‘If I had that ability, I’d have done something about Old Man Son first.’
Son Yowan spouted off whatever came to mind, but only kept that sentence twisted to himself.
“And when that noona over there came in saying she saw a dead person, I was at the casino, wasn’t I? Don’t you remember? Both you, old man, and I were at the casino? What to do about this, it wasn’t even that long ago, really? Shouldn’t we call the Det—no, the Captain now? I’m worried about your health, old man?”
“Shut up, you rude bastard! I understand very well why Chairman Son didn’t acknowledge you!”
“No, don’t get involved in other people’s family affairs and produce evidence, evidence. Or are you in a relationship closely tied to Old Man Son by family affairs? Crazy, an unpredictable development. My dopamine’s exploding.”
“What do you mean by that!”
Countless shouts went back and forth between the Teacher and Son Yowan, but the person taking hits was unilaterally only the Teacher.
Son Yowan smiled crookedly at the Teacher, who was showing off the trick of his face repeatedly turning red, blue, then black.
‘I did all sorts of crazy things over the past few days but just smiled, so do I look like a pushover?’
He’d done that in calculation that he should make good relationships with the people here in preparation for any situation. But the situation had changed, and when he’d been told to his face that he might be the culprit……
‘If I keep smiling the same way, I’d be the biggest idiot of all idiots.’
Son Yowan wasn’t that kind of top idiot.
“Stop, stop. Stop it already!”
The Director, who intervened again and physically separated Son Yowan and the Teacher, whispered in Son Yowan’s ear.
“Why didn’t you do it moderately, at this rate he’ll collapse!”
Son Yowan was indifferent.
“That old man falsely accused me first, though?”
Then he glanced at the other people watching him and the old man go at it with hands off and suddenly realized.
“What, everyone’s eyes are strange. Don’t tell me you all think the same as that old man? You suspect me? Wow, fuck. I’m hurt? Didn’t we all get along well? Huh? Big noona! I always pressed the elevator door open button for you! That big hyungnim over there drank a lot with me! That noona over there, I was her mahjong mate!”
(Except for the Magician who was similar in age to his noona so he instinctively avoided her) Son Yowan got annoyed, pointing out the distinguished guests with insolent eyes one by one.
“After all that, you suspect me just because I was late saying the name written on the invitation? Wow, I’m dumbfounded.”
In the end, Son Yowan spat out the name he didn’t even want to say, as if chewing and spitting it out.
“Son Seungkyung, Son Seungkyung! Is that enough? Damn it, who in this country doesn’t know that old man’s name, why make me say it……”
Son Yowan stopped speaking. It was because he realized the gazes of people looking at him were strange.
“Yohan-gun. Um……”
The Director explained.
“What’s written on the invitation isn’t a real name but a nickname. For example, I’m Director, and that friend over there is Actor, like that……”
Son Yowan was silent for a moment.
“Crazy……”
Then after a moment, Son Yowan muttered helplessly.
“Don’t tell me only my invitation is different?”
The Teacher shouted sharply.
“Grab him!”
The very next moment, Son Yowan, who was about to spring out like a coil, was caught by other people. The large-bodied Musician and the relatively young man, the Actor, forcibly caught the struggling Son Yowan and sat him back down in the chair.
Breathing heavily, Son Yowan viciously spewed curses.
“Damn old man!”
The Teacher’s cheek twitched, thinking Son Yowan was cursing at him, but the next moment the misunderstanding was cleared up.
“That damn old bastard knew everything and deliberately gave me a fake!”
The target of Son Yowan’s teeth-grinding curses was the original owner of the invitation, Chairman Son.
“As expected, he wasn’t an official representative!”
When the Teacher sneered mockingly, the elderly lady gave a hint with a cough.
The Teacher immediately insisted.
“Let’s take this guy to him.”
“Him?”
“The Godfather’s dog!”
“What are you going to do after taking him?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He’s a rascal who entered Manghyang through improper means in the first place. So if there’s a culprit who did evil deeds here, it can only be that bastard, can’t it?”
