Hardboiled Scenario

Chapter 3

 

Is there a drugged bastard among them or not?

It would be nice if you could tell just by looking.

Are they drunk on alcohol? Or high on drugs?

With the hotel right in front of them, Muyoung sneered at the male and female who were acting as if they would take off their pants and mate outdoors at any moment.

“Damn lunatics.”

Was that something you could do simply by being drunk? In this crazy world, there were so many lunatics that it was hard to tell them apart.

“Is this France? Why the hell would they want to do a strip show when no one even wants to see it?”

People living in a world with no sanctuary eventually become outlaws. Because one stimulus can only be countered with a greater stimulus.

It was the same with drugs. He had never seen anyone who did just one.

Getting your hands on drugs was like going into an endless battle. A war that only ends when you die.

The drug warriors who jumped into the front lines with marijuana, the so-called gateway drug, deviated from the trajectory of life by heavily arming their bodies and minds with a wide variety of weapons such as ecstasy, LSD, amphetamines, ketamine, cocaine, and philopon.

The problem was that they didn’t just ruin their own lives, but also the lives of other people.

They were clearly delusional, thinking they were some kind of Nongae¹Nongae: a Gisaeng (female entertainer) in 16th century Korea who is famous for sacrificing her life to kill an enemy general by embracing him and falling into a river together..

At least Nongae²Nongae: a Gisaeng (female entertainer) in 16th century Korea who is famous for sacrificing her life to kill an enemy general by embracing him and falling into a river together. embraced an enemy general, but these bastards made no distinction between friend and foe.

So they all had to be locked up and eradicated.

The reason for his foul temper was all because of those damn drug addicts.

Muyoung flicked the cigarette, which was about a third left, with his index finger to extinguish the ember, then threw it into the ashtray.

“Should I go out for a drink?”

Muyoung turned his eyes away from the garden and started walking. The sound of his shoes cut through the chilly night air and arrived at the basement of Hotel Capriccio.

If the first-floor lounge had an elegant atmosphere with smooth jazz playing, this place with the letter B added in front seemed as if the world had turned upside down.

Thump thump thump thump.

The club music pounding on the eardrums made the floor he was standing on shake, and the people in front of him shake.

Leaning against the wall, Muyoung sipped his beer while staring at the wriggling crowd to see if there were any familiar faces.

Since this hotel was also under his jurisdiction, he planned to beat up anyone who caught his eye.

As most drug cases were initiated through cognizance investigations, Muyoung, a prosecutor, occasionally came out to the field himself.

Since he was already here, if he could nab even one, he could link them up like dried herring, so it wasn’t bad to voluntarily go through this trouble.

Drug addicts had no loyalty, not even that of a back alley thug, and if you just made a deal on their sentence, they were quick to babble with their mouths.

Catch one if possible, if not, oh well.

After looking around for about an hour, intending to leave, Muyoung was about to take another sip of his beer when he locked eyes with a woman.

A woman with a clean appearance who had just entered through the entrance.

When their eyes met, Muyoung’s impression was more accurately described as ‘pierced by her gaze’ rather than ‘love at first sight.’

Although it was eye contact made from quite a distance, as soon as the woman’s eyes met Muyoung’s, she walked straight towards him without looking anywhere else.

The club was dizzying to the ears with all sorts of noises mixed together from the dim entrance.

“Hah….”

A sigh leaked out through at the sight of the crowd flailing about like salmon before spawning season.

Were all the people who partied a bit in Gangnam gathered here? The crowd was huge. Muyoung moved to a less crowded corner for the time being.

While feeling the illusion that the loud music ringing in his ears and the shouting trying to break through that sound were all disappearing, Muyoung stared at the woman.

I know that woman. She probably doesn’t know me though.

Three years ago, there was a commotion over a murder case with no body.

The suspect was the husband.

In the first trial, the court convicted him of murder. However, the appeals court overturned the verdict based on a single statement from that woman. This led to another long, drawn-out legal battle.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court also sided with her testimony and acquitted the husband. The prosecution, which had been confident of victory, was turned upside down.

Hundreds of articles were written with the title [Incompetent Prosecution Turns Innocent Man into Murderer].

Jeong Jae-in. She was the reference and medical examiner in that case.

 

“The amount of blood found in the car alone is not enough to confirm that the victim is dead.”

 

The reason the prosecution had no choice but to become a laughingstock at that time was because her testimony turned out to be true.

The wife, who was thought to be dead, was resurrected like Christ.

The wife used a method she referenced from some thriller movie to turn her own husband into a murderer.

What was even more absurd was the motive.

It was to make a sweet new start with her lover. Even if it meant making her husband a murderer.

Anyway, “forensic pathologist Jeong Jae-in” left a deep impression on Muyoung’s mind that he couldn’t erase.

Why was that woman here, and at this hour…?

