Chapter 122

Chapter 122 – Divergent #2

Kataros, who was sitting in his office at the castle, felt cold and rose from his seat. On top of that, his shoulders were covered with white snow.

"Jeez, the windows are open."

Snow and icy winds had entered through a small gap in the window. The candle on the table shook and was instantly extinguished. It felt like he was looking at himself as a bitter smile appeared on Kataros' face.

He was the godfather of the Red Mafia Ivankov family. However, several failures meant that the eyes of the other bosses were on him. Right now, Kataros only remained as a boss due to the support of his right arm, Semon. He needed to find something that would allow him to come back from behind.

At that time, there was a knock on the door.

“Boss. It is Semon. I brought what we spoke about."

“Hrmm.”

Semon walked into the office and spoke like a butler.

“The weather is quite cold. If you keep the windows open like this then you will catch a cold."

Kataros had long silver hair that completely covered his shoulders. Then he felt a cold touch at his fingertips.

"It seems to me like the wind is coming from South Korea. I want to see what it feels like."

Semon answered with a big sigh,

“Open your eyes. Stay still for a moment."

“It seems like I am still a young child in your eyes."

"Is that right?"

But Kataros closed his eyes and let Semon work. Semon brushed at Kataros' shoulders with careful gestures, like he was handling a delicate piece of glass. Then he placed the materials he was holding on Kataros' table.

“Hum hum. By the way, it seems like Boss really likes Phantom."

"Being Arsene Lupin was the dream of any child who watched him."

"Huh? Did I hear that correctly?"

“It's a joke. I just feel like I need this person's abilities in order to survive."

Semon looked at his boss with a strangely grim expression. In his eyes, the boss's dazzling silver hair shone.

Kataros started to read the neatly arranged data about Phantom.

“Mister did a better job than I thought."

Semon nodded as he heard the name of the spy he planted.

“I wasn't expecting Mister to become so close to Phantom. It seems to truly be god's work."

"Phantom. The more I see, the more I like. He really has unpredictable abilities. He managed to defeat the fully armed Big Brother. He even used the press and government freely. In addition, he has a strange magic that can change his voice and face. It is like he is the second coming of Lupin."

Semon smiled and remained silent.

"Hrmm. By the way, look at this. Phantom was also involved in the collapse of Blue Dragon Prison?"

It was a well-known place for Kataros. It was one of the four prisons modelled after Alcatraz. Inside the Blue Dragon Prison, the Japanese Yakuza and Chinese Triads were each working in their own interests.

Kataros looked at Semon. Semon was looking back like a parent gazing at their child.

“How much information does Mister have?"

“He is watching out for the mafia in South Korea. It will be easy for him to act as a spy."

“Hrmm.”

"What would you like to do? Should I instruct him to move more aggressively?"

“No, just watch him for now. There is a possibility that Phantom will confront the Triads and the Yakuza."

“I think I know what Boss wants."

"Yes. It means we might be able to cooperate to face the same enemy. Tell Mister to keep an eye on Phantom. If Phantom is the enemy of the Yakuza and Triads…"

Kataros looked down at the photograph of Phantom with grey eyes.

"…I will go and meet him directly."

@

He had been thinking about the proposal since the Christmas he spent with her. Kang-suk went on a date and then suddenly volunteered at the orphanage. Even the good girls in dramas would frown at that.

However, Ha-ran smiled brightly and thanked him for introducing her to the cute children. At that moment, Cho Kang-suk once again set his heart on Seo Ha-ran. However, the direct decision was made after the Park Sung-yul case.

"Ah Hyung! It isn't ready yet."

"Heh. Originally beef should be cooked like the meat is alive."

“Don’t just eat meat, have vegetables as well. Oh, Kang-suk shouldn't just watch. I'll make a wrap for you."

Ha-ran started putting all sorts of delicious things into a lettuce wrap. The finished product was larger than expected. It was the size of Kang-suk's fist, a size that was impossible to eat in one bite. 

However, Kang-suk wasn't the type of person to give up. After clearing his throat a few times, he opened his mouth widely and put the lettuce wrap in. He leisurely tasted it and said it was delicious.

Tae-hyuk and Tae-min started clapping from where they were sitting on the sidelines.

“Wah. He ate it in one bite."

"It is almost an art form."

Then Ha-ran's eyes widened and she said,

"Omo, I'm sorry. I made it too big."

After that small incident, Tae-min started to grill the meat with tongs and scissors. A few pieces of meat were on top of the hotplate. They had already eaten meat, rice and cold noodles so their chopsticks were slowing down.

