RB - 76

76. Xun Yu’s Empty Lunchbox

The abrupt shift in demeanor was so stark that it was hard to believe this was the same man who had been as stiff as a corpse moments before. Jung-hyuk answered the call with a composed and crisp voice.

“Yes, this is Shin Jung-hyuk.”

“…It’s me. Professor Sung Hoyeon.”

“I expected your call. Though you took longer than I thought you would.”

“I never imagined you’d play into my hands like this. Chairman Shin may have neglected his sons, but they turned out well, didn’t they? Very clever boys indeed.”

Jung-hyuk’s expression remained utterly unruffled despite Professor Sung’s blatant taunts.

“Well, thank you for the compliment about our ‘seeds.’ To preserve them, I suppose we must produce a second generation. What else do you want?”

A brief chuckle came through the line, followed by shocking words.

“Of course, what I want is money. Just return what’s mine—the account Chairman Shin froze. Put it back where it belongs. Otherwise…”

Professor Sung let his sentence trail off menacingly, but Jung-hyuk seized the moment.

“Otherwise, what exactly do you plan to do?”

“That girl, Han Seo-yeon—she’s Park Yeowan’s daughter, isn’t she? Her figure is quite something. Her breasts are perky, just the right firmness. I haven’t tasted her yet, but I imagine she’ll be tight… What should I do if you keep me waiting too long? I might get bored and decide to sample her. Wouldn’t that be fine? After all, we’d just be becoming ‘hole siblings.’”

The detective’s face twisted in disgust, worried that Jung-hyuk might lose his temper and cut off the conversation. The goal of this call was to prolong the conversation as much as possible to track the location and gather clues.

But contrary to the detective’s fears, Jung-hyuk maintained his icy composure. His tone grew even calmer as he spoke.

“I will give you what you want. But it will take time. As you know, my father, Chairman Shin, is fighting for his life due to excessive bleeding. I need to uncover how your account was frozen before I can resolve this.”

The detective’s lips curled slightly in satisfaction, thinking Jung-hyuk was playing his role perfectly—when suddenly, the line went dead.

Professor Sung had hung up, seemingly catching on to Jung-hyuk’s attempt to buy time. At the same moment, the detective witnessed a flicker of despair cross Jung-hyuk’s eyes. Though Jung-hyuk kept his posture rigid, his wrist slackened, and the phone slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor.

Seo-yeon was undoubtedly still alive, but this anxiety wouldn’t end until he brought her back safely.

Jung-hyuk felt as though all the blood in his body was draining out at once, replaced by an icy chill that sent shivers down his spine. On the surface, he appeared steady, but inside, he was anything but. The detective was overwhelmed by the weight of the tragedy Jung-hyuk was enduring.

The door to the meeting room opened, and Detective Song Suyeol stepped in. He urgently asked Jung-hyuk:

“What place might serve as Professor Sung’s ‘beginning’? We heard him mutter about it while kidnapping Han Seo-yeon. Do you have any idea where it could be?”

A flash of realization sparked in Jung-hyuk’s eyes. He shoved Detective Song aside and bolted out of the room. There was only one person who could know Professor Sung’s “beginning”—Park Yeowan. It was time to twist her neck for answers.

---

An hour later, Jung-hyuk’s sedan screeched to a halt in front of Chairman Shin’s mansion. He sprinted across the vast garden like a madman. The summer sun blazed overhead, its heat scorching everything beneath it. Rivulets of sweat poured down his back, soaking his shirt. But far hotter than the sun was the inferno raging within Jung-hyuk’s heart.

The image of Seo-yeon’s final moments haunted him. She had looked like a goddess in her golden dress. If he lost her now…

At the thought, a murderous glint ignited in Jung-hyuk’s eyes. He shook his head violently to dispel the ominous scenario. No, it wouldn’t come to that. If she were hidden in a mountain, he would tear it apart until it became flat land; if in the sea, he would drain it dry to find her. Suddenly, a curse escaped his lips.

“Damn it, what am I even thinking?”

If Seo-yeon were hidden in a mountain or the sea, finding her would mean discovering her corpse. Finally, the murderous intent in Jung-hyuk’s eyes transformed into the madness of a beast.

Entering the mansion, he saw three bodyguards stationed outside the master bedroom. Realizing Chairman Shin had confined Park Yeowan there, Jung-hyuk signaled the guards, who respectfully stepped aside.

Opening the door, he found Park Yeowan lying there, emaciated and withered as if she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days. Jung-hyuk grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up. Without hiding the madness in his voice, he demanded:

“Where has Sung Ho-yeon gone?”

Park Yeowan rolled her eyes, the wrinkles around them rippling like waves. Her gaunt frame made her look like someone who had been struck by the merciless passage of time, aging prematurely into her fifties.

