DFR - 8

Kwon-seok fastened his cufflinks, looking down at the sleeping Cha-eon.

He hadn’t called even once to see what she would do, and indeed, she hadn’t called him.

He hadn’t even imagined that she would meet another guy and ignore his calls.

Even though she said she didn’t want to, she moved her hips so well; she was naturally talented at rotating her waist.

Jeong Cha-eon, who moved her hips back and forth, making her breasts bounce wildly. Was it appropriate for her to be so affectionately close to Lee Do-won? He felt resentful that she’d flirted in front of another guy with that body, so he slapped her butt.

Then, Jeong Cha-eon glared at him, angry, shaking her head, telling him not to. She’d soaked herself in fear, sobbing. She seemed fierce, but she was soft inside, constantly provoking him.

He had taken the wrong path for a long time.

Still, unlike last time, when she was lost in thoughts of her dead sister, she seemed better, as if she had moved on.

Lee Do-won was the only one she opened her heart to, even though she followed him, saying she liked him, never giving him a glance. That subtly bothered him.

He’d feel relieved if he could slit that bastard’s throat in front of her, but he didn’t want to see Jeong Cha-eon crawling back into her hole, consumed by depression, so he held back for now.

Kwon-seok left the sprawled Cha-eon and exited the house. Jong-seop and his men, waiting in front of the door, bowed their heads.

“The eldest brother is looking for you.”

“Is it because he’s old? Our eldest brother has no morning sleep. He’s been bothering people a lot lately.”

“Still, after Jeong Su-ji died, isn’t your only source of joy going to the sauna and eating with the eldest brother?”

“That’s why I’m saying he should put that effort into something productive. I don’t know why he’s finding sentimental hobbies, it doesn’t suit him.”

“How about finding a new woman for the eldest brother? He’s been like this for a year now. He’s not usually like this. Find him a woman with big tits and… something like that…”

“Forget it. I’m just wasting my breath. Let’s go.”

Kwon-seok turned back from entering the open elevator, looking at the tightly closed door.

Even though she was just his person, he was still bothered leaving her behind. Well, she wouldn’t just die alone in a house with walls and a roof.

He wasn’t particularly concerned, but the family history made him worry. Jeong Su-ji said her sister was soft and weak, but that wasn’t entirely true.

Besides, it’s an illusion to think you know everything about someone just because you’ve lived with them your whole life. Humans are beasts whose dark depths can never be fully known.

Most humans, even if they’re taken in and raised, will bite the hand of their owner if they’re slightly displeased. He had gathered his own trustworthy people and kept them by his side. Most of them were guys he had rolled around with from the bottom. Good things are good things.

As he stood quietly looking at the closed door, Jong-seop cautiously interjected.

“If you’re so worried…”

“Mind your own business and do your job properly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kwon-seok finally entered the elevator after a while.

“Did you investigate properly?”

“Yes. They’re the same guys from before. They’re the ones who ran the nightclubs, distributing meth and marijuana with Kim Seok-won. They’re running a sex trafficking operation, and selling off the women who don’t fit the bill. It’s a local business, but they have connections to more places than I thought, and the scale is quite large, so we should take them down sometime, sir.”

“Annoying. Tiresome. Deal with it yourself.”

“Yes, sir. If you’d like, sir, I can go to Jeong Cha-eon and…”

“Shut your mouth and go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kwon-seok climbed into the open back seat and sank into the wide seat.

When he arrived at the parking lot and got out of the open door, Si-baek, who was waiting, bowed his head. He received the file Si-baek handed him.

He had ordered some background checks for various things, and it seemed they had finished the job. When he pointed out one missing piece of information, he admitted his mistake and bowed his head, uncharacteristically.

“What’s wrong with you lately? Are you slacking off because I’m distracted? Are you not focusing?”

“No, sir.”

“Do your job properly. Okay?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

He had sensed something strange lately.

He had known Choi Si-baek for several years, and he couldn’t fail to notice his slightly wavering eyes and the slightly changed atmosphere.

Jeong Cha-eon, who had opened the heart of the great Choi Si-baek, made him chuckle.

He hoped it wasn’t true.

Si-baek knew that his superior was testing him, and he knew that he wasn’t the type to cross that line. He was the type to keep his mouth shut and never say a word about it for the rest of his life.

Some things fade with time, and some things become clearer.

He hoped that she would be the former for Si-baek.

He didn’t want to lose Si-baek over a woman. He would miss Si-baek’s quick and sharp work, but he didn’t want to break the man whose loyalty he knew better than anyone else.

But a warning was necessary.

He thought he would understand by now. Si-baek was the type who understood ten things from one example.

