Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

He got up while scratching his neck and approached the door to peek outside. Through the small window in the specially treated iron door, he could see it was dark outside. Unlike the detention room, there was a faint light entering from the end of the hallway through a crack in the door.

\'I underestimated this place because it\'s falling apart, but the prison is quite sturdy. So it used to be an old prison site. The detention facilities are surely good.\'

No Song-rin carefully examined the iron door and walls.

"Let\'s see. Breaking out of here secretly doesn\'t look easy. If I try to force myself out, it\'ll be noisy. Hmm, even if I get out, Yeon Jung-moon is guarding the place. Fighting him isn\'t ideal. Should I wait for the right moment?"

Even if he managed to escape from here, it would be hard to leave the village immediately. He had heard that Chinese Hunters were surrounding the village, so escaping without a clash seemed unlikely.

In a way, there was no better place to hide than here, so he had quietly let himself be captured, but he was now regretting it because it was more suffocating than he thought it would be.

"I shouldn\'t have said no. I could have pretended to accept the assassination job and just bolted."

No Song-rin recalled Yeon Jung-moon\'s proposal.

\'If you get rid of Hyun Junggeon, I\'ll give you all the valuable spoils.\'

No Song-rin had immediately refused the offer. It was because of the name Hyun Junggeon.

An old colleague that Kang Mu-hyuk had investigated through him. He heard he was working as a broker in Sinuiju but never expected him to be connected to the prison village. Plus, the fact that the leader of the guys maintaining order here had requested his assassination gave him an idea of how notorious he must be.

"Well, if he worked with Guild Leader Kang, he can\'t be an ordinary guy."

No Song-rin muttered as he tried to go back to sleep.

Just then, the door at the end of the hallway opened and someone entered. No Song-rin glanced out through the iron bars. A shadow stretched long on the floor. Light footsteps approached. Soon, a face peeked into No Song-rin\'s view.

"Uncle?"

"Huh? Oh, it\'s you, that kid from before? The one crying in the underpass. You cried loud enough to make my ears bleed."

"Wh-when did I? I wasn\'t crying! I just had something in my eye."

"Liar. You ran off crying and ratted me out."

"Ratted you out?"

"You reported me. Snitched on me."

"Oh, you mean when I told the patrolmen?"

"Yeah, you sneaky tattletale."

"It\'s not sneaky. I just told my dad."

"Dad?"

"My dad is in the patrol team here."

"So, you sneakily told your dad? You\'re no man. I\'ll rip off your willy."

"It\'s not sneaky. And I\'m a man. I won\'t let you rip it off."

"Sure, you\'re a man. But you\'re a sneaky one."

"No, I\'m not. I told you, it\'s not sneaky."

"Sneaky pants."

"Ugh, waah..."

"Hey, hey, I\'m sorry. Don\'t cry. You\'re not sneaky. You\'re not a sneaky pants. Just don\'t cry."

"Sniff. I\'ll let it go this time. Sniff."

"Haa. What the hell am I doing here with this kid?"

No Song-rin was lamenting his situation when he noticed something odd.

"Why are you here? Isn\'t it time for kids to be in bed?"

"I woke up because it was so noisy outside."

"Where\'s the guard?"

"I don\'t know. They\'re all been busy since morning."

"What kind of place is this? This is worse than that time with Taesung. Kids coming and going in a prison."

"This is not a prison. It\'s our home. And our school."

"Home? School?"

The child nodded.

"What? They even put kids in jail here?"

"No, I said it\'s our home. All the kids you saw yesterday live here too."

Unfamiliar with the child\'s way of speaking, No Song-rin took a moment to process what he had said.

"So, you and your dad and your friends all live here in the patrol station?"

"Yes. We have houses in the yard here. The school is next to it. We all live together."

"Wow, what a mess. What\'s with this environment for kids? A prison as home and school?"

"That\'s the name of our village."

"Oh, right."

The name \'prison village\' struck No Song-rin anew.

\'Even if it\'s a closed prison, if kids like him live in a place like this, they\'ll end up like someone like me. Well, there\'s no way to escape from here anyway. Poor kid.\'

As No Song-rin gazed down at the child through the small window, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

"Hey, kid. Do you know someone named Hyun Junggeon? I heard he lives in this village."

"Yes, I know him. Mr. Hyun is the one who gives me tasty treats."

"Oh! Then I have a favor to ask."

"What will you give me?"

"Look at you. Are you negotiating with me right now?"

"My dad said never to work for free. And to make sure to do the job right if you\'re paid properly."

The kid made a circle with his thumb and index finger, shaking it.(TL note: That means he\'s asking for money)

No Song-rin laughed in disbelief.

"What should I do? I don\'t have any money right now. As you can see, I\'m locked up."

"Then forget it."

The kid turned his back on No Song-rin. It was hard to believe this was the same kid who had been crying just moments ago. However, his slow steps and the way he kept glancing back showed he was still interested. No Song-rin noticed the kid\'s amateur acting but pretended to be fooled.

