The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 157

Police Too Strong – Episode 157

157. Voice Phishing Company

‘Can I… get out of here?’

Kim Young-shik had been dragged here a month ago. He didn’t know if this place was in Korea or another country.

He only guessed it was Korea because most of the people were Korean or Joseon [Korean-Chinese] people.

This was a large, prefabricated three-story building, and all the windows were covered with iron plates.

-Yes, hello. I am Investigator Kim Mi-young from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency…

-…Your account is being used illegally. Don’t tell anyone…

The largest space on the first floor had long rows of cheap tables, where over a hundred people were on the phone, talking intently with partitions between them.

It was a voice phishing [phone scamming] site he had only heard about.

Work hours were from nine in the morning to seven in the evening. Every time they left their seats, they had to press the timer button placed on their desks, and if the timer exceeded 30 minutes, 10,000 won [approximately $8 USD] would be deducted from their accumulated earnings per minute.

If they succeeded in voice phishing, 10% of the deposited amount would be credited to the successful person. Once they accumulated ten million won [approximately $8,000 USD], they could leave this place, or they could continue working.

They slept crammed into containers with fifteen men each, and only cold water came out in the showers.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The sound of high heels, rarely heard in this place, turned the gazes of countless men.

The woman who brought Young-shik here, that angelic woman, showed off her sleek legs as she ascended the stairs to the second floor.

She was the lover of the boss here, a man named Manager Yang.

She occasionally appeared like this, providing eye candy, but she didn’t work with them.

Bang!

Manager Yang’s office door, which overlooked the first-floor office, was violently opened.

The sound made everyone tense up and shrink their shoulders.

“Hey! Number 77!”

Manager Yang, wearing a navy blue striped suit on a pure white background, grabbed the second-floor railing and leaned out.

The middle-aged woman sitting at seat 77 remained frozen, unable to lift her head.

“You, you bitch, come here! No, stay right there, I’m coming!”

Manager Yang ran down the stairs like an angry bull. The woman at number 77 slowly rose from her seat with a frightened expression to meet him.

Everyone else stopped their calls and focused their attention on the scene.

Slap!

Manager Yang slapped her across the face as soon as he arrived.

“Hey, hey! Who said you couldn’t leave? You dare report to the police? I told you to leave once you collect ten million won. You can leave if you work hard. Is it hard to collect ten million won? That’s because you didn’t work hard enough!”

Smack, smack! Thud, thud, thud!

Fists flew at her face relentlessly.

Manager Yang smoothed back his disheveled hair and grabbed the woman’s hair.

“Calling the police from here is useless. Your location shows up as China. The police? They’ll never come. I told you, I’m listening to all the calls!”

Thud, thud, thwack!

Unable to control his anger, he picked up a phone and smashed it down on her face.

Her face was being crushed in real-time, blood splattered, and she couldn’t even scream anymore, but no one could stop him.

Thud.

As she collapsed on the floor like a frog, Manager Yang stood up, looked around at the others, and gave a speech.

“People, please, stop thinking useless thoughts and just work hard. You all came here because you want to make money, right? If you work hard here, you can earn a billion won [approximately $800,000 USD] a month. Me? I used to earn 300 million won [approximately $240,000 USD] a month back in my prime. Everyone should be able to pocket that much before leaving, right? Let’s just work hard for a little while. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“Y-yes….”

“Yes!”

Manager Yang looked at the people who were trembling with fear and avoiding his eyes with satisfaction, then clapped his hands.

Clap!

“Okay, then, good work today. If you have any inconveniences, feel free to speak up. I’ll take care of everything.”

On his way back to the second floor, Manager Yang made eye contact with Young-shik, who was sitting in the seat closest to the stairs.

He approached Young-shik in a friendly manner and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Young-shik, is it manageable?”

“Yes? Yes, yes….”

“That’s right. We really need young blood like you, Young-shik. If you do well, I might take you with me to the Chinese headquarters at the end of the year. Once you go there, your life will be on easy mode. I’m counting on you. Got it?”

“Yes, oh, I understand.”

Tuk, tuk.

“Okay, fighting?”

Manager Yang patted Young-shik on the shoulder and went up the stairs.