“Choi Si-baek.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Handle it yourself.”

“…Yes, sir.”

It was a strange sentence without a subject or object, but both sides understood.

They both knew that the next time wouldn’t end with a warning.

Cha-eon woke up late and checked the time. Wednesday, 2 PM.

It was fortunate that it was Wednesday, when she had no classes.

Last night, she knew he was carrying her, who was exhausted, but she didn’t open her eyes.

He carried her. Everything, from taking off his shoes to opening the door and laying her on the bed, was comfortable and familiar.

He hadn’t said where they were, but she knew where it was.

The bedroom was filled with the man’s scent. Cha-eon, too weak to even lift a finger, lay there for a long time before finally getting up and heading to the kitchen. Though it was her first time there, she figured there would be water in the kitchen.

On the kitchen table, there was a paper bag. It was the bag Si-baek had left last night during the chaos.

Inside were several sets of new panties and bras, replacing the ones he had torn beyond repair.

Should she run away? But what good would that do? If she could start anew by running away, things wouldn’t have been this difficult in the first place. She wouldn’t have met Kwon-seok, wouldn’t have taken his hand.

Returning to school meant she couldn’t avoid him, and she might never get her degree.

She knew what she was getting into... As the loneliness subsided, fear took over. Could she return to a world without him and start over alone? That was another kind of fear.

The fear she had fought against with Su-ji her entire life.

She never imagined things would turn out like this. What should she do now?

As she held her head in her hands, unable to sort anything out, the phone rang. There was also a missed call.

It was from the real estate agency. Someone wanted to buy the house.

She returned to the neighborhood after a week. The real estate agency, located next to the supermarket at the entrance of the neighborhood, mainly dealt with local thugs running bars or bar girls, a small-time business.

The houses in this area were mostly villas, motels, small country houses, and shops, not a place for big money. Therefore, there were more lease or monthly rental contracts than sales, and even sales were mainly of new buildings.

“Oh, Cha-eon, it’s been a while.”

“Did you show them the house?”

“Yes. They want to sign the contract. Did you receive the deposit?”

“Yes.”

She had left the password, telling them to show the house to anyone who came, and they said a couple of people had seen it. The remaining belongings were all Su-ji’s. She hadn’t been able to sort them out and had left them as they were.

She decided to say hello and sort out the remaining belongings. Once she finished, she planned to add the money to her living expenses and find a new place as soon as possible. By then, she would probably be graduating.

“They want to see the place one more time on the day of the down payment. Is that okay?”

“Of course, it’s fine.”

“But Cha-eon, did you meet your father?”

“My father? What father?”

“Your father, of course.”

The real estate agent smiled and offered her a vitamin drink.

“What was it? Our Director Lee said someone came looking for you. They didn’t say who, but they said he looked just like your father. Isn’t he your father?”

It was the first time she had heard this. Her father came looking for her?

Her father? To her, her father was someone she had never seen. A person erased when her mother was around, and someone whose connection was completely severed after her mother left. The name “father” itself was unfamiliar to her. He had never been by her side since the moment she was born.

Cha-eon dropped the bottled drink.

“Cha-eon, are you okay? It could have shattered. What’s wrong?”

“When... when did he come?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t have met him. It was over a year ago, so you wouldn’t have been in this neighborhood.”

She wasn’t there, but Su-ji was.

If it was over a year ago, did Su-ji meet him before she died?

She had never imagined it. Her father, whom she had never seen.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the man who came looking for her as her father was connected to Su-ji’s death. Some variable that happened to her sister, something that influenced her death.

Her suicide was clear. An autopsy had been conducted, so there was no room for doubt.

Suicide was common among women in this gloomy neighborhood. Coupled with her drunkenness, it was a death that seemed normal on the surface. Even the police didn’t pay much attention to it.

But she always had doubts about the idea that her sister took her own life simply because life was hard. She knew her sister Su-ji better than anyone. She couldn’t just let go of her family’s death with unanswered questions.

It always weighed on her, a lingering guilt. The thought that there might have been injustice in her sister’s death remained like a fragment at the bottom of her heart.

If it was a middle-aged man who came looking for her, claiming her name, there couldn’t be anyone else. The person the real estate agent saw was likely her biological father.

Cha-eon left the real estate agency and went to the main road.

She wanted to find him, but she didn’t know his name, where he lived, or who he was. He might have contacted her mother belatedly and learned about her through her, or he might have known she was here from the start, but she knew nothing about him.

How could she find someone who had abandoned her at birth?

But why now? Why did he come looking for her?

Cha-eon got into a taxi. President Seong would definitely know.

