Mother Tape Chapter 10.2

He continued to contact the person he had tailing him.

I finally caught him.

At last, the long-awaited message arrived.

The tail was caught. Only then did Jaekwon stop the car and stare nervously at the screen.

He says he’s drinking coffee.

After also checking the message that followed from Hwang Gujo, Jaekwon chewed on his lip.

A short while later, a picture arrived. It was a picture of a building. On the old commercial building, there were faded films and signboards, as if tenants had moved in once and never left. After zooming in on the picture and examining it slowly, he could see a film at the very top where he could barely make out a ‘Seo’ and ‘Su’, where the supporting consonants had probably disappeared.

“Cheongsu Seongso….”

The text message Wisoo had sent, the street name that the lackey had found out in just one day after being properly pressured through his younger sister, and this picture now all matched. The street name was definitely the one the grunt had mentioned, and the remaining letters on the signboard pointed to Cheongsu Seongso.

Could Seon Wisoo be here? He couldn’t rashly bring people in. Since he didn’t know what the back door was like, he could be spirited away again suddenly. If that happened, Jung Taegyu would truly hide Seon Wisoo from the world completely.

Jaekwon, slumped over the steering wheel, organized his thoughts. A method that could be quick but could also lead to losing him forever, versus a method that required a little more time but would ensure his complete recovery.

Just then, hospital employees returning from their lunch break passed by his car, chatting about their very ordinary daily lives.

“You know that Gwan-young. The actor. The one who was the lead in <Piljeon> last year. He’s changing his agency.”

“Really? To where?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s a new one?”

“Huh? That’s unusual… He was doing so well, why would he? His original agency is super famous.”

A very ordinary daily life passes by Jaekwon, feeling very alien.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Kim Geunsoo, that traitorous bastard.”

Kwak Jaekyeong walked with long strides, chewing on his curses.

Kim Geunsoo was the real name of the actor Gwan-young. He was one of the flagship actors of Kwak Jaekyeong’s agency, had been steadily building his filmography, received good reviews, and had a good image. But now he was suddenly saying he would pay the penalty fee and move to another agency.

“How could Manager Lee do such a sneaky thing?”

Kwak Jaekyeong shouted as soon as he entered the office, roughly loosening his tie.

“When did he even think of starting a company! You guys really didn’t know anything until he was leading a double life?!”

The managers bowed their heads deeply.

When the agency, established with Jung Taegyu’s proposal, was founded, Manager Lee was the one who played the biggest role. His company loyalty was high, and he had great affection for the agency’s actors, so Kwak Jaekyeong never imagined he would lead a double life. Above all, the fact that Manager Lee’s in-laws and his own family were both in very difficult financial situations, making him incapable of running a business, had also made Kwak Jaekyeong let his guard down.

“Didn’t someone give him money?! Shit, don’t just stand there gawking, go out and find out what’s going on! This is why we get fucking stabbed in the back, because you’re so slow!”

Kwak Jaekyeong screamed his head off. The managers rushed out of the office as if their tails were on fire.

Slumping into his chair, Kwak Jaekyeong made calls. He also called entertainment reporters he was close with, but two of them didn’t answer as if they were busy, and two said they didn’t know anything.

—But is it really true? There are rumors that Ms. T, and Mr. B and L, who are linked to that weird organization, are their flagship stars.

“Ah, don’t you know that’s just a tabloid rumor? It’s not even from the stock market gossip. Someone just made it up. These days, if someone writes just one of those stories on the internet, it spreads like it’s plausible.”

Kwak Jaekyeong nervously tore the cellophane off a pack of cigarettes.

“So don’t worry, just speak well of our movie, and I’ll take care of the critics myself.”

—Hmph. Alright. I’ll be waiting, okay? Don’t forget to tell me first if anything happens. You know I treat you the best, right?

Kwak Jaekyeong frowned, hating to hear a guy with a dick calling him ‘sweetheart’ over and over. Even so, he let out a hearty laugh.

“Who could be as good as Producer Kim. Just trust me.”

The fruitless call ended.

Kwak Jaekyeong chain-smoked inside the office where the fire alarm had been turned off, then opened a drawer. Inside, along with cigarettes that had a piss-like smell, were thumb-sized plastic bags filled with powder. Taking a metal card out of his wallet, Kwak Jaekyeong took out one of the plastic bags and tore it open.

Soon, after deeply inhaling it through his nose, he leaned back heavily in his chair.

“The expensive stuff really does taste good.”

This must be why people go on about the taste of money.

