36 – Heoju #5
It was when the next morning dawned.
There was someone other than Jin-woo and Sarah who noticed that the gunman had lost his wallet.
If there was anyone, it was the man who lost his wallet.
“…….”
Underground parking lot of an abandoned building located in Seungcheon-gu.
The gunman was using that place as a hideout.
The masked man remained silent and looked into his coat pocket. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find his wallet. The pocket was torn just enough for items to fall out. It was obvious where he dropped his wallet.
‘Is it a shaman’s house? I must have dropped it there.’
Last night, a gunman attacked a shaman’s house with a flag hanging in order to secure food. It was a very luxurious and large house to be considered a simple shaman’s house. He thought there would be plenty of food, so he raided.
The gunman was able to rob the shaman’s house and take food.
However, things went wrong when he encountered young students inside the house.
The stranger recalled the curly-haired boy he had encountered inside the house last night.
‘What on earth is that curly haired guy I saw yesterday doing?’
It was a curly-haired boy holding a sword curved like a scimitar.
The gunman tried to kill the boy with a sashimi knife, but he simply could not. Any boy of that age would have been terrified the moment the stabbings started. However, rather than being afraid of the assailant’s stabbing, the boy calmly started stabbing him in the same manner.
‘Does it make sense that I can’t kill even a child?’
The gunman thought as he took off his mask and ate the bread he stole last night. We fought for quite some time last night, but we were no match for the curly-haired boy. He even realized that the mask was a weakness. He felt like he was dreaming. Judging by the taste I could feel on my tongue, it wasn’t a dream.
━━Munching.
The gunman was a gangster in his youth. I once served as an action leader leading juniors in an organization called Wolseongpa. When he was a young man who could fly and crawl, he often won victories against those who interfered with the organization’s business.
The gunman is older now. However, his skill with a sword did not rust. His physical abilities also received strength from his divine spirit, becoming incomparably stronger than when he was young. It was impossible for an ordinary person to deal with a criminal.
‘I didn’t know that I would even get my wallet ripped off by these kids.’
But the curly-haired boy was able to deal with the gangster. The silver-haired girl who appeared from nowhere also had considerable power. It was clear that they had special powers. As a monster, I couldn’t figure out what the source of the power was.
‘What should I do now?’
The gunman pondered as he touched his empty pocket. Although he lost his wallet, he didn’t really need to get it back. The plan was to just steal his money and make a new ID card that was forged anyway. When he was working at Wolseong School, he knew a businessman who professionally forged ID cards.
“Hmm…”
Shall I go get my wallet back?
Or should I just give up?
There were two choices, but there was no reason for him to ponder for long. The gunman was rational. He wouldn’t have to take the risk of going back to the shaman’s house.
It was because there was a rational reason for the gunman to openly kill people.
It was because of the spirit that the strange man was serving. The spirit in the form of a serpent gave strength to the monster and demanded that he make a sacrifice. The sacrifices were the fingers of people killed by the assailant himself. In addition, there was a condition that traces of the murder must be exposed to others.
‘It’s a troubling condition.’
A condition in which traces of murder must be exposed.
If no specific traces were left, the snake spirit would not accept the offering.
If there were no such conditions, the criminal’s crime would have been secret. There was no comical chopping up of bodies or going on a rampage at the campsite. He probably planned the crime without knowing who killed him.
“Teoju.”
The stranger looked at the mask and asked the spirit.
The serpent spirit was always by the strange man’s side.
“How many more sacrifices do we need?”
The snake spirit answered.
The voice of the spirit could only be heard by the strange man.
The answer came back that two sacrifices were needed.
“Two people. Do you really just need to kill two people?”
The gunman was happy to hear the answer.
It was good news. The serpent spirit said that if he only had to put two more fingers together, he would have offered all the necessary sacrifices. After he had offered all his sacrifices, he no longer had to kill. The gunman was able to start a new life.
“hehehe.”
It was when the monster was laughing.
The snake spirit said.
The gunman had no choice but to stop laughing after hearing his words. He was sure he only needed two more offerings.
However, the sacrifice required by the serpent spirit was specifically determined.
“…The kids I saw yesterday? The one with curly hair and the one with silver hair? Are you asking me to sacrifice them?”
The snake spirit answered yes.
The stranger asked the spirit.
“Do you really need those kids? I don’t think there’s any need to take the risk. I’d rather offer another sacrifice.”
The snake spirit answered.
The answer was that the boy and girl I saw yesterday must be sacrificed. It was said that their souls have different value from ordinary people. In particular, she said that if she obtains the boy’s soul, the snake will also be able to become a dragon and ascend to heaven.
Greedy greed came out of the serpent spirit’s voice.
“…I see.”
The gunman nodded his head. The serpent spirit demanded the lives of the boy and girl. In that case, the gunman simply complied with the request.
“I will make a sacrifice right away tonight.”
The gunman decided to attack the shaman’s house tonight. After filling his stomach with the stolen food, his tired body regained vitality. He was different from himself last night when he was starving. This time he was able to give it his all.
“Today will be the last time I live as Kwak Jin-cheol.”
The name of the assailant was Kwak Jin-cheol.
The gunman was filled with his dreams. His dream was to run away abroad and start a new business after offering all the sacrifices.
The gunman had quit being a gangster and started a business. He remembered that when he did business with the serpent spirit, he accumulated great wealth. While doing his business, the power of the snake spirit ran out and he suffered a miserable fall.