She had to know. If that man was involved in Su-ji’s death, she would find him and strangle him with her own hands. She hadn’t asked to be born, hadn’t begged to be born, yet he had thrown her into the world like a burden and abandoned her like trash.

He wouldn’t have come to see how miserably she and her sister were living in that gutter, so there must have been a reason.

Cha-eon hesitated but eventually called Si-baek. She was mortified and uncomfortable to see his face after what happened last night, and she wondered if she should just run away. She had fought fiercely in her mind dozens of times, but Su-ji was her priority.

The emotional debt she owed Su-ji was heavier than her own shame and humiliation, so she didn’t have time to worry about such things.

When she hesitantly told him she wanted to meet the president, he didn’t even reply, as if he was stunned and speechless.

“It’s about my sister. I know the president had a relationship with her. I have something to ask. That’s all.”

With a sigh, the call ended. Shortly after, a man she had never seen came to pick her up. The place they arrived at was the office she had been to before.

Si-baek was standing there. Their eyes met. She couldn’t bear to hold his gaze and looked away. Even in this chaotic situation, last night’s events came to mind.

Behind Si-baek, a familiar man stood with a battered face. She could see the bandaged back of his hand. He was one of the men who often appeared under Si-baek.

Was this man taking responsibility for what happened yesterday? It was a sudden guess, but she was certain. It was to show her that someone would have to take responsibility if she did anything foolish. He was capable of much worse. This was just a warning. A warning to behave before someone got killed.

That someone might be her.

“Go inside.”

Cha-eon hesitantly entered the door Si-baek opened for her. The spacious office was filled with Kwon-seok’s perfume. The man sitting in the main seat on the sofa had been working and placed the pile of papers he was looking at on the table.

“Weren’t you mad at me?”

He chuckled, touching his neck absentmindedly.

“You turned your back on me all night like you’d never see me again. Why?”

“...I want to meet the president. It’s about my sister.”

The man took a cigarette from the carelessly tossed pack on the table and put it in his mouth. Everything, down to lighting the lighter, was natural. Only she, standing there, felt like an unnatural painting, floating aimlessly.

“Is the chairman someone you can meet just because you want to?”

Unlike her anxious self, he asked leisurely, even coldly.

“...Please, please. I have something I want to ask.”

“What is it that you want to know so much?”

“...I think my sister met my father before she died. I don’t know if the man who came looking for me is my father, but he’s suspicious. My sister’s sudden death also seems to have happened after meeting him.”

He just smoked, looking at her without a word. It seemed she was the only one frustrated by the situation, and her chest tightened. To him, Su-ji was probably just the chairman’s mistress.

The chairman was his superior, whom he revered, but Su-ji was not just a mistress.

“Do you really have to know everything?”

“...Huh?”

“Can’t you even consider that there might have been a good reason?”

“...Did you know about it too, Director?”

There was a moment of silence. Cha-eon’s breath caught in her throat, and her mind went blank.

Thinking about it, it made sense. The chairman, her sister’s lover, must have known what happened to her. And this man, who worked for the chairman, must have known too. Only she, her sister’s family, didn’t know.

“Director... do you know too?”

Cha-eon tried to compose herself, wiping away the tears that were falling. She had even wondered if her sister had committed suicide because of her, because of the burden of taking care of her younger sister. Her sister had struggled her whole life to clothe and feed her. That’s why she wanted to deny it, why she had such painful days.

“My family, my family died. How, how can I just ignore it? How...?”

“It’s more comfortable to ignore it than to know and understand.”

“My sister was my only...”

“Do you think blood makes a difference? Blood means nothing. Those who share it hurt you more.”

He blew out smoke, raising one eyebrow. His calm voice sounded hateful today. She thought it was just something a stranger would say.

“I can’t ignore my sister just for my own comfort. My sister lived her whole life looking out for me. How can I do that? I, I shouldn’t have gone to college. I got carried away because I liked my friends, because I felt like I was from a normal family, like other kids, like a fool...”

Cha-eon finally buried her face in her hands.

Even while attending college, Su-ji worked part-time and studied, struggling every day, but she always came home to sleep and never left that awful house. It was because of her. Because of her younger sister. She worked like a superwoman, preparing for a job until she got into the hotel. She didn’t realize then that it was a desperate struggle to protect her.

“I want to know, Director. I need to know. I want to avenge my sister.”

“What if you dig around based on your assumptions and it’s not true? How will you handle the consequences?”

“Please...”

The man, who didn’t seem willing to tell her, put out his half-finished cigarette in the ashtray. Cha-eon looked at him with desperate eyes.

