Doppio Senso - Chapter 13.2

“It’s me.”

– Hey, where are you right now…

Through the receiver of the pay phone, EunHa heard someone grab the cellphone before YongJoon could finish his sentence.

– Lee EunHa. What’s going on?

SungHo called her name, his voice filled with anger. EunHa looked off into the distance and replied in a thin voice.

“I got the goods. Where should I meet you?”

Instead of answering his question, she got straight to the point. SungHo answered her in a curt voice.

– The boat’s ready. Come to Shekou Harbor F-34 in the Nanshan district.

“Okay. I’ll be there soon.”

After hearing their location, EunHa ended the call before SungHo could say anything more. She stretched out her long legs and walked to a main street. She raised a hand, causing the dress to ride up her thigh. A truck stopped in front of her. The driver was a man with a bushy beard. He flashed his yellow teeth as he called out to her.

[Why, hello there, little beauty. If you’re trying to get customers here, you’ll be arrested very quickly…]

The chatty driver’s face darkened. He watched the gun bob as she pointed it at him. Not knowing what to do, the driver opened the car door.

Vroom.

EunHa stepped on the accelerator pedal. Her face remained blank. The car began to speed up.

Shekou Harbor, Nanshan District, Shenzhen. 4 AM.

The sky remained dark as if the night would never end. Fretting anxiously as he waited, Kang SungHo rushed over to EunHa as soon as he saw her.

“What about the goods?”

“Go and see for yourself.”

EunHa’s narrow eyes looked down at her blackened nails as she slowly murmured. She was acting arrogant, but there was no time to discuss her behavior. Kang SungHo looked over at YongJoon with a grave expression on his face. He gestured to him with his eyes. YongJoon hurriedly walked over to the truck. He opened the trailer and checked inside. His face hardened.

“Why aren’t you bringing it in?”

YongJoon hesitated and didn’t move. SungHo frowned.

“Boss, this is definitely it! There’s a lot of it, too. I’ll move it in before dawn.”

YongJoon raised his voice. SungHo lit a cigarette after hearing the confirmation. YongJoon quickly got into the driver’s seat and began to move the trailer truck towards the boat. EunHa smiled bitterly as she watched YongJoon try to hide his confusion. Judging from the purple bruise on his cheek, it looked like SungHo had beat him quite a lot last night.

YongJoon tried to catch EunHa’s eyes through the truck window but quickly looked away so that SungHo wouldn’t notice. EunHa thought that YongJoon would have run straight back to SungHo after checking the contents of the truck. However, that cowardly punk must have felt that it would be best for him to leave the scene as soon as possible instead. Either way, EunHa didn’t think it mattered. The best moments in life were meant to be savored.

“Come and take a cigarette.”

EunHa silently received a lit cigarette from SungHo.

“Have another one before you leave, Ahjussi. Why are you in such a hurry?”

SungHo, who had been walking back onto the anchored boat in the dark, stopped in his tracks and took out another cigarette. The gray smoke disappeared in the salty wind of the sea.

“You look terrible.”

SungHo looked EunHa up and down. Her dirty Chinese dress was torn here and there. Her hair was tangled and disheveled. EunHa took a long drag of the cigarette and slowly exhaled as she nodded.

“Some troublesome things happened in the process, so I’ve been through a lot.”

SungHo arrived at Hong Kong last night. However, when he didn’t hear a word from EunHa, he was up all night worrying. He wondered if she had backstabbed him and run off with the drugs instead. He had sent YongJoon to keep watch over her, but that idiot said that he didn’t know where EunHa had gone. As soon as he heard this, SungHo held back the urge to dump him into the sea. SungHo took a deep drag of his cigarette as he pretended to stay calm.

“Well, I’ll hear the details later. It must’ve been difficult bringing the goods here.”

To SungHo, results were the most important thing. He imagined the tens of millions he’d earn from selling the priceless drugs. However, he never expected her to bring the whole trailer container with her. It would make passing through customs a lot easier. He realized that all of the discipline and education he had given her weren’t for nothing.

“Good work.”

EunHa watched as he parted his dry lips. For a moment, she kept the silence. Then she burst out laughing. The scar on SungHo’s brow twitched.

“……”

“Haha… Hahaha…”

EunHa’s shoulders shook as she roared with laughter. Seeing this, SungHo frowned unpleasantly. He looked at her disheveled hair and her messy, torn dress as she continued to laugh. She truly looked like a crazy person.

“What is it?”

