Chapter 76

Chapter 76 – Doll Play #2

Tae-hyuk finished drawing the picture and quickly left . Although the opera mask covered his face, it was still risky if he encountered Kang-suk here .

‘Maybe I should find another disguise . ’

He had obtained this from one of the guests from the the Death Circus . The texture of the plaster mask wasn’t bad .

‘It’s better than wearing a stocking over my head . Doesn’t it liven up the atmosphere? It’s more fun than playing with dolls . ’

Tae-hyuk looked at the image that he drew when he looked at the Christmas tree . It was a clue obtained by using one of his precious bombs . Of course it was valuable .

‘Then I will start earnestly going after Doll Play from tomorrow . First of all, let’s handle the witness . ’

Tae-hyuk grabbed the iron pipe, turned, and headed toward the building where the witness was . Once he got to the roof, he saw two people . Tae-hyuk hid behind a wall and listened to their conversation .

“I thought the bomb was a dud so I ran over right away . Yes, what do you have?”

“Uh, that… That . Someone who looked like a criminal was walking around so I made sure to get him on my camera…”

“Ohhhh! Kwon Joon-hyuk! That is a big jackpot!”

Tae-hyuk looked at the man who praised the AD, Kwon Joon-hyuk . He didn’t need to use the Spying skill to determine his name . Tae-hyuk knew who he was .

‘Whoa . I didn’t think I would meet Shin Se-ho again here . ’

It was a bit unpleasant to call it a relationship, but Tae-hyuk knew Shin Se-ho . He was a man who visited Tae-hyuk every day in jail, asking questions that invaded his privacy . Tae-hyuk was annoyed and eventually refused his visits every time . He was an enemy who waited for Seo Ha-ran’s visits and questioned her against her will .

In other words, he was a man who would sell his soul for a scoop .

‘Wait a minute . ’

Tae-hyuk remembered something strange .

In his past life, the media revealed that Ha-ran was his sister and turned her life into a mess . He remembered that Shin Se-ho was passing by when Seo Ha-ran left the visitation room . Maybe…

Tae-hyuk shot Shin Se-ho a cold look .

‘…For the sake of a scoop, he would even do a crime . I should take full advantage of this . ’

Shin Se-ho reached out to Kwon Joon-hyuk .

“Let me see the video that you took . ”

“That…that…”

“What is it? Why do you look so scared? What type of Islam terrorist group did you capture in the shot?”

Shin Se-ho spoke with an excited face . A video of the crime scene and a bomber . He could imagine how valuable it was .

In the end, Kwon Joon-hyuk explained what he saw . Shin Se-ho became upset and angry after hearing it .

“Are you crazy? You were looking at the person through a telephoto lens . This is 200 meters away . How could he see your face?”

“R-Really . The opera mask guy obviously saw me and smirked!”

Shin Se-ho clicked his tongue and shook his head .

“You definitely took the video right?”

“Yes . Please confirm it, PD-nim . ”

“Yes . Let’s see what type of bastard we have here . Opera mask? Are you the Phantom or something? Puhaha!”

“Aaaagh!”

Shin Se-ho frowned at Kwon Joon-hyuk’s sudden scream .

“I almost fell because you scared me . Why are you making such a fuss? Did a crazy ghost appear or something?”

“T-That… P-PD-nim! B-Behind…!”

“What is behind… Arrrgh!”

Shin Se-ho looked back and fell down from surprise . A man in an opera mask was walking towards them with an iron pipe .

“Tsk tsk tsk . You should have believed in your subordinate . At least you could’ve run away then . ”

“W-What are you?!”

“Someone who likes stealing, voice phishing, art forgery, gambling, and violence . Ah, I also just did a bomb attack . ”

Shin Se-ho’s eyes widened .

The unidentified man suddenly laid a stone on the floor and smashed it .

“I’ll have to test whether your heads are harder than this stone when hit by an iron pipe . ”

It was a threat that was several times more realistic than being threatened with a gun or a knife .

“A-Are you going to kill us?”

