The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 37 - An Uncomfortable Meal (1)

 

“Do-hwan hyung, is Yoon-hoo hyung still on the phone?”

 

“He had something urgent come up, so he stepped out.”

 

“What? He left?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong’s eyes widened in surprise, then he pouted, looking slightly sulky.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung seems really busy these days.”

 

“Well, of course,” Seo Do-hwan replied.

 

He wasn’t just running one company—he ran two.

 

‘Though…can you really call the club a company?’

 

Either way, it was clear that one person alone wasn’t enough. From morning till night—or rather, until he finally fell asleep—he worked nonstop.

 

More importantly—

 

“Did you finish looking around the house?”

 

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

 

“Then let’s go out for dinner. Kwak Yoon-hoo gave me his card and told us to eat out before heading back.”

 

As Seo Do-hwan stood up, he asked,

 

“So, what are you in the mood for?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong thought for a moment before answering.

 

“That soup restaurant Yoon-hoo hyung took me to last time!”

 

He meant the century-old Grandma’s Gukbap Restaurant.

 

Seo Do-hwan chuckled in disbelief.

 

“Must’ve been good, huh?”

 

“It was.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong grinned sheepishly.

 

“Actually, I wanted to go to the place I used to visit with my parents… but it’s closed now.”

 

His voice was calm, but his eyes betrayed a quiet longing. Pretending not to notice, Seo Do-hwan draped an arm around his shoulders.

 

“Come on, then. I’ll take you there at 180 kilometers an hour.”

 

“You’ll get us into an accident!”

 

“Can’t you even take a joke?”

 

Grumbling, Seo Do-hwan made Lee Yoo-seong laugh.

 

And so the two of them set off for the very same century-old Grandma’s Gukbap Restaurant where Kwak Yoon-hoo had once taken them.

 

Little did they know—

 

“Boss! Two bowls of pork gukbap, please!” Seo Do-hwan said.

 

“And I’d like some boiled pork too,” Lee Yoo-seong added.

 

“Alright, one order of boiled pork as well,” Seo Do-hwan said.

 

“And the meat pancakes!”

 

“Got it—one meat pancake as well!”

 

Seo Do-hwan eagerly ordered everything Lee Yoo-seong wanted, ready to swipe Kwak Yoon-hoo’s card without a second thought.

 

“It’s been a while, sir.”

 

“Oh my, Chairman Kwak! It’s been ages!”

 

—they had no idea they were about to run into Kwak Jin-tae.

 

“The man who’s usually by your side isn’t with you today?”

 

“Chief Choi had some work, so he couldn’t come along,” Kwak Jin-tae replied as he chatted with the restaurant owner and moved to take a seat.

 

But his eyes lit up at the sight of bright red hair.

 