God of Crime

Chapter 1: The Beginning

The Criminal who became a God

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“Ohh, Your Majesty Seo Tae Hyuk. I’m sorry to bring you to this shabby place.”

Tae Hyuk narrowly opened his eyes and scowled at the other party.

That bastard, he always calls him that.

That was a jargon used in the prison to call the prisoners.

Those who have less than 3 years of term are ‘Plebeian’, ‘Noble’ for more than 10 years and ‘King’ those who have received life sentences.

Of course, there’s no meaning of respect in it at all.

A very insulting nickname with contempt and derision.

“I see.”

Seo Tae Hyuk sank on the chair in the middle of the room.

He was one of the very few prisoners who don’t shrink in front of jailors.

“There’s nothing to offer to His Majesty. Would you like to drink the coffee that I didn’t finish?”

Tae Hyuk drank it at once like it was nothing.

“Thank you.”

“Kuh. Your Majesty. You are composed like always. It’s already been 10 years, right? To think that I won’t get to see you anymore, tears are covering my eyes.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Yes yes. That day has come. It’s in one week.”

Tae Hyuk’s eye pupil shaked violently.

A groan came from his firmly closed mouth. Although he thought all sentiments disappeared over the past 10 years.

“Plea of innocence denied, the lawyer fled, and then⋯⋯.”

“It’s become like this.”

The jailer gave a few sheets of paper.

“What are these?”

“Write the menu you would like to have for your last night. And if there’s someone you want to visit you, write it down as well.”

What you would call the last supper and the last visit.

Tae Hyuk didn’t move for a minute. But a lot of thoughts went through his head more than he would in his entire life.

And then he slowly filled the sheets.

“Oho. aKimchi Jjigae? You could have chosen fancier dishes though.”

“It’s my little brother’s favorite dish.”

“And to not add pork? This is quite an abnormal order. Perhaps you mean you were poor or something like that? ⋯⋯Oh, was I right?”

“⋯⋯.”

“Haha. Yes I see. You’ll be busy for the remaining time. It’s the first death penalty in 30 years after its reintroduction so everybody’s inexperienced so please forgive them kindly.”

Tae Hyuk couldn’t stand up from his sit for a while.

It was unfair.

It was unfair enough to come in prison after a false charge but to say he was going to die without having achieved anything…

“Ah, right. I had a thought, you know. A criminal who received life sentence is a king of crime, isn’t it? Then how should we call a criminal who is executed? Perhaps a god! Haha! In one week, Your Majesty Seo Tae Hyuk is going to become the god of crime!”

Tae Hyuk roared a while in the room when the jailer left.

.

One week went in an instant.

It seems his name was shown more on TV than celebrities.

It was because the whole country’s attention gathered since it was the death penalty that was revived after 30 years.

In front of the prison, human rights groups have set demonstrations everyday but nothing changed.

Tae Hyuk sank in thought on the visitation room’s chair.

He felt more serene when he accepted death. He requested his older sister and younger brother to come visit him. It’s already been about a year since he last met them.

What kind of talk to have? He wanted to say thank you to his younger brother who believed in his innocence until the end.

Is big sister who took the role of the mother instead of the dead parents, really living well and happily?

Tae Hyuk looked at the clock on the wall. The Kimchi Jjigae on the table was already cold.

*creak*

At the sound of the door opening, Tae Hyuk changed his face expression to look indifferent as possible.

“⋯⋯.”

Tae Hyuk lost his word when he saw who entered.

“Oh my, Your Majesty. I’m so sorry I’m not the person you were waiting for.”

It was the familiar face: the jailer.

The jailer sank on the chair in the middle of the visiting room.

“You don’t look to be so happy to see that it’s me.”

Tae Hyuk didn’t particularly deny it.

“Your family members. Was it Mr. Seo Tae Min and Ms. Seo Ha Ran? In other word, the two couldn’t come.”

“Is that so.”

Was it because they decided to give up?

It was fine even if he knew that he won’t to be able to see his family for his last moments.

Thanks for considering the incapable him who didn’t even had the ability to clear oneself’s false charge, as a family. He just wanted to say that one thing.

Right.

It was fine with this.

Please consider that the man called Seo Tae Hyuk hadn’t even existed.

Then let’s pray for my family to live happily. He decided to be content with this.

The jailer moved a bit of his of mouth.

“Last month, Ms. Seo Ha Ran, Your Majesty’s older sister, has committed suicide.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s really sudden, right? I mean, you know. A murder among the family. The mass com is speaking everyday about it. Journalists coming for being a family. And it seems the censoring place was unfortunately bad. So she got discovered by her company. Oh my, oh my. Then she got fired. And she had quite a lot of debt. And she lost the tiny little left to her in a pyramid scheme. So in the end…”

Cough cough!

The jailer imitated to strangle himself.

“Th-that’s impossible! How could my older sister..!”

“Then what became of the remaining little brother. Was it Mr. Seo Tae Min? He was someone very brilliant. Unlike someone. He came out of the S university’s faculty of law to save his older brother, right? And he was running after some major company or a politician I don’t know clues to find. He’s been missing not long ago. He may have thought he became a detective or whatever. He should have known his place.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Well, I guess he was put in an oil drum with concrete and is rolling at the bottom of the Yellow Sea by now. He should be getting well with his new neighbors. Well, his exact location is only known by the Sea King I guess?”

Boom!

Tae Hyuk slammed the table with his fist.

The Kimchi Jjigae splashed and the whole room was in a mess.

“Don’t you lie to me, you bastard! Are you fucking insane? What? My older sister suicided after being involved in a pyramid scheme? And Tae Min went missing trying to save me? Don’t fuck with me! I’ll kill you!”

The jailer was in stitches.

“Hahaha! Your Majesty Seo Tae Hyuk. You said you were going to kill me? You who has never killed before, not even a single ant?”

It was right.

At the very moment, Tae Hyuk realized something strange.

He thought the guy was just the jailer he’s been seeing for 10 years. But it was not. Such a jailer wasn’t in this prison. To begin with, there’s no way a jailer would know this much. Then why did he think it was the jailer?

“⋯⋯you. You are not the jailer.”

“Then. Indeed, what am I?”

The jailer smiled.

Tae Hyuk screamed at the man’s face.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

The place where the eyeball should have been was an empty hole.

And the mouth was ripped to the ear and each time he was laughing, something red dripped down.

The Thing smiled and said,

“I’ve got this one very appetizing proposal. First, how about hearing it?”

Chapter 2: I Don’t Think it is a Dream

“Aigoo, Your Majesty Seo Tae-hyuk. I apologize for bringing you to this humble place.”

Tae-hyuk narrowed his eyes and glared at the other person.

Son of a bitch.

He always called Tae-hyuk by that term.

It was a form of slang that inmates in a prison were called.

Those with a jail sentence of less than three years were called ‘commoners’, while those that received more than 10 years in prison were ‘nobles’. The prisoners with a life sentence were called ‘kings.’

Of course, the meaning didn’t indicate respect at all.

