When the suggestion to go to a Club was made, Sergeant Oh Seohyun looked at Lee Jaehyun in slight bewilderment.
“Are you saying we should check them out?”
“Yes, how many clubs can there be in Incheon anyway… If we look around each one, we’ll probably get a feel for it, don’t you think?”
Lee Jaehyun spoke in a light voice.
If we don’t get answers right away, we’ll just have to get out there and find out on foot.
On the other hand, Oh Seohyun wore a rather flustered expression at the thought of going to a Club.
“…There are only three places that could be called clubs, at least. One is managed by the Horang-i Pa in Incheon, and the other two have Dokki Pa as stakeholders.”
“Horang-i Pa and Dokki Pa… How cliché.”
Despite making a face at Lee Jaehyun’s words, Sergeant Oh Seohyun continued to explain calmly.
She must have realized that, objectively speaking, his method wasn’t so bad after all.
Lee Jaehyun chuckled at the names, which reeked of the 1980s.
It’s true, such childish names were all the rage in those days.
Why those kinds of names became trends, he had no idea.
Among themselves, they called it “romantic” or something.
Well, for Lee Jaehyun, whose job was to catch criminals, it was utterly unrelatable.
Oh Seohyun hardened her face and continued in a heavy voice.
“I’m not trying to ignore your jurisdiction, but over here, organized gang crimes happen quite frequently. Don’t take it too lightly.”
Sergeant Oh Seohyun spoke with a tone of warning.
Lee Jaehyun tapped his cheek.
From her tone, she was being quite serious.
Like someone who’s been through her fair share of headaches.
“I don’t take them lightly… but still, the Horang-i Pa and Dokki Pa are a bit…”
“Right? I bet even they feel embarrassed saying their own names out loud.”
Oh Seohyun drooped her shoulders and gave a weak laugh.
Even in her own opinion, Horang-i Pa and Dokki Pa sounded a bit much.
Lee Jaehyun also let out a small laugh.
Of course, just because he laughed lightly didn’t mean he thought of them as easy targets.
Horang-i Pa might be one thing, but like Oh Seohyun said, Dokki Pa were not to be taken lightly.
Contrary to the corny name, Dokki Pa would survive for years and solidify their foothold as an organized crime group in Incheon.
If they’re managing and holding shares in what few clubs there are, that means they’re among the top players in the region.
“It’s not like we’re going there to take them down. No need to be too tense… but we shouldn’t let our guard down either.”
Thinking so, Lee Jaehyun clapped his hands together to lift the mood, then spoke up.
“Alright, anyway… we’re not going to bust some gangsters. Let’s not make a scene and just check things out quietly.”
“How should we do it?”
“Well… is there any other way? We just go in as customers.”
Lee Jaehyun said this with a sly smile.
Sergeant Oh Seohyun took a deep breath and looked a little troubled.
Just a moment ago, she was sharp during the briefing, but now she looked lost, gazing blankly into the air.
Lee Jaehyun tilted his head, and she quietly raised her hand.
“Um, there’s a problem.”
“Yes, Sergeant Oh?”
“I’ve never been to a club before. I might not be able to act naturally as a customer.”
“Then let’s just act like someone going for the first time.”
Lee Jaehyun looked at Oh Seohyun, a little surprised.
Her reaction to going to a club for the first time was rather unexpected.
But it couldn’t be helped.
Their purpose in going to the club was to meet Park Man-seok, the Representative of PMC.
Searching the entire big club alone would be inefficient, not to mention dangerous.
To meet Park Man-sik, the Representative, and figure something out, going together was the fastest and most efficient way.
In the end, unable to deny this fact, Oh Seohyun let out a small sigh and stood up.
***
Friday evening, a street in Incheon was packed with young men and women.
Unaware that this was gang territory, the youth devoted themselves to enjoying drinks and music.
And near the center of the street, at the most crowded Club, a man and a woman appeared.
“Is this good enough?”
Sergeant Oh Seohyun glanced at her outfit as if feeling awkward and asked.
She was wearing tight jeans and a white shirt.
A black belt wrapped around her waist, with light earrings dangling from her ears.
Her outfit wasn’t overly flashy, but thinking of it as clubwear, she looked a little uncomfortable.
“It’s just right. Don’t worry.”
Perhaps slightly nervous, Sergeant Oh Seohyun turned towards Lee Jaehyun and asked.
Lee Jaehyun nodded in response.
Dressed no longer as a stereotypical detective, Sergeant Oh Seohyun now looked just like a pure and curious university student going to a club for the first time.
Not too revealing, yet not too plain—a casual look.
It was a style that fit her lack of familiarity with the club atmosphere.
It wasn’t Lee Jaehyun’s idea; rather, it was a look coordinated by one of Sergeant Oh’s friends.
Only after hearing Lee Jaehyun’s assurance did Sergeant Oh Seohyun seem relieved, letting out a sigh and turning toward the long line.
