Perfect Mission Chapter 6 - First Mission (3)

Chapter 6 – First Mission (3)

 

Why did he think that?

That was Junho’s first thought in that fleeting moment. Jeans, a casual jumper, a scruffy appearance suggesting he hadn’t showered in days, and a burly physique. It was the typical detective look straight out of movies and dramas.

‘What was it? Something felt off…’

Junho gave a slight bow to the employee and slowly backed away, reeking of urine. He kept thinking.

Replaying the moment he first saw the man in slow motion, Junho finally figured it out as the subway station came into view.

‘His glance! That’s it.’

The man, while talking to the uniformed employee, had briefly glanced at Junho. But it wasn’t a “Who’s this beggar?” kind of look. He’d observed Junho’s hands, which were hard to disguise, and his shoes, which could easily be overlooked. And even when he passed close by and smelled the urine, he didn’t show any disgust.

Thanks to Jo Gyeongcheol’s knowledge, Junho knew that people instinctively avoided the smell of feces and urine. But how could a police officer, who wasn’t even a customer service employee forced to interact with the public, react so indifferently? That kind of reaction was likely only possible if he was accustomed to the smell of urine.

So, whoever did it, it was now certain that Jo Gyeongcheol was murdered.

Why would they kill him to get the data when it would have been handed over to them soon anyway?

Did they not want to pay him?

Was that really all there was to it?

Junho forced his mind to wander, trying not to dwell on it. He retrieved the plastic bag from the subway locker and headed to the restroom.

“Ugh, what am I going to do about this smell?”

The pungent odor was making him dizzy.

 

***

 

“Ha…”

Inside the morgue. After searching for over ten minutes with Jo Gyeongcheol’s body, the “detective” finally found something. He looked at the open mouth of the corpse and the subtly separated molars, letting out a hollow laugh before gritting his teeth.

“Fucking hell, it was here?”

Angrily, he shoved the body back into the compartment and went to find the employee.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Has anyone touched the unidentified body?”

“Touched it, how?”

“I mean, anyone who examined the body. You have records, right?”

“Only one person has come to see the body since it was brought in.”

The employee handed him the visitor log and pointed to the name at the bottom.

“This person here. He said the deceased looked like his brother…”

“Why doesn’t this person have a contact number?”

The employee bit her lip, her face troubled. The man seemed to understand, even without her answer.

“That homeless man from earlier?”

“Yes. He said he didn’t have an ID and only wrote his name…”

Before she could finish, the man rushed outside. He looked around the main street, but the reeking homeless man was nowhere to be seen.

“Fuck!”

He went back inside, checked the license plate of the car parked in front of Seunghwawon, and called the number on it.

“Hello. Are you the owner of vehicle 5624? This is the police. I’d like to check the footage from your dashcam.”

 

***

 

An apartment complex under construction. It was evening, and no one was left except for the security guard. He was probably engrossed in YouTube or Netflix.

Junho walked right in, pretending to be a construction worker, and slipped into the shadows, moving around the dimly lit area as if he owned the place, while talking on the phone with his mother.

“Yeah, I’ll be home soon. I’m with a friend. I’ll study too. You can really look forward to my mock exam scores this time. Really. Especially English. I’m pretty confident. I’m serious.”

To his mother’s question about why he was late, he promised good grades and ended the call. He then found a drum can in a corner of the construction site, with traces of a fire inside.

Junho took the dirty clothes out of the large plastic bag he was carrying and threw them into the drum can. He then lit them on fire using the thinner and lighter he had brought. This, too, was something the deceased Jo Gyeongcheol would have done without hesitation, so it was easy for Junho to replicate.

Since the fire was inside a building, it wouldn’t be visible from outside, making it a good way to dispose of evidence discreetly within the city.

Keeping an eye out for the site manager, Junho waited until the evidence was completely incinerated and then quickly left.

Now, all he had to do was deliver the retrieved item, and another $700,000 would be his. He decided to wait until tomorrow to deliver it, thinking it might be suspicious if he did it too quickly.

Humming happily on his way home…

“Hey! Kang Junho!”

Ahn Suyeon, wearing her school uniform, emerged from an alley.

