At first glance, Sangwon-dong seemed peaceful. However, the current situation in Sangwon-dong involved measures equivalent to DEFCON 2 due to the ongoing disappearances reported in the news.
Because of this, members of the Poison Toad Gang patrolled the alleys of Sangwon-dong day and night without distinction. The patrols led by Jong-sik’s self-defense squad were also intensified. But that wasn’t all.
Emergency bells, crafted by Trigo, were installed in various alleyways of Sangwon-dong. They were for alerting emergencies. Thus, Sangwon-dong was well-prepared.
Thanks to these measures, not a single person had gone missing in Sangwon-dong so far.
However, there was no room for complacency when it came to matters of family safety.
Thus, Jong-sik patrolled the neighborhood even in the morning, sometimes accompanying Yeona to school.
“Sis, have a safe trip.”
“Yeah, Haeli, have fun walking with Uncle. Then, I’ll go to school!”
“Okay. Yeona, you know to stick with your friends and be cautious of strangers, right?”
“Yes!”
With that, Yeona crossed the school gate. Afterward, Jong-sik started patrolling in earnest, using the walk as an opportunity.
“Hehe.”
Meanwhile, Haeli, holding Jong-sik’s hand, couldn’t stop smiling.
Why wouldn’t he? It was a rare moment spending time alone with Jong-sik.
But that wasn’t all. Every step they took, there was a voice calling out to Jong-sik and Haeli.
At the sound of that voice, Haeli’s shoulders would tense. This was already the fifth time.
“Mr. Dok, hello!”
“Oh, hello there.”
The owner of the pork trotter restaurant greeted Jong-sik as if they were old acquaintances. Jong-sik responded with a smile.
“Mr. Dok, it was you who turned those Poison Toad folks into new men, right? Everyone in the neighborhood has heard about it.”
“New men? I simply asked them to work in exchange for the protection money they’ve received all this time.”
“Exactly! Thanks to you, business has been booming lately. Just a while ago, there was a drunken troublemaker causing chaos, but those guys came and cleaned it all up, didn’t they?”
‘It seemed like I had heard something like this before. Wasn’t there a report, not a report, about Dokeukkeobi Faction members subduing a drunk troublemaker and handing him over to the police nearby, according to Kim Dae-chun’s report?’
“I’m glad nothing serious happened. If anything happens in the future, just let those guys know right away. They’ll be eager to help. How much protection money have you received? You should work as hard as you’ve been paid.”
At that, the owner of the pork trotter restaurant burst into hearty laughter. There wouldn’t be any gangsters working for protection money anywhere else in the country.
“Hahaha! Just as I needed help, I contacted them. They said they would come out and help in a bit. This is all thanks to you, Mr. Doke. How can I repay this favor? Ah, I need to get a grip. Mr. Doke, please don’t go anywhere.”
The owner of the pork trotter restaurant hurriedly went into the store.
A few minutes later, he came out with something in his hand.
“I don’t have anything special to give you right now, but please accept this. It’s a special cut that came out while preparing the meat this morning. It’s another delicacy.”
“Oh, you don’t have to give me this.”
“Don’t say that, please accept it. I’ll feel disappointed if you don’t take only mine.”
Jong-sik held a handful of gifts. They were gifts from the merchants he met during his patrol.
The owner of the pork trotter restaurant looked at the gift in Jong-sik’s hand, and eventually, unable to resist his gaze, Jong-sik accepted the gift he offered.
“Well then, I’ll gratefully enjoy it.”
“Hehe. Try it and let me know if it tastes good. If it’s delicious, I’ll keep giving it to you like this.”
“No, this is enough for this time. Next time, I’ll come to the store and pay for it.”
“But is the princess next to you your daughter? How can she be so beautiful? She’s just like Mr. Dok.”
The owner of the pork trotter restaurant changed the subject. The princess he referred to was Haeli. Haeli didn’t give Jong-sik a chance to respond.
“My name is Dok Haeli. This is my Uncle!”
She introduced herself proudly. Her words were filled with pride.
“Ah, she’s not your daughter but your niece.”
“She’s like a daughter to me.”
“Hehe.”
Like a daughter and a niece. Then she could be both, right? Haeli tilted her head playfully. Looking at Haeli like that, the pork trotter restaurant owner spoke.
“Your name is Haeli, right? Haeli is so lucky to have such a wonderful Uncle.”
“Yes! I’m very lucky. My Uncle eats well, he’s strong…”
Her words flowed out endlessly. Haeli proudly listed Jong-sik’s qualities as if showing off.
“Now, let’s stop here. Sir, you have work to do. We also need to go for a walk.”
It’s embarrassing for no reason. Jong-sik chuckled awkwardly and urged them to leave.
“Oh my, I’ve kept a busy man for too long. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Yes. Have a good day.”
“Uncle, fighting!”
“Yeah. Haeli, fighting too.”
How long did they walk?
Suddenly, Haeli stopped walking. She was captivated by a cake poster attached to the cafe window.
“Oh, it’s a cake!”
The cake they had on Jong-pal’s birthday not long ago was sweet and delightful. Haeli swallowed her saliva eagerly.
“It’s been quite a while since breakfast. Should we have a snack before going home?”
Jong-sik asked, and Haeli nodded eagerly without hesitation. At times like this, she was just an innocent little girl.