She might not be able to solve it, but what more could they do than kill her? With Su-ji dead, she couldn’t cower in fear of death.

“Name Kim Ju-seop, age 47, ran an unlicensed illegal entertainment establishment in Garak-dong, has one son, height 175cm, weight 80kg, two divorces, need more?”

“...”

“If you’re so curious, go find him yourself. At least you’ll understand. Geon-ju, give her the address.”

“Is he really... my father?”

He said nothing more.

Having received enough of an answer, Cha-eon left the office without looking back.

He thought she wouldn’t find out if he didn’t tell her. Maybe, as he said, people are infinitely shallow beasts in the face of death. But she didn’t want to avoid her sister’s death out of fear.

“Follow her closely. Our kid might cause trouble again.”

Kwon-seok’s voice faintly echoed through the closing door.

▷

“It’s been a while since the owner changed. Who are you people? You don’t look like cops.”

Before opening hours, the entertainment establishment was quieter than ever. The sticky, humid air made her feel uncomfortable all over. Cha-eon stepped back slightly, watching the suspicious man scanning her body.

“It’s nothing like that. I have something to ask. So, you’re saying the owner changed about two years ago?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“You don’t know where I can find him?”

“I don’t know. How would I know that? But why are you looking for that trash? Do you have money he owes you?”

“Money?”

“He basically went bankrupt and got kicked out. A lot of people are after him. I think he has a record for messing with girls, doesn’t he? I think I heard something like that. I don’t know. You’re not the only one looking for him, so go away. I’m having bad luck before opening, talking about that guy again. Go. Yeah?”

Cha-eon stepped back, avoiding the man gesturing at her, and stood next to Geon-ju, who pulled her shoulder.

Her heart was pounding. She didn’t think he was a good person, but she hoped he wasn’t someone she couldn’t handle. As Kwon-seok said, she hoped she wasn’t stirring up trouble for no reason. Part of her wished it was true.

Not only the entertainment establishment he ran but also his home address was in Garak-dong. It wasn’t far from here, but the car headed somewhere else. It was the school she had been at until yesterday. She wondered why Geon-ju had come all the way here from Garak-dong.

“I... I don’t have any classes today...”

“If we go straight to his house, do you think he’ll meet you? He works as an assistant under Professor Heo Min-guk of the Mathematics Education Department.”

“Who?”

“Your half-brother. Kim Ju-seop has one son.”

Her heart was racing. Her legs were stiff, and her hands were shaking, making it hard to speak.

“I don’t know how many more kids he’s fathered, but he only has one son on the family register. Go ask him.”

They stopped in front of the building where the College of Education was located, passing familiar buildings.

Perhaps it really was better to ignore it than to know and understand.

Cha-eon stood like a ghost in front of Professor Heo Min-guk’s office, which had his name on it.

She never knew her father’s name, having lived her whole life without knowing he existed, and she didn’t realize it would be this terrifying. Every layer she peeled back revealed something new.

After waiting for a while in front of the lab, a man walked towards it.

“I’m here to see the professor’s assistant.”

“Oh, he just stepped out, but he’ll probably be back soon.”

The man who delivered the message went into the next lab. Shortly after, another man approached.

She knew instinctively. It was this man.

“Do you know Kim Ju-seop?”

The instant the name was mentioned, his expression twisted, making Cha-eon feel miserable. She didn’t know what kind of life you have to live for your face to harden at just the mention of someone’s name.

“He’s a stranger, so don’t come looking for me again.”

“...She’s looking for him. She has answers she needs to hear.”

“If you’re not after money he owes, just leave quietly. I don’t have any more money to give, and I’m also someone whose life got messed up because of that bastard.”

She couldn’t ask any more questions. She could tell from the man’s face that he was as sick of this as she was.

“If you want to find him that badly, go to Macau or the Philippines. That’s where he said he was going. And don’t come looking for me again. Oh, and if you find that bastard, tell him never to come looking for me again.”

The man went into the lab. The door closed.

“She needs to find him to ask him anything, but she can’t even find him.”

She felt empty. In the end, all the truth was with the dead person and Kwon-seok, who wouldn’t open his mouth.

She was looking out the window, attached to the window sill until the sun went down, when Geon-ju, who couldn’t wait any longer, came to find her. Come to think of it, he was always with Kwon-seok, but this seemed to be the first time it was just the two of them.

When she thought about it, he was also the man who was there when she first saw Cha Kwon-seok at her studio because of Kim Seok-won. He was also the man who was guarding the car last night when Kwon-seok and she were doing those dirty things and the car was shaking.

Ahem. She cleared her throat, feeling embarrassed. But she had something she wanted to ask.

