Chapter 185
Chapter 185
A Change of Pace
(I saw her... her, through the crack in the door.)
(And what did you do?)
(Uh, I put a cloth over her face.)
(Who did?)
(M-Min Seong-cheol.)
The brothers stood side by side in front of the surveillance monitor, silently observing Baek Seo-jun’s interrogation.
“You’re watching from here, so why were you sitting in there?”
“He seemed to lose his resolve when he saw me.”
“Don’t go in there again.”
Yu Yeon-seo didn’t answer, focusing on the screen. Yu Eun-ho hadn’t expected a reply anyway. Baek Seo-jun was reluctant, but they needed to know the full story of the incident.
Yu Yeon-seo, in particular, had carried the weight of this incident for a long time, even though he had a vague idea of the truth. It felt as if learning every detail of how they planned their crime was the only way to be compensated for all that time.
The three men, upon learning that Lee Hui-seo was alone in the annex, immediately stormed her room. And Min Seong-cheol, as he covered Lee Hui-seo’s eyes, reportedly said this.
[Hello, darling?]
Baek Seo-jun’s face contorted into a deep scowl. Disgusting bastard... He quickly regained his composure and continued the questioning.
(Having her vision suddenly blocked and hearing such a creepy thing, she wouldn’t have just stood there. Right?)
(N-no, she didn’t.)
Of course, Lee Hui-seo had resisted. She had screamed and struggled, trying to alert the mansion’s staff. Yang Hong-sik and Park Gyeong-won subdued her, forced her into a chair, and removed the cloth, making her face Min Seong-cheol.
[Don’t hold her too tight. It’ll be a problem if she bruises.]
[You... you’re that stalker...!]
Lee Hui-seo recognized Min Seong-cheol instantly. The stalker who had relentlessly tormented her before her marriage. The man who had smiled shamelessly even when they met at the police station.
The scar on Min Seong-cheol’s ear was from when Lee Hui-seo had fought back. Yet Min Seong-cheol, even as he bled, had twistedly considered the wound she inflicted a proof of love.
[I knew you’d remember me, darling.]
[Is... is anyone there?!]
[Shhh... you should be quiet. This is a touching reunion after so long.]
Min Seong-cheol gently covered Lee Hui-seo’s mouth. But she resisted. She bit his hand and screamed for someone to hear.
(If that continued, you would have risked being discovered. What did you do?)
(He said he saw... saw her son outside.)
(Min Seong-cheol did?)
As Yang Hong-sik gave a small nod, Yu Eun-ho frowned. Did he really threaten her with her son?
(He said if she didn’t stay still, he would take her son first.)
(Take him? Not kill him?)
(That’s... what was a little strange.)
Yang Hong-sik stammered as he recounted Min Seong-cheol’s exact words from that time.
[Be careful. What if something happens to our son?]
[What did you do to my... my son...?]
[I knew it. I should take him and raise him myself. Wouldn’t it be better for him to grow up with his real father?]
[His real father is Geon-min! Not you... you delusional sicko!]
Our son? Real father? He’s completely insane. Baek Seo-jun pressed down on his heavy eyelids.
(He seemed out of his mind. He was talking as if... as if the young masters were his sons and the Vice Chairman had stolen her from him... saying it was time to go back to their real home....)
Lee Hui-seo probably couldn’t think straight either. She had built a proper family and was living happily, only for the man who had tormented her to the point of depression in the past to show up so brazenly.
Moreover, he was now threatening to take her sons, which must have infuriated her.
(You remember it in quite a bit of detail.)
(I can’t... forget it... I really, really didn’t know....)
(Saying you didn’t know isn’t an excuse. If you had any conscience, you would have run out and called for help that day.)
Baek Seo-jun watched the sobbing Yang Hong-sik with a look of pity. He then turned his head toward the surveillance camera. The brothers were probably watching from there.
‘I have a rough idea of what happened.’
Lee Hui-seo must have completely refuted the stalker’s claims. Angered by this, Min Seong-cheol would have harmed her. With two burly men already restraining her, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything.
