t need to say hello to each other, we don’t have to. Why are you holding on to the strict one?”

“But you still have to greet someone older than you. Right? Even if the person above you doesn’t greet you, the person below you has to. Even if the person above you curses, the person below you can’t do it, right?”

He seemed to be trying to look good to Jaejae by speaking with a serious expression on his face, as if he had some great belief.

“Really? Then it’s okay for me to curse at you.”

“Of course. If I did something wrong as your younger brother, you should do it.”

“Don’t show your teeth, kid. I’m not your brother.”

The snake tattoo that had been smiling brightly shut its mouth as if it were zipped.

The atmosphere instantly froze with those one word from Finance.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“People may call you a viper or something, but in my eyes, you’re just a dirty little snake. Don’t roll your head in front of me. I’ll twist your balls.”

The snake tattoo with its mouth tightly shut looked down without even answering.

In Seoul, there were numerous organizations operating in various forms, not just simple factional organizations.

Snake Tattoo was one of them, and he had his own place in this world.

Although he was not an active corporate entity, he was a godfather of the underworld who made a living by getting his hands and feet involved in all sorts of dirty work.

Finance, on the other hand, was a criminal.

Not only is he a detective from the violent crimes unit, he is also from a special forces unit and is known for his prickly personality.

There were representative cases that highlighted such financial tendencies.

Among them, there is a fairly famous case that has been talked about for years among detectives and even gangsters.

No matter how skilled a detective is, he cannot rashly step forward at events such as funerals or weddings where dozens of gangsters are gathered.

They simply divided the team into groups, sealed off the area, and watched quietly to see if a war would break out between them at the event.

If, by any chance, a real war broke out and swords and baseball bats started flying around, there was nothing the detectives could do without massive support.

In fact, it is nearly impossible to do anything.

But one day.

Such a dangerous situation did occur, and as mentioned earlier, the detectives called for backup and acted as instructed.

However, Finance, who happened to be on site at the time, ignored the instructions.

He became absorbed in their fight, which bordered on madness, and eventually caused the war itself to collapse.

Although Jae-jae also suffered a lot of injuries during the process, including being cut by a knife, the condition of the gangsters he beat up was dire.

Because there wasn’t a single place that wasn’t broken.

The gangsters who used brute force were no match for Jae-jae, who knew how to hit hard and incapacitate his opponents with a single attack.

After that, several gangsters who harbored ill feelings tried to take revenge on Jae-Jeong, but instead, an incident occurred where they ended up in a hospital, and he was branded as a grim reaper by those living in the shadows.

So it was natural that the snake tattooed man couldn’t move.

Who can shout when the grim reaper is standing before your eyes, holding a list with your name on it?

As Finance snapped his fingers, the snake tattooed man with his eyes tightly shut reluctantly thrust his head toward him.

“You, I told you not to go to another area. Answer quickly. If you don’t want to die.”

“Ouch! Oh, no. That’s not it, Brother! Wait a minute! Aah!”

A scream burst from the man’s mouth as he was tortured by having his collar pulled.

“No, that’s not true. The older this kid gets, the more he jokes.”

“I’m sorry! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you, bro! Please!”

Only then did Jae-jae let go of the hand that was holding Gureun-naru, brush his hair away, and stand up.

“No need to say anything, just clean up the guys who were in the fight that day and send them over. I’ll give you just one day. And bring the guy who used a knife, no matter what. I’ll tie them up and put them in at once. What kind of world is this, taking out an extension cord in broad daylight? And in a restaurant at that? Are you crazy? Are you on drugs?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll sort it out and send it to you within a day, no, within half a day.”

“No, don’t be so picky, just send them all. Everyone who was there.”

“Oh, bro. Please, just that one thing… If you take all the kids away, we’re finished. If that happens, I might get stabbed somewhere. Last time, when it was a bigger incident than this, you solved it with just the two of you.”

The snake tattoo clung to him in supplication, but his finances were not shaken in the least.

“This kid is talking nonsense… At that time, he was trying to get something bigger through you. And when the sword strikes, just take it. Just avoid the vital points and take a good hit. How many times did he get hit?”