"Wait! Alright. Okay. If you do me this favor, I\'ll buy you ten boxes of snacks."

"I don\'t do credit transactions."

"I\'ll add interest and buy you a mountain of snacks."

"How much is a mountain? How many boxes?"

"It would fill your room to the brim."

"I don\'t have a room."

"I\'ll fill your house."

"Hmm... But I can\'t let you out. Dad will scold me."

"Just deliver a message for me."

"To whom?"

"To Hyun Junggeon. The one who gives you snacks, right? It\'s not too much to ask you to pass on a few words to that nice uncle, is it?"

"That should be... Alright, I guess? He\'s a nice uncle. Okay, just a moment."

"Oi, where are you going?!"

The kid left the hallway and returned shortly with a pen and paper. He lay on the floor, scribbling for a while, then stood on tiptoe to hand the paper to No Song-rin.

"What\'s this?"

"A contract. Bad people can cop out after making a promise."

"Did your dad teach you this too?"

"No, my uncle next door did."

"As I thought, this place isn\'t good for kids. But I\'m not a bad person."

"Bad people say they\'re not bad. And you\'re in jail. That means you\'re a bad man, right?"

"Well, there\'s a thing called adult circumstances... Haa, it\'s hard to argue with that. Well, I\'m not exactly a good person either."

"Sign here."

No Song-rin read the contract. The scrawled letters spelled out \'Contract.\' It even mimicked the proper terms for both parties. At the bottom was the kid\'s name.

<Party A: Park Cheol-i>

"Oi, kid, I\'m Party A. The one who pays is supposed to be Party A."

"The desperate one is Party B."

"Ugh. Did your uncle teach you that too?"

"No, the lady across the street did."

"What kind of education do kids get here?"

No Song-rin stopped arguing and signed his name under "Party B."

Satisfied, Cheol-i asked, "So, what do you want me to say?"

"Go to Hyun Junggeon and tell him that someone sent by Kang Mu-hyuk is here. And that my name is No Song-rin. Ask him to come see me. It\'d be even better if he could get me out."

From early in the morning, Hwang Dongsu\'s orders had the patrol in disarray. On top of that, Cheon Deok-soo\'s request for a meeting stirred the entire village.

"It could be a trap. You know the Chinese have been on edge lately, right?"

"Boss, Hwang Dongsu is also suspicious. Suddenly forming a faction this early in the morning? It doesn\'t make sense."

Despite the various concerns, Yeon Jung-moon settled the matter with one sentence.

"No matter how much of an enemy Cheon Deok-soo is, have we ever avoided a meeting?"

None of his close aides could refute Yeon Jung-moon\'s question.

Cheon Deok-soo was often called a Chinese pawn and a traitor, but whenever there was an issue in the village, he always resolved it through dialogue rather than violence with Yeon Jung-moon. Even when conflicts arose among their subordinates, they never escalated into violent incidents due to the strong organizational control of the two leaders.

In addition, although their relationship had become distant, everyone in the village still knew each other, leading to cautious interactions.

"If you\'re so worried, summon Deok-soo to the patrol station. If he has no ulterior motives, he\'ll come without hesitation."

As expected, Cheon Deok-soo accepted Yeon Jung-moon\'s invitation. Just as the dark sky began to lighten, Cheon Deok-soo arrived at the patrol station with only a few subordinates.

"How about we settle this just the two of us as always?"

"Sure, let\'s do that."

Yeon Jung-moon dismissed his men. Once they were alone in the office and the surroundings were completely silent, Cheon Deok-soo spoke up.

"Hwang Dongsu. If he acts like this, we can\'t just stand by."

"Right. It\'s a disruption to the village\'s balance. We agreed not to mess with Dongsu to maintain our balance."

"What should we do? If the balance of power we\'ve created collapses, the entire structure will waver."

"What else can we do? We have to persuade him. He invited us to breakfast; let\'s go and hear what he has to say."

"What if he doesn\'t listen? He\'s so damn stubborn."

"Then we have no choice but to go all the way..."

Yeon Jung-moon didn\'t finish his sentence, but Cheon Deok-soo understood what he meant.

"Still, let\'s avoid going that far if possible. It would be painful for all of us."

Mr. Cho had been changing into various disguises throughout the night, avoiding suspicion as he broke through the encirclement. Finally, he successfully infiltrated the prison village.

"Is this it?"

After wandering through the maze-like prison village, he found what he was looking for: Ui Judaek\'s house.

"If Hyun Junggeon\'s description is correct, this should be the place. One, two, three. The third house. But why are there so many Hunters? This is different from what he said. Well, if I go in, I should get something."

Mr. Cho transformed into Hyun Junggeon, whose appearance he had copied in advance, and climbed down from the roof where he had been hiding. The Hunters around Ui Judaek\'s house noticed him a bit late. Mr. Cho cautiously approached, worried they might attack.

"Huh? Mr. Hyun?"

"Oh, you\'ve been through a lot. But why are you here...?"

"Dongsu called us. We\'re here to guard Guild Leader Kang. We\'re keeping watch."