There was a thick smear of the middle-aged woman’s blood on Young-shik’s shoulder.

The guilt of standing still while the woman was being beaten weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he was too afraid to brush it off, in case he was reprimanded.

‘Mom… I miss Mom….’

* * *

The only time to breathe here was the three hours between 7 PM, after work, and 10 PM, before going to sleep. During this time, they had free time inside the building.

“Young-shik, what are you doing?”

A burly man with yellow hair, dark skin, and a menacing face swaggered over. He was a tattooed thug who had recently joined.

He wore baggy clothes, so Young-shik thought he was just big, but he had caught a glimpse of his bicep when he showed off his tattoos, and the muscles were no joke.

Young-shik didn’t like him much because he triggered his high school PTSD, but the thug occasionally came over and acted friendly.

“Smoking. Want one?”

“Nah, I don’t smoke, remember? Or do I have to hit you in the head for you to remember?”

Surprisingly, this tattooed thug, who looked like he would chain-smoke, didn’t smoke.

“No, no… Sss, whoosh….”

“You little shit, who do you think you’re blowing smoke at? Back in my day, even the cops would drop their batons and lower their eyes when I walked by.”

“Yeah, yeah, I bet.”

He often talked about how successful he used to be, but he ended up with 50 million won [approximately $40,000 USD] in debt from crypto and came here after working as a delivery driver.

“…I’m gonna make a shit ton of money here and buy a ten-story mixed-use building. Become a landlord, the landlord above the creator, how about that?”

Young-shik stared blankly at the tattooed thug, who was still full of dreams and spouting nonsense, unable to grasp reality.

“Wouldn’t you need at least 3 billion won [approximately $2.4 million USD]? Do you think that’s possible doing this?”

“‘That’? Just call me Hyung [older brother/male friend], Su-hyung. I’m not gonna keep doing this. I’m gonna apply for the security team here.”

“Yeah, yeah… Su-hyung, I just want to get out of here. This place is hell, damn….”

At Young-shik’s words, the tattooed thug pretended to be surprised, looked around, put his index finger to his lips, and whispered.

“Don’t say that, someone might hear you. If I snitch to Manager Yang, you’re screwed, got it?”

“So… are you going to snitch?”

“‘Going to snitch’ is rude, you little shit.”

The tattooed thug raised his weapon-like hand as if to hit him. Young-shik cowered like a turtle.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing there?”

At that moment, one of the men in black suits, known as the security team, spotted Young-shik and the tattooed thug.

The tattooed thug immediately lowered his hand, thinned his voice, and answered obsequiously.

“Ah, ah, it’s nothing! I was just borrowing a cigarette from this friend.”

“Mister, a pack of cigarettes is 20,000 points [approximately $16 USD]. Don’t try to extort this young man who worked hard to buy them. Buy your own. Buy them.”

“Yes, yes, I will. Yes.”

The tattooed thug shrank his shoulders and scurried away from Young-shik. He was a typical coward who was strong against the weak.

Young-shik muttered as he watched the thug’s retreating figure.

‘You bastard… rot here for the rest of your life.’

Young-shik made a resolution.

This is definitely Korea. Manager Yang said they would be transferred to the Chinese headquarters at the end of the year.

There was no guarantee that the end of the year would be in December. Once they crossed over to China, there would be no turning back. He had to get out before that.

Before that, he had to accumulate ten million points.

* * *

The tattooed thug eventually joined the security team. It wasn’t that he was outstanding and was selected for the security team, but rather that he was so brain-dead that he kept making mistakes and getting caught while making voice phishing calls, even arguing with the victims, so the security team had no choice but to take him in.

He wasn’t seen often doing anything, but he occasionally appeared, striking a pose.

Even when their eyes met, he would just gesture not to look at him and never spoke to him.

* * *

-Deposit 35,000,000 won [approximately $28,000 USD]

“F-f-finally….”

A big deal had finally gone through.

He felt sorry for the victim, but he had to save himself first.

Young-shik worked hard on voice phishing and finally achieved ten million won [approximately $8,000 USD] in accumulated earnings.

Young-shik immediately requested a consultation with Manager Yang.

