Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Do You Really Think So?
The day after Chairman Yu tested Lee Tae-gyeom and spoke with Im Seung-hyeon, Yu Eun-ho personally visited the hospital where Yu Yeon-seo had been admitted.
“To be frank, Young Master Yeon-seo’s condition is... unusual, so it’s difficult to say anything definitive.”
News of his visit was enough to bring the hospital director. The professor who had been Yu Yeon-seo’s attending physician and a professor of psychiatry were also present, answering Yu Eun-ho’s questions.
“With that level of memory loss, it wouldn’t have been surprising to find severe brain damage, but fortunately, there were no abnormalities in that regard. Nor was his memory impaired in any way.”
For someone who had been on the brink of death and miraculously survived, it was a relatively small price to pay.
“On the other hand, his personality was calm... Usually, patients become confused and anxious when they can’t remember anything. They might even create false memories out of agitation. Has the Young Master done anything like that?”
“No.”
If he had fabricated memories, there was no way Yu Eun-ho wouldn’t have noticed.
“I see... We recommended hypnosis or drug-induced counseling to help recover his memories, but he refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. How is he now?”
“He’s fine. He’s gradually recalling old memories.”
“That’s a relief. Sometimes, memories don’t return for a long time...”
Yu Eun-ho glanced at his watch. His next appointment was approaching.
“I hope I haven’t come here for nothing.”
“Not at all. It was a pleasure to see you, Senior Managing Director.”
As he stood up abruptly, the hospital director and the professors followed suit.
“Please give our regards to the Chairman.”
“I will.”
After leaving the hospital, Yu Eun-ho didn’t return to the company but headed elsewhere.
He sat in a cafe on the second floor, waiting for someone. A few people recognized him and took pictures, but Yu Eun-ho, accustomed to it, simply sipped his coffee.
“Yu Eun-ho. Still as popular as ever.”
“Baek Seo-jun. It’s been a while.”
He gave a small smile to the person who had plopped down across from him. The man called Baek Seo-jun folded his arms and looked at Yu Eun-ho with disapproval.
“What brings a busy man like you all the way out here?”
“I wanted to see you.”
“You? Bullshit.”
Baek Seo-jun was Yu Eun-ho’s high school classmate. Since their high school was one attended by the children of the elite, Baek Seo-jun also came from a long line of police officers.
He was smart, too, never placing lower than second in the entire school. First place, of course, was always Yu Eun-ho. After trying all sorts of things to beat him and fueling a fierce rivalry, they somehow became close and had kept in touch ever since.
“Your language has gotten rougher since I last saw you. Is work tough?”
“A wet-behind-the-ears kid shows up as a lieutenant, and turns out he’s the son of the next police commissioner. How do you think that goes?”
Baek Seo-jun tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling as he spoke. Yu Eun-ho took a sip of his coffee without a word.
“I’m losing my mind between the ass-kissers and the psychos green with envy. They only shut up when I get tough. Hey, Senior Managing Director, you don’t have to deal with that?”
Setting down his cup, Yu Eun-ho said.
“I don’t.”
“You ass.”
Yu Eun-ho let out a small laugh. Who would dare say anything to him? He was the eldest grandson, openly favored and supported by Chairman Yu. Called a genius since childhood, he never slacked off, earning the trust of everyone at the company.
“So, why did you call me here?”
“I have something to ask you.”
“You came all this way just to ask something? You could’ve just called.”
Yu Eun-ho ignored Baek Seo-jun’s grumbling and got straight to the point. The way he got prickly when he was happy reminded him of his younger brother, which was why they were such close friends.
“It’s about our mother’s suicide case.”
“...Lee Hui-seo?”
Yu Eun-ho stared into Baek Seo-jun’s eyes without a word. Baek Seo-jun backed down under his blank gaze and corrected himself.
“Ms. Lee Hui-seo, right. Why bring her up?”
“A reinvestigation, is it possible? Just you.”
“What?”
