Chapter 39 – 039. Vampire Detective
039. Vampire Detective
I was naked in Hera’s studio apartment, fiddling with my smartphone, checking the real-time search rankings on a portal site.
From last night until now, the top 1 to 10 real-time search rankings were all dominated by search terms related to me.
1. Red Madman
2. Killer Clown
3. Sunset Fitness Club Massacre
4. Red Clown
5. Sunset Fitness Murder Video
6. 28 Deaths at Sunset Fitness
7. Devil Clown
8. Clown’s Red Knife
9. Red Madman on the Run
10. Sunset Fitness Gang Hideout
“Red Madman, huh…”
I muttered to myself.
Red Madman (赤狂).
A crazy red bastard. More precisely, it’s a shortened version of the red-blooded clown.
Until last night, I was called a killer clown or Red Clown. But at some point, after seeing a picture of me covered in blood, they started calling me Blood Clown, and then suddenly, the Korean term for blood clown popped up.
Then, on a community site, a user praised me as the ‘Clown of Red Blood’ and posted about it, which became a hot topic, and at some point, they started calling me Red Madman.
“A gang, huh…”
The police explained that the Sunset Fitness Club was a gang hideout, and they defined me as a kind of killer and terrorist.
Because gunshots were heard at the Sunset Fitness Club, and a large number of firearms were found along with the bodies, they disguised the dead vampire hunters as Chinese gangsters.
“I didn’t take the guns they were using, did I? So… they’re pretending it was a gang because of the gun issue.”
If they weren’t gangsters, there wouldn’t be much of an explanation for why they had guns. Also, the identity of vampire hunters shouldn’t be revealed.
“Oh. This girl. She’s become a real celebrity.”
It was the girl who took my picture yesterday. A picture of the girl’s face, mosaicked, and my clown mask is floating all over the internet. The girl even appeared on a public broadcast emergency news report.
-Ms. K met Red Madman in person and even took a picture. Ms. K, did you feel threatened by Red Madman?
-No. I didn’t even know he was a murderer. I just thought it was cosplay for an event.
-Was there anything unusual about him?
-His clown mask was incredibly well-made. When he spoke, the mouth of the clown mask moved naturally. It made me think it wasn’t a mask, but his real skin.
-What was Red Madman’s voice like?
-Just normal.
-Did Red Madman do anything to Ms. K?
-Oh. He slapped my butt.
-……Excuse me? So, Red Madman used violence…?
-It was more like sexual harassment than violence.
-……Ah. Okay.
A woman sexually harassed by Red Madman!
I chuckled and looked up more information about Red Madman. People were analyzing various things from Red Madman’s photos. They speculated that he was in his late 20s to mid-30s, and there were baseless rumors that he was from a special forces unit. 99% of it was nonsense.
Most people were cursing Red Madman. Red Madman was a crazy murderer who had cut down more than 20 people with a knife.
However, some people were defending Red Madman. Because the people Red Madman killed were vicious Chinese gangsters with guns. Or, some people were just pretending to defend Red Madman to get people’s attention.
The internet was a mess, as always.
‘This is kind of fun.’
If Red Madman was someone else, I would have just skimmed through it and then looked for porn, but the Red Madman they were talking about was me.
I am Red Madman.
Whether they cursed me or defended me, it didn’t matter. Just the fact that they were mentioning me was fun.
‘Ah. What is this? Am I really an attention seeker?’
I started to learn more about Red Madman.
Red Madman had already spread overseas. Overseas, they called me Red Clown.
‘It’s bound to be a hot topic. He killed 28 people with a knife in one night. In this day and age, not in the Middle Ages.’
The internet overseas was also buzzing because of me. Especially Japan’s reaction was intense. It was because of the knife I used. Some were calling me a samurai.
‘It’s not a Japanese sword, it’s a Changpo sword.’
A debate broke out. When Japanese people said it was a katana, Koreans would argue that it was a Changpo sword.
I just chuckled and watched them.
“Oppa. What are you doing~?”
Hera, who must have woken up at some point, hugged me from behind. I could feel the soft sensation of her breasts on my back. She was naked like me.
“Just looking at the internet. You said you’re off today and tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. There are fewer customers, so there are more days off.”
