<34>
Ja-kyung looked at the back of Park Tae-soo gripping the steering wheel. From the moment they left Choi Ki-tae's villa until they reached Seoul, he hadn't said a single word. Since Kang Il-hyun had given permission, she was planning to stay at his Seoul residence today. Compared to a house surrounded by grass fields on all sides, the bustling Seoul was rather preferable to Ja-kyung.
"Manager Park. Can we stop for coffee on the way? There's a coffee shop I've been eyeing, and there happens to be a branch nearby..."
Park Tae-soo met Ja-kyung's eyes through the rearview mirror.
"Yes, I'll do that."
Ja-kyung held the cloned phone and swiped the screen sideways. She checked with her eyes the messages Choi Ki-tae had recently exchanged. Half were meaningless conversations, work-related talk, and discussions about Ja-kyung.
Want to fuck her, sexy, handsome, Kang Seok-ju's guest but is it okay to touch? And so on.
Ja-kyung's taste in her mouth turned bitter. Except for her ignorant childhood, there had hardly been a time when men had been this aggressively pursuing her. They knew that if they touched her wrongly, they'd end up dead. But since coming to Korea, two strange guys had latched onto her.
The funny thing is that both of them were destined to die by her hand. Shaking her head, she checked Choi Ki-tae's schedule. There was an event in just two days. This was also mentioned several times in messages exchanged with his subordinates.
It seemed to be taking place on a ship, and it must be quite important as there were notes and traces left about the event's proceedings. While memorizing this in her head, the car slowly stopped by the roadside. Ja-kyung looked out the window. They had already arrived in front of the café she mentioned.
When the car completely stopped, Park Tae-soo in the driver's seat turned around.
"If you tell me, I'll go buy it."
"No... I need to use the restroom too. I'll be right back. What would you like, Manager?"
"I'm fine."
"I'll buy. Please have one..."
Perhaps because it was awkward to keep refusing, Park Tae-soo hesitated uncharacteristically.
"Then I'll have... AA."
Ja-kyung blinked.
"AA?"
"Ice Americano."
"Ah... yes... it's an abbreviation... haha..."
It was cute how he shortened the menu item with such a scary-looking face. After getting out of the car, she entered the café. There were three stores in Korea, and this was one of them. Upon entering, there was a long line to wait in. She fiddled with her phone and looked out the window. With his dark sunglasses, she couldn't properly see what Park Tae-soo was doing.
After waiting in line for a while, she placed her order and asked where the restroom was. Told it was outside toward the back of the store, she grabbed the receipt and moved toward the back of the store. She entered the restroom and knocked on the door of the very last stall.
Knock, knock knock knock, knock.
Click—the door opened and Wang Lun appeared. He pulled Ja-kyung inside.
"Why are you so late? I waited 10 minutes."
"Sorry. The item?"
Wang Lun took out a small paper envelope from his chest. Ja-kyung received it and checked. It was identical to the USB at Kang Il-hyun's house. Even the date and English handwriting were copied exactly. Today she planned to switch this at Kang Il-hyun's house.
"It was a discontinued model, so it was hard to find."
"Thanks."
"But... he said you can stay there?"
"Yeah."
"That's strange. Does he trust you enough to readily give up his own home?"
Wang Lun's face was full of puzzlement. Ja-kyung couldn't bring herself to say out loud what she had done with Kang Il-hyun. If she did, it was certain she'd be teased by the Wang brothers until just before she was buried in her coffin. She made a vague excuse and put the USB in her pocket. If time dragged on, she'd receive unnecessary suspicion.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
After knocking together, unexpectedly, Park Tae-soo's voice was heard.
"Are you inside?"
Ja-kyung's face turned cold. Wang Lun quickly climbed onto the toilet with his large frame. Both of them killed the sound of their breathing and fixed their eyes on the door.
"I'm using the bathroom. I'll be out soon."
"Nothing's wrong, right? I came because I was worried."
"No, nothing's wrong. I'll get the coffee and go."
"Yes, I'll go and wait."
Ja-kyung silently cursed with her mouth movements. Footsteps were heard, and then it became quiet outside. Wang Lun asked who it was, and Ja-kyung shook her head telling him to shut up. She lowered her body to check under the partition, but no feet were visible.
After signaling to Wang Lun that she was leaving, she quietly closed the door and came out. As she entered the café, the vibration bell in her pocket rang. She grabbed two coffees and went to the car. Park Tae-soo was sitting in the driver's seat, looking forward.
She handed him one coffee from the carrier.
