#135

Tae-heun, accompanied by the youngest patrolman who knew a thing or two about computers, headed to the youth association office.

Choi Gi-cheol’s computer was surprisingly high-performance for a desktop used in a rural area. It had almost every program installed, so Tae-heun didn’t need to bring his laptop. Tae-heun found it ridiculous that Choi Gi-cheol had bought a state-of-the-art computer with village activity funds to watch porn, but thanks to that, his work was much easier.

Tae-heun worked only with the keyboard. A patrolman, having brought a chair to sit next to him, watched Tae-heun’s hand movements with admiration.

The real challenge was the handwriting. Deciphering the writing on the A4 paper was no easy task. Given the age range, it was natural that there were many typos, and even those were mostly written crookedly, making them difficult to read. Except for a few sheets written by the man and Tae-heun, and three or four elderly people with beautiful handwriting, it was like decoding a cipher.

Tae-heun and the patrolman put their heads together to guess the letters. The first few sheets were very difficult, but the rest were surprisingly easy to decipher. This was because the company names overlapped.

The rest of the work was really easy. Lee Seon-jae, himself, was the one who created the current Ilgwang Financial. He was also the one who helped prominent figures in the political and business world evade taxes as if it were a daily routine. Compared to those tasks, figuring out the extent of the damage this time was a piece of cake. It didn’t require any brainpower.

However, the scale was much larger than he had expected. He shouldn’t have underestimated it just because it was money from rural villagers, collected little by little. He was furious at the Kwon Il-taek family. He felt even more so because he knew all the circumstances.

Bastards, sons of bitches.

He cursed them hundreds, even thousands, of times in his mind.

He could remember all the numbers once he saw them, but not the names. Tae-heun boldly made a separate copy in front of the patrolman. Even if he didn’t know anything else, finding contact information was a piece of cake once he knew the names of the loan sharks.

Tae-heun was going to inform them that the Kwon Il-taek family had fled. Regardless of the amount, loan sharks hated runaway customers the most. One of the things they did was chase after those runaways. His hands were itching to call the loan sharks right away.

Detective Oh came that afternoon. The women’s association had made noodles for lunch, and the rest had returned to their homes to bring side dishes and bowls. the man took on all the physical labor. For example, moving the pot of boiled noodles and rinsing them in cold water. The women’s association members and Man, who had been standing in front of the fire for over an hour in this heat, were all drenched in sweat.

“Oh, Dae-ho! Why are you coming only now? How many times did we call you!”

At the cry of an old woman, Tae-heun and Man, who were belatedly eating noodles, turned around at the same time.

Detective Oh’s appearance brought life back to the village hall after a long time.

Detective Oh scratched his head and said, “Ah, yes. I was so busy with work.” Judging by his sallow complexion, it seemed like he had been chasing after the Kwon Il-taek family all night, but he tried not to show it. Furthermore, he scolded them for calling so many times.

“I’m already busy enough standing guard, why are you calling me so much? I have to live my own life too, elders.”

In the meantime, he even advised them not to do it again.

“It’s been so long since you were contacted, and you’re the only one who’s so carefree.”

Tae-heun grumbled. But he didn’t intend to get up like the others.

“Where are you going? Have some food.”

Tae-heun said to the man as he was about to get up. the man shouted, “Still,” and stood up awkwardly. He looked at Detective Oh with the expectation that he, being a detective, would have found something.

Tae-heun also put down his chopsticks and watched Detective Oh.

“We are searching diligently right now, so please wait patiently. Don’t lose hope.”

But Detective Oh only said something that even a stray dog could say.

“Dae-ho, you can find them, right? Right?”

Ms. Hyun-sook, who was eating lunch with the women’s association members, had approached Detective Oh and asked with a desperate face.

“Geez, do you think I wouldn’t take care of it? Why are you out here instead of going home to cook?”

Detective Oh scolded Ms. Hyun-sook with a somewhat annoyed expression.

Ms. Hyun-sook, who would have definitely said something back normally, kept her mouth shut because she didn’t want to get on his bad side, since he was a detective.

Even if he said that, Detective Oh wouldn’t be completely ignorant of where the Kwon Il-taek family was. Tae-heun was certain that he wouldn’t have come here in the first place if he hadn’t found any trace of them.

Detective Oh’s visit to the village was more out of obligation than free will. It was an investment involving all the local leaders, including the police chief, so he couldn’t avoid it. Above all, since everyone knew about the relationship between Detective Oh and Kwon Il-taek, it was too risky to come empty-handed. He had to find something.

Sure enough, Officer Kim took Detective Oh aside to talk. The atmosphere between the two was unusual.

“What the hell are you doing? Is this the time to be saying such leisurely things?”

Officer Kim raised his voice.

Detective Oh tried to calm Officer Kim, conscious of the surrounding gazes. Other police officers who were watching joined in. The village hall was enveloped in silence as the police seemed to be pressing Detective Oh. Everyone held their breath, trying to eavesdrop.

“Isn’t Dae-ho keeping quiet even though he knows everything?”

Someone whispered.

“I heard he met Yong-jae in Seoul not too long ago?”

“I heard he stopped by the town a few days ago too. Maybe they met secretly there?”

Everyone added their own words.

“Dae-ho, are you really sure you don’t know anything?”