However, this wasn't the end for Kang-suk. He spoke with a dignified tone, like a commanding officer speaking to soldiers who were about to go fight.

“We can't eat this much at our age. This won't work. Auntie! Add four more servings here please!

Both Tae-hyuk and Tae-min raised their thumbs. There was always more room in their stomachs for meat. The eyes of the warriors started to burn at the appearance of a new enemy. 

"Ohh! Game two!"

“I loosened my belt."

Kang-suk made a fist.

“Let's eat until we die."

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!"

In the end, the four people ate 12 servings of beef and literally collapsed to the ground. Even breathing was painful.

"Uh… I think I will die…"

“I don't think I can eat anything for the next week…"

Ha-ran, the only one who seemed fine, held out a tray with a smile.

“Does anyone want to drink tea for dessert?"

Tae-hyuk and Tae-min, who were lying on the floor, lifted their tremblings hands.

Kang-suk smiled happily at the sight. His job wasn't just catching criminals. For a while, he had forgotten the reason why he had become a police officer.

"…Ha-ran."

"Huh?"

“I love you."

Ha-ran's face turned bright red.

"O-Oh my… Kang-suk really… It is foul to say it in a place like this!"

“Haha."

Yes. He had to protect that smile.

@

“Are they tired since it has been a long time? It will take some time to get home. They are already sleeping."

Ha-ran and Tae-min were sleeping in the back seats. Tae-hyuk smiled from where he was sitting in the passenger seat.

“So where do you plan to do the ceremony? You know that you can't do it by yourself like this time right? I'm looking forward to helping you organize the best wedding."

"Hmm hmm. Was it better to make it a bit more romantic?"

"Wah. Did you only realize that now? Aigoo… I really want to ask you again to cancel it. Well, Noona didn't dislike it so I will let it go."

Kang-suk cried out.

“Don't act like a mother-in-law!"

"Ah! Kang-suk hyung! Focus on driving! There might be an accident."

"Don't worry. I only just bought a car but I have driven many police cars."

Tae-hyuk watched Kang-suk bang his chest with a confident expression. On the road, the only light source was from the car's headlights.

Tae-hyuk looked out the windshield and thought. It hadn't been revealed what fate had changed due to Kang-suk's decision.

'I need to find out why.'

In the future, he would need to gain a large amount of affinity points to fight the mafia. Therefore, he had to figure out the exact mechanism behind gaining them.

'First of all, I should compare the blacklist members with different tendencies. Then should I catch another person to check their affinity points?'

Tae-hyuk had fought the killer Big Brother, sent by the Triads. He used Damage to Both Sides to destroy him. Then Tae-hyuk was able to gain eight affinity points. It meant that he could gain points by catching criminals that weren't on the blacklist.

Apart from Big Brother, Tae-hyuk had dealt with a considerable number of criminals. However, not all cases gave him affinity points. He wondered what the difference was.

‘The most likely hypothesis is that I can acquire affinity points by changing the determined destiny.'

Tae-hyuk knew a criminal that he could use to confirm this.

'Cho Min-hyuk!'

He was the leader of the pseudo-religion, Sun, and had thousands of followers. If he destroyed the religion then thousands of fates would surely change. But it wouldn't be an easy fight. In the first place, the scale itself was different compared to what he had done so far.

'The leader committed all sorts of illegal acts but was never judged by the law.'

Nevertheless, Tae-hyuk had knowledge about Sun due to one of the top executives being imprisoned in Blue Dragon. He brainwashed his followers and tried to sell them abroad. He used an incense that made the people light-headed.

'Perhaps…'

Tae-hyuk had encountered something similar. It was the hypnotic incense used by Choi Sung-yeol. Before leaving Blue Dragon Prison, Tae-hyuk had gained all sorts of information from Choi Sung-yeol.

The Yakuza were behind the Death Circus. Then there were those who would use the hypnotic incense beside Choi Sung-yeol.

'…Maybe the Yakuza is behind Sun.'

The chance of that wasn't zero.

Tae-hyuk smirked wickedly. Whether he liked it or not, he had to fight the mafia in order to win this game. If he could gain points from changing fate then he would gain an enormous number by smashing Sun.

Furthermore, the opponent was the criminal on the blacklist that was most likely to be associated with the mafia.

“Then I need to smash them even more."

He wouldn't have been able to fight them right after obtaining the Demon Revealing Mirror. However, now he was a Noble with various crime skills and connections.

Sun, a religious cult with thousands of followers in South Korea. They were Tae-hyuk's next target.