Kwak Jaekyeong fell into a state of ecstasy, not knowing whether he was addicted to this powder or to the taste of money.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Ah, I have heard many times that Manager Lee is good at his job. They say he treats actors with sincerity. There are quite a few actors who want to work with Manager Lee. It seems like things will go well in the future.”

While Hwang Gujo was re-dressing the wound on his forehead, Jaekwon was on the phone.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m just a mere fan who wants this industry to move in a sound and productive direction.”

At those honeyed words, Hwang Gujo couldn’t hold back his laughter. Kwak Jaekwon glanced at him, then put his index finger to his lips and gave a slight smile, gesturing for him to be quiet.

“If there’s anything you need, feel free to tell me. I’m looking forward to the future.”

Until he pulled the device from his ear to end the call, he could hear a constant stream of “thank you, thank you.” Seeing the call had ended, Hwang Gujo snorted.

“A mere fan who wants the industry to move in a sound and productive direction? Since when did you have such an attachment to the entertainment world, Mr. CEO?”

“Starting today?”

“Anyway. You should have been the actor, Mr. CEO. It’s all done. Please be careful not to get it wet.”

“I was so pissed off.”

Jaekwon, after coming back from the hospital, had been so hot-headed that he had poured cold water on himself while still clothed.

“I was so pissed off, that’s why.”

Jaekwon’s brow, as he closed his eyes and stretched out his body, was tense with strain.

“My head was about to explode.”

“It’s a relief it didn’t explode. So why did you pull the actors out?”

“You get punished if you harm people who have nothing to do with it.”

“Ah… is that so?”

“And yet he’s still an insider.”

Jaekwon was not the type to show favoritism just because someone was family. Kwak Jaekyeong had already become an important figure. An important bastard to screw over.

“That person, Manager Lee, isn’t that clean either. He’s a founding member. He must know at least a little about Hyegwang. At the very least, he would have unwittingly contributed to the connection between Jung Taegyu and the agency.”

“Preparing extra bullets and all, you’re quite something.”

“I feel like unloading all of these extra bullets.”

Jaekwon’s body stiffened. The Jaekwon who was said to have nothing weighing on him, to the point his trapezius muscles were soft, had been left behind in that house.

“So, what about Cheongsu Seongso?”

“About that building.”

Hwang Gujo pulled over a chair and sat down. On the table between the two large men were incongruously placed dainty cakes. It was something Jaekwon habitually bought. The place where they were currently staying for work was also that old hotel where he used to stay with Wisoo.

“The building owner is a man in his 80s. After being a credit defaulter and going through personal rehabilitation, he suddenly became a building owner.”

“His whereabouts.”

“Well, as you might have expected, they are unknown. There are no reports of death or disappearance.”

“What a fearless bastard, that Jung Taegyu.”

“I don’t know whether to call him audacious or to say he lives like there’s no tomorrow.”

“It was an old building. The tenants will all be under different names, right?”

“Yes. They are all tenants with different names, and their traces also become faint after they moved into that building as tenants. I suspect they might be related to Hyegwang. And Cheongsu Seongso refers to the 5th floor.”

Jaekwon pulled the tablet towards him. The building ledger and blueprints were displayed on the screen. The quality was poor as it had been nearly 35 years since it was built.

Jaekwon, who had been staring at the screen for a while, pointed to the area below the first floor.

“No basement?”

“There’s a possibility it was illegally modified, right?”

“There’s a refrigerated warehouse on the first floor. Dig into this.”

“I thought it was strange too, so I checked the electricity usage, and the amount of electricity being used isn’t enough to run a refrigerated warehouse. This amount is just a little more than a single-person household’s usage.”

“It could be a way to hide the path down to the basement.”

“It seems highly likely.”

Jaekwon looked at the brown-bricked building, which had lost even its sheen, for a long time. He pulls up recent photos as well. There was little foot traffic, and since the neighborhood itself was old with a high proportion of elderly residents, the floating population was also small. And yet, young men were seen coming and going from this building, which didn’t even have a decent café or restaurant. And all of them were burly.

“It seems it will be difficult to just go in.”

“We have no justification.”

“That’s why I prepared the bullets.”

Jaekwon replied as if keeping a rhythm.

“Shall we execute the plan?”

“You sure do enjoy this kind of work.”

“To be honest, I was bored after coming here.”

An excited Hwang Gujo opened the National Tax Service homepage.

“There are a lot of people, but this world is so small and self-contained, and maybe because there are no natural predators, everyone has a naive side.”

