Boy Monster Chapter 27

One glass tube was empty. The genes of the sensory ability user he’d sent to Seoul Detention Center together had disappeared.

At first, he was so frustrated he felt like going crazy. If he hadn’t thoroughly managed the research samples regularly, he wouldn’t have been able to contain his anger even with neurotransmitter control. Fortunately, the DNA and cell cloning samples of the deceased individual remained intact. Doctor Aztec underwent several days of emotional control procedures, receiving medication through microtubes, and regained the stability to make rational judgments.

Doctor Aztec’s hands were bandaged because he had punched a wall in frustration when he heard that the kidnapping attempt had failed. The pin securing the bandage was a luxury cufflink that only the wealthy could afford. The doctor wiped his mouth with a napkin and picked up his wine glass.

“They still don’t know who we are. There’s no need to step forward now and create unnecessary trouble. Once we get Jae Eunho, everything will be resolved.”

Scientist Oni, who was dining at a round table a few meters away, nodded.

“And figure out what that Shi Taehyun guy, who came attached as a bonus, is all about.”

‘Hacker Jekyll,’ sitting a few meters further away, said,

“While further establishing distribution channels so that we can spread the bacteria to the entire Korean population immediately, we need to look for opportunities to capture Jae Eunho as quickly as possible.”

They had arranged dining tables around a glass tube on one side of the hall. It was to observe the punishment inflicted on ‘Assassin Achilles,’ who was trapped inside the glass tube. Doctor Aztec pressed the tablet PC screen. An electric shock was administered to Assassin Achilles, whose skin had turned blue. Assassin Achilles opened his eyes wide and twisted his body.

“Can you do better next time?”

When Doctor Aztec asked, Achilles trembled. No answer came. It wasn’t a question asked with the expectation of a reply. Doctor Aztec gulped down his wine. His hand slipped due to the bandages, and the clear wine trickled down his chin. A waiting waiter offered a fresh napkin.

“Now that we know anesthetics don’t work on Jae Eunho as long as he’s conscious…. We need to target him when he’s asleep. Secretly drug his coffee or cigarettes to put him to sleep.”

Doctor Aztec pointed to a test subject housed in a distant glass tube and said,

“Send a model capable of transformation to tail him for now.”

Scientist Oni expressed concern.

“We don’t yet have a model among our test subjects with transformation abilities as good as the 1st Grade Hweljus. That’s not something that can be achieved with short-term training….”

“What’s there to think about? Send them to a place where shadows can’t be seen.”

“Ah! I see!”

While the scientist and the hacker admired the doctor’s idea, the hacker group quickly began creating a fake passport for the test subject who would follow Jae Eunho. A ticket for the fastest flight to Incheon Airport was also prepared in an instant.

:･⚜️⊹.️

The ceiling shaking every time a subway passed, the sound of pedals churning through water, the wide-eyed duck airboat. While he could think of it positively as a mystical experience, he couldn’t stand the stench.

When Jae Eunho covered his nose, Shi Taehyun handed him a handkerchief wrapped around an air freshener from his back pocket. Judging by him carrying something like this, it seemed like a route he frequented. Jae Eunho accepted the handkerchief and covered his nose with it. He spoke, wary of the endless tunnel ahead and behind.

“The speed would be similar if we walked. Launching and pulling the boat, do you have energy to spare?”

“It’s romantic.”

“…Where are we going? Is the monster here?”

“Do you think I’d already tell you where the monster is before tutoring even begins?”

“…….”

The construction of Seoul’s underground sewage system began around the end of the Japanese colonial period. It wasn’t that old of a path when he thought about it, even younger than Jae Eunho. Shi Taehyun expertly navigated, not getting confused even at junctions. It seemed as if a map navigation system of Seoul’s underground waterways was installed in his head.

“Then where are we going, for crying out loud?”

“A place where drug addicts, gambling addicts plagued by debt collectors, illegal immigrants about to commit murder for hire, ex-convicts, and all kinds of informants gather.”

Shi Taehyun suddenly stopped the boat. Jae Eunho was startled by the face that suddenly appeared in the darkness, illuminated only by the phone’s light.

A beggar was kneeling by the water, bowing his head. When Shi Taehyun pulled a wad of cash from a golf bag in the back and tossed it over, the beggar handed over a few pieces of paper with trembling hands. Jae Eunho snatched them up instead. They were notes scribbled with shaky hands on discarded flyers, and each one contained valuable information.

0XX street number 00 Dakbal restaurant alley, contract killing something — the client seems to be an investment company CEO.

Joseonjok ●● killed a member of the Yeongdeungpo ◇◇ gang and ran away. Rejected by smugglers, hiding in a room at ▽▽ massage parlor. Orders Chinese food every day.

Drug distributor name ◆◆, 00. Says it’s homegrown weed, but the taste is different. Think it’s mixed with something.

Several vagrants with haggard faces appeared behind the beggar. Their eyes were fixated on the golf bags piled up in the back of the boat. Shi Taehyun started pedaling again.

“Nope, no drugs. Don’t you know I don’t do drugs? I’ll give you money if you work, friends.”

Shi Taehyun wasn’t armed at all, yet the criminals, each holding knives, backed down in fear. He could guess that they had tried to do something bad and had suffered at the hands of Shi Taehyun. Shi Taehyun turned the hip-hop music back on and pedaled hard.

