“Oho.”
“After Chairman Seong was diagnosed with dementia, he was caught trying to collude with a personal lawyer to forge a will and embezzle property. At the time, a physical altercation broke out and Gye Sanghoon was severely injured and arrested.”
At those words, Do Jingyu’s eyes gleamed.
The one who betrayed from the closest position to Seong Yeohwi. And the one who was ruined because of that betrayal.
For Seong Yeohwi, it would be a terrible trauma, and to Gye Sanghoon, Seong Yeohwi would be an enemy that wouldn’t be satisfying even if ground up and drunk.
“Where is he now?”
“After his release, he wandered through gambling dens and then disappeared, chased by private loan debts. He’s the kind of guy who’ll do anything if you put money in his hands.”
“Perfect. Bring him immediately.”
Do Jingyu flicked cigarette ash onto the photo.
“Tell him we’ll pay off all his debts and give him enough money to live on for life. Since he has a career of serving Chairman Seong for a long time, he’ll be delighted if told to serve a new master. Make him into a very loyal human slave who will bark when told to bark and bite when told to bite under me.”
Do Jingyu briefly scanned through Gye Sanghoon’s file, then wore a sinister smile.
“If Won tries to strangle me by making a fuss noisily from the outside, I’ll quietly burrow into the inside of his house and stab his vital point…”
The rain streaks outside the window gradually thickened.
The trap toward Do Jingyu was tightening meticulously, but Do Jingyu was also preparing to bare his venomous fangs, harboring deadly poison.
***
To handle the financial authorities’ emergency investigation, the pouring media spotlight, and calm the wavering shareholders, Dowon had to move with 24 hours not being enough. Going back and forth between a hotel near the company and his office, he was literally fighting a bloody war. Rest was a luxury, and of course, there was no time to go home.
So Yeohwi was left alone in the masterless mansion, waiting for Dowon. The only consolation was the text messages they intermittently exchanged.
I saw the news. How’s the situation on your side? Is there anything more I can help with? Contact me anytime you need me, Dowon-ssi.
20:03
Actually, I can’t sleep lately… because you, Dowon-ssi, must not be sleeping a wink ㅠ So even dawn is fine. Contact me anytime when you have a moment, Dowon-ssi! Send a reply anytime too. Think of me as a 24-hour convenience store and drop by. I’m waiting!
22:31
Welcome. This is 24-hour Seong Yeohwi. How may I help you?
10:44
Dear valued customer, are you very busy? Right.. of course you must be busy, I know that, but I’m so worried ㅠ.ㅅ I’m dying of curiosity about whether you’re doing well, Dowon-ssi.. It’s like a family of four Jirisan Cheonwangbong black bears are sitting around peacefully in my chest.. Are you eating your meals properly? If you collapse from starving like me, that really won’t do…
15:10
No, ha, if I’d known it would be like this, I should have ordered tons of room service in Switzerland to make you eat a lot. The cod pilaf there was really delicious.. Should I pack you a lunch box or something, Dowon-ssi? They probably won’t let people in because of security.. But they’ll let me in, right? It’s a good idea, right?
19:29
I want to change business types. I want to be 24-hour Delivery Seong Yeohwi. Taking menu orders. Please choose a lunch box menu.
- Korean beef bone galbi-tang
- Ginseng pork bossam
- Oyster seaweed abalone pot rice
- Grilled eel full-course meal
- Duck samgyetang octopus seafood soup
09:53
I miss you. Ying..
17:49
Can’t you just take one photo?
Your face…………..
I miss you………………
So…..so so much……………….
23:01
Selfie photo.jpg
23:03
Dowon
Watch the news
23:53
Dowon-ssi!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Dowon-ssi!!! Dowon-ssi!!!! I’ve already watched the news for the 13th time, I saw all the interviews, the screen was crazy, you looked like a celebrity? Dowon-ssi you’re so handsome but the dark circles under your eyes look so tired I’m worried ㅠ Are you sleeping at all? Are you sleeping today? You really can’t come home, right? Today too?