Sacrifices were offered to fill the power of the spirits.
If all the sacrifices were made, the serpent spirit’s magical power would be restored.
If he were to start a business again, this time the stranger could become a rich man.
*
“Is the murderer’s name Kwak Jin-cheol?”
“I was born in 1981.”
I checked the identity card of the gunman.
The name ‘Kwak Jin-cheol’ was clearly written on the ID card.
“Let’s search on the Internet.”
Sarah and I turned on the computer at Hyehwadang and searched for Kwak Jin-cheol. Kwak Jin-cheol’s photo and name on his ID card were used as clues. It took about an hour for us to find out Kwak Jin-cheol’s identity through the Internet.
“There’s the same photo on this site! It’s Kwak Jin-cheol.”
“You were the hotel owner?”
Surprisingly, the murderer was a famous businessman whose name was left on the Internet.
Kwak Jin-cheol was the owner of a hotel in Myeong-dong. He was a man with no education or wealth, but every business he tried was a huge success, and he ended up owning a hotel. There was even an article posted on the Internet in which a reporter interviewed Kwak Jin-cheol.
「Meet CEO Kwak Jin-cheol, who became the owner of a hotel penniless.」
We looked at the content of the interview. Kwak Jin-cheol said that he had wandered in his youth, but he came to his senses and worked hard, so he became the boss of a hotel.
“Sera. Does this make sense? Even poor people can become hotel owners if they work hard?”
“If it’s Kwak Jin-cheol, it’s possible. He serves the serpent spirit directly. The serpent spirit brings eternal life, wealth, and good fortune. It wouldn’t be surprising if Kwak Jin-cheol lived a rich life.”
The content of the interview was not everything.
Kwak Jin-cheol’s success was thanks to the power of the snake spirit. If he was serving a serpent spirit that was almost like a god, his success was guaranteed.
However, Kwak Jin-cheol’s success did not continue.
I looked further on the Internet and found an article saying that the hotel run by Kwak Jin-cheol went bankrupt. CEO Kwak Jin-cheol collapsed. He no longer had any success in business. A successful businessman named Kwak Jin-cheol was buried quietly at some point.
“But now it’s ruined.”
“It’s worth it.”
Sera told us the reason why it failed.
“Guryeong’s magical power has decreased. He must have been overusing the power to bring good luck, and his magical power has decreased. I don’t think Kwak Jin-cheol had any ability as a businessman. He was successful thanks to the blessings he received from the serpent spirit.”
“Was it a shoestring…?”
“There are quite a few people like that. They are people who receive power from a ghost and become successful, but after their power runs out, they completely fail.”
I imagined Kwak Jin-cheol’s life. He started out penniless, became the owner of a hotel, and then went bankrupt overnight. His life was truly like a roller coaster. Kwak Jin-cheol was offering a sacrifice to fill the magical power of the snake spirit.
Successful in revealing the identity of the gunman.
Sera said something unexpected to me.
“Kwak Jin-cheol will probably return to Hyehwadang.”
“Why? Are you looking for your wallet?”
“The wallet is not the problem. I found out something when we were fighting the serpent spirit. The serpent spirit was very excited when he saw us.”
The serpent spirit was excited to see us? When I thought back to the fight, I had that feeling. The snake’s movements felt too violent to be considered a snake secretly hunting its target.
“I thought carefully about why I was so excited. Isn’t the serpent spirit probably wanting us as a sacrifice? I think so. It’s a miraculous girl and a boy with a lot of energy.”
“So, the monster is coming to visit us again?”
“Yes.”
Are you saying we are being targeted as sacrifices by a gunman?
It was a scary word, but it didn’t necessarily sound bad. I was quite disappointed that I had missed the monster earlier. If the gunman came directly to us, this time we could finally solve the mystery.
“Jinwoo, let’s get ready just in case.”
“I guess so.”
“I’ll prepare a snake-catching spell. Even if it’s a serpent spirit, I should be able to tie it up.”
Sera went to prepare the spell.
I also prepared to deal with the assailant.
New equipment was needed. The martial arts knife alone was not enough to completely subdue the assailant. I thought it would be good to have an additional weapon that can subdue people while holding a military sword.
‘What should I use?’
I went to Hyehwadang’s warehouse. Hyehwadang’s warehouse contained self-defense items that Sarah and I had purchased. Things like a baseball bat and a three-pointed baton caught my eye. While looking through the self-defense items on the shelf, something suddenly caught my eye.
It was the tonfa.
A foldable product with a handle made of stainless steel.
‘It’s an item of memory.’
For me, the tonfa was an item of memory.
My father, who was a detective, had been using tonfa since his days at the police academy. Even after I was born, when my father went out to do detective work, he mostly took the tonfa with him. It was mainly a weapon that his father used to subdue criminals.
Until now, I have never used a tonfa.
There is no point in swinging a tonfa at a ghost or a tiger. Until now, it was better to lighten one’s body by carrying a military sword.
The right opportunity has come. The monster we were dealing with was a criminal made of flesh and blood. It was an appropriate opponent to test the Tonfa’s performance.
━━Whirik
I grabbed the tonfa and unfolded it.
From noble mtl dot com
At that moment, the tonfa’s iron bar naturally blocked the outside of my arm. With this, I was able to block the sashimi knife. For some reason, the moment I grabbed the tonfa, I felt confident.
This time was truly different.