‘They don’t need to know exactly how she was killed.’
Baek Seo-jun waited patiently until Yang Hong-sik’s sobs subsided. He offered him a glass of water, which Yang Hong-sik drank with trembling hands.
(Alright, let’s assume the incident unfolded as we know. Did you find out the motive of the person who hired you?)
(I-I don’t know that... Min Seong-cheol, he seemed to know something....)
(Even the smallest detail is fine. What happened after the job was done?)
Yang Hong-sik, who was wiping his eyes with a tissue, suddenly lifted his head.
(He came out with some kind of file folder.)
(A file folder?)
The answer Baek Seo-jun was looking for came from Yu Yeon-seo.
“It was my mother’s business proposal.”
“How do you know that?”
“I heard it from Grandmother. When I searched for it, all I found was her diary.”
“......Don’t tell me you went to the annex.”
Yu Eun-ho stared at his younger brother in disbelief. Had he really gone to the very source of his trauma after admitting he still saw visions of their mother?
“Come to think of it, I heard the annex door suddenly opened....”
“Wow, that’s strange. It should have been locked, but it just opened on its own? Was it the wind?”
The gaze from his side felt intense. Suddenly wary of his brother, Yu Yeon-seo quickly added.
“Nothing happened.”
It was a bit of a struggle, but it also became a chance to steady my heart... Yu Yeon-seo gestured toward the screen.
“Let’s finish watching that.”
(Where did you go with it? In any case, since you handled things as planned, you must have gone to get paid.)
(Min Seong-cheol took us. Uh, I don’t know where. He insisted we wear blindfolds during the trip....)
After removing their blindfolds, they found themselves in a warehouse filled with shipping containers. Yang Hong-sik and Park Gyeong-won were startled by the burly men surrounding them.
[You handled the job cleanly. Good work.]
[Th-the money?!]
The agent handed over several stacks of cash and an untraceable bank account. Only then did Yang Hong-sik and Park Gyeong-won relax, hastily grabbing the payment. Min Seong-cheol alone stood with his hands in his pockets, observing them. His eyes looked somewhat empty.
[The item?]
[Wh-what item....]
[I have it, but there’s a condition....]
(Th-that file seemed important. Min Seong-cheol said he would only hand it over if he could see the boss in person.)
(So, did he see him?)
Yang Hong-sik’s lips twitched. Hesitation meant he either couldn’t remember or was calculating what to say to save himself. Judging it to be the latter, Baek Seo-jun shouted.
(I asked if you saw him!)
(I-it was dark, so I couldn’t see well.)
This guy is useless. When Baek Seo-jun openly showed his disappointment, Yang Hong-sik reached out. He had instinctively felt that he wouldn’t get out of this alive unless he gave up some useful information.
(I-it’s one of the family members! I heard them say they needed to finish up quickly and go to the funeral!)
(Do you think we didn’t know that?)
(Gasp, r-really?)
Yang Hong-sik had thrown it out there in a desperate attempt to survive, but it happened to be correct. He was so surprised by Baek Seo-jun’s nonchalant attitude that he covered his own mouth with his hand.
(B-but I can recognize the contact person! R-really! I’ve been in touch with them a few times!)
(Don’t forget you said that.)
(Wh-where are you going?)
(I’ve heard enough. I’ll be back later.)
(Wait! Am I staying here?!)
Baek Seo-jun ignored Yang Hong-sik’s desperate plea and walked out. Left behind, Yang Hong-sik grabbed his head and bowed low.
“You heard what you wanted, right? Go home now.”
Baek Seo-jun entered the room where they were and turned off the surveillance monitor. Yu Eun-ho unfolded his arms and looked at his friend.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I need to check on the contact person first. If they were involved, they’ve either been eliminated or are in a pretty important position by now. Anyway, I’ll take care of this case.”
Whether because they didn’t quite trust him or because they wanted to catch the culprit with their own hands, the two brothers didn’t back down.
“You’re busy anyway, and Yeon-seo, you’re heading abroad soon, aren’t you?”
