Goblin Library - Chapter 146

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 146.

Lee Hye-eun pointed to a spot in the photograph with her finger.
“See that woman bowing in front of Lee Gang-soon, making a peace sign? She’s a con artist.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, everyone looked at the woman. She appeared to be in her early forties, but her appearance was unremarkable—hardly what one would expect of someone in her profession.
“A con artist?”
Choi Tae-sik stared at her in bewilderment, finding her utterly unsuitable for such work, and Lee Hye-eun nodded.
“Looks can be deceiving. She’s actually quite skilled at what she does.”
“Isn’t that usually something beautiful women like you do?”
At Jang Ma-ru’s question, Lee Hye-eun laughed and explained.
“Beauty is a weapon when your target is young, but middle-aged men and older prefer comfort over beauty.”
“Comfort?”
“A woman who massages shoulders hardened by the weight of being a husband and father, who listens attentively to what they say. Such a woman works better than a beautiful one.”
“Is that so?”
Jang Ma-ru tilted his head while studying the woman in the photograph.
“You’re still at an age where you prefer beautiful women over those who listen well. You’ll understand eventually.”
Lee Hye-eun spoke with a smile and continued looking at the photograph.
“There’s a joke about it. When a man is introduced to a woman in his teens, the first question he asks is ‘Is she pretty?’ In his twenties, ‘Is she pretty?’ In his thirties, ‘Is she pretty?’ In his forties, ‘Is she pretty?’ And in his fifties, still ‘Is she pretty?'”
“That’s a famous one.”
Choi Tae-sik nodded at Lee Hye-eun’s words.
“But when men reach their forties and fifties, they need someone they can open up to more than someone beautiful.”
“Someone to open up to?”
“Let me give you an example.”
Lee Hye-eun gestured toward Lee Gang-soon in the photograph.
“Say a young, beautiful woman like me attached herself to Lee Gang-soon. The first couple of times would be fun. He’d feel good having a pretty woman around. But even while enjoying it, he’d feel uneasy, wouldn’t he?”
“Why would he feel uneasy? Isn’t it good if she’s beautiful?”
Lee Hye-eun laughed at Jang Ma-ru’s words.
“An ordinary middle-aged man meeting a young, beautiful woman only happens in dramas or movies. Unless he’s exceptionally handsome for his age, or wealthy enough to be a chaebol. But Lee Gang-soon is just an ordinary man—a bit of a belly, though fortunately he still has his hair. Of course, if he met her at a bar, he wouldn’t be uneasy. He’s paying for it. But a beautiful, young woman meeting him without expecting anything in return? He’d immediately grow suspicious. What’s she after? What’s she trying to get out of me? But this woman isn’t the type to arouse that level of suspicion. So she approaches comfortably, listens to him, and gradually wins his trust. Then she mentions some ailment and extracts hospital bills or deposit money. That’s her method.”
Jang Ma-ru nodded at Lee Hye-eun’s explanation.
“I see how that would work.”
Lee Hye-eun continued with a smile.
“I shared a prison cell with her for a while. She taught me quite a bit, actually. I didn’t expect her to still be active.”
Struck by how specific her explanation was, Jang Ma-ru asked.
“You know her well?”
“I was in the same cell with her for a time. She taught me several things, but I didn’t know she was still working.”
As she spoke, Lee Hye-eun pulled out her phone.
“Should I try contacting her?”
“No. If you reach out, it could raise red flags.”
Lim Sung-un, who had stopped Lee Hye-eun, turned to look at Jang Ma-ru.
“Can you dig up information on that woman?”
“Just a moment.”
As Jang Ma-ru’s fingers flew across the keyboard, lines appeared on the woman’s face before photographs began rapidly cycling across the screen.
“I know her name. It’s Lee Geum-hee.”
“I’m not looking for her name—I’m trying to find where she is right now.”
“Where she is?”
“With ordinary people, if you know their name and find their registered address, you can usually track them down. But Lee Geum-hee wouldn’t be using her real name for her activities, and she certainly wouldn’t be living at her registered address. Her phone is probably a burner too.”
“True.”
“So I have to search like this.”
“But how do you narrow down the location? You’re not going to sift through every CCTV camera in Korea, are you?”
“Of course not. If I follow Lee Gang-soon’s movements on the mart’s day off, Lee Geum-hee should turn up. And… bingo!”
