Two Faces (2)
The task of chasing the kidnappers would have been better suited to Deputy Kim Chul-joong, but the thing I was about to do had to be done by me personally. Capturing the kidnappers, upholding social justice, and satisfying Deputy Kim Chul-joong’s sense of righteousness were all well and good. But wasn’t my ultimate goal in getting involved in this case something else entirely?
I needed to bring Chief of the Chairman’s Secretariat Han Seung-woo over to my side. To do that, I had to shake his emotions at just the right moment—before the case was resolved. If he simply found out that his daughter had been perfectly safe at her piano lesson and that I had rescued her out of nowhere, he would feel nothing. Even if he later heard the full story, it would only register in his head. His heart would never be moved enough to lend his strength to my future path.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to call Chief Han Seung-woo myself and tell him his daughter had been kidnapped. To him, I had to remain an apostle of justice, and the channel through which he learned of his daughter’s crisis had to feel natural. The perfect person for that job was right nearby.
I stepped out of the car and looked up at the sign for Beatrice Music Academy. Wasn’t it the most natural thing in the world for an academy instructor to call a parent and report that their child hadn’t shown up? Listening to the clumsy piano notes—several pieces overlapping into something that sounded more like noise—I climbed the stairs and entered the academy.
As expected of a place entrusted with the daughter of someone like Han Seung-woo, the academy was fairly large. A front desk and a staff member were both present. The female employee rose from her chair, clearly surprised by the sudden appearance of an adult male, and asked with a hint of wariness, “How can I help you?”
I hadn’t come here expecting a warm welcome, so this level of tension wasn’t bad at all.
“I have a question regarding a student named Han A-young who studies here.”
“Han… A-young? One moment, please. She does seem to be one of our students—let me check.”
“Go ahead.”
Tap-tap-tap. The employee typed on the front desk computer, then shot to her feet again.
“Yes, student Han A-young is registered with us. What seems to be the matter?”
“I’d like to speak directly with the instructor who teaches Han A-young. Would that be possible?”
“She’s in the middle of a lesson right now. I can leave her a message, though. Our academy policy is that instructors don’t check their phones during class, so it might take her some time to see it. Is that all right?”
I hoped it wouldn’t take too long. Since she wasn’t actually teaching anyone at the moment, she’d probably check soon enough.
“That’s fine.”
“May I tell her who’s looking for her?”
“Just say it’s someone from the QS Group who works with Han A-young’s father.”
“Understood.”
As I expected, the instructor in charge of Han A-young appeared at the front desk before three-minute curry could even finish heating. She stood before me and asked, “You were looking for me?”
“Yes. My name is Kwon Ho-gyun of the QS Group. Did Han A-young attend her lesson as usual today?”
The female instructor glanced at me sideways, a puzzled expression crossing her face. She must have seen my photo in the news at least once. Then she folded her arms with an air of importance and replied, “I’ve been worried about A-young myself, so when I heard someone had come about her, I came right out. She needs to master one piece by today if she’s going to enter next month’s competition preliminaries, but yesterday she was whining that she didn’t want to practice, and now she hasn’t shown up. Do you know anything?”
“Have you tried calling Han A-young?”
“Of course I have. Her phone’s turned off. This must be Murphy’s Law or something—when I called the shuttle driver too, he didn’t pick up either.”
“What about her parents?”
The instructor avoided my gaze as if she’d been scolded and pursed her lips. “Not yet.”
I deliberately chased after her evasive eyes and continued, “Then please call them right now. And when you do, don’t mention anything I’ve said separately. Just tell them exactly what you told me—that Han A-young hasn’t come to the academy, and that neither A-young nor the shuttle driver is answering their phones.”
“Do we really have to mention the shuttle driver? Parents tend to react very sensitively when that comes up.”
“No. You need to mention that too.”
The instructor let out a reluctant sigh, then finally took out her phone and made the call. When no one answered on the other end, she hung up and tried again.
“Yes, hello. This is Beatrice Music Academy. Are you Han A-young’s father? Her mother seemed busy, so I called this number instead. She hasn’t arrived even though class time has passed.”
Perfect. The message had gone straight to Han Seung-woo without going through his wife. The instructor continued, relaying the part about the shuttle driver exactly as I’d requested, then ended the call. After a brief greeting and a promise to explain in more detail later, I left the academy and returned to my car.
I had deliberately left my phone in the car, and it now showed three missed calls from Deputy Kim Chul-joong, who was surely still chasing the culprit.
* * *
Face Maker, the mastermind of this incident, moved to the front passenger seat at Lee Do-hwang’s signal.
“What is it? Is there a problem?”
