Into the Creations

"Sir, upon checking, some of the gold bars you brought have serial numbers that don't exist, and others have duplicate numbers."

"...Oh, really?"

I was surprised by Manager Hwang Min-joon's words. Now that I thought about it, there were English letters and numbers written on the bottom of the gold bars. I had overlooked them, but I never imagined it would cause such an issue.

"At first, we suspected they might be stolen goods, but after a quick verification with a U.S. bank, it turned out the owners all possess their gold bars. However, the gold bars you brought still raise suspicions of being stolen. Could you tell us where you obtained them?"

Hwang Min-joon's eyes were sharp.

"I found them in a dungeon. Is the purity off?"

Dungeons occasionally appear in modern settings. I planned to use that as an excuse and stick to my story.

"Yes, we've already verified the purity. They are indeed pure gold. But are you sure you obtained them from a dungeon?"

"Yes. I have a few more besides these."

"I see."

Hwang Min-joon seemed suspicious but eventually nodded without further comment.

"I'm very sorry to say this, but we've actually conducted a brief investigation on you. You're a second-year student at Gukcheon University and attend the Yeongcheon Sword Academy."

I realized Hwang Min-joon wasn't an ordinary person. My body began to tense up. I never thought selling gold would lead to such humiliation. Shouldn't it just be a simple transaction?

"...And?"

"The director of Yeongcheon Sword Academy, Jin Woo-seong, is one of our VIPs. We contacted him to verify your identity. You're a disciple of the Yeongcheon style."

Jin Woo-seong. I've never met him, but I know his name. He's Jin Se-young's father and a master of the Yeongcheon style.

"That's right. I've trained a bit in the Yeongcheon style."

"...I see. Sir, while your gold bars are suspicious, if you obtained them from a dungeon, there's nothing we can do. Besides, you're a disciple of Jin Woo-seong. I've decided to trust you, Seong Eugene."

My face brightened. I think I understood Hwang Min-joon's intentions.

"Of course. If they're from a dungeon, it's understandable to be suspected of being stolen goods."

"However, in such cases, the price will be slightly lower. The origin is unclear, and reprocessing is necessary. 60 million won per gold bar. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. But I have a lot of gold bars. There might be more of this in the future."

"Of course. I'll handle the purchases. Here's my card. You're connected to a VIP, so how could I doubt you? But the price will have to be lower, unfortunately."

I took Hwang Min-joon's card and chuckled.

Hwang Min-joon smiled amiably, but it was just a facade.

'He said "I" instead of "we"...'

I nodded casually.

I might take a bit of a loss, but with the Play Life app, I can bring in an almost unlimited amount of gold.

"Do you also buy gemstones?"

"...Oh my. You have gemstones too? But I specialize in gold... However, I know a broker who deals in various items professionally. I'll introduce you."

He scribbled a phone number on the back of his card and handed it to me. I realized the broker he mentioned was likely an illegal one.

"Does this friend... also handle things like purchasing items on behalf of others?"

"Yes. This friend is a bit greedy for money, but their skills are truly exceptional. There's nothing they can't get. Nothing."

"Oh, really?"

Hwang Min-joon and I exchanged smiles, shook hands, and parted ways.

***

It had been a week since I moved into the apartment.

On the first day, Oh Joon-hyuk came over for a housewarming, and we drank and had fun. From the next day, I started moving my belongings from my old place to the apartment. Since I had a lot of stuff, I moved them myself, and my inventory was a huge help.

'I'll take the driver's license test next week... I'll get the motorcycle license later. I should buy a decent foreign car.'

I left my apartment to head to university and got on the elevator. My place was on the 6th floor. I knew Han Ha-rin lived in this apartment, but I still didn't know which floor. We hadn't run into each other yet.

The elevator stopped on the 4th floor. The doors opened, and Han Ha-rin, with her usual cold expression, stepped in. This was the first time we'd met in the apartment.

"...Oh! Hi?"

I greeted her.

Han Ha-rin looked at me, slightly furrowed her brows, and asked.

"...Do you live here?"

"I moved in recently. It's close to school and has good facilities."

"Really?"

"Do you live on the 4th floor? I'm on the 6th. Let's get along as neighbours."

"..."@@novelbin@@

There was no response. I thought about trying to talk to her a few more times but decided to keep my mouth shut.