“Ahjussi, about that trailer truck that YongPal just drove to the boat…”

EunHa grinned at him with sparkling eyes.

“What do you think is inside?”

EunHa began to raise her fingers as if she were quizzing him.

“Number 1: drugs. Number 2: flour. Number 3: knock-off dolls. Or Number 4: nothing.”

EunHa happily watched as SungHo’s face twisted. It looked like he wasn’t able to tell whether she was joking around or being honest.

“…What kind of game are you playing right now?”

It didn’t look like he had his usual 15 centimeter knife on him. When she heard his unpleasant voice, EunHa gathered her palms together and drew them to her chest as if she were praying. Her long eyelashes fluttered.

“Let me give you a hint. It’s something you really like, Ahjussi.”

“Lee EunHa.”

SungHo threw his half-used cigarette onto the ground as he ground his teeth. It looked like he was about to grab her hair. EunHa pretended to be surprised as she lowered her voice.

“It looks like you’ll really get mad if I continue joking around.”

“If you know that already, then keep your mouth shut.”

SungHo’s eyes gleamed dangerously. EunHa flashed her teeth at him as she smiled.

“The correct answer is number 3. It’s stuffed animals of knock-off cartoon characters. There’s about two thousand of them.”

“…What did you say?”

“I think it suits you perfectly, Ahjussi. You like knock-offs, right?”

“Lee EunHa.”

SungHo’s face twisted. EunHa was still smiling, but her eyes flashed gleefully. She looked like a crazy woman, and the sight caused shivers to run down his spine.

“Are you insane?”

“No. Not yet. If I’d really gone insane, I wouldn’t have gone through hell to extract the drugs for a bastard like you, you son of a bitch.”

When he saw the vicious transformation take place in her eyes, SungHo realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

“Why you fucking bitch…!”

Right as he was about to grab her throat, EunHa quickly took a step back. Then she took out the gun that she had strapped to her garter belt. When he saw the pistol, SungHo’s eyes shook. His hand that had been raised to strike her began to tremble in the air. He let out a ragged breath.

“…You bitch… Put that down right now!”

“Why did you do it?”

The smile disappeared from EunHa’s face. Only a chilly aura remained. Her pale face gleamed in the light.

“‘Why did you do it’? That’s what I should be asking you, you bitch!”

His grating voice burst out of his mouth. He couldn’t contain his rage. He took a step forward to snap her wrist. He felt that his rage wouldn’t settle down even if he strangled her to death.

Bang!

Suddenly, EunHa shot her gun.

“Ugh!”

Having lost his balance due to the shock and pain, SungHo grasped his bleeding thigh and let out a short groan. Warm blood began to spurt out of the wound.

“Your head is next, Ahjussi.”

EunHa shook the muzzle of the gun as she smiled. Seeing this, SungHo began to tremble. The EunHa he knew wouldn’t have been able to shoot him. He began to grind his teeth. EunHa continued to speak calmly.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why did you do it?”

“Ugh…”

SungHo’s eyes blazed due to the dizzying pain as he glared at her.

“What kind of bullshit is this?”

“Are you pretending not to know?”

When he continued to let out a hoarse groan, EunHa shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s too bad.”

When SungHo saw the muzzle of the gun aim at his head, he gasped as he took in a ragged breath.

“You parents… Is that what you’re talking about right now?”

The edge of EunHa’s mouth slightly trembled. It had finally happened. Kang SungHo spoke about the events of that night with his own mouth.

“Do you think I’m asking you why you killed my parents right now?”

“…That’s not it? Aren’t you making all this fuss because of the accident that happened 10 years ago?”

“Accident?”

EunHa put on a contrived expression as she frowned. She tilted her head.

Bang!

Another shot rang out.

“Uugh…!”

SungHo fell to his knees. Both of his thighs had been shot. His knees banged onto the floor, but it was no match for the pain from the gunshot wounds.

“Oh dear. I never expected you to kneel before me.”

Watching him gasp for breath, EunHa spoke emotionlessly.

“Seo YongJoon!!!”

SungHo looked back with a twisted frown as he called for YongJoon. However, the truck continued to face the boat and didn’t move from the harbor. Because merchandise moved in and out of this harbor 24 hours a day, it was usually filled with trailer containers and workers. However, for some reason, it was oddly silent today. Not even an ant could be seen.

“In Yangpyeong, during the wintertime, why did you take me with you? You should have killed me instead.”

EunHa asked in a weak, trembling voice. Her eyes glistened with tears as she slowly blinked her eyes.

