<23>
Ja-kyung slowly opened her eyes. The sun was high in the sky. She hadn't been able to sleep properly until dawn and had only just managed to close her eyes in the morning. She rolled over and turned away, but Kang Il-hyun, who had been sleeping beside her, was nowhere to be seen. She stretched and sat up. Instead of her own clothes, she was wearing Kang Il-hyun's pajamas.
Unlike what she had worried about, Kang Il-hyun hadn't forced himself on her recklessly. He had simply held her and moved his hips. Given his usual behavior, it was unexpected. She thought he would thrust into her mercilessly. Moreover, his touch and kisses were much gentler than anticipated, which made her feel strange.
Having stayed up all night tense, her throat was parched. She got up from bed to drink some water and came out to the living room. Kang Il-hyun was nowhere to be seen. After pouring and drinking a glass of water, she looked around the house. Where did he disappear to since morning? She went to the entrance, but his shoes were gone. Wandering around, she discovered a note he had left on the living room table.
[I went to work. I'll stop by briefly at lunch.]
The handwriting was neat and tidy. It was Saturday, shouldn't he be resting? She thought it was rather fortunate. Seeing each other would only make things awkward between them. While drinking water, she looked at the paintings hanging on the wall, then went inside and discovered a study. Unlike the residence where Kang Il-hyun usually stayed, all the doors here were open-style. Moreover, there were no surveillance cameras.
There were quite a lot of books in the study. Economic books took up a significant portion, but there were also a few poetry collections. She unconsciously let out a sneer. While looking around, she discovered that the bookshelf was a sliding one. Usually, places like this had secret spaces behind them.
With a sense of anticipation, she pushed the bookshelf to one side. Rumble—the bookshelf moved with a heavy sound, revealing a wall. Disappointed, she was about to return it to its original position when she stood close to the wall. With her fist clenched, she tapped it—thud, thud—and it sounded hollow. Her eyes widened.
When she pushed hard to the side with her palm, the wall surface slid smoothly, revealing another space inside. She looked behind her. There was still time until lunch. When she stepped inside, there was another study. Ja-kyung, who was examining the bookshelf and desk, stopped moving.
Unexpectedly, there was a safe under the desk. She looked around the room once. In case it was being recorded. After deliberation, she knelt down and checked the safe. Fortunately, it had a lock that required entering a password rather than a fingerprint.
Ja-kyung, who had been hesitating, recalled the eight numbers Kang Il-hyun had pressed in the basement. She pressed them in order. When she pressed the last number—beep. A sound indicated that the lock was released. She licked her lower lip and carefully pulled the safe door open.
Seeing what was inside, Ja-kyung's eyes and mouth opened wide, and soon she laughed in disbelief.
"So it was here."
Inside the safe was a large quantity of USBs. They were labeled with dates and names like price tags, organized so they could be seen at a glance. Among them, a few had only dates without any markings. The people whose names were written were prominent figures in Korea. From politicians to celebrities, legal professionals, and businesspeople.
What kind of weaknesses about them were contained inside was unknown. First, she had to find the item requested by her client. Ja-kyung, who was busily moving her eyes and hands, paused. A USB with only a date from 5 years ago and "DK" written on it caught her eye.
Found it!
She grabbed it with her hand, but couldn't bring herself to take it out. If he finds out this is missing, Kang Il-hyun will suspect Lee Ja-kyung. There were two conditions. To retrieve the file. And to kill Kang Il-hyun. There was still quite a bit of time until the date set to kill Kang Il-hyun.
Ja-kyung hesitated. Should she take it? Or should she wait? In the end, she chose the safer method. Having found it, she was halfway successful. She could come back to retrieve it after killing Kang Il-hyun. Regrettably, she had to retreat for now.
She took a photo of the USB to save it, then returned it to its place. She closed the safe and wiped away the fingerprints she had left. When she came out and was walking down the corridor, she heard a sound from the entrance. Ja-kyung quickly went to the sofa and sat down, and shortly after, footsteps approached.
"You're awake?"
Ja-kyung put down the water cup she had been drinking from and looked back at Il-hyun. Considering they had been naked and intimate last night, it was rather fortunate that he greeted her as if nothing happened. In his hand was a brown paper bag.
"Is hamburger okay?"
Il-hyun went to the dining table and opened the bag. Ja-kyung stood up and approached him. She hadn't had a hamburger since coming here anyway.
"Yes... I like them."
"That's fortunate. There's a handmade burger place on the lower floor that tastes pretty good. Try it."
Kang Il-hyun even unwrapped the hamburger wrapper and inserted a straw into the cola. When she took it and brought it to her mouth, the delicious smell of seasoning already made her mouth water. She opened her mouth wide and took a bite—the tomato, meat, and pickle combined exquisitely.