Baek Seo-jun, who had been leaning back comfortably, lurched forward. The Yu Eun-ho he knew wasn’t someone who would say such a thing without a reason.
“A case that’s already been closed as a suicide? It’s been over ten years.”
“My brother...”
Baek Seo-jun looked at Yu Eun-ho, who was bringing up his brother again, with a weary expression. It wasn’t the first or second time he had heard him praise his brother with such a serious face and calm tone. And from what he knew, the brother wasn’t much to brag about...
“He once asked me if I really thought our mother committed suicide.”
“You’re asking for a reinvestigation based on the words of your train wreck of a brother?”
“Yes.”
Baek Seo-jun let out a hollow laugh as he watched Yu Eun-ho nod with a serious face. He decided to play along with his friend for now.
Baek Seo-jun leaned forward as if sharing a great secret and whispered to Yu Eun-ho.
“Well... if we assume it wasn’t a suicide, then someone must have killed her and staged it to look like one.”
“That’s right.”
“How old were you then? Tell me what you remember from the time of the incident.”
Yu Eun-ho folded his arms and fixed his gaze on an unfamiliar plant behind Baek Seo-jun.
“Eleven. I don’t remember it clearly, but there was some kind of celebration, so all our family and relatives had gathered at the house. Even the young cousins.”
“Sounds like a holiday gathering. And then?”
“Everyone was in the main house where my grandfather was. Our family used the annex. We were all gathered and talking, and then my mother... she left for some reason.”
Yu Eun-ho furrowed his brow for a moment, as if he couldn’t quite remember.
“Even a genius like you can’t remember something?”
“My memory of that time is hazy.”
Yu Eun-ho was only eleven at the time. It was impossible for him not to have been traumatized. Baek Seo-jun rested his folded arms on the table.
“I heard Juseong’s security team is second only to the Blue House in terms of how intense they are, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Since the entire family was gathered at Chairman Yu’s residence, there must have been more security personnel than usual.”
Yu Eun-ho nodded.
“To get past that security, stage the suicide of Juseong’s daughter-in-law, and leave no trace? The most likely hypothesis is that the culprit, or at least an accomplice, is one of your family members...”
Baek Seo-jun trailed off and shut his mouth. Yu Eun-ho also remained silent.
The loud cafe music and the people whispering and taking pictures of Yu Eun-ho weren’t distracting at all. Their attention was focused elsewhere.
“...Do you really think so?”
“...Yes.”
Yu Eun-ho replied as if sighing. Baek Seo-jun was now certain that Yu Eun-ho had already suspected all of this and had come to him.
“This doesn’t make sense... This means suspecting your entire family. In other words, making enemies of your whole family. And all because of...”
All because his brother said one thing? He couldn’t understand it. The Yu Yeon-seo he knew was someone who flaunted his wealth on social media, used his power to treat celebrities like a hobby, and abused his authority whenever he was bored.
And what was he like among the upper class? The same. A hell-mouthed, good-for-nothing brat. That was Yu Yeon-seo.
Who would believe someone with a reputation like that? But even if Baek Seo-jun didn’t trust Yu Yeon-seo, he trusted Yu Eun-ho.
“My brother isn’t someone who would say something like that without a reason.”
“You believe that crazy bastard?”
“A crazy bastard, yes.”
Yu Eun-ho stared blankly at his cold coffee.
[Do you really think Mom committed suicide?]
What did I say back then...? Yu Eun-ho’s expression turned pained.
[Yeon-seo, it’s over. The police investigated the case multiple times.]
[Hyung, listen to me. Back then...]
[Stop talking nonsense. Just forget about Mom now.]
His brother would have fits whenever he thought of their mother, so he had thought it was best not to mention her at all.
“There must have been a reason for his madness...”
He had realized it too late. Now, it was his turn to believe.
Yu Eun-ho glanced at his watch. Despite the important task of uncovering the truth about his mother’s death, he had to return to the company.
