Chapter 126
Chapter 126
It’s Him
“…Hah, that crazy bastard.”
A grating sound came from Yu Yeon-seo’s jaw as he ground his teeth. Sensing something was wrong, Yu Eun-ho and Baek Seo-jun drew closer.
“What is it?”
Yu Yeon-seo wordlessly passed the letter over. After reading its contents, Yu Eun-ho’s expression also turned icy. Baek Seo-jun flinched. They had been friends since high school, but he had never seen such a look on Yu Eun-ho’s face.
“Young Master, may I read it?”
And so, it was passed to Im Seung-hyeon and Baek Seo-jun.
To my beloved son, Yeon-seo.
The letter began with these words, going on at length about how proud and admirable his recent television appearances were, and how much the writer loved him. It was signed, ‘Your Father.’
Anyone else would have thought it was just a father showing his immense love for his son. After all, Yu Geon-min was famous for doting on his children.
But judging by the brothers’ reactions, this was no surprise from Yu Geon-min.
Taking the letter back, Yu Yeon-seo crumpled it in his fist. This wasn’t Yu Geon-min’s handwriting. Besides, his father was the type to boast to the whole world about how much money he spent on his sons. A chaebol who solved everything with money, Yu Geon-min wasn’t romantic enough to quietly deliver a letter to the agency.
“It’s him.”
He could never forget that sinister voice that had called him ‘son.’ There was no concrete evidence yet, but Yu Yeon-seo had a strong feeling that the person who wrote the letter was the stalker who had disguised himself as a bodyguard.
“Huh, isn’t this guy a total psycho?”
Baek Seo-jun let out a dry laugh. Connecting the writer of this letter to Lee Hui-seo’s killer was still just a hunch, but the mere fact that someone who wasn’t his real father had sent such a letter was creepy enough.
“Tae-gyeom, when did you receive this?”
A strange bond had formed between Im Seung-hyeon and Lee Tae-gyeom after Yu Yeon-seo’s trip to the emergency room. Lee Tae-gyeom rolled his eyes, trying to recall.
“I’m not sure exactly when. I was saving them up to give to you all at once. It was after the midpoint of ‘The Imperial Seal’… so maybe less than a month ago?”
Unsure of what exactly they were doing, Lee Tae-gyeom spoke hesitantly. Still, it was a good thing I brought it, right?
“Let’s head to the agency first.”
“Right now? But they don’t just let anyone see the CCTV footage, do they?”
Yu Yeon-seo’s gaze turned to Baek Seo-jun.
“Officer.”
Were you a police officer? Lee Tae-gyeom quietly wondered. But Baek Seo-jun didn’t answer.
“You have time, right?”
He’d have to make time. He could almost feel a murderous intent in that gaze. Baek Seo-jun silently grabbed his coat. Now that they’d found something suspicious, an investigation was necessary… It wasn’t because he was intimidated by the glare. Really.
When they arrived at the agency building, the building manager was just preparing to leave for the day.
“You want to see the CCTV footage?”
His departure delayed, the manager saw Baek Seo-jun’s police ID and led them to the CCTV room. The room was small, so only Baek Seo-jun went inside while the others waited outside.
“How long does this building store the footage?”
“Uh… I believe it’s deleted after about fifteen days.”
“Is that so?”
Baek Seo-jun turned his head to look at the group standing by the entrance. Lee Tae-gyeom, who was on his phone, spoke up.
“I just checked with a staff member. They said they started receiving fan mail from the end of the month before last.”
“That’s cutting it close...”
Not knowing the date or time the person might have come, Baek Seo-jun copied all the remaining CCTV footage onto an external hard drive he got from Im Seung-hyeon.
“By the way, why are you looking at the CCTV? Did something happen?”
“Ah… because of the people out front. There have been a lot of them lately, right?”
“Ugh, it’s been such a pain.”
The manager frowned. He said that ever since The Imperial Seal became a huge hit, the number of people visiting the agency had grown just as much as the ratings.