“I guess they didn’t expect a prodigal son like me to show up.”

Jaekwon rested his chin on his hand and slowly scrolled through his contacts with his index finger. Soon, a call was connected to someone.

“In the first place, you looked too easygoing, Mr. CEO.”

“I kind of regret that. I was trying to live quietly after moving to the countryside.”

The reason for his bitter smile was probably because the cause that had made him so soft and relaxed in the first place, and the reason for his return like this, was ultimately the same person.

There shouldn’t be any more variables.

Jaekwon’s expression darkens.

❖ ❖ ❖

Jung Taegyu barely left Seon Wisoo’s side. It seemed he intended to monitor him directly. Whichever room Wisoo slept in, he had to leave the door wide open. The lights were not turned off. His eyes were always dazzled and dry. Even amidst all that, Jung Taegyu would offer lip service like asking if there was anything he wanted to eat, saying he needed to take good care of his body.

When he said he truly had no appetite and couldn’t think of anything, he would be scolded for that too. Saying things like “Are you defying your teacher with lies right now,” he would grapple with him until the person was exhausted, so Wisoo had to put anything in his mouth.

Fortunately, he was told it was a sign of uterine bleeding, which is often seen in early stages. He said it was commendable that it was sticking on so well. Even while hearing that praise, Wisoo could not smile. The words to stay in bed as much as possible felt as distant as the sound of the television coming from the house next door.

Jung Taegyu said he wouldn’t leave him alone if the baby was lost. Wisoo had to lie there powerlessly, just staring at the ceiling.

Even so, from outside the door, he could hear the sounds of Kwak Jaekyeong and Jung Taegyu frequently clashing.

“Are you suspecting me right now?!”

“Then what do you expect? You’ve been very close with Wisoo all this time, who knows if you’ll act as slyly as your cousin.”

“No, how can you suspect me when I’ve groveled by your side for years, teacher. I’m very disappointed, you know?!”

“You think of that as groveling? See. You’re so treacherous on the inside. Anyway, you won’t be seeing that kid for a while. You knew that Seon Wisoo bastard was pregnant, didn’t you?”

“……!”

“Ungrateful bastard. I knew it. I don’t want to see your face, so get the hell out.”

“…You’ll regret sending me away like this.”

“Regret what. I picked up a penniless bastard and made him a CEO, and now his head has gotten too big.”

At the sight of Jung Taegyu snorting, Kwak Jaekyeong clenched his fists tightly and trembled.

When the two fought, Wisoo would stealthily approach the door and secretly peek his head out to watch their relationship crumble. It was his only small pleasure.

“Do you even care what’s happening with the agency? Now that one of our flagship stars is gone, the ones below are all saying they’ll leave too!”

“That’s because you couldn’t manage them properly. What are you bragging about when you haven’t done anything right?”

“The only ones who say they’ll stay are the kids the teacher brought in. The atmosphere is not good.”

“I personally got a promise from the entertainment news desk that they wouldn’t publish the tabloid rumors.”

“…You knew about it?”

Jung Taegyu turned his back as if he didn’t want to hear anymore. A dry spark flashed in Kwak Jaekyeong’s eyes.

“Did you also know how much I suffered trying to handle that matter?”

“Yes. I was watching, and when it seemed like you couldn’t handle it, I stepped in myself. You still have a long way to go. You need to learn a lot more from me.”

“Shit, there’s a limit to treating a person like a dog!”

“You still don’t know that a dog is smarter than you?!”

At Jung Taegyu’s booming roar, Wisoo whipped around and hid behind the wall. He covered his ears and breathed slowly.

“Don’t contact me until you come to your senses. I don’t want to see your face for a while, it’s too distracting.”

“…You will regret this.”

“You’ve become cliché too, after only making cliché works. Do you think I’ll be scared just because you say a line like that? The world is not a drama or a movie.”

Kwak Jaekyeong was no match for Jung Taegyu. Filled with humiliation, he was about to turn away when his eyes met Wisoo’s, who had once again peeked his head out slightly. His fiercely glaring eyes looked as if they would run over and strangle him at any moment, so Wisoo hid himself again.

Unable to contain his anger, Kwak Jaekyeong stormed up the corridor with loud thuds.

Son of a bitch. He needs to get a taste of his own medicine to come to his senses. Even so, I am Kwak Bonyoung’s nephew from the Kwak family.

Getting into the elevator, Kwak Jaekyeong clutched his phone. On it was a message from his father, warning him to lie low as a tax audit seemed likely.

