He had been groaning in his sleep when he jolted upright. He gasped for breath, and then, realizing he was in his own bedroom, let out a slow sigh of relief first.
6 AM. He went out and rummaged through the refrigerator, but there was no bottled water. He grabbed a cup instead and filled it with tap water. He gulped it down, wiped his mouth, and leaned against the sink, staring out the living room window. The world had turned entirely a dim shade of blue, as if the sun were preparing to rise.
He watched it in silence for a while, then went to the sofa and dropped into it. Last night, he had gone to the hospital where the designated driver had said his mother was admitted. The nurses told him the man who visited every day hadn’t shown up since a couple of days ago. In his place, someone had already settled the outstanding hospital and caretaking bills, a nurse quietly let him know.
After that, he had gone to see the woman who lived on the 4th floor of the same apartment building. He called and knocked, but she didn’t come out. A neighbor opened their door and asked what was going on, so he said it was nothing and made an excuse.
Through a contact at the forensic unit, he had fingerprints lifted from the emergency stairwell railing, the front door handle, and all the furniture inside the apartment — but nothing came of it. In a way, that was to be expected. Someone who had deliberately set out to trap a prosecutor was no ordinary person. Would someone like that be careless in their preparation? The message that had come in from a blocked number was untraceable as well.
…Who is it. Who on earth is trying to work me over.
Quite a few faces drifted through his mind. The first suspect: Chairman Shim of Guyeong Construction. He must have figured out that our side has the missing finance director — how furious must he be. Then there were the damned assemblymen, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jo, and who else.
The funny thing was that Yun Sena and Im Gyeong were on the list too. Yun Sena had already had someone tail him before, and Im Gyeong was the kind of bastard whose inner workings he couldn’t read at all. Even if he was showing goodwill toward him now, there was no telling when that could change.
“This is going to drive me insane….”
He stood in front of the window and quietly watched the world change. Sleep had long since deserted him, and his mind was busy chasing someone invisible. This was probably what the culprit wanted. For him to lose sleep. To tremble with anxiety. To be unable to move forward.
Looked at that way, it was still most likely that Chairman Shim’s side was behind what was being done to him. But he couldn’t just barge in and demand to know if it was them. He needed evidence, so for now, finding the two people who had disappeared was the most urgent thing.
He sat on the sofa tearing at his hair, and eventually morning broke.
He was staring blankly ahead, haggard-faced, when someone’s voice rose in his memory.
— If there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word. We’re in the same boat now, aren’t we.
Someone on the suspect list, but with slim odds. There was only one reason the odds were low. If the others found him a nuisance, they’d bury him socially — but this bastard would actually bury him in the ground.
— Is it possible to meet today?
Less than a minute after he sent it, a reply came.
— What’s the matter?
His fingers hesitated.
Then he made up his mind and bit his lip.
— I have a favor to ask.
— Should I come to your place? I happen to be out grabbing a sandwich.
Sandwiches at 7 in the morning. That was unexpected. Going by his looks alone, he was the last person you’d associate with mornings. Evenings — brilliant and dazzling ones — suited him far more.
— Yes. I’ll be waiting.
No more replies came after that. Only then did the state of his apartment catch his eye. He tidied it up roughly, washed up, came back out, and was drying his hair with a towel when the doorbell rang. The intercom screen showed a man with a clean, put-together face. He buzzed him in, and Im Gyeong entered with a smile, holding up the sandwich.
Eat with me.
His gaze briefly landed on Heesin’s hair.
“You showered?”
“Yes.”
“Wet hair suits you.”
This man had a peculiar talent for saying things in the strangest ways. What does it even mean that wet hair suits me.
He headed to the sofa and Im Gyeong followed, setting the sandwiches out on the table.
“You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I stopped by — apparently it’s a well-known place.”
He looked down at the sandwich. The packaging was upscale. Rather than eating it, he just held it in his hands. He’d been the one to call, but now that the moment had come, he couldn’t get the words out. He was picking at the edge of his thumbnail when Im Gyeong brought it up.
“It’s surprising that you’d come to me first with a favor.”
“You said it before — that if I needed help, I could ask anytime. Was that just talk?”
Im Gyeong smiled.
“Fair enough. Tell me. What’s got you looking that serious this early in the morning?”
After a long hesitation, he finally opened his mouth.
“I think someone’s been working me over.”
Hmm? He wore an expression of genuine puzzlement.
Well — or perhaps he was putting on a flawless act.