“If I die, you’ll have to take care of the kids under me again, and things will get complicated.”

“Are you guys some kind of business? What’s complicated? How many people do you have…?”

“older brother!”

“Hey, clean up after yourself. I can’t tell if this is a place where pigs live or people live. How can you even swallow rice in a place like this?”

Jae-jae, who was leaving the warehouse, leaving the screaming snake tattooed man behind, muttered as he kicked the abandoned arcade machines here and there.

* * *

Jae-jae, who was returning to the strong-arm squad, stopped.

The inside was noisy with the voices of people who had been arrested for various reasons and the shouts of detectives.

People grabbing each other by the collars even though there’s a detective right in front of them, and women yelling at them to show off their bellies.

Drunk criminals waving their arms outside the prison bars and harassing detectives were a bonus.

“Huh… What kind of police station is this? It’s a chicken coop.”

“If this is a chicken coop, then what are you? A zookeeper?”

While Jae-jae was muttering to himself, the foreman appeared from somewhere and said as he passed by.

Finance nodded his head slightly, as if to say hello or nod.

“What are these people?”

Jaejae, who naturally followed the class president, asked the group that was making the most noise.

“They got into a fight while drinking, and he hit his head with a soju bottle. The problem is that there was only one broken soju bottle, but there were two broken heads. They both claimed to be the victims, and they just got off the police station. Oh man, don’t act like that when you’re drunk.”

The class president, sitting on the sofa with a tired look on his face, took out his notebook and opened it.

“Oh, did you go and come back?”

“I just came back.”

“What did you say? You’re going to organize it and send it?”

“They say they’ll send it within half a day, but it’s coming when you come.”

“He’ll come. That kid thinks what you say is terrible.”

“Oh, there you go again. What are you thinking so terribly about? What kind of relationship do those guys have with me… .”

The class president smiles faintly at the financial discomfort.

“What kind of relationship is this? We’re just close enough that when we have a good day, I give him some money. Did you think I didn’t know that?”

“Let’s not kill people. How can I stop someone who finds out about my cousin’s wedding and comes to the wedding pretending to be a guest and just putting in an envelope and leaving?”

“I heard it wasn’t just a penny or two?”

“Who said that? Is it Gwangmin? This kid… … .”

“Hey, shit. The guy who farted is getting angry, what a fuss… If you’re going to take dirty money, why don’t you take it in secret? You’re the one who’s going to let all the stink out… Let’s live thoroughly, thoroughly.”

Jae-jae stroked his neck with a troubled face.

That was when.

Bang!

The sound of a folding chair falling over again brought up the voices of the people.

Normal conversation itself was impossible at this rate.

“Be quiet! Be quiet!”

The screams of the class president, who could no longer stand to watch, echoed throughout the violent crimes unit.

It was a strong force unit that became quiet for a moment at a decibel level that was different from the others.

People just looked at each other.

“I’m the head of the violent crimes unit here! This is the police station, and this is where we catch and put criminals! If they couldn’t find a solution at the local police station and came here, then they must have some connection to the crime. Let’s keep our mouths shut when we treat them like human beings.”

The atmosphere suddenly became cold at the class president’s words.

Meanwhile, the drunkard inside the detention center was still talking nonsense.

He even took off his top and lay down on the floor.

The class president, who had been clicking his tongue and frowning at the sight, thought that it was a good thing.

“If you come out uncooperatively one more time, I can lock you in that detention cell all day. Look carefully. What kind of people are in there.”

People who naturally look at the kindergarten.

Inside, there were several large, fierce-looking men covered in tattoos, including drunkards.

Only then did the class president’s idea seem to catch on as they began to sit down one by one.

Even if you are taken to the police station, there is a clear difference between being taken to a detention center and reaching an agreement outside.

The squad leader glanced over the quiet violent crimes squad and sat down with a satisfied expression.

It was so noisy that I didn’t even realize the TV was on.

The news was currently broadcasting on TV.

At that moment, the announcer’s voice pierced Jae-yi’s ears.

[Here’s the latest news. We have some additional information regarding the shooting death of a foreigner at Incheon International Airport that we reported yesterday. First, let’s connect with a reporter who is on the scene.]

Infected people