“Can you do it?”
“...Since you’re asking, I’ll think about it seriously. But I have my own work to do, so I can only investigate a little in my spare time.”
Baek Seo-jun let out a deep sigh. Yu Eun-ho’s suspicion was, frankly, absurd.
The police had already conducted several thorough investigations at the time. Digging up a closed case would require considerable resolve from Baek Seo-jun as well.
‘This sly fox...’
That was probably why Yu Eun-ho had sought him out. He was the son of the next police commissioner, after all. In any case, since his best friend was asking like this, he would listen, but he planned to just play along for a bit and then back out.
“Seo-jun. No one can find out.”
“...I know.”
This was a case where someone had boldly entered Chairman Yu’s inner sanctum and murdered his daughter-in-law. If it really wasn’t a suicide, the culprit, accomplices, and helpers were likely a significant part of Juseong, making them formidable opponents.
“Eun-ho. But don’t you think your grandfather would have had the same suspicions?”
“He must have.”
“And yet he’s done nothing all this time?”
“Because it’s family.”
To be precise, not family, but bloodline. To Chairman Yu, his maddened second grandson was more important than the deceased Lee Hui-seo.
“It’s my grandfather’s only weakness.”
That was why Yu Eun-ho’s attitude had been strange. But that didn’t mean he was careless.
Yu Yeon-seo was the first to notice the subtle change in him, and because of Yu Yeon-seo’s suspicions, Yu Geon-min and Choi Yu-jin also had a vague inkling.
However, the other relatives didn’t notice anything odd about Yu Eun-ho’s behavior. Not even his grandfather and grandmother.
Unaware of this, Yu Yeon-seo was looking over the scripts and synopses Lee Tae-gyeom had brought, choosing his next project.
“...How is it?”
“It’s decent.”
“Really?”
Yu Yeon-seo waved the script in his hand.
“Only this one.”
“Ah...”
Lee Tae-gyeom’s head drooped. He had ambitiously selected the best ones, and they were all rejected?
“You need to develop a better eye.”
“Hey, I’m not you, you know?”
“Of course you can’t be me. Go train some more.”
So high and mighty. Lee Tae-gyeom grumbled, leaning back in his chair.
“But this is unexpected. You chose that one?”
The script in Yu Yeon-seo’s hand was titled ‘People Who Lack - Season 2 -’.
“Why, is there a problem? If it’s already been greenlit for a second season, doesn’t that mean it’s popular?”
“It is popular, yes. The original is a famous webtoon. I really enjoyed it too, but...”
“Oh? Then why?”
“The original fanbase is rock-solid. They’re so intense that there were problems right from the casting stage. Season 1 seemed well-made to me, but the fans complained to the production company that it didn’t live up to their expectations, and in the end, both the writer and director left. For Season 2, the original author is participating as the writer, and the director is changing too. There’s going to be a ton of interference.”
“Why would I care about that?”
“Right... what would you know.”
What would the original madman who drives both fans and haters crazy know about it? Lee Tae-gyeom sighed.
“I thought you chose it because the original is famous, but I can’t believe you didn’t even know it... So why did you pick it?”
“Because I like that the role I’ll be playing is a madman.”
It takes a madman to know a madman, is that it? Lee Tae-gyeom stared at Yu Yeon-seo with a dumbfounded expression. Of course, the moment their eyes met, he changed his expression as if nothing had happened.
‘People Who Lack’ was a story about people who had something taken from them one by one by an unidentified organization. The protagonist was a man who had his death taken away, and it was a supernatural battle story about his quest to reclaim what was lost.
The role offered to Yu Yeon-seo was ‘Lee Tae-o’, a man driven mad after being deprived of sleep.
‘Lee Tae-o went mad because he was deprived of sleep, and I went mad seeing visions of my dead mother.’
The two were somewhat similar. Yu Yeon-seo suddenly burst out laughing. He didn’t care that Lee Tae-gyeom was giving him a strange look.