Chapter 142 – War Between Criminals #1
'W-What are with all these forks and spoons?!'
Tae-hyuk gulped as he watched all the cutlery spread out before him. He had never been so nervous in a fight against armed gangsters…
His back was moist with sweat. If he hadn't been wearing the opera mask, then it would've been obvious that he was nervous. It was best to just watch what other people were doing and to follow along.
He shifted his gaze towards the person sitting in front of him. Her long, silver hair hung down to her waist, and her white skin seemed to reflect the sunlight. She was a woman several times more beautiful than the celebrities on TV. She was wearing a stunning dress that revealed her shoulders and upper chest. The perfect fit made her look even better.
'Ah, what the? Eat! Eat! I’ll follow you!'
However, the woman just watched Tae-hyuk's face and didn't eat. An awkward silence flowed between the two people.
“Doesn't it suit your taste?"
The woman opened her mouth and spoke pretty good Korean. It was like watching a foreign film being dubbed.
“I just wanted to have a meal with you. Surely it is delicious? I'm just not familiar with it."
Tae-hyuk and Caterina were sitting in a French restaurant. It was a three-star Michelin restaurant so it was very expensive. It was a popular place to have dinner.
'She rented out this whole place. She must be rolling in money.'
Tae-hyuk inwardly clicked his tongue. In fact, the three-star restaurant had their headquarters in Paris. However, the atmosphere and chefs were similar, so there was almost the same satisfaction.
Of course, the price was the same.
Caterina's eyes widened.
“Omo, then should we leave this place?"
Normally, he would eat at a Chinese restaurant or at home. Tae-hyuk was a commoner who didn't often eat outside.
'If she asks then jajangmyeon is Phantom's favourite food. Still, when will I get to eat? Um. Can I get chopsticks?'
“It is the first time I've eaten in a restaurant like this with a beauty like Anne."
“I-Is that so? I was wondering… You wear those clothes with such ease that I thought you were familiar with these types of places. I'm sorry."
Caterina apologized and bowed her head.
She was the godfather of the Red Mafia that contained thousands of members. However, she was showing him a submissive attitude. It was possible because she felt favourable towards him.
Tae-hyuk was dressed in a neat suit due to the dress code. It fit properly, and was from a high end brand, costing at least five to six million won. In fact, it was a fake made from Counterfeit.
"Is that so? I saw the suit in a magazine and made it.”
"Ahaha! You are speaking like you made it yourself."
"I did make it myself."
“Omo, what a good joke."
Caterina covered her mouth and gently laughed. Then she took the spoon on the outside and explained,
“It goes from appetizer to the mains so you use it in this sequence."
“It is hard so can't I just ask for a fork?"
“Fork? What is that?"
"……"
Tae-hyuk was at a loss for words.
How could she not know the thing that he had loved during his two years of military life? At that time, Semon brought in a tray of food while dressed as a waiter.
"Young Lady. Please enjoy your meal."
"Yes, Semon. Thank you."
He really seemed like a butler at that moment. Caterina spoke after Semon left.
“Once the meal is over, we are going to see the Phantom of the Opera at the theater. Isn't it a great trend in Korea right now?"
The more active Phantom was, the greater the number of theaters that started showing the Phantom of the Opera. It was a big trend among the university students.
“At any rate, thanks for lending me your subordinates."
Tae-hyuk had received Caterina's help to deal with the Yakuza. He obtained information about the Yakuza that the Red Mafia had and asked to borrow some men. In exchange, Caterina had wanted a date with Phantom. Investing half a day on a data in exchange for the Red Mafia's help wasn't a big deal.
Caterina spoke with thrilled eyes.
"It is nothing, since I was originally planning on helping out this way. Anyways, I wanted to eat with Phantom like this. Thank you for pampering me."
It was a little burdensome to have a woman who was 10 years older acting like this. Well, it was cute but…
"C-Cough. At any rate, I was able to easily deal with the Yakuza thanks to you."
"Yes, yes! But I have a question!"
Caterina asked while wriggling her fingers.
"What?"
“I only gave you approximate information about the Yakuza. How did you know the enemy's base and production areas?"
“That…”
All information was organic. If he found a small clue, then he could track it down the line to see the big picture. It wasn't much different from putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
It started with a Yakuza executive who entered the country a fortnight ago. Tae-hyuk was able to get a lot of information by chasing after him.
'It is great that I was able to get Mister Park's voice and face.'
Tae-hyuk was able to disguise himself as Mister Park, one of the higher ups in the Yakuza in South Korea. He used this to gather information about the Yakuza. It was truly hard work.
Tae-hyuk laughed and continued.
"…It is a trade secret."
“Oh, please~”
Caterina grabbed his arms and acted cutely, but it didn't work.
“Anyway, Phantom is doing well. You truly are bright, I like it.”
Caterina said with shining eyes.
"But I didn't think that Phantom itself would be used as a symbol."