The opera masked man, Seo Tae-hyuk, slowly approached Shin Se-ho .

Horror filled Shin Se-ho and Kwon Joon-hyuk’s face as they backed away, their eyes the iron pipe the whole time . Suddenly, they reached a place where they couldn’t retreat anymore .

“Be careful . It would be funny if you fell . ”

“……”

“ABS Station PD, Shin Se-ho . I wanted to meet you at least once . ”

“H-How do you know my name… . ”

“First of all, rest assured that I won’t hurt you . I just want a deal . ”

“Deal?”

“Yes . First, erase the data from that camera . And if you do me a few favors, I will give you a huge scoop . ”

Shin Se-ho swallowed his saliva . The person in front of him seemed like a monster that had come out from a movie, yet he was making an offer like this .

“But I only want to talk to you . ”

He meant to get rid of the AD . Shin Se-ho nodded .

“I understand . Kwon Joon-hyuk . Go to the corner and cover your ears . ”

“Yes, yep!” On the other side of the roof?”

“Yes . ”

After Kwon Joon-hyuk disappeared, Tae-hyuk explained his proposal with a satisfied look . Shin Se-ho’s fingers started to tremble . According to the opera masked man, it was an extraordinary scoop that would overturn the Korean media .

“I-Is that really true? Ah, no… What is it really?”

“It is up to you to accept my proposal or not, but I think you would be a fool if you refused . ”

Shin Se-ho had a quick and accurate judgement . He ran to the AD in the corner, took out the memory from the camera, and handed it to Tae-hyuk .

“Thank you . Then I will contact you soon . ”

“P-Please wait a moment . ”

Shin Se-ho pulled his business card from his wallet .

“Call me at this number . A-And… Do you really want me to broadcast about the Bathroom Killer?”

Tae-hyuk laughed . It was the alias that the media had used for the Hippo case .

“Yes . Think of it as a down payment . ”

“O-Oh my god… If it is known that the killer was a police officer…”

“Of course, I will send you the evidence . Well, can I send it to the address on this card?”

“Yes, yep!”

Shin Se-ho realized that the man in front of him was a treasure trove that couldn’t be missed .

“Of course, if you break the rules that I set, then it will be detrimental to you . ”

“Of course . However, Phantom… Haha, I thought of that name since you are wearing an opera mask . I mean, can I call you Phantom?”

Tae-hyuk laughed and nodded his head .

Phantom . It wasn’t bad .

“Just call me that comfortably . ”

“T-Then please go in peace!”

Shin Se-ho bowed .

Thus, the deal with the ABS Station PD, Shin Se-ho, was over . Pretty soon, the public would know of the existence of Phantom, the God of Crime .

@

There were dark circles under Kang-suk’s eyes as he returned to the orphanage . Tae-hyuk paused from where he was playing with the children and asked,

“Uh, Kang-suk hyung . Did you just finish work now?”

“Yes . It is due to some completely crazy bastard . ”

“Ohuhu… You must’ve had a hard time . ”

Tae-hyuk, who knew exactly what Kang-suk had gone through, laughed lowly . After the deal with Shin Se-ho, Tae-hyuk had made a brilliant explosion as promised . Of course, it wasn’t the special bomb made by Kim Tae-sung, but one that could be bought for 3,000 won . It was a fireworks display set .

‘Still, the police were able to recover one of the remaining four bombs so they didn’t just suffer . ’

The suffering of the police didn’t end there . In the new year, those who tried to cover up the Hippo incident would be stripped of their clothes . Cho Kang-suk’s position, as the one who arrested the Hippo, would become even stronger .

Everything was going according to Tae-hyuk’s plan .

‘Then I have to finish up with Doll Play . ’

Tae-hyuk thought about it as he threw the dice .

“What, another 12? Is this person cheating right now?”

“Stop moving! Under him! Check if he has padded pants…”

Tae-hyuk grabbed the head of a screaming little boy .