For a week after that, a sudden autumn rain poured down fiercely with gusts of wind. The rain soaked the streets and then cleared. In front of the building where, following ‘Cheongsu,’ the ‘Seong’ of Seongso had also disappeared, leaving only ‘So’, four official vans and two black official sedans stopped.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Hey, even if you take the computers, there’s nothing on them, I tell you.”

“Yeees. That’s for us to figure out.”

The National Tax Service employees answered dryly, their hands moving quickly.

The problem was that the tenant registrations were all under different names. Furthermore, the declared business types and contents were all different, so the raid proceeded forcibly even without the concerned parties present. The police were even mobilized. As the situation was escalating, the team leader answered a call and then pointed to the office Jung Taegyu often used.

“Tear down that entire bookshelf.”

Of course, they were going to turn everything upside down anyway, but targeting a specific spot like this was a different story.

When the hollow books were all overturned, cash bundles and watches came out from inside. The team leader whistled in admiration.

“How can someone be this stupid.”

“I guess he doesn’t trust anything. The scammer.”

The employee next to him also clicked his tongue.

Jaw-dropping brand-name watches and bags, which are often used as bribes because their value increases even more after purchase, poured out. Usually, such bribery cases are called ‘saji’ cases, meaning only heaven, earth, the giver, and the receiver know, making them difficult to solve, but since they were watches, it seemed it would be surprisingly smooth. Each product would have a registered serial number and purchase history remaining.

However, that was not their job for now.

“Where is Mr. Choi Geonyoung, who is registered as the owner here?”

One of the burly men shuffled forward.

“You know this is all evidence, right?”

He couldn’t possibly know. It wasn’t his stuff in the first place.

“Don’t touch anything.”

With not only the burly men but also numerous other people having entered the small office, it was incredibly crowded.

“Huh? There’s a button here. Does anyone know the password for this?”

An employee who had been fumbling through the crevices with gloved hands raised his hand. But the burly men standing in a line just exchanged glances.

“We need to open this. The owner is here too, so dragging this out won’t help at all. We are all here on official business, you can’t obstruct the execution of official duties, sir.”

“W-we don’t have the card for that.”

“Then who has it?”

Again, they just looked at each other without an answer.

At that moment, a man wearing a cap pulled down low, who had been waiting by the stairs, came inside. He approached the team leader, who was glaring at the door with his arms crossed, and whispered something in his ear.

The team leader stared at the tall man with the cap pulled down, then clicked his tongue and waved his hand forward.

“Move.”

The man soon took out a few cards and brought them one by one to the button. When he placed an ordinary-looking one against it last, a green light turned on and it opened.

—It better open. I went through so much trouble for this. Shit, how would I know a good gukbap restaurant.

And Hwang Gujo, who was watching this through a bodycam, muttered. Kwak Jaekwon, wearing the cap and listening to the sound through his earpiece, also uttered.

“Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

—What do you mean knock. I’m the one who stole the card from Kwak Jaekyeong’s wallet.

“You’re a good actor, you know?”

The whispering voice was buried under the sound of footsteps. Having secretly entered disguised as a National Tax Service employee, Jaekwon kept his head bowed and moved. The elevator was packed with people.

—It’s a good thing Kwak Jaekyeong is an arrogant bastard. He didn’t even recognize who I was. Even if he was passed out drunk.

His heart was pounding like crazy, and he could no longer hear Hwang Gujo’s grumbling. Hwang Gujo’s increased chatter was also due to the anticipation that they would soon be able to rescue Seon Wisoo.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the basement. Jaekwon lifted his head and frantically scanned the inside.

Hwang Gujo also leaned into the screen, fixing his posture as if he would fall into it.

—What the. Is this a safe house?

Along with the dumbfounded voice, the bodycam screen shook rapidly. It was dizzying. But even in that rapidly changing screen, one thing was clear.

—There’s nothing here…?

There was no one on the screen. Nothing, no one at all.

“These sons… of bitches….”

Kwak Jaekwon clenched his fist.

❖ ❖ ❖

Wisoo stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling for a long time before getting up.

This was Kwak Jaekyeong’s house, where Jung Taegyu had hastily brought him. Jung Taegyu had barely heard the news just before the tax audit began. Watching the official vehicles enter through his rearview mirror, he had dragged Wisoo out of the basement and fled to the opposite end of the alley.

