Though he couldn’t yet be certain that the land’s donor was from the same orphanage as Kim Haengbok, the blog owner, it was worth investigating. Eunchan sat up straight and slowly read through the remaining blog posts.
“But hyung, are you really going to keep investigating this? It just so happened that the client’s name was Kim Haengbok and he had a blog, so I mentioned it to you…”
Hyungsik hesitated, showing a skeptical attitude just as he had before.
“I’m going to try as far as I can. I’ll handle it myself, so Hyungsik, you just focus on your own work. Got it?”
Though he’d ended up receiving help, he had no desire to involve Hyungsik in unnecessary matters. Eunchan smiled and reassured his younger colleague, but Hyungsik’s face was full of worry.
“That lawyer isn’t answering anyway, right?”
Hyungsik drove the point home, mentioning Han Inju who had changed his number and gone into hiding.
“It’s because something happened to hyung, to me… Anyway, just get to work.”
Eunchan swallowed his words and waved his hand. He wanted to look through the man’s diary and find even one more clue. Hyungsik sighed as he watched the absorbed Eunchan, but couldn’t bring himself to stop him and organized the documents in his hands.
However, even until after Eunchan had late lunch with Hyungsik and they were cleaning up their workspace, Eunchan hadn’t found any worthwhile clues. It would be nice if he could at least contact the blog owner, but since the last entry was from two years ago, it was hard to expect a response.
Should I try meeting with Hyungsik’s client instead…? He’d just told Hyungsik to focus on his own work, and now instead of helping, he was only getting in the way. Eunchan cautiously spoke up as he watched Hyungsik’s back as he hummed a song while washing dishes.
“Would it be strange if I contacted the client separately?”
“Who? Kim Haengbok-ssi?”
“Yeah.”
But that was the only straw he had to grasp at. No matter how much he searched the internet, no more information came up.
“Hmm… Then there’s still a security document that needs signing, so I’ll ask if he can come in.”
“Sorry I can’t help.”
“Hey, what’s that between us?”
Eunchan was grateful to Hyungsik, who smiled brightly. Eunchan promised to treat him to another meal next time as repayment. After finishing the dishes, Hyungsik immediately picked up his phone and called the client.
“Hello, this is the errand center.”
The boss had carefully deliberated and given it the fancy name of Nationwide Network Service, Umbrella Planning, but Hyungsik simply and clearly abbreviated it to introduce the company. The boss would grab the back of his neck if he knew. He was someone who had pride in detective agency work. Eunchan rested his chin on his hand and eavesdropped on Hyungsik’s call.
“If you’re available today, it would be great if you could come in and sign the security documents.”
It was a confidentiality agreement that didn’t really need to be signed urgently, but that was the only excuse they had.
“Yes, yes. Then I’ll see you later!”
It was an energetic closing greeting, like making plans with a friend. The boss who trusted such a kid with work was impressive too. Eunchan’s eyes met with Hyungsik’s after he hung up, and he immediately smiled and gave him a thumbs up, saying he did well.
“Good work. You’ve really grown up.”
“I’ve worked here a long time too, you know.”
As he looked at Hyungsik’s proud face, Eunchan briefly wondered how much longer Hyungsik would need to work before he could pull his own weight.
Around 4 PM, a call came from Miro. Since Hyungsik was nearby, Eunchan slowly stood up and walked out to the bathroom outside the office to answer the phone.
“Hello.”
– Eunchan, wh-where are you?
“I just stepped out of the office. Miro-ssi, are you at the company?”
– Yeah… I tr-tried to take you with me this morning, but E-Eunchan said no.
“…That wasn’t a dream?”
Last night, Eunchan had a bizarre dream where a goblin stuffed him into a sack and kidnapped him. Even when he woke up in the morning, his body was stiff, and he thought it was because he’d had a restless night.
– A dream?
“Did you put me in some kind of bag?”
– N-no. You were sleeping, so I didn’t want to w-wake you up, so I wrapped you in the blanket.
Miro had wrapped Eunchan in the blanket like a bundle and tried to carry him to the company just like that, but at Eunchan’s sleep-talking complaints and irritation, he had no choice but to lay him back down on the bed.
