NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 15



Only Krnovel

Exile – 5

Gyeongseong was so peaceful that the chaos of the past few days felt like a dream.

Although checkpoints were still in place on the streets, the police no longer treated people as they used to.

There were even some who deliberately avoided contact with citizens, fearing that the ghost of Gyeongseong hiding among the people might appear.

“I’ve never seen police officers this kind in my entire life.”

“Isn’t it all thanks to that guy who’s like the ghost of Gyeongseong? If it weren’t for that guy, there would have been a few more guys who got beaten up and had their teeth knocked out and their bones broken.”

“I feel a bit bad about saying this, but… I hope that guy who is the ghost of Gyeongseong or something stays out of sight for a long time. Then those police officers over there will stop whining.”

“What I’m saying is.”

The citizens of Gyeongseong seemed to secretly welcome the emergence of a new terrorist who had turned Gyeongseong upside down.

Those who had not welcomed Japanese rule in the first place were delighted to see the police officers, who had usually boasted without knowing how high the sky was, bowing their heads like reeds.

Even those who were not like that were glad that the usually overbearing police officers had become a little more lenient.

“What the hell is Gyeongseong’s Ghost? Who gave it such a tacky name?”

“It’s a bit tacky. What a cool name.”

“It’s cool. I think it would be better than a three-year-old who’s only read fairy tales his whole life naming it.”

“I guess so.”

I’ve been quietly hiding for the past few days, focusing on observing the atmosphere in Gyeongseong.

In the morning, I sneaked into Jongno Police Station to check out the situation there, and in the afternoon, I went to this teahouse overlooking Jongno to check out the reactions of the people around me.

In particular, the madam here may not know how to brew coffee properly, but she was good at collecting rumors from people around her, and she knew about many rumors that I couldn’t keep track of.

“I heard that the mother of the person who threw the bomb at Jongno Police Station, Kim Sang-ok, runs a hardware store in Gyeongseong?”

“Really? The police just left it alone?”

“Just leave him alone~ He goes looking for my son every day and makes a big fuss.”

“Oh, like that.”

This is exactly the rumor.

“I sometimes stop by that hardware store to buy things when I need them, but last time, the police officers were so violent that they even trashed the store.”

“I guess he’s really angry because his colleagues died or were injured in the last incident.”

“Teacher, don’t you know anyone high up in the Governor-General’s Office or Jongno? If you know someone, please help that lady out.”

I laughed at her words.

“If I had those connections, would I be sitting here at this hour sucking on this tasteless soup?”

“What?! What’s wrong with my stomach!”

“It’s salty, bitter, and sometimes even astringent.”

“profit···!”

“That’s why there are no customers.”

“A person like that is a freeloader who just wastes time on the street every day.”

“You’re just pouring salt on an old wound.”

He said that and smiled bitterly.

It wasn’t because of what Madame said, it was just because the coffee she made was extremely bitter.

It was a taste that was difficult for my tongue, which was soaked in instant coffee, to get used to.

“What does the Ghost of Gyeongseong do on a day like this but arrest the unemployed and bad cops?!”

“That guy is so busy that he doesn’t have time to care about a day laborer like me~”

“Huh, what a mess.”

Madam went to the counter in annoyance, and I was left alone again.

‘They say that police officers frequent the hardware store.’

When Mr. Kim Sang-ok left Gyeongseong, he asked me to take care of his family.

You don’t necessarily have to hear this, but in business, if there is something coming, there is something going away.

And I still haven’t been able to repay all the favors I received from them.

In order to gain trust in transactions between people, follow-up actions are more important than the transaction itself.

******

The hardware store run by Kim Chun-won, Kim Sang-ok’s younger brother, was noisy again today with loud shouting and the sound of things breaking and shattering.

“You still haven’t heard anything from your son?”

“I told you so! How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?!”

“The Kim Sang-ok I know is a man who cherishes his family terribly. How could he have left my younger sibling and mother without saying a word?”

“It’s been a long time since I broke off contact with my brother! Why on earth do you keep doing this!”

“I cut ties with him… Then where did the two thousand won I borrowed using the store as collateral go?”

“······.”

Kim Sang-ok’s younger brother, Kim Chun-won, could not answer easily.

“······That was borrowed to expand the store.”

“Expansion? How much and where did you expand it?”

The detective’s kick caused the nails on the display case to fly out.

The other officers just watched this quietly, giggling.

“Hey, Kim Chun-won.”

“······.”

“I’m speaking to you gently like a gentleman, so it seems you don’t know your situation well… Even if I drag you to the interrogation room in Jongno right now, there’s no one who can stop me.”

“······.”

“You know about the Jongno Police Station interrogation room, right? And you probably know what happened to all the people who went in there.”

Kim Chun-won’s body trembled slightly.

He avoided the detective’s gaze.

“Are you still in contact with your brother?”

“······.”

“Answer me.”

“Hyung, we haven’t heard from you at all since you left home.”

“Haha. It’s so hard to communicate like this…”

The detective scratched his head, then slapped Kim Chun-won in the face and kicked him away.

“100 million!”

“That’s why I say Joseon people shouldn’t talk. They have to be beaten to open their mouths.”

“Why are you doing this! What did I do wrong… Ugh!”

The detective said no more.

He grabbed Kim Chun-won’s hair with one hand and slapped his cheek with the other.

“What did Kim Sang-ok say? Did he ask for some money because Uiyoldan was short on money?”