It was a very insulting nickname that was filled with scorn and ridicule.

“I see.”

Seo Tae-hyuk sat down in the chair in the middle of the room.

He was one of the few inmates who didn’t feel helpless in front of the guards.

“Your Highness has nothing to say. Would you like the coffee that I have leftover?”

Tae-hyuk drank it all at once.

“Thank you.”

“Kuk. Your Majesty. You are still as free as always. Has it already been 10 years? Tears are flooding my eyes at the thought of not being able to see you anymore.”

“……”

“Yes yes. That day is here. It will happen in one week.”

Tae-hyuk’s eyes violently trembled.

A moan escaped from his tightly closed mouth. The last 10 years. He had thought that all his emotions had weathered away.

“Your claims of innocence have flown away. Your lawyer has run away. In the end…”

“It is like this.”

The guard held out some documents.

“What is it?”

“Write down the meal that you would like to have on your last night. If you also have anyone you wish to visit then write it down as well.”

It was the so-called last dinner and last visit.

Tae-hyuk did nothing for one minute. However, his head was filled with thoughts of his life.

He slowly filled out the documents.

“Hoh. Kimchi stew. It is alright for you to choose a fancier meal.”

“This is my little brother’s favourite food.”

“Additionally, to not put any pork in? This is quite an unusual order. Surely you don’t mean you were poor?… Oh, was I right?”

“……”

“Haha. Yes, I see. You’ll be busy for the time you have remaining. This will be the first death penalty in 30 years so please excuse anyone if they are inexperienced.”

Tae-hyuk didn’t move from his spot for a while.

Falsely accused.

He was falsely accused and imprisoned. Now, he was doing to die without seeing anything.

The guard had a strange thought that he found amusing.

“Ah. I thought of something. Isn’t a criminal who receives a life sentence called the king of crime? Then what should I call a criminal who is going to be executed? Perhaps, a god? Haha! In a week’s time, Your Majesty Seo Tae-hyuk will become the God of Crime!”

In the room where the guard had left him, Tae-hyuk furiously roared for a while.

* * *

One week passed by quickly.

It seemed that his name appeared on TV more than the celebrities.

The death penalty system had been just revived after 30 years, so it couldn’t be helped that the nation was interested.

Human rights organizations protested outside the prison every day but it didn’t change a thing.

Tae-hyuk sat in a chair in the visitation room.

His mind calmed down after he had accepted his death. He was waiting for his younger brother and older sister, who he had asked to visit. It had already been over a year since he last saw them.

What would they talk about? He wanted to thank his younger brother for believing that he was innocent until the end.

Did his sister, who took over as a mother when their parents died when he was a child, live happily every after?

Tae-hyuk looked at the clock on the wall. The kimchi stew on the table was already cold.

Thump.

Tae-hyuk tried to make his expression as casual as possible as he heard the door opening.

“……”

Tae-hyuk forgot what he was going to say when he saw the person who came in.

“Aigoo, Your Majesty. I’m not the one you have been waiting for. I’m truly sorry.”

It was the familiar guard.

He sat down on a chair in the visitation room.

“You look very uncomfortable at my appearance.”

Tae-hyuk didn’t deny it.

“Your family. Was it Seo Tae-min ssi and Seo Ha-ran? You won’t be able to see the both of them.”

“Is that so?”

Had they decided to give up everything?

He didn’t mind that he wouldn’t be able to see his family in his last minutes.

‘Thank you for treating me as family, even though I was unable to get rid of the false accusations.’ He only wanted to say those words.

Yes.

This was what happened..

It would be best if they saw Seo Tae-hyuk as someone who never existed in the first place.

Then he would pray that his remaining family would live on happily. He decided to be satisfied with this thought.

Then the guard smirked.

“Seo Ha-ran ssi, Your Majesty’s older sister, Seo Ha-ran, committed suicide last month.”

“Huh?”

“Is this surprising? No, not really. She had a murderer in her family, of which the media talked about every day. Reporters kept bothering the family. Then. by chance, the mosaic covering her face didn’t work properly, and was revealed to her workplace. Oh dear, oh dear. In the end, she was fired. Furthermore, I was told that she had quite a large debt. She eventually lost her remaining assets in a multi-level marketing scheme. Thus, in the end…”

Kek kek!

The guard pretended to strangle himself.

“T-that is ridiculous!” Why would Noonim do that?”

“Anyways, what happened to your younger brother? Seo Tae-min ssi was it? He was truly smart, unlike a certain someone. Didn’t he enter S Law University to save his hyung? He was then caught looking for evidence from politicians and large corporations. Not long after, he disappeared. I guess he thought he was a detective. He should have known not to overrate himself.”

“……”

“My guess it that he is encased in concrete in a barrel drum at the bottom of the Yellow Sea. He should be getting friendly with his new neighbours. Well, what is the exact location of the Dragon King?”

Kwang!

Tae-hyuk struck the table with his fist.

The prepared kimchi stew was strewn about, and the room became a mess.

“Don’t lie to me, you bastard! Are you completely crazy? What? My sister committed suicide after losing everything in a pyramid scheme? Don’t take me for a fool! And Tae-min went missing after trying to save me? Don’t play around! I will kill you!”

The guard held his side as he laughed.

“Hahaha! Your Majesty Seo Tae-hyuk. What, you will kill me? You, who has never even killed a single ant in your life?”

It was the right answer.

At that moment, Tae-hyuk thought it was strange.

Until now, he thought that this was the guard that he had known for 10 years; however, that was not the case. There was no such guard here. In the first place, there was no way a prison guard could know that much. Why did he ever think that the person before was a prison guard?

“… You. You aren’t a guard.”

“Yes. Then what am I?”

The guard laughed.

Tae-hyuk, who saw the man’s face, screamed.

“Aaaaack!”

In the sockets where one’s eyeballs were supposed to be was replaced by a hollow space.

The mouth was ripped from ear to ear and something red dribbled down his chin whenever he laughed.

The thing smiled and said.

“I have a very mouth-watering proposal. Would you like to hear it first?”

Chapter 1 – I Don’t Think it is a Dream

“Keok!”

Tae-hyuk woke up screaming.

It was a bad dream.

This happened sometimes. Sometimes there were dreams so real that he couldn’t even distinguish between the dream and reality for a while after waking up.

“Well, that was a shit dream.”

In his dream, Tae-hyuk was a falsely accused criminal who received the death penalty.

“Fuck.”

Just thinking about it caused him to curse.

Tae-hyuk sat on his bed and didn’t move for a while.

“…Wait a minute. So I was locked up for 10 years for a murder I didn’t commit? In the end, I was sentenced to death.”

Tae-hyuk certainly didn’t kill anyone. However, the evidence was perfect. There was the CCTV taken at the crime scene. The weapon with Tae-hyuk’s fingerprints on them. An eyewitness also saw him escaping the crime scene.

“This, damn!”

His body started shaking.

