“Sorry. You seemed too tense, so I was trying to help you relax.”
“……No need to apologize.”
Being naturally playful, his teasing seemed to have gone too far. Kang Siwon kneaded his stiffly rigid nape. Primarily Ray Jun had made a mistake, but he seemed to have reacted sensitively too. This was all because he’d been startled upon hearing the word ‘police.’
“Just go to the investigation properly.”
“Yeah, you have a good shift too. Shall we leave together?”
“If you want.”
Kang Siwon left the dormitory side by side with Ray Jun.
While riding down in the elevator, Ray Jun asked.
“Oh right, Wei. There were wontons in the fridge—did you leave them for me to eat?”
“Yeah.”
“Perfect. I already ate them for breakfast.”
“Why are you asking if you already ate them?”
He was a bit incredulous. If the wontons hadn’t been for Ray Jun, wouldn’t it mean he’d stolen his food? Of course, it didn’t matter since he’d prepared them for him.
“They were delicious.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I was surprised they were so much better than expected. The shrimp were plump and the skin was soft. Especially the broth really settled my stomach.”
Kang Siwon scratched his cheek awkwardly. Receiving such specific praise made him a bit embarrassed. Of course, he felt good. Hearing such words about food he’d made himself made cooking feel worthwhile.
Ding, the elevator doors opened.
“See you in the evening then.”
“Wait, Xie Wei.”
Ray Jun followed Kang Siwon who was exiting the elevator first. When he turned around, he held out his phone and said.
“Give me your number. We’ve been roommates for months but I still don’t even know your number.”
“Uh……”
Kang Siwon hesitated. He wondered if it was okay to give Ray Jun the phone number he’d received from the Baeksa Faction.
But since the Baeksa Faction hadn’t specifically warned him against it, it should be fine. As he said, it was unnatural for roommates not to know each other’s numbers. Like yesterday, they did need someone to contact when one of them came home late or an unexpected situation arose.
“Okay. Give it here.”
Kang Siwon took the phone and entered his number. Ray Jun immediately saved the number and showed him the screen.
“Ta-da.”
The saved name was ‘All-Purpose Chef Wei☺’. Kang Siwon responded gruffly on purpose.
“What’s this? Do you only see me as someone who cooks?”
Even saying that, he was pleased with the title ‘chef.’ Ray Jun probably didn’t save it as chef knowing anything, but that was precisely his real profession.
“Then shall I save it as ‘Mr. Xie Staff’?”
“Forget it. Just tell me your number.”
Kang Siwon also saved Ray Jun’s number. Then as he was about to put his phone in his pocket, Ray Jun suddenly grabbed his wrist. Having checked the saved name, he frowned.
“Why just ‘Ray Jun’?”
“Because your name is Ray Jun.”
“You could say roommate or Dealer Ray, couldn’t you? So cold, Xie Wei.”
“I think Dealer Ray would be even colder.”
“Still.”
At Ray Jun’s insistence, Kang Siwon changed the saved name to ‘Roommate Ray Jun’. Only then, seemingly satisfied, Ray Jun nodded.
“I’ll contact you if anything comes up, Wei.”
“Yeah. ……While you’re at it, contact me when you’re coming home late too. So I don’t make dishes that get mushy.”
Kang Siwon left the spot as if fleeing after adding that ramble. His cheeks suddenly felt hot. He hadn’t done anything wrong or embarrassing, yet they did.
“Phew……”
Kang Siwon let out a deep sigh. Compared to when they first met, they’d gotten quite close, but strangely, in some ways it was still difficult to deal with Ray Jun. He acted friendly without reserve, but occasionally gave off a cool aura, so he didn’t know how to maintain distance with him. In any case, Ray Jun was a roommate who seemed easy but wasn’t entirely comfortable.
The police investigation had better end safely. Kang Siwon wished for Ray Jun’s well-being while also hoping he could get through safely himself.
* * *
“Good morning.”
When he entered the cage room with a greeting, the previous shift employees who were in the middle of cash verification looked up.
“Welcome, Xie Wei. You’re early?”
“Yes. Just happened to be.”
“Wait just a moment. I’ll hand over soon.”
They seemed to still be organizing chips. The seniors and colleagues moved their hands busily while exchanging small talk with their mouths.
“So the manager can’t come to work today either.”
“Gasp, then is the manager also going to the police investigation? What should we do……”
“What do you mean what should we do? It’s not like they went as a suspect. I heard a dealer was also called in? You know, that shiny handsome guy.”
“Ray Jun?”
“Right, Ray Jun.”
When a familiar name was heard, his ears automatically turned that way. Kang Siwon pretended to sit blankly while eavesdropping on the conversation.