Jong-sik chuckled and opened the cafe door.
***
“I can’t let this slide. How dare you lay a hand on an employee like that!”
“Sir, I was just warning him to be careful of hot drinks so that the child wouldn’t get hurt. And I’m not an employee; I’m the owner here.”
“Oh, you’re the owner? But is this how you treat your customers? Touching someone else’s precious child like that?”
“Haah, as I mentioned earlier…”
If it had been any other day, they would have heard a friendly greeting from the staff. But today was different. What greeted Jong-sik and Haeli as they entered the café was a rough and rude scene.
Naturally, their attention turned to the source of the commotion.
“I’m not done talking yet! Where do you get off interrupting a customer? No wonder this place can only manage to run a shabby little café! And do you even think this is some upscale café?”
A woman draped in luxury from head to toe was berating the staff, and next to her stood a boy of Haeli’s age with a mischievous expression.
“You dare to talk back to a customer who’s just giving you a friendly warning about not bringing in outside food while running this shabby little café? And you dare to give such a ridiculous lecture about not running around while holding someone else’s precious child, and the drink is served cold like this? If my child catches a cold from drinking this, are you going to take responsibility? Huh? Are you going to take responsibility?!”
“A smoothie is a cold beverage made by blending ice. If you were worried about your child catching a cold, you should have ordered a warm beverage.”
“A cold drink made with ice? Are you talking down to me like I’m stupid? Do you think I don’t know anything? What kind of place is this if you can’t even get a simple thing right?”
“Please stop swearing, ma’am.”
“Ugh! This woman is so annoying!”
“Please refrain from using profanity, madam.”
“Argh! This woman is really getting on my nerves!”
The fancy-looking woman screamed, squeezed the smoothie glass tight, and then tried to throw it on the café owner’s head.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Jong-sik quickly snatched the smoothie glass from the luxury brand woman’s hand. She turned to look at Jong-sik.
“What are you doing? Give that back to me right now!”
“No, I won’t. This kind of behavior is unacceptable, especially in front of a young child. From what I’ve heard, the café owner did nothing wrong.”
“Oh, so you’re on her side too? Are you her husband or something?”
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, acting like this in front of your son?”
“What? What did you say? How dare these crazy bastards think they know who I am and…”
The fancy-looking woman’s face turned red and blue with rage. Jong-sik cut her off.
“I have no interest in who you are. Even if I knew, it wouldn’t change anything. So, please leave now.”
“This is unbelievable! I can’t even laugh at how absurd this is! Seriously, why would I come to this beggar-like neighborhood and endure such humiliation?”
“Yeah, why would someone who clearly doesn’t live in this neighborhood come here to cause trouble?”
For the first time in her life, the woman found herself treated like this. She grabbed Jong-sik’s collar. Witnessing his mother’s distress, her son suddenly rushed towards Jong-sik.
“What the hell are you doing!”
The fancy-looking woman’s son couldn’t even touch Jong-sik’s collar. It was Haeli who stepped forward and stopped the boy in his tracks.
Thunk!
“Ouch!”
The boy, struck squarely in the nose by Haeli’s fist, burst into tears.
“My son! Are you okay? Look at what this red-haired kid did! You ignorant brat!”
Her son’s cries triggered the luxury brand woman’s meltdown. Her eyes bulged, and she raised her hand towards Haeli. But she didn’t get what she wanted. Jong-sik grabbed her hand.
“Aargh! Let go of me! I’m going to kill that brat!”
“Watch your language. Who are you planning to kill?”
“You! Let go! It hurts!”
A moment later.
The fancy-looking woman’s hand was released. Now fully enraged, she distanced herself from Jong-sik. Then she quickly pulled out her phone. She was determined to return the humiliation she felt.
“Just wait, you two. Don’t even think about running away. I’m going to kill you both today. Kneeling and begging won’t help you now.”
“We don’t plan on doing any of that.”
“We’ll see if you’re still talking tough after my husband gets here.”
She was desperate. The woman explained the situation to her husband in a very different tone than before.
“Honey, come here quickly. I’m so scared. Yeah. It’s in Sangwon-dong.”
“Why? I told you to check if there are any listings near Kang Chang-soo’s house. Anyway, that’s not important right now, honey. Your precious wife and son were assaulted, you know? Hurry up. I feel like I’m going to collapse.”
Assault? What exaggeration and distortion. She started babbling about her husband, visibly agitated, while Jong-sik nodded his head nervously.
As the luxury brand woman ended the call, she began to rant about her husband.
“Regret won’t do you any good. It’s over for you two already. Do you know what kind of person our husband is, rushing here right now? He’s in cahoots with Kang Chang-soo the Hunter.”
“Kang Chang-soo the Hunter?”
“Huh, now you’re scared?”
“It’s not that. I actually have quite a connection with Kang Chang-soo the Hunter myself.”
The woman scrutinized Jong-sik up and down. In one hand, she held a plastic bag containing a bundle of Maker-less sportswear and slippers. Could someone like him have a deep connection with Kang Chang-soo the Hunter? It seemed impossible.
“Hmph. Now you’re boldly making claims?”
“Think whatever you want.”
Jong-sik shrugged and took out his phone. Coincidentally, he received a call from Kang Chang-soo the Hunter.
With a wry smile, Jong-sik answered the call.