“Does that old man think everything’s rap if the rhyme fits? Chairman Son forged the invitation, so why blame me? By your logic, old man, the culprit is Chairman Son, damn! Ah, great! Then I’ll guide you, so let’s go catch Chairman Son, let’s go!”
“Yohan-gun! Teacher! Calm down! Calm down and let’s talk properly!”
“If you’re going to interfere, get out of the way, Director!”
“Oh my!”
“What are you two doing? Hurry and take that rascal to the dog……!”
After that it was chaos. The two men who had caught Son Yowan but didn’t know what to do, the resisting Son Yowan, the Teacher jumping around and shouting loudly…… There was even an accident where the Director, trying to stop them, was pushed by the Teacher and slammed his nose into the floor.
The Director, who repeatedly struggled and fell while trying to get up several times, then shrieked.
“Where did my glasses go…… Ugh!”
Blood flowed profusely from the Director’s hand, which had been stabbed by the glass that had fallen and broken on the floor long ago.
The elderly lady, who had been watching the men’s behavior with a frown, stood up abruptly at that moment. The Director said.
“Oh my, it’s fine. I’m not hurt much……”
“What did you say?”
The elderly lady suddenly cut off the Director’s words. He asked back bewilderedly, clutching his injured hand.
“I said I’m not hurt much.”
“You said that?”
“Yes……?”
“Then who was the person who asked me if I’d seen their eyeball?”
The people who had been making noise all at once became quiet and turned their heads toward the elderly lady. The elderly lady also muttered while looking at them.
“Clearly in my ear, someone whispered like that?”
Creak.
There was the illusion of hearing such a sound. The elderly lady slowly…… slowly turned around.
And this time everyone’s ears heard it.
“Hey, do you know where my eyeball is?”
People either forcefully shut their mouths or just gaped their open mouths like goldfish. No one had spoken, so who just asked that question……
“Hey, do you know where my eyeball is?”
That sound again. From who knows where.
The middle-aged lady whose face had turned pale muttered like a groan.
“I’ve heard this godam before……”
The young woman blocked the lady’s mouth like lightning. But it was too late.
“Mmph!”
The middle-aged lady hastily covered her eyes. Black water flowed down beneath the hand covering her eyes.
“I can’t see! I can’t see ahead!”
People hastily covered their mouths. Their wide-open eyes trembled with shock and cold sweat poured down from their entire bodies like rain.
‘Goeidam……!’
A sound came.
“Did you see my eyeball?”
“Do you know where my eyeball is?”
“Didn’t someone say an eyeball fell? Isn’t that mine?”
“Ah. This isn’t it. This isn’t mine.”
“Hey, my eyeball……”
At that moment, Son Yowan, who had been out of it like the others, suddenly staggered. It was because someone pushed him. Son Yowan, who barely caught his balance, reflexively turned around sharply and opened his mouth.
“……!”
Who pushed me?
That question was reflexive, on the same level as a scream or groan bursting out—in this situation. It was also something that absolutely shouldn’t be said right now. To be precise, he shouldn’t speak at all.
But words were faster than regret. The sentence formed unconsciously had already crawled up his throat, crossed his tongue, and gone outside his lips.
“!”
But right before that, someone shoved cloth into Son Yowan’s mouth. The first syllable was blocked by the cloth that filled his mouth and was muffled.
“My eyeball is there……”
“It’s not.”
Son Yowan’s eyes widened. It was because at a distance of less than 1cm, there was a very sharp and pointedly trimmed fingernail tip. If it had been even one second later, that fingernail would have gouged out Son Yowan’s eyeball.
“No sound came from here. Don’t be stubborn and……”
That fingernail extending from thin air, a large hand that came from behind Son Yowan’s back firmly grabbed it and twisted it as is.
“Get lost.”
With that command, the fingernail shattered into pieces and scattered as black smoke.
Thud.
Son Yowan sat down on the sofa almost collapsing and blankly looked up. A ghostly pale man looked at him with eyes that still seemed like he’d stayed up for three days and nights, then raised his head again and slowly looked around.
