Hello? I say as the call connects.
Why is it so hard to contact you? says Ho-uns frustrated voice on the other end.
I had about ten missed calls from him; he must have been pretty desperate to contact .
I was a little busy, I reply.
I thought you said youre unemployed, Ho-un says.
Are you looking down on unemployed people? Unemployed people are busy with their own things.
Whatever. His na is Lee Yeong-tae, right? A day laborer at a factory in his mid-thirties. Resides sowhere in the Su-an area. Married, no children. His wife has a category 3 intellectual disability.
This is the Spaniels personal information that I gave to Ho-un. I did my best to scrape that information together from mory, but listening to it read out like that, its pretty damn incomplete.
To think that Ho-un found him so quickly despite that. As expected from a genius hacker. No wonder he managed to leak the private sex tape of a National Assembly mber.
I know you paid three million, but you really have no sha. Im pretty proud that I managed to find him. Do you know that Su-an District has a population of 500,000? he says.
Yes, yes. Youre incredible. Youre gonna make it big, Ho-un, I tell him.
He hadnt forgotten to praise himself. They say that if you plant a bean, a beanstalk grows; he really is no different from the Ho-un that I know.
First, I looked for all the won who are receiving disability allowances at each regions neighborhood office. From there, I narrowed it down to the people who matched the age range, then I found the ones whose husbands na is Lee Yeong-tae, Ho-un explains.
Wow. He used his head a little, didnt he? Its definitely easier to track down his wife, who has more distinguishing characteristics.
You did well, I say.
There were about five matching results. I think itll be faster for you to check which one is the one youre looking for yourself from this point.
Okay. Send the pictures.
Yeah, yeah. Once you find him, my job is done.
Alright. And one more thing, Ho-un.
What is it?
Once you graduate, dont do this kind of work. Get a job. Youve got the ability, so youll be welcod no matter where you go.
Ho-un laughs. Its funny to hear that from the one who just paid for this job.
You ungrateful rascal. Im just looking out for you, I say.
Theres no way a guy who can earn millions or even tens of millions from a single job will be satisfied with a company salary. This kid knows himself too well.
I hang up, take out a cigarette, and put it in my mouth.
Go Min-guk, who is lying on the floor as comfortably as if it were a bed in a five-star hotel room, groans.
This is why alcohol is your enemy.
My cell phones shutter clicks as I take photos of his face from multiple angles. His ugly face, his dried saliva and the food particles on his clothes are appalling to look at.
Go Min-guks secretary shows up.
Oh my god. Young Master! he says.
With Chief Kims help, the secretary puts Go Min-guk on his back.
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Wow, everyone is really going through a lot.
My phone vibrates. Ho-un has sent the photos. I scroll through them slowly and stop on the fourth photo.
Dim, unfocused eyes and crooked facial features. A mory that remained as a fading stain in my mind suddenly becos fresh and vivid.
Ive found you, Su-an Spaniel.
Young Master, we have seen the second-born Young Master off. We should take our leave as well, says Chief Kim.
Good work, I say.
I get into the car and fall deep into thought.
If I report the Spaniel, he will definitely be arrested. After all, his DNA is in the database of the National Forensic Service, waiting for its owner like Cinderellas glass slipper.
And then theyll question , of course. Asking how the hell I knew he was the Spaniel. I cant exactly tell them, Im from the future, can I?
The report has to be made under circumstances that the police will understand. Thats the only way I can get the reward money and bonus points towards my exam. With that being the case, catching him in the act would be best.
Thats going to co with all sorts of dangers, but it doesnt an there isnt a way.
Are you feeling unwell? Chief Kim asks, seeming concerned by the frown on my face.
Huh? No. Im alright, I say.
Did you get hurt earlier?
Earlier? I repeat. Oh.
Hes talking about my fight with Go Min-guk. I didnt even get hit once, though.
I give Chief Kim a smile and shake my head, and he returns a giddy-looking expression.
You saw that, didnt you? Ive never seen the second-born Young Master in such a state, Chief Kim says.
