Perfect Mission Chapter 5 - First Mission (2)

Chapter 5 – First Mission (2)

 

“You’re sick?”

“Yes, I have a stabbing pain in my chest, and I think I need to rest lying down.”

His homeroom teacher, Yoo Hanseok, was a little over forty and taught Korean.

These days, most teachers preferred less work, avoided causing trouble, and absolutely loathed dealing with parents’ complaints or direct calls.

So, he had no choice but to agree when Junho, who had recently been in a car accident, asked to leave early due to illness.

“Alright, I understand. Go straight home, don’t wander off.”

“Of course.”

Just before class was about to start, Junho returned to the classroom to grab his bag and leave, catching everyone’s attention.

“Looks like he’s running away.”

Kim Jooyoung, one of Yongjin’s close friends and part of the bully group, sneered. The rumor about Yongjin’s brother coming to get him had spread throughout the class.

“I have to. But can you keep running? His brother will chase you all the way home.”

Junho ignored Jooyoung’s provocation and left the classroom quickly. He didn’t have time to argue with high school kids.

“Whoa… what’s with him? What’s gotten into him?”

He had changed so much that everyone was having trouble adjusting. Among them, Hyeonuk and Suyeon’s faces were like stone.

Hyeonuk felt a mix of frustration and anger towards himself for instinctively cowering in Junho’s presence. The force with which Yongjin was knocked down had sent shivers down his spine. The scene still vividly replayed in his mind whenever he closed his eyes. Perhaps because of this, he unconsciously avoided looking at Junho during break time.

He hoped Yongjin’s brother would take care of Junho somehow, but strangely, he didn’t think Junho would be seriously hurt.

Suyeon, on the other hand, felt a mix of bewilderment and embarrassment when she recalled Junho patting her shoulder as he passed her in the cafeteria. This embarrassment wasn’t the kind one felt from the touch of someone they liked, but rather the disgust and shame of being touched by someone they disliked. The dismissive way he’d treated her in the cafeteria only amplified her embarrassment, making her inexplicably angry.

***

“Mom, you know the detective’s number, the one who investigated the accident?”

Junho called his mother from the bus on his way home.

[Yes, I do. Why?]

“I have something to ask, so tell me the detective’s number. And the insurance investigator’s too.”

He knew that several people were involved in investigating the accident, which was a major one. Among them were a detective and an insurance investigator, and they had focused on the driver of the large truck that caused the accident.

His mother had said that it was a good thing they had insurance and that they had received a considerable amount in insurance money. They had also received a significant settlement while he was in the hospital, so, aside from his injuries, his mother’s bank account would have received a decent influx of cash.

[What is it? Tell me.]

“I just remembered something about the moment of the accident. I think I need to tell the detective, so give me the number quickly.”

[You have to tell me what happened when you get home!]

“Okay, okay.”

[I’ll send you the number.]

“Okay.”

Soon, the detective and the insurance investigator’s numbers arrived via text.

Junho immediately called Detective Lee Jeongmin.

[Hello?]

“Hello. This is Kang Junho, I was in a car accident near Mokdong Station about ten days ago.”

[Oh? Uh… yeah, Kang Junho. Are you okay? I heard you were badly injured.]

“I’m fine. I had a couple of broken ribs, but I’ve rested a lot, so I’m better now. I still feel pain if I move too much, though.”

[That’s good. But why are you calling?]

“I have something to tell you. About the truck that caused the accident.”

[Yeah, what about it?]

“Something’s strange. I’ll tell you the details in person.”

[Hmm… then can you come here? Do you know where Gangseo Police Station is?]

“Yes, I’ll find it.”

[Now?]

“Yes, it will take about 20 minutes.”

[Okay, come to the Traffic Investigation Division when you get here.]

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Junho texted the insurance investigator to ask what had happened to the car that caused the accident and searched for news articles about the accident.

Since it was a major accident with 5 deaths and 11 injuries, there were quite a few articles. He looked for an article about an unidentified death but couldn’t find one. Had the reporters not investigated Jo Gyeongcheol’s death?

Lost in thought, he soon arrived at the Traffic Investigation Division of Gangseo Police Station.

“Hello. Are you Detective Lee Jeongmin?”

“Oh, you’re here.”

Detective Lee Jeongmin looked to be in his mid-thirties, with short hair and a sturdy build. His kind face made him seem like a good person.

Of course, Junho wasn’t naive enough to judge someone solely on their appearance.

“So, what brings you all the way here?”

Detective Lee Jeongmin took a sip of his instant coffee and asked curiously. He wondered what a student in uniform could have to say during school hours that warranted a visit to the police station.

“I happened to see something when the accident occurred. There was a lot of lightning, right?”

“Well, I believe so. I wasn’t at the scene, but it’s in the weather records. It rained heavily.”

“I thought maybe the truck malfunctioned because of a sudden, huge thunderclap. I thought about it while I was in the hospital.”

“And?”

“But then I realized it didn’t make sense. How could a truck go crazy and cause an accident just because it got struck by lightning?”

“…”

“I saw something…”

“What?”

“The driver. The truck driver.”

Detective Lee Jeongmin’s gaze sharpened.