“They say once you do sex on crystal meth, you can never quit. Interested?”

“Those who spread such drugs are worse than murderers. They should all be caught and locked up.”

“Then how about sex that makes it feel like you’re on crystal meth without the drugs? Interested?”

“Don’t talk about drugs in front of me, it’s disgusting. Talk about sex instead.”

“Puahaha…!”

Jae Eunho consistently shone his phone’s flashlight behind them to check if anyone was following. He felt uneasy, even though there were no footsteps.

Shi Taehyun chuckled, watching Jae Eunho constantly scanning their surroundings. Finally, the boat finished its long journey.

“Get off.”

He thought they would exit through a manhole like when they came down, but that wasn’t the case. After passing through a dark crevice and turning a few corners, the sounds of water and commotion grew louder. Directly above them was the underpass leading to Hangang Park.

From here, they had to pass through a peculiar passage. It was a narrow, cave-like passage, as if it had been bored with road construction drilling equipment. It didn’t look reliable, as if the cement ground had been haphazardly drilled through, rather than a professionally designed construction with city or district permits.

Shi Taehyun bent down and led the way. Following Shi Taehyun, who had disappeared into the ground, as he limped through the tunnel, the smell of the Hangang River soon reached his nose.

“Good work.”

Shi Taehyun pushed open the cement cover above. What came into view was the night scenery of the Hangang River. The place they emerged from was beneath the Jamsugyo Bridge. The sound of car tires passing over the bridge echoed above. Further up, the lights of the Banpo Bridge shimmered. Just then, the rainbow fountain sprayed jets of water.

Shi Taehyun pulled Jae Eunho up. Experiencing the night view from the ground, almost level with the surface of the Hangang River, was something he couldn’t have imagined.

Beyond the multicolored spread of water, the small Namsan Tower was visible. The sewer smell that had been interrupting the romance no longer lingered, pushed away by the scent of the river. His hair, which had been clinging to him in the humid air, gently fluttered in the cool river breeze. Jae Eunho asked Shi Taehyun, who was lying down on the cement floor,

“You’re saying you rode a duck boat all the way here just to decide on a tutoring location?”

“No. I showed you my ability directly. The one who rules the darkness that the police will never know. The hero of evil who will eliminate anyone who gets in the way.”

“What is that, it’s not a cartoon.”

“Speaking of heroes, I have connections not only in Yongsan, but also Gangbuk, Gangnam, and even Incheon. I have lines in neighborhoods with a lot of illegal immigrants, but I didn’t take you there today because there are a lot of ‘meat refrigerators’ and ‘indoor greenhouse vinyl houses’ there.”

It sounded like he was referring to organ trafficking and drug manufacturing. He probably thought he could scare him with gruesome words, but Jae Eunho just sighed.

“I wasn’t just following you, Teacher. I worked my ass off.”

He had formed a dark network by connecting dens of crime and evil, establishing a system to obtain all sorts of information without having to run around himself. It’s something impossible without considerable guts and the cruelty to subdue villains. Indeed, he couldn’t immediately think of anyone other than someone like Shi Taehyun who could pull it off.

“You’ll need me in the future, right? In return, give me proper tutoring service.”

Shi Taehyun looked at Eunho with languid eyes. He lit a cigarette and offered one to Eunho. When Eunho accepted, he used his own cigarette to light it. Shi Taehyun’s fingers brushed Eunho’s chin. Eunho had to hide the shiver that momentarily ran through him.

“Now, shall we start the lesson? If you don’t want to sit on the floor, come on top of me.”

“No thanks.”

“Before we start, do you have any questions for your student?”

“…How’s oral sex received as repayment for private loans? Is it different from regular oral?”

Shi Taehyun burst into laughter and lay back down on the floor.

“It’s similar to sucking. I use the identities of people who come to pay off their debts with their bodies to sign up for memberships here and there, buy drugs in their names, and make inquiries about assault contracts. That way, I get to know the network of these and those guys, grab their weaknesses, and use them when needed. I received a lot of help when getting on smuggling ships.”

The Hangang River water lapped against the wall. Behind the sound of the light-filled water spraying, the sound of sneakers dragging on the floor grazed his ears. Jae Eunho looked around. He noticed that the narrow door they had opened to come up was still open.

But there was no one around. There was no way he could have been followed to this secret semi-basement observatory after passing through the underground world of the manhole, but perhaps due to the kidnapping attempt, he had a strange feeling.

Shi Taehyun stretched out his booted foot and tapped the space next to Jae Eunho.

“I told you to focus on me? Are you a meerkat?”

“…….”

“Do you remember saying that it felt like being electrocuted by tens of thousands of volts if you did it with me, Teacher? What was that about? I couldn’t sleep that night because of the commotion. I dreamt that I did that thing with you, Teacher, a lot.”

“I don’t remember. Must have been talking nonsense because of the anesthetic.”

He remembered saying such things when Shi Taehyun appeared while he was being dragged away by the assailants. However, Eunho flatly lied. Shi Taehyun, exhaling cigarette smoke into the distance, rolled onto his side.

“How old was that boy when he died?”

This was the first question of the tutoring session. The lesson had begun.