Thinking about it makes my heart pound again, I say.
Chief Kim gives a small laugh. He wont be able to show his face anywhere for a while. It feels good.
Are you feeling alright, Chief?
His left cheek is slightly swollen as proof of the punch that he took for .
Chief Kim waggles his eyebrows at as if to say that theres nothing wrong. You have no work tomorrow, so get a good nights rest, he says.
Ah, theres sowhere I need to go. You can stay at ho, Chief, I tell him.
Where are you going?
Yongsan. I have so things to buy.
***
Autumn rain is falling on the street. There are quite a few shopping districts that have closed up early. The stores mostly deal in electronics, so on days like this, they use the rain as an excuse to stop business. Thats how the back streets of Yongsan are.
Maybe because its a space for elderly people, the liveliness typically seen in marketplaces is absent here.
I slowly make my way through the streets with an umbrella over my head.
There are two old n sitting on a bench, drinking makgeolli.1
Excuse , sirs, I say, calling out to them.
Yeah? one of them responds.
I heard that theres a Chief Ju around here.
I havent been told anything of the sort, but the old n dont show any signs of surprise. They just continue chewing their yellow, well-cooked pajeon.2
Mr. Ju? Theres a few Mr. Jus around here, one of them says.
I must be getting old, my morys terrible these days, says the other.
Really? too.
Ti really flies.
As I expected, they know the neighborhood well.
I smile and take out my wallet.
These cheeky old bastards wont have to worry about feeding themselves for the rest of their lives.
I put down four checks next to their makgeolli.
The old n smile, revealing their yellow front teeth.
Seeing as youre so quick to get your money out, it seems that you ca prepared.
I laugh. Its a good day to be drinking makgeolli. Use this to buy yourself so more drinks.
Chief Ju is on the third floor of the third building if you go into that street, one of the old n tells .
Hell probably still be in the store if you go now, the other adds.
Thank you, I say.
I head in the direction that the old n pointed in.
Alias: The old man of Yongsan. A boss who is famous among certain professionals.
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On the outside, he deals in security electronics, but in secret, he deals in equipnt used to breach security systems. Hes a rchant who sells both spears that can penetrate through any defense and shields that cant be penetrated by any attack.
I open the old iron door. At the top of the steep staircase behind it, theres another door.
I press the button on the heavily worn-out intercom machine. I hear a beeping sound twice, and then it stops.
Hello? Chief? Are you there? I say.
Theres no response.
Theres a tiny cara above the button I pressed, and the light is blinking. Hes using this to get a look at my face.
I bow to the lens and smile. Hello, Chief.
I understand. A man he doesnt know has turned up on his doorstep without notice. As a man working in this field, his life depends on being cautious.
But I have so magic words that can open this door.
Im a friend of Ha-seongs, I say.
Theres a pause, and then a response.
What do I call Ha-seong?
Ugly bastard.'
Theres a click, and the door opens.
Ha-seong is one of my prison family mbers. A legendary thief who would steal anything other than a womans heart. I would repeatedly correct him to say that it isnt that he wouldnt steal a womans heart, but that he couldnt.
Goods are stacked against the wall up to the ceiling, and the room is lit by just a single yellow bulb. Ha-seong wasnt exaggerating when he told that they had almost everything you could imagine. The room is packed with items that are clearly not ordinary.
Youre Ha-seongs friend, you say? says Chief Ju, who is a dwarf, as he looks up at from a hunched-over position in his seat.
Hello, I say.
Its my first ti seeing a handso friend of his.
Chief Ju looks at through thick glasses that make his eyes look tiny in comparison to the magnified ridge of his nose.
He reminds of dwarves of folklore that watch over houses.
You and Ha-seong look very much alike, just as I heard, I say.
Dont insult straight to my face, he sighs.
And you are funny, just as I heard.
Hmph. What nonsense.
Chief Ju isnt Ha-seongs real father. Hes the second son of his third cousins grandfathers younger brother. In other words, they may as well be unrelated.
