The Contract (1)

Three days had already passed since my mother disappeared.

I waited one day more, just in case, and in the end, the moment dawn broke, I went to the police.

"A missing person?"

"Yes. She suddenly stopped answering, and she hasn't come home…."

The officer tapped at the keyboard and asked in a flat, indifferent voice.

"Anyone she sees often? Somewhere she might have gone? Relatives, maybe."

"That's…."

I couldn't give him a real answer.

…Did Mom even have anyone she was close to?

The truth was, I knew nothing. Not who she spent her time with, not where she usually went.

"You don't know?"

"…No."

The officer taking the report told me they'd look into it, and that I should wait at home.

"People reported missing turn up out of nowhere all the time. The report's filed, so if we find her, we'll let you know right away."

"…Yes. Please. I'm counting on you."

In the end I had no choice but to go home with nothing to show for it.

…Where on earth did she go….

I was sitting in that strangely hollow house, waiting with nothing to do but hope for word of her, when a call came the next day from a number I didn't know.

"!"

Thinking it might be the police, I snatched the phone up—

"……Where?"

The following day I stood in the heart of Seoul, staring up at a skyscraper.

Set into the sleek exterior, the logo TI caught my eye. It was the headquarters of Titan International, the famous conglomerate—and the company Ban Soyoung belonged to, now that she worked as a hero.

This is the right place… right?

The sheer wall of towers left me oddly cowed. I took out my phone and checked the message again. No mistake. This was the building.

I swallowed hard, started toward the lobby doors, and thought back to the call that had landed on me out of nowhere the day before.

At first I assumed it was a scam, the usual voice-phishing garbage. Except that, for a phishing call, it was strangely thin. They tossed me the headquarters address and told me to come. That was all.

With nowhere else to turn, I had no choice but to come up to Seoul.

Even so, I couldn't begin to guess what my mother had to do with a place like this.

…I'll just walk in and see.

The moment I stepped into the lobby, people were passing through the gates under tight security. A little tense in the unfamiliar scene, I checked the message one more time and carefully approached the reception desk.

"Um…."

"How can I help you?"

Once I gave my name, it wasn't long before a staff member appeared to collect me.

"Kim Daehyun?"

"Ah, yes."

"I'll show you the way. Right this way."

I followed her straight through the gate and into an elevator. We arrived at a room on a very high floor.

The Honorary Advisor's Office?

The ornate plate beside the door caught my eye.

Knock, knock.

"Mr. Kim Daehyun is here."

"Mm. Come in."

The door opened on the voice from inside, and a woman seated on a wide sofa lifted her head.

Black hair pinned up neatly with a decorative hairpin. An elegant face, striking in the eyes and brows. And a dress of frankly sensual cut that didn't match that elegance at all—the sort of outfit that looked as if the slightest shift would bare her underwear.

"You came."

The moment she saw me she smiled, as if she'd been waiting, and indicated the sofa opposite.

"Sit. You must be tired, coming all this way."

"……."

I gave a small bow and took the seat she indicated. That was when I noticed the clear platform slippers hooked over the end of her crossed legs. A vivid pedicure gleamed on her bare toes under the lights.

Late twenties, maybe. An unusual taste for the age.

A glance to the side showed the neatly dressed woman who had opened the door still standing there in silence. Across from me, the woman looked my face over at her leisure, adjusted her posture, and smiled with open satisfaction.

"You grew up well. The face isn't bad either. Tall, too…. I like it."

From the very first line she was appraising me outright, and I couldn't help frowning. I didn't know why, but she spoke as if she knew me.

"…Do you know me?"

"Of course. How could I not know you? You're a man I picked out myself."

"……?"

When my eyes went wary at that deeply suspicious remark, she laughed as if it amused her.

"I'm not going to eat you, so unclench."

"……."

"First, shall we have some tea?"

A moment later the woman who seemed to be her secretary set a teacup down in front of me. The woman who had introduced herself as Kwon Jeonghee idly swirled a glass of liquor over ice.

One thing she'd said while introducing herself snagged in my mind.

This woman is the owner of this place?

Kwon Jeonghee had explained, briefly, that she was the owner here. By here, she almost certainly meant TI. And looking at the way she carried herself, she did seem like someone who mattered a great deal in this company.

What is she, exactly?

Watching the secretary who had stepped aside, I carefully opened the subject with Kwon Jeonghee as she sipped her drink.

"…Excuse me."

"Hm?"

"I was told you had something to say about my mother. …Do you know something?"

"Ah. Right. As it happens, we're looking for your mom too."

"Looking for her…?"

Kwon Jeonghee gave a small flick of her hand toward the waiting staff member, and the woman set a file folder down in front of me.

"Read it."