Seeing her in her uniform with just a jumper, Junho tilted his head. It wasn’t her appearance that was strange, but the fact that she was alone. He had expected her to bring a bunch of her “older guy” friends.

“What? Were you waiting for me?”

“Why did you ignore me?”

A random question. Even with Jo Gyeongcheol’s memories, Junho found it difficult to keep up with the erratic thoughts of a high school girl.

“I ignored you? You?”

“Yes, you ignored me. Don’t you remember saying you’d need help?”

“Ah~ I didn’t really need it. And we’re not close enough for me to ask for your help.”

Suyeon was momentarily taken aback.

“Ha, what, can’t friends help each other?”

“Were we friends?”

“…”

“We’ve never even had a proper conversation.”

“We can be friends even if we haven’t. We’re in the same class.”

“…I didn’t know you had such a humanitarian spirit. Alright, I’ll consider it next time.”

Even after he said he’d consider accepting her help, her expression didn’t soften. She didn’t even know why she was angry, why she had come all the way to his house to confront him.

Junho, with Jo Gyeongcheol’s memories, thought he knew why she was angry. Her pride was hurt because, for the first time, she had encountered someone she couldn’t control. It must have been irritating for her, whose life had been easy, to be ignored by a nerd who, until recently, had only talked about games in class.

She had come all the way to his house not only because she was irritated but also because she was curious about his sudden change.

Jo Gyeongcheol had encountered many people like her. In his line of work, everyone was competent, and the women, especially, were not only intelligent but also beautiful, experts at manipulating men. So, although the degree might vary, they all shared a common trait: confidence in themselves and a desire to control others. And since it was difficult to survive in that world without such pride, Junho didn’t necessarily see it as a bad thing.

Of course, he couldn’t put Ahn Suyeon, an ordinary person, in the same category as those in his line of work.

Just then, she cleared her throat and stepped back, pinching her nose.

“What the… Did you piss yourself?”

“Ah, on my way here, there was an elderly person who needed some assistance, and I think some of their… scent rubbed off on me.”

“Really?”

Suyeon looked embarrassed as Junho shamelessly claimed he had been doing a good deed. She turned her head.

“Anyway, I hope you won’t ignore people like that again.”

“Alright. You should go.”

“Tsk! I was going to anyway! Go wash yourself.”

Suyeon turned and quickly disappeared down the alley.

“Ahem… ugh…”

Junho smelled himself and ran home.

 

***

 

The next morning.

“Mom, I suddenly feel sick.”

“Huh? You’re sick?”

His mother’s eyes narrowed when he clutched his chest and complained of pain in the morning.

“Yeah, I really feel sick. A stabbing pain. Like needles poking me.”

“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”

“I think it’s because I moved around too much. The doctor said I should just rest.”

His mother suppressed the urge to smack her son, who she suspected was faking it.

“Are you really sick?”

“I’m telling you, I am. And I’ll study while resting at home.”

“Sigh… Really?”

“I’m really confident this time. Trust me.”

“Then get some rest. I don’t need to call the school, right?”

“No, I’ll tell my teacher.”

“Okay. Then rest well and read some books. There’s food in the fridge, so help yourself.”

“Alright, alright.”

Sighing inwardly at her unreliable son, his mother left for work, and Junho was free again.

“Yes, I saw your message. When can I see the room? After lunch? Okay, I’ll be there then.”

“I’m thinking of joining a gym…”

Junho was busy from the morning. He scheduled a visit to the real estate agency for the afternoon and decided to check out a few gyms in the morning. He also ordered some items online that he hadn’t been able to find at Dongdaemun the previous day. When he ran out of allowance, he deposited some of the cash into his bank account.

He made deposits through several different ATMs, which felt strangely like committing a crime.

Well, he had stolen a dead man’s money, so it was a crime, wasn’t it?

But it was the money of a man who had done many bad things, and since Junho had inherited his memories, he believed the original owner wouldn’t mind.

Junho had a quick lunch at home and went out, pulling his hat low.

He entered an apartment complex a little distance from his home and tossed a small, newspaper-wrapped package into a clothing donation bin. He then sent an email.

[Clothing donation bin in front of Building 401, Haengbok Pureujyo Apartments, Wonyong-dong]

Junho grinned and left, having completed the mission.