Kill Your X Chapter 77

I shot up from my seat, and the lawyer calmed me down, telling me to hear him out until the end.

“I’m not entirely sure, but it seems Mr. Seo Seunghan is trying to find a different lawyer. Someone came to visit him recently.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know either. I just happened to find out while visiting the detention center for another matter. An employee there said the two of them looked quite close.”

Could it be… him?

“Anyway, Mr. Seo Seunghan said he’d take care of his own matters and specifically asked me to focus all my attention on you, Mr. Gyujin. But are you okay with me handling your defense? Perhaps you have someone else in mind.”

“No. I’d be very grateful if you took my case. Thank you so much, lawyer.”

After meeting with the unidentified visitor, Seo Seunghan had suddenly changed his attitude. It was the worst-case scenario in many ways, yet when he said he’d handle it, I could feel a well-founded confidence in those few words.

CEO Kang. He was the only person I could think of who would suddenly appear and be of great help to Seo Seunghan. I didn’t know why he’d had a sudden change of heart, but for now, I was in a position where I had to gratefully accept any help I could get, no matter how small.

“I was so surprised when I saw the recent news. I’ve only met you a few times, but you didn’t seem like the kind of person who would ever do something like that, Mr. Gyujin.”

“I’m not the culprit, lawyer. I really didn’t kill anyone. Why would I kill people?”

I couldn’t see a way forward at all, but meeting someone who, at least on the surface, was on my side, made the tears I had been holding back stream down my face. I told him the same story I had told the investigator a few days ago. As expected, I left out the parts involving Seo Seunghan, but the lawyer made an effort to be understanding.

“Just as you said, Mr. Gyujin, I believe it’s possible for someone to experience that after a great shock. Also, regarding the motive, your argument is more plausible than the investigator’s. It seems they’re trying to push the narrative of a random killing by a psychopath, but not only did you have no particular acquaintance with the victims, you were a high school student at the time the last victim went missing.”

“All I did was study as I was told. Back then, I was a weakling, much skinnier than I am now.”

“And the method of the crime doesn’t really match either. Several of the victims had a better physique than you, Mr. Gyujin, so it would be impossible for you to handle them so cleanly. The way the vital spots were accurately struck also suggests to me that this is definitely the work of a trained professional.”

The lawyer explored ways to help me with all his heart and soul. He also expressed confidence that while my father’s media campaign had worked on the public, we would have plenty of points to refute once we got to court.

“First, I’ll try to get you switched to an investigation without detention through a review of the legality of the confinement. Looking at it now, the warrant seems to have been issued way too easily. It’s obvious whose influence was involved.”

A few days later, I was actually able to get out of the detention center. It was possible because I had no prior criminal record and the results of various investigations were not yet conclusive.

The public’s reaction, which I checked for the first time in a while, was difficult to look at. Even some of the people who had been cheering for me, calling me brave and righteous, had changed their tune in an instant and were branding me a crazy murderer. They accused me of having skillfully deceived everyone under the guise of a model student and harshly criticized everything related to me.

My father was sparing with his words, saying he would reveal the truth about the various suspicions related to his son at the upcoming confirmation hearing. People here and there predicted my unfortunate fate, saying my trial would likely take place after that.

Getting out of the detention center didn’t mean I had fully regained my freedom. I was still a suspect and had to frequently visit the police station and affiliated organizations for various investigations. On the day I finally underwent the psychiatric evaluation, I could only fall asleep after downing several shots of strong liquor in a row. It was getting harder and harder to endure all of this with a sober mind.

Once, I missed Seo Seunghan so much that I applied for a visit at the Seoul Detention Center, but I was rejected. The lawyer explained that it was likely because I was currently a suspect in another case. Unable to accept this, I went to the detention center where Seo Seunghan was being held without a plan. The reaction was even colder than I expected, and I ultimately failed to see him, but miraculously, I ran into an unexpected person nearby.

A towering height of nearly 2 meters, a large build that couldn’t be hidden even by baggy clothes, a somewhat thuggish walk, and an aura that was threatening just by existing. Among the people I knew, there was only one.

“CEO Kang! Sir!”

