Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Criminals #4

Unlike the bloody atmosphere it was conducted in, the talk proceeded rather smoothly .

Besides, Moonlight Flower was a surprisingly good help .

‘Joking around with Big Mama…’

The image of the Big Mama that Tae-hyuk knew was like the difference between heaven and earth .

She built up her skills while working as a stolen goods broker, before entering the counterfeit art industry . It seemed like now was that time .

‘Still, her ability to make counterfeit goods is already huge . ’

Big Mama was painting a copy of something . In Tae-hyuk’s eyes, it was hard to distinguish between the original and the fake .

Tae-hyuk’s eyes lit up .

Moonlight Flower had disappeared into the warehouse in order to find a stick to use .

This was his chance .

Tae-hyuk organized the information he had about Big Mama in his head . The details had been written down in his blacklist, but he was still able to come up with some important points on the spot .

He remembered something very unusual .

“So, Kid . What did you need?”

Big Mama asked with the smile of a salesperson .

“Hello, I am Seo Tae-hyuk . There are many rumors about Mama . It is an honor to meet you . Then, I’ll speak bluntly . I want to make a deal with Mama . ”

Big Mama made a surprised expression while her eyes sharpened .

“Hoh . You aren’t an ordinary kid . ”

“Aren’t you always saying that the appearance on the outside isn’t important?”

“… You know me very well . ”

“You are famous . ”

“What type of deal do you want to establish?”

She wanted to know what he wanted . Tae-hyuk had no intention of showing all the cards in his hand .

“Do you happen to know the thief who stole an item called the Rosario in this neighbourhood yesterday? The appearance looks roughly like this . ”

Tae-hyuk showed a picture of Rosario that he drew in advance .

Big Mama replied in a relaxed tone .

“I trade in many stolen goods in one day, and I can’t remember all of it . ”

“I know that Mama has such a good memory that Mama can even remember a piece of merchandise from a week ago . ”

Big Mama was famous for her tremendous memory .

“Hoh . Not many people know about my specialty… You are a kid that I really can’t look down on . No, shall I call you Tae-hyuk?”

The title coming from Big Mama’s mouth changed .

Tae-hyuk knew what that meant .

“I would like to deal in information . If you give me information about the thief who took Rosario, then I will give you one piece of information . ”

“I will listen first and decide . ”

Tae-hyuk spoke casually, as if he was ordering jajangmyeon from a Chinese restaurant .

“The Trail of the Sunset . ”

It felt like time had stopped .

Big Mama froze .

“… How do you…?”

There were two implications .

Tae-hyuk smiled gently .

He said it because he knew the future of Big Mama .

“It is a piece that all art collectors desire . ”

Big Mama’s hand trembled in response . It was an expression like she had been hit .

“It is very important that the information is reliable . There is no guarantee that you won’t lie . ”

Tae-hyuk knew that Big Mama would say this . The answer was also prepared .

“Aren’t you in a position to look through straws right now? If my information is unbelievable, then it can’t be helped . I will give up on the deal . ”

Tae-hyuk said boldly . If the box wasn’t opened, then the person wouldn’t know if they had received what they ordered from the Chinese restaurant . Of course, it was the same for the other person .

This was the risk with trading information .

“Tae-hyuk is telling me to betray the money making game . Do you know that?”

“The Trail of the Sunset, or money . Select one of the two . ”

There was no need to even weigh it . No matter how many ping pong balls were stacked up, they still wouldn’t be able to beat a bowling ball .

Big Mama was still smiling, but her eyes were burning with a strange fire .

“If you are lying then be ready, for I will give you a very painful punishment . ”

“Then, I’ll tell you the location of the painting . Mama, please tell me the name and phone number of the person I am looking for . ”

Big Mama said to him .

“I don’t gamble, but I will try to believe Tae-hyuk just once . The thief…”

Tae-hyuk was able to get the information he desired by trading with Big Mama .

* * *

“What are you going to do now?”

“I have to make a trap that he can’t run from, so I will have to prepare something to tempt him . ”

“Ahum~”

Moonlight Flower spoke in a strange tone and laughed .

Tae-hyuk spoke in an apologetic voice .

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to leave you here . ”

“Bah . You ate everything, and now you want to discard me like a used tissue?”

“I’m sorry . Instead, I promise to talk after catching K . ”

K was the initial of the criminal .

“You promise?”

“Yes . ”

Moonlight Flower extended a finger .

“I will add one more thing . Go to the aquarium with me on the weekend sometime . There is something that I want to discuss with you there . ”

“…Well . Ok, I understand . ”

This time, Tae-hyuk owed a big favor to Moonlight Flower, so he decided to listen to her request .

Moonlight Flower continued waving until Tae-hyuk disappeared from her sight .

‘I never thought I would meet two blacklist members in one day . ’

Tae-hyuk inwardly sighed .

Moonlight Flower and Big Mama . It seemed like they were attracting each other . There were 120 people on the blacklist . It was impossible to think that he could go against all of them, even with his crime skills .

‘First of all, I have to watch the situation…’

While Tae-hyuk didn’t know much about Moonlight Flower, he knew that Big Mama was as sly like a fox .

Was it possible for him to leave her alone?

Tae-hyuk’s mind became complicated .

