<13>
I opened the bedroom drawer and put away the watch Kang Seok-ju had given me as a bribe. Wanting to shower first, I went into the bathroom and undressed. As I cooled my head under cold water, I recalled the tattoo I had seen earlier. On the last day I saw the people called my parents, a man with that same tattoo had come with his group.
They had mercilessly assaulted a family of three, including Ja-kyung. After blindfolding their unconscious eyes and binding their hands and feet, they took them somewhere. The place they arrived at was a warehouse where not a single ray of light entered. On the first day, my father disappeared. On the second day, my mother disappeared. And on the third day, in a night thick with darkness... someone opened the door and entered the warehouse.
Surprisingly, it was Wang, who lived in the same neighborhood. He carried the bloodied young Ja-kyung on his back and escaped the warehouse. At the exit, he saw two men lying unconscious. And next to them, an arm protruding from a drum. Fingernails painted with bright red nail polish. A cheap beaded bracelet my mother always wore glittered on the wrist.
Looking down at the water falling onto the bathroom floor, Ja-kyung sank briefly into old memories. I grit my teeth. It wasn't anger toward those who killed my parents. If they hadn't died then, I might have killed them with my own hands someday anyway.
I needed alcohol to soothe my gloomy feelings. I took beer from the refrigerator and was about to drink it when I came out to the living room to find Kang Il-hyun sitting on the sofa. Having roughly expected this, I set the beer aside and walked toward him. No matter that he was the homeowner, his constant coming and going at all hours was inconvenient.
"Come sit for a moment."
Ja-kyung went and sat across from Il-hyun.
"I'll apologize for today. I should have instructed Seok-ju more firmly. It's my fault."
"No... Thanks to you, Managing Director, I enjoyed the exhibition well."
"Is that so?"
It wasn't particularly to take Kang Seok-ju's side. To put it bluntly, even if he got beaten to death by Kang Il-hyun, it had nothing to do with me. But having received an expensive watch, I couldn't just wipe my mouth clean. I should play along appropriately.
"I had fun meeting friends my age too."
"Hmm... that's unexpected."
"Pardon?"
"No matter how I think about it, they're not the type of crowd Ian would fit in with."
"No... it wasn't bad. They were kind to me."
"I'm glad if that's the case. But you know, right? Hanging out is fine, but you mustn't cross the line. Otherwise, I couldn't face Grandfather who trusted our family and entrusted you to us."
"Yes... I understand."
Kang Il-hyun smiled with a satisfied expression and nodded.
"Then let's leave today's matter at that. I'll go down now, so rest."
Il-hyun stood up, and after hesitating, Ja-kyung stood up with him and called out to him.
"Managing Director. There's something I'm curious about... You said you'd remove the CCTV in the master bedroom, but it's still there."
"Hmm, is it very uncomfortable?"
"Yes... I suppose... It's already stifling being in the house, and having CCTV even in the bedroom..."
Seeing Kang Il-hyun's expression subtly turn cold, I realized I'd made a mistake. I shouldn't have mentioned feeling stifled in the house. Regretting too late, I tried to find words to substitute, but he nodded as if accepting it.
"So it was stifling. My house."
"Oh, no. It's not exactly that..."
"Not big enough to feel stifling. I should have built it bigger."
"It's not... exactly that..."
"My mistake. I should have built it fucking huge."
This psycho bastard sneers with a smiling face. Fuck. I don't want to deal with him. Cursing internally, I thought I might as well try since it had come to this.
"Honestly speaking, it is a bit stifling... I feel like I'm being watched even while sleeping... Also, I'm interested in interior design so I wanted to look around the house... but everything is locked so that's difficult too."
Kang Il-hyun's head tilted slightly. Without avoiding his piercing gaze, I looked back at him while opening my eyes as innocently as possible.
"Where do you want to see that badly?"
What the hell. Let's just say it.
"The basement...?"
Mm. Watching Kang Il-hyun's unchanged expression, Ja-kyung grew slightly tense. Did I say something unnecessary? Will he suspect me? I should have waited until the fingerprint I took arrived. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head, but his expression softened and he slowly nodded.
"You should have said so earlier. There's no reason not to show you."
Ja-kyung gritted his molars and created a smile at the corner of his mouth. An unexpected response. Perhaps the housekeeper's words that he would show me if I asked were sincere.
"Do you want to go now?"
"I heard it's your... private space... can I really go?"
Now that he's actually offering to show me, I'm nervous. He, who had been standing a short distance away, walked stride by stride right up to my face. Tense, Ja-kyung tried to step back but stopped and looked up at him. His gaze pierced down at an angle.
"I dislike people whose words and actions differ."
"Pardon?"
"Your eyes are desperate to go, so why does your mouth lie?"
"...."
"If you're going, I'll take you now."
What is this situation.