But through this distant connection, when Ha-seong lost his parents in an accident and his relatives were contacted, Chief Jus house is where he ended up.
Given the environnt he grew up in, Ha-seong spent his ti playing around by opening safes ever since he was young.
Chief Ju examines from head to toe. Alright. Doesnt seem like youre here to beg for food. Whats your business with ? he asks.
I want to buy so products, I reply.
What kind of products?
A tracking device and a concealable microphone.
Jeez. Like two peas in a pod, arent you, Chief Ju says, clicking his tongue.
But still, he opens his storage closet and places so devices of a variety of sizes on his desk. They range from the size of an old-school laptop to the palm of a hand.
Do you have anything smaller? I ask.
How much smaller?
Sothing that can be put on soones clothes.
Look here. Do you have any idea how much thatd cost you? Chief Ju growls, curling his lips.
I take out an envelope that Ive prepared beforehand and hand it to him.
His small hands begin counting the money inside.
One large check, two, three
Chief Ju leers at suspiciously. Youre not a friend of Ha-seongs, are you?
I am, I assure him.
He doesnt make friends with rich people. Hes too busy stealing from them.
We beca close when I had nothing to my na.
I give Chief Ju a sly smile.
His expression doesnt get any less suspicious, but he moves his wheelchair across the room and opens the safe on the other side. A few monts later, he tips a bunch of machines the size of rice grains into my palm.
To soone who isnt familiar with such devices, like myself, they are quite amazing. How can electrical components be assembled inside such a tiny space?
It looks like the old man of Yongsans reputation didnt just appear out of nowhere.
You need to be within 100 ters of the microphone if you want to listen, and the tracking device needs to be linked to your cell phone, Chief Ju tells .
Does it provide with an exact address? I ask.
That one is only accurate within a radius of 30 ters. If you want more accuracy, use a bigger one, Chief Ju says.
No, I cant use a bigger one, I tell him. And theres one more thing.
What?
A stun gun. One thats nice and strong, but less than 60,000 volts.
You crazy bastard, Chief Ju snorts.
Despite those last words, he has everything I need.
I pay what I owe him and pack the goods carefully. They are going to be put to very good use. Ill need them, since I have no colleagues to rely on and no stamina of my own.
By the way, do you know what that rascal Ha-seong is up to? Chief Ju asks casually, as if not really interested.
Ha-seong is always moving from place to place, so it seems that Chief Ju hasnt seen him for a while.
I rack my brains to try and think of what Ha-seong would be doing right about now.
Hmm, I have no idea.
Who knows. Im sure hes robbing so rich family sowhere, I say.
Im worried that he might be locked up, Chief Ju sighs.
He feels sothing similar to guilt towards Ha-seong. He thinks that things would have been very different if Ha-seong had grown up in an ordinary household. That Ha-seong learned to be a thief because he grew up in this environnt.
Naturally, this is all stuff that I heard all when I was in prison. But despite Chief Jus worries, Ha-seong was a kid who was very satisfied with his life. Or rather, satisfied with his work. Its a calling that fits his talents and interests perfectly.
Dont worry about that. Hell be roaming free for another ten years at least, I assure Chief Ju.
What are you talking about? he asks suspiciously.
I can see a little of the future. He wont go to jail for a while longer.
That might change if we cross paths at so point, though.
I was wondering what you ant, but youre just talking nonsense, huh, Chief Ju sighs.
Its your birthday soon, isnt it? You should be seeing him soon, I tell him.
Ha-seong is a good son; he never fails to show up at Chief Jus on his birthday.
A small smile creeps onto Chief Jus tightly-shut lips. You really are Ha-seongs friend, he says.
I give a small laugh. Goodbye. Ill visit you again.
Youre not welco, you bastard, Chief Ju grunts.
I leave the store and co out of the shopping district. The pouring rain is steadily getting heavier.
Its ti to give my body a workout.
I get on a bus thats headed towards the Su-an Spaniels house.
Miscellaneous notes:
1Makgeolli is a kind of Korean rice wine.
2Pajeon are Korean green onion pancakes.
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