Boy Monster Chapter 24

A notification chimed while he was busy setting up his new phone. Damn it, it was bittersweet that the very first message on his new phone was from Lim Geonhwi.

NIS business? Call me when you’re done. I’m going to your residence today.

Both of Jae Eunho’s phones had disappeared during the detention center break-in. Shi Taehyun said both phones had been destroyed during the confrontation. The sky lantern keychain had also vanished along with the broken phones.

The NIS immediately issued Eunho a new phone. Emergency calls and S.E.T.U management were essential. While he was logging into his work phone and setting up fingerprint and iris recognition, another notification popped up on his personal phone.

The second message wasn’t from Choi Jungkyung or Monk Jiguk, but from Hyeon Jaewoong.

Chief, how are you feeling? 😭 If you need me, just call and I’ll be right there! 🏃🏃🏃

The subway stopped at Itaewon Station. It had been a while since he’d been here, back when it was teeming with American soldiers and he’d come to monitor the military police. Blending in with the crowd pouring out through the open doors, Jae Eunho called Monk Jiguk without replying to Hyeon Jaewoong’s message.

“Monk, I need to have new prayer beads made. Do you have any sinmok left?”

—Of course, I do! I’ll let Muryangsa Temple know, so come pick them up the day after tomorrow.

“Can’t it be any sooner?”

—Do you think making prayer beads for you is that simple? What did that blood-soaked guy from the smuggling ship say? Is he connected to the Euljiro earthquake?

“I’ll tell you when I go the day after tomorrow. I’m busy, so I’ll hang up now.”

Part of him wanted to confide everything in Monk Jiguk, but his resolve not to mess things up again, especially anything related to Hwonwoo, was stronger. Jae Eunho continued to scrutinize the shadows of the people around him as he exited the turnstile. He was wary that the kidnappers’ faction, possessing psionics, might have put a tail on him.

Ascending the stairs, Eunho anxiously adjusted his collar. The dandy-style civilian clothes he’d bought, a set-up meant for office workers in their early 30s, felt awkward. If these form-fitting knit shirts were in fashion, it would be impossible not to maintain one’s physique, he thought, observing his reflection in the glass of a vape shop. He looked like a handsome guy headed out to pick someone up in Itaewon, not a secret NIS agent.

Yesterday, in the interrogation room, Shi Taehyun had chosen this place for their first tutoring session.

―I’ll tell you everything once we’re out of here. In exchange, you’ll give me private tutoring lessons on the history of Sa Hwelju’s death. Everything you know, that’s not recorded in history. The real reason you killed Sa Hwelju, and the actual truth of what happened back then. A total of three tutoring sessions. I’ll be angry if you teach me what’s already in the records.

―Why three sessions?

―Because within three sessions, I’ll extract everything I want from you.

He barely suppressed the urge to knock unconscious the face that had uttered those words while clicking his tongue.

―Don’t worry. I won’t kill you. I’ll double your tutoring fee and even treat you nicely.

The thought of granting this guy a furlough and taking charge of the investigation filled him with dread. He knew how difficult it would be to deal with such an unpredictable character. Moreover, he was a criminal who could snap Eunho’s neck in an instant if things went sour.

Three hours after Jae Eunho, Choi Jungkyung, and Hyeon Jaewoong had left the detention center yesterday, Shi Taehyun would have walked out of the high iron gates with the officer in charge of monitoring his furlough. Wearing an ankle monitor for location tracking.

They had agreed to meet secretly at 10 p.m. tonight to make a deal. It was a game board for each of them to obtain what they desired. The meeting place Shi Taehyun had suggested was a hip-hop club in Itaewon.

―Come to the second basement floor of the club. There’s an illegal gambling den in the basement of a similar-looking building, so don’t get confused.

After giving this friendly warning, Shi Taehyun added,

―My friends are a bit rough. I’ll let them know, but if they bother you, just tell them my name and say, ‘I came to give a blowjob instead of money.’ They’ll let you right in.

The meeting place wasn’t far from the subway station, on a street in the entertainment district. Exiting the subway station, cars streamed through the night, their lights illuminating the streets. Buildings with brightly lit electronic billboards lined the street endlessly. Dazzling sign lights shone everywhere he looked.

This city came alive even more vibrantly at night. The cacophony of advertisement sounds, club music, and touts’ calls was deafening. The alleys were filled with men and women enjoying the nightlife.

Reaching a narrow side street, the map app instructed him to turn. The meeting place was on a well-paved street, even within the densely packed entertainment district.

The building’s exterior had a heavy, dark aura, its entire facade covered in a uniform black design. Lights decorating the dark walls flashed to the ominous beat of the music pulsing from inside the club.

He waited in the long line for a while. By the time he got used to the booming hip-hop music, he was face to face with the burly gangsters guarding the entrance.

“I have an appointment on the second basement floor. I have something to discuss with someone named Shi Taehyun.”