Apart from being fellow Hunter Department students, there was nothing between her and me. I had confessed to her before and got rejected, but Han Ha-rin didn't pay any attention to me. I was just a stranger.

We got off on the first floor.

Han Ha-rin walked toward the parking lot, and since I didn't have a car yet, I headed to the bus stop.

'Wow. Her butt is killer.'

Admiring her butt from behind was a given.

***

While collecting information on the Tuseong faction, Moon Ji-hyuk didn't forget to thoroughly investigate the incidents that had occurred so far.

The alleyway blood puddle incident. The Saeoneul Apartment incident.

The common link between these two incidents was the bodies of gangsters from the 3rd district. While investigating them, he finally found a clue.

'K-Flex Room. Ma Bong-chun and his gang worked as security guards here.'

The van found near the alleyway belonged to them. Why did they park the van near the alleyway?

'They were trying to kill someone.'

That was the only reason they would bring the van to the alleyway near K-Flex. However, their target wasn't Jeokgwang.

'If it were Jeokgwang, the gangsters would've been dead before they could do anything.'

Their target wasn't Jeokgwang but someone else. The blood stains of another person were left in the alleyway. That person was the one Ma Bong-chun was trying to kill.

'H-Dick.'

After persistently chasing K-Flex Room and threatening and persuading the women working there, he finally got some information.

'H-Dick. Short for holy dick.'

It was an excuse. He joked with the women at the bars, calling his dick a holy dick.

That slowly spread among the women, and now in the adult entertainment world, no one didn't know the nickname 'holy dick.' He must be quite the playboy.

Prostitution also occurred at the bars, but Moon Ji-hyuk couldn't arrest the women. His job was to investigate Jeokgwang, not prostitution. Prostitution could be investigated later.

'The day Holy Dick first came to K-Flex was the day the alleyway blood puddle incident occurred.'

Moon Ji-hyuk, of course, investigated this Holy Dick.

Holy Dick. His name is Kang Eugene. Age 21. Presumed to be a college student with a lot of money. He always roams the bars in Gangnam alone. He spends money without hesitation. Spending tens of millions of won a day is normal.

'The DNA test results of the blood left in the alleyway showed it belonged to a healthy male in his early 20s. Kang Eugene matches that description exactly.'

Kang Eugene likely fought three gangsters in the alleyway. Then, Jeokgwang intervened, fatally attacked the three gangsters, and abducted them.

'This makes the most sense. But why did they abduct the gangsters from that spot? There were no signs of torture on the gangsters' bodies.'

He couldn't figure out what they did to the gangsters after abducting them. Did they just imprison them for a month? Was there a need for that? Why?

'...Anyway, there's definitely some connection between Kang Eugene and Jeokgwang.'

First, he needed to find out more about Kang Eugene.

Moon Ji-hyuk searched all nearby universities. Using his police badge, he requested cooperation in the investigation to find a college student named Kang Eugene. But there was no such person.

'...There were people with the same name. But their ages and descriptions didn't match.'

He searched all the universities in Seoul, but nothing came up. This meant the name Kang Eugene could be fake, or he might not be a college student.

'Holy dick... Kang Eugene visits bars in Gangnam almost every night. And the room salon he visits most often is... Young Hye-jeong.'

Young Hye-jeong.

The top adult entertainment establishment in South Korea.

He had learned about it during a past investigation, but Team Leader Oh Jung-jin had strictly told him never to mess with Young Hye-jeong, no matter what. Many high-ranking officials backed Young Hye-jeong. Rumour had it that even the police commissioner was involved with Young Hye-jeong.

'And Young Hye-jeong is connected to the Tuseong faction... It's not a place a mere detective like me can handle. But...'

Moon Ji-hyuk clenched his eyes shut and then opened them. Ambushing Kang Eugene at another bar was an option, but there wasn't enough time. It had already been a month since the Kim Chun-suk prostitution incident. It wouldn't be strange if Jeokgwang committed a crime today.

'...I need to meet Kang Eugene as soon as possible, even if it means taking some risks.'

He decided not to go straight to Young Hye-jeong but to park his car nearby and stake out the place. However, within just 30 minutes, large men in suits surrounded Moon Ji-hyuk's car.

The man who appeared to be their leader knocked on the window.