“You should have killed me just like you killed my parents. Why did you toy with me instead?”

With bloody hands, SungHo swept his hair off his forehead. His breaths were ragged.

“You… Do you think I toyed with you?”

“You’re saying you didn’t? You made the daughter of the man you killed submit to you. As you watched her dream of a misguided revenge, how much did you enjoy it?”

Listening to her cold words, SungHo glared at her and raised his voice.

“No! Like you said, I could have killed you. But I saved you instead. I gave you a new life!”

SungHo’s eyes flashed with lunacy. EunHa gave a dejected laugh as she frowned. Her eyes glistened with tears as she laughed hysterically.

“Aah. I find you so funny, Ahjussi.”

“I’m the one who took you in even though you were a useless girl. I clothed you, fed you, and educated you. I did everything you wanted. But you dare to fuck me over after the 10 years I’ve endured because of you?!”

SungHo’s scarred brow twisted. It didn’t matter where things had begun to go wrong. He had taken in this abandoned dog and spent money on it as he raised it. But this dog dared to get off its leash and charge at its master? SungHo couldn’t take it anymore.

“All because I killed your father? Just because I killed your barmaid of a mother… You dare to betray me after the 10 years I’ve spent on you?!”

“I’d rather you beg me.”

EunHa murmured, looking down at him as if she were gazing at a bug. Kang SungHo didn’t stop. It was as if he had finally revealed his true nature.

“Do you know what kind of face your father made as I killed him? He looked as if he had expected everything. As if he knew this day would come. He was the one who chose not to leave the mob life! Even though he was a mere thug, he went off, got married, and even had a kid as if he was living some kind of love song. And this was the result of his choices!”

SungHo’s dark red blood pooled on the floor. The image of her father’s blood pooling on the floor. The image of her mother’s blood on the staircase. It all overlapped, one on top of the other. EunHa’s downcast eyes filled with tears when SungHo began to cackle as he ridiculed her.

“Your father should be thanking me for not killing his only daughter. For saving her. Don’t you think?”

SungHo’s eyes twisted. EunHa was surprised to see such confidence in his eyes. A human’s true nature was chillingly selfish and hideous. It was no different from a beast.

“I’m the one who raised you and protected you until now! I’m the one who made you strong so that you could survive no matter where I dropped you off. I’m the one who made it all possible, you stupid bitch!”

“…I said you should beg me instead.”

EunHa’s faint voice left her lips once again. If he had begged her for forgiveness, she would have sent him off with one blow. However, Kang SungHo was currently chipping away at the last remnants of her humanity.

“I’m the one who knows you the best in this world.”

He held out his blood-drenched hands to her.

“Once you hold this hand, you will become a part of my family.”

10 years ago, a sixteen-year-old girl had been unable to see the bloodstains on the hand that was held out to her. EunHa chewed on her lip as she looked down at him.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Lee EunHa, you’re not a dirty bitch who has the ability to kill people. I know that!”

“I wonder if that’s true.”

Kang SungHo snickered at her.

“I still remember it like it was yesterday. You on your knees as you rubbed your hands, begging me to save your life. You told me you’d do anything as long as I saved your life. You even offered to take your clothes off and thrusted yourself at me even though you smelled like urine. I still remember it all!”

“…Shut up.”

Remembering the memories she wanted to forget, EunHa’s brows furrowed. Her gun trembled as she tried to keep it aimed on SungHo. SungHo noticed the disturbance in her eyes.

“But what did I do? Did I rape you? No! Me?! To a rag bitch like you?! No, I treated you as if you were the purest person in the world. Even if all the bastards in the world treated you like a whore, I treated you like my daughter. I protected you like a princess and loved you! This is what love is, you stupid bitch! Even though I killed your father! Even though I killed your mother, I didn’t kill you! Even though I could have killed you, I saved you! Because I felt sorry for you as I watched you crawled on the floor! Even though you were like that, I loved you!”

“Stop the bullshit!!”

A hoarse scream tore out of her lips. Rage began to boil up from her chest. She felt as if her head was going to explode. Unable to endure the hatred, she began to walk towards him. She wanted to rip his mouth off , just as he had threatened her before. If she had been holding a knife, she would have done exactly that. Unfortunately, because she didn’t have one, it was impossible. But she still felt that she could settle for filling his body with bullet holes.

“Love…? Love?!!”