“How about a date tomorrow?”
“…Huh? You’re asking me?”
Even though Hera knew my age, she consistently called me Oppa. She said that if someone was older or had more money, they were Oppa to her.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just a little unexpected. It’s been a while since I’ve had a date with a guy, so I’m happy.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. Let’s just enjoy it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t misunderstand. Hmm. I kind of have an idea of how the date will end.”
I grinned.
We both knew what the end of the date would be without having to say it.
•••
While looking at his smartphone for a moment, Moon Ji-hyuk unconsciously smiled slightly.
The message he received was from Yang Jung-min, a patrol officer from the traffic department. They had met by chance, like fate, and now they were close enough to exchange messages comfortably.
They weren’t quite friends, and they were definitely not lovers. He and she were in a ‘some’ relationship, as they say these days.
Yang Jung-min – Another night shift confirmed ㅠㅠ
Moon Ji-hyuk – You too, Jung-min? There are a lot of incidents in Gangnam these days, so I’m on night shift today too.
Yang Jung-min – Ah! Then, would you like to have dinner together later? I know a good place.
Moon Ji-hyuk – A good place?
Yang Jung-min – There’s a budae jjigae place 10 minutes from the station.
Moon Ji-hyuk – Ah. That place. It’s good. But do you like budae jjigae?
Yang Jung-min – I love budae jjigae! I even make it myself at home sometimes.
Moon Ji-hyuk – Wow. You make budae jjigae yourself?
Yang Jung-min – It’s not that hard, surprisingly.
Moon Ji-hyuk paused as he was about to send a message saying, ‘I’d like to try it sometime.’
It seemed too blatant, like he was saying he wanted to go to her place.
Then, what should he reply? Moon Ji-hyuk, who had never been in a relationship, pondered deeply about what to say.
Yang Jung-min – I’m really good at making budae jjigae. Would you like to come to my place and try it sometime?
Moon Ji-hyuk paused. He was a virile man. And he was a virgin who had never been in a relationship. All sorts of fantasies popped into his head.
‘No. No. She probably didn’t mean it that way. Jung-min is a bit clueless.’
Moon Ji-hyuk’s fingers moved.
Moon Ji-hyuk – If you’re offering, I’d love to.
Yang Jung-min – Then, strike while the iron is hot… Are you free this weekend?
Moon Ji-hyuk – This weekend? There are a lot of incidents this time, so I’m not sure yet.
Yang Jung-min – I hope you’ll have time.
“Oh. Detective Moon. Your face is all lit up? Is it a girlfriend?”
“Ah, no, it’s not.”
Moon Ji-hyuk immediately turned off his smartphone as Detective Oh Jung-jin, the team leader, approached.
“What do you mean, no? It’s obvious you’re dating. Do it a lot when you’re young. There are plenty of people who can’t do it even if they want to later.”
“……More importantly, what’s going on? Is it another case?”
“You know about Red Madman, right?”
Red Madman.
The masked killer who committed a massacre at the Sunset Fitness Club yesterday.
Moon Ji-hyuk’s face hardened. He was convinced that Red Madman was a vampire progenitor based on various circumstances.
“…Is there anyone at the station who doesn’t know about Red Madman?”
“No, there isn’t. The higher-ups are on high alert because of that guy.”
“Are we supposed to catch Red Madman?”
Catching Red Madman was what Moon Ji-hyuk wanted. The heinous Red Madman had to be caught for the sake of the people, and personally, there was information he needed to extract from Red Madman.
“No. They’re creating a special investigation unit for Red Madman at headquarters.”
“…Ah. Is that so.”
Moon Ji-hyuk was slightly disappointed. But it was something he had expected. This case was too big for an ordinary detective to handle.
“They’re asking for recommendations for personnel to send to the Red Madman unit.”
“The person the team leader is recommending… is it me?”
“Detective Moon, you’ve been the most outstanding lately. You practically caught the last criminal by yourself.”
Moon Ji-hyuk didn’t want to admit it, but the physical abilities that increased during the vampire’s night were positively helping his detective work.
“Do you not want to do it? Then I’ll report to the higher-ups that there’s no one to recommend. Don’t feel pressured, just tell me.”
“…No. I want to do it.”
