<9>
"Are you alright?"
A guard who had appeared before her asked with a worried expression. Ja-kyung smiled apologetically and nodded. She had picked up a large flower vase in front of the window and deliberately dropped it, then cut her hand while moving the pieces, and the guard had come up immediately.
The fact that he knew to come up without any request for help was proof that not only was everything being recorded on CCTV, but they were also monitoring in real-time. And that meant she couldn't do as she pleased in this house.
"If you wait, I'll bring a first-aid kit."
"Could you just bring me a bandage?"
Ja-kyung pulled some tissues from beside her and pressed them against her hand. The guard immediately called a staff member and instructed them to clean up the broken glass in the reception room. The flowers Kang Il-hyun had given her were transferred to another vase. She received the bandage from the guard and applied it to the wound. While the staff cleaned up the remaining glass fragments, Ja-kyung went out to the hallway and began wandering around, inspecting the house.
Since no one appeared like before, this much seemed acceptable. She needed to at least roughly grasp the positions of things for the work to go smoothly, but the house was so large that even figuring that out was difficult. Moreover, each room was locked, making it impossible to enter without a card key.
She walked back and forth from one end of the hallway to the other, inspecting the house and occasionally looking at the paintings hanging on the walls. The paintings also gave off warm feelings. They were completely unlike the owner.
When she came down to the lower floor, it was quiet, perhaps because it was break time. She circled the first-floor living room once and stood before the large glass window. The sun was setting, making the view through the window spectacular. She sat on the windowsill and looked outside for a while when she heard someone behind her.
She turned her head. An elderly woman who took care of the household had approached. Her hair was white, but her back was straight, and despite having many wrinkles around her eyes, she had a warm impression that was by no means unpleasant.
"The view is magnificent, isn't it? Managing Director also stands here sometimes and looks outside."
"It is magnificent, but staying only at home makes me a bit bored."
"My. It would have been even better if young master Seok-ju had come today."
"Seok-ju...?"
"The youngest young master of this house. He's scheduled to come tomorrow morning."
Ah. Only then did she recall who Kang Seok-ju was. Kang Il-hyun had said he called him. That he would play with him. What kind of person would he be? Could he possibly be the client? The thought of meeting one of the client candidates made her strangely excited.
Ja-kyung briefly erased thoughts about the client from her mind.
"Who built this house?"
"A famous architect built it. Managing Director Kang personally did the design."
"Personally? Wow... that's amazing."
"They say there's nothing he can't do."
She spoke of Kang Il-hyun as if he were an omnipotent god. Ja-kyung laughed without realizing it. No matter what, surely he couldn't come back from the dead. She'd find out in time.
"What's the architect's name?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I like the house... I want to meet them personally and ask them to build a similar one."
"Hmm... I heard they left for a foreign country after building this house. I don't know exactly where."
Not a foreign country, but heaven. There's no way they'd let someone live after having them build something like this. Ja-kyung decided to ask one more question while she was at it.
"There was a basement too, what's down there?"
"Well. I haven't been there either, so I don't know."
I see. When Ja-kyung made a disappointed expression, the woman smiled kindly.
"Ask Managing Director directly, Ian. He'll probably answer you."
Ja-kyung only smiled. If she did that, she'd be suspected immediately. She asked questions but didn't hear a single clear answer. When she tried to ask more, the woman said it was time to prepare dinner and returned to the kitchen. Left alone, Ja-kyung climbed completely onto the windowsill, sat cross-legged, and looked outside.
The sun gradually disappeared behind the mountain, and the red color of the sky became much deeper. When she had no work, she enjoyed surfing at the beach, and she liked watching the sun disappear while floating in the water. Watching the sun sink into the sea, she became so absorbed that she even imagined being pulled in along with it.
Perhaps because she was lost in thought again, she realized too late that she'd felt someone behind her. She turned her head to check who it was, but his face was already on her shoulder. Startled, Ja-kyung screamed first.
"Ah, shit!"
Kang Il-hyun's face, which had been a handspan away, naturally tilted, and his eyes met hers directly. Shit?
"You curse quite deliciously."
Flustered, Ja-kyung stammered.
"Th-that's... because my mother is Korean..."
What kind of foolish talk was this? But even so, Kang Il-hyun gave a smirk. Having appeared without a sound, he sat across from her and stared openly at Ja-kyung. The back of Ja-kyung's neck stiffened. Did she just give herself away? She relaxed her eyes and pushed up her glasses, lowering her gaze for now.
