<49>
The downstairs was bustling with a guest who had visited since morning. Wondering who it was, it turned out to be Kang Yu-jeong, Kang Il-hyun's older sister. The inauguration ceremony was a day away, and she said she had stopped by to say goodbye to Jang Ian, who would soon be leaving.
"Ian. I'll miss you. Stay healthy and well."
She hugged Ja-gyeong tightly. She still had a pleasant fragrance. If compared to a flower, perhaps a wildflower? His expression unconsciously softened into a goofy smile, but then Kang Il-hyun sitting on the sofa came into view over her shoulder. Seeing Kang Il-hyun glare and make a gesture of slitting his throat, Ja-gyeong hurriedly pulled Kang Yu-jeong away.
"Th-thank you. Noona, take care of your neck. No, I mean take care of your health."
At the word 'noona,' she smiled with a moved expression, pulling up the corners of her lips. How nice would it be to have such a handsome and cute younger brother? She had two younger brothers—one was a cold-blooded old man, and the other was a scoundrel.
She led Ja-gyeong by the hand to the sofa and handed him a gift. It was a small box with a ribbon decorated prettily.
"Open it. I hope you like it."
He untied the ribbon and peeled off the wrapping to find a wooden music box inside. It was shaped like a carousel, and it was exactly the kind of cute, charming thing that Ja-gyeong would love.
"Thank you. I really like it."
"Thank goodness."
Perhaps because he never really had proper toys as a child, Ja-gyeong particularly liked things like this. Maybe this was similar psychology to Kang Il-hyun's fixation on pacifiers. He was smiling because he liked it, but when his eyes met Kang Il-hyun's, sure enough, he was sneering.
Kang Yu-jeong looked at Kang Il-hyun with a puzzled face and asked.
"Aren't you going to work?"
"It's Sunday."
He was dressed nearly in formal wear except for not wearing a tie even on a holiday, so it was understandable she was mistaken. Kang Yu-jeong kindly explained how to use the music box. When he wound the spring and let go, a clear and pure sound played. It was familiar music, but he couldn't remember the exact title. While laughing and chatting with Kang Yu-jeong, Kang Il-hyun, who had been watching with a skewed gaze from his seat in front, stood up and went into the bedroom.
After Kang Yu-jeong left, Ja-gyeong went up to the second floor and packed his bags. After roughly throwing away clothes Jang Ian would never wear again, his luggage was reduced by half. When he opened the drawer, there was the wristwatch he had received from Kang Seok-ju. He spoke in annoying ways and lacked maturity, but he wasn't such a bad guy.
After taking out the watch and placing it on the bedside table, he was finishing packing when a knock sounded. The door opened and Kang Il-hyun came in. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at Ja-gyeong who was sitting on the floor.
"Packing?"
Ja-gyeong nodded.
"Yes. Almost done."
"Leaving the country right after finishing the job?"
"Probably."
"What about the balance payment?"
"You can send it to where you sent the advance payment. Either way, even if you give it to me now, I can't carry it."
True enough. They had already discussed this before, so he didn't know why he was bringing it up again. Kang Il-hyun looked around, then discovered the music box on the bed and picked it up.
"You missed this."
Ah, Ja-gyeong reached out his hand. But Kang Il-hyun dropped it a little distance away. Ja-gyeong tried to snatch it but was a step too late. Thud. The music box fell to the floor, and Ja-gyeong's face scrunched up in anger. Il-hyun laughed as if it served him right.
"Oops. My hand slipped. Sorry."
Ja-gyeong picked up the music box. One horse had broken off. He frowned and glared at Kang Il-hyun. To the very end.
"You should have caught it properly. It's precious."
He enunciated each syllable of 'it's precious' so it would stick in his ears. He wondered what was up with him since he'd been nice and acted like a gentleman for about two days. When he wound the spring, it still made sound. The broken part seemed like it could be roughly glued back together.
Swallowing curses inside, he carefully placed the music box deep in his bag. Il-hyun, for some reason, got off the bed and sat down on the floor. Then he stared intently at Ja-gyeong. Ja-gyeong, who was organizing his luggage, looked up.
"Why?"
Instead of answering, Il-hyun slowly examined that face. His eyes really are pretty. When he dies, they'll rot away and disappear. What a waste. Should he really have him stuffed.
"I think I'll miss you."
The eyes gazing blankly were uncharacteristically tinged with emotion. Ja-gyeong both understood and didn't understand why he was looking at him with such eyes. So instead of asking more, he just smiled ambiguously and finished packing. Kang Il-hyun didn't budge from that spot until Ja-gyeong finished packing everything.
Ja-gyeong woke up early in the morning, showered, and looked around the bedroom he had been staying in. He wanted to make sure he wasn't leaving anything behind, and though it was only about 20 days, he had grown attached to the place. When he came outside, Tae-soo was already up in the living room.
