She had been so excited even before leaving that Ian felt happy too. Soyeon was having days as tough as Ian’s these days, with people flocking to the beauty salon.
Someone had posted about the beauty salon Soyeon ran on SNS, and the person who posted it apparently had quite a few followers. Thanks to that free publicity, people were coming from quite far away to get their hair done.
He felt good that everyone around him seemed to be doing well. Then thoughts of his father suddenly came to mind.
Even if he came looking for him now, Ian wasn’t afraid anymore. Because Ganghyuk was there. He even had a subordinate stationed in front of the shop at all times, worried about Ian’s safety.
Was he gambling even now?
When Ian tried to recall memories with his father, nothing came to mind. During his childhood that he couldn’t even remember, his father might have held him once, but in his memories, he was always arguing with Grandfather.
There wasn’t even a grain of affection in the eyes that looked at him. How could that be? He wasn’t a child picked up from the street, but his own flesh and blood.
That’s why when he was told that his mother, whose face he couldn’t even remember, had run away as soon as she gave birth to him, Ian didn’t resent her. If he had lived with someone like his father, he would have gone crazy too.
It was a mystery how such a son had been born under Grandfather. According to Grandfather, Grandmother had been a very good person too.
Though there were times when he felt the absence of parents, Ian had grown up properly, nourished by his grandfather’s affection.
The sight of his father, who hadn’t shown his face even once at the funeral, hearing somewhere that Grandfather had died and then ransacking the house, was truly so terrible it erased any remaining affection.
And then he sold me to a scary person.
Not wanting to think about his father anymore, Ian buried his face in the pillow. Having sex with Ganghyuk in this place felt so much like a dream.
He wasn’t used to being alone yet.
Instead of thinking about his father, he thought about Ganghyuk and fell asleep clutching his phone tightly in one hand. Perhaps because he’d fallen asleep earlier than usual, Ian didn’t notice the human shadow wriggling out from under the bed a short while later.
A person with a cap pulled low took out a handkerchief and a small spray from inside their clothes. After spraying the liquid from the spray onto the handkerchief, they covered the nose and lips of the already sleeping Ian.
Even in his sleep, Ian furrowed his brow. After a moment, Ian’s breathing grew longer. The man who removed the handkerchief slung Ian over his shoulder.
His limbs hung limply, fluttering like a paper doll. Instead of going out the front door, the man opened the window. It was in the opposite direction from where Sucheol was.
When he opened the window, an old truck came into view. On top of the cargo bed were two mattresses stacked on each other.
The man threw Ian onto them first. Despite the heavy impact, Ian only grimaced without regaining consciousness. Soon the man stepped on the windowsill and jumped down.
Thud. Old dust rose from the mattress. The man stuffed Ian between the mattresses, then pulled over some cloth that had been bunched up in a corner to cover them.
Then he went to the driver’s seat and started the truck. All of this happened in less than three minutes.
A short while later, Ian’s phone, left alone on Ganghyuk’s bed, rang. The word “Lover” that appeared on the screen soon changed to a missed call notification.
Another call rang. At that moment, Ganghyuk, who was calling Ian, raised his eyebrows. He had a bad feeling about something.
Ian was a heavy sleeper. Especially when he fell asleep after sex, he couldn’t wake up even when vibrations went off on Ganghyuk’s phone.
He did somehow manage to wake up to the alarm that rang at dawn, but even after opening his eyes, he couldn’t shake off his drowsiness for a while.
It was a bit early, but it wouldn’t be strange if he’d fallen asleep. He’d also received contact from Sucheol saying Ian had arrived home safely.
But why?
Ganghyuk, who had taken out a cigarette from his pocket and held it gently between his teeth, tapped the phone screen with his thumb. He was bothered by missing the call from Ian earlier.
He’d only failed to check it because he was busy with work, but he naturally imagined Ian’s sulky expression, and called as soon as he had a moment.
“I’ve got it bad too.”