“Did he leave the country? Is he on the run now?”

“...”

“I don’t know what happened, but my sister is dead, and everyone I go to tells me not to come looking.”

“Life isn’t all a bed of roses like yours.”

“Does she look like she’s living a bed of roses life?”

“Limbs intact, head attached. No scars.”

The man’s eyes quickly went down to her limbs and came back up to her eyes. It was very simple and clear, but she didn’t have any greater luxury than that.

“...I guess so.”

Shamelessly, she was still alive. Breathing, eating, sleeping. Intact.

“There’s no need to feel guilty because it’s better than you trying to get revenge that won’t work.”

The man looked down at her. Black and dark eyes that do rough things without guilt. Compared to that, her light brown eyes were reflected in his pupils.

“Anyway, aren’t you living a good life thanks to our boss? Don’t bother getting your hands bloody and stay quiet like a dead mouse.”

“Are you complaining? You’re young and sassy. Just do good things, only good things.”

It was what Kwon-seok had said to her. Was that “good thing” not getting blood on her hands?

That’s right. A bed of roses life.

“How about it, should we look around more? There are many places to go, but you won’t hear anything good.”

This is a school, but the man who casually takes out a cigarette asks again with a look.

There was nothing she could solve by finding out.

She couldn’t strangle anyone with these hands, slap them, or, as Kwon-seok said, cut off their wrists or ankles. Nothing. Maybe she couldn’t even solve anything, but she, who had begged with tears to know, might have looked immature in his eyes.

But she couldn’t think of anything other than finding out. Right now, her sister’s death was just piercing her heart more deeply.

In the end, Cha-eon covered her eyes with one hand and cried silently. Whether her sister was alive or dead, there was nothing she could do.

Cha-eon was standing in front of Kwon-seok’s office. He already knew she was here, but the man said nothing.

When she opened the door and went inside, Kwon-seok was sitting in his chair, working.

Cha-eon strode towards him, who was looking at her.

He was a man she wanted to be with as much as there were many moments when she was angry and scared.

He knew it. He knew that she inevitably needed him.

He knew that she, who had tasted his favor, had become a fool who couldn’t do anything in a world without him.

And he knew that she would have to reach out to this man again.

She also vaguely guessed that this man was the only person under the sky who could avenge her sister’s resentment. So, she couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t run away. Her sister had prioritized her for over twenty years, so now it was her turn.

“I’m scared of you, Director.”

“...”

“So, I want to run away, but I also want to be with you.”

She knew that she couldn’t move this man unless she was sincere. He was the kind of person who, as far as she knew, quickly and accurately saw through to the essence of things.

“If my sister really died because of that man...”

She swallowed repeatedly at the stinging throat, trying not to cry. Her lower eyes were hot, and her nose was burning. Cha-eon tried to hold back her tears.

“I hope that’s not the case, but if that man was really involved...”

Huff, she needed to take a deep breath. It was a determination not to cry anymore.

“Please kill him.”

He just looked up at her without saying anything.

“You can find him, Director. You can do it.”

He knew. He knew that even if she went looking, she wouldn’t find out anything about Su-ji’s death. He didn’t know the details, but he had a rough guess. That’s why he deliberately gave her information about the man. To give her at least a rough guess.

He had no intention of stopping her from the beginning. He probably knew that she would realize it at some point. She should have just lived without knowing. If she couldn’t solve it anyway, she shouldn’t have hurt her heart.

“You shouldn’t have appeared at all. Just abandon me and live your life like you always did.”

He knew from the start that she could only cry endlessly.

“Please kill him... Director. Gouge his eyes out. So that he can never... see my sister or me again...”

She had asked him to kill her father with his own hands. Though she had never seen him, wasn’t there something called filial duty? Perhaps she couldn’t be forgiven. Even though she had never seen her father’s face, she would still feel guilt for asking someone to kill another. That fact might never change.

He simply watched her cry sorrowfully, saying nothing.

But she knew his answer.

“You cry every time I see you, huh?”

Cha-eon shook her head.

“What kind of brat...”

He stopped talking, letting out a long sigh, adjusting the collar he had loosened and buttoning it up as he stood.

“I’m not good at comforting.”

“Hic, h-I know.”

“If you know, you should stop crying. Why do you keep crying?”

“I don’t want to cry either... it just keeps...”

As she tried to stop crying, her nose stung.

The man’s hand reached for her. Before she could even flinch, her head was pulled in, and her face was buried in his chest.

“If you cry again, I’ll strip you naked and throw you out.”

“Hic, h... Jong-seop is outside...”

“You want to do it in front of Jong-seop?”