“But wait, I heard Director Zhang collapsed almost after arriving at his mansion. Even so, they’re doing a police investigation? It didn’t even happen at the casino?”
“He’s an internal director. The treatment has to be different. The board of directors must be in chaos too, right? That spy rumor last time too, lately the company atmosphere is……”
Zhang Weiren was an internal director.
Kang Siwon was quietly shocked. He’d only thought he was a leisure gambler who liked spending money, but had no idea he was a figure who was actually an internal director at Sovereign.
“Gasp…… Then did something really happen to him? Director Zhang’s faction and the audit committee side don’t get along at all anyway.”
“Shh. Watch your mouth. Did you forget there’s CCTV here?”
At the senior’s point, the colleague hastily closed their mouth. However, they only glanced at the CCTV and didn’t seem to care at all about Kang Siwon’s presence.
“Well, it was just bad luck. What other reason could there be?”
“Right……”
The conversation fizzled out, and only the dry sound of chips clashing rang out. Kang Siwon bit down firmly on his lower lip.
“……”
Internal Director Zhang Weiren, police investigation, and Sovereign’s seemingly unsettled atmosphere……
He’d thought it was just a bewildering and unlucky death. But was it because he was oversensitive that he thought the Baeksa Faction might be involved?
It had been a consistently questionable part from the beginning. Why the Baeksa Faction was trying to collect information that seemed completely worthless at first glance.
But if a Sovereign internal director was included in the list he’d handed over, that wouldn’t be ‘worthless’ information. It was a clear fact that the Baeksa Faction had planted him as cage staff with a purpose.
The problem was, so what was that purpose……
‘This isn’t right.’
Kang Siwon clenched his two hands placed on his knees into fists. These were the very hands that had handed chips to Zhang Weiren yesterday.
Whatever the Baeksa Faction’s purpose was, the fact that Zhang Weiren died just as he passed along information including him was not something he could just overlook.
Something felt extremely disturbing. It wasn’t just the emptiness from an acquaintance’s death.
If, if the Baeksa Faction really did something.
……Could he truly be free from that responsibility?
“Xie Wei, we’re done.”
The voice calling him sounded like tinnitus. He should respond, but words wouldn’t come out because his stomach was churning. Kang Siwon barely swallowed down the rising nausea.
“Xie Wei. Xie Wei?”
His body slowly tilted forward. However, Kang Siwon himself didn’t realize that fact. Colleagues who noticed something was wrong with his condition rushed over urgently and grabbed his shoulders.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”
“I think we should call emergency personnel……”
He felt like dying from pain he’d never experienced before. This sensation of his insides twisting as if being wrung was surely guilt. Kang Siwon closed his eyes while breaking into a cold sweat.
The true weight of the spy work he’d only vaguely considered suspicious until now covered his entire body for the first time.
* * *
He’d thought the situation of opening his eyes to find himself in a hospital would never happen in his lifetime. This was because he had a healthy constitution that didn’t even suffer from minor ailments.
But when he opened his eyes on a bed with light sky-blue curtains drawn on both sides, he could realize how futile that belief had been.
Kang Siwon slowly raised his upper body. Then a man sitting in a folding chair at the foot of the bed came into view. It was Ray Jun.
“You’re up?”
“How are you at the hospital…… What about the police investigation?”
“It ended a while ago.”
Ray Jun slightly frowned.
“That’s the first thing you ask when you come to? You’re not curious about your own condition?”
“Ah…… I’m fine.”
“What do you mean you’re fine? With a face as pale as a ghost.”
It was probably out of concern for him, but the gaze scanning from head to toe felt stinging. Kang Siwon turned his head sideways to avoid that gaze.
“Still, I’m glad it’s not serious. Emergency personnel checked your vitals and said there’s nothing wrong.”
“……”
“We can transfer you to a hospital if needed. What do you want to do?”
“Isn’t this a hospital?”
Kang Siwon raised his head again and looked around. Beyond the partition curtains, other beds were lined up, and the smell of disinfectant permeated the air.
“This is Sovereign’s emergency treatment room.”
“Did you bring me here?”
“No, your colleagues did. I came after being contacted as a guardian. Since it came up, Xie Wei, you had Ju Xiang registered as your emergency contact.”
Ray Jun added that Ju Xiang couldn’t come today because he had something going on, so he as the roommate was called instead.
“I’m sorry. Because of me, causing trouble……”
“No, that’s fine. What I’m curious about is what relationship you have with Ju Xiang. He’s on the surveillance team, isn’t he?”
“What relationship, we’re just seniors and juniors.”
Kang Siwon briefly glossed over it while pressing his temples. His body was fine but his head was throbbing. There was probably also the influence of recently accumulated stress.
Ray Jun quietly watched such a Kang Siwon and murmured.
“Ah, so you’re just seniors and juniors.”
