Chapter 113
Chapter 113
We Have to Catch Them
‘Why did he call me son?’
He couldn’t forget the sinister and unsettling voice from the memory synchronization.
‘He could be delusional. If so, he might be one of the stalkers Ryu Hye-gyeong mentioned…’
Stalking someone was a crazy thing to do in the first place. It wouldn’t be surprising if delusions were added to the mix. If that person had been following Lee Hui-seo and gradually lost his mind, and so came to truly believe Yu Yeon-seo was his son…
‘Creepy bastard.’
To think a shadow had obscured his face at that very moment. But now that he had the ability to replay memories, if he kept watching it, he should be able to see the face clearly…
As if reading his thoughts, Beta spoke firmly.
<You cannot.>
‘…I know.’
I’ll do it as soon as my body recovers. He heard Beta’s warning, but Yu Yeon-seo ignored it, staring into the air.
“A stalker… Do you have anyone in mind?”
“First, tell us what you’ve investigated.”
“You two really are brothers.”
They were exactly the same, never showing their hand first. Not just in looks, but in personality too. Baek Seo-jun sighed, looking back and forth between the two brothers.
Well, what’s new. Yu Yeon-seo shrugged.
“We looked into the investigation records from back then.”
“What, you guys did everything without me?”
“For the record, I told him to tell you sooner.”
“Did you?”
Both their gazes turned to Yu Eun-ho. Under the silent pressure, Yu Eun-ho raised his hands in surrender. For two people who had just met, Yu Yeon-seo and Baek Seo-jun got along surprisingly well.
“Anyway, part of the investigation records has disappeared.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So cleanly, it’s as if someone deliberately erased it.”
Someone who could erase investigation records… that meant… One of Yu Yeon-seo’s eyebrows twitched. Suspicion began to bloom. Baek Seo-jun confirmed his thoughts.
“Besides, for someone to murder a person in a mansion with security second only to the presidential residence and then escape… it’s highly likely there was an accomplice on the inside.”
“Right, I hadn’t thought of that.”
Yu Yeon-seo muttered to himself. If Baek Seo-jun was right, it meant the accomplice was likely among their close family or relatives. He felt the strength drain from his body. Right, why hadn’t he thought of that?
“Do you have anything you’ve investigated?”
“First, I looked into our grand-uncle’s side, but it’s clean. Nothing suspicious.”
Grand-uncle… Yu Yeon-seo pictured the Juseong Group’s family tree. It was a possibility, but according to Yu Eun-ho, that wasn’t it.
Just in case, Baek Seo-jun spoke cautiously.
“Um… It wouldn’t be Vice Chairman Choi, would it? She was close to the deceased, and I heard she was close with your aunts, too.”
“I doubt it.”
Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo answered at the same time. They didn’t want to believe that the sincerity Choi Yu-jin had shown them was a lie. And they guessed it was unlikely.
At their firm denial, Baek Seo-jun scratched the back of his head. There was no angle to pursue. It wasn’t like any data remained…
“Then tell us about the stalker.”
“I was in a project with one of my mother’s old colleagues.”
He briefly explained what had happened with Ryu Hye-gyeong. Baek Seo-jun and Yu Eun-ho listened with serious expressions. Coincidentally, Yu Yeon-seo was investigating the murderer himself, while the other two were looking into the accomplice. It all fit together perfectly.
“First off, whether he came in disguised as a guard or filled in for someone, I’m guessing they would have run a background check, right?”
“Right. They wouldn’t have let just anyone in. You said back then that you saw an uncle you’d never seen before, didn’t you?”
Moreover, the young Yu Yeon-seo had remembered the faces and names of all the staff at the time. The staff knew this, so it would have been difficult to get into the mansion in the first place. Or he had brazenly taken someone’s place, or bribed one of the guards.
“If you remembered that, why didn’t you believe me?”
“Hey, Eun-ho. You were in the wrong. You’d better grovel.”
At the slightly resentful comment, Yu Eun-ho lowered his head, and Baek Seo-jun, having found an opening, chuckled.