"……."

I glanced at Kwon Jeonghee as she urged me on, then carefully looked into the documents. Between the dense lines of text I saw the name Titan International.

A contract?

And beside it—unexpectedly, my mother's name.

…Mom?

The terms were simple, and I couldn't make sense of them. I frowned—and before long I checked the date of the contract, and my eyes went wide.

About thirteen years ago. Around the time I was about to enter elementary school.

…Wait. Now that I think about it….

I suddenly remembered that our household had changed drastically around then. My mother, always hunting for work, had at some point stopped working altogether. We had shuffled from one dingy single room to the next, and then, somewhere along the way, we were living only in proper houses. No one in the family was earning anything, and yet we had never particularly gone without.

Until just recently I had vaguely assumed my father was helping us in secret…. But in fact, it had already been a long time since we'd lost contact with him.

Don't tell me….

I stopped reading and lifted my head.

"What is this, exactly?"

Kwon Jeonghee leaned deep into the back of the sofa and tipped her glass, perfectly at ease.

"It's what it says. We sponsored you."

"No, I mean…. Why?"

"I told you, didn't I? I picked you."

"……."

"Read it to the end. Then you'll understand."

At her meaningful tone I narrowed my eyes and read on down the contract. No matter how many times I went over it, it was wrong. By any ordinary measure, TI had no reason to hand us that kind of money. There wasn't even a clause saying we would repay it, or provide something in return—

…Huh?

That was when I found the short clause written on the final page.

I read the sentence over and over. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more I turned it over, the more something unpleasant welled up from deep in my chest.

As it happened, my mother had vanished immediately after I became an adult. As if she had finished everything she was meant to do. The nasty thought rising in me left my mouth bone-dry.

I set the papers down and asked carefully.

"…Then are you saying my mother went to my father?"

"That, I wouldn't know."

"What…? What do you…."

"Your dad died."

"!"

For a second I thought I'd misheard.

"…What?"

"How long's it been…."

Kwon Jeonghee swirled her glass, unconcerned. Clink. The ice struck the glass, loud in the quiet.

"About three years, was it?"

Stunned, I couldn't believe her.

"…How am I supposed to believe that?"

"If you're curious, go check yourself. We put him in a columbarium."

"…!"

She said it idly, sipping her drink. TI, in its own way, had kept tracking my father—both to honor the promise, and to raise me in safety.

"But he disappeared not long after the last time he saw you. When we found him later, he was dead side by side with some woman."

It felt like someone had struck me hard across the back of the head. I'd privately thought something must have happened to my father. Hearing that he was actually dead left me feeling strange.

I dragged a palm down my dry face. I was so confused my head felt ready to spin itself apart. Above all, the part about my mother was a profound shock.

Mom abandoned me, and Dad was already dead?

Looking back now, my mother had always been like that. When the season turned she bought pretty clothes, she kept up her skincare without fail, and she spoke as if my father might appear at any moment. The truth was, her first priority had always been my father.

This can't be real….

Beaten hollow, as if I'd taken a thorough thrashing, I stared down at the contract with a blank gaze.

Titan International. The name I had passed over without a thought—the idea that it had been following behind me all this time—sent a chill straight through me.

…No. Get a grip. It's too soon to decide.

Even so I didn't let go of my suspicion, and I shot Kwon Jeonghee a glare.

"…Does my mother know? That my father is dead?"

"Yeah. She showed up on New Year's morning, demanding we keep the promise, no preamble at all."

"…If you already knew about my father, why are you only telling me now?"

Kwon Jeonghee tilted her head slightly.

"And why would we have to tell you?"

"Because—!"

"If we had, your mom would've thrown you away on the spot."

"…?!"

I flared for an instant, but I couldn't find a rebuttal.

If Dad hadn't been there, she would have abandoned me?

My head denied it with everything it had. There was no way. And yet the seed of doubt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had already split open inside me.

I looked straight at her, my fist trembling for want of anyone else to blame.

"…Don't speak so carelessly."

"Well. If that's how you want to see it, then that's how it is."

Kwon Jeonghee shrugged as if it didn't matter to her either way. The attitude—treating someone else's life as nothing—was deeply unpleasant.

"Anyway, we're searching hard for your mom too. It'd be a pain if she went and caused some mess."

"……."

She brought the glass to her lips and gave a small shake of her head.

"Honestly. This is why crazy bitches are no good."

I couldn't stomach the insults piling up, and I shot to my feet.

"…If we're done talking, I'll go. Please contact me when you find my mother."

But.

"Sit. We're not finished."

"…You have more to say?"

Kwon Jeonghee set the empty glass on the table and slid her gaze over to me.

In that moment, the languid look in her eyes flashed sharp.