Jung Taegyu threw a fit. He went berserk, screaming about how he could not have known about this, and questioning if Kwak Jaekyeong was the one who had tipped them off. However, the fact that the place he brought me to was Kwak Jaekyeong’s house was truly ironic.

A hollow laugh escaped me when I realized that the teacher, who had seemed so huge and frightening, was in reality an empty shell with no one he could trust. The fact that he had shamelessly barged into Kwak Jaekyeong’s house and said he was leaving me in his care, then proceeded to talk only about himself without offering a single piece of advice to either Kwak Jaekyeong or myself, which ultimately led to a fight, made it clear that Jung Taegyu was a pathetic man who was all talk.

The situation last night was this. As soon as Jung Taegyu stormed into Kwak Jaekyeong’s house, he pushed Wisoo into a room and interrogated Kwak Jaekyeong.

‘How can there suddenly be an investigation unless someone tipped them off!’

‘You must have skimmed off quite a bit, I see.’

‘Laundering it was your job. You know that talking like that means you didn’t do your job well, don’t you.’

‘Then get out. Why did you come to the house of a person you don’t even trust?’

That was to be expected. It was because Jung Taegyu’s villa was also under investigation. In that place, there were things that couldn’t even be compared to what was in the office. Not only watches, but also bags that required years of loyal waiting to purchase, paintings, and even vehicles. And….

‘I shouldn’t have come up here.’

Jung Taegyu frantically rummaged through his second phone. Then he contacted the chairmen and their wives with whom he had connections. The wives did answer the phone, but they said they were coincidentally on a group golf trip and soon hung up. The chairmen’s secretaries answered instead. Something was going wrong.

The only one who answered was a company president to whom he had connected with his youngest son, who had died in a car accident while studying abroad, through Seon Wisoo.

—It would be best to lie low for a while. It seems they’re really going after high-amount tax delinquents this time. The prosecution is also gearing up, so stay quiet.

It was a piece of advice that was of no help at all.

Something is going strangely wrong. Jung Taegyu threw his second phone and panted heavily.

Next to him, Kwak Jaekyeong’s expression hardened as he looked at his marble floor, which had been scratched by the thrown device.

He, too, was thinking the same thing.

Something is going strangely wrong.

For starters, things went awry from the moment Jung Taegyu found out about Seon Wisoo’s pregnancy, whom he had considered his dependable asset.

Even while being in the same space, Kwak Jaekyeong and Jung Taegyu had their backs to each other, lost in their own anxieties. The foul water flowing from the two men was enough to crawl and seep its way to Wisoo, who was as good as trapped in his room.

Wisoo couldn’t see it coming in through the crack under the door, but he could clearly feel the chilling discomfort.

Jung Taegyu threw a tantrum for a long while before leaving a warning not to try any funny business with Seon Wisoo, saying he would be back to get him soon. At those words, Kwak Jaekyeong finally couldn’t hide his annoyance any longer and let it all out.

‘If you can’t trust me that much, then just take him with you. Huh? I’m telling you to take him out of my house.’

Wisoo was an object, a product. He was something they wanted to abandon, but in a situation like now where their pockets were being completely emptied, he was also the only emergency fund and business capital.

As he had many things going on, Jung Taegyu was short on hands even if he had ten bodies. When you are short on hands, you don’t hold a precious thing in your hand. You should hide it in a safe. However, unlike Jung Taegyu’s belief that he could return soon, while greed expands easily, it is never easy to reduce or manage.

Wisoo had to sit alone in the room with an attached bathroom because Jung Taegyu had locked the door from the outside and left.

He was powerless.

A knock was heard at Wisoo’s ear as he lay curled up on his side, but he did not react.

“Hey. Seon Wisoo.”

Kwak Jaekyeong called Wisoo again.

“You need to eat.”

“You don’t even have the guts to be completely mean….”

Cowardly and pathetic. Wisoo muttered, summing up Kwak Jaekyeong in a single line.

“I know you’re not sleeping.”

Kwak Jaekyeong, who couldn’t hear Wisoo’s voice because of the door, urged him again.

“Come out. Protesting like that won’t change the teacher. He won’t give up on you.”

“I can’t see anything anymore.”

Wisoo said in a raised voice. At that, Kwak Jaekyeong snorted.

“He especially won’t give up as long as you have the child.”

At the word ‘child,’ Wisoo listlessly raised his body. He tiptoed to the door, pressed his forehead and palms against it, and muttered.

“He said he’ll let me go if this child sees the dead people like I do.”

“So you’re hoping the child sees them?”

His tone was one of surprise. Wisoo shook his head. Kwak Jaekyeong’s assumption was wrong.