While she was reading the mood, Kang Il-hyun remained silent. Unable to bear the suffocating silence, she raised her head again to face him and smiled awkwardly.
"Earlier... I was too surprised..."
"Hand."
"What?"
Unable to make sense of it, she looked at him, and he extended his hand first. His fingers, resembling their owner's, stretched straight and long. Ja-kyung stared down at that hand.
"Hand."
"...."
Before she could refuse, he naturally reached out and took Ja-kyung's right hand. Then he turned it over and visually confirmed the area where the bandage was applied.
"Fortunately, it's not badly hurt."
Ah, it was because of the wound.
"Did you hear...?"
"It's a vase I cherish, but I won't hold you responsible."
A vase he cherishes. How much is it worth? Ten million won?
"No. I'll compensate for it."
"Seven hundred million?"
"...."
"If you really want to, I won't refuse."
Ja-kyung blinked, lost for words. Is it really seven hundred million? His expression looked serious. This damn situation. There was a separate reason the guard rushed up immediately. No wonder his face turned so pale for a guest getting hurt.
"I'm sorry... I didn't know it was that expensive..."
She couldn't bring herself to say she'd pay for it. When killing someone over the vase price, she'd send them off without pain. She wouldn't put holes in that handsome face. Though she didn't know if that promise would be kept.
Having no idea what Ja-kyung was thinking, Kang Il-hyun just smiled and didn't bring up the vase anymore. Instead, he looked out the window. The sun was now making its final struggle, disappearing completely.
The surroundings grew increasingly dark, and darkness began to descend over his face as well. As shadows formed, his distinct features shone even brighter. It was like the face of a beast just before going out to hunt. As a fellow man, he was truly handsome and charming.
Lost in watching him, his gaze turned from outside to Ja-kyung.
"It's your first day, but it seems you'll have to eat dinner alone. I have an appointment."
He stood up. Saying he'd probably have to wait until tomorrow to see her again in a regretful tone, but Ja-kyung was secretly pleased by his absence. Her true feeling was that she wanted to avoid meeting him as much as possible. She was keenly feeling that impersonating someone else was much harder than killing people.
***
Sitting inside the empty bathtub, Ja-kyung took out a laptop from her bag. After turning it on, she pulled on the temple part of the glasses she'd been wearing until just now. It separated and transformed into a USB form, and when connected to the laptop, files soon appeared on the screen.
The files were recordings from walking around the house. She played the video and found a scene where Kang Il-hyun was captured. She pressed the stop button on his appearance while they were talking in front of the living room window. His face smiling toward Ja-kyung was as splendid as a model's. As a fellow man, it slightly hurt her pride.
Feeling an unexpected sense of inferiority, Ja-kyung moved the screen back a bit more. Then she saved the video where his hand was captured and immediately sent it to Wang Han. While waiting for contact, she examined the palm lines on Kang Il-hyun's hand on the screen.
A Korean man she'd known in Thailand since last year had taught her how to read palm lines, and Kang Il-hyun's lifeline was truly terribly long. Seeing it extend down to his wrist, it seemed like he'd live a thousand years unless someone killed him. In contrast, Ja-kyung's palm line stopped and disappeared in the middle. Even palm lines were unfair in this world.
While waiting for contact, she put an electronic cigarette in her mouth. As she stretched her body in the bathtub and exhaled smoke into the air, the phone rang hurriedly. She put on earphones and pressed the call button, and Wang Han's voice was heard.
[The photo came out well.]
"How long do you think it'll take?"
[Even if we start working right away, a week?]
To search the basement or enter his room, she needed Kang Il-hyun's fingerprints. There was a method of lifting fingerprints left on objects, but photos were more accurate. But in a week, she didn't know how the situation might change. She had to find the safe as quickly as possible and check the items.
"Can't it be done a bit faster?"
[I'll try. Anything else needed?]
Pondering, Ja-kyung shook her head.
"Nothing for now."
[Take care of yourself.]
"Yeah. You too, hyung."
After finishing the call, Ja-kyung placed the laptop on her upper body and lay completely flat using the bathtub as a bed. Her long legs stuck out of the bathtub, but she didn't mind and just kept smoking. The large ventilation fan sucked in the smoke without rest. No matter how she looked at it, this place had incredibly well-made ventilation facilities.