Lee Do-hwang gestured with his eyes toward the left side mirror. “We’re almost at the drop-off point you mentioned, but that white Carnival behind us keeps following us. What should we do? Should we stick to the plan?”
“Ugh.” Face Maker let out a groan. She had been so focused on A-young that she hadn’t noticed what was happening outside.
“No. Let’s shake them off first and then decide.”
“I don’t know. Earlier it looked like they were ignoring traffic lights to chase us. Do you really think we can lose them?”
“I don’t know how they found us, but if we get caught like this, both you and I will be in serious trouble. Shake them off no matter what.”
Lee Do-hwang glanced sideways at Face Maker’s face, clicked his tongue, and answered, “Ha… Tsk. Fine. I’ll try. But for someone who calls herself a crime expert, your expression hasn’t changed at all even in this situation.”
Face Maker didn’t reply. She lowered her head and fell into thought. Just as she had proudly introduced herself to Lee Do-hwang, she was indeed a professional criminal. She had already committed two kidnapping-murders without getting caught and had pocketed a hefty amount of cash. But money was like a bottomless pit—the more she spent, the more she needed. So she had attempted a third kidnapping using the same method. She had been confident she wouldn’t get caught this time either.
Face Maker placed a hand on the face she had been told showed no change in expression. Until just moments ago, everything had seemed to be going smoothly. The kidnapping of the target child had succeeded exactly as planned. All that remained was to receive the ransom and eliminate the child, and everything would be perfect. But what was that car suddenly tailing them? Now that she thought about it, she might have seen it loitering near the school earlier.
Face Maker—who had no way of knowing that someone had returned from the future after learning of her crimes—found her mind tangled with countless hypotheses. Though it didn’t show on her face, sweat poured down her hands, feet, and armpits like a waterfall at the thought that she might actually get caught this time.
Just then, Lee Do-hwang pressed her with another question. “Face Maker, if this fails, what happens to the three hundred million won I was supposed to receive?”
Face Maker faltered for a moment. “What? That’s obviously…”
Obviously she couldn’t pay it. Even if she wanted to, if she didn’t receive the money from Chief Han Seung-woo, she wouldn’t have three hundred million won to give.
“Obviously what? Speak clearly. Are you going to pay or not? If you’re not going to pay, I might as well stop the car right here and try to get a reduced sentence.”
This was why the more accomplices there were, the lower the chance of success. They weren’t bound by any strong loyalty, so the moment even a sliver of risk appeared regarding their share, they immediately threatened to blow everything up from the inside.
Face Maker was being driven into a corner with only one option left.
“If you can’t shake that car, at least buy me as much time as possible. I’ll get the money from Han Seung-woo in the meantime.”
She already had everything she needed. A-young, safely buckled in the back seat and asleep. Han Seung-woo’s phone number, memorized. A burner phone that couldn’t be traced and whose user couldn’t be identified.
* * *
— Team Leader, why aren’t you answering your phone?
Deputy Kim Chul-joong’s grumbling voice came through the phone I had just called back.
“I was taking care of something I mentioned earlier. It’s been handled, so don’t worry. Where are you right now?”
Deputy Kim Chul-joong gave his approximate location and added that the culprits seemed to have noticed they were being followed and were driving in circles. Thanks to that, I was able to head straight to his location without having to speed excessively.
— By the way, Team Leader.
“Yes, Deputy.”
— I’m confident I won’t lose them, and since you’re a lawyer, I haven’t done it yet, but… shouldn’t we report this to the police now?
He was right. I had been thinking the same thing. I didn’t distrust Deputy Kim Chul-joong, but if we came this far only to lose the culprits, it would be a disaster. Not only would Han A-young’s life be in danger, but I might also earn the eternal grudge of Mr. Bloodbath Han Seung-woo for failing to protect his daughter. Then, instead of receiving help on my path to becoming the head of the QS Group, I would… just thinking about it was terrifying.
“Yes. Hang up for a moment. I’ll report it to the police. Just give me the license plate number of the car you’re driving.”
— My plate is 02 4887. I’ll keep chasing them as hard as I can.
After that, I immediately called 112, reported the kidnapping, and provided the approximate location and Kim Chul-joong’s license plate number. The police, who had initially suspected a prank call, immediately took me seriously once I introduced myself as the head of the QS Group’s Audit Team and the representative lawyer of Law Firm Seungbaek.
As Deputy Kim Chul-joong had been confident, he wouldn’t lose the culprits. I would soon catch up in my high-powered, fully fueled car. And the police would form a net around them. The kidnappers were already trapped in a flawless web.
My body was busy pressing the accelerator and turning the wheel, but my mind had grown considerably lighter—until my phone rang first. The caller wasn’t Deputy Kim Chul-joong. It was Han Seung-woo.