Perfect Mission Chapter 27 - Black Turtle (2)

Chapter 27 – Black Turtle (2)

“Three, two…” 

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

“Where did you get this tattoo?”

Dugyeom, feeling blood dripping down the side of his head, didn’t dare to resist. He had never understood why Hyeonuk had become so quiet in class after Yongjin got beaten up, but now he did. Junho’s cold, dead eyes made him lose all will to fight back.

“My… my hyungs took me.”

“Where?”

“A tattoo parlor.”

“Do all your hyungs have this tattoo?”

Dugyeom, his head still pinned against the wall, his eyes wide with terror, managed a nod.

“Yeah…”

“What’s the name of your gang?”

Dugyeom sensed something strange in Junho’s words. It didn’t sound like a high school student.

“I-I don’t know. I really don’t! I just saw my hyungs get it, and I wanted one too… I don’t know what gang it is.”

“Don’t bullshit me. How could you not know?”

“I’m serious! But… Hyeonuk might know.”

“Why?”

“He’s close with them. That’s why everyone does what he says.”

Junho finally released his grip on Dugyeom’s head. Dugyeom slumped to the ground, clutching his bleeding head. Ye-eun, the girl Suyeon had asked about, stood there, frozen, her eyes darting nervously at Junho.

Since things had come to this, Junho decided to talk to Yeeun.

“Suyeon was looking for you.”

“Me? Suyeon?”

“Yeah, she said you used to dance together.”

“Uh…”

“She said she couldn’t contact you.”

Junho turned his attention back to Dugyeom, catching the mix of fear and anger in his eyes.

“You can report me if you want. You can fight me if you want. But next time, it won’t end so easily. For me, that tattoo means you’re fair game.”

The moment he saw the tattoo, a memory flashed in his mind. Black Turtle putting a bullet in Jo Gyeongcheol’s only sister’s head. He remembered that Jo Gyeongcheol, then a mercenary, had entered the world of espionage to kill Black Turtle. But Black Turtle was reportedly killed in Japan nine years ago, before Jo Gyeongcheol could get to him.

‘He was alive? And he’s a gangster?’

Jo Gyeongcheol had seen Black Turtle’s body with his own eyes. Of course, not many people knew Black Turtle’s real face, but his movements and combat skills were unmistakable. What if that body wasn’t Black Turtle’s? Who died in his place, and how did the CIA and the NIS confirm it was him?

What he couldn’t understand was why Black Turtle would become a gangster. For what? Money? He could have made more as an agent. There had to be another reason…

There was something else that was strange. He thought he knew most of Jo Gyeongcheol’s memories, but this was like a hidden puzzle, a piece he’d never seen before. When he heard about Mantis from Goblin, he’d only thought about secretly finding him. But the moment he saw the Black Turtle tattoo, a flood of information about Mantis, White Tiger, and Black Turtle rushed into his mind. And he felt like there was something else, something deeper, hidden beneath the surface.

He couldn’t stand on the street forever. Junho left the two of them and started walking towards the school gate. But Ye-eun followed him.

“Why are you following me?”

“I was on my way to school.”

“What about him?”

“He was waiting for me… I couldn’t go to school; he was holding me here.”

“Why was he… never mind.”

Junho stopped himself from asking. He didn’t want to get involved in unnecessary things. His head was already about to explode from the sudden flood of memories about the three agents.

Then, Yeeun said,

“I… I’ve seen it before.”

Junho stopped walking.

“You’ve seen it? Not him? You mean Hyeonuk?”

“No. The boss at my workplace has that tattoo.”

“Work? Where?”

“…”

She hesitated, finding it difficult to say. She was in the same club as Suyeon, so she liked to dance. She was pretty and wore a short skirt. Junho had a feeling he knew what it was.

“Is it… a karaoke bar or something?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and answered, as if she’d been waiting for the question. A high school student…

“What grade are you in? Sophomore?”

“Yes…”

Ye-eun, reading the contempt in Junho’s eyes, quickly added,

“I had to do it for the money. I needed money urgently, but there weren’t many part-time jobs, and the ones I could get paid too little…”

“You think other people have a lot of money? Everyone’s struggling, but they still work at those places.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. It’s your life. Just give me the boss’s contact information and the address of the office.”

Yeeun said in a barely audible voice,

“I don’t know his contact information. There’s an oppa who contacts me for work, but he doesn’t have the tattoo. I’ve only been to the office once, and I was following someone, so I’d have to go there again to find it. But I have a bad sense of direction…”

“Sigh~ Alright. Let’s go.”

Junho sighed and entered the school. He was late, and he should have been worried about the teacher, but his mind was preoccupied with Black Turtle, so he barely greeted him and went to his seat.

‘I need to calm down. I’m too worked up. It’s not like Black Turtle is going anywhere. I have time.’

His heart had been pounding since he remembered the image of Jo Gyeongcheol’s sister being shot. It was as if not only the memories but also the emotions had been transferred to him. It was similar to when he killed Beretta. It felt like he was possessed by Jo Gyeongcheol, and he felt the same way now.