At first, they just loitered around the entrance like usual, boosting sales for nearby businesses, but gradually they started coming past the entrance to bluntly ask where Yu Yeon-seo was. The manager slapped his chest in frustration, saying it was impossible to reason with those people.
“Do that many people come?”
“Yes. This building doesn’t even have a security gate, so if the wrong person gets in and causes trouble, I’m the one who gets into a difficult position.”
And he would be the one to suffer the consequences. He added that some had even pretended to be employees and snuck into unrelated offices.
Baek Seo-jun, who knew nothing of a celebrity’s life, clicked his tongue. Yu Eun-ho, who was eavesdropping from the entrance, felt the same. The truth was, Yu Yeon-seo’s case was unusual for an actor.
“Ah, but I’m not blaming him. How can you stop people who just show up? I enjoyed the drama too.”
The manager glanced at Yu Yeon-seo, who was standing by the entrance with his arms crossed. Yu Yeon-seo was staring at the live CCTV feed with an icy gaze. As if he were glaring at the culprit on the other side of the screen.
“Did you happen to see anyone suspicious?”
“How would I know that...? So many people come in and out of here.”
“Thank you. We’ll leave as soon as this is done copying.”
With the police officer promising to lock up, the manager left without any further suspicion.
“Anyway, it’s going to take a while to go through all this, isn’t it?”
“Perfect. I was planning on taking a break anyway. Give it to me.”
After all, Yu Yeon-seo was the only one who knew the man’s face. However, the video quality was poor, so it was unclear if he would be able to identify him. The person might not even be the bodyguard he encountered that day. It could just be a somewhat suspicious fan…
‘No, there’s something more to this.’
Yu Yeon-seo suppressed the strangely escalating emotion. Was this a sensation felt by the original Yu Yeon-seo? In any case, it was a feeling he couldn’t ignore.
After copying all the footage, they headed to the parking garage and ran into CEO Han and Manager Park, who were just leaving the building.
“Oh?”
“You two haven’t left yet?”
“We were about to grab a drink nearby… But, who is this…?”
CEO Han looked up at Yu Eun-ho as if gazing at something marvelous. Then he glanced back and forth between him and Yu Yeon-seo, who stood beside him with his arms crossed, watching.
“Hello. I’m Yeon-seo’s older brother.”
“Wow...”
If Yu Eun-ho, resembling Lee Hui-seo and Yu Geon-min in equal measure, had a more robust look, Yu Yeon-seo took after Lee Hui-seo more strongly. They resembled each other yet had different charms. This family’s genes are amazing. Their parents must be so full they don’t even need to eat. Ah, but their parents are probably already full. Since they’re chaebols… Letting his thoughts run wild, CEO Han spoke as if possessed.
“By any chance, have you ever considered acting?”
Yu Yeon-seo scowled. Now able to sense what kind of fit he was about to throw even with his eyes closed, CEO Han waved his hands dismissively.
“Oh my, no, no. My apologies, that was rude of me… How about a variety show? The two brothers could go on an overseas trip or camping or something...”
“CEO Han, stop with the nonsense and get going, will you?”
Yu Yeon-seo’s voice was ominous. CEO Han, who had been rambling as if possessed, whispered to Lee Tae-gyeom.
“What’s with him?”
“You shouldn’t mess with him right now.”
“Is it acting up again?”
“CEO… just go.”
Lee Tae-gyeom swallowed hard. He was the one who had seen Yu Yeon-seo’s face up close as he read the letter. The atmosphere had shifted from surprise to disgust, then to murderous intent, sending a chill down his spine.
Yu Yeon-seo walked past CEO Han and Manager Park toward the car. CEO Han hurriedly shouted.
“Wait! Yeon-seo, are you really taking a break?”
“Yeah.”
“But why?! You’re shaking the entire nation right now...!”
CEO Han, you’ve been reading too many of those sensationalist articles. Yu Yeon-seo sighed and nodded at Lee Tae-gyeom. Taking it as a sign that if he didn’t clear them away, he’d be cleared away himself, Lee Tae-gyeom dragged CEO Han and Manager Park outside.
