Chapter 79: Enemy
When Dohyuk arrived at his mother’s house, he was greeted by the live-in housekeeper. Having worked at his mother’s home for a long time, she recognized Dohyuk’s face even though he visited maybe once a year, if that.
“Madam has gone on a trip.”
“I know. I just stopped by to check something. You don’t need to inform my mother about this.”
After instructing her not to worry about him, he entered his mother’s room. He looked around but couldn’t find anything unusual. With the housekeeper living in, there was no chance of a break-in. He returned to the living room and called the housekeeper.
“Did anyone visit my mother before she left the country?”
The housekeeper pondered Dohyuk’s question.
“So many people come and go regularly…”
She seemed to have trouble answering such a broad question.
“If you could recall the people my mother met from about a week before her departure until she left, that would be helpful.”
That wasn’t an easy question either, and the housekeeper looked at the calendar, trying to remember.
“The representative from Hovan Gallery came by. I remember because they raised their voices. And also…”
The housekeeper rolled her eyes, then made an “ah” sound as if she’d remembered something.
“There was one more visitor. He came with his secretary, so I thought he must be someone important.”
“Who was that?”
“Who was it again… The atmosphere was extremely cold between him and madam… Ah! I remember! He said he was the Chairman of Dragon Holdings.”
Dohyuk’s eyebrow quirked up at the unexpected name. Chairman Kang Mansik visited his mother? That was impossible. His mother wouldn’t have summoned him. She loathed Kang Mansik and wanted to avoid seeing his face if possible. Likewise, Kang Mansik hadn’t sought out his mother in recent years. The same was true for Kim Yumin and Lee Miseon.
A man who had lived essentially as a stranger to all three women suddenly visited his mother?
“Do you remember what they discussed?”
“No. The atmosphere was tense, so I just served tea and stayed in the small room.”
“Was there anything else unusual?”
“Well… I overheard them talking about her son… But not long after, madam shouted that she couldn’t stand the sight of him and told him to leave immediately, then went to her room.”
“Did he leave right away?”
The housekeeper thought again and shook her head.
“He seemed to be waiting for madam. About 10 minutes? He sat in the living room before finally giving up and leaving.”
That meant Kang Mansik and his secretary were alone in the living room for about 10 minutes. What if his mother’s bag had been in the living room? What if the keycard to his villa was in that bag? No, someone like Kang Mansik could have obtained a key to his villa entrance one way or another.
Ha. A bitter laugh escaped him. Now he understood. Kang Mansik had known everything about him from the beginning. That he had brought a shaman from Muryeong, that it was Yeon the shaman, not a security guard, who had saved him during the shooting at the Yeouido project presentation… And that now he was becoming obsessed with Yeon.
***
Director Choi came at the crack of dawn. Dohyuk thought it might be about Yeon’s kidnapping the night before, but it wasn’t.
“Muryeong was completely burned down last night.”
Dohyuk’s hands stopped adjusting his tie at Director Choi’s grim report. When he turned his head to look at Director Choi, he could see the secretary couldn’t hide his confusion either.
“Muryeong burned down? Why?”
“We’re still determining the cause. I’ll inform you as soon as we know more.”
Dohyuk narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. Director Choi was flustered at not being able to provide a clear report, but Dohyuk had his suspicions.
“Double-check Chairman Kang Mansik’s departure from the country. He might have only gone through immigration without actually boarding the plane. Send someone to Muryeong separately to check for survivors, and if Muyeong, the head of Muryeong, is alive, bring him in. How’s the tracking of Kang Chahyuk going?”
“We’ve tracked Director Kang Chahyuk’s phone and have his current location. Regarding last night’s incident, we can’t identify the suspect from CCTV footage alone, so it will take some time. We’re tracking the vehicle by its license plate number.”
Even as he mentioned tracking the license plate, Director Choi’s expression remained dark. It was obvious the number probably wasn’t properly registered.
“No need to waste time. Check Chairman Kang Mansik’s real estate first. Focus on recent acquisitions.”
“The Chairman’s properties? Surely not…”
Director Choi, initially puzzled by the sudden shift in target to Chairman Kang Mansik, seemed to catch up with Dohyuk’s thinking and gasped.
“You think the Chairman kidnapped Yeon?”
“Not just that. The attacks on Kang Sunhyuk and me, and framing Kang Chahyuk for it all.”
“But why…?”
“Well. That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Dohyuk answered more coldly than ever.
Director Choi quietly swallowed. He thought he knew Kang Dohyuk well, but at times like this, he realized Dohyuk was even colder and more detached than he had imagined. He showed not the slightest emotion while suggesting that his own father might be trying to kill him. Instead, as soon as he’d assessed the situation, he immediately considered his father an enemy.