In no time, there were tens of millions of won piled up in front of Tae-hyuk . Of course, it was fake money . On the game board, Seo Tae-hyuk’s hotels and buildings were piled up like a mountain . The Gambling skill impacting things like throwing the dice, so he landed on the Seoul, New York, and London group . It wasn’t easy to try and lose .

“Aah! I don’t want to!”

Tae-hyuk licked his lips .

It wasn’t easy to play with kids .

“Oh, Tae-hyuk . Don’t you have an aptitude for this? How about going down this path?”

“Aigoo . A police officer is recommending illegal gambling . ”

“Hey . I’m talking about management, management . ”

“Management? I was thinking of something similar . ”

“That’s right . You will be a 3rd year next year, so it is time to think about the future . That reminds me, where is Ha-ran?”

“She is sleeping with the kids . ”

Seo Ha-ran was lying in bed with Song Hye-mi, who had returned in shock .

Kang-suk sighed .

“Hah… In the end, our date ended like this . ”

Thanks to the new case, he would become busier from tomorrow .

Before that, there was something left to do . Kang-suk put the heavy styrofoam box that he was holding down on the ground and opened it .

“Shall we have barbecue in the evening?”

The children who heard it cheered . Inside the box was 20kg of pork meat .

@

After a long Christmas, it was December 26th . There was still a week left of winter vacation, but Tae-hyuk had something to do .

“Then, let’s contact those kids first . ”

Tae-hyuk contacted Kang Han-seong . Two days ago, Kang Han-seong had agreed to the proposal to work for two million won .

–It is Boss! Do you have a job for me?

“Yes . How many children can you move today?”

–Around seven to eight people .

“Um… It is a little lacking . If I double the money, can you gather around 20 people?”

–Hut, double… I understand . Then I will gather them there?

Tae-hyuk agreed and hung up .

This was enough . He could pay four million won to 20 people . Nuclear Bomb was a long term investment .

After an hour, they gathered at the construction site where Tae-hyuk first encountered them .

“Hyung-nim, who is that person?”

For some of the members, it was the first time they saw Tae-hyuk . Kang Han-seong glared .

“That person… Money… No, employer . Then I will talk to my employer for a while . ”

“Yes, I understand . ”

Han-seong scented money and approached Tae-hyuk .

“Boss! What is to be done?”

First of all, Tae-hyuk pulled out five million won from his pocket .

“Huhu… So much…”

“One million won is the budget for this . Distribute it properly and carry out the mission . ”

“Ah… Yes, I understand . ”

Han-seong licked his lips .

“Then I will explain what Nuclear Bomb has to do . You will go to all the orphanages in Seoul and check if there are any missing people recently . ”

“Huh? Can’t you call and ask?”

It was a reasonable question, but this was information that couldn’t be obtained unless someone went in person .

“Of course I can . But let’s think simply . Your wife left the house, and now someone called asking if your wife has left the house . What would most people reply?”

“M-My wife didn’t leave the house!”

“Exactly . This is just an example . Think about it . ”

“Cough… Boss is definitely correct . I would also be ashamed and not tell the truth . ”

That was also why it was hard to solve domestic violence cases . It was hard to judge on the phone, so the caseworker would have to visit every day . By acting like a harmonious family, the person could easily get rid of the charges .

Kang Han-seong nodded .

“There are roughly 40 orphanages in Seoul, so one person will be in charge of two places . Please note that you not only have to meet with the person in charge, but also talk to the children living there…”

Tae-hyuk then recalled the appearance of the thugs . They looked suspicious .

“…At any check, do as much as you can to check if there are any children who disappeared . ”

“I understand . ”

Kang Han-seong bowed politely .

It would take two to three hours to finish this . but each person could earn 100,000 won . It was 30,000 won per hour .

Of course, half of the share was distributed to the leader Kang Han-seong .

“Huhu… Two million won for a day of work . Boss, I will swear my allegiance forever . ”

Kang Han-seong got up from his seat and delivered Tae-hyuk’s instructions to his subordinates .

Tae-hyuk laughed as he sat on a chair and looked at the members of Nuclear Bomb .