Chapter 168: < Protect – Episode 167 – Bridal Mask [2] >

Korea’s public safety was on the high side in terms of statistics with 95% of the violent crimes being resolved, but there was a trap in this. The trap was the numbers. The standard of whether or not they resolved a crime was up to the investigative authorities, but the victims and their families had no say. Was it okay for the investigative organizations to close a case when the victims didn’t feel like it was over?

‘They could do that. If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be an end.’

They expected the victims and their families to accept the investigative reports, but that was beyond them. Then why did the investigative authorities ignore the victims’ unfortunate circumstances and close the case? The answer was simple.

‘Because it costs a lot of money.’

Just how the quality of legal and medical services differed depending on income, same went for public safety. The bigger the country got, the more manpower and funding they needed to keep its citizens safe. Those who were dissatisfied with the services already provided by the country spent their own money to give themselves convenience. Beyond big law firms and lawyers, they hired their own secretaries and security guards.

Most people believed that the rich were more susceptible to crimes. They imagined that since they had a lot of money, a lot of people would be after them. However, rich people didn’t hesitate to spend money on their safety, so they were actually less likely to become victims of crimes. To be frank, ordinary citizens were victimized more often.

“Hey, get ready. They’re coming.”

Lee Dong Gi, who was chewing his gum, noticed the school uniform from afar and got his subordinate to get ready. This was where they chose to do the kidnapping. The reason why they chose to do it here was because there were no CCTVs or witnesses there. Lee Dong Gi had hundreds of places like that noted in his list of kidnapping locations.

‘It’s easy to get caught you if you follow people around, but if you just stay in a particular place, you can kidnap anyone without leaving any evidence behind.’

Human trafficking was the best business that could be done without any capital. The dumb ones followed people around and ended up being captured on CCTV cameras or getting seen by witnesses, but he had already kidnapped hundreds of people around the country without leaving a single trace.

Lee Dong Gi had a rule.

‘Don’t mess with elementary school kids.’

It might sound funny, but that was a rule that had to be kept. Korea wasn’t very active about missing people, but when it came to kids under 14 years old, they were likely to invest a lot of manpower and funding into the search. Surprisingly, searches for middle school and high school students, as well as adults, were less active because the rate of student suicide, as well as job competition, was so high that many were just assumed to have run away because of stress.

The Korean police deemed most missing people as runaways.

‘There’s some truth to that though.’

It was common to see people running away from home due to family troubles. As soon as Lee Dong Gi saw two girls in school uniforms walking over, he licked his lips.

‘Top-grade products.’

He was able to get 20 million won for them. As soon as Lee Dong Gi signaled with his eyes, the big men standing by looked at each other. As soon as the two girls turned the corner into the alley, they got snatched into the car before they could let out a scream. They then tied them up with tape as if they had done this many times before.

“Let’s go.”

They finished the job in less than 5 seconds. The struggling girls only calmed down when they saw the knife. They liked the scared expressions on the girls’ faces. The car, which they were going to throw away since it was evidence, was cozier than a Benz.

When the lights turned yellow, the car stopped.

The most dangerous thing before arriving at the next destination with their new products was getting caught by the police for a traffic violation. The reason why they made the car look like a delivery truck was in order to draw as less attention as possible. While they waited for the lights to turn green, they saw something fascinating. They saw someone cross the street with a mask on.

‘Is he some kind of performance artist?’

Lee Dong Gi used to be good in school, but he didn’t go to college. That was because he was really poor. He was still regretful about that. Why did he have to live like that when dumber people with better parents ended up making good money? Even if he had been born in a middle-class family, he could have become a prosecutor.

‘Art, my ass!’

Once parents paid for their kids to go to college, they got busy drinking and partying.

‘Huh?’

The man in the mask stopped and turned in the middle of crossing the street. He couldn’t see his eyes, but he was convinced that they met eyes. Come to think of it, why wasn’t anyone giving him weird looks for wearing a mask? Lee Dong Gi got shivers up his back.

“Hey, do you see that guy…”

In the middle of asking his subordinate who was drinking, he felt a warm liquid substance pour over his face. He used his hands to wipe his face. He saw a familiar red color and a disgusting smell.

‘Blood?’

It was definitely blood. When he lifted his head, he saw his subordinate with a hole in his forehead. Lee Dong Gi reflexively undid his seatbelt and tried to get out when he felt pain in his shoulder.

“Agh!”

It was a bullet.

Ahn Soo Ho clicked this tongue at his fast reaction. He was certainly a scumbag for being involved with human trafficking, but he had survival instincts that were better than that of a cockroach. He was aiming for his neck, but it hit his shoulder. It was rare for him to fail like that. The traffic lights changed, but no car or person was able to move. They were all frozen still in response to the sudden gunfire.