“To do that, we first need a list of the staff from that time…”
“But, if you see him, are you sure you can say, ‘That’s the one’? You have to think carefully. A photo can look different from the real person, and the shock could have muddled your memory.”
At Baek Seo-jun’s question, Yu Yeon-seo smirked. He had the ability to replay memories.
“I could never forget.”
“…”
“Never.”
Yu Eun-ho and Baek Seo-jun fell silent at the reply, which was laden with meaning. After that, no one spoke.
After a short silence, Baek Seo-jun scratched his head vigorously, as if to lighten the mood.
“…Anyway, how do we get a list of the people who worked there back then? Hey, Yu Eun-ho. Any ideas?”
“Well… I’ve been investigating on my own, but I haven’t made any progress.”
“Right, you have to be careful with your approach.”
If they investigated recklessly and word got back to the culprit, they might destroy the evidence. After a moment of thought, Yu Yeon-seo lifted his head.
“I think I can do something about that.”
“How?”
He turned his head to look at his brother.
“Where’s Grandmother?”
In Gyeongju, a city where digging anywhere was said to unearth cultural artifacts, Park Geum-ju held a grand ceremony to commemorate the completion of the Juseong Museum of Art, which was soon to open.
“We are ever so grateful for your contribution to the development of our country’s culture.”
“It was nothing.”
“Haha! Director Park, you know that too much modesty isn’t good, right? While cultural infrastructure is concentrated in Seoul, to have such a large museum here… The public will love it.”
“Too much praise isn’t good either.”
Figures from the political and business worlds rushed over to celebrate the museum’s opening and pay their respects to Park Geum-ju. Park Geum-ju greeted them with a smile and proceeded with events like a private collection auction.
As the event passed its halfway point, the entrance grew noisy.
“Oh my.”
“Good heavens…”
Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo, dressed neatly, were walking straight toward Park Geum-ju.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We heard the rest of the family was too busy to come. We figured we should at least grace the event with our presence.”
Yu Yeon-seo smiled brightly and placed a bouquet of flowers in Park Geum-ju’s hands. Small gasps and murmurs could be heard from the surrounding crowd.
“Director Park, you must be so happy. To have such grown-up grandsons come all this way thinking of their grandmother.”
“I know, right? It’s not easy coming all the way from Seoul. They’re so thoughtful.”
“They’re so handsome… and good-looking too.”
Park Geum-ju barely heard their compliments. She quickly scanned Yu Yeon-seo’s complexion. He seemed to have lost some weight. His color didn’t look good either… and Yu Eun-ho’s restless behavior behind him was also concerning.
“Um… I heard you were hospitalized. Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, I was just a little tired.”
The two brothers smiled and nodded at the people who came to greet them. Meanwhile, Yu Yeon-seo whispered in Park Geum-ju’s ear.
“Should we talk in detail after this is over?”
“…Alright.”
Park Geum-ju reluctantly nodded.
After all the events had concluded, only the three of them remained in the vast hall.
“Brother, could you step outside for a moment?”
“I’ll go too.”
“We have something serious to discuss, just the two of us.”
Seeing his grave expression, Yu Eun-ho nodded and turned away. Yu Yeon-seo slowly approached Park Geum-ju, who stood in the center of the hall.
“There’s nothing here.”
“Well… it’s just the beginning.”
“When does it open?”
Park Geum-ju answered in a small voice. Yu Yeon-seo glanced around and spoke casually.
“You feel sorry for me, don’t you?”
“That’s…”
“I know.”
Yu Yeon-seo dragged a nearby chair with a scrape and sat down in front of Park Geum-ju.
“That you had a hard time too, Grandmother.”
He had heard from Yu Eun-ho that his grandmother had lost her beloved daughter-in-law and, unable to bear the surrounding criticism, had fallen into a deep depression. She had spent a long time abroad focusing on treatment. It was unfortunate, but the scars Park Geum-ju had left on him were eternal in his memory.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Park Geum-ju said, squeezing her eyes shut as if forcing the words out. Yu Yeon-seo smiled faintly.
“If you’re sorry, could you help me with something?”
“What do you need?”
To Park Geum-ju’s eyes, that smile was deeply unsettling.