“No, that’s not what I meant...”

“Lee Jong-seop is different from Choi Si-baek. He’s the type to openly fondle his dick. Well, that would be fun too, I guess.”

At this point, she couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious.

“You’re not satisfied with just sucking my dick, are you? Jong-seop’s dick is black and dirty, just like him. It must be delicious, right?”

He was the kind of man who might really strip her naked here, open the door, and throw her out if she said it was delicious. He would screw her in front of everyone and make her see things she didn’t want to see, just to see who would fall for it.

“Your dick is black and ugly too, Director. It’s annoyingly big and disgusting...”

“So, you’re the one who said it was delicious, right? Director’s dick is so big and delicious...”

Cha-eon fearlessly covered his mouth with her hand. He just smiled, as if he was going to let it slide today, which made her feel resentful. His laughter tickled her palm. In the end, she punched his chest a few times. It was true that she put a little emotion into it, thinking this was her chance.

Whether he intended it or not, her tears stopped completely. Was this what they called comfort?

She was going crazy. To be comforted in this man’s arms. Crazy things kept happening one after another.

Her life had been messed up from the start. So, even if her life got even more messed up as a price for holding this man’s hand, it wouldn’t be strange.

It felt like he was answering with his big arms.

He would do all the dirty and filthy things she wanted with his own hands.

He might laugh if he heard it, but that’s how Cha-eon felt.

Whether it was by her own will or not, she had to choose him anyway. It was more comfortable to think it was unavoidable. She could rationalize her current situation, where she was drawn to this crazy man and couldn’t leave him, having given him her heart.

“Just a little...”

“What?”

“Just a little... be nice to me.”

“You still expect that?”

“...”

“I can’t do that.”

“I know.”

The man, who couldn’t be nice, held her head with his warm hand.

Cha-eon couldn’t say anything more.

▷

Cha-eon glanced at Si-baek, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

After returning from Tokyo, Si-baek accompanied her on her way home, substituting for Kwon-seok, who was busy with work.

“I’m going to the neighborhood I used to live in. I have to finish packing my things.”

“Bring them out.”

“Oh... no. I’ll sleep there tonight. I have afternoon classes tomorrow anyway.”

Cha-eon, who was sitting in the passenger seat, fidgeted with her hands. She hadn’t been able to think about it because of the situation, but now that she had calmed down, she remembered the uncomfortable incident with Si-baek.

He had seen her shamelessly sucking Kwon-seok’s cock.

Not only that, but she had also made all sorts of dirty noises, licking her tongue, drooling, and even moaning... And she had been shaking her hips wildly, screaming so loudly that the campus could hear her. He was the man who had been guarding her side at close range.

“Haa...”

She glanced at him in the next seat. Si-baek didn’t even acknowledge her, as if he had forgotten everything that had happened that day. Was she the only one who felt uncomfortable? Si-baek was silent.

“Why are you glancing at me like that?”

“I... I’m sorry. About yesterday, I...”

His face, which was slightly smiling, changed subtly. It was a subtle smile, neither mocking nor sneering.

“Why are you so naive, Jeong Cha-eon?”

“Huh?”

“You lived in a red-light district, didn’t you? It seems like your world is just a bed of roses.”

To be precise, it was a motel alley two blocks away from the red-light district, but it was all the same.

She thought there couldn’t be a more filthy place in life, but it was strange that these men felt like she was just a hothouse flower.

She didn’t know the world they lived in, so she couldn’t find anything to refute, and Cha-eon had to bow her head. Certainly, the men were older than her, so she might look young to them. She thought so.

Still, she was relieved that Si-baek didn’t seem any different from usual. It seemed that the shameful behavior she had shown in their world was nothing.

The car turned into a familiar alley, and she saw the hair salon sign, almost a week later. It wasn’t a neighborhood she missed, but she felt a subtle sense of relief because it was a place she had been running around for nearly 20 years.

It was ironic that the place Su-ji and she had struggled so much to leave had become so familiar and comfortable after living there for so long.

The car turned into the alley with the villa, passing through the slightly more chaotic neighborhood than usual. Naturally, her eyes went to see if the lights on the second floor were on. Was Ae-ran home?

Ae-ran, who had quit her job at the massage parlor and started working at a roadside cafe, had changed her work hours. Since she didn’t work nights anymore, the lights were on more often in the evening. She wanted to go and knock on the door, but they had become uncomfortable with each other after that incident, so she couldn’t bring herself to go.

It wasn’t so much discomfort as it was feeling sorry for each other. They felt ashamed and sorry for each other. That’s why they didn’t see each other until the day she left her studio.