“No. So I will be the one who stays.”

He had been in this place for a long time and had practically grown up here. He could endure it. He could live by ruminating on the memories with Kwak Jaekwon. But the child shouldn’t have to. He wanted to send him to Kwak Jaekwon. To the person who buys him sweet cakes and crayons.

“Just grant me one request. Please. Just one is enough. …When he’s born, can’t you take him to Kwak Jaekwon?”

“Why do you think I would grant that request. Are you saying this without knowing that I’ve completely fallen out with Kwak Jaekwon? That bastard deceived me too.”

The more he talked, the angrier he got. Flaring up, Kwak Jaekyeong slammed his fist on the door and shouted.

“I made a deal with him, even mentioning your child, but he deceived me! You think a bastard like that will accept your kid? He’s a cold-blooded man without blood or tears. He only knows himself!”

“Still… still, unlike me, you are Mr. Kwak Jaekwon’s family.”

Wisoo uttered the concept of family, which he had lost before he could even learn it.

“Family… is people who forgive and see each other again even when they’re angry.”

Leaning his back against the other side of the door, Kwak Jaekyeong let out a hollow laugh at those childish and unrealistic words.

“You say such nonsensical things sometimes.”

“When the baby is born, take him to him. Then you’ll also be scolded less by Mr. Kwak Jaekwon.”

Wisoo stubbornly repeated the same words.

Kwak Jaekyeong thought deeply. He calculated and weighed the options. Yes. No matter how much of a backstabber he was, having the kid in his hands would be slightly more advantageous than being completely empty-handed. Having finished his calculations, Kwak Jaekyeong probed in a suggestive voice.

“What if I use him to threaten them. Can’t I become like the teacher too?”

“You can’t do that.”

“Based on what?”

“You don’t have the courage or the guts for that.”

“Hey. What do you know about me to say that…!”

“If I do know, will you do it?”

Kwak Jaekyeong sneered.

“No? Why would I kick away a blessing that rolled in. If your baby is like you, I might keep you both, or if not, I’ll keep you alone. Jung Taegyu is stupid. I won’t just keep you in Korea.”

And then Kwak Jaekyeong jabbered on in an unfittingly heavy and warm voice. The sound was so sticky, it was as unpleasant as a humid midsummer day.

“How about it. Am I still small-gutted?”

At the horrifying and nauseating threat, Wisoo did not get scared or angry. He became calmer instead. Wisoo, unlike Kwak Jaekyeong or Jung Taegyu, knew that he could harm others. The words he was now contemplating whether to spit out would become a weapon. So for a moment, Wisoo hesitates. Whether to brandish what he had stolen a glance of from Kwak Jaekyeong’s puddle when they met twice, at the hotel and at the house.

But he didn’t know when Jung Taegyu would return. There was no point in saving his cards. Whatever the situation, he had no choice but to seize the opportunity when it came charging in. Like a painting he had seen in an art book, opportunity has no hair on the back of its head, so you can’t grab it once it passes.

“At first, I just saw a retreating back so I wondered what it was, but now I know.”

Wisoo licked his dry lips and continued.

“You, you ran away from Mr. Kwak Jaekwon’s house before, didn’t you?”

“……”

“You were definitely wearing a school uniform then….”

Kwak Jaekyeong was about to spit out a curse and ask where he was pulling such tricks from, but his lips wouldn’t move. It would have been one thing if he couldn’t remember because he had visited so many times, or if it was just a very old memory that didn’t come to mind, but that time and that place came back to him clearly, as if a book had turned to that page by itself.

The image of himself running away unfolded vividly before his eyes.

Kwak Jaekyeong had gone to Kwak Bonyoung’s house ‘that day.’ The day Kwak Bonyoung and Jaekwon’s mother had a huge fight.

He had gone there to steal and wear Kwak Jaekwon’s clothes, who only came home on weekends, to go on a date as usual. If he had known that his uncle and aunt, who were already on bad terms, were there together, he would never have gone.

There was a tremendous noise. The door was slightly open, and Kwak Jaekyeong saw. He saw his uncle reaching out and lunging at his aunt.

He ran away in fear. He ran and ran, afraid someone might chase after him.

That evening, he was relieved that his father’s phone was quiet. The next day was quiet too. But on the following day, the day Kwak Jaekwon was returning to the dormitory, his father’s phone rang. It was his uncle, and he heard the news of his aunt’s death.

But what fault of his was there in that?