Inside Manager Yang’s office, he and Young-shik sat facing each other.

“That’s right. Young-shik, I heard you made a big score today. I knew I had a good eye for talent. Congratulations?”

“Yes, thank you. So, if I accumulate ten million won, you’ll give me the money in cash and let me leave….”

“Ah… that’s right, but why? Are you trying to leave, Young-shik?”

“…Yes.”

“Ah….”

Manager Yang didn’t hide his disappointment.

“You’ve earned ten million won in just two months. You’re just slow because you’re just starting to learn the ropes. If you keep working hard like this, you can easily make a hundred million won [approximately $80,000 USD] a year. And when you go to headquarters, your accumulation rate goes up to 15%. You can’t live at the bottom forever. You have to improve your status. Opportunities like this are rare, you know?”

Young-shik was honestly a little shaken by the devilish manipulation of his tongue. But the fear of becoming like that middle-aged woman was greater.

“I’m… sorry. My mother is sick, and I think I need to take care of her by her side.”

“Haa… tsk, I thought you were our star talent, Young-shik. I understand. Well, a promise is a promise. Prepare to leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you!”

The next day, at five in the morning, before wake-up time, a security guard woke him up.

“Huh!”

“To the first-floor lobby.”

“Ah, ah, yes, yes.”

He didn’t have much to pack. Young-shik only took a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and went to the lobby.

“Don’t be alarmed, we’re going to move you.”

Swoosh.

The man standing behind him put a black cloth over Young-shik’s head. He couldn’t see anything at all.

Following their guidance, he could only tell that he had gone outside.

“Hoo, ha, hoo, ha….”

The outside air coming through the cloth made Young-shik excited enough.

Soon after, he got into a car. Young-shik instinctively realized that it was the car that had kidnapped him. The fear from that time was deeply etched in his mind.

As he spent time in excitement and tension, the car stopped.

The drive was very short. It hadn’t even been five minutes. It was ominous.

“Get out.”

He was dragged out roughly and made to sit on a cold chair. The black cloth was removed.

The stench of blood hit him, and Young-shik hurriedly looked around. Knives, skewers, coping saws, nippers, chains, wires, etc., were hanging on both sides of the wall.

There were dark, crusty things, presumably bloodstains, stuck here and there on the floor.

“Wh-where is this….”

It was a terrifying place like a torture chamber.

Swoosh.

Manager Yang pulled up a chair in front of him and sat down. He said with a smile.

“This is a counseling center. Don’t be nervous, let’s have a slow consultation.”

“Y-Yang, Manager Yang…!”

Several hours later.

“Huuu, huuu….”

Young-shik’s fingernails and toenails were all gone, his face was swollen, and blood was flowing from his side.

Manager Yang approached him and patted him on the shoulder.

“Okay, now we’re talking. So, you want to go to headquarters with me, right?”

“Y-yes, yes, please.”

“Ah, I understand. Don’t worry, just don’t forget that you can come to the counseling center if you show any suspicious behavior or don’t listen to me, got it?”

“Y-yes….”

Manager Yang was still for a moment, then tilted his head.

“Good… ah, but I feel dirty. You wasted my precious time. Hey, beat him up a bit before moving him, but don’t kill him. If he dies and his organs rot, I’ll cut out your organs.”

“Yes, Manager.”

At his words, the men who had been helping with the torture picked up whips covered in shards of glass. Young-shik trembled with fear.

That night.

Drip, drip.

A familiar man approached Young-shik, who was tied to a steel chair in a dark place, dripping with what he didn’t know was blood, sweat, or saliva.

Swoosh.

Young-shik was sure who it was when he saw him opening his mouth and feeding him water.

“Su-hyung….”

Silence followed Young-shik’s call for a moment, then a heavy voice, different from before, was heard.

“Yeah.”

“S-save me.”

“Yeah.”

“P-please….”

“I know, so be quiet.”

“Sniff, sob, Mom….”

Young-shik also knew. He was too insignificant to place hope on a tattooed thug like him.

He answered, but he was even more desperate because he knew it was impossible.

Creak.

At that moment, the sound of a door opening was heard.