Cha-eon got out of the car and went into the villa without even thinking about saying goodbye to Si-baek.

It wasn’t that she was going to shut her mouth and pretend she didn’t know anything. She just thought they needed time to recover from their shattered hearts.

Everyone has times when they want to be alone and think alone.

She had those times too. No, she had been having them until recently. What helped her get through those times were the people around her. Ae-ran might also need someone to reach out to her now. She might be hoping for that...

Cha-eon climbed the stairs with slightly lighter steps. Today, she had the courage to say “I’m sorry” first.

As if someone had been waiting, the door opened as soon as she rang the bell.

“Oh...”

It was a face she had never seen before. A man in a black suit. Two of them, in fact.

“Who are you?”

“Do you know the bitch who lives here?”

“Where did my sister go?”

“Damn it. I want to know more. That brother and sister pair, both of them, damn it.”

“What, what are you talking about? Where is my sister?”

Cha-eon scanned the house behind the man. The belongings were still there.

“Don’t you know where that bitch is?”

“I don’t know.”

“These fucking things, damn it. Ugh!”

Cha-eon instinctively stepped back, watching the man scratch his chin with a knife in his hand. Thud, her chest hit her back. Her head naturally lifted. Si-baek was standing there. Jong-seop was also there, she didn’t know when they arrived.

“Our ugly-faced gentlemen, what brings you here?”

Jong-seop asked, grinning. He was a man who had discarded manners like someone who was born uneducated. She had only seen him briefly from the side, but he was a different type of man than Si-baek. It wouldn’t be surprising if a knife fight broke out at any moment.

“What’s this again? We came because we have money to collect, so if you don’t have anything to do here, just go away quietly.”

“Did our pretty one take out a loan?”

Jong-seop asked her, half-jokingly. Only then did he realize this was the second floor, and Jong-seop nodded lightly as if he understood.

“Go. What are you doing at someone else’s house? You’re confusing those slow-witted guys.”

Jong-seop smiled and faced the men blocking the door.

“If you want to keep your mouths shut and go back safely, you better behave. Just because it’s torn doesn’t mean you can play as you please. Then go and get the money you’re owed.”

He seemed to be talking kindly, but suddenly he became rough. The last words were directed at the men who had taken over the house.

“Those bastards. What is this?”

Although they muttered, the men couldn’t approach Jong-seop anymore.

Cha-eon followed Jong-seop and Si-baek down the stairs. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Ae-ran had been caught by those men. It seemed like Ae-ran’s brother had taken out another loan and caused trouble, but where had Ae-ran gone? Cha-eon took out her cell phone and called the hair salon.

A familiar voice answered the phone. It was Hee-a.

“Hee-a, have you seen Ae-ran?”

• Hey, you crazy bitch. You only call after a long time to ask about Ae-ran? You left without a word, that’s disappointing. You should at least say hello, you! But why Ae-ran. It’s been quite a while since Ae-ran was seen. About two weeks? Fifteen days? You used to be stuck together all the time, why now?

Two weeks. It meant that Ae-ran had already been missing before she left for school, or rather, long before that, from the time she was wondering whether to go visit her.

• But the neighborhood was a bit noisy after you left. Some crazy bastards came looking for Ae-ran, causing a ruckus all over the neighborhood, saying she took out a loan or something. Don’t worry. She wasn’t caught, that’s why they were making such a fuss. Oh, I have a customer. I’m hanging up?

Clutching the phone that had been disconnected, Cha-eon found the two men standing and looking at her. Their expressions were rather unpleasant.

“Let’s hurry up and take care of what we need to do.”

Jong-seop’s urging was unusual.

“Where to?”

“What do you mean where to? Are you going to spend the night here?”

“This is my house, though?”

“That’s none of my business. I have orders from the boss to pick you up and take you home safely.”

Only then did she realize. The “home” Jong-seop was talking about wasn’t her studio.

Cha-eon was sitting in the back seat, restless. Si-baek was driving silently, and Jong-seop was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at his phone. She felt like this was the most uncomfortable and uneasy place in the world.

“I...”

Jong-seop’s eyes, looking at her through the rearview mirror, were scary. She swallowed hard.

“What.”

“...No.”

The car slowed down and headed towards Kwon-seok’s house.

Cha-eon, who had been looking out the car window without a place to rest her eyes, took out her buzzing cell phone.

It was an unknown number. It wasn’t Kwon-seok, since it wasn’t the phone he gave her.

“Hello, hello...”

• Shut up and just listen. Who do you think I’m with right now? Hey, you, speak up, damn it.

Thud, the sound of beating could be heard over the phone. Cha-eon gripped the phone with trembling hands.

