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Chapter 9: A Pencil Works on People, Too
TL: Enuma ID
There are roughly two ways to shut a man's mouth.
One of them, the most certain and cleanest method, is to shut it by brutal means.
What they call silencing a witness by murder.
While I checked the edge of my military combat knife, the back-alley doctor clucked his tongue and shook his head.
Е̊ n̄ u ṁ а.і d
"Anyway, that's why you need to lie low for a while. I won't breathe a word to anyone, but if you go wandering around outside looking that banged up and somebody calls it in... you know?"
"Thank you for your concern, Elder."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
But something about the exchange between them felt odd.
The old man plainly knew that the gunshot patient Dandong Public Security was hunting with eyes ablaze was the man right in front of him, yet all he offered was a light scolding.
And the way Kite No. 3 responded to him looked oddly familiar, too.
Between the two of them, I glimpsed a peculiar bond of trust I knew nothing about.
Е nǔm â. і̌ d̊
'Will that man really keep his mouth shut like he's supposed to?'
I could pack up and leave this cramped little town of Dandong whenever I pleased, so the judgment call belonged to Kite No. 3, who had to go on living under the cover identity of Wang Chunsam.
After some deliberation, I slid the combat knife I had drawn back into my waistband.
"Try not to move around rough for ten days or so. If you pop those stitches and call me out again, the house-call fee doubles. Got it?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"I'll be careful. The money goes to the usual account, right?"
"Right."
Ѐnū m̃а̃
"This time I'll throw in a nice fat hush fee on top."
"No argument from me there."
I eased myself down the stairs and buried myself in the darkness that had settled over the hallway.
Before long, at the bottom of the first-floor stairs, I could see the old man being seen off by Chae A-ra.
"Don't you fret too much either, young missus. That dimwit's one redeeming feature is a sturdy body."
"Hehe. Thank you for looking him over so carefully. I have packed up some of the side dishes we eat back North; please take them with you and enjoy them."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"If you're offering, I'll gladly eat well."
I watched the old man's retreating back through the crack of the door until he was gone, then climbed the stairs without a sound.
Kite No. 3 lay propped against the bed in the master bedroom, cold sweat pouring off him.
I asked exactly one question.
"That old man. Is he someone we can trust?"
If he had said, in so many words, that the man couldn't be trusted, there was exactly one thing I would have carried out on the spot.
Е nū mа .і̃ d́
Reading the resolve in my eyes at a glance, Kite No. 3 slowly shook his head.
"Easy. He's trustworthy. The patients that man has quietly saved number in the hundreds."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Being a good person and keeping a tight lip are two different things, aren't they?"
"It's not just that he's kindhearted. His wife is a North Korean defector, and so is his daughter-in-law. Back when the daughter-in-law was pregnant, she was snatched by State Security Department soldiers and nearly sent back in a forced repatriation. I was with the Defense Intelligence Command Special Task Force at the time, so I pulled some strings and spirited her out. That's how this sort of relationship began."
"Ah."
"His son and daughter-in-law crossed over to South Korea and they're doing fine now. The account I wire the surgery fees to belongs to the daughter-in-law, in Korea."
Е̇nüm̀ á
Knowing exactly where a man's family lived made them a guaranteed hostage. No, insurance.
Listening to the story, a thought suddenly came to me.
"So he's one of those Defense Intelligence Command top-secret assets I've only ever heard about?"
"That's right."
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I found myself nodding along.
From way back, Defense Intelligence Command Special Task Force agents had covertly managed their HUMINT, their human networks, in exactly this way.
Ė n̊ ùm ȧ_.і̃ d
An analog method that left nothing in any database, to guard against a possible mole or a hack, and handed everything down purely by word of mouth between agents who could be trusted.
Since it wasn't classified material the state officially documented and managed, it remained a network asset you could put to good use anytime, even after switching over to the NIS like now.
The genuine article, top-secret intel tied directly to a field agent's life.
"I'll give you his card later. If you ever find yourself bleeding, contact him and ask him to take a look. Tell him Wang Chunsam sent you and he'll understand."
I chewed over the possible contingencies one by one, then just shrugged.
Now that my body had ended up like this, I doubted I'd ever need a hospital again in this lifetime.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"But from what he said, it sounds like Public Security is turning the whole place upside down looking for you, sunbae."
"Tell me about it. I'd better start rehab on my own, starting tomorrow."
"Can you even run the restaurant properly?"
