I Won't Bend This Time (1)
"No, what are you talking about? You want me to find your father? Did Cheol-min run away from home or something?" Choi Ki-hyun was startled, grabbing his grandson Choi Jeong-gi by both shoulders and shaking him.
"A-a-a-a-h..." However, Jeong-gi couldn't even answer, only shaking his head.
"What on earth is going on! So, did Cheol-min just disappear into thin air?" Once again, Jeong-gi only nodded with great difficulty instead of answering. At that, Choi Ki-hyun felt the blood in his body rushing rapidly. 'Why would Cheol-min suddenly disappear! What the hell does that mean!' No sound came out of his mouth. That was only natural. Even though Choi Ki-hyun had practically severed ties with Choi Cheol-min, Cheol-min was still his son, after all. Though he had certainly done things that nearly ruined the group, that was a long time ago. Because of that, Choi Ki-hyun’s heart ached every time he saw Cheol-min living a life of hardship. Parental affection isn't something that can be cut off so easily. If Cheol-min had tried to steal the group from him or held a knife to his throat, perhaps even this shred of affection wouldn't exist. But Cheol-min hadn't gone that far; he had only engaged in stupid, aggressive factional infighting among his brothers, never abandoning his moral duty toward his father. Because of that, the bond between father and son remained. Summoning all his strength, Choi Ki-hyun shook his grandson's shoulders again.
"When, where, and how did he disappear? Huh? Speak up. Only then can this grandfather help you!" He looked every bit the desperate grandfather. Seeing that, Choi Jeong-gi realized that his grandfather hadn't completely abandoned his father, and he regained some composure as he opened his mouth.
"About a fortnight ago... in Busan... he disappeared..."
"Grandfather!"
"Yoon-gi!"
At his grandfather’s urgent call, Yoon-gi canceled all his schedules and immediately returned to South Korea via private jet. It was fortunate he had been in Vladivostok; if he had been in Chernobyl or somewhere further away, he wouldn't have been able to return this quickly.
"What on earth is going on?" Because Choi Ki-hyun hadn't been able to speak properly, nothing had been conveyed to Yoon-gi over the phone. He had only returned to Korea because of the fact that his grandfather was so flustered he couldn't even speak clearly. By now, nearly half a day had passed, and Choi Ki-hyun had barely managed to regain his senses.
'Even Jeong-gi?' Yoon-gi didn't dislike Jeong-gi, but he didn't exactly like him either. Because every time he saw Jeong-gi, he was reminded of his father, Choi Cheol-min, and his mother, Park Gyeong-ja. To be more precise, he didn't want to see Jeong-gi because of Park Gyeong-ja. He could somehow find a way to forgive Choi Cheol-min if he rationalized it enough, but he had no intention of forgiving Park Gyeong-ja.
"Yoon-gi... Cheol-min has gone missing..."
"Pardon? Missing?"
To be honest, Yoon-gi was genuinely taken aback. Regardless of the reason, he had allowed them to follow YK construction sites and make a living by running hambajips (field cafeterias). But missing? If it had been running away from home, he would have understood, but the explicit word "missing" left even Yoon-gi with a puzzled expression.
"They say Cheol-min was helping out at the Busan construction site until a fortnight ago. But he said he was going to the supermarket to buy alcohol, and he never returned home. At first, the second daughter-in-law... she didn't pay much mind to it, thinking, 'Is the father of my children finally drinking a lot outside for once?' but he didn't return even after several days had passed..."
Based on what he had heard so far, it was definitely a disappearance.
"So the second daughter-in-law went to the supermarket to check, and they confirmed he did buy alcohol and left. Buying alcohol at the supermarket means he intended to drink at home, right? But he never returned home..."
Choi Ki-hyun couldn't finish his sentence. Moisture welled up in his eyes. Even though he was a reckless son, the thought of what might have happened to him made Choi Ki-hyun’s throat tighten, and words wouldn't come out.
"Jeong-gi, you tell me in detail. What happened a fortnight ago, and what has happened since?"
At Yoon-gi’s words, Jeong-gi stood before his cousin, unlike when he stood before his grandfather, and explained the situation clearly despite his tears. Right now, the only people he could lean on were his grandfather and his cousin Yoon-gi. Having already vented his emotional sorrow in front of his grandfather, he was able to speak more clearly to Yoon-gi.
"Yes... A fortnight ago, Dad said he wanted to drink a bottle of soju with the squid stir-fry Mom made, so he said he was going to the supermarket. When I said I'd go instead, he told me to just study hard. So I was studying, but no matter how long I waited, Dad didn't come back..."
Tears began to well up in Jeong-gi’s eyes again.
"So I tried to go out and look for him, but Mom laughed and said, 'His old habit has kicked in again,' so I thought that was it and just went to sleep. But Dad didn't come back the next day, or the day after that, so Mom reported it to the police."
"What did the police say?"
"They said adult men often run away from home, and that they'd let us know if they found him..." Jeong-gi wiped his tears with his sleeve.
"Did you talk to the company?"
Tears flowed from between Jeong-gi’s sleeves. "That is... because you hate our family so much, we couldn't make a request to the company..."
Seeing Jeong-gi’s tears, Yoon-gi felt a bitterness in his chest. 'Of course, they couldn't even tell the police that they were the second son of the YK Group...'
In reality, the politicians who were connected to Yoon-gi and Choi Ki-hyun didn't pay any attention to Choi Cheol-min. Why would they bother with someone who had no investment value? If anything, seeing Choi Cheol-min being treated with extreme neglect, they had abandoned the very thought of approaching him. Choi Cheol-min and Park Gyeong-ja must have realized the reality while living in this harsh world, so they likely hid the fact that they were the second son and daughter-in-law of the YK Group. That was why they hadn't received help from the police or YK employees until now.