It was something that Tae-hyuk prepared to fight the mafia. Anyone could become Phantom with an opera mask. It was Phantom who installed the bomb at the enemy's base, Phantom who knocked out the guards, and who was seen by lookouts. He made Phantom itself a symbol by introducing numerous Phantoms.
The first one was the Bomber. He was the Phantom in charge of manufacturing bombs. The former Red Mafia members took charge of enemy surveillance, intelligence gathering and installing the bombs. Even now, there were people gathered on the Internet who wished to become Phantom. It didn't matter if there was a spy among them. Masks and some missions were given to them.
“You are welcome to wear the mask at any time."
“Ahaha~ I want to be Phantom's girlfriend instead. Am I lacking in any way?"
"……"
Tae-hyuk wondered why there were only strange women around him.
'But she likes me. I can use this.'
Anyway, it was Phantom she liked, not Seo Tae-hyuk. There was no need to feel any remorse.
Tae-hyuk cut into the steak and said,
“Then let's do the next deal. This time, give me information about the Triads. Then…"
“Ah, the next date will be at an amusement park!"
Tae-hyuk started sweating.
This girl was the boss of the Red Mafia? He was worried about the future of the organization.
‘They will be ruined.'
Caterina smiled softly as she checked her calendar for an appropriate date.
“Then let's talk business."
The young girl turned into the mafia boss. Tae-hyuk inwardly muttered as she gave off a strange pressure.
'I don't know what tune she is dancing to.'
She truly was a difficult woman to deal with. Tae-hyuk once again realized the truth of the world.
He was fairly happy with his deal with Caterina.
However, he promised to go with her to an amusement park date two weeks later.
‘She is also desperate. If she doesn't have Phantom, then she won't be able to walk the tightrope for much longer.'
Tae-hyuk used his tablet PC to check the people who wanted to become Phantom. By sending them masks and giving them commands, the number of Phantoms in the world would increase.
"Aigoo. This uncle…"
He muttered as he looked at the profile of Shin Se-ho. This was the level of falling in love with a girl.
“Well, there are many places where I can use him. I'll send him a message."
Every person on here would jump with joy if a Phantom mask was sent. He was able to give that much fan service.
“What, a police officer?"
The names of police officers were mixed up among the applicants. No matter how he looked at it, they were spies.
Tae-hyuk smiled.
He could see how big Phantom had become in South Korea.
“Actually, I was going to use the Nuclear Bomb people. However, don't they know my real face?"
Therefore, he thought of the temporary measure of selling Phantom's name. However, it had a greater impact than he had initially thought. Even now, articles about people who had become Phantom were appearing on the Internet every five minutes. The police couldn't ignore it and would be hitting someone's house right now. Clouding the eyes of the police. He could do several different things at the same time.
Phantom's popularity was literally exploding. Tae-hyuk recalled the information he got from the Phantom in charge of watching the Yakuza.
“The president of Taesung Group is the Yakuza boss. Will the rats step back due to this?"
Tae-hyuk had set up some bugs in the Yakuza's offices. There was a Phantom responsible for monitoring it 24 hours a day. If the contents were important then it would be sent to him. Since there were several Phantoms in charge of this, Tae-hyuk didn't have to worry about any information being missed.
Everything was a system created by Sun's Cho Min-hyuk
‘It isn't difficult once I view Phantom as the leader of a cult.'
Unfortunately, the Yakuza were being attacked by their own system.
‘The head of the Yakuza here is dead. Then what opponent will come out now?'
There were two likely outcomes. A newly promoted person will come from Japan. Or someone already here would be promoted.
'The most likely possibility is Mister Park.'
He was the organization's right hand man and directed the important tasks. There was no one else fit for the position.
‘Maybe the end of the mafia game will be a confrontation with him.'
Ding dong!
“Delivery!”
The things Caterina sent him had arrived. No matter how close they were, he couldn't tell her where the Bomber was hidden.
Therefore, Phantom was the direct contact. He had several hideouts so there was no need to worry about being caught.
"The life of a fugitive was difficult."
Tae-hyuk looked at the information prepared by the Red Mafia. There was a lot of information about the Triads.
“The Triads is a harder opponent than the Yakuza."
The Yakuza's default business in South Korea was the hallucinogenic drug. He used that as a small clue to find out where the Yakuza were at.
But the Triads was different, as they participated in fetal organ smuggling, organ trafficking, kidnapping, etc. They did the worst crimes that weren't even possible in China in South Korea. He had to find the core and work backwards from there.
“There are 10 more places like T Medical Centre."
There would obviously be a leader operating this, but there was no way for him to find it.
“Well, would they pop out if I keep on shaking?"
Tae-hyuk approached the man making a bomb in his workshop.
"How much bombs is in stock?"
Kim Tae-sung took off his safety goggles and said.
“Including today's one, 13 bombs."
"That is enough."
Tae-hyuk smirked.
'Toad, toad. Reveal yourself, or I will blow everything up.'