To Jung-hyuk, even this wretched woman seemed to be scheming for survival, which disgusted him. Though he wanted nothing more than to snap her neck then and there, he needed answers. Breathing heavily, as though inhaling foul air, he repeated:

“Sung Ho-yeon has kidnapped Han Seo-yeon. Where has that bastard hidden her?”

“H-how would I know that? I… I don’t know anything.”

Park Yeowan shook her head, feigning ignorance. Jung-hyuk’s eyes burned with murderous intent. She had been the closest accomplice to Sung Ho-yeon in their evil schemes. The cold blood in his veins seemed to reverse flow, but he summoned the last dregs of his patience.

“Sung Ho-yeon said he’s taking Han Seo-yeon to his ‘beginning.’ What does that mean? Tell me. I’m not asking politely. Where is Sung Ho-yeon’s ‘beginning’?”

Jung-hyuk’s tone, though calm, carried an undercurrent of barely restrained fury. A flicker of hope lit up in Park Yeowan’s mind. Perhaps if she helped locate Professor Sung, her punishment might be less severe?

Clutching her head with both hands, Park Yeowan strained to recall. It wouldn’t be the villa—they’d already been tracked there. He must have gone somewhere deeper, a place only she knew. Suddenly, a memory surfaced.

“Yes, Sung Ho-yeon mentioned it once. He said he could never forget the poverty of his residency days, so he bought the entire building where his old studio apartment was located and preserved it. Go there. I don’t know the exact location, but it’s definitely that place.”

Jung-hyuk’s eyebrows twitched fiercely. He mulled over her words.

“He preserved his studio apartment…”

“I’m sure of it! When I asked why he was so obsessed, he said it was like the ‘womb’ where he was born. He vowed to preserve it as a reminder to never return to those days of poverty.”

Park Yeowan tilted her head back to meet Jung-hyuk’s gaze directly, hoping to see a trace of mercy in his eyes after providing the information. But all she found in his cold stare was contempt. In that instant, her fragile hope crumbled entirely.

Jung-hyuk flung her collar away as if discarding a filthy insect, then called Detective Song Suyeol.

“It’s Sung Ho-yeon’s studio apartment from his residency days. He bought the entire building. Look into it immediately.”

As Jung-hyuk’s voice faded, the door slammed shut behind him. Alone again in the dark room, Park Yeowan remained slumped. But soon, the door reopened, and her head jerked up. Standing in the doorway was a young bodyguard with an indifferent expression.

The guard placed two items in front of her—a lunchbox and a document envelope.

“Take it away! I told you I’m not eating!”

“This was prearranged by Chairman Shin. He said to deliver it today and left a message for you.”

A lunchbox from her husband? Was he concerned about her? Hope, shameless as ever, began to gnaw at Park Yeowan again.

“What message did he leave? Tell me quickly.”

The guard spoke in a monotone, like a machine delivering parts.

“I will relay Chairman Shin’s exact words: ‘If you fail to succeed, Park Yeowan, I will help you.’”

After completing his task, the guard left the room. Trembling, Park Yeowan opened the lunchbox. Upon seeing its contents, she screamed and hurled it across the room.

“Aaah! What is this?”

The sound of the plastic lunchbox shattering against the wall and her piercing scream echoed through the space, but no one came to check on her. Chairman Shin had planned this cruel punishment in advance.

Park Yeowan’s terrified gaze fell on the shattered lunchbox. It was empty. Chairman Shin had sent her an empty lunchbox, and she understood its meaning all too well.

Chairman Shin, an avid fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, had a peculiar habit. On days when he had to fire key executives, he would invite them to the mansion and present them with a thick envelope of cash and an empty lunchbox. Park Yeowan, who often prepared refreshments, had overheard these conversations.

―Chairman, is today’s meal a lunchbox? Haha, it reminds me of my school days.

―Is that so? Open it and see.

―What is this? An empty lunchbox? Could it be… “Xun Yu’s Empty Lunchbox”?

―Exactly. Xun Yu was Cao Cao’s subordinate. He received an empty lunchbox from Cao Cao and committed suicide, realizing he had become a useless vessel. I’m not telling you to do the same, of course. Take this money and go on vacation. Your position will be taken care of. Thank you for your hard work.

Back in the present, Park Yeowan trembled as she opened the document envelope. Judging by the feel and weight, it wasn’t paper inside. When she poured the contents onto the floor, she turned pale.

A long nylon rope coiled like a snake on the floor. Chairman Shin had instructed Park Yeowan to end her own life. Unconsciously, she replayed his words in her mind.

“…If you fail to succeed, Park Yeowan, I will help you.”

The texture of those words was horrifying. What did she have to succeed at with this rope? And what kind of “help” would follow failure? Overwhelmed, Park Yeowan collapsed unconscious.