While he was recalling his memory of her, Jae-in was already standing right in front of Muyoung.

The woman just stared at his face without saying a word.

Does she know me? There’s no way…

Muyoung also gazed into her two eyes without a word.

Time flowed slowly as if only the two of them existed in a world causing crustal deformation. Finally, her cute lips moved.

“Mr. Banana flavored condom?”

What did she say? The tip of Muyoung’s eyebrow lifted up.

“Is it not Mr. Banana flavored condom?”

What the hell is this ridiculous situation? It was only for a moment. Muyoung replied with the corner of his mouth raised.

“Strawberry is more my taste.”

Muyoung had a feeling.

This woman. She’s a unique kind, different from others.

🍓

Before entering the club, Jae-in checked her phone one more time.

Mr. Banana-flavored condom had described his appearance as being over 180cm tall with quite decent looks, and that he had even modeled for a campus magazine during his college days.

Whether all of that was true or not, she wasn’t sure. Usually, meetings through apps were often exaggerated. Like a snack puffed up with nitrogen, it was bound to disappoint when you actually opened it, so she didn’t have high expectations.

Judging from the profile picture of his bare upper body, he seemed definitely confident in his physique.

Anyway, since it was a meeting with a clear purpose, she could just turn around and leave if she met him and didn’t like him.

[If you see someone who looks chic enough to recognize at a glance even from a distance, that’s me. You’ll probably be able to find me right away. By the way, I’m wearing all black, top and bottom.]

Even if it seemed shameless to say such things himself, well, she figured he must have exceptional self-love.

And she really did find him at a glance. A man leaning obliquely against the wall facing the entrance.

The all-black outfit and chic impression stood out.

His coolly stretched eyes and dark pupils gave off a somewhat gangster-like impression, but the harmony of his well-defined nose bridge, lips, and sharp jawline was a face of high aesthetic level.

His sturdy build, recognizable at a glance even from a distance, also suited his debauched and leisurely atmosphere well.

“He seems fit enough to be a campus magazine model….”

Seeing no one next to him, he seemed to be waiting for someone.

Jae-in quickened her pace without looking around further. The man also seemed to recognize her.

However, when she asked if he was the banana-flavored condom, an absurd answer came back.

It didn’t matter if his taste was strawberry, but anyway, he wasn’t the person she was looking for.

“Sorry if you’re not.”

Jae-in turned around without hesitation. But her wrist was grabbed, making her walk in place.

“Wait.”

Did he have something else to say? Jae-in glanced at her grabbed wrist and stared at the man quietly.

The man put aside the glass in his hand and bent his upper body low toward Jae-in. As the distance closed, the man’s refreshing scent pierced into her nose. It was a scent unsuitable for the stuffy basement.

“Do you dislike strawberry?”

When she hesitated and stiffened her shoulders, he chuckled and spoke in a playful voice.

“You seem like you came to meet a man, no?”

“So what if I did?”

“I could understand banana-flavored milk, but isn’t banana-flavored condom a bit much?”

“Milk or condom, what’s the difference?”

“Banana-flavored milk seems a bit more innocent.”

Well, same difference. The man burst into an empty laugh as if his own words were absurd. Then he met her eyes with a sly grin.

“Wanna get out of here? It seems a bit noisy.”

“I have someone I need to find fir—”

Cutting off her words, the man gripped Jae-in’s thin wrist and left the club, parting the dancing crowd.

‘I guess it doesn’t really matter…?’

Nothing caught her eye except the man striding ahead, and she hated the noise so much that she had no desire to go back in.

When she cursed under her breath, the cold outside air and her wrist became free at the same time. Standing face to face with him, the height difference with the man was palpable.

When Jae-in raised her head to look at him, he asked.

“Do you come here often?”

“It’s my first time today. What about you?”

“Sometimes? I come for work too. But if this place is your first time, you ask a random man if he’s Mr. Banana-flavored condom without any fear?”

“Because you said you were Mr. Banana-flavored condom, that’s why I asked that way.”

If he had told her his name, she would have naturally asked using his name.

“Don’t tell me, you came to meet someone without even knowing their face?”

The man furrowed his brows as if it was unbelievable.

“If you’re meeting a man you see for the first time, shouldn’t you at least verify some basic personal information? Weren’t you afraid of what might happen to you? At the very least, you should know their name, age, and face.”

“You don’t know who I am either.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

While suddenly interrogating and pressing like before, the man abruptly nodded his head, agreeing with her words. Jae-in gazed at him with slightly strange eyes.

“I’m Seo Muyoung.”

Muyoung introduced himself and looked at Jae-in closely.

The woman’s face revealed under the streetlight was fair and pretty. No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t suit the club scene.

“Anyway, what were you trying to do meeting a man? Drink? Too lonely to drink alone?”

That made him even more curious.

“No.”

“Then?”

“Sex.”

🍓

Thank you for reading! ♡