“Why would you take someone who’s sleeping well? Really.”
– You said you liked the company…
That didn’t mean it was okay to take someone who was sleeping. Eunchan gave up trying to understand Miro’s incomprehensible logic and changed the subject.
“Just come home early. So we can eat dinner together.”
– Okaaay.
Eunchan smiled silently at Miro’s drawn-out answer, finding it cute. He was about to decide on a menu for what to eat when he heard footsteps from the direction of the stairs. Was it the client?
“I’ll hang up now. See you at home later.”
– Eunchan?
He heard Miro call his name at the abrupt ending, but he’d already hung up. Stepping out of the bathroom and standing in front of the office, Eunchan looked at the man climbing the stairs. The man, who appeared to be in his early 40s, was dressed in a casual suit as if he’d just gotten off work.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello. Here?”
The man looked up to check his face at Eunchan’s greeting first. Then he raised his hand and pointed at the sign hanging in front of the office, asking.
“Yes, I’m an employee. Please come in.”
Eunchan naturally opened the door and let the man inside, clicking his tongue when he saw Hyungsik already sprawled over his desk, dozing off.
“This way.”
At least the fortunate thing was that he’d set up the boss’s office in advance and gotten preliminary information from Hyungsik, so he didn’t have to hastily and sloppily receive the guest.
On the table lay the confidentiality agreement that had served as the excuse for today’s meeting, along with a pen. Eunchan guided the man to the sofa, then closed the door and sat down across from him.
“Planning Team Leader, my name is Kim Eunchan.”
Eunchan extended his empty hand instead of a business card, offering a handshake. Come to think of it, should he have made some when Han Inju told him to make business cards before? It seemed like moments requiring business cards had been frequent lately.
“Ah, yes. Hello, I’m Kim Haengbok.”
The man briefly introduced his name and clasped Eunchan’s hand. Meeting a man named Kim Haengbok in person made him feel strange. Eunchan discreetly scanned the man from head to toe. A somewhat worn suit, an old leather bag, and shoes with deep creases. An ordinary man with nothing special about him.
“I heard about it. You’re looking for a caregiver.”
“Yes. Well, finding the money comes first rather than the person.”
“That’s right. If there’s no money, there’s no point in catching them.”
His father-in-law was the victim, he’d said. Eunchan opened the pen cap and handed it to the man so he could sign.
“We’ll do our best. Please trust us with this.”
“Yes. I, I have more faith since the boss said he was a detective.”
“He’s a veteran.”
A master at embezzling money. Eunchan looked with pitying eyes at the man who was being deceived by the boss’s facade, then soon chose another topic to bring up.
“Come to think of it, I was surprised that you had the same name as the person we’re looking for.”
“Ah, I heard.”
As if he had nothing more to say, the man finished signing with a short answer and put down the pen.
“It’s not even a common name, but there are many people with the same name.”
“…”
“The name of the person who asked us to find someone is also Kim Haengbok-ssi. At first we were all flustered, thinking it was a prank.”
“So both the person being searched for and the person asking to find them are named Kim Haengbok?”
“Yes, well, I can’t tell you the details since it’s personal information, but they said they lived in the same place.”
Eunchan pretended to know things based on what he’d seen on the blog and watched the man’s reaction. He wanted to confirm for certain whether this man was really one of those Kim Haengboks.
“It’s Haengbok Orphanage, right? They named everyone there Kim Haengbok.”
“How did you know?”
What, the name was just Haengbok Orphanage? It was exactly as described in the blog diary as a ‘name like an orphanage tag.’ Eunchan pretended to be surprised and waited for the man’s next words.
“I grew up there too. Must be looking for a friend. But by now they probably changed their name. If they’re Kim Haengbok, they’re probably in their thirties or forties.”
“…I suppose so? They, they said they met while preparing for a trial.”
“They participated in the trial too? Then I might know them. What do they look like?”
As if the barrier had lowered at this familiar and friendly story similar to talking about hometowns, Kim Haengbok actively changed his attitude.