“Ugh···. I told you that it’s been a long time since I cut ties with my brother···.”

“Ha, this kid is making people mad?”

The sound of flesh clashing with flesh echoed across the Gyeongseong floor.

People who were watching this would tightly close their eyes or turn their heads every time Kim Chun-won was hit.

“Oh my! Chunwon! These guys!”

At that moment, an old man appeared through the crowd, pushed the detective away, and wrapped his arms around Kim Chun-won.

“Why do you make it so hard for us to live, day after day!”

“What is this woman doing?”

“I am the mother of Kim Sang-ok and Kim Chun-won.”

“okay?”

The detective, who had heard the information about her from his subordinate, approached her with a smirk.

In his hand he held a heavy baton.

“You mean Kim Sang-ok’s mother···.”

“Do you think Sangok would blink an eye just because you say this? No matter how much your people persecute our family….”

“Do you know how many of your colleagues died or were injured because of your son? I don’t want to hit an old man who doesn’t have much time left, so let’s just leave it at that…”

The detective raised his hand with a smiling face.

However, Kim Sang-ok’s mother did not avoid or cower.

“Okay! Hit me, hit me! If I die, Sangok’s worries for a long time will disappear!”

“Huh, this woman seems to have gone completely crazy.”

“Sir, there are many eyes watching you. Please go back.”

“Keep your mouth shut and guard your surroundings. You might have to clean up a corpse soon.”

“The invoice···?”

The detective lowered his hand without saying a word.

Kim Sang-ok’s mother glared at the detective until the end.

In the cold winter, hot blood is flying on the streets, and people are screaming…

“Excuse me, please.”

“?!”

······did not lose.

This was because a gentleman in a suit suddenly appeared and grabbed the detective’s baton.

“What are you?!”

“Can’t you tell just by looking at him? He’s a customer who came to the hardware store to buy something.”

A gentleman dressed in black from head to toe, wearing black shoes, a black coat, and a black fedora, passed between the two and entered the store.

Then he picked up a hammer from inside and asked Kim Sang-ok’s mother.

“There’s no price tag here, but how much should I pay for this hammer?”

“Did the Joseon guys go crazy in groups today?”

“I asked how much it was.”

Kim Sang-ok’s mother, who was looking after her unconscious son, quietly opened her mouth.

“It’s two won.”

“The price is reasonable. The friendly service on top of that warms my heart.”

The gentleman walked out of the hardware store holding a hammer.

Then he took out a 10 won bill from his bosom and handed it to Kim Sang-ok’s mother.

“It’s the hammer price.”

“······.”

“What are you doing? I need change.”

“I know it may be presumptuous of me to say this, but in this situation···.”

“Don’t worry, just give me some change.”

The gentleman lowered his posture, lifted his bowler hat slightly, and met the old man’s eyes.

Then he smiled and comforted her in a soft tone.

“Please stay away for the time being. If you need anything, I will send someone to get it for you.”

Kim Sang-ok’s mother felt an inexplicable sense of relief at the words of the gentleman she met for the first time today, and she got up from her seat, supporting her son with difficulty.

Then the detective snorted.

“Oh my… You’re in the same boat as Kim Sang-ok.”

As soon as he finished speaking, police surrounded the gentleman and surrounded him.

Then each of them took out a baton.

“I need you to accompany me to the west for a bit.”

“It’s cold.”

“Haa···. This is why I hate Joseon guys. Why do Joseon guys ignore you when you speak nicely···.”

Before the detective could finish what he was saying, his jaw turned and he fell backwards.

When the police officers looked at the detective who had fallen backwards in confusion and turned their heads again to look at the gentleman, it was already too late.

“Hey, captain!”

“Ugh!”

“Ouch!”

It was only a moment, but during that time, numerous police officers fell down one after another, each clutching at a part of their body.

“Catch him! Catch him···.”

“oh my!”

“Eek!”

Some people rolled through the snow, holding onto their arms, others onto their knees or thighs.

A few lucky ones or those who stayed a little further away managed to escape his clutches, but that was it.

Among the fallen police officers groaning, only the gentleman holding the hammer stood tall.

“Take me.”

The gentleman threw away the bloody hammer.

A black hammer fell into the white snow, leaving a red mark.

“Hey, the ghost of Gyeongseong···!”

“It would be better to take him quickly.”

The police officers were at a loss and didn’t know what to do.

“Hey, what do we do now?”

“How would you understand!”

Everyone was trembling and could do nothing after actually witnessing the ghost of Gyeongseong that they had only heard of through rumors.

“I’ll send you guys away with all your limbs intact, so get out of my sight before I finish smoking.”

“······.”

The gentleman spoke and put a cigarette in his mouth.

Then he took out a match and lit it.

“Hey, hurry up!”

“Huh? Huh??”

“Move quickly!”

The acrid cigarette smoke must have brought the police officers back to their senses, so they hurriedly gathered up their colleagues and ran away.

The gentleman shouted at the back of the heads of those policemen.

“Tell the Jongno Police Chief that I’ll be there soon, so wipe your throat well and wait!”

And then he walked back into the crowd.

People avoided him, but followed him with their eyes.

Although no one cheered or applauded him for fear of being roughed up by the police, they made up for this by stepping aside to make way for him.

When the police officers who had come out of Jongno-seo Station hurriedly arrived at the scene, everyone had already left.