Even as he was being dragged away, CEO Han bellowed for him to reconsider. He was about to reveal Yu Yeon-seo’s presence to everyone.
“He’s an interesting guy.”
“...Let’s go.”
Yu Eun-ho watched CEO Han yelling, “Please, just one photoshoot!” until the end before getting into the car at his brother’s urging. Yu Yeon-seo gazed out the window, lost in thought.
‘Why did he draw so much attention?’
It was as if he was desperate to be noticed by me.
‘And why now?’
Yu Eun-ho glanced at his pensive brother before focusing on the road.
“Is it bad enough that you have to take a break from work?”
Having planned to review the man’s features with Memory Replay once he got home, Yu Yeon-seo turned to face his brother, who was standing in front of his door.
“What is?”
“...That.”
He stared blankly at Yu Eun-ho, who couldn’t bring himself to name his brother’s condition. I’m the one suffering from it, so why does he have that strange look on his face… In the past, he wouldn’t have understood, but now, he thought he could faintly grasp it.
“No, not really...”
He couldn’t bring himself to tell the worried man, ‘Yeah, it’s gotten a little worse. It popped up while I was acting and caused a few NGs,‘ so he trailed off vaguely.
He had only mentioned it in the first place to put Park Geum-ju in his debt and get her help. And he was satisfied with the assistant she had assigned him, Park Jeong-ho, who was doing an excellent job.
But he hadn’t expected his brother to overhear. It would have been better if he hadn’t found out.
‘I haven’t done anything wrong, yet I feel guilty.’
Thinking of Park Geum-ju made his chest ache. It was similar to the feeling of blaming himself for Lee Hui-seo’s accident. Ignoring his brother, who was still standing guard at the door, he flopped onto the bed.
“Then keep working.”
“I have to catch the culprit.”
“You have me and Seo-jun.”
“You guys are busy too.”
“Yeon-seo.”
Realizing he wasn’t getting through, Yu Eun-ho sighed. He scratched his eyebrow, wondering how to phrase it. It seemed to be a habit of his when he was troubled.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you this popular.”
“I was always popular.”
“That’s not what I mean… I mean in a positive way.”
Before the car accident, everyone had cursed and mocked Yu Yeon-seo. He had fans back then, too, but it was during a time when his public perception was quite poor. He had been vaguely aware of the negative public opinion about his brother but had done nothing, a fact that remained a burden on his conscience.
But things were different now. Sometimes, when he met up with Baek Seo-jun, he would hear Yu Yeon-seo’s name from the next table. In a good way. Even among his subordinates, it wasn’t uncommon to hear positive comments from those who claimed to be fans of his brother.
“There are things you can only do at a time like this.”
“...”
“Don’t let the opportunity pass you by.”
You can just make opportunities… Yu Yeon-seo was about to retort but held his tongue. The opportunity Yu Eun-ho was talking about wasn’t about making more of the money they already had in abundance; it meant something deeper. An opportunity as an actor, or the time to enjoy his golden age.
“Just act like you normally do. There are plenty of people who can investigate for you.”
If Yu Eun-ho and Baek Seo-jun were busy, there was still Im Seung-hyeon and Park Jeong-ho. Besides, hadn’t Lee Tae-gyeom unexpectedly found a lead?
“And if you suddenly start acting out of character, they might get suspicious. You have to be careful.”
He wasn’t talking about the person who directly did the killing, but the one who ordered it. This was someone meticulous enough to stage a suicide in a high-security mansion. They surely wouldn’t be letting their guard down.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Okay. Get some sleep.”
Seeing his brother’s subtly changed reaction, Yu Eun-ho was convinced his words had gotten through. He gently closed the door.
‘First… I need to find the person who wrote that letter.’
Yu Yeon-seo shot up and locked his door.
“Beta.”
<Yes, Master. Initiating Memory Replay.>