The aftereffects of pushing the synchronization to its limits still lingered in his body, even after more than a week. Feeling weary, Yu Yeon-seo spoke languidly.
“I need to borrow some of your people.”
“People?”
“Specifically, I need people who know the events of May 12, 1999, well.”
“That’s…”
That was the day Lee Hui-seo had died. Park Geum-ju’s hands trembled. A sense of foreboding washed over her.
“Why… do you need them?”
“Just, please grant me this one request.”
“Yeon-seo.”
Park Geum-ju pleaded. It had taken her a great deal of time to escape the events related to Lee Hui-seo. She was afraid her grandson would follow the same path.
“It’s not good to be tied down by the past.”
“The past? Grandmother, this is my reality.”
“But!”
“Please keep it a secret that I’ve regained my memories.”
He drew a clear line, indicating he didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Park Geum-ju’s lips trembled as she spoke in an unsteady voice. She had to confirm this with her own grandson.
“…Let me ask you one thing. Back then, you said something about how you saw your mother, didn’t you? What on earth… did you mean by that?”
“Ah, you’re curious about that? My dear grandmother is in for quite a shock.”
If she was curious, he ought to satisfy her. He stood up and brushed off his shoulders. An inexplicable anger surged within him. Ah, so this is why the past Yu Yeon-seo had suddenly flown off the handle and made a scene. Seeing something like that all the time would make anyone irritable.
“I can still see her. Above you, Grandmother.”
“What?”
“Beneath a white skirt, two pale, lifeless legs…”
“Yeon-seo.”
“Dangling in midair… Funny, isn’t it? That something from 22 years ago is still visible to me.”
Yu Yeon-seo continued, his voice laced with a laugh as if he found it absurd. But his gaze remained fixed upward.
‘If that’s the case… surely not.’
Her dreaded thought was true. Goosebumps erupted all over Park Geum-ju’s body.
“You should have gone to the hospital instead of… bottling it up. I, I’ll introduce you to a good doctor.”
“The hospital, right, the hospital… I hated that.”
Staring at the apparition wasn’t good for him either, so he tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. His eyes instantly became bloodshot as heat rushed to them. It felt like tears were about to fall.
“I was the one going crazy, but everyone blamed my mother. A person who had already died so tragically.”
“Yeon-seo.”
“Grandmother, do you know what’s really amusing?”
Yu Yeon-seo whipped his head around to stare at his grandmother. To Park Geum-ju, the gleaming madness in her grandson’s eyes was terrifying. He took a deep breath and tapped his ear.
“Now, my mother even talks to me.”
“Stop…”
“Yeon-seo, my son. Because of you…”
“That’s enough.”
“I died because of you.”
“Stop!”
Yu Yeon-seo grinned, mimicking Lee Hui-seo’s voice. He didn’t know why, but he just started laughing.
At the sight, Park Geum-ju finally spun around and lowered her head. Seeing her back, he laughed out loud. He couldn’t stop laughing.
“You may go now.”
“Running away again?”
“…The people, I’ll send them by tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Park Geum-ju’s voice was trembling, but Yu Yeon-seo turned without a second thought and left.
From behind a pillar near the entrance, Yu Eun-ho emerged. Yu Yeon-seo flinched for a moment but then spoke curtly, as if nothing had happened.
“What, you didn’t leave?”
“…Let’s go.”
Yu Eun-ho said nothing more and opened the exit door.
On the drive from Gyeongju to Seoul, Yu Eun-ho, who was at the wheel, spoke cautiously to his younger brother sitting blankly in the passenger seat.
“Do you… still see her?”
Yu Yeon-seo, who had been leaning against the window, turned his head and stared blankly at his brother. His face, which usually revealed little of his thoughts, looked quite broken.
“Yeah.”
At the dry response, Yu Eun-ho gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“…We have to catch them.”
His emotions were a rollercoaster, and he had to swallow blood to endure what he saw before him, but at least he wasn’t alone. After watching him for a long while, Yu Yeon-seo turned to look ahead. And he answered softly.
“Yeah, let’s catch them.”
With our own hands.