Ahn Soo Ho slowly approached the car, and the man who was just shot stepped out of the car. The men who came out holding knives flinched when they saw a gun with a silencer on it. That was the last thing they were able to do in their life.

Thud, thud-

Ahn Soo Ho didn’t wait or hesitate.

“Agh!”

The guy that got out afterward ran like crazy. As soon as he saw the two men got bullets through their heads, he decided to book it. However, his fate had been decided ever since he looked Ahn Soo Ho in the eyes.

Pow-

The others had it to their foreheads while another one had it on the back of his head. He fell over on some random car’s hood. That was when the people around the place realized the seriousness of the situation. They all started to scatter in madness while others made sure to capture the scene on camera.

Ahn Soo Ho shrugged his shoulders.

The door of the car opened to Lee Dong Gi plopping onto the asphalt. He was pale as if he had lost too much blood. He tried to get up and run, but all he could do was crawl. Ahn Soo Ho ignored him and got the two female students out of the car.

The people around were confused as to what was going on until they saw the school uniforms. Other people helped them out of the tape, and the two hugged each other and cried. Ahn Soo Ho then approached Lee Dong Gi who was crawling. He was about to ask for help when his back got stepped on.

“Agh! Ugh!”

Ahn Soo Ho flipped him over.

Ahn Soo Ho looked around. There were those who were ignoring them and those who were watching with interest, but someone even risked their lives by approaching with their phones. However, boundaries should be made. Ahn Soo Ho called over the closest one who was holding up their phone.

“Me… me?”

He approached with trembling legs, but he didn’t stop filming.

“Keep filming.”

“Ok… okay!”

Ahn Soo Ho stepped on Lee Dong Gi’s chest.

“How many have you kidnapped so far?”

“I don’t… Agh!”

He shot a bullet through his thigh.

“Don’t make me ask again.”

“Fo… four hundred? Ugh.”

“And what happened to them?”

“I… I sold them.”

“And what happened after?”

“Th… they get sent to another city or country depending on their gender, and some are remodeled according to the clients’ taste.”

“Remodeled?”

When Lee Dong Gi shut his mouth, Ahn Soo Ho held up his gun again.

“In order to get them to cooperate, alcohol and drugs are the easiest and fastest.”

“I see. Then did you only kidnap women?”

“No, I kidnap men, too depending on the circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

“Fo… for selling their organs.”

“Oh my god!”

The guy holding the camera exclaimed in shock. Sirens could be heard from afar. Kosino tried to put off the police as long as possible, but they were in the middle of Seoul. When Ahn Soo Ho looked straight into the phone, the guy sprung up. That was when his mask could be clearly seen.

A beautiful mask at that.

“The police and prosecutors might have given up on you, but not me.”

Who was he talking to?

“I have no interest in dealing with you through the law.”

Ahn Soo Ho waved his gun in front of the phone cameras. He then shot Lee Dong Gi who was barely holding on.

Bang, bang, bang-

He emptied his gun.

“Agh!”

People screamed in response to that horrific sight. Even the guy filming almost dropped his phone. Ahn Soo Ho cleared his throat for his last line. He felt like he became an actor.

“I promise I’ll find you.”

******

Bridal mask.

It only took a day for the bridal mask to cover the front pages of portal sites and social media. The police and prosecution were being criticized by the media, and what was hidden behind the mask of a safe country was something very scary. They made people misunderstand by using numbers.

It was true that the prosecution rate of violent crimes in Korea was high, but not all major crimes were murder and theft. On the contrary, the prosecution rates of white-collar crimes in Korea were much less than the average OECD countries. That wasn’t all. The investigative authorities didn’t seriously consider crimes against women, children, and the weak. That was why the recent shooting was even more shocking.

Gunfire in the middle of Seoul! What’s even more shocking is that there were female students who were kidnapped!

The CCTV dragnet of Seoul! There’s no such thing as complete crimes? The preventative maintenance system is flawed!

Tens of thousands go missing every year! But it only took 3 seconds to deem them as runaways!

The most stable income of Korean criminal organizations come from human trafficking and organ trafficking! How’s that for you?

There wasn’t a single Korean person that wanted to acknowledge how rampant human and organ trafficking was in their country. However, the footage floating around the internet showed the real face of Korea. The human trafficking confession they got while saving two female high school students spread all over the world. It was at the point where people were saying Korea had no right to criticize North Korea. Unrelated to that, masks were selling out in Korea.

Just like how Captain America took over America and Guy Fawkes took over England, the bridal mask took over Korea. And that was just the beginning. What was funnier was that people were becoming more cautious as a result of the terror.

‘I will protect my country, city, village, and family!’

< Protect – Episode 167 – Bridal Mask [2] > The end.

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