“Forget about the interview. Whatever she said, don’t worry about it too much.”
Theo said, rising from his seat. Let’s go now. Hyungoh, who had regained his senses, stared blankly at Theo beckoning with his finger. Where are we going?
“To the room where you’ll be staying from now on.”
“You’re talking as if my ankles are tied to this place.”
“Sorry, but your ankles are tied.
Surely you didn’t think she would just let you go? At Theo’s cutting remark, Hyungoh resigned himself. Of course not.
“At least your limbs are intact, which is fortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
“The boss, I mean. When I first met her, I barely escaped with my life.”
“First meeting…”
“Ah, yes. You were there too.”
Theo briefly reminisced about the past before shaking his head. Just thinking about it still makes my body ache.
“Weren’t you okay? You even called Jeff.”
“What are you talking about? I never did that.”
“No, you definitely…”
Hyungoh tilted his head as he searched his memory. Come to think of it, I never spoke directly with Theo. Jeff said that Theo had an urgent matter and hung up… After pondering a bit more, Hyungoh smacked his forehead. Wait, what? That was obviously a lie. What could have been more urgent in that situation? If it had been truly urgent, he wouldn’t have been able to call at all.
“I’m sorry. It seems that man lied to reassure me.”
So what happened after that? Hyungoh started to worry. What if that incident became the reason for joining the Cenaline organization… If that’s the case, I feel guilty. Their meeting was because of me in a way. They ran into each other while trying to take me to the airport.
“It’s all hazy since it was so long ago. I was beaten until my bones broke, then got thrown off a charging car, and when I came to, I was in a trunk.”
“…What did you say?”
“Nothing much happened after that. I managed to escape somehow, then spotted Hunter who had just arrived in the neighborhood, and I passed out right there.”
Theo pictured the scene in his mind. He closed his eyes in Hunter’s arms, and when he opened them again, he was staring at the ceiling of his own room.
His entire body felt stiff and uncomfortable. When he glanced down, he saw that almost every part of him was wrapped in multiple layers of bandages. For a moment, he smiled gently, wondering if Hunter had treated him, but his mood quickly soured as he remembered Enya, who had tried to kidnap him.
As soon as he woke up, he looked for Hunter. Dragging his aching body to the living room, he found Jeff sitting on the sofa, anxiously shaking his leg. With a serious face, Jeff told Theo about what had happened. After dropping off Hyungoh, Jeff had frantically headed to Theo’s house, where he ran into Hunter in front of the house.
Hunter remembered Jeff despite having only encountered him once or twice at school. After telling Jeff to help Theo rest when he woke up, Hunter got into a mysterious car and smoothly departed.
I know that car. Jeff said, his already large eyes widening even more. It was the car that had been blocking our way!
What exactly is that Asian teacher’s identity? While Jeff was making a fuss, Theo became serious. I’m starting to wonder too. Until now, all I knew about Hunter was that he was a rich, slick man.
I only found out by chance that his profession was teaching. That’s why I enrolled in the high school where he worked. Besides that, I don’t really know much else about him.
Could that rumor have been true? At Jeff’s murmur, Theo asked, What do you mean? You know, there was a rumor going around school. That an Asian teacher known as an eccentric was part of a pretty big mafia organization.
Theo raised his eyebrows. This is the first I’m hearing of it. That’s because you don’t even try to listen to things you’re not interested in. Jeff scolded.
So that’s how it was. Theo frowned as if he had a headache. Now everything made sense. A mafia, huh. So Hunter was the cause of this mess. Was he also the “executive of some huge organization” that Simon had mentioned while trembling?
Despite Jeff’s protests, Theo moved his injured body to visit Michael’s mansion. However, it was no longer a place where people could live. The half-burnt remains of the mansion looked as if they might collapse at any moment.
There was nothing he could do. His body was too injured to search for the missing Herick, Michael, and Hunter, and randomly looking for them seemed futile, so he quietly rested for a few days. The neighborhood was as quiet as if a storm had swept through, and it even felt somewhat peaceful.
A month quickly passed. Theo, who had prided himself on his remarkable recovery ability, felt his limitations during this period. His broken bones and torn wounds healed slowly, like a baby learning to walk.
Around the time he could clench his fist without any pain, with hands that had once trembled at the slightest movement, Herick came to visit. He seemed to be worried about Theo while also anxious about something else.
Is Choi here too?
To Herick’s careful question, Theo answered truthfully. He went back to Korea. Herick, who had wanted to get rid of Hyungoh more than anyone, looked quite shocked. He demanded to know why Theo had arbitrarily helped him escape. He seemed to regret it, as if he’d had a change of heart.