Even if he had met his aunt’s eyes as she turned her head, that wasn’t even certain, and besides, he wasn’t the one committing the violence, so was it his fault?

“What does that have to do with anything.”

Kwak Jaekyeong asked with a choked throat, unable to deny it. Strangely, it was incredibly hard to breathe. He felt as if his airway was swelling and his breath was being slowly choked off.

“If you run away this time too….”

Wisoo lifted his glass-bead-like, glistening eyes. The eyes, which Kwak Jaekyeong couldn’t see from beyond the door, had widely dilated pupils despite the bright lighting.

“I will chase you down, no matter what.”

“Ha, you? How, when you’re locked up?”

“Not me.”

Wisoo let out a sweet sigh and rubbed his forehead against the door.

“The person you left behind….”

Kwak Jaekyeong pulled his back away as if burned. Then he frantically found the key and threw the door open.

Inside was not the bewitching Seon Wisoo he had imagined, but only a thin, pale, and innocent-looking Seon Wisoo.

Kwak Jaekyeong ground his teeth and shoved Wisoo’s neck, slamming him against the wall. But Wisoo’s expression remained calm.

“Since you… say you covet me so much… I will somehow make it so that you, ugh, can’t be at peace wherever you go.”

“Do you even have that kind of power?”

Unlike Kwak Jaekyeong’s confident words, the strength began to drain from his hands. Wisoo smiled crookedly.

“At least I’m on better terms with the dead than you are. They like me.”

“You creepy bastard….”

Trying not to show his nervousness, Wisoo hid his trembling hands behind his body and muttered gloomily.

“I know….”

❖ ❖ ❖

“You saw it then too, but when we brought it and opened it up, it was just absolutely incredible.”

Team Leader Choi, who used to say he liked working for the National Tax Service because he could do good deeds while collecting people’s money, but then would get pissed off having to watch truly bad people not pay taxes while only good people did, strode up the stairs. Behind him, Jaekwon, wearing a shabby jumper, adjusted his cap and followed.

“The prosecution also got involved because of the bribery case and the stolen goods case.”

“He’ll have to lie low for a while.”

“For a while? He’ll have to lie low for quite a long time. Our whole team is excited now that we’ve caught a big one.”

In fact, Jaekwon had no intention of giving him any room to recover. He would block the money laundering pipeline himself. When a drain is clogged, water is bound to back up. If the backed-up water can’t find an outlet, the washing machine will either explode or break. Jaekwon was slowly blocking the exit and the entrance. The fact that his job had originally been one that involved running across borders was helpful.

“You can’t take it with you.”

Team Leader Choi said as he poured water from the water cooler into an empty coffee cup.

“Watch it here and then go.”

“Can you leave us alone for a bit.”

“I can, but I can’t give you much time. Back then, man, you pushed your way in somehow and I was sweating bullets.”

“It’s fine, I’ll be quick. Thanks for back then.”

Jaekwon, who had taken off his cap, took a seat on a cheap chair. He took out the laptop he had been holding in his arms. It was a thick, old model. He needed this. Because he had to play a CD.

“Call me when you’re done. I might come first.”

Team Leader Choi, who was friendly even to a classmate who had contacted him after 15 years of being so out of touch that he thought he might be dead after hearing he had left Korea altogether, left the room.

Jaekwon fixed his gaze on the monitor, from which a bright light emanated in the dark space where not a single light was on, among the evidence items wrapped in plastic with tags attached.

—Wisoo-ya. Do you have a guest?

Jung Taegyu’s voice was heard.

—I-is our son here? Is he here?

The trembling voice of a middle-aged man and the sound of a woman bursting into tears were heard.

Wisoo was in the corner. Curled up with his body wrapped, unable to properly look at the camera, his hair was overgrown and his body was gaunt.

No one was paying any attention to his appearance.

How could no one.

Jaekwon propped his lips on his intertwined hands. His leg trembled nervously.

—D-dad.

Wisoo muttered with trembling lips.

It was a sight Jaekwon knew well. When Seon Wisoo becomes ‘Seon Wisoo’.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Why are you watching with no lights on. You’ll ruin your eyes.”

Team Leader Choi entered with a jest. Thirty minutes had passed in the meantime.

Jaekwon was in the exact same position as when he had last seen him. A few CDs were scattered beside him. There were only a few videos brought from the office. He had watched them all.

“Did you check everything you needed to?”

Instead of answering, Jaekwon got up from his seat and kicked the laptop.

With a tremendous noise, the laptop broke into two pieces and rolled in the corner.