He couldn’t have done it himself. Just the shock of a parent betraying their child would have left him too stunned to work. But Kang Dohyuk was more rational than ever.
“Take care of it this morning.”
After emphasizing this once more to Director Choi, Dohyuk slipped his arms into his suit jacket. The perfectly pressed suit fell in line with his body without a single wrinkle. If he went to the company looking like that, no one would guess what had happened the night before.
“Should we track Yeon’s phone?”
At Director Choi’s question, Dohyuk came out to the living room and glanced at the sofa. Yeon’s phone was still sitting neatly on the sofa, just as it had been the night before. Director Choi let out a short groan.
“Leave it. They’ll contact us anyway. What they want is my life, so they probably won’t kill him until then.”
“…Are you alright?”
Director Choi asked with concern at Dohyuk’s cold response, but Dohyuk merely stared silently at Yeon’s phone on the sofa with tightened lips before turning away.
Though he appeared perfectly composed on the outside, his heart had been throbbing since the previous night. It was worse than he had anticipated. Just having Yeon disappear before his eyes made him feel as if the blood in his fingertips had stopped flowing, leaving them cold. If he were to find Yeon as a corpse, he didn’t think he could maintain his sanity. He couldn’t even imagine how he might snap and do something crazy.
Being his father made no difference. If someone attacked him, they were simply an “enemy.”
***
The person Director Choi sent delivered photos of Muryeong’s headquarters. Perhaps because it was built as a traditional Korean house, it had truly burned completely to the ground. Looking at the photo where even traces of the wooden pillars couldn’t be found, Dohyuk swallowed a sigh. It was fortunate that the fire hadn’t spread to the surrounding forest, considering how thoroughly the building in the mountains had burned. He learned that an anonymous tipster had reported the fire, which allowed the fire truck to arrive relatively quickly.
There seemed to be dozens of people residing at Muryeong, but it was impossible to know if they had all escaped safely. When the fire truck arrived, there were no cries for help from inside, nor anyone rushing out. Even if people had been inside, no bodies could be identified in the current state.
Had everyone evacuated before the fire, or had they been in a situation where they couldn’t escape? If it was Chairman Kang Mansik’s doing, the latter was more likely. Innocent shamans might have all burned to death in that fire. The fact that someone could do such a thing so casually was chilling. While Dohyuk could be ruthless when it came to his own interests, he had never targeted so many unspecified people. Dohyuk’s targets were always precise, and he caused no harm to anyone else.
But why go this far? Was there a reason to eliminate Muryeong?
The unanswered question frustrated him. Was it because he was trying to use Muryeong as a power connect? Would someone trying to kill their own son directly care about such things? The group would be meaningless anyway if Dohyuk died. Unless he was trying to take ownership of it entirely.
When his thoughts led him that far, he found an answer. Kang Mansik must have discovered Muryeong’s existence and met Muyeong directly. Since Dohyuk had kept Lee Seoyoung tied up, it would have been much easier for Kang Mansik to move around. Perhaps his visit to Dohyuk’s mother was also an attempt to gain information about Muryeong. Getting the keycard to his house might have been a bonus.
If Muyeong had refused to follow Kang Mansik’s wishes, then Kang Mansik’s decision was predictable. If it couldn’t be his, he would eliminate it entirely. That kind of thinking was similar to Dohyuk’s own.
Thinking of Yeon, the complete destruction of Muryeong was regrettable, but that wasn’t the most important thing right now.
He slowly examined the list of Chairman Kang Mansik’s real estate that Director Choi had brought. It included a thorough investigation of not only real estate but also movable assets like cars. It detailed when, where, and in what manner each was acquired.
As Dohyuk turned page after page, he noticed something odd. There was a residential building among the factories and office buildings. What’s more, it had been purchased seven years ago. He pressed the intercom to call Director Choi in.
“Find out who’s living at this address.”
He pointed to one location on the list he showed to Director Choi.
Just as Director Choi responded and turned to leave, Dohyuk’s phone on the desk vibrated with a buzz. The sound of it scratching against the desk made Director Choi stop and turn around. Dohyuk’s eyes also shifted to the phone. On the brightly lit screen, the words “Caller ID Restricted” were displayed.
Dohyuk picked up the phone and unlocked the screen. As soon as he opened the messaging app, a photo appeared. Deep wrinkles formed between Dohyuk’s brows as he confirmed the image.
It was Yeon. The moment he saw Yeon unconscious and tied to a chair, something in his mind snapped. The veins on his hand stood out as he gripped the phone tightly.
Below the photo was a message with a time, place, and instructions that Kang Dohyuk must come alone.