“Wait a minute. It is just a dream. Just think of it as a shit dream…”

But something was wrong. It was too real to be a dream. It felt like he really had been confined in prison as a death row inmate until yesterday.

If it was a dream then who was he now?

Tae-hyuk looked around.

It was a three pyeong room with a bunk bed and two desks. There was also a small bookcase with a simple structure.

The unique dampness and mouldy smell was still the same.

It was the room he shared with his brother Tae-min before he graduated from high school.

‘What? It feels like I’m reminiscing about a memory that is more than 10 years old. Crazy. This is all due to that realistic dream.”

15 years had passed by in his dream.

But in reality, only a single night had passed. Then what was this sense of incongruity?

“Anyway, I am still a high school student, right? Not a death row inmate?”

Tae-hyuk calmed his chaotic mind and wanted to check.

“Yes, a mirror!”

Tae-hyuk mindlessly searched the room for a mirror. He would resolve things after confirming his appearance.

If he didn’t look like a high school student but a man in his 30s… Just thinking about it caused him to have goosebumps.

Eventually, he was able to find a small handheld mirror.

“Ugh. A bad taste.”

The demon carved on the mirror gave off a bad feeling.

“Did we ever have a mirror like this?”

It might belong to his younger brother.

The place where he found it was in the bookshelf used by both of them.

“… Phew. Fortunately, I’m still a high school student.”

The man in the mirror seemed to be in his late teens.

“Wait a minute. What is this?”

Tae-hyuk looked around with a strange expression. However, there was nothing.

He looked at the mirror again.

There were a lot of strange letters on it.

[Seo Tae-hyuk]

-Title: God of Crime

-Rating: Commoner (Lacking conditions for upgrade)

-Skills Possessed: None

In addition to this, a status window filled the mirror.

Tae-hyuk laughed to himself.

“This is a well made toy.”

The contents were commonly seen in popular online games.

A person who liked things like this.

Inside the house, there was only Tae-min.

Either way, he was indeed a high school student.

Tae-hyuk sighed with relief.

He wasn’t a falsely accused death row prisoner. He was Seo Tae-hyuk, a high school student in the 2nd grade who lived with his older sister and younger brother. Then he started to remember some things.

Unlike his brother, who was a good student, he had a slightly delinquent appearance.

He sometimes missed school and he couldn’t exactly say that his grades were good.

Thus, he was treated as a troublemaker.

Still, at least he wasn’t a high school gangster.

“Um. Has Tae-min already left?”

He could smell the scent of rice cooking from somewhere. It seemed that his sister, Seo Ha-ran, was preparing breakfast. He started to realize that he was hungry.

“Tae-hyuk! Come eat!”

His sister’s voice was heard.

Tae-hyuk scratched his head and headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

“……”

Tae-hyuk’s eyes turned red.

Ha-ran asked with surprise.

“What is it? Did you have a scary dream or something?”

Tae-min, who was sitting opposite to Tae-hyun, stared at him before shifting his gaze back to the English words in the book before him.

There wasn’t much time remaining for his exam, so even the preparation time while eating was precious.

“Dust entered my eyes.”

The menu for breakfast was kimchi stew. There was only a little bit of tofu, and didn’t contain a single piece of meat.

Ha-ran hesitated before saying.

“… I’m sorry, Noona will cook you one with meat when I get paid.”

“It really is because dust entered my eyes. Also, Noona’s kimchi stew really is the best in the world, so delicious that I would want to eat it before I die.”

It was a sincere statement.

He put a spoonful into his mouth and could taste his sister’s kimchi stew.

It was a dish that he couldn’t eat in his dream, after all.

“Oh my, this child. You’ll be late. Eat quickly.”

Ha-ran laughed as she moved her spoon. She didn’t dislike Tae-hyuk’s praise.

Their parents had both died in an accident, so Ha-ran became the sole guardian of Tae-hyuk and Tae-min. Despite being a flower in her early 20s, she was working double shifts at the factory.

She didn’t wear any makeup but to Tae-hyun, she was more beautiful than anyone else in the world.

Tae-hyuk bit his lip.

‘I’ll have to get a job straight after graduating high school so I can help Noona.’

Then he was startled.

A memory from his dream of being a death row prisoner popped up.

‘I graduated from school. I obtained a job with a private security company because I had nothing useful, save my body. And I worked there for two years. Then…’

He was framed and went to jail.

‘No! It’s a dream, a dream! Damn…!’

Tae-hyuk turned on the TV to shake off the memories of the death row prisoner.

-The prosecution is looking for the whereabouts of Yoo Cheol-ho, a prisoner who escaped from Central Prison on the 9th…

Ha-ran shook her head and made a fuss as the news of a horrible criminal was heard.

“Omo. He still isn’t caught. It was said that he might be near here. Tae-hyuk, if you go outside, then only go when it is still light. If someone goes up to you then don’t follow them. Do you understand?”

“Noona. I’m grown up. And why don’t you say something to Tae-min?”

“Tae-min is steady.”

“Then I’m bad?”

“Ohuhut!”

Tae-hyuk and Tae-min were already high school students, but Ha-ran still viewed them as children.

Tae-hyuk smiled at his sister’s worry and nodded.

“By the way. That person still hasn’t been caught? He was clearly caught…”

Yoo Cheol-ho. A familiar name.

He had stayed in the room next to Tae-hyuk’s for a while.

In order words, a neighbour.

‘Of course, that was just in my dream.’

Tae-hyuk knew why he had such a dream. It was because he kept hearing these things in the news every day.

“Hyung. Did you eat something bad? Yoo Cheol-ho was caught after committing seven murders three months ago, and broke out of prison just last week. So he hasn’t been caught.”

Tae-min, who was eating rice quietly, interrupted.

Tae-hyuk frowned. Tae-min was interested in such things. This time, he was wrong.

For sure…

“What are you talking about? Yoo Cheol-ho escaped for six months and was caught after committing three more murders.”

Tae-min sighed and said.

“Phew, Hyung. Don’t just read manhwa. You should watch the news as well. Yoo Cheol-ho was caught? They are completely clueless. There is also a pretty good reward.. You must have dreamt about catching him.”

Wait a minute.

Didn’t Yoo Cheol-ho clearly get caught after his escape?

He was a complete psycho and quite talkative.

Furthermore, he didn’t sleep so he talked about his story until dawn.

After two successful breakouts, he gained the nickname ‘King of Jailbreaks.’ The place he went and how he escaped were all vivid in Tae-hyuk’s head.

“So Yoo Cheol-ho’s nickname isn’t King of Jailbreaks?”

Tae-min moved his index finger to the side of his head and moved it round and round.

“Hey. That isn’t something you should do to your hyung!”

“Ah. It’s already 8 o’clock. You should hurry if you don’t want to be late. The student manager said he would break your legs with a paddle if you are late again.”

Tae-min got up and ran to his room.

‘Indeed, a terrible dream.’

Not even the Pirate King but the King of Jailbreaks.

“If the dream is correct then Yoo Cheol-ho’s accomplice should be caught in S City by now. But he isn’t.”