“After the launch party, I called a designated driver and came home. I wasn’t feeling well. I stopped at a pharmacy on the way and took some medicine for the body aches. I got home and fell asleep like I’d blacked out. And then when I woke up in the morning….”
He briefly rolled his tongue around in his mouth. He mentioned that at the time, he had hoped it was just his imagination.
“There was a smell of women’s cosmetics on my bed.”
One of Im Gyeong’s eyebrows arched up.
“Isn’t it possible it transferred from Yun Sena?”
“That wouldn’t make sense. The two of us were only arm in arm at the party that night—”
He stopped mid-sentence. It had just belatedly occurred to him that they’d been wrapped around each other kissing in the elevator down in the underground parking garage.
“…Did you see us in the parking garage?”
“I saw you. The two of you going at each other. Looked like it might go all the way.”
This bastard, where did he pick up talk like that….
“…….”
“Well, that settles it then.”
“It wasn’t the cosmetics Sena uses. I can at least tell that much. And I think photos were taken of me too.”
Im Gyeong didn’t look convinced, so reluctantly, he took out his phone and showed him the photos. Im Gyeong’s expression didn’t change as he looked at them. He stayed like that for a while, then handed the phone back.
“Any idea who it might be?”
“I have some.”
“Just one person?”
“No. Several, so….”
“What kind of life have you been living?”
Is that really something you should be saying to me? You, of all people, who got ambushed by knife-wielding attackers in the dead of night. The memory of that night surfaced again, and it became harder to hide his expression. Can I actually trust this bastard? But in his current situation, he needed Im Gyeong’s help.
“I have a guess as to who the woman in the photo is, but she’s gone completely off the grid…. Same goes for the designated driver.”
Im Gyeong, who had been listening, snapped his fingers with a sharp click.
“Now I get it. You called me because you want me to find those people?”
“Yes.”
“Because I’m capable enough to track down the people who abducted Kim Jungu?”
Let’s leave ‘capable’ out of it. Shameless bastard. Like he found them himself — he just worked the people beneath him like dogs to get it done. But he didn’t say that out loud.
“Yes….”
He picked up his phone, made a thoughtful hmm, and fell briefly into thought.
“That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“The fact that I’m not on your list of suspects.”
“….”
“Or are you suspecting me and calling anyway? Because you’re that desperate?”
“….”
“If this hits the press, it’ll put Kang Heesin in a very difficult position, won’t it?”
“Most likely.”
Of course it would. No matter how fabricated the photos were, people would believe what they could see over the truth. Im Gyeong, who had been listening quietly, stood up from his seat and walked toward the window. With the light falling on him, his face looked almost sacred.
Take back what I said before. Maybe Im Gyeong suits mornings more than nights after all. No — he’s just the kind of person who radiates presence no matter where you put him, regardless of the hour—
“I’m going to decline.”
Those words snapped him right back to reality. What? He looked up at Im Gyeong with a startled expression. Im Gyeong smiled pleasantly, both hands tucked in his pockets. Heesin stood up to match him.
“Why? You said you’d help me.”
Im Gyeong walked around the table and came right up to him.
“It’s not fair if I’m the only one giving, is it.”
Only giving? It wasn’t wrong. Their first encounter had been a disaster, but since then, the help had been real. He’d found Kim Jungu, revealed who was behind everything, handed him the Chairman Shim case, and even extended an invitation to the launch party — so while calling him a benefactor might be a stretch, feeling grateful was only natural.
“I never asked you to.”
And yet the words came out sharp anyway. Im Gyeong took another step closer in response. Too close, he thought. Retreating would hurt his pride, so he held his ground. The scent coming off Im Gyeong’s body made his head swim.
Im Gyeong’s gaze dragged slowly, deliberately over Kang Heesin’s face.
He knew that gaze had traveled down the bridge of his nose and come to rest on his lips, and a chill ran down his spine.
“Unfortunately — not this time.”
“…Then what?”
“Give me what I want. Then I’ll take care of your request.”
His voice was gentle, but his eyes said something else entirely. The face he’d thought looked almost angelic just moments ago had vanished without a trace. He hadn’t said it outright, but he could feel exactly what this bastard was thinking. The unsettling feeling that had nagged at him every time they met had finally shown its true shape.
“I’m asking you. Are you going to give it to me?”
He shoved Im Gyeong’s shoulder hard. Im Gyeong winced dramatically with an ow, scrunching his face. The hot breath that had just grazed his ear felt like it was sinking into his skin.
Fuck— He muttered the curse under his breath, and Im Gyeong smiled like something out of a painting.
“Let me know when you’ve decided. Or find someone else.”
