The fast food restaurant was mostly empty.
At a small corner table, Hyeon-ju, Joe Yabuki, and Kim Geon-woo sat together. The smell of combo meals hung in the air.
Hyeon-ju looked at the two of them. "Why did you take this job?"
Geon-woo sighed. "My mom took out a loan from Smile Capital. They completely duped her. I had to use all the money President Choi gave me just to pay it off."
"Smile Capital loaned to you?"
"They conned her." His voice was flat.
"How much was the loan?"
"A hundred million won."
"You paid it all off? No penalties?"
Geon-woo gave a bitter smile. "They destroyed my mom's café. The place is a total mess now."
Hyeon-ju's eyes moved to the bandage on his face. "They do that to you too?"
"Yeah."
"You must be pissed. Did you go to the police?"
"No way." Geon-woo shook his head. "They threatened to kill my mother if I called the cops."
"Who threatened you?"
"Their boss."
Hyeon-ju turned to Joe. "What about you? Why'd you take this job?"
Joe thought for a moment.
"Money."
Hyeon-ju snorted. "Real blunt, aren't you, bastard."
Just then, Woo-jin arrived carrying a tray. "Delicious hamburgers have arrived! Here. Listen up, then eat."
Hyeon-ju took a burger but didn't unwrap it.
"Maybe you've heard my grandpa gives out zero-interest loans to people who are really down on their luck." She set the burger down. "But some people see that as an opening. Yang Jae-myeong was one of them. He borrowed ten million in his mother's name, then just vanished."
"I spent six months tracking him down."
"Finally found him at a train station, crouched at an underpass begging. I thought he'd really hit rock bottom." She paused. "Then I saw his teeth. Perfectly white."
Geon-woo and Joe exchanged a glance.
"So I followed him." Hyeon-ju continued. "Turns out him and his crew had been posing as homeless people, sneaking out at night to steal IDs from people actually living on the streets. They'd use those IDs to register shell companies, then use those companies to scam lenders. Tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions at a time."
"The whole operation was too clean," she said. "Clean enough that someone's definitely pulling the strings from behind the scenes."
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a photo, and slid it to the center of the table.
"This person was seen meeting with Yang Jae-myeong. Either of you know him?"
Geon-woo looked down at it.
'That face...'
"Yeah," he said. "I've seen him before. He was with the boss of Smile Capital."
---
An engine revved.
Hyeon-ju was in the driver's seat, Joe beside her, Geon-woo and Woo-jin in the back.
"Our goal tonight is to get an exact count on how many IDs these guys are stealing each day," Hyeon-ju said. "Stay calm no matter what. If they figure out we're onto them, everything I've spent six months doing is gone."
Everyone nodded.
Hyeon-ju took a deep breath and pointed to the caps in the back seat. "Cover your faces and hang back."
Geon-woo picked one up and put it on. Woo-jin did the same. Joe looked at his for a second, then put it on too.
Hyeon-ju checked them through the rearview mirror. "Don't get spotted."
"Got it."
"Understood."
Joe said nothing. Just nodded.
The car stopped at the entrance to an alley. Hyeon-ju killed the engine and pointed ahead. "They're over there."
On the street, three people in ragged clothes sat on the ground, holding cardboard signs with begging messages scrawled on them.
Geon-woo stared at them. "They really do look like homeless people."
Woo-jin nodded. "If you don't look carefully, you can't tell at all."
"Wait until nighttime," Hyeon-ju said. "They'll make their move on the real homeless. Watch closely."
Time passed.
The sky darkened. The street emptied out.
The three fake homeless people stood up, gathered their things, and headed into a small alley.
"Follow them," Hyeon-ju said.
They got out of the car and moved in after them, keeping their distance, staying in the shadows.
The group walked deeper into a darker alley and stopped at a corner. Several real homeless people lay there, already asleep.
One of the men crouched down and slipped a wallet out from under a sleeping figure. He flipped it open, pulled out the ID card, and tucked it into his pocket. Then moved on to the next person.
Geon-woo's fists tightened.
'These bastards...'
"I really want to go beat them up right now," Woo-jin whispered beside him.
Joe stood at the back, watching in silence.
One of the goons nudged Jae-myeong and pointed at a man slumped against the wall. "Hey. What about this guy?"
Jae-myeong glanced over. "He's piss-drunk."
"He might still have something on him."
Jae-myeong didn't bother responding. He turned and walked the other way. "Find someone who isn't wasted."
"Okay." The goon jogged to catch up.
"Let's go," Woo-jin whispered, tugging Geon-woo's sleeve. They slipped around the corner, following from a distance.
The second goon suddenly grabbed Woo-jin's arm and pointed. "Look, there, there."
Woo-jin yanked his arm back and shot him a look.
"Head down," he muttered.
Up ahead, Jae-myeong had already spotted his next target. An older man sitting alone, back against the wall, a thin sheet of newspaper spread beneath him.
Jae-myeong crouched down in front of him with a warm smile. "Hello, sir."
The man blinked, groggy. "Uh? What?"
"You really shouldn't be sleeping on cold ground with just newspaper under you. You need something proper."
The man stared at him. "...Yeah."
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Uh... two days ago."
Jae-myeong clicked his tongue softly. "That's terrible. Sir, we're here to help. We're with a homeless charity funded by the city."
"Oh... I see."
"The government set this up so people like us could look out for each other. You can join us." Jae-myeong leaned in a little closer. "If you do, you won't have to sit out here like this anymore. We'll help you find work. Every month, twenty free masks. And a monthly stipend — three hundred thousand won."
The man's eyes went wide. "Three hundred?"
"That's right." Jae-myeong smiled. "Sir, if you have your ID on you, we can get you registered right now. You'll have the money within a month. What do you say?"
The man hesitated for only a second. "...Yeah. Okay."
"Great." One of the goons stepped forward.
The man reached into his coat and held out his ID.
Jae-myeong took it smoothly and slipped it into his jacket. "Not everyone can get in on this. Keep it between us, alright?"
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
Geon-woo watched the whole thing from the shadows. His jaw was tight.
'What a silver tongue on that bastard.'
Woo-jin was already counting under his breath. "Four IDs so far."
He exhaled slowly.
Jae-myeong was already moving again. He spotted another man further down the alley and walked over. "Excuse me, sir."
The man looked up. "What?"
"We're with the Homeless Association. We're here to help—"
The man's face changed instantly.
"What the..." He scrambled to his feet. "It's you again! You son of a bitch — where's my ID? Give it back!"
Everything happened at once.
The man lunged. Jae-myeong shoved him back hard. "You crazy old bastard!"
The man grabbed him by the collar and wouldn't let go. "Give it back! Give it back right now!"
"Let go of me, you old fuck!" Jae-myeong snarled, twisting free. One of the goons stepped in and shoved the man to the ground.
The man groaned but kept clawing, trying to get back up.
The goons laughed.
Geon-woo took a step forward.
Woo-jin caught his arm. "Not yet."
Geon-woo stopped. His fists were shaking at his sides.
'Not yet. Not yet...'