Ganghyuk found himself ridiculous for being restless just because he hadn’t answered a phone call, and put his phone in his pocket and lit the end of his cigarette.
There shouldn’t be any problems. He’d locked Yeon Sangmin in his hole early on, and had dealt with Gal Hongdo. Tae Minjae had just been doing drugs at home since that day. He was concerned about Tae Nayeon and had put someone on her, but hadn’t discovered any particular peculiarities.
Still, just in case, Ganghyuk contacted Sucheol and instructed him not to leave the area near Ian’s house. It would be strange to send Sucheol to the house and wake the kid who was sleeping well for no reason.
But that’s what he should have done. Even if it was just a fleeting intuition, he should have trusted it and confirmed Ian’s safety.
ლ
“—The kid’s not inside the house, hyung-nim.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just opened the front door and came in to check, and hyung-nim’s room window is open. And the phone is on the bed…”
At Sucheol’s words, Ganghyuk’s expression hardened at once. Ganghyuk had contacted Sucheol after seeing that Ian’s phone remained quiet even though it was past his wake-up time.
Sucheol seemed puzzled at being told to check if Ian was home, but did as instructed. A short while later, the contact from Sucheol made Ganghyuk’s head spin.
Ian had disappeared. Had the problem been putting someone only on the side with the front door? What on earth had happened to Ian while he was away?
“Check the CCTV right away. I’m coming up now.”
“Yes, understood.”
Sucheol’s dejected voice was cut off abruptly. Strength entered the fingertips of Ganghyuk’s hand gripping the phone. Jaehyun, who had been listening to the conversation beside him, made an awkward expression.
“Executive Director, you have a meeting with the City Housing Bureau Director in 10 minutes.”
It was an important appointment. A problem had occurred at the Ulsan construction site, and it was a meeting Jaehyun had arranged through his connections.
“You’ll have to finish this work in my place.”
Ganghyuk placed his hand on Jaehyun’s shoulder. Jaehyun bowed his head at the gaze filled with deep trust.
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
Knowing what Ian currently meant to Ganghyuk, Jaehyun steeled himself. Filling Ganghyuk’s absence wouldn’t be easy, but he had to do it.
Only then would he not be a burden to Ganghyuk, who trusted him and left.
Ganghyuk quickly exited the hotel lobby. One subordinate who had been contacted pulled up with a car. Before the subordinate could open the door, Ganghyuk got in the back.
The man who had frozen half-risen sat back in the driver’s seat at Ganghyuk’s sharp gaze.
“Depart for Seoul. To Hyoseong-dong.”
“Yes!”
A booming voice echoed throughout the car. Soon the car carrying Ganghyuk got onto the highway heading to Seoul.
A vibration went off in Ganghyuk’s hand. When he answered the phone, Sucheol reported what he’d confirmed on the CCTV. At the words that an unidentified man had thrown the limp Ian out the window, loaded him onto a truck, and kidnapped him, his teeth ground together.
Just in case, he’d installed several CCTVs around the soup restaurant building. It was someone who’d entered the house and kidnapped Ian. There must have been strange signs, but he’d noticed too late.
“Track the license plate right away. Release everyone.”
The voice of Ganghyuk giving instructions was colder than midwinter frost.
The faces of figures who might pull off something like this flashed through Ganghyuk’s mind. This was a professional. If there had been a disturbance inside the house, Sucheol would have noticed right away.
Otherwise, Ian would have contacted Ganghyuk somehow. But they didn’t know Ian had disappeared until morning.
He hadn’t wanted to put someone else in the house with Ian, so he’d given instructions just to watch from near the house.
It was definitely someone who knew his schedule too. If they knew he was at home, they wouldn’t have even thought about laying a hand on Ian.
Tae Nayeon.
She was the most likely candidate among those who would target the person who could be Ganghyuk’s greatest weakness right now. Even if Tae Minjae had moved together, Tae Nayeon must be behind it.