'Honestly, if it were Park Gyeong-ja who went missing, I wouldn't want to find her...'
Yoon-gi felt his grandfather looking at him with desperate eyes, and he made up his mind.
"Don't worry. I will definitely find your father."
Jeong-gi’s face brightened just a little.
"R-really?"
"Yes. No matter how badly your father treated me, it's not enough to ignore him in a situation like this. I will find him no matter what. Even if I have to cancel all my schedules for the time being."
"Cousin..."
Jeong-gi looked at Yoon-gi with eyes full of genuine emotion. And Choi Ki-hyun looked at Yoon-gi with even more moved eyes. 'In reality, he wouldn't want to find him, but he's suppressing his own feelings for my sake...' Choi Ki-hyun desperately tried to hold back the moisture welling up in his eyes.
"Grandfather, first, please set up a meeting with the JSD. And have my uncles mobilize all available YK personnel to find my second uncle. I will use my own intelligence network to find him somehow."
Yoon-gi was giving orders to his grandfather. However, Choi Ki-hyun didn't feel offended at all; rather, he realized a fact he had been missing.
"Oh, right...!"
The JSD and the ANSP, which were second to none in terms of intelligence in Korea. He felt a sense of self-reproach for not having thought of this sooner.
"I'll be going now. If it's been a fortnight since he went missing, we have no time."
"Ah... do that. I will go see the JSD right now! Jeong-gi, you go home and reassure your mother. You're the only one who can comfort her right now."
"Yes, yes...!"
Choi Jeong-gi ran out to the entrance in a hurry, and Yoon-gi also left the entrance and immediately boarded his limousine.
"Please take me to the YK Hotel."
The limousine headed toward the YK Hotel with a roar, and at the same time, Yoon-gi called for Choi Deok-bae.
'Grandfather.'
'Ah, damn it...'
As Yoon-gi made a face full of genuine annoyance, Choi Deok-bae quickly cleared his throat. 'I'm trying to find him because Grandfather is sad.' Yoon-gi went straight to the point. 'What do you mean "anyway"? Grandfather can move to the immediate vicinity. Please confirm where my second uncle is.'
'...'
Choi Deok-bae, who had genuinely forgotten, quickly disappeared for fear of being nagged by Yoon-gi. And five minutes later, Choi Deok-bae reappeared and spoke to Yoon-gi with a puzzled expression.
'Pardon? A welfare center? Are you talking about one of those places that rehabilitate vagrants? Did he get drunk and wander around, only to be mistaken for a vagrant?'
It was a reasonable assumption on Yoon-gi’s part, but Choi Deok-bae shook his head.
'Any other details?'
Yoon-gi immediately gave Choi Deok-bae the optimal instruction. 'Please gather more information from the Manse Welfare Center side. If there is even the slightest chance that my second uncle’s life is in danger, notify me as the top priority.'
Since the situation might be more serious than he thought, Choi Deok-bae stopped joking and disappeared quickly. 'A welfare center that kidnaps people and beats them? What on earth is going on...' Yoon-gi sensed that something serious was happening.
"Pardon? What did you say? The second son is missing?"
The JSD, who was in his office, was so shocked that he jumped up from his seat. Who was Choi Ki-hyun? The person the JSD respected more than anyone else in the world. And the second son of such a person had gone missing. As far as the JSD understood, Choi Ki-hyun treated his second son as a lost cause, but seeing him come here and tear up, it was clear that there was indeed parental love. Therefore, the JSD judged that he had to find Choi Ki-hyun’s son as quickly as possible.
"I will mobilize all ANSP personnel right now to find the second son. No, not just the ANSP, I will also mobilize police personnel. You said the region was Busan, so I will mobilize not just Busan, but police forces across the Gyeongnam region, including Ulsan and Pohang."
"Thank you. Thank you... It was worth coming to see the Chief of Security."
"Worth it? This is something I should naturally do for you! I will use every means possible to find him as quickly as possible! Please do not worry, Chairman!"
The JSD was now speaking as if he were Choi Ki-hyun’s subordinate rather than his equal, and in reality, the JSD’s capabilities were truly outstanding. In just one day, he had caught the scent of where Choi Cheol-min had gone missing. Of course, he hadn't pinpointed the Manse Welfare Center yet. However, through the narrowing dragnet, the officials at the Manse Welfare Center realized that something big was happening to them.
"Damn it, are you crazy? That bastard is the second son of the YK Group Chairman?"
Baek Seo-hong, the director of the Manse Welfare Center, looked at the deputy director, Go Yu-seung, with a bewildered expression.
"Yes, you heard it then too, Director. When that bastard said he was the second son of the YK Group Chairman."
"F***, who would believe that!"
The Manse Welfare Center was a place that kidnapped passersby to use as slave labor, engaged in human trafficking, and sold the corpses of those who died to nearby medical schools for dissection practice. As such, there were people who were brought here who would insist they were close acquaintances or family of some politician, but naturally, those were all lies. Therefore, Baek Seo-hong had dismissed Choi Cheol-min’s words as lies as well, and had locked him in the basement to torture him, claiming he would "help him come to his senses."
"What should we do, Director? Should we let him go now?"
At the words of deputy director Go Yu-seung, Baek Seo-hong roared.
"Are you crazy? Let him go? Kill him and dispose of him quietly so no one knows!"
Baek Seo-hong had judged that silencing the witness was the best course of action. No, he had already decided it.