23:53
I really really miss you Dowon-ssi for real for real if you could just take one selfie
No
23:54
Nooo it’s okay just reply to me
23:55
Can we talk on the phone right now?
Missed call(2)
00:13
Dowon
Why
02:31
To hear your voice..
02:31
Dowon
Call again
Keep it short
04:47
Dry, short-answer replies without exception.
Yeohwi tried to read Dowon’s fatigue hidden between the lines by running his fingers over those parched letters. He was out there right now, wielding his blade. So it was right for Yeohwi to stay here quietly, holding his breath.
Comforting himself like that, he endured the long, lonely, anxious nights.
In exchange, if you could call it that, very occasionally Dowon began to answer Yeohwi’s calls. The voice he heard in snatches like that set his heart even more desperately on fire.
Whenever he missed Dowon, he replayed the recorded call voice and listened to it repeatedly until his phone battery wore out.
‘If I’d known it would be like this, I should have taken some photos of Dowon-ssi.’
They say regret is always late no matter how fast. Yeohwi kept regretting as he looked back on the honeymoon spent in Switzerland. He should have taken even one photo of Dowon’s face back then. He couldn’t even think of attempting such a thing at the time, but the current Seong Yeohwi was different.
Anyway, Dowon won’t budge. He’ll absolutely never reach out his hand first, and he won’t move whether pushed or pulled like Mount Tai. So to get close to Dowon somehow, Yeohwi had to climb by hammering pitons into the cliff himself. Without choosing means and methods, desperately. Only then was there any hope of getting even a little closer.
‘I don’t care what Dowon-ssi says. When we meet again, I’ll take lots of photos and hug him lots and cling to him, definitely sleep in the same bedroom, and use the same bed too.’
The miraculous memory of sleeping together in the hotel suite had become so distant. Now it seemed to have turned into a hazy recollection. He didn’t know if it was something that actually happened or if he was believing a delusion was reality. Although it was a result obtained by forcibly throwing a tantrum, anyway, there had been a moment when Dowon accepted Yeohwi. It felt like such an old thing that it was regretful and frustrating.
‘It’s okay now! I’ll just crawl into Dowon-ssi’s arms at dawn or something. If I get kicked out, I get kicked out. I’ll just try until he accepts me.’
Right. I won’t act naive anymore.
What can I do by waiting nicely. At best, I’ll just get divorced.
‘But, still……’
I miss him.
‘I miss Dowon-ssi……’
***
Time passed in the blink of an eye like that.
Dowon carefully waited until Do Jingyu’s pockets were completely empty. After his personal coffers became completely empty from scattering money to the prosecution and media, notifying the loss of benefit of time for the ONE Fund could have maximum effect. Also, while KD’s stock price fell due to Do Jingyu’s corruption allegations, it was advantageous for securing shares to purchase as many stocks as possible.
Everything was going according to plan. There were no variables.
However, one afternoon when autumn rain drizzled down. That day when the gray sky darkly reflected on the mansion’s glass windows and the sound of rain was bleak. The doorbell at Dowon’s mansion rang sharply.
“Delivery.”
What Mrs. Park received was a crude kraft paper box without a shipping label attached.
Sender unknown. Recipient Seong Yeohwi.
“It came addressed to the young master. Did you order anything?”
“No? I didn’t……”
“That’s strange. Just in case, don’t open it. I’ll look at it.”
The box was light. Yeohwi tilted his head in puzzlement, then called out to Mrs. Park as she was turning around.
“Wait a moment. Maybe Dowon-ssi sent it.”
There might have been a problem that couldn’t be publicly announced. Especially regarding ONE Fund, if information leaked outside it would be disadvantageous, so he might have taken such covert means.
Yeohwi, who had gone up to the bedroom, tore the tape with a cutter knife and opened the box.
“……?”
Between the cushioning material inside the box, there was just one old-model smartphone sitting there.
An old and crude black device with only the power on, not even a charger.
Anyone could see it wasn’t something that came through normal channels. It was a burner phone.