Il-hyun, sitting across from her, smiled and held out a napkin. Then he pointed at the corner of her mouth. Instead of the napkin, Ja-kyung licked the corner of her mouth with her tongue. Il-hyun propped his chin and watched her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"How was it?"
"It's delicious. It's among the best burgers I've ever had."
"No, I'm asking how the sex was yesterday."
She almost spewed the cola she was drinking. Shit. Shiibal. Why while eating! Coughing, she grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips. The hamburger felt like it was stuck in her throat. She looked at him with an expression that asked why he would say such a thing. Kang Il-hyun propped his chin and gazed at Ja-kyung.
"Honestly speaking, it wasn't even really sex."
"Why are you asking about that...?"
"I kept my promise to be gentle, so I was wondering if we could do it again today."
"What?"
Her voice rose unknowingly and her face crumpled. Wasn't it supposed to end with once? Looking at his expression, it didn't seem like a joke. What should she answer? If she refuses, he probably won't let her back in here. But doing it again felt uncomfortable.
"I'll... I'll think about it..."
"Alright."
Stall for time. Say her body hurts, or say she has work to do.
"Done thinking?"
Ja-kyung, who was about to eat the hamburger again, opened her eyes wide.
"What?"
"You said you'd think about it."
She was dumbfounded. Not even 5 seconds had passed since she said it.
"Let me eat first..."
When she tried to eat more, she had no appetite at all. The hamburger that had been melting softly now felt like chewing on sand grains. She deliberately ate slowly like a rabbit, nibbling bit by bit at the lettuce. Even while eating leisurely, Kang Il-hyun sat there without moving. As she persisted, fortunately his phone rang. After finishing a brief call, he grabbed his jacket and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"To the company. I'll hear your answer later."
She unknowingly let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps her expression relaxed, because Kang Il-hyun noticed like a ghost and made a joke.
"Shit. You're happy I'm leaving. That hurts my feelings."
He cursed while laughing, and Ja-kyung, embarrassed, quickly bit the straw to avoid his gaze.
***
In the old bathhouse, only one orange light flickered. The interior was dark and gloomy, with only the sound of water dripping from the ceiling heard occasionally. Underneath, a man was tied to a chair, stripped naked with only a pair of underwear on. The door opened and someone entered. Light briefly came in then disappeared.
The person who entered the bathhouse was Kang Il-hyun. Footsteps approached—thud, thud—and he stood before the man. The eyes of the man looking up were filled with fear. One subordinate brought a chair, and Il-hyun sat there, took out a cigarette, and lit it.
"Hey. Boss Choi."
As soon as Il-hyun called him, the man protested, claiming it wasn't true.
"Managing Director Kang! It's a misunderstanding. I really don't know anything about this!"
"Why are you trying to take all the blame alone? Loyalty can only be kept when you're still alive to show it."
Perhaps trusting that his tone was generous, the man made an appeal similar to a complaint.
"Believe me. I really don't know. I'm telling you the truth!"
Boss Choi had been in charge of operating one of the casinos run by the Ha-eun Group. However, recently a large sum had been withdrawn from his personal account. It was his money so he could spend it however he wanted, but where the money flowed to was suspicious.
Just in case, they thoroughly investigated Boss Choi's black box and his movements that day, and the destination was roughly revealed. The money was delivered in cash to an errand center. What was requested there was unknown. When they went this morning, everything had already disappeared. And crucially, the man was Kim Sun-young's cousin brother.
"Kang, Managing Director Kang... Let me meet the Chairman. Let me speak to the Chairman!"
Il-hyun shoved the lit cigarette directly into the man's mouth and stood up from his seat. Before the man could even scream, he roughly grabbed his jaw and pushed him backward. Splash—the man, still tied to the chair, fell into the water-filled tub and immediately sank to the bottom with a gurgle.
The water was deep enough to reach an adult man's chest, and instead of screams begging to be saved, only bubbles—glug, glug—rose up. Il-hyun lazily brushed off the water that had splashed on his shirt. As the amount of air bubbles rising gradually decreased, Il-hyun gestured to his subordinate beside him to pull him up.
Two subordinates quickly entered the tub and dragged out Boss Choi. Wheeze, wheeze—Boss Choi gasped for breath with a face filled with terror. Il-hyun sat back in the chair, and the man was returned to his earlier position. Looking at him, Il-hyun put a new cigarette in his mouth.
"See that. You get punished when you lie."
A subordinate beside him brought a towel, and Il-hyun took it and carefully wiped Boss Choi's face.
"The only person who can save you right now is not my father—it's me. Think carefully. Stop looking for the Chairman and ruining my mood. Got it?"