“Really? Then I’ll recommend you to the higher-ups.”
“Yes. Please do. But is there any more information about the special unit?”
“There will be a few other detectives who were recommended like you from other teams. The Red Madman unit will have about 30 people, which is quite a lot. But half of them aren’t police officers, they’re external specialists.”
“External specialists? Is that true?”
“It’s almost certain. I’m dumbfounded too. Where are there specialists in catching criminals other than the police? I don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking.”
At that moment, Moon Ji-hyuk’s face hardened.
If the higher-ups knew that Red Madman was a vampire, then the external specialists were perhaps….
“It seems quite urgent, so you’ll be going tomorrow. The case you were working on was the arsonist, right? Wasn’t that a gas accident?”
“Yes. There’s evidence of arson.”
“Really? Hand over the case to Detective Park and get ready to go tomorrow. Just go home early today. You’ll be busier once you join the special unit.”
Oh Jung-jin returned to his seat.
Moon Ji-hyuk lowered his gaze to his desk and fell into thought. If the external specialists were vampire hunters as he suspected…. He had to move as carefully and cautiously as possible.
‘Maybe the vampire hunters know how to turn back into a human. This might be a chance to learn more about vampire hunters. It’s dangerous, but it’s a good opportunity.’
•••
“How is it? I tried it on like you said, Oppa.”
Hera stood in front of me, showing off her body. A navy blue wrap skirt, a white blouse, and a wine-colored cardigan over it. Her flowing brown hair was a stylish layered cut.
“…Wow. You look really pretty.”
I said exactly what came to mind.
“I’m a bit surprised. I didn’t think you’d have this kind of taste, Oppa.”
“My taste is pretty women.”
“I know. But I didn’t know you’d order such detailed outfits.”
To be honest, the clothes I asked Hera to wear were the fashion style that Shin Hye-jin, a real-life actress, often wore. Even the subtly visible earrings and hairstyle were very similar to the real Shin Hye-jin.
‘Looking at her like this, it’s like Shin Hye-jin is really in front of me. No, since Hera’s real name is Shin Hye-jin, it’s true that Shin Hye-jin is in front of me….’
I scanned Hera from head to toe several times. No matter how I looked at her, she was the actress Shin Hye-jin.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
Hera grinned and opened the front of her cardigan to both sides. My eyes widened. The white blouse was very thin. The color of the black bra that was covering her bursting D-cup breasts was visible through the blouse.
“Oppa. Your eyes are about to pop out. We’ve seen everything, haven’t we? Why are you acting like that over a bra?”
“…A woman’s body never gets boring. Clothes are good when they’re on, and they’re good when they’re off.”
Actually, I had started to think of Hera as the actress Shin Hye-jin. And since that seemed good in its own way, I planned to think of her as the actress Shin Hye-jin today.
‘Ah. Thinking of her like that suddenly makes me horny.’
I approached Hera and pulled her waist closer.
“Hera, let’s take a picture.”
“Another picture? You really like taking pictures, Oppa~. You even filmed a sex video the other day.”
“It’s all memories. Memories. And you like it too, right? You even filmed my masturbation video last time.”
“Hehehe. I still watch that sometimes.”
When Hera and I had sex, we took pictures and videos.
At first, Hera was disgusted by it. But my requests continued persistently, and eventually, at some point, Hera started to enjoy it too. The photos and videos clearly showed our faces.
Also, just as I had her videos, she also had some of my videos.
Recently, we even bought a personal broadcasting camera worth over 1 million won and enjoyed filming videos. Now, it felt like something was missing during sex if there wasn’t a camera.
I approached Hera, wrapped my arm around her thin waist, and activated the selfie mode on my smartphone. It wasn’t a photo, but a video.
“Push your chest out so it’s visible. Ah, and stick your tongue out too.”
We started a French kiss. Our tongues, wet with saliva, rubbed and intertwined with each other.
The hand that was around her waist eventually moved up and massaged her full breasts.
“Haa… Aren’t we… going on a date?”
My hand instinctively unbuttoned her blouse and stroked her voluptuous cleavage.
“Ah. That’s right.”
I quickly pulled my hand away. Today, I planned to enjoy Hera’s body leisurely and thrillingly on our date.
“This damn hand never listens.”