EunHa’s eyes bulged and the blue veins in her pale neck began to throb. She felt as if her throat would burst open. Kang SungHo had no right to use that word. Listening to her voice hoarse with rage, Kang SungHo yelled back, his spit spraying from his mouth.

“Yeah! I’m the only one in this world who can love you with a pure heart. But you already know that very well, don’t you?”

EunHa had reached the limits of her patience. She quickly walked over to him. Then she crouched down, held up the gun, and fiercely whipped it against his head.

“I told you to shut up!”

“You stupid bitch…! That’s why you’re useless!”

He captured her slender wrist and snapped it back in one breath. EunHa bit her lips from the sharp pain.

“Mm…!”

The gun fell from her hand and slid across the ground. SungHo continued to murmur.

“Wake up from this madness and beg me for your life right this instant… Just like you always did, twitching like a dirty bug on the floor as you crawl for me… Because of our past together, I’ll let this go with only a slash across your face… Hmm?”

Suddenly, EunHa raised her leg and kicked him in the gut.

“Shut up! Shut up!!”

Even if everyone in the world laughed at her life choices, it didn’t matter to her. But not Kang SungHo.

“Uugh!”

He let out a pained groan, but he still managed to grab the hem of her dress. EunHa, who had fallen onto her back from the kick, found herself underneath Kang SungHo. He began to strangle her neck with both his hands.

“Hmm…!”

“You can’t do anything. If I’m not here, you’re nothing… How dare you betray me?”

Her eyes bulged from the pain as her airways were blocked. Her cheek pressed against the ground. She tried to push him off, but all strength left her fingertips. Her blurry vision landed on the gun that had slid under the trailer truck.

“Uugh… Ugh…!”

That was the gun KyungHyun had given her as he sent her off by herself. For her revenge. She recalled the last time she saw KyungHyun’s face as he told her to kill Kang SungHo. To end their ill-fated ties.

She couldn’t end it like this.

“Aaaagh…!”

EunHa’s fingers began to dig into the gunshot wounds in Kang SungHo’s thighs. Having experienced a gunshot wound herself, she knew how painful it was. As Kang SungHo cried out, his hands left her neck and began to strike her across her cheeks. Blood burst from her lips, but EunHa didn’t feel the pain.

“Cough… cough…“

EunHa began to violently cough as she drew in deep breaths. She barely managed to move her limp body. Then she grabbed his hand and began to bite it.

“You fucking dog bitch!!”

Kang SungHo roared out in pain and began to beat her head. EunHa continued to glare at him. If he called her a dog, then it was only apt that she bite the hand that had fed her trash for 10 years.

“Haaa… teh…!”

EunHa spat out the blood in her mouth. She swayed as she got up and began to crawl over to the trailer truck to get the gun.

“Haa… Haa…”

She wondered if her eardrums had burst. Everything sounded muffled and her head felt dizzy. She tried to gather her balance and focus her eyes so that she didn’t fall. Because of the gunshot wounds on each of his legs, Kang SungHo couldn’t run after her.

“B…Boss!”

Having moved the merchandise into the boat, YongJoon came back and saw the scene before his eyes. Shocked, he froze in his tracks.

“Kill that bitch immediately!!”

He pointed over to EunHa with bloodied hands as he roared. YongJoon looked back and forth between the bloodied SungHo and EunHa who was crawling on the floor. He couldn’t hide his shock. His feet began to move back and forth in his new shoes.

“Kill her!!! Why aren’t you killing her, you stupid bastard?!!! Kill her right now, kill her!!!”

EunHa stretched out her hand underneath the trailer truck as she tried to reach the gun. She turned her head and looked up at YongJoon.

“You son of a bitch, kill her right now!”

YongJoon clenched his fist as he approached her. She might have been able to overpower the wounded SungHo, but there was no chance she’d win a fight with YongJoon.

Is this how it was going to end?

Was this all done in vain? All that only to end like this?

YongJoon’s steps became faster and faster as he walked towards her. Her shaking eyes pierced through him. YongJoon’s fist went up in the air, but it was shaking so badly that it almost looked like he was waving it.

“Hurry up! I can’t do anything in this state!”

Creaaak. Boom!

“Don’t move, you bastards!”

The door of one of the trailer containers burst open and a blinding light flashed on. They were surrounded by light. YongJoon covered his eyes with his arm to shield his eyes from the blinding light. SungHo did the same.

“Get them!”