'...As expected, they're not ordinary. I didn't think my stakeout would be discovered in just 30 minutes.'

Moon Ji-hyuk sighed, holding his smartphone in one hand, and rolled down the window.

"What's this? Are you threatening me? I'll call the police."

"Aren't you the police? Detective Moon Ji-hyuk."

Park Chan-sung's tone was as polite as ever. For some reason, Moon Ji-hyuk found that polite tone even more threatening.

"...You've already figured out my identity. You're not ordinary."

"We're quite sensitive to information. May I ask why you're staking out here? Detective Moon Ji-hyuk, you're currently part of the Jeokgwang task force, right? You're not targeting us, are you?"

'The Tuseong faction. Scarier than I thought.'

Cold sweat was pouring down his back. This was Young Hye-jeong. The power of the Tuseong faction, South Korea's top gang.

"Won't you answer our questions? Our patience isn't that deep."

"...It's an investigation related to Jeokgwang. I know Kang Eugene frequently visits Young Hye-jeong."

"Ah, I see. Kang Eugene is indeed a regular at our Young Hye-jeong. That makes it even harder to let this slide."

Park Chan-sung grabbed the window frame.

"Detective Moon. It's troublesome if you act like this. This is Young Hye-jeong. The country's already in turmoil, and we don't have as many customers as it is... We can't afford to lose the few we have."

"I don't plan to arrest Kang Eugene. I just have some questions."

"Speak clearly. You can't arrest him without a warrant, can you? Staking out in front of us like this... You must think very little of Young Hye-jeong."

Moon Ji-hyuk noticed his tone becoming increasingly hostile. If this continued, even as a detective, he might face consequences.

'...It's better to back off this time.'

Buzz! Buzz!

The smartphone in Moon Ji-hyuk's pocket vibrated.

Moon Ji-hyuk checked his phone, and his brow furrowed.

It was Team Leader Oh Jung-jin. The reason he was calling was obvious.

"You're getting a call. It might be urgent. Shouldn't you answer it?"

"...I'll back off this time. Next time, I'll visit Young Hye-jeong as a guest."

"We'll welcome you if you come as a guest. Business is slow these days. But do you have enough money?"

"..."

Moon Ji-hyuk kept his mouth shut. He thought about his bank account balance. There had been quite a few expenses recently. No matter how he looked at it, he didn't have much to spare.

"By the way, Detective Moon. Do you wear makeup?"

"...What?"

Moon Ji-hyuk was startled. His heart sank. He had used makeup to hide his vampire-like pale skin.

Park Chan-sung curled one corner of his mouth and bowed his head.

"I'm quite sensitive to makeup. I can tell if someone's wearing it up close. This time... since you're backing off, I'll let it slide. But next time, I'll satisfy my curiosity."

"..."

His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

They suspected he was a vampire. No, they almost figured it out. This was a kind of threat.

"...Understood."

As Park Chan-sung stepped back after Moon Ji-hyuk's response, a taxi passing by stopped, and Kang Eugene stepped out.

"Oh? Isn't that Park Chan-sung? What are you doing outside with the guys?"

Kang Eugene frequented Young Hye-jeong so often that he was on casual terms with Park Chan-sung.

"...Mr. Eugene well..."

Park Chan-sung explained the situation. At this point, Kang Eugene was a big spender among big spenders. There was no reason to hide anything.

"Ah, really? You have questions for me? Then I'll answer them. So your name is Detective Moon Ji-hyuk?"

"Yes. I'm Detective Moon Ji-hyuk. I'm currently working in the Jeokgwang task force."

Moon Ji-hyuk spoke politely. Kang Eugene hadn't threatened him like Park Chan-sung, and this wasn't an official investigation. Plus, it was their first meeting.

"Detective. If you treat me to steak for dinner, I'll cooperate. Oh, I only eat steak from high-end restaurants around here. What do you say?"

"...Treating you to dinner isn't a problem."

"But aren't you going to answer that call? It's been ringing for a while. It must be urgent."

"...Excuse me for a moment."

Moon Ji-hyuk rolled up the window and answered the call.

[Hey, you bastard! Moon Ji-hyuk! What the hell are you doing?! Didn't I tell you not to mess with Young Hye-jeong?! Didn't I?!]

The loud voice that came through made Moon Ji-hyuk's face turn grim.

***

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