“You have to clean that up, you know?”

Jaekwon, who had taken off his cap and was repeatedly running his hands through his hair, threw the cap down with a “shit.”

The rims of his eyes when he turned around were bloodshot. It wasn’t that he had cried, but it seemed he was in so much pain that it would have been better to cry.

“Good work.”

“What for. Thanks to your tip, I’m the one who caught a big one.”

“……”

“What are you going to do next?”

Jaekwon picked up the broken laptop. He would throw away the monitor part on his way. He had already obtained all the necessary footage anyway. He had set up a program to transfer it simultaneously with playback. With his cap pulled down, Jaekwon answered in a rough voice.

“To cook, you have to slit the throat, drain the blood, and gut the insides. I’m going to do it. Cook.”

“…Well. Okay. You do you, but.”

Team Leader Choi shouted at Jaekwon’s back as he pressed down on his shoulder and walked out the door.

“You have to be a faithful taxpayer! So that I don’t have to come looking for you next time!”

❖ ❖ ❖

Getting into his parked car, Jaekwon took off his cap and shabby jumper.

As he was washing his dry face, he slammed his head on the steering wheel, making the horn blare.

In the videos, Wisoo was held captive by people who didn’t even look at him, had to listen to insults, receive tears, hear confessions of love, and sometimes endure beatings along with curses.

And when left alone, he had to pull himself together, an empty vessel.

An empty vessel. That too was Jung Taegyu’s term. In Kwak Jaekwon’s eyes, it was not that at all. It was a broken Seon Wisoo. There was a Seon Wisoo who was gathering the broken fragments and trying desperately to maintain himself.

—S-Seon Wisoo. My name is Seon Wisoo. I’m f-fourteen years old…. My mom’s name is…. My mom’s name is….

Muttering with his body curled up tightly was an act of desperation.

—Hy-hyuung…. Why aren’t you coming to get meee….

In his pitiful desperation, he also looked for him.

—What my hyung, h-how, l-looks like is….

Jaekwon clutched his head.

—I can’t remember….

He whimpers and finally cries.

Then he mutters. Without even remembering who he was, without even being able to recall what he looked like, he ruminated on the gloom and fear he had taken from Kwak Jaekwon. Don’t hit me, please leave my mom alone, I am my dad’s child, he would mutter before slumping into sleep. It might have been fainting.

Jaekwon lifted his head and wiped his face. He didn’t know why his hands felt so damp when his face was dry.

There must be several more videos like this. The oldest CD among those collected had at least these fragmented stories about himself, but the most recent one he watched had no such stories. Wisoo, who had nothing he liked, only muttered his name and age, and then soon muttered about things he disliked. He hated being scolded, he hated it being too bright….

—I hate tomorrow…. I wish t-tomorrow wouldn’t come…. Nobody, don’t anyone come….

Jaekwon recalls the Seon Wisoo who did his best to maintain himself. The sight of him trying to get by somehow in the empty house wearing his clothes, the sight of his eyes sparkling at new things even while eating spicy soup on an empty stomach, you who were by my side.

Jaekwon lifted his head from the steering wheel with dark, sunken eyes. He checked the time. Friday, 3 PM, the most languid and sluggish time. It was fitting. Jung Taegyu must have been in a hurry, because this time he didn’t even think to completely erase his tracks. He had collected all the CCTV footage from the Cheongsu Seongso building alley for that day. The direction of escape led to a few choices, but the problem was that this was Seoul. The roads, the people, the possibilities, all increase infinitely. Jung Taegyu must have believed in that too.

But without knowing that he himself would play the role of narrowing down the choices.

The people he trusts can be counted on one hand, and the people whose relationship is deep enough to know of Wisoo’s existence are even fewer. Jaekwon had already narrowed down the potential locations as much as possible. Now it was time to throw a stone to make the fish surface. Jaekwon tapped his phone with one hand and sent out the prepared emails. Then, as a final touch, he left a message for Hwang Gujo.

Let’s end this now.

Kwak Jaekwon was going to screw over Jung Taegyu, and Kwak Jaekyeong, in a very modern way. Not with irrationality and surreal methods, but with a very modern revenge that would make them be ignored by everyone, forced to grovel at the bottom, and live by licking only the hope that they might be able to return to their place.

❖ ❖ ❖

On Friday at 3:13 PM, the day after Cheongsu Seongso was raided, the first article appeared. The breaking news from the entertainment section, linked with the rumors that had been subtly circulating before, spread quickly on social media.