The film festival campaigns for ‘Filicide’ and ‘Scent of the Wind’ were coming up. They had been preparing for it for a year, so he couldn’t miss it.
Baek Seo-jun observed Yu Yeon-seo’s strange expression and let out a chuckle.
“Thinking of canceling? Don’t. You need to do what you have to do. This is my job.”
“Can you read minds now?”
“I can tell just by looking at your face. You’re just like your brother....”
“What about me?”
Yes, that’s the expression they share. Baek Seo-jun kept making jokes to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
“While you were working at the company, and while you were in the States, who was it that caught those two?”
“You.”
“......It was my brother.”
That’s how they had gotten this far. Without Baek Seo-jun, they would have been bogged down by work and made little progress.
“Leave it to me. Isn’t this why you dragged me into it?”
“......Alright.”
“Let’s end it this year. This, too.”
Baek Seo-jun clapped the brothers on their shoulders encouragingly. He urged the exhausted pair to leave and was left alone with his thoughts.
‘Is it right to keep letting this go on?’
Judging by Yu Yeon-seo’s reaction during Yang Hong-sik’s interrogation, it seemed he shouldn’t be involved any further.
In truth, he had kept it a secret from the two, but a suspicious person had been sighted at the location where Yang Hong-sik and Park Gyeong-won disappeared. The ‘mastermind’ had probably been notified of their disappearance as well.
‘Securing them before the loose ends are cut is the priority.’
After some thought, he picked up his phone. Secretary Park Jeong-ho, the man Yu Yeon-seo had persuaded his grandmother to bring in. In other words, he wasn’t on Yu Yeon-seo’s side, nor was he on Yu Eun-ho’s.
‘Besides, he seems to know the situation well....’
Since Director Park, now aware of the full story, was said to be cooperating actively... After three rings, the other person answered the call.
“Hello, Secretary Park.”
(Yes, Detective. Was there any progress?)
“I have a favor to ask.”
Back home, the two brothers went to their respective rooms without a word. It was their habit to shut themselves in their rooms when their thoughts were tangled.
His body was already in poor condition from reliving his memories, but listening to Yang Hong-sik’s testimony intensified the hallucinations and auditory illusions.
[He said if she didn’t stay still, he would take her son first.]
“Ugh...”
He ran to the bathroom and hunched over the toilet. Having eaten nothing, he dry-heaved until a mixture of stomach acid and blood came up.
‘Ah, how disgusting....’
Not his body, but his mood.
The ‘mastermind’ who made me this way, Min Seong-cheol who is still obsessed, Yang Hong-sik who used ignorance as an excuse and never apologized... His anger swelled until he was panting, and he lost his balance, his body staggering.
He barely managed to avoid falling by bracing himself against the wall, and his eyes landed on the red money gun.
So... what did my past self do with this?
Whenever he felt down like this, he would take it, find a seat in a second-floor café in a busy downtown area, load it with freshly withdrawn cash, and shoot it outside.
People would be bewildered by the falling paper at first, but upon realizing it was cash, they would scramble for it. He used to watch them cheering and even fighting to grab the money, and he would laugh with amusement.
‘......Should I give it a try?’
He needed a change of pace.
Yu Yeon-seo Sprays Cash with Money Gun Near Gangnam During Evening Commute, ‘Chaos Ensues’
Yu Yeon-seo does it again! Casually gets into his car after creating chaos during rush hour
└ I knew it was too quiet lately
└ Yu Yeon-seo being Yu Yeon-seo
└ How much did he spray this time?
└ Dammit, my office is in Gangnam too, why did I have to take the day off today T_T
└ There are so many low-income people who can’t even afford rice, he should just donate it
└└ It’s his money, he can spend it how he wants lol I picked up 50,000 won lol
└└└ Yu Yeon-seo donates a lot too ㅇㅇ
└ I used to curse him out at first too, but well... it’s not a crime, is it?
└└ The people who pick it up could become criminals
└└└ The guy who sprayed it posted that people could take it, so no worries
└ No wonder the traffic was so bad, ffs
└ Ah, I should’ve been there