"Do you want to go?"
"...Yes, I'll go."
The corners of Kang Il-hyun's stiff lips rose slightly. Saying to follow, he turned his body, and Ja-kyung, left behind, made an inaudible groan through clenched teeth. While happy that things were working out easily, on the other hand, anxiety was rising like heat haze.
***
Kang Tae-han, who had been looking with an indifferent face at the completely cooled teacup, raised his head. In front of him, his stepmother Kim Sun-young was fiddling with a jeweled ring on her fourth finger. On the table lay a single photograph she had presented moments ago.
Jang Ian, a Hong Kong national who had entered Korea a few days ago.
He was currently staying at Kang Il-hyun's residence and had reportedly been out with Kang Seok-ju today.
Kang Tae-han looked around. She had asked to meet at a cafe on the outskirts of Seoul, but the shop was completely empty with not only no staff but no customers either. At one side of the shop stood only Secretary Yoon, her favorite. Kang Tae-han pushed up his glasses and returned the photo of Jang Ian to Kim Sun-young.
"I listened well to what my stepmother said. Unfortunately... I cannot grant your request."
Kim Sun-young opened her bag and took out cigarettes and a lighter. They say hands and neck show age as one gets older, but that didn't seem to apply to her. With smooth fingers, she lit a cigarette, leaned back in her chair, and looked at Kang Tae-han with languid eyes.
"Are you saying that it doesn't matter if Managing Director Kang takes the successor position?"
Kang Tae-han's cunning eyes distorted. He was already on edge because one of the directors who followed him had gone missing. He could tell immediately it was Kang Il-hyun's doing. It was impossible for a mere managing director to eliminate one of the company's founding contributors.
It would only be possible with Chairman Kang's absolute trust. As rumors spread, the other directors began to waver, and even neutral shareholders whispered that Chairman Kang's heart might already lean toward his second son, Managing Director Kang.
Even so, the story she brought now was absurd.
"Eliminating Jang Ian is impossible."
He was a guest from abroad, the grandson of the head of a massive Hong Kong organization, and his father had been close with Chairman Kang during his lifetime. Did she expect to eliminate someone like that and get away unscathed? Her recklessness made him want to laugh first. He had roughly expected this kind of talk when she asked to meet saying she had something to say, but...
"I'm not saying kill him. I'm saying just stab him a few times in appropriate places."
Perhaps because she grew up under parents who dealt in usury, Kim Sun-young was also far from being an elegant lady.
"Our position could become difficult."
"The one who'll be in a difficult position isn't us, it's Managing Director Kang. At least the Chairman won't be able to take his side this time."
Chairman Kang's consideration of Kang Il-hyun as successor despite the directors' opposition was largely influenced by the Hong Kong organization that was like family to them. They wanted Kang Il-hyun, rather than the eldest son Kang Tae-han, to inherit the position and continue their dealings. That was why Jang Ian's visit wouldn't end with mere goodwill.
"It's a reckless act. What if things go wrong? Can you handle him?"
She ground her cigarette into the ashtray. Pulling her chair closer, she put her arms on the table and leaned her upper body forward.
"Then how about this?"
"...?"
"Getting rid of Managing Director Kang entirely?"
One of Kang Tae-han's eyebrows rose sharply. It was an absurd proposition.
"I protect my son, and you protect your position."
He could understand her feelings too. Unlike himself who ignored the troublemaking Kang Seok-ju, Kang Il-hyun really looked like someone who would kill. The intensity was increasing, and last time it was the forehead, but next time he might really slit the throat. She too must have realized through this incident that Kang Il-hyun could really kill her son.
"You don't know Managing Director Kang? That bastard is someone who would crawl back up even if he fell into hell."
"That's exactly why. I mean let's send him there a bit more easily."
Kang Tae-han put a cigarette in his mouth but couldn't bring himself to light it. If anything went wrong, even by a one-in-ten-thousand chance, it would really be the end.
"If something goes wrong..."
"That won't happen."
"How can you be certain?"
"I've secured the top expert in this field."
Her beaming smile even showed a hint of triumph. Chewing on the cigarette end, Kang Tae-han snapped the cigarette and threw it on the floor. He picked up the photo and checked Jang Ian's face again. Twenty-one years old. Still a baby.
He ran calculations in his head. Rather than sitting still and getting attacked, it wasn't bad to take a risk and cut off Kang Il-hyun's limbs beforehand. I'll just pretend to cooperate appropriately. If things go wrong, I can pin it all on Kim Sun-young.
"So now we're a team, right?"
She smiled brightly and extended her hand. After hesitating briefly, Kang Tae-han put down the photo and took her hand. That's right. We're a team. Though there was a slight unease, when he imagined Kang Il-hyun getting destroyed and falling flat, the unease vanished and a strange pleasure spread across his face.