Chapter 45: A Step Too Late
Dohyuk sat in his office, staring blankly out the window. The Yeouido project was progressing smoothly, and the Star Finance issue, including Kim Seonuk, had been quietly resolved. Kim Seonuk had come personally to apologize, having heard something from Chairman Kim, but Dohyuk didn’t meet him. There was no meaning in accepting an insincere apology anyway, and even if it were sincere, he had absolutely no desire to be on good terms with him.
He was ignoring Kim Seonuk because he was just a minnow not worth dealing with. Though perhaps he did have some use value, as Dohyuk had obtained Star Finance’s investment at a bargain price because of him.
Dohyuk’s gaze shifted to the calendar. Fifteen days had passed since the shooting. Would the gunshot wound have healed by now? His patience was beginning to wear thin. It was the first time he had stepped back and waited out of consideration for someone other than himself.
He pressed the intercom on his desk, and Director Choi soon entered.
“Where is Yeon?”
“He hasn’t moved at all from where he first returned to Muryeong.”
Fortunately, it seemed he was quietly receiving treatment there.
“Let’s move now.”
As Dohyuk stood up, Director Choi immediately understood and bowed. He left the office first, saying he would make preparations and suggesting Dohyuk come down in about ten minutes.
The investigation into Muryeong was already complete. He had identified who they received requests from and what kinds of requests they took. There was just one thing that still eluded him, but he planned to find that out by visiting Muryeong directly.
When he went down to the parking lot, it was already getting off work time, and the sky was turning red. They would probably arrive in the middle of the night. But that didn’t matter to him. These people dealt in irregular business anyway. There was no need to worry about the time.
“It will take quite a while. You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
Director Choi looked back and said before departing. Recently, Kang Dohyuk’s nerves had been sharper than usual. Director Choi attributed this to lack of sleep. Dohyuk was already someone who couldn’t sleep deeply, but lately it had gotten worse. Kang Dohyuk, who rarely showed fatigue outwardly, had noticeably increased the number of times he rubbed his face and sighed over the past few days.
Dohyuk acknowledged and leaned his head against the headrest of the back seat, closing his eyes. But sleep didn’t come. Instead, he kept having hallucinations of Yeon’s white shaman attire being stained with blood. It wasn’t that he was afraid of blood or panicked by it. It was just that every time that image repeated, his chest felt tight.
He recalled the birds embroidered on Yeon’s clothes. There were five pairs of birds embroidered in five different places. One bird was biting another bird’s neck, and the bitten bird was shedding tears. In another place, there was a fallen bird and another bird looking at it. There was also a design of two birds falling together.
What did those birds mean? Yeon had answered that they meant nothing, but that was a lie. There was no way that Yeon, of all people, would have meaningless embroidery on his clothes.
Was it about the fate that connected them? If so, it might represent himself. The attacking bird and the bird being attacked. If asked which one he was, the answer was obvious.
Does it mean I will bite him to death?
At the time, he had just found it irritating and didn’t care about the meaning, but now, perhaps because he kept recalling the moment Yeon was shot, even the embroidery on the clothes bothered him.
Yeon dies because of me.
Dohyuk frowned as his thoughts reached that point. His mood sank, and he couldn’t understand why. Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t he feel bad when Yeon becomes his weakness, when Yeon causes him harm?
Dohyuk was wary that his obsession with Yeon could become his weakness. Perhaps saying he should stay at Muryeong until he recovered was just an excuse. He had planned that once he brought him back this time, he wouldn’t send him to anyone else ever again. But this was an abnormal obsession. Attachment to people always becomes a weakness. That’s why he needed time to review his own feelings.
While he cited reasons like locating Muryeong’s position and treating Yeon’s wound for temporarily letting him go, the truth was also that he couldn’t understand his own emotions.
He had hoped that if Yeon was out of sight, this inexplicable possessiveness might diminish. But that wasn’t the case. With each passing day, his patience was hitting rock bottom.
Let’s bring him back first and think about it later.
Even after reaching this conclusion, he wasn’t pleased with his actions. He despised anything that couldn’t be explained logically. Yeon’s existence, what he did, and his own feelings toward him—none of it could be rationally explained.
Nevertheless, he thought he wanted to keep him by his side. It felt like he had to keep him close. He could only laugh bitterly at the feeling of “mine” that arose so naturally.
He raised one hand and looked at it. The red thread that Yeon spoke of was invisible to his eyes.
Whether it’s a red thread or whatever, I hope it’s tough enough. Tough enough not to break no matter where we are.
He smiled wryly at the thought that had unconsciously crossed his mind. He was amazed at himself, not knowing where these dark emotions were coming from.
The scenery outside the car window began to change. The gray, rectangular buildings disappeared one by one, and mountains could be seen at the end of every view.