When I shouted loudly, he looked at me, startled. Then he started to run in the opposite direction. I was taken aback for a moment, but then I, too, started running after him. My body had reacted faster than my mind.

“Sir! Huff, wait! Please just talk to me for a second!”

“Hey, get away from me! Why do you keep following me like I’m some damn dog off its leash. Shit! You don’t look like you can work out, so why are you so fast! Ugh!”

It was the first time in my life I had ever run so desperately. Was it because I was lighter than CEO Kang? After a rather long chase, I succeeded in catching him.

“Phew… haa… damn. Now that I see you, I think your true calling is a hunting dog, not a librarian. You’re a damn track star.”

CEO Kang, sweating all over his face, plopped down on the ground. He caught his breath, making strange noises, and then handed me something. I took it without thinking; it was his wallet.

“Um, I wasn’t chasing you for money.”

“I know, you brat. I’m thirsty, so go to the convenience store next to us and buy me a Coke Zero and a Samanco ice cream.”

Was he planning to ditch me and run away like this? As I hesitated, CEO Kang, as if reading my thoughts, flopped down onto an outdoor chair at the convenience store.

“You were so damn fast a second ago, why are you so slow now? Are you pissed that I’m making you run an errand? Gonna go tattle to your boyfriend in jail?”

“Seunghan’s not in jail yet. A detention center and a prison are completely different. Didn’t you know?”

“How would I know if I’ve never been. Stop talking back and go buy me a drink. I’m about to die of thirst.”

I went into the convenience store as he said and came back out. As I placed the drink and ice cream on the table, CEO Kang checked them and scolded me.

“Hey, this isn’t Zero. Look at the sugar content. Does this look like a 0 to you?”

“Just drink it. You said you were thirsty.”

“Is it because you’re still young? Our young master doesn’t know the fear of blood sugar. Do you know how many people die a day simply from being in poor health?”

When it seemed I had no intention of running the errand a second time, CEO Kang grumbled as he opened the bottle cap. Despite complaining that he didn’t want it because it wasn’t a zero-calorie drink, he chugged half of the 500ml bottle in one go. Then he pushed the ice cream towards me.

“For me?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while, why are you so skinny? That guy Seunghan might be used to skipping meals himself, but I doubt he’d want his boyfriend to be all skin and bones.”

At the sound of the dear name, my mind cleared. I immediately asked him the reason I had chased him to death.

“You came to see Seunghan today, right, sir? And you came to the detention center a few days ago for the same reason. I heard Seunghan let go of the lawyer I hired, so did you appoint a different one, CEO Kang?”

“……”

My anxiety amplified at his tightly sealed lips. His usual thuggish demeanor was gone, and CEO Kang exuded a sharp aura as he stared at me. It was impossible to read what he was thinking.

“Sir.”

Unable to wait, I urged him, and he answered slowly. It wasn’t the response I had hoped for.

“Even if it were true, I can’t tell you. There are too many uncertain factors right now. I have no idea how this will end either.”

“If you helped Seunghan, is it so difficult to just say that you helped him?”

“It is. This is a situation where lives are on the line depending on whose side you take.”

He said it indirectly, but it meant that CEO Kang had not yet definitively taken Seo Seunghan’s side. I couldn’t quite understand that.

“With Seunghan’s other cell phone having been compromised, do you really think the Kumto gang doesn’t know you’ve been helping Seunghan all this time?”

At my words, CEO Kang let out a short laugh.

“Surprisingly, yes. Unlike with that Seo Seunghan kid, the boss has quite a lot of trust in me. And that incident was Seunghan’s fault. Wiretapping is something even a beginner could do if they put their mind to it, yet for a guy who knows that full well to be so careless. What the hell was he possessed by.”

Guilt washed over me again at his last words. My heart had long been torn to shreds by a regret I had replayed hundreds of times.

I lifted my heavy head and looked at CEO Kang. He was a person I had met with great difficulty. Just as he said, nothing was certain, but I had to do what I could. I pleaded with him, ready to fall to my knees if necessary.

“Sir. Please, just help Seunghan this one time. Even if not for everything, it’s enough if you can just clear him of a few of the charges the Kumto gang framed him for. You know a lot of important information too, don’t you? Please?”