“We don’t let anyone in just because they say that name. What if they do this?”

The gangster with the crew cut made a gesture of slicing his throat.

“Who the hell are you? Why are you name-dropping Shi Taehyun out of the blue?”

Glancing at Eunho’s slightly uneven gait, but seeing him stand firm, they seemed to be waiting for a bribe before moving. He had already wasted a lot of time waiting, so he didn’t have time to play games with them. Following Shi Taehyun’s tip, he said,

“I came to give a blowjob instead of money. Should I just leave?”

It worked instantly. The two gangsters led Eunho to the back door of the club. While frisking him, they exchanged words.

“Is he a call boy?”

“Can’t you tell by his face? He’s a host.”

“Do host bastards do loan sharking too?”

The gangsters shoved Eunho into the first basement level and locked the door from the outside. With the door closed, the club was completely cut off from the outside world. The music and lights, vibrating and spreading from the walls on both sides of the staircase, enveloped Jae Eunho.

The basement was filled with VIP rooms, each with a different theme. The guard stationed on the first basement level announced Jae Eunho’s arrival through an earpiece.

A guard who suddenly appeared from the end of the hallway beckoned Jae Eunho to follow. Following him around a corner, there was another long staircase, blocked by a chain. It was a steep staircase of dizzying height.

He’d said to descend into the darkness, and it truly was an old, dark basement. Unlike the first basement level, the second basement was dark and deserted, like a space that had been closed off long ago. It hadn’t even been renovated, retaining its old sliding doors, and the poorly maintained light bulbs in the hallway were worn and broken in places.

“Go in there.”

The guard pointed to a dark corner of the hallway. A motorcycle with intimidating modifications was parked in front of a sliding door covered in a chaotic array of advertisement stickers. A faded old banner served as a sign.

❤ Kind ❤ Friendly ❤ Reliable ❤

Dasarang Finance & Keunnalgae Errand Center

This was where Eunho was supposed to knock. About to knock on the sliding door, Eunho suddenly turned his head. A faint light from a nearby storage room illuminated the hallway.

There was a presence in the storage room, which he had thought was empty. Getting closer, he saw someone inside through the sliding door. Mumbling voices and sensual music leaked through the gap in the door. A strange sucking sound interspersed with the melody. Moans and laughter-laced gasps also drifted out.

:･⚜️⊹.️

An emergency policy meeting was being held at the Blue House in response to the detention center attack and the attempted kidnapping of Jae Eunho. Loud voices echoed in the room where the president, policy advisors, the National Security Advisor, military officials, the NIS Director, ministers, and the chief of military science were gathered.

“That’s why I said we should have weaponized the Hwelju and Yeonri a long time ago! We postponed the policy because Lieutenant General Lim Geonhwi opposed it, and look what happened.”

“It’s true that an unknown faction is aware of Korea’s S.E.T.U unit and specifically attempted to kidnap Chief Jae Eunho. But I don’t understand what that has to do with the weaponization project.”

“If we had turned those psionics into fully controllable combat robots a few years ago, or mechanized their biological organic matter, they would have been safely stored in our military’s weapons depot, and their existence wouldn’t have been discovered by other countries!”

Lim Geonhwi silenced the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with an airtight rebuttal.

“I didn’t just question the ethics of the project. I focused on the feasibility, namely, the probability of success of the biological experiments, not meeting the lower limit I had in mind. Furthermore, the claim that mechanizing them into cyborgs would prevent them from being detected by other countries is also not valid.”

“Who doesn’t know that Lieutenant General Lim Geonhwi is protecting his same-sex partner? With such a poor ability to separate public and private matters, how can he be responsible for our country’s military?!”

A minister who sided with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also chimed in, delivering a haughty speech.

“The world has changed. Times have changed. I know they’re the guardian deities who have protected our land. I revere the Four Heavenly Kings, and I bow when I visit temples! But now we live in a time where uncontrollable power has become dangerous. Don’t you all know how many spy satellites the US, China, and Russia have installed around the world? And think about it! What if Jae Eunho decides to use that terrifying psionic power of his as he pleases? It’s terrifying! But if it can be controlled, it’s a different story. It would be the ultimate weapon and deterrent.”

“Let’s hear more specifically about how times have changed.”

“No, look, and also, the way the Hwelju and Yeonri currently maintain their psionic gauge through sexual intercourse is too arbitrary. The technology to make this controllable too…”

“I don’t know who’s failing to separate public and private matters here. What are the metrics behind your claim that times have changed and your assessment that maintaining psionic power through sex is arbitrary? This is a case of an incompetent general blaming his weapons and subordinates. There’s nothing to worry about if you establish a sophisticated management system and lead them effectively.”

Flustered by Lim Geonhwi’s sharp rebuke, the minister stammered.

Footnotes:

1. Sinmok (신목, 神木): A sacred tree where a divine spirit is believed to reside.