“If you know anything, you should tell us.”

“You know our situation too.”

They pleaded with him to tell them anything, even if it was trivial.

But Detective Oh didn’t even pretend to listen to anything they said.

“You are also responsible for this, Dae-ho. It’s the same as you guaranteeing it!”

The eldest Hyung, who had been holding back, shouted outright.

“Hey, why am I responsible for this? And why would I guarantee it? You’re saying some strange things.”

Detective Oh finally flared up when he was held accountable.

That was the beginning. Everyone, who had been careful not to offend Detective Oh, began to argue, asking why he wasn’t responsible. In an instant, the atmosphere turned hostile. Everyone, regardless of gender or age, stood up from their seats. Even the elders, who seemed to have difficulty standing, joined in.

Tae-heun, who had been sitting and watching all along, had no choice but to get up and stand next to Man.

“Okay, everyone. You can’t be so emotional. First, calm down, and please wait here for a moment. I’ll listen to what he has to say and report back to you.”

Officer Kim stepped in to resolve the situation. He was logical and calm. Thanks to him, the atmosphere eased somewhat.

“Let’s go. Let’s talk over there.”

Then, Officer Kim tried to lead Detective Oh out of the village hall.

But the Eagle Five Brothers stood their ground. Some who shared their views blocked the door.

“Where are you going? Talk here.”

“Yeah, talk in front of us! We’re the victims, why are you talking separately somewhere else? Isn’t that right, everyone?”

When someone said this and tried to elicit a response, people began to stir again. They reached out to grab Detective Oh, who was trying to leave the village hall. Sensing a crisis, Officer Kim shouted for them to calm down, but his words no longer worked.

“Hey, you bastards. What are you doing? Aren’t you working?”

Eventually, Officer Kim shouted at his subordinates, and three police officers, including a patrolman, grabbed and pulled people away.

The resistance was fierce. Severe swearing and physical fights broke out. The police officers were also enraged when they were pinched and hit by the residents. Because they were trying to solve everything with brute force, the elders fell and the women stumbled. In an instant, the village hall was engulfed in madness with shouts and screams.

It was a truly foolish act. To provoke people while being outnumbered. The people here were risking their lives. They were so out of their minds that they wouldn’t even bat an eye if they killed someone right away. If they didn’t get their money back, they would lose their land and their homes. They were thinking that it would be better to eat pesticide and die like Mr. Lee.

Tae-heun pushed the man away with his body, who was already moving towards the crowd. He pushed him as far away from the crowd as possible and stood in front of Man.

“What are you going to do, Ki-beom?”

He asked Man.

“I have to help.”

man answered as if it were obvious.

“If you’re not sure, stay still. Don’t get involved unnecessarily.”

If the man stepped in, the fight would get bigger. It was obvious whose side he would take, so he stopped the man no matter what.

“I’m sorry, but I’m on Detective Oh’s side. That’s how it is right now.”

After saying that firmly to Man, he turned around.

He pushed his way through the crowd instead of Man.

Tae-heun tried to help the police take Detective Oh out of the village hall. But the situation was not favorable. Everyone was blocking them so desperately that there was no sign of them being pushed back.

Then the man approached. Tae-heun shook his head at Man, pushing people away, telling him to stay put. He said silently not to come. He didn’t want to hurt the man with his own hands. But the man didn’t stop.

Shit, this is driving me crazy.

Just as he was wondering what to do, the man joined Tae-heun’s group, contrary to Tae-heun’s expectations.

“Hey, you bastard, are you crazy?”

The eldest Hyung shouted at Man. The rest of the Eagle Five Brothers rebuked Man, asking if he was in his right mind. Ms. Hyun-sook also glared at the man with disappointed eyes.

“Move. Hyungs. I told you, there seems to be a problem with the chairman. I said we shouldn’t keep taking out loans like this. But what did you say to me then? You told me to stay still. You told me not to falsely accuse the chairman. You said that even beasts know gratitude, but I’m worse than a beast, didn’t you? But is this okay? Huh?”

man confronted the Eagle Five Brothers in a very low and threatening voice.

“What? This bastard’s got some nerve. Are you saying we knew and pretended not to know?”

The eldest Hyung questioned. But his voice lacked confidence.

man pushed the eldest Hyung aside as if he wasn’t worth responding to. The eldest Hyung, who was smaller and thinner than Man, was pushed back weakly. The others were the same.

“The elders are the same.”

man protected Detective Oh with a disgusted look on his face.

Cool, my Man.

Tae-heun smiled.

As Tae-heun and the man stepped in, the situation was reversed. Soon, the police safely took Detective Oh out of the vortex.

Detective Oh had taken refuge in the small auditorium at the end of the hallway across from the village hall. It was also where the police had been staying and eating since yesterday.

He even locked the door, as if he was afraid of something.

“It’s me. Kim Tae-heun.”

Tae-heun shouted at the door. In the meantime, the villagers who had come out into the hallway were approaching this way one by one. As the number increased, the man stood in front of the door like a bodyguard.

“Only Tae-heun goes in. I’ll be guarding here.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

A patrolman peeked his head out to observe the situation. He shouted something inside and gestured for Tae-heun to come in quickly. Eventually, Tae-heun left the man in front of the door and entered the small auditorium alone.

Chapter 136