"Ah, Guild Leader Kang? Where is he now?"

"He\'s in the attic. Should I call Dongsu for you?"

"No, it\'s alright. I was here before, so no need to trouble him. Haha."

"Look who it is? Isn\'t it Mr. Hyun?"

Suddenly, a man who recognized him approached, making Mr. Cho tense.

\'Who is he?\'

Fortunately, a Hunter nearby identified the man.

"Dongsu, Mr. Hyun just arrived. He says he wants to see the Guild Leader."

"Oh, I see. Please, come with me. He\'s waiting for you."

"No need for such trouble... I can find my way."

"We can\'t be rude to someone who came with the Guild Leader for the sake of the village."

Seeing the respect the Hunters showed to him disguised as Hyun Junggeon, Mr. Cho immediately realized that Kang Mu-hyuk had done something significant here.

\'What did he do to tame the notoriously wild people of Sinuiju? And he\'s not even in good health.\'

Mr. Cho, led by Hwang Dongsu, entered Ui Judaek\'s house. Climbing the stairs without railings to the attic, he saw Kang Mu-hyuk, leaning against a bed with a stern face.

Kang Mu-hyuk was jotting down something in his notebook while looking at a map.

"Guild Leader Kang, Mr.Hyun Junggeon has returned."

"Haha, Guild Leader Kang..."

As Mr. Cho waved and took a few steps forward, Kang Mu-hyuk\'s gaze sharpened.

"Your stride is different."

"What? What\'s different about it?"

"Also, Hyun Junggeon hunches his shoulders slightly when he walks. It\'s an occupational habit. Who are you?"

"Damn it. Who notices such things---ugh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a fist shot toward Mr. Cho\'s head. Hwang Dongsu\'s punch swept through the attic. Mr. Cho, pushed back by the force, spun mid-air.

"Where do you think you\'re-?!"

As Mr. Cho tried to move out of the attack range, Hwang Dongsu lunged at him.

"Damn it, this guy is strong."

Mr. Cho countered Hwang Dongsu\'s next punch with a kick. Although she didn\'t particularly enjoy fighting, she never backed down from one. But she was not suited for a direct, unarmed confrontation. Even if she had an advantage in rank, she could tell from Hwang Dongsu\'s attacks that he was not below her.

"Resisting is pointless! Tell us who you are!"

"Get your fists out of my face and then talk!"

As Mr. Cho dodged or blocked every attack, Hwang Dongsu drew the sword from his waist.

"Hey, I said stop with the fists, not pull out a sword! And with mana? Stop! Stop! Guild Leader Kang, it\'s me. It\'s me!"

Mr. Cho tried to change her appearance. She aimed to transform into the middle-aged man she used to meet Kang Mu-hyuk...

\'Damn! I deleted that saved disguise!\'

She had forgotten that, due to her ability\'s ten transformation slots, she had deleted the appearance Kang Mu-hyuk knew.

Out of the forms she had, which one would Kang Mu-hyuk recognize...

Whoosh!

Glossy black hair extended down to her waist. Her small face, white skin, delicate features, sharp jawline, and a petite figure appeared. Despite her sharp gaze, she had a tiny build.

"It\'s me. I said it\'s me, Guild Leader Kang. Do something about this guy."

It was Mr. Cho\'s true form: Cho Si-won.

"Do you know her, Guild Leader?"

"Who are you?"

"Oh, come on. You\'ve forgotten this face? This pretty face?"

"How dare you use deceitful tricks in front of the Guild Leader? I can\'t let this slide!"

"Hey, put the sword away! Kang Mu-hyuk! Are you really doing this?"

"Hunter Hwang Dongsu, lower your weapon. She\'s on our side."

"What?"

"I was just joking. It\'s been a while since I\'ve seen Mr. Cho\'s real face. Did you delete the detective\'s look?"

"You knew it was me from the start?"

"Yes. I recognized it by your sliding walk."

"You fucking.... Hey! Why is there a sword at my neck?"

"Weren\'t you about to curse at the Guild Leader?"

"Do you pull swords for cursing around here?"

"Depends on the situation."

Mr. Cho turned her head and cursed silently.

As she silently vented her frustration, Kang Mu-hyuk spoke, "Mr. Cho, if you\'ve come here, I assume the Guild Master sent you. And if you took on Hyun Junggeon\'s form it means you met him. The Guild Master didn\'t come personally. Is there trouble at the guild?"

"See. That\'s why it\'s so great talking to you. You\'re right. The Guild Leader is stuck there because the White Tiger Guild is creating a fuss there. I met Hyun Junggeon, and Go Eul-ji is with us. Now, we just need you to get out of here. You need an injection to survive, right? I was pretty shocked to hear you were sick."

Hwang Dongsu flinched at the mention of taking Kang Mu-hyuk away, or rather, at the mention that he could die. It was because of what Kang Mu-hyuk had promised him.

Kang Mu-hyuk, contemplating Mr. Cho\'s words, finally spoke, "Not right now."

"What? Why?"

"Because we need to take over Sinuiju."