"I can work a wok one-handed. But he says if I overdo it and pop a stitch, the treatment fee doubles, so..."
"Want me to fill in as your part-time help?"
"Part-time? You?"
Е nū ḿ а
"Yes."
It wasn't an idea that had just popped into my head.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
I'd been planning to stay nearby and keep an eye on things until Kite No. 3's arm healed anyway.
But when I looked around, there was no decent place to stay in the area.
It was a strip of shops plopped down in the middle of a desolate highway; finding even a shabby guesthouse meant a long walk out.
Being far away meant always being one step behind when anything happened, and that came with all kinds of constraints.
Е̄n̊ u mа̄. ì d̃
"Your next orders haven't come down yet?"
"Not yet. If headquarters has any conscience, they'll leave me alone to rest for a while."
"Tsk. Ever worked in a restaurant?"
"There's nothing I haven't done since I was a kid. I'm pretty handy with a wok, too. I'll lay a sleeping bag out on the restaurant floor so I don't get in the way of your newlywed life."
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"Hmm..."
If he'd been on his own, it might have been a different matter, but with Chae A-ra at his side as well, it weighed on me all the more.
Ё n̈ùm̂а̂
Especially with Public Security in a frenzy hunting him.
"Forget the wages, just feed me. Deal?"
"...Deal."
Whether or not he'd seen through my admirable intentions, Kite No. 3 nodded with a show of reluctance.
*****
Pulling down the shutters and suspending business for days on end was exactly the kind of move that announced "something's happened here" and drew suspicion from the whole neighborhood.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Rather than clumsily holding one's breath, going through the motions of business as usual was far better for life under a cover identity.
"How are you this good with a wok?"
"I told you. There's nothing I haven't done since I was a kid."
"It took me a good six months just to get the form down..."
Having witnessed my seasoned wok technique with his own two eyes, Kite No. 3 installed me as head chef that very day.
The neighborhood folk would come in eyeing the unfamiliar chef with suspicion, only to leave patting their bellies in satisfaction, and each time Kite No. 3 watched it happen, his expression turned inexplicably wounded.
Wè b́ ñõ v еl̇ Еn̆u m̌а̌
"Young missus. How did that husband of yours hurt his arm like that?"
"Last night he got it into his head to copy some knife trick he saw on the television, and, well..."
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"Oh dear, tsk tsk. He looks so dignified, but he's a complete overgrown child, isn't he?"
"All men are like that."
"True, true."
Every time the customers heard the story behind the splint newly strapped to Kite No. 3's arm, they clucked their tongues and shook their heads, and his expression grew visibly glummer.
Ӗ n̊ u m̈а . i_d
But well, what could he do?
It wasn't as if he could spread it around the neighborhood that he'd been shot.
"And who's this young man filling in?"
"A younger friend from my husband's hometown. They were close growing up."
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"From Heilongjiang?"
"Yes. He happened to be in Dandong on a short trip, and when he heard my husband was hurt, he came and offered to help out for a few days."
Ӗ n̄_ũ m̀а . іd
"Tall and handsome, isn't he. Is he married?"
"Not yet, I believe."
"If he's not seeing anyone, ask him what he thinks of our daughter."
"He's leaving in a few days, though?"
"Even so. You never know how these things will turn out, do you?"
And so, on the day of my successful debut as interim head chef, the lunch service wrapped up to a roaring trade.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Once the lunch rush was over and mealtime had long since passed, we took our time prepping the ingredients for dinner.
"Hyeongsu-nim, is the garlic getting to you?"
"My, yes. Chinese garlic is so fierce that peeling it without swim goggles is a true ordeal. How is it the Young Master peels it so easily?"
"I can't feel spiciness, you see. I'll peel the rest, so please go rest a while."
"Oh no. That would never do."
Chae A-ra and I sat huddled in a corner of the kitchen, busy peeling whole heads of garlic, while Kite No. 3, with his one busted arm, sat all alone at one end of the dining floor, staring blankly at the television.
Е́ n u m̂а .í ḋ
At that moment, ding-a-ling.
The old bell hanging from the shop door gave a light ring.
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And in the same instant, crash-clatter!
"Hm?"
At the sudden commotion, I turned my head to find a man storming in, kicking aside the plastic chair by the entrance without so much as a word.
Two more men followed him in. Three uninvited guests in all.
Е nu m̀а́ . і d̊
"Listen up. We're Black Panther Gang men."
"Who's the owner here? We're collecting this month's protection money."
