Chapter 334 - Halia's Korean Oppa

Jackson followed the information that Kwon gave him and headed to Daerim-dong, an area in Seoul that was unofficially known as Chinatown. This was an area where many Chinese immigrants settled and also a place where one could look for the help of a 'foreign contractor'.

Before Herman Song was thrown into prison, one could contact him through a dim sum restaurant in this area, so this was the only lead that Jackson had.

As he walked down the main street, he checked the address that Kwon gave him and confirmed that it was just up ahead. However, when he reached the spot where the dim sum restaurant was supposed to be, he discovered that it had been replaced by a fancy hot pot restaurant. It seemed, Kwon hadn't visited this area for a while and his information wasn't very up to date. He couldn't be blamed. After all, he had already left the gangs 4 years ago. A lot could happen in 4 years.

Not giving up just yet, Jackson walked up to the restaurant manager and asked, "I'm looking for a dim sum restaurant that used to be here. Have they moved? Or do you know a way that I can contact the previous owner?"

The manager saw that Jackson was Chinese and smiled, "You must be here on vacation. That dim sum restaurant used to be very famous, but the owner was involved with some under-the-table business and was thrown into jail last year so the restaurant closed down. If you are looking for good, authentic Chinese food, you can give us a try instead."

Jackson furrowed his brows. It seemed, he had hit a dead end. With a polite shake of the head, he turned to leave.

But, just as he did so, a waiter suddenly approached and asked secretively, "Why are you looking for the previous owner? I used to work for the dim sum restaurant. Perhaps, I can help." He then spread his palm in secret, gesturing for some money.

Jackson sighed and placed a few notes in the man's hands. "I'm looking for a man called, Herman Song. He was supposedly released from prison about a year ago. Do you know anything about him or how I could find him?"

The waiter paused for a second and quickly shoved the notes in his pocket. "If I were you, I would not involve myself with him."

Jackson looked at the man curiously. It seemed as though he knew something. "Why?"

"Herman ran quite a successful 'business' before he was thrown into prison. I'm sure you know what business I'm talking about. But, as you and I both know, in this rapidly advancing world, a lot can change in 5 years. While he was gone, others naturally took his place and found better ways to do things. With the anonymity of the internet, no one needed to take the risk and come down to Chinatown anymore, so when Herman was released from prison, he discovered all his clients and acquaintances, including the dim sum restaurant owner, were no longer around. But, he still tried to restart his 'business' on his own. He couldn't compete with the youngsters at first. However, he began to contact some of his old clients and he undercut his competitors with lower prices. From what I heard, he successfully stole a few jobs from them," the waiter continued.

"Needless to say, I'm sure you can imagine how dangerous that could be. Although he lurks amongst the shadows and no one ever knows where he is, he has created quite a few enemies for himself. Supposedly, a few of them are even after his life!"

"If you get involved with someone like that, you will only put yourself in danger..."

Jackson frowned, "So, no one knows where he is?"

The waiter shook his head. "He's a sneaky b*st*rd. There's no way of contacting him. If he knows you need help, he will come looking for you instead. There have been several times where he's stolen a job from right under his competitor's nose."

Jackson thanked the man for his information and turned to leave. It seemed, there was more to this man than he originally thought. No wonder he managed to stalk his daughter for so long and kill someone so ruthlessly without anyone knowing. 

As Jackson returned to the hotel to meet with his wife, he shook his head and sighed. He originally promised her he would sort everything out within a day. But, the day was almost over and he had no leads. Judging by what he knew about the man, it seemed, it would take him, at least, 3 more days before he could find him and send him back to Hong Kong...

How was he supposed to explain this to Halia?

Soon, he arrived downstairs at the hotel and gave his wife a phone call. He didn't check-in with her so he didn't have the keys to the hotel suite. However, the phone rang for a while, but no one answered. That was when he remembered, she was unwell earlier. Was she feeling better now? Was she resting?

Not wanting to disturb her, he walked up to the front desk and showed them his ID. "My wife has the key but I think she's asleep. Can I please get another key?" he asked.

The staff quickly checked his details and confirmed that he was indeed a guest so they politely organized another key for him.

Jackson took the key and headed straight up to his suite. Along the way, he mentally reminded himself to be quiet. He would let Halia sleep tonight and explain the situation to her tomorrow.

But, just as he opened the door to his suite, he heard a light thump coming from inside.

"Gently," he heard Halia say.

He then heard some huffing and puffing, followed by the groan of a man.

Jackson slowly closed the door with curiosity in his eyes. Why was there a man in their suite? What was Halia doing with this man?

A moment later, he heard Halia say, "Stop resisting."

And a man responded with muffled m.o.a.ns. 

Jackson's eyes fired up as some indecent thoughts came to mind. Women these days were obsessed with Korean men because of all the dramas they watched. Did his wife find herself a Korean 'oppa' while he was gone?!

He quickly rushed inside and yelled, "What's going on in here?!"

As soon as they heard Jackson's voice, Halia, Sean, and Natalie jumped in fright and looked at him in surprise. Natalie was seated in an armchair, while Sean and Halia were holding down something. As Halia stepped away and smiled, Jackson saw a strange man tied up to a chair with tape across his mouth.

"Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm..." the man m.o.a.ned.