"Here. It's cold."
"Yes."
He gulped down half of the coffee and then started the car. Their eyes met several times through the rearview mirror, but there were no other words.
***
[Did you prepare the customer list well?]
[Yes, I made a separate list for VIP guests and sent it to Father just now. Please check. We'll thoroughly check invitations and body search general guests at the entrance. You don't need to worry.]
[I trust only you. Since Jun-tae died, you need to work hard for his share too.]
[I know. Trust only me, Father. I won't make mistakes.]
Ja-kyung filled the bathtub with warm water and submerged her body in it. The square bathtub was large enough that there was still room even after Ja-kyung got in. After smoking a cigarette, she draped her arm outside the bathtub. Cigarette smoke and steam mixed to fill the bathroom.
Inside the mobile phone, the Choi father and son were still conversing. They were planning to hold a charity party on a ship in two days. They called it a charity party, but it was no different from a drug party. VIP guests were gathering in large numbers, and among them seemed to be prominent figures in society.
After a long conversation, the call ended. Ja-kyung rubbed out the cigarette on the floor and put the butt in the toilet and flushed it. Before going in for a shower, she looked in the mirror and saw a red mark the size of a coin clearly visible on the nape of her neck. She frowned sharply and rubbed it with her hand. It wouldn't be erased.
Tsk, she clicked her tongue, took a shower, put on a gown, and came out. She poured a beer, drank it, and put her feet up on the table. There lay the fake USB Wang Lun had given her. She wondered what was in the original that made them price it equal to a life. She was curious, but opening it would be a clear foul.
She gulped down the beer in one go. Her thirst was quenched and a slight buzz came up. She thought about having another can but stopped, grabbed the USB on the table, and stood up. Just in case, she checked every corner of the house once more for CCTV or wiretapping devices.
Park Tae-soo, staying in the house next door, wouldn't even be able to guess what was happening inside here now. Wearing gloves on both hands to prevent leaving fingerprints, she walked briskly to the study. After pushing aside the sliding bookshelf and then pushing the wall again, a second study appeared.
Without hesitation, she went under the desk to find the safe in its place. When she pressed the eight digits she had memorized, the lock turned. Humming a tune, she slowly pulled the door open. Inside, she could see the organized USBs. The one she was commissioned for was also there in the same place. She took out the real one and put the fake one she received from Wang Lun in its place.
When she closed the safe door, a smile naturally formed. Anyway, one thing was resolved. She had obtained the item, so should she take this opportunity to enter Chairman Kang's main residence? He certainly gave permission to stay there as well. Tomorrow she'd subtly probe Kang Seok-ju.
If she stayed with Kang Il-hyun until the inauguration ceremony, she felt like she'd die of stress disease before then. As Ja-kyung stood up to leave, she discovered an album on the bookshelf. Among many books, that was the only album.
Out of curiosity, she pulled out the album and turned the first page. A baby photo appeared. Is this Kang Il-hyun? Next to him, a slightly older girl was hugging Kang Il-hyun. Her smile was pretty. She turned to the next page. The baby seemed a bit bigger, but expressionless. As always, Kang Yoo-jeong was smiling and Kang Il-hyun was staring at the camera with an expressionless face.
Even as a child, his face really didn't draw people in. The next page, and the page after that, there wasn't a single photo of him smiling. Ja-kyung recalled her own childhood. Ja-kyung also didn't smile and always had the same expression. If there had been photos, it wouldn't have been much different from Kang Il-hyun.
It seemed they didn't take photos from when he was a bit older. Except for a few ID photos, there was nothing left. The ID photo in a high school uniform looked far from proper. The rebelliousness overflowing in his eyes and his stubbornly closed lips.
Smiling, she turned to the next page of the album. It was all blank space. She was curious about her mother's face, but not a single photo remained. The funny thing is that there were no photos of her living father either. Even the elementary school graduation photo only had one taken with his sister Kang Yoo-jeong.
Ja-kyung closed the album and put it back in its place. After coming out, she opened the refrigerator, took out a beer, and returned to the sofa. When she turned on the audio, grand classical music filled the living room. Standing in front of the window with beer in hand, she took in the night of Seoul.
The city's night lights embroidered the dark night streets. Between them, car headlights flowed like water. What was playing from the audio was the Queen of the Night aria. Ja-kyung took a sip of beer and smiled bitterly.
Isn't that quite a fitting song selection for him? Did Kang Il-hyun look outside like this while listening to this music? What was he thinking? Like the Queen of the Night, did he also hate and curse someone?