Ugh, ugh. The person who was groaning and calling out a name was Do-won. Do-won’s voice.

“Seon...!”

• Damn it, I said just listen. I’m at your studio right now, so if you don’t want this bastard to die, come alone.

Her eyes automatically darted to the two men in the front seats. Suspicious gazes were watching her through the rearview mirror.

“I... I left something at my studio. I think I should get off here.”

They clearly didn’t believe her crazy story.

“Who is it? Who’s telling you to come out now? Alone?”

Cha-eon couldn’t answer, her mouth just hung open. How did they know? After a long, dumb silence, Jong-seop scoffed.

The car didn’t stop, still heading straight down the road.

“Is your studio where they told you to go?”

“I think Do-won got caught. I have to go save him now.”

“What the hell have you been doing to attract so many bugs? Huh?”

Jong-seop was indifferent, as if it were nothing.

“I don’t know who they are either. I think it might be the people who came looking for me because of Kim Seok-won last time. I have to go. Jong-seop. Director.”

“Our job is to deliver you safely, we don’t care if that guy dies.”

Jong-seop remained cynical.

Late at night, the car turned left onto a deserted road, heading in the opposite direction from the school.

“Please. I have to go...”

“Damn it, what’s that?”

A strange car coming from the opposite direction changed lanes and started driving toward them.

It was a fast car, accurate as if it was targeting them.

He swerved the steering wheel to avoid the oncoming car. The car crashed into the guardrail at high speed. With a thud! Everything went black. Before Cha-eon could even touch her throbbing head from the impact, she sensed a tense silence in the front seats.

The blood flowing from her forehead suggested a serious injury, but fortunately, both men were conscious.

Just as she was relieved, thinking it was a stroke of luck in a misfortune, she felt footsteps approaching.

A man approached the crumpled car, broke the driver’s side window, reached inside, unlocked the door, and stabbed Si-baek in the chest.

With a stab, Si-baek instinctively grabbed the man’s hand and gritted his teeth silently.

“No, don’t!”

Jong-seop, who had gotten out of the passenger seat, ran after the man who had pulled out the knife and was running away. After a few scuffles, Jong-seop plunged the knife into the man’s neck. He grabbed his chest, seemingly injured from the impact of the car accident, and approached the driver’s seat.

“Hey. Wake up, Choi Si-baek! Director Choi! You bastard!”

Cha-eon handed Jong-seop the handkerchief she was holding. Jong-seop pressed the handkerchief roughly against Si-baek’s chest and tossed his phone to her, telling her to call.

“The top number on the call list. Quickly!”

Cha-eon pressed the top number on the recent call list and handed the phone back to Jong-seop.

Cha-eon tried to get out of the back seat and go to Si-baek, who was bleeding, but she collapsed. Her vision blurred, and she seemed to see many men passing by, but she couldn’t open her eyes properly.

▷

Kwon-seok entered the hospital room, listening to his subordinate’s report as he looked at the unconscious Cha-eon.

The man who kidnapped Do-won from the studio Jong-seop mentioned seemed to be one of Kim Seok-won’s gang members. It also seemed that those men were not the ones who deliberately attacked Si-baek’s car. That was the brief report.

Targeting Choi Si-baek was the same as targeting him.

It was either a warning directed at him or a mistake where Si-baek took the knife instead of him. One of the two.

The fact that he went straight to the driver’s seat instead of the back seat was proof of that.

Originally, he had planned to go home with Cha-eon alone. But he was busy with work and left it to Si-baek and Jong-seop, and this happened. Not many people knew about that plan.

“Wouldn’t it be Kim Yun-gi? Who else would dare to do such a reckless thing to you from behind your back?”

And someone among his close associates was cooperating with Kim Yun-gi. He needed to make sure it was Kim Yun-gi, to avoid any future problems.

“Geon-ju.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Who were the guys in the office after Cha-eon came today?”

“Surely... boss.”

“Find out.”

Kwon-seok, who was looking down at the shallowly breathing Cha-eon, left the hospital room.

“What about the guy who called Cha-eon?”

“He was taken care of quietly. What should we do with that guy, Do-won?”

“What do you mean what to do? He’s still breathing, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Send him back. If Do-won dies, Cha-eon will blame herself again for a year. I’ll have to try so hard to appease her. It’s exhausting.”

He could just cut his throat, bury him in the ground, or throw him into the sea and report him as missing, but he was just annoyed that the subtly quick-witted puppy would dig it up. Damn it, since when did he care about such things? How very kind of him.

Kwon-seok cursed at himself.

Geon-ju bowed his head and followed him.