The Mad Trio

----[The next Morning]

"What's this?" Jinsoo asked, looking at the whiteboard with a mind map and pictures pinned on it. We were inside the personal meeting office of the embassy right now.

With a rectangular white table in the center of the room and four chairs on either side of it, it was more of a personal space for Michael. There was a TV, a fridge, and a microwave in the corner of the room.

Michael was also in the room with us. He was sitting in front of his laptop on the table.

"In Gangnam, we have two types of syndicates," Michael said, answering Jinsoo's question.

"The first and foremost are the ones that deal in drugs, forge identities—fake IDs, I mean—loan sharks, etc. The second are information brokers, street gangs, nightclub operators, etc. They mainly do abduction and help out other national-level syndicates with their human trafficking," Michael added, searching for every bit of information he could get, whether it be online or the data that the embassy keeps.

"And?" Jinsoo asked him to continue.

"We'll start with the information brokers. They might possibly know or slightly guide us, leading us to the right track," I replied.

"I assume you have some connections here?" Jinsoo asked Michael.

"I have some friends here and there, but a probable response is not guaranteed," Michael replied.

----[Sinseong Market District, Gangnam]

Located on the outskirts of Gangnam, Sinseong Market is a bustling and labyrinthine network of alleys filled with street vendors, black-market stalls, and rundown warehouses.

While it serves as a legitimate hub for affordable goods and food, its back alleys and basements are controlled by criminal syndicates.

Parking the car at the entrance of the main market, Michael, Jinsoo, and I strolled into the alleys of the market. The worst part was that the clothes we were wearing didn't really match the atmosphere here.

The local food stalls, clothing stores, garment sellers, and accessories for women. Some people just placed a wooden table covered with a cloth to make it a stall for themselves. Grocers were storing their vegetables in buckets lying on the floor.

The market was a busy area, with people arguing with vendors to lower the prices and vendors trying to attract customers by calling out their prices.

On the other hand, the three of us were wearing formal attire. Jinsoo had a grey shirt over black pants, I wore a black shirt with black pants and a dark blue coat over it, and Michael was wearing a light grey suit with a black tie.

After walking past the alleys and reaching the heart of the market, we came across an intersection of four roads. This point was bustling and was a very famous spot for restaurants.

"You guys wait here, I'll go talk to them," Michael said.

"Then why'd you bring us along?" I asked.

"I never did; you just tagged along," he replied and left, entering the alley on the right.

"This crazy motherfucker is a deputy chief?" I muttered.

"Only crazy people get crazy work and earn crazy money," Jinsoo replied and asked, "You wanna eat something?"

"My options are limited," I replied.

"I know. You ever tried Japchae here?" he asked and pointed at a food stall in front of us.

"Glass noodles?" I asked. I'd heard that name a lot, so I remember a few words. "I can try."

Jinsoo nodded as we sat in front of the stall on the plastic stools, with a solid plastic table in the center. He ordered two glass noodles, and we waited in silence for the next 5 minutes.

"You saw the news?" he asked.

""How could I not? Four back-to-back murders of top artists in their specific fields in the music industry. The news is filled with that. Every official's attention is diverted to the case," I said as a middle-aged woman wearing an apron placed two bowls of noodles on our table.

"Tell me honestly, what do you think about Yara Choi? There must be some assumptions you have," Jinsoo asked, picking up the chopsticks and starting with the hot noodles.

"Well… let me tell you something really important, soldier," I said, picking up the chopsticks and feeling the scent of noodles in the bowl.

"Lies… become truth," I paused as I took a bite.

"The person or the criminal that you're defending always knows if they really did commit the crime or not. For people who are innocent, well… they're innocent. But for the people who are the real criminals, they tend to repeatedly think that they're innocent. They continuously create fake scenarios in their mind, and those scenarios become a reality for them. Their mind changes the past they lived, not the past others lived."

"So you can never say that the person you are defending is the criminal or not," Jinsoo added.

"Exactly. There are exceptions, however, when a criminal reveals they killed or committed the crime. But that just leaves extra pressure on you because we cannot reveal the data that our client shares with us. That would just directly question our credibility and end our career," I said.

"You hear that?" I asked.

"It's a criminal alley; gunshots are common here," he replied.

I turned and looked at the alley opposite us, which was actually the one Michael went in.

And I saw Michael running towards us with his coat unbuttoned and tie removed. He was running really fast.

He reached the intersection, looked at us, and shouted, spreading his hands like we did something absurd. 

"You guys fucking ordered?"

Then he ran to the alley on the right, from where we had entered the market.

Jinsoo and I both looked back and saw at least ten men with guns in their hands running towards us.

"Holy shit! Run!" I shouted, and Jinsoo kept all the money in his wallet on the table and ran along with me towards Michael.

"Excuse me! Side-Side-Side-Side-Side!" All three of us were running in the alley bustling with people, making our way past them and shouting at them to make way.

"I thought you had connections!" I shouted at Michael, who was running ahead of us.

"Man, fuck that shit! Even I don't know what happened!" he shouted back.

Upon reaching the exit, the situation was worse. There were people with guns in their hands circling around and searching our car.

"Back inside! Turn around!" Jinsoo shouted as those guys looked at us at the entrance.

Now we were all running into random alleys when we reached a three-way point.

"Let's separate!" Michael said and started running, but I stopped him by holding his collar from the back.

"You brainless shit, we stay together. Didn't you see their numbers?" I said as we all went towards the right direction.

After running for another five minutes, we stopped in a silent alley which seemed to hold housing for the people in the market.

"Where's your gun?" I asked, looking at Michael, panting heavily.

Our shirts were soaked in sweat by now.

"Those guys don't allow weapons inside," Michael replied.

"Call for backup or something!" I said.

"Hand over your phone," he said, extending his hand.

"They took your phone?" I asked, taking out my phone from my pocket and giving it to him.

"No, it's in the car," he replied and dialed a number.

"The backup will be here in fifteen minutes," Michael said, disconnecting the call.

Fifteen? Now what? We hold them? This is the end of the alleyway," I said as we heard some men shouting in Korean not far from us.

"That's the only option now," Jinsoo said as he took out his gun and unlocked the lever.

(Click) 

"We Fight Back!"