Tae-hyuk unwittingly said the thought that came to his head.

“You must be half-asleep.”

Ha-ran laughed.

A few minutes passed.

“T-Tae-hyuk.”

Ha-ran, who was eating while watching the news, starting shivering like she had seen a ghost.

“Huh?”

“… You were just talking about Yoo Cheol-ho’s accomplice right?”

“Yes. Why?”

“L-look at that.”

Ha-ran pointed to the TV with a trembling hand.

-Breaking news. The accomplice to Yoo Cheol-ho’s escape was caught in S City.

Tae-hyuk’s mouth gaped open. He was so surprised that he didn’t notice the falling spoon.

‘Wait. What is this? What is this?”

The content of the news was the same as his dream. The evidence was the same as Yoo Cheol-ho’s first escape.

‘A dream. It’s a dream! Then why is it happening in real life?’

“… Noona. Is that a rerun? This actually happened yesterday, or the day before, right?”

“That… a live broadcast…”

The words stabbed at Tae-hyuk’s chest like a dagger.

It was a dream, so what was this?

A foresight dream? Returning to the past? Or was it just a coincidence?

Ha-ran gazed at Tae-hyuk with worried eyes.

Tae-hyuk tried to look bright.

“Haha! I just said it. It came true by chance. Maybe I should go and buy a lottery ticket?”

“Hey ~ you really scared me.”

“I have to go to school. Doesn’t Noona come home late at night? You should be careful at night.”

“Prince-nim doesn’t have to worry, I’ll be careful. Have fun at school.”

“Yes, Noona.”

Tae-hyuk left the house with his bag.

His laughter instantly disappeared from his face.

According to his dream, Yoo Cheol-ho shouldn’t be far from here.

‘I need to confirm if Yoo Cheol-ho is really there. Only then will I know if that was just a dream.’

He felt sorry for his sister but he wouldn’t be able to go to school.

Chapter 3: I Don’t Think it is a Dream (2)

Yoo Cheol-ho’s actions after his accomplice was caught were simple. It was the same as fox hunting, if a fox’s cave was lit on fire, then it would fall prey to the hunters waiting outside.

If there was a definite hideout, it was better to keep hiding there.

‘The place where Yoo Cheol-ho is located is 20 bus stops away.’

A serial killer that had the whole nation in an uproar was in such close proximity.

Tae-hyuk pulled out the wallet from his pocket and checked its contents.

‘Um. It have about 3,000 won in total.’

It was said that a man should always have 3,000 won on him. He had no idea that would be true.

It was only enough for a round-trip bus fare. Furthermore, if he used up all of it then he would have to starve for lunch.

‘If I had known that then I would have eaten more for breakfast.’

He hadn’t even eaten half a bowl of stew due to thinking about Yoo Cheol-ho.

It was like in the military or the prison. It was an unspoken law that those who left food behind would soon regret it.

‘Damn. This is just like a real criminal.’

It was within walking distance but Tae-hyuk decided to take the bus. It was noticeable if a student wearing a uniform was walking the streets during class time. Due to his delinquent looks, he was often picked up by police officers on patrol and lectured.

Every time Ha-ran was contacted, he would have to see her in tears.

‘Indeed, I should take the bus.’

What did he want to do when he met Yoo Cheol-ho?

Tae-hyuk’s mind became complicated.

What if Yoo Cheol-ho was really at the location where he was going now? Then it would be proof that what he thought was a dream actually wasn’t.

Then…

Would he really go to jail in five years after being falsely accused?

As a result those events, his older sister Seo Ha-ran and younger brother Seo Tae-min would be ruined.

‘Fuck. It is like hearing that I have a terminal illness…’

However, it was better to know and be prepared than to be ignorant.

Tae-hyuk got on the bus towards his destination.

He pulled his baseball cap deep over his face, just in case he saw a face that he knew.

‘Um. It is past the time to go to work so there aren’t many people on the bus.’

There was only an old lady and a man with a baseball cap positioned like Tae-hyuk’s.

He had bumped into the man when he got on the bus.

But there was something suspicious about him.

‘It is so empty in here, so why is he sitting next to someone?’

Tae-hyuk, who had sat in an empty seat, turned and closely observed the two of them.

It was at that moment.

Brr!

There was a vibration from between his crotch.

Tae-hyuk looked around with surprise.

‘Fuck… If anyone saw that then they would think I was a pervert.’

There was something in the pocket of his school uniform that was vibrating.

‘Uh, is it a mirror? Why is it in the pocket of my uniform?’

It was the mirror that he used to look at himself this morning. The demon carved on the outside still looked really ominous.

Tae-hyuk squinted and looked at the mirror..

His face was reflected but there were still some strange letters written.

[Crime Skill: Robbery has been acquired.

-You can acquire one random item when bumping against another person.

-The probability of success depends on your dexterity.

The letters came and then disappeared.

Tae-hyuk’s mouth trembled.

‘What is this…?’

At the same time, new letters emerged above his head.

[Seo Tae-hyuk]

-Title: God of Crime

-Rating: Commoner (Lacking conditions for upgrade)

-Skills Possessed: Robbery (Lv 1)

‘Did I learn the Robbery skill just now? Why? WHY?!’

Tae-hyuk realized that the demon mirror wasn’t an ordinary item.

In the first place, he had clearly left this on Tae-min’s desk, yet it somehow ended up in his pocket.

He thought that the demon looked like a true dick. A really dick-like thing.

Anyway, if the words on the demon mirror were true, then he had just learnt a crime skill.

Tae-hyuk looked around.

It wasn’t difficult to find the reason.

‘If there is a result, then there needs to be a cause.’

After Tae-hyuk’s arrival on the bus, the old lady started to snore as she dozed off.

The man sitting next to her then revealed his true colours.

‘Pickpocket!’

The man used careful hand techniques to prevent the old lady from waking up. He easily opened the locked handbag using a razor, and all he took out was a wallet.

If Tae-hyuk hadn’t known that something was going to happen beforehand, then he would have thought the man’s body had moved because the bus was shaking.

That’s how perfect the man’s skill was.

Tae-hyuk wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t seen the word ‘robbery’ on the demon mirror.

‘What on earth is this mirror?’

Tae-hyuk chewed on his lips.

Was it truly a mirror that had a demon dwelling inside it?

The pickpocket tried to get off the bus before Tae-hyuk could calm his confused mind.

Duk!

The pickpocket was rushing like he could feel a gaze on him.

Then Tae-hyeok’s body was lightly bumped.

Once again, the demon mirror vibrated.

Brr!

Tae-hyuk made a crazy expression and looked at the mirror.

[Robbery has been used.]

-You have succeeded in stealing the opponent’s belongings!

“……”

The pickpocket had already escaped the bus.

‘Robbery?’

According to the message in the mirror, he had stolen something from the pickpocket.

Tae-hyuk bit his lip.

‘I should check to see what I stole first.’

Tae-hyuk searched through his pockets before a long wallet that he hadn’t seen before emerged.

‘Oh my god!’