‘I pray that in this life, this connection will finally be severed properly…’
Yeon’s voice buzzed in his ear.
Don’t be ridiculous. I will never let it break.
Dohyuk was certain. The moment Yeon jumped in front of him despite knowing the danger, he knew that Yeon also had no intention of severing their connection.
***
“From here, we’ll have to get out and walk.”
The car that had been climbing the bumpy mountain road came to a stop. Director Choi explained that the road was too narrow for the car to continue.
“Wait here.”
As Dohyuk got out of the car alone, Director Choi hurriedly followed.
“I can’t let you go alone when we don’t know what might happen.”
Before they departed, Director Choi had wanted to bring bodyguards, but Dohyuk refused. He said there was no need as they weren’t going to war, and Director Choi couldn’t insist further. Even so, he was against Dohyuk going to Muryeong alone.
“They’re just shamans after all.”
Despite Dohyuk dismissing it as unnecessary worry, Director Choi wouldn’t step aside.
“There might be people guarding them.”
“Deep in these mountains?”
Dohyuk laughed as if it were absurd. If Muryeong’s headquarters were in an easily accessible location, he would have been cautious about the possibility of them having perfect security with either bodyguards or security systems. But Muryeong was located deep in the mountains where access was not easy. When access becomes difficult, security becomes relatively more relaxed. There might be some security personnel, but Dohyuk could handle that much alone.
“Please at least allow me to go with you.”
Director Choi insisted.
“No.”
Dohyuk flatly refused.
“You need to be here to prepare for any contingencies.”
Checking his watch, Dohyuk said one hour. If he didn’t return within that time, then Director Choi could act according to his judgment. Only then did Director Choi reluctantly step back.
Walking up the narrow mountain path, Dohyuk wondered if there was really anything here at all. There was a sign indicating private property, but the path was so overgrown with vegetation that to an outsider, it would look like abandoned land. It was the middle of the night, but there were no streetlights. Dohyuk had to illuminate the way with his phone’s flashlight.
After walking for about five minutes, the path gradually widened. Dohyuk let out a surprised breath at the huge mansion that suddenly appeared before him. He felt Muryeong’s impressive influence anew, that they could build such a traditional Korean house in a place that didn’t even show up on satellite images.
Standing in front of the tall gate, he looked around. Naturally, there was no intercom or anything like that. He wondered if someone would come out if he knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?”
A person walking along the wall shone a flashlight at Dohyuk. Thinking it was perfect timing, the corner of Dohyuk’s mouth curled up faintly.
The approaching person was wearing white clothes. Though the style was different, it was clear that this person belonged to Muryeong.
“This is private property. If you’ve lost your way, go back quickly, huh!”
Dohyuk quickly moved behind him. He wrapped one arm around the man’s shoulders and put a knife to his neck, shocking the man who had been trying to drive Dohyuk away.
“Take me to Muyeong.”
The quiet voice settled in the darkness.
“W-who are you, eek!”
When the knife blade touched his neck, causing a stinging sensation, the man began to tremble.
“I said, take me to Muyeong.”
The blade was so well-honed that just a touch cut the skin and drew blood. The man, terrified, nodded.
As they entered through the main gate, the people inside turned pale when they saw Dohyuk and the man.
“What the hell are you doing!”
Two men who looked somewhat robust rushed towards Dohyuk. Dohyuk threw the man he was holding forward and ducked to avoid the punch from one of the men rushing at him. He then drove his fist into the man’s abdomen. With a dull sound, one of the men collapsed, clutching his stomach.
Dohyuk held the knife in his right hand. It was a warning that if they rushed at him again, he would use the knife, not his fist. Seemingly aware of this, the other man didn’t rush in recklessly. The brief movement seemed to have alerted him that Dohyuk was no ordinary person.
“What is this commotion?”
A shout was heard from the wooden porch inside. Everyone looked in that direction. Dohyuk also turned to where the sound came from. A man wearing clothes similar to Yeon’s was standing on the porch, looking down.
Muyeong. Having seen him once before, Dohyuk recognized him immediately.
“Kang Dohyuk…”
Muyeong also uttered Dohyuk’s name softly. Dohyuk stared back at him with a cold gaze. Seeing Muyeong’s expression harden, Dohyuk was certain.
He knew. He knew why Dohyuk had come here.
“You’re being quite discourteous at this late hour.”
Muyeong admonished in a quiet voice.
“I’ve only come to retrieve what’s mine.”
Dohyuk answered briefly. The Muryeong shamans who had come out one by one due to the commotion buzzed at Dohyuk’s answer. Amidst them, Dohyuk and Muyeong stared at each other with sharp gazes, as if in a staring contest.