Wonders never cease. Theo sneered. Disappointed, Herick turned his resentment toward Theo. That was probably the first time they had a genuine argument. It wasn’t like their usual light bickering. Herick was excessively emotional, and Theo wasn’t mature enough to handle all of that, so it escalated into a fierce fight.
Pathetic bastard. Theo clicked his tongue at Herick, who had slammed the front door shut as he left. That was his last meeting with Herick.
Herick wasn’t the only visitor to Theo’s house. About a week later, Hunter came to see Theo.
He looked exhausted. When he casually asked if Theo had recovered, Theo was secretly pleased.
She has her eye on you.
Hunter got straight to the point. It’s not my business what choice you make, but you should think carefully. He warned.
At first, Theo couldn’t understand what he meant. But with the third visitor to his house, a man with a familiar face, he gradually began to understand.
The man had burn scars on his face. Sensing danger, Theo was wary of him. Where have I seen him before? As Theo scrutinized him, he realized the man was one of those who had assaulted him.
Could he have been sent by that woman? Theo guessed. And his guess was correct. The man urged Theo to join their organization.
Though he only urged verbally, it was practically a threat. Theo could tell from the police officer who knocked on his front door at the perfect timing. A police officer with a protruding belly dusted with donut powder explained that they had received a report from neighbors. Apparently, they had seen Theo burying someone in Hunter’s garden a few months ago. Ah, are they talking about Simon? Theo squinted.
It was easy to guess why the police and neighbors, who had been busy ignoring whatever had happened before, had suddenly reported Theo. The fact that they were bringing up something from months ago to find fault made the answer obvious. Theo irritably glared at the man sitting comfortably in his living room. It was indeed a threat.
The man demanded an answer in front of the police. Will you join? Theo rolled his eyes in annoyance at the police officer who kept glancing at the man. There was no real choice to make. There had only been one option from the start.
“I didn’t want to rot in prison unjustly, so what could I do?”
Theo said impassively as he walked with Hyungoh through the hotel lobby.
Hyungoh was stunned by his story. That Enya Cenaline had gone to such lengths to make Theo a member of the Family.
So she really never lets go of prey once she’s caught it, huh? Hyungoh felt a sense of kinship with Theo. So you were also forced to join. As he looked at Theo with sympathy, Theo frowned. I don’t know what that look means, but it feels unpleasant.
Theo took a security card from his pocket and held it up to the door lock of a room at the end of the hallway. When he opened the door and entered, a soft red light illuminated the room.
As soon as Hyungoh stepped into the room, he first checked the locations of the surveillance cameras. While he was quickly scanning with his eyes to see how many cameras there were and where the blind spots might be, Theo noticed and tapped him on the back.
“Why are you still so cautious?”
“Do you think you look like someone I shouldn’t be cautious around?”
“I’m telling you to relax. This isn’t the Gostin mansion. That Ghost guy isn’t here, and neither is that colleague who wants to kill you.”
“But I’m still being watched just the same.”
“Well, that can’t be helped. After all, it’s a fact that you were once part of the Gostin organization.”
There are probably more surveillance cameras in Hunter’s room than in yours. Theo offered a sort of non-comforting comfort. Hyungoh discovered a small camera attached to the wall right next to the window and said with a shudder, This is exhausting.
“You should consider yourself fortunate to be able to stay here. Think about it. Being a fugitive with the added charge of betraying the Gostin organization means constantly being under threat for your life. Isn’t it better to hide in a rival organization that they can’t easily mess with?”
Why don’t you officially join our organization and settle down? Theo asked jokingly. Hyungoh made a sour face. I don’t want to complicate things any further.
“Now that it’s come to this, wouldn’t it be more fun to go all out?”
You worry too much. Theo flicked Hyungoh on the back of his head. Though Theo meant it to be a light tap, to Hyungoh it felt like a powerful blow that could make his eyeballs pop out. Ignoring Hyungoh’s glare, Theo told him to rest and went outside.
Theo paused in the hallway and exhaled deeply. His eyes changed to a solemn expression.
After checking his wristwatch, he moved on. The place where he stopped after taking a few steps was the adjacent room.
He took out another security card and opened the door. The same red lighting as in Hyungoh’s room greeted him. It was a place filled with a strange tension.
Theo raised his downcast eyes. In front of him was Hunter, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. After exhaling a hazy smoke, Hunter dropped the cigarette butt into an ashtray as if he had been waiting.
The door closed slowly behind the two, who were staring at each other as if they could devour one another.