It was as he had thought. The pickpocket had stolen the old lady’s wallet then it was stolen again.

In this situation, the one accused of being the criminal would be him.

Tae-hyuk hurriedly got off the bus.

The the old lady’s scream rang through the bus.

“Omo! My wallet is gone!”

Tae-hyuk’s eyes shook.

There was no time. Tae-hyuk ran through the alleys.

‘Crazy…’

A pickpocket stole the old lady’s wallet.

And the pickpocket had the wallet stolen by Tae-hyuk.

If Tae-hyuk had been a little late getting off the bus then he would have been arrested by the police officer on duty.

‘What? God of Crime? Trying to make a good person a criminal!’

Tae-hyuk angrily threw the demon mirror with all his strength towards the ground.

Jjeok!

‘Wah…’

Rather than the fragile mirror breaking, the cement ground was the one that cracked.

This time he stepped on it.

“Uaack!”

It hurt like he had kicked a stone pillar. Tae-hyuk spat out curses and threw the demon mirror into a trash bin.

He then turned his body and left this place.

* * *

Tae-hyuk was worried about what to do with the old lady’s wallet.

It seemed like he was becoming a criminal without his consent.

‘Just like those guys.’

In his dream, Tae-hyuk had been imprisoned for 10 years. Unless he was in solitary confinement, it was impossible not to meet other criminals.

There were even those criminals convicted of atrocities.

Yoo Cheol-ho was one of those people.

They were monsters in a human guise.

Now, he wasn’t too sure that it was a dream. At any rate, he was a falsely accused death row inmate in his dream.

For 10 years, he had struggled to escape from that place. It had been a really painful, long time.

Would it have been easier if he knew that he had been postponing death for 10 years?

So if he became a criminal here, it would be like denying his very existence.

‘I need to find its owner’

But how?

He could go to the police station and give them the wallet. They would thank him for surrendering, and then they would handcuff him.

‘Well. It is best to just put it in the mailbox.’

Inside the wallet were 20 checkbooks worth 100,000 won each and ten 50,000 won bills. The total was 2.5 million won.

There was also identification. He would definitely put it in the mailbox that belonged to the owner.

‘She is richer than I thought.’

His heart shook at the tidy sum. It was enough to buy some new clothes for his troubled sister.

‘…Seo Tae-hyuk. What are you thinking? I don’t think that Noona would like that.’

Tae-hyuk pulled a 50,000 won bill from the wallet.

This was lost property, so to speak. If he returned it to the owner, then 10% was his.

Then he put the wallet in the mailbox.

‘I can buysamgyeopsaland grill it with Noona.’

He thought as he placed the money in his pocket.

He froze in shock.

‘Crazy…’

It was the demon mirror that he had obviously tossed in the bin.

Chapter 4: I Don’t Think it is a Dream (3)

Tae-hyuk eventually gave up on getting rid of the mirror. It kept returning to his pocket, yet it wasn’t a possessed doll.

It just informed him of the situation through messages and vibrations. It didn’t like seem like it would do him any harm.

‘I guess I should go visit a shaman later.’

He put aside the mirror for now, and decided to think about Yoo Cheol-ho first.

‘Wasn’t Yoo Cheol-ho hiding in an empty church?’

If he had a smartphone, then he would search with a map app service. However, Tae-hyuk currently only had the flip phone that his sister had given him.

He had no choice but to go to a nearby PC room to search online.

Despite the fact that it was currently class time, the PC room was still crowded with people.

He noticed a few students in their uniforms.

‘They are also playing hooky.’

Tae-hyuk paid the fee at the counter, then sat down and turned on the computer.

‘The location of the church… Crazy. There are more than 20?’

The good news was that he knew that it was an empty church. Tae-hyuk called the churches one by one to check.

After a few minutes, he was able to get the information that he wanted.

‘There were two churches that didn’t answer the phone. He is certainly in one of them!’

Tae-hyuk moved in a hurry.

The first place he went to wasn’t correct. If that was true, then Yoo Cheol-ho was definitely at the second location.

‘Bingo…!’

The curtains were firmly closed over each window. However, he felt a strange presence inside.

The whole alley was half empty due to redevelopment. The church where Yoo Cheol-ho was hiding also seemed to be ruined.

‘Certainly, no one would ever imagine that an escaped prisoner would be hiding in a run down church.’

First of all, he had to confirm that Yoo Cheol-ho was inside.

‘How can I talk to him?’

He couldn’t knock on the door and ask for Yoo Cheol-ho ssi. It just wasn’t possible.

At that moment, he came up with a good idea.

Tae-hyuk got the address of the church from the mailbox and headed to a Chinese restaurant that was nearby.

It was a place where he used to do deliveries when skipping school.

It was lunch time. The phone was ringing, but the delivery motorcycles weren’t visible.

‘As expected, they are swamped with orders.’

Tae-hyuk called the Chinese restaurant.

He made an order for jajangmyeon and gave the address of the church. He also made sure to sound annoyed at the fact that the restaurant was swamped with orders, and that the delivery would be delayed.

“Uh, is it Tae-hyuk? Did you come for a job again? Well, that is good, as there are a lot of deliveries.”

The boss greeted Tae-hyuk as he opened the door to the Chinese restaurant.

“Nope. I’m here to eat jajangmyeon.”

“Aye, don’t be like that. I’m unbelievably busy right now, please, just do 10! It is urgent so I’ll give you an hourly wage of 10,000 won.’

Tae-hyuk smiled pleasantly.

“Then I’ll do it for just one hour.”

“Call!”

Tae-hyuk changed into his work clothes and picked up the iron boxes containing the deliveries.

‘Let’s do a test.’

He decided to test if the Robbery skill he just learnt could also be used against the public.

As he passed the boss sitting at the counter, Tae-hyuk bumped against his body.

Then the crime skill was activated normally.

[Robbery has been used.]

-You have succeeded in stealing the opponent’s belongings!

‘What did I steal?’

Tae-hyuk put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a strange bundle of hair.

‘What is this?’

He looked at the boss and saw that his rich head of hair was gone.

‘Boss-nim… Isn’t he obviously in his 30s?’

Tae-hyuk’s eyes flashed.

“This fell here.”

“Ack! When was this stripped off? T-Tae-hyuk… Don’t tell anybody about this. I’ll add another 5,000 won to your hourly wage.”

The two men exchanged conspiratorial glances.

* * *

“Your Jajangmyeon has arrived!”

Tae-hyuk knocked on the firmly locked door and shouted.

There was no reaction from inside the church. He started using more strength to knock on the door.

There was still no reaction, so Tae-hyuk started shouting.

“Aish! Delivery! Please come out quickly!”

In the end, the person couldn’t bear it.

The closed curtain opened a little bit. The person inside was checking to see if it really was a genuine Chinese delivery person outside.

The iron door opened, revealing a man in clergy attire that could be seen from within the shadows.

“I never ordered any jajangmyeon.”

“Aish! It’s right here.”

“Well. I happen to be hungry. How much is it?”