Jang Ma-ru glanced at the monitor as he spoke. The figures of Lee Gang-soon and Lee Geum-hee appeared on the screen.
“Is this live?”
At Lim Sung-un’s question, Jang Ma-ru shook his head.
“No. This is footage from three days ago, when the mart was closed.”
But something seemed off. They weren’t walking together—Lee Geum-hee was following Lee Gang-soon at a distance.
“Why are they walking like that? Is she doing that because she’s worried someone might notice her tailing him?”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun shook her head.
“That’s just how that woman operates.”
“How she operates?”
“When she arranges to meet someone, she tails them before the meeting to check their mood first. Then she plans the date or the day’s activities based on what she finds. It’s all calculated.”
“What happens if she gets caught?”
“She just smiles and waves. Then he thinks they just happened to run into each other on the street.”
“I see.”
Lee Hye-eun spoke while watching the footage.
“That woman approaches men who are exhausted by the weight of pretense and marriage, and she seduces them.”
Jang Ma-ru nodded and spoke.
“Now that we’ve spotted her, we should be able to confirm her residence and other details soon.”
As he spoke, Jang Ma-ru fast-forwarded through the timeline. With each jump, the CCTV footage changed.
As Jang Ma-ru displayed the CCTV feeds along their route, a red light suddenly illuminated on his monitor.
“Huh?”
“What is it? Is that like a warning light?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Jang Ma-ru nodded and looked at the monitor. Lee Gang-soon and Lee Geum-hee were entering a small Villa Building.
“I’ve set it up so an alarm triggers whenever my surveillance targets enter illegal facilities.”
“Illegal facilities?”
“Buildings or locations connected to criminal organizations. Sometimes the guys go to strange places, and I need to know what those places are.”
At the mention of strange places, Lee Hye-eun narrowed her eyes and looked at Choi Tae-sik.
“Do you frequent strange places?”
“Strange places?”
“You know what kind of place I’m talking about.”
Choi Tae-sik squinted his eyes.
“I’m not going to some weird place like you’re imagining. Even if I do go, it’s only because it’s necessary for our work.”
“So you are going, then.”
“Bad guys like those kinds of places.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun looked at him with an impressed expression before asking Jang Ma-ru.
“Do you know all the illegal establishments?”
“I know most of the places identified by the Police and Prosecutor’s Office. As for the facilities separately managed by gangs, I know about them because Tae-sik hyung told me.”
“That’s already quite a lot to know.”
“Still, these kinds of places pop up and disappear frequently, so I’m not entirely accurate. I only know that a place like this existed here. And this one is… a gambling den.”
“A gambling den?”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Jang Ma-ru nodded and spoke.
“It hasn’t been caught by the Police or Prosecutor’s Office.”
“So it’s a place I brought information about?”
“Yes.”
Jang Ma-ru tapped on the laptop before shaking his head.
“There’s no CCTV connected to the internet inside.”
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik asked.
“Which organization manages it?”
If it was a place Choi Tae-sik had brought information about, it would be a gambling den related to some organization.
But it wasn’t a place Choi Tae-sik knew well. He had simply heard information that such a place existed and passed it on to Jang Ma-ru.
“It’s managed by the Jongno Wang Pa Organization.”
“Wang Pa Organization—that’s connected to Lee Gang-hyuk, right?”
“It’s Wang Chun-sik’s organization, the one who taught Lee Gang-hyuk how to fight.”
“So Lee Gang-hyuk’s cousin frequents a gambling den managed by the Wang Pa Organization…”
Lim Sung-un, who had been watching the screen for a moment, spoke.
“It seems he’s trying to take revenge on his Uncle through his son. Using gambling, no less.”
“There’s nothing quite like women and gambling for ruining a person.”
“At first it’s just for fun, but once you’re hooked, you’ll gamble away your family’s entire fortune in no time.”
“And that’s not all. You end up dragging in not just your own money, but your family’s, relatives’, and even acquaintances’ assets.”
Lee Hye-eun, who had been listening to the conversation, clapped her hands.
“Relatives!”
“What are you talking about?”
Unlike the bewildered Choi Tae-sik, Lim Sung-un nodded.
“That’s right. Relatives.”
As Lim Sung-un seemed to understand what she meant, Jang Ma-ru and Choi Tae-sik looked at him.
But instead of explaining, he looked at Lee Hye-eun. Lee Hye-eun understood the meaning of that gaze.