“He… didn’t seem fazed.”

“You saw that in such a short time? The truck was going over 100km/h at the time of the accident.”

“I happened to be looking at the truck when the lightning struck. I kept my eyes on it, so even though the speed increased, I could still see. My head moved along with it, like this…”

Junho raised his index finger and quickly moved it from left to right, along with his head.

A look of bewilderment crossed Detective Lee’s face, unsure whether to believe him. Junho, unconcerned, asked,

“What happened to the truck driver?”

“Didn’t you see the news? He died.”

Junho feigned surprise and then asked what he really wanted to know.

“Really? Ha… Then what about the person who hit me? I only remember it being a really nice car.”

“Ah, the unidentified person?”

“Unidentified? But the car was really nice.”

Detective Lee hesitated, unsure whether he should disclose the information.

Junho pressed on.

“Then the body must still be at the morgue, right? It would be a big deal if something like that went missing.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. Do you remember anything else about the situation?”

“That’s all I can remember for now.”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll look into it.”

Detective Lee Jeongmin clearly didn’t want to make a big deal out of the case. It was a closed case, and there was no point in digging further; no one would praise him for it.

From Junho’s perspective, he had gotten the information he wanted, so it didn’t matter.

On his way home, Junho bought several wigs and a bunch of clothes, shoes, and accessories from Dongdaemun and Dongmyo markets. He also stopped by a cosmetics store, where the female employees’ expressions were quite a sight.

He then stopped by a real estate agency near his home and inquired about a small, short-term rental. It would be troublesome if his mother found these miscellaneous items hidden in his room.

Junho packed a few clothes and a wig into a large plastic bag and took the subway.

[The car involved in the accident was scrapped.]

The message from the insurance investigator made Junho’s heart race. If the car was scrapped, it meant they admitted they hadn’t found anything inside.

They would definitely try to examine the body again.

Junho got off at Samseong Station and went into an empty subway restroom stall, locking the door and starting to undress.

After removing his clothes and shoes, Junho took out the clothes, shoes, and wig from the plastic bag and put his own clothes and shoes inside. Then, while urinating in the toilet, he splashed some urine onto his clothes.

It was a shocking act that would horrify anyone who saw it, but Junho gritted his teeth. He dabbed at the urine with toilet paper and then dabbed the urine-soaked paper onto other clean areas of his clothes.

“Ugh! Eww… Earning a million dollars isn’t easy.”

Muttering to himself, Junho put on the urine-soaked clothes and the wig. He took out makeup and shoe polish and, without looking in the mirror, smeared it all over his face with a large brush as if he were painting.

In a matter of moments, the previously normal-looking person had transformed into a beggar.

He put the clean clothes in a subway locker and headed to his destination.

Seoul Metropolitan Seunghwawon.

This was where the bodies of unidentified individuals found in Seoul were kept, and if his body hadn’t disappeared, this was where the deceased Jo Gyeongcheol would be.

“How can I help you?”

“Um… I think my brother was in an accident… Wasn’t there a big car accident in Mokdong recently?”

“Ah…”

The female employee managing Seunghwawon opened her mouth as if she understood. She also subtly stepped back, probably unconsciously recoiling from the stench. Her expression didn’t betray her disgust, so he thought she had admirable endurance.

“You need to fill out your information here.”

“I write it here?”

“Yes, but you also need to show your ID…”

“As you can see, I’m in this state, and I lost my ID a while ago…”

“What should we do? That’s…”

Junho, with a tearful face, grabbed the poor employee’s arm with both hands.

“I’ll know him as soon as I see him. So please…”

The employee, looking like she was about to faint, calmed herself and said,

“Sir, I understand, but please let go of my arm…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, please, just this once.”

“Alright. Then please write your name here, and your contact information… perhaps…”

“I don’t have one.”

“Okay, then just write your name and follow me.”

Junho apologized profusely to the employee in his mind and followed her.

As the situation unfolded according to his plan, Junho felt a thrill electrify his entire being.

‘Maybe I have a talent for this?’

“Here it is. Open number 273, check, and then come back and let me know if it’s him.”

“Okay.”

She finished speaking and hurried away. She was probably going straight to the bathroom to wash her arms.

Creak…

Finding Jo Gyeongcheol’s body wasn’t difficult. The body pulled from compartment 273 was indeed Jo Gyeongcheol, as he remembered.

His face and upper body were horrifically mangled, showing the severity of the accident.

Junho closed his eyes, took a deep breath to compose himself, and opened Jo Gyeongcheol’s mouth. He gripped a lower molar and pulled. With a ‘pop’ two molars came out at once.

Junho opened the extracted molars and retrieved a tiny chip.

This was the reason why ASA hadn’t been able to obtain the confidential data, even after killing Jo Gyeongcheol.

This tiny chip had been hidden in his molar.

Since he always wore a mask and carried the data in a 007 bag, they probably hadn’t thoroughly checked his body.

Junho closed the body’s mouth and carefully placed it back in the compartment. He then shuffled out of the morgue.

“How was it?”

As Junho shook his head with a sorrowful expression, a man entered the entrance.

“Police. I have some questions.”

Junho knew instinctively.

That guy wasn’t a cop.