The man opened the door a bit wider and slowly came out.

Tae-hyuk nearly dropped the iron box he was carrying.

‘Yoo Cheol-ho…!’

A murderer who killed seven people.

It was him.

‘He has a beard now, and is also in clergy attire, but it is definitely him!’

Tae-hyuk’s clothes became damp with sweat.

The fact that Yoo Cheol-ho was here was evidence that what Tae-hyuk saw wasn’t a simple dream.

Then…

‘Crazy. Then, in the next five years, I will be framed and taken to prison? Fuck off!’

Wait a minute.

Something suddenly popped into Tae-hyuk’s head. It was different from the time when he was framed without knowing anything.

Right now, Tae-hyuk knew what would happen in the next 15 years.

And…

‘I don’t know precisely what this power is, but there is also the mirror.’

Due to the power of the mirror, he was able to learn the Robbery skill from the pickpocket.

If that was so, then couldn’t other things be learned?

Perhaps Tae-hyuk could change the harsh reality that he remembered.

‘First of all, I have to find out how to learn skills.’

Tae-hyuk remembered when he first learnt Robbery.

He ran into the pickpocket as he got on the bus, and got the Robbery skill.

Shortly afterwards, he witnessed the pickpocket stealing the old lady’s wallet.

The condition required would be one of them.

“My body feels a bit uncomfortable. Can you come in and put the food on the floor?”

Yoo Cheol-ho said with a smile.

Tae-hyuk looked at his eyes, and saw the eyes of a beast determined to kill.

‘I cannot relax for even a second!’

If he did something even slightly suspicious, then he would surely be killed by Yoo Cheol-ho.

Tae-hyuk recalled the three murders after Yoo Cheol-ho escaped.

He suspected that they had noticed his identity and stabbed them dozens of times with a knife.

Yoo Cheol-ho was very quick.

Tae-hyuk wouldn’t be able to get away if he tried to escape.

Then…

He had to perfectly pretend to be a Chinese delivery person.

Tae-hyuk told Yoo Cheol-ho with a casual expression.

“It is 5,000 won.”

“Wait a minute. Money…”

There were no signs that Yoo Cheol-ho doubted Tae-hyuk’s identity.

Tae-hyuk smiled pleasantly.

‘It was good that I came in the disguise of a Chinese deliveryman.

People always let down their guard when they deal with people like couriers and delivery men.

Tae-hyuk remembered that Yoo Cheol-ho was previously arrested after being reported by a pizza delivery person.

“Yes, the money is here.”

Yoo Cheol-ho pulled out a 10,000 won bill from his pocket.

Tae-hyuk accepted it and gave back the change.

“We’re currently swamped with deliveries, so I will come back later to pick up the bowl after an hour.”

And the door closed.

Tae-hyuk sighed with relief.

He had safely escaped from the clutches of a crazy killer.

“Try to enjoy it, as it will be your last meal in society.”

Tae-hyuk laughed.

If he had known this before, then he would have also given Yoo Cheol-ho some .

Chapter 5: I Don’t Think it is a Dream (4)

‘It seems that I can’t learn skills just from touching another person’s body.’

Tae-hyuk had deliberately touched Yoo Cheol-ho’s hand as he was giving him the money.

However, there was no reaction from the mirror.

‘Then what is it?’

Surely it wasn’t just the Robbery skill?

There was just too much that he didn’t know.

‘Let’s just think about Yoo Cheol-ho first.’

It was impossible for him to catch the killer directly. He didn’t even know the success rate of Robbery, so it was suicidal to act while believing in it.

Then there was only one thing left.

The prosecutors assured that they would be able to catch Yoo Cheol-ho tomorrow; however, according to Tae-hyuk’s dream, Yoo Cheol-ho would start fleeing across the country for more than a month.

Within that time period, three innocent civilians would be killed.

The most important thing was for Tae-hyun to deviate from the predetermined date.

If Yoo Cheol-ho were caught today… then the three victims that were supposed to die would be saved in the end.

He hoped that he could change the future.

Tae-hyuk hurried into action.

‘Yes. I will call a reliable detective.’

Tae-hyuk thought about who to contact while searching through his pockets.

He then pulled out his handphone to make a call.

‘… There is no more battery.’

It was an old-fashioned flip phone that he inherited from his sister. Even if he charged it every day, it was still a junk phone that would quickly run out of power.

Tae-hyuk went to a nearby convenience store and charged his handphone. A few minutes would be enough to make one call.

The TV in the store was showing news about Yoo Cheol-ho.

-Finally, there is a reward of 50 million won. However, his location is still unknown.

‘Bounty!’

Tae-hyuk almost fell backwards at that word.

‘Why didn’t I think of it before? He is an escaped prisoner, so naturally there will be a reward!’

Come to think of it, his brother had said something similar this morning.

At first, this was simply to check if he was in a dream or not.

Then he suddenly learned a strange crime skill – but this fact wasn’t too important.

’50 million won…’

It was an amount that allowed him to not only buy clothes for his hard-working sister, but also allowed them to get out of the monthly rented semi-basement room.

The person he called would be someone who would obtain a huge merit. Therefore, he wanted to give it to someone he knew.

‘Yes. I will call Cho Kang-suk hyung.’

He was a crime squad investigator who had questioned Tae-hyuk several times in the past. He was one of the few people who treated Tae-hyuk as a human instead of a death row inmate.

His promotion luck was quite bad, despite have a vibrant sense of justice, so he was still in the field despite being in his late 40s.

‘He should be roughly in his 30s right now.

After confirming that the battery was charged to a certain extent, Tae-hyuk pressed a number.

-This is the Gang-dong police station.

“I wish to speak to Detective Cho Kang-suk.”

-Yes, I understand.

There was a moment of silence before Cho Kang-suk’s voice was heard.

-Yes, the phone has been changed. I am Cho Kang-suk of the Gang-dong police station’s 2nd team.

“Will I really get a reward if I catch Yoo Cheol-ho?”

Tae-hyuk asked directly.

-It has to be directly. Or can it just be a crucial tip that leads to the arrest… Hey, are you a high school student? Why are you making a prank call? If I catch you then I’ll be angry!

It was a reaction that Tae-hyuk had expected from Cho Kang-suk.

He was more like a neighbourhood hyung than a detective.

“It is real. But is it in cash? What are the tax percentages?”

-Hyung is busy so I’m hanging up.

“It is definitely Yoo Cheol-ho. Isn’t this a situation where you have to find every grain of ricethat Yoo Cheol-hoshed while eating? How about just checking it out?”

-I will do it. I hope it is real or I will one punch you so hard that three teeth will be knocked out.

“Yes.”

-How did you even see him?

“I made a delivery.”

-Even an escaped prisoner has to eat.

Tae-hyuk smiled widely.

Despite his crude way of speaking, Cho Kang-suk was a thorough detective. He would check any minor clue directly.

Tae-hyuk told Kang-suk his location.

* * *

“Fuck. It is real. To think that he was hiding in this type of place. Son of a bitch.”