They heard a woman shout from inside. EunHa slowly opened her eyes. As she drew in a deep breath, her blurry eyes managed to see Lieutenant Han run towards her. She saw General Manager Cha run out behind her and a group of people in police uniforms swarm out of the trailer containers.

“Lee EunHa-ssi, are you okay?”

“What’s going on…”

Frowning, EunHa couldn’t finish her sentence due to the shock of this situation. Lieutenant Han helped her up from the ground.

“You’ve been though a lot. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“……”

“I’m sorry for putting you in such a dangerous situation. We’ve managed to obtain Kang SungHo’s confession of murdering your parents 10 years ago, so he won’t be able to worm his way out of this one.”

EunHa slapped away Lieutenant Han’s offered hand and grabbed her jacket instead.

“Why are you here, Lieutenant Han?”

“What?”

“How did you know I was here?”

EunHa couldn’t understand how Lieutenant Han and General Manager Cha had known about this place. Her muddled head was all over the place.

“…You don’t know?”

Lieutenant Han looked flustered for a moment before she let out a deep sigh.

“It looks like you didn’t know. Then let me explain.”

EunHa looked completely shocked, so Lieutenant Han began to speak in calming voice.

“These trailer containers have been prepared beforehand by Superintendent Shin as lodging for us police.”

“……”

EunHa finally realized what KyungHyun had meant when he told her he wasn’t staying at a hotel. Her lips began to tremble.

“According to the plan, you were supposed to lure Kang SungHo here, Lee EunHa-ssi.”

Those were the final orders that KyungHyun had sent Lieutenant Han and General Manager Cha when they had exited the fast food restaurant.

“Superintendent Shin was supposed to protect you during this process, but as you know, things got twisted up in the middle and…”

When EunHa had shot Kang SungHo, Lieutenant Han thought that it was over. She had expected this to happen, so there was no way KyungHyun hadn’t expected the same. Even if she had to receive disciplinary action from her superior officers for this, KyungHyun would receive the same because he was the one leading the operation. Therefore, Lieutenant Han endured it and held back. Additionally, they had managed to obtain Kang SungHo’s confession of committing the murders from 10 years ago thanks to EunHa’s provocation.

“I’m sorry for not saving you sooner, Lee EunHa-ssi.”

Kang SungHo, who had tried to escape by limping away, was now held by General Manager Cha. He whipped his head back and forth as he roared out.

“Let me go! Let go, you bastards!!”

“Kang SungHo, you are under arrest on charges of drug soliciting. As per your confession, you are also charged with the murders of Lee HyunSoo and Yoon MinJung 10 years ago along with arson. There will also be an additional charge of kidnapping a teenage girl. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, and…”

“Drugs?! Drugs…?!! Where’s your proof? You sons of bitches!”

Watching Kang SungHo scream out, General Manager Cha slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Then he gave him a sharp glare.

“We found 500 million won’s worth of drugs in your boat.”

“Wh…What?”

Kang SungHo’s eyes glazed over in confusion.

“Fuck, what’s going on?!”

YongJoon obediently followed the police in handcuffs as he avoided SungHo’s eyes. Lieutenant Han had followed KyungHyun to China and approached YongJoon last night before General Manager Cha had followed Kang SungHo onto the plane for his departure.

When she heard EunHa and KyungHyun get captured by Im SungJoon through the phone, she immediately began to proceed with another operation. KyungHyun had a knack for preparing a Plan B or even a Plan C in the case that Plan A failed.

“If something happens to me, catch Kang SungHo by using his henchman. If you can’t convince him to join our side, threaten him until he does.”

At first, when Lieutenant Han offered to clear him of his miscellaneous crimes in exchange for joining their side, YongJoon had gone berserk. However, when Kang SungHo had beaten him to a pulp for failing to keep track of Lee EunHa, he had a change of heart.

“Is it okay for the police to do business like a gangster? Are you guys really police?”

Yongjoon grumbled as the police began to move the necessary goods onto Kang SungHo’s boat. Lieutenant Han didn’t deny it. In the case that they failed to catch him smuggling drugs, her superior officer told her that they’d just set the scene for a successful arrest. Her thoughts mirrored YongJoon’s, so she had nothing to say.

“If we want to catch those dirty bastards, we need to be even dirtier.”

KyungHyun had said this jokingly. YongJoon avoided Kang SungHo’s eyes and quickly got into the police cruiser. In handcuffs of his own, Kang SungHo began to shout out.

“You sons of bitches… You stupid bastards!!”

Kang SungHo continued to raise his voice even as he was being taken away in an ambulance.