They were the Black Panther gangsters who had smashed the shop's standing sign to pieces yesterday afternoon and sauntered off.
Now the bastards had marched right into the shop itself.
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"Let's keep this friendly and hand it over while we're asking nice, hm?"
"Five thousand yuan a month. Payment up front."
Е̇_n umа̀ .іd̄
Hadn't someone said the local code of business was to waive protection money for a month or so on freshly conquered turf?
And yet here they were, come knocking overnight.
'The Mainland never disappoints.'
Code of business, my ass.
My chest practically swells with awe.
I stopped peeling the garlic mid-clove and simply stared, dumbfounded, at the Black Panther thugs who had barged in.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"The Black Panther Gang? No, even so, this is... See here. This neighborhood has a code of business."
Perhaps he'd finally felt it was his cue to step up.
Facing the Black Panther thugs who had stormed in demanding protection money, Kite No. 3, the closest to them, shot to his feet and confronted them.
"It's been barely a few days since you smashed our sign to pieces, and you're already here to collect? What neighborhood's code of business is that, exactly? We already paid our protection money at the start of the month, not even two weeks ago. How on earth are we supposed to come up with that kind of money?"
"What? You dare mouth off at the Black Panther Gang? Code of business?"
At that, the man who looked like the leader of the bunch twisted his face into a scowl and strode right up to him.
Е nū ṁ.ӓ . і̄ d
Uh. Uh-oh.
Before we could so much as react, the bastard seized Kite No. 3 by the collar.
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"You crippled-arm bastard, you that desperate to die? Huh?!"
"Now, hold on, calm down..."
"A worthless little scrap of trash dares to question Black Panther business?"
Veins bulging, spit flying, the man's fist looked ready to cave in Kite No. 3's face at any second.
Е̌n̂u̇ṁ а́
"What the hell have those Red Earth Gang morons been doing, managing shops like this?"
"You wanna croak? Huh?!"
For a split second, a murderous deliberation flickered across the face of my sunbae, splinted arm and all.
'Should I just wipe them all out? I could butcher the lot of them in one go.'
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
An expression that meant exactly that.
I could see it plainly.
Еń ǔm а.id̈
And the truly terrifying part of this situation was that he was a man who could actually do it.
A warning light switched on in my head as I watched.
'He's going to pop those stitches at this rate.'
At a time when recovery mattered above all else, moving his body now was guaranteed to wreck his condition.
If only for hyeongsu-nim, white as a sheet and wringing her hands before my eyes, I couldn't just stand there and watch.
"You scoundrels! Release my hyeong-nim at once!"
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I hurled the fistful of garlic I'd been peeling straight at them.
The scattered cloves spread like buckshot and struck all three of them in the head at once.
"Ugh!"
"Fucking hell!"
"And who the hell are you?"
"If you insist, I shall face you myself!"
Ĕ nǔ m̈ а́
Everyone stared blankly at my antics.
At the sight of me stepping up so boldly, the Black Panther bastards looked incredulous, then carelessly tossed aside their grip on Kite No. 3's collar.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"And what are you supposed to be, pulling this bullshit?"
"No need for long words between us, is there? I'll give you a taste of my kung fu. Wah-tah!"
Whish, wh-whish.
A short, crisp Bruce Lee fighting pose.
Е̇n̄ ùm̄a . і̀_d̆
As I danced through my dazzling footwork, the bastards snorted at how laughable I was and closed in.
"Fine. You wouldn't drink the toast, so now drink the forfeit!"
"Good! Come at me, then!"
If there was one fact those Black Panther bastards didn't know, it was that Kite No. 3 and I both came out of the Defense Intelligence Command Special Task Force, trained so brutally that in a pinch we could kill a man with a single pencil.
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An NIS black agent who can kill a man with a single pencil!
vs. three Black Panther gangsters!
Е̃ ǹú m̈а́
It didn't take long for the fierce battle to reach its outcome.
Thwack! Thud!
"You! Son of a! Bitch! You crazy! Bastard! Where do you!"
"How! Dare you! Strut around! In front of! The Black! Panther Gang!"
"Croak! Croak, you piece of! Shit!"
Less than a minute in, my body, so bold only moments ago, was rolling across the restaurant floor.
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Curled into a ball like a frightened armadillo, I lay there while the three big men ringed me in and kicked away without mercy.
Whack! Wham!
'A little pathetic, sure.'
But so far, everything was going according to plan.
*****
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