He used the walkie-talkie, requesting that reinforcements be sent from the investigation headquarters.

“I found where he is hiding. Location…”

Kang-suk patted Tae-hyuk’s head.

“Sorry for doubting you.”

“No problem. Please be sure to catch him.”

“Then. Watch as I catch him.”

Tae-hyuk licked the ice cream Kang-suk bought him and watched the arrest operation.

The rest happened quickly.

The investigation had been in trouble because there were no witnesses to report the location. But now they knew exactly where he was hiding.

Cho Kang-suk acted quickly.

After contacting the special investigation headquarters, dozens of police cars arrived.

Tae-hyuk watched in interest as they broke through the door of the building.

Yoo Cheol-ho took off the clothes that he was wearing and started to run away quickly.

Cho Kang-suk threw himself onto Yoo Cheol-ho, like a hawk hunting its prey.

Yoo Cheol-ho was handcuffed and started screaming.

“Fuck! Which son of a bitch knew I was here? Tell me! I’ll bite off the flesh on their bones!”

Yoo Cheol-ho was taken away by five police officers while still furiously struggling.

Tae-hyuk just watched as he put the last bit of ice cream in his mouth..

“Ah, cool!”

It was sweet and delicious.

After Yoo Cheol-ho was dragged out, the police entered the church to find any remaining evidence.

Cho Kang-suk continued walking around with a walkie-talkie to check if there were any more threats to Tae-hyuk, the witness.

Tae-hyuk thought it was good that the tip went to him.

‘Ah, Detective-nim. You are rejuvenated. You don’t even have the potbelly anymore.’

It was so different from the Cho Kang-suk he remembered that Tae-hyuk couldn’t help laughing. Only the eyes that burned with the flames of justice were the same.

“Detective Cho Kang-suk. You should now receive a special promotion.”

“Brat. Ifyou are facingany trouble, contact Hyung… but you don’t look like the type who will be easily bullied. “Ah. Have you eaten lunch? Shall Hyung buy you a bowl of jajangmyeon?”

“Wah. I gave you the top merit for catching this criminal, yet you only want to buyme a bowl of jajangmyeon?”

“Well. Do you want tangsuyuk as well?”

“Nope. I’ve actually already eaten. Instead, there is something else I need your help with. Help me get the bounty money, asthis is my first time.”

Cho Kang-suk chuckled. He seemed to like the bold Tae-hyuk.

“Haha. Doesn’t it sound like you’re planning to do this again?”

“……”

“Puhaha. What is with that expression? Anyway. You are Tae-hyuk? Really, thank you. Yoo Cheol-ho, that bastard, is a really dangerous guy.Had heescaped,then he would have definitelystartedkillingagain. We were able to catch him without anyinjury,thanks to your report.”

Tae-hyuk felt something hot rising from within his heart.

He hadn’t realized because he had been focused on the reward.

Tae-hyuk had saved the lives of three future murder victims.

The tragedy in the future had changed.

It was at that moment.

The mirror vibrated.

‘Eh, I didn’t bump into anyone.’

The crime skill Robbery seemed to activate regardless of Tae-hyuk’s will.

However, there was the condition that he needed to touch the other person.

He pulled out the mirror and checked the sentences.

[3 affinity points have been acquired.]

[You can use the affinity points to enhance crime skills or activate hidden attributes.]

“What is this?”

Chapter 6: All Thanks to Good Neighbours

After studying it all night, Tae-hyuk had finally figured out the usage of the mirror to a certain extent.

It was basically the same as a smartphone with a touchscreen.

He could touch the screen to get any desired information, and even to change any of its settings.

Tae-hyuk could call up a list of accessible skills by clicking on the [Crime Skills] tab.

‘Robbery’ was currently the only one available.

Furthermore, Tae-hyuk had three affinity points, which he recalled seeing in a game before.

The acquired points could be used to strengthen skills.

Once he clicked on an item, several lists came up.

He could steal things from a person who didn’t even bump into him, pick the item that he wanted, etc. They all seemed like useful skill enhancements; however, the number of affinity points needed varied for each enhancement.

The one that was most expensive, at a total of 10 points, was stealing several items at once. The other enhancements ranged from one to five points.

Tae-hyuk decided to test the affinity points.

‘First of all, I have to raise this.’

‘Robbery’ was the skill that stole the object of a person he bumped into. The slightest mistake meant he could be seen as a pickpocket.

Fortunately, there was an attribute to avoid that.

‘Activation Timing Adjustment!’

After selecting the desired attribute, he pressed the ‘enhance’ button, and the screen flashed with a message.

‘…It is like I am watching a B grade mobile game. Surely it won’t fail?’

[Insufficient affinity points.]

‘Ack! What? It requires five points to get Activation Timing Adjustment?!’

He needed two more points in order to prevent the crime skill from being triggered at an inconvenient time in the future.

The problem was that he didn’t know how to acquire additional points.

As Tae-hyuk grabbed his head in distress, somebody suddenly spoke to him.

“Hey, Tae-hyuk. It is Hyung.”

Cho Kang-suk, who was wearing jeans and an Aloha t-shirt, opened the cafe door and waved out to him.

He was also wearing red sunglasses.

Tae-hyuk instinctively wanted to leave the cafe but endured that notion.

Kang-suk, despite his abhorrent taste in fashion, had come to help.

Tae-hyuk greeted him.

“Hello, Kang-suk hyung.”

Kang-suk sat in a chair and said.

“I paid some attention to what I am wearing today. Huhu. Thanks to you, I received a holiday. I am planning to go to a club in the evening.”

Going to a club…?

Tae-hyuk had a headache.

“It is really cool. I thought you were a model.”

“Haha! This guy. Won’t you do well in your social life?”

He was tall and had big, broad shoulders, so his social life wasn’t bad. However, he seemed to be more popular with men than with women.

“Auntie! A cup of coffee over here please! Keep it coming!”

“…Here, you have to go to the counter and order it.”

“I-I see. I’ve never been here before.”

Kang-suk scratched his head and ordered a cup of ice coffee.

After waiting for a while, the clerk came with an iced coffee and some ice cubes.

Kang-suk took a gulp and said,

“I still don’t know the difference between iced coffee and cold coffee.”

The tea room coffee seemed to suit his taste more.

“Thank you for helping me today.”

Tae-hyuk bowed his head.

Today’s meetup was regarding money.

If a high school student accepted the reward money, then twisted, greedy dung flies would gather.

If Detective Kang-suk claimed it, then such people could be effectively prevented.

He was sincerely grateful for Kang-suk’s help.

“Well, I can take a vacation thanks to you.”

“Then let’s go straight away.”

“Hey. Sit down. There is an order in the works.”

Kang-suk started to explain.

“I think you should know most of it to a certain extent, but I’ll explain the details. Although the basic reward is 50 million won, you won’t be able to receive all of it.”

Tae-hyuk nodded. It was quite silly, but he had to pay a certain amount under the pretext of taxes.