“I’ve always been out dealing with drunks, but this is my first time actually standing in one of these lines.”
“It’ll go down quickly.”
Lee Jaehyun said, gazing at the line whose end was nowhere in sight.
Maybe they had picked the busiest time.
The line stretched so far that you couldn’t see where it ended.
“Still, there really are a lot of people here…”
He narrowed his brow slightly as he looked at the line.
Sure, it’s Friday night and peak time, but…
This isn’t even Hongdae or Gangnam, yet if there are this many people in Incheon, this must be the hottest spot around.
“Then the odds of running into him are highest here.”
As he thought about this while waiting, just as Lee Jaehyun predicted, the line moved quickly.
Soon, it was their turn to enter.
“Next group, please come in. Three thousand won for the gentleman, ladies are free.”
“Eh.”
Without a word, Lee Jaehyun pulled out his card and paid, then walked into the club where loud music could be heard.
Once they were a little way past the entrance, Oh Seohyun blinked and spoke.
“The entrance fee is really thirty thousand won?”
“It’s a bit on the expensive side. If this were downtown Gangnam, it would make sense, but in Incheon, thirty thousand won is pricey. Usually it’s about ten or twenty thousand.”
Despite saying she’d never been to a club before, Oh Seohyun seemed surprised by the high entrance fee.
Lee Jaehyun recalled the clubs he knew and answered her question.
At that, Oh Seohyun looked at him in surprise.
“You’ve been to a lot of clubs?”
“Ah, it’s not like I come here all the time… It’s just not unfamiliar.”
“Is that so…?”
Lee Jaehyun nodded in reply.
Back in his detective days, he’d wandered through countless clubs to catch criminals.
Later on, his face became known, and sometimes he even got blocked at the entrance.
“Hopefully, this time we can take care of things quietly.”
Lee Jaehyun furrowed his brow, remembering his past life.
No good comes from getting your face known in advance.
It would cause problems for stakeouts later, too…
More than anything, he still couldn’t afford to get noticed by the Hyunmin Group.
“At this point, making an enemy of Hyunmin Group would be foolish.”
Someday, he’ll have to settle things with those guys once and for all, but not now.
You have to be of equal stature to take them on. Right now, to Hyunmin Group, Lee Jaehyun was nothing more than an ant to be crushed whenever they wished.
“Right now, I have to quietly build up strength… Or maybe find a way to cut their power.”
He didn’t know exactly how Park Man-seok was connected to the Hyunmin Group.
But if he could get him, he’d at least leave a faint scar on Hyunmin Group.
You can’t kill something with a scratch, but it would be enough to make them frown and pay attention.
While they’re busy with that, Lee Jaehyun could use the time to get even stronger.
Thinking this, Lee Jaehyun followed the blaring music further inside and descended the stairs.
“It’s already so loud in here.”
“Yeah, it’s usually this noisy. Once we’re inside, you won’t even be able to hear me, Sergeant Oh…”
Lee Jaehyun stopped mid-sentence, about to call her “Sergeant.”
She, too, realized why he had stopped, and an “oh right” look appeared on her face.
It’s basic protocol to decide on cover names during a stakeout, but they’d forgotten.
It seemed trivial, but it was actually quite important.
Metaphorically, right now, they were stepping into a tiger’s den.
They didn’t even know if the owner—the tiger—was here, and being careless would be suicidal.
Sergeant Oh Seohyun looked around, lowered her voice, and spoke.
“Let’s just be friends and call each other by our names.”
“Well… yeah, let’s do that.”
Oh Seohyun’s voice was swallowed up by the noise and barely audible.
But from the words “friend” and “name,” Lee Jaehyun got what she was saying.
He nodded, and soon they finished descending the stairs.
As soon as Oh Seohyun entered the club proper, she lightly tapped Lee Jaehyun’s arm and spoke.
“I’m going to fix my makeup, so just order me a drink, anything’s fine. Jaehyun.”
“Yeah, got it. Go ahead.”
Perhaps seeing the drinks in other people’s hands, Oh Seohyun picked up quickly on the club atmosphere.
And despite her unfamiliarity, she acted naturally, which made Lee Jaehyun chuckle and nod.
Understanding his gesture, Oh Seohyun flashed a small grin before walking away.
Whether she really went to fix her makeup or to survey another part of the club, he couldn’t tell.
Lee Jaehyun moved in the opposite direction from where Oh Seohyun had gone, surveying the club’s atmosphere and layout.
Crossing the dark room, illuminated only by flickering lights.
EDM music, clumsily mixed, boomed so loud it nearly shattered eardrums.
People swayed their bodies in time with the clunky music.
In a world so far removed from his own life, Lee Jaehyun watched it all, then took a deep breath.
As if making up his mind about something, he straightened up, a more determined expression on his face than ever.
“Let’s just blend in naturally… and wait a while.”
The target was the Representative of PMC.
Park Man-seok.