‘Let’s just think about catching K for now . ’

Tae-hyuk dialled the number given by Big Mama .

The plan for catching K was already in place .

There were a few beeps .

“Hello?”

The call was connected .

* * *

Kim Sang-hyun didn’t feel good in the morning .

He didn’t know how many days it had been since he had found something good .

Yesterday, he went to collect from a newly discovered prey . There was a family who recently moved into his area . Usually, in such cases, there were large amounts of money in the owner’s house .

However, they were already diligent and entrusted it all to the bank, so he had to resort to taking various miscellaneous things around the house . There wasn’t even a single gold ring .

Kim Sang-hyun spat on the floor .

“Che! Ara, you bastards . ”

He wanted to move on to another area, but the situation wasn’t right . Maybe there was already someone else…

He pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth . He had just bought a new pack, but it was already the last one .

“Crazy . I have no cigarettes left . ”

It was dangerous if he couldn’t hit the jackpot .

He was enjoying his cigarette when the phone rang .

He didn’t know the number . Perhaps it was a spam call .

Kim Sang-hyun suddenly came up with a good idea . He would swear at the people on the phone to relieve stress .

Sang-hyun pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear .

“……”

He first had to check who the person was . If it was someone he didn’t know, then he would curse at them .

Sang-hyun concentrated on the other person’s voice .

-Sang-hyun, it is Mother .

Kim Sang-hyun couldn’t believe his ears . Mama was calling him directly .

“Ah, Mother . What’s wrong?”

-Well, I am calling because I thought I should bring something to your attention . Earlier, some kid was looking for you . I don’t know who he is, but you ought to be careful . He asked about you .

“For me? What did you do?”

–How long have we been working together? Of course, I gave him the wrong number .

“Haha… Thank you, Mother . ”

He heard a soft laugh over the phone .

–Well, there is a fee for the information . ”

“I see . ”

She wouldn’t hand over false information for free .

Kim Sang-hyun felt sweat flowing, as Mama wasn’t just a simple stolen goods broker .

–I know what you are thinking . I’m Mama, I’m not that cold . I got free income thanks to Sang-hyun . Sang-hyun should also receive a prize . I received some very good information, so how about it? Do you want to give it a try?

At that moment, Kim Sang-hyun wanted to cheer .

It was a great opportunity for thieves . A place that held a lot of valuables .

“I accept! No, I will do it! Please let me do it!”

-Hoho! I understand . Indeed, Sang-hyun . You are dependable .

Stolen goods brokers often handed over information .

If so, there was an implicit rule when doing business with that person .

Kim Sang-hyun barely refrained from laughing .

Mama’s spot was rumored to be a jackpot .

“Then what should I steal?”

-There will be lots of diamonds . Please help Mama steal all of them .

“Haha . Just believe in me!”

Kim Sang-hyun combed through the information given by Mama .

Diamonds?

“Hahaha! I will be rich! Rich!”

* * *

The spot wasn’t far away .

Kim Sang-hyun did a final equipment check . HIs equipment variety ranged from locksmith tools to levers for lifting heavy objects .

It seemed like he was going to rob a bank, not a house .

“Then… This isn’t my area . Is it okay?”

He came here under the name of the greatest information broker, Mama .

Even the owner of the territory wouldn’t be able to have any complaints .

The spot was a two-storey house with a spacious courtyard . In recent years, expensive security systems were often found in homes like these . It was really hard to eat and live in this world .

‘It doesn’t look like there is one common CCTV . A big jackpot!’

Kim Sang-hyun cheered .

As expected from Mama . He wondered how she found information about this spot .

It was late at night, so there was no one in the house . The fireplace was turned off, and no loud sounds could be heard .

A golden opportunity to steal!

The hum of a song came out .

Kim Sang-hyun was a thief with considerable skill . He was even able to get into a safety deposit box in five minutes because he was the child of a locksmith .

He opened a locked door using his skills .

According to Mama’s information, the diamonds were in the bedroom . He walked towards the destination while visualizing the structure of the house in his head .

‘Here!’

Kim Sang-hyun excitedly opened the door .

Pang!

Pang pang!

Suddenly, there were the sounds of firecrackers popping .

The dark room lit up .

The people hiding in the darkness cheered .

“Surprise~!”

“Congratulations!”

“Happy birthday, Chief-nim!”

“Chief-nim, I love you!”

“Milk-coloured Chief-nim!”

Kim Sang-hyun stopped moving .

Diamonds . There were a lot of diamonds . Three representative diamonds .

“Kim Sun-kyung . No matter how much we look, isn’t that not the chief?”

The second diamond answered .

“Yes, that’s right!”

A diamond was a diamond, but they weren’t jewels . However, they were covered with diamonds .

Inside the room, dozens of people were dressed in police uniforms . In the center of the room was a large cake, as well as beer and chicken .

Surprise? Birthday? What the hell?! This was the chief of police’s house?

Why did Mama send him here…?

“Aaaack!”

Kim Sang-hyun screamed .

Police!

The police!

Policeeeeee!

Kim Sang-hyun tried to flee back the way he came .

The diamond said .

“Who is this? Kim Sang-hyun! Did you come to surrender yourself for Chief-nim’s birthday?”

Today was the police chief’s birthday .

Kim Sang-hyun had to sing a congratulatory song in handcuffs .