“15% will be taken as the withholding tax. Then there is another 22% for the unearned income tax. Ultimately, you get 63% of the original reward.

Tae-hyuk already knew that 15% would be taken.

However, he didn’t account for the unearned income tax, the tax on profits obtained without working.

He had worked hard to earn this money!

Tae-hyuk felt wronged, but as it was the law, he couldn’t do anything about it.

“In the end, I will still get 31.5 million won.”

“That’s right, that is still a lot of money. It is even more than my regular salary.”

“You have a terribly small salary.”

“Hey, don’t say that. Anyway, what will you do with that money? Don’t spend it in strange places. Do you want Hyung to help you with installment savings?”

Tae-hyuk decided to tell the truth.

“Well. In fact, my parents died in an accident and a few debts behind. We can try and give up the inheritance, but it will be of no use as it was dragged into my noona’s name. In the end, I am living with my noona in a semi-basement rented room. My noona’s health keeps on getting worse due to the bad air, however. I was planning on using the bounty money to move us out of the semi-basement and into a better home.”

“…Well. This brat. A real man!”

Kang-suk’s voice trembled. He thought that after Tae-hyuk received the money, he would it to buy things he wanted or to travel overseas. Kang-suk was proven wrong, however, and was deeply impressed.

Kang-suk pounded on Tae-hyuk’s back.

He liked this type of heart.

‘N-no!’

However, Tae-hyuk inwardly let out a shriek.

Once again, his crime skill was triggered.

[Robbery has been used.]

-You have failed to steal the opponent’s belongings…

Fortunately, it was a failure.

Even if it was a mistake, stealing Kang-suk’s wallet would be the end.

‘Luckily it failed… Uack!’

However, Kang-suk hadn’t finished pounding his back.

Pang pang pang!

Robbery was triggered eeach time.

‘Failure…, ah again failure…!’

The success rate was lower than he thought.

But no matter how low the probability was, as long as it wasn’t zero, it would eventually succeed.

[Robbery has been used.]

-You have succeeded in stealing the opponent’s belongings!

‘Dammit. I stole a detective’s property!’

People were sentenced for two years in prison for special larcenies.

“Eh. Sorry. Are you in pain?”

Kang-suk saw that Tae-hyuk’s face turning sour, and had stopped pounding his back.

Fortunately, Robbery stopped after only succeeding once.

‘This is really crazy. I have to do something about this.’

All he needed to do was bump into someone to activate Robbery.

While this was sometimes useful, more difficult situations like this would occur.

‘Um. But what did I steal?’

Please, just let it not be the wallet! If that happened, then he wouldn’t be able to get out of it.

He searched through his pockets while trying to maintain an expression that was as casual as possible. Fortunately, it wasn’t the wallet that was stolen.

Unfortunately, the item stolen was even worse than a wallet.

‘Crazy. Handcuffs!’

It wasn’t a toy, and it wasn’t an SM item. It was the real, original thing.

It was made of a very solid alloy so it would be a big deal if he accidently put it on.

‘How do I prevent him from noticing…’

Unfortunately, the only crime skill available to him was ‘Robbery’.

He would only steal the other person’s possession if he used it. The opposite, returning the other’s possession, was impossible.

It would be possible if he was a skilled pickpocket, but unfortunately, Tae-hyuk wasn’t considered one.

‘Come to think about it, there was no attribute regarding returning the possession.’

Certainly, it wouldn’t be considered an act that fell under robbery.

‘It can’t be helped. Let’s just go by the book!’

“Ah. Hyung-nim. You dropped this.”

Tae-hyuk deliberately dropped the handcuffs onto the ground and pretended to pick them up.

He was tense as sweat dripped down his back.

‘Damn. This type of lie would only work on a fool!’

However, there was no other alternative.

“Tae-hyuk, this brat…”

‘As expected, he saw through my lies!’

“Really, thank you! Aish, when did this fall? Last time I lost it, I had to spend 200,000 won to buy a new one from the stolen goods department! I’m glad you found it this time.”

It passed!

Furthermore, it was a stolen property.

“…That is a relief.”

Kang-suk wasn’t the neighbourhood hyung type, but the neighbourhood fool type.

“Anyway, a deposit on a house would be difficult with 30 million won. The housing prices have gone insanely expensive these days. Are you living together with just your noona?”

“Nope. My younger brother as well.”

“Three people. Well, you should have at least two rooms. Will the house be near here?”

“Yes. Noona works at a factory nearby, so it needs to be within a walking distance.”

Kang-suk was thinking with all his strength as if it was his own problem.

Although Tae-hyuk already knew that Kang-suk was overflowing with kindness and openness, he hadn’t expected this level of sincerity.

‘It is good that I’m entrusting it to Kang-suk.’

Kang-suk let out a strange moan as he searched through a real estate app.

“You’ll need at least 30 million won to rent a house. Damn. There are no taxes set on the bounties from companies… Shouldn’t the country pay more when such a big criminal is caught?”

Wait. A bounty from companies?

‘I’m certain that a big company put out a bounty for Yoo Cheol-ho.’

He couldn’t remember exactly where.

‘Where was it… ah. Sungjin Group!’

Tae-hyuk carefully told this fact to Kang-suk.

Kang-suk was delighted, as if it was his own work.

“Yes. Let’s jump and catch two things today!”

“We’ll go get the bounty from the government first. Do we receive it from Central Bank?”

“It is like the lottery. Did you bring what I asked you to?”

Tae-hyuk nodded.

They were copies of his ID card and a bankbook in his own name.

“If you send that to the person in charge ,then it will be deposited by tomorrow. Originally, they reward would be received from Central Bank, but it is like Tae-hyuk said. There would be problems if you went there.”

“Certainly. Lotto prizes would be received, there so there would be dung flies buzzing around all day.”

“Haha. Yes, dung flies.”

There were people looking for investors, saying they had a ‘sure fire’ item. Businessmen asking for donations. In addition, there were gangsters with crude and rough words. Various groups would be gathered like flies.

Kang-suk gathered the papers that Tae-hyuk gave him.

“I’ll give this to the person in charge.”

“Kang-suk hyung, I really appreciate what you’ve done so far.”

“No, it’s fine. Anyway, I will be interviewed as the detective who caught Yoo Cheol-ho, and it’ll come out on the evening news.”

“Oh. You will be a celebrity.”

However, he wondered what type of clothing would be worn for the interview. Surely, he wouldn’t show up on TV like that?

Tae-hyuk had an ominous feeling.

“One thing is over.”

It ended earlier than he thought.

Tae-hyuk said with a satisfied expression,

“Then let’s storm the Sungjin Group.”

“Well. Can we do that?”

“Of course. I made a key tip in catching Yoo Cheol-ho. Kang-suk hyung is the one who caught Yoo Cheol-ho. If we can’t go, then who can?”

“I-is that so?”

“Then we will go straight to headquarters. I know the location.”

“You sound like you worked there or something.”

Tae-hyuk just smiled instead of answering.

Worked there?

It was the place where he was previously framed.