She was a latecomer to this game. Therefore, she needed to show Jang Ma-ru and Choi Tae-sik what position she held.
Choi Tae-sik was clearly suited for direct physical work.
Jang Ma-ru was skilled at gathering information and providing rear support.
Lim Sung-un, as the team leader, commanded operations and devised strategies.
Then what was my role?
Information gathering and analysis, naturally.
To clearly demonstrate my position within the team according to Lim Sung-un’s expectations, Lee Hye-eun spoke up.
『As I just mentioned, when someone becomes obsessed with gambling, they only see places where money flows out. First, they throw away what they own, then they borrow from acquaintances, and eventually they extend their hands to parents and relatives.』
Lee Hye-eun gestured toward the people as she continued.
『And among Lee Gang-soon’s relatives is Lee Gang-hyuk.』
『So you’re saying Lee Gang-soon will go to Lee Gang-hyuk to borrow money?』
『He could.』
『Would he really be so shameless? He didn’t even visit once while he was in prison.』
『When cornered, does shame matter? Besides, as he goes around borrowing money, he’ll naturally find people who look like they have it… and then he’ll inevitably discover that Lee Gang-hyuk has money—cash, at that.』
『Cash? Lee Gang-hyuk has cash?』
Choi Tae-sik, who had been speaking, suddenly recalled something and shook his head.
『Of course he’d have cash. He’s the leader of a criminal organization. But Lee Gang-soon doesn’t know that, does he?』
Lee Hye-eun responded to Choi Tae-sik’s question.
『Lee Gang-hyuk has cash regardless of criminal proceeds. He spent 15 years in prison, and then his conviction was overturned. The state compensates him for that period. It’s not much per day, but 15 years of accumulated compensation adds up to quite a sum.』
『So you believe Lee Gang-hyuk’s plan is to have Lee Gang-soon come to him asking for money?』
When Jang Ma-ru looked between the two and asked, Lee Hye-eun nodded.
『Having the person you want revenge on come to you with a degrading request, and then coldly refusing that request… wouldn’t that be incredibly satisfying?』
『But there’s also that saying—the greatest revenge is forgiveness.』
『Bah! That’s something only heroes in dramas say. And besides…』
Lee Hye-eun added while looking at the monitor.
『Lee Gang-hyuk is a villain, not a hero.』
『So refusing to lend money is where his revenge ends?』
『I couldn’t say for certain.』
Lee Hye-eun tilted her head. Unless she were Lee Gang-hyuk himself, there was no way for her to know what he was truly thinking.
At that, everyone turned their gaze to Lim Sung-un. What was he thinking?
Under their scrutiny, Lim Sung-un paused briefly before speaking.
『There’s something we’re overlooking here.』
『What is it?』
Lim Sung-un looked at the gambling den building on the monitor.
『That gambling den belongs to Wang Pa Organization, so any money Lee Gang-soon loses goes straight to them.』
『That would be the case.』
『Wang Pa Organization must be in a cooperative or subordinate relationship with Lee Gang-hyuk.』
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Lee Hye-eun nodded with an “ah” of realization.
『A circular transaction.』
『A circular transaction?』
Lee Hye-eun explained to Choi Tae-sik, who looked confused.
『Lee Gang-soon loses money at the gambling den. So he borrows from Lee Gang-hyuk. Then Lee Gang-soon loses money again. He goes back to borrow more… and as this continues, the amount he owes keeps growing. The money he loses at gambling flows directly back into Lee Gang-hyuk’s pocket.』
Lee Hye-eun, who had been speaking, clapped her hands together as she continued.
‘Come to think of it, there’s another scenario where Lee Gang-hyuk lends money to Lee Gang-soon first, isn’t there?’
‘There’s nothing more foolish than someone who lends money easily… Lee Gang-soon would think he’s found a sucker and keep borrowing money to gamble.’
‘And once the amount swells beyond what he can handle… he pulls it all in at once.’
‘The person he thought was a fool would approach him as a reaper in the end.’
‘That’s how Uncle’s household would plummet into ruin. Unless he severs ties with his only son.’
Those who grasped Lee Gang-hyuk’s meticulous plan for revenge savored the thought. Uncle, who had embezzled the inheritance his younger brother left for his son and severed their relationship—that man receiving retribution could be called karma.
But crime was still crime… they found themselves wondering whether they should stop this or let it unfold.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————