“Ah, well, only the person who requested it participated, and they said they only briefly contacted that person during the preparation process.”
Lying was getting difficult. Eunchan forced a smile and smoothly overcame the obstacle like a serpent crossing over a wall.
“I see. I’m curious too. I might know them.”
“I can’t really tell you exactly who it is. I’m sorry.”
Eunchan hastily made an excuse, worried in advance that he might be asked to reveal the client. He was worried it might seem strange to say this after already saying everything about the request and personal circumstances.
“That’s fine. After the trial ended we all scattered anyway, so there’s a higher chance I don’t know them.”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask what trial it was?”
Eunchan struggled to get even one more piece of information.
“That director was a bad person. He took a lot of bribes too. I was living having forgotten about it all when suddenly a kid came and said let’s sue. So we all gathered together and did it. He went to prison.”
As the man’s words ended, a phone ringtone started playing. Eunchan checked his own, but it was quiet with just a few text messages from Miro.
“Excuse me, I’ll take this call.”
“Yes.”
Kim Haengbok, the owner of the ringing phone, answered with a smiling face.
“Hey, Dad’s coming soon. Should I buy you snacks?”
A child called. Watching the man, who seemed happy as his name suggested, enjoying his call, Eunchan slowly organized his thoughts. If that donor was from the orphanage, they would be a young person in their 30s or 40s.
They’re not an elderly person with few days left to live, so why would someone that age make a donation, and to someone else at that? Don’t tell me Kim Noeul is also Kim Haengbok? Did they meet at the orphanage?
If the director went to prison, the orphanage environment at the time didn’t seem very good. What was that about a kid coming and saying let’s have a trial…?
For now, it seemed best to visit where that orphanage was.
“Well, shall we get up then?”
Eunchan prepared to dismiss the meeting with the man who had finished his call. It was time for that man to return to his family and for himself to return to work.
“I hope you find them.”
“Yes, yes. We’ll do our best for our client’s request.”
Eunchan smiled and offered another handshake at the man’s encouragement, responding with a formulaic answer. The clasped hand was somehow rough and coarse. It was the complete opposite feeling from Miro’s fine and soft hands.
After seeing Kim Haengbok off, Eunchan returned to his seat and immediately searched for Haengbok Orphanage. Next to him, Hyungsik was sleeping sprawled out, intoxicated by the autumn sunlight, not even knowing the client had been there.
“Why are there so many places with similar names in such a small country?”
He thought he’d be able to find it quickly now that he knew the name, but Eunchan faced numerous Haengbok Orphanages appearing in the window and had no choice but to take his hand off the mouse.
Since the director went to prison, it might have been shut down, or since it was an old name, it might have been renamed. At the many possibilities, Eunchan sighed and held his forehead. He should have just asked the client directly where the orphanage was. He’d just pretended to know too much trying not to get caught.
‘The director was a bad person…’
No wait, he was a bad person who went to prison, so wouldn’t there be at least a news article? At the very least, it was news that would appear even small in a local newspaper. Eunchan moved from the map window to the news tab and started searching keywords.
‘Haengbok Orphanage,’ ‘director child abuse,’ ‘orphanage lawsuit,’ ‘Kim Haengbok.’ Based on the dates of the blog owner’s diary entries, he roughly estimated the year and ran the search. I hope at least one comes up…
『Habitual Abuser Orphanage Director Arrested and Indicted… People from Orphanage A filed a class action lawsuit regarding the director’s child abuse. Particularly, the lawyer handling this case is affiliated with Myeongjin Law Team and was revealed to be from Orphanage A, reenacting a kind of revenge drama, drawing even more attention. Investigations into embezzlement of financial support funds and unauthorized buildings are also expected to be conducted.』
Affiliated with Myeongjin Law Team? Don’t tell me it’s Han Inju? Eunchan dropped his mouse on the floor at the unexpected information. Startled awake by the sound, Hyungsik quickly looked around and soon called out to the frozen Eunchan.
“Hyung, what’s wrong? Did the guest come and go? Did something happen?”
He needed to answer at least one of those questions, but Eunchan’s mouth absolutely wouldn’t open. It was so absurd.