"Please give it to me. I'll carry your bag."
Park Tae-soo, though he must have known he wasn't Jang Ian, treated him as Jang Ian until the very end. With his help, he carried his luggage bag downstairs. He also said goodbye to Sang-ju's wife and other staff. Sang-ju's wife said she had grown quite fond of him and hugged him tightly several times with a regretful face. Unlike Kang Yu-jeong, she was warm and comforting in a different way. It kept reminding him of Wang Han's late grandmother, making his nose tingle for no reason.
"It would have been nice if the Managing Director was here, but he left early this morning for the inauguration ceremony."
"It's okay. I said goodbye sufficiently yesterday."
After saying goodbye to them, he went outside. While Park Tae-soo loaded the luggage into the trunk, Ja-gyeong went and sat in the back seat. He looked up at Kang Il-hyun's house once. The place that had seemed strange and looked like a prison when he first arrived now felt quite affectionate. As the car turned and drove away, he took in the scenery through the window for a long time.
Throughout the drive, Park Tae-soo didn't say a single word. Come to think of it, he didn't think he had seen him speak much during his stay here. The car drove for about 30 minutes and stopped near the destination. Park Tae-soo got out and opened the rear door, then took the luggage bag from the trunk.
Ja-gyeong received the luggage bag and thanked Park Tae-soo.
"Thank you for everything."
Park Tae-soo only bowed his head instead of answering.
"Please go ahead. I'm planning to meet a friend here."
"Understood."
After Park Tae-soo got in the car and drove away, growing more distant, Ja-gyeong pulled his luggage bag and walked toward a black sedan parked in front of a convenience store. He tapped on the driver's side window, and Wang Lun stuck his face out. He opened the trunk, and soon the luggage was loaded in the back.
Wang Lun signaled with his eyes toward where Park Tae-soo's car had just disappeared.
"Was that guy Kang Il-hyun?"
"No. His secretary."
"What time did you say the inauguration ceremony was?"
"11 o'clock."
Wang Lun took out a new license plate from the back seat and replaced it with another one. After finishing the work, both got in the car and headed toward Seoul. The whole way, Wang Lun played loud music and shook his head to it. Seeing him completely off-beat, Ja-gyeong burst out laughing.
Ja-gyeong pulled a black hat low over his head and changed into a t-shirt. Then he put on a yellow vest over it. On the left chest of the vest, an air conditioning company name was written. After putting on an employee ID card around his neck and finishing preparations, he looked out the window.
When the car got stuck on the bridge, Wang Lun grew irritated.
"It's like rush hour, a total traffic hell."
When the car stopped briefly, Ja-gyeong took a small bag from his backpack and handed it to Wang Lun.
"Returning this."
Wang Lun opened it to check and frowned.
"What the hell. There's not a single wiretap?"
"Couldn't recover it."
"Do you know how much that's worth?"
"10%"
"Ugh, that damn 10%. If I get that one more time, you'll be asking me to gouge out my liver and gallbladder."
Wang Lun grumbled, but as they approached the destination, his expression hardened. Ja-gyeong's mouth was equally dry. He opened a bottle of water and just wet his throat, then checked the time. There was about an hour left until the operation time. At the announcement that they were near the destination, Wang Lun looked up at the building.
The tall building was high enough that you had to tilt your head back to see all of it.
"What floor was it again?"
"17th floor."
"Will you be okay? Shouldn't you at least take a parachute with you?"
At his joke, Ja-gyeong laughed, telling him not to talk nonsense.
"Come back safely."
Wang Lun held out his fist. Ja-gyeong smiled and bumped his fist against it, then grabbed a bag that looked like a toolbox from the back seat and got out. When he entered the building entrance, a security guard stopped him as if he had been waiting. After showing his ID, the guard made a call somewhere and he was able to enter without issue.
He took the elevator and pressed 17. There were several people inside, busy talking about work. When the elevator stopped at the 17th floor, Ja-gyeong stepped out with his hat pulled low. He passed through the corridor, went to where it said Yuhan Construction, and pulled open the door.
The interior was completely empty. He went inside, locked the door firmly, then moved near the window and set down his bag. After removing the ID card from his neck and putting it in his pocket, he looked across at the building outside. He took out binoculars to check, and already quite a few people had entered the inauguration hall and were moving around.
Ja-gyeong took out a rope from the bag and tied it firmly between pillars, pulling hard to check it once more. Then he leaned against the window, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and checked the time.
40 minutes until the sniper shot.
After grinding out the finished cigarette with his foot, he played quiet music on his phone. Composing his mind, he opened the bag and began taking out a sniper rifle to assemble it piece by piece. The cold feeling of metal transmitted to his fingertips. Click, click, metal joined together making a chilly sound. It was like the sound of death itself.