Junho closed his eyes to calm himself. He just needed to breathe and regain his composure…

“Hey, Kang Junho! You’re late, and now you’re sleeping? Go stand in the back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Of course, that wasn’t easy either.

 

***

 

Gyeongsik successfully cashed in the 1kg gold bar at an online gold exchange. It was worth nearly 90 million won. He wanted to pay off his debts immediately, but he suppressed the urge. Actually, it was supposed to be 100 million won, but he realized he couldn’t use his own bank account. All his accounts were frozen. After much deliberation, he found another homeless person whose accounts weren’t frozen and asked for a favor. The man demanded a 10 million won commission, and after getting Junho’s approval, Gyeongsik was able to withdraw the cash.

He’d lost a hefty 10 million won in commission, but he still had a large sum of cash, and he was anxiously waiting at the designated location in his car. A short while later, a man in his mid-thirties opened the passenger door and got in. Gyeongsik, startled, clutched the backpack containing the money to his chest and shouted,

“Who are you?”

“It’s me.”

A low, gravelly voice. Gyeongsik realized that the man who looked to be in his early thirties was the same middle-aged man he had met a few days ago. He looked like he had just come from a workout, dressed in casual sportswear, with light sunglasses and a much brighter complexion. And he smelled faintly of cologne. His voice was the same, but he looked like a completely different person.

“Th-This…”

“The money? Is that it?”

“Yes…”

“Give it to me.”

Gyeongsik handed over the backpack, still staring at the man’s face, suspicious.

“It’s me. The one who blew that guy’s head off in front of you.”

“Ah!”

“Give it to me.”

Gyeongsik, relieved, handed over the backpack. Junho opened the backpack, fanned out a stack of 50,000 won bills, then put it back and zipped it closed.

“I didn’t think about your accounts being frozen.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s your life, you don’t have to apologize to me. I need not only your errands but also your account.”

“I know.”

Gyeongsik knew that this mysterious man was using him as a frontman to make things easier for himself. The same would apply to money.

“I’ll take this for now, since I need cash. By any chance, do you have a crypto wallet?”

“Crypto? No. I don’t.”

“Then open one now. I’ll send you the money there. If you convert it to Korean won and deposit it into your bank account, your accounts will be unfrozen, right?”

Gyeongsik’s heart pounded, and he nodded repeatedly.

“Yes.”

“How much is your debt?”

“300 million won.”

“300 million… For 300 million, you have to sell your life to me. Will you do it?”

Until recently, he had been living in the subway station, cursing his miserable life. If it were just him, he might have hesitated, but thinking about his family, who were suffering because of him, he knew he would do anything to get them out of debt.

“I will. I’ll be loyal to you.”

“Good. I’ll send you 300 million won worth of crypto. Settle your debts by next week. Of course, don’t contact your family. If you need to, I’ll have someone contact them for you.”

“Thank you. But… my wife needs to know that the debts are cleared. So she can work in peace…”

“I’ll let her know when everything is settled.”

Gyeongsik bowed his head repeatedly.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“It’s not for free.”

“Then… what should I call you from now on?”

Junho thought for a moment, then smirked.

“James.”

Gyeongsik thought he had misheard.

“James?”

“Yes, James.”

Junho left the dumbfounded Gyeongsik, slung the backpack over his shoulder, and thought of a certain character.

James Bond.

‘Cool. So cool!’

Junho, pushing his sunglasses up, started walking, then realized his mistake and went back to Gyeongsik’s car. He had almost hailed a taxi when he had a driver and a car at his disposal. He said to the slightly flustered Gyeongsik,

“To Yongsan.”

“Understood.”

Junho checked his crypto wallet as Gyeongsik drove. His heart fluttered at the sight of nearly 2 billion won worth of Bitcoin. 2 billion won… It was an amount he could never have earned in a lifetime.

He had given the NIS the location of the gold and explosives, so they would have recovered them by now. They might have been suspicious when they saw 1kg of gold on the online exchange, but they wouldn’t dare to investigate him. They wouldn’t be naive enough to think that was all the explosives he had.

Now he could just transfer the money as needed. In this world, 2 billion won wasn’t a huge amount. A single sniper rifle cost 200 million won.

‘Wait a minute!’

A thought occurred to him. Given Jo Gyeongcheol’s meticulous nature, he wouldn’t have kept all his guns at home. Why couldn’t he remember? If he had, he wouldn’t have needed to buy a sniper rifle. Was there a reason?

“We’re here.”

Lost in thought, he had already arrived at his destination. Junho got out of the car and walked through the now-quiet electronics market. He entered an ordinary-looking shop at the end of the market that sold phones and camera equipment.

“What are you looking for?”

A young-looking man with a receding hairline greeted him. He was short, under 170cm, and had a small build, but Junho was one of the few people who knew how dangerous he was.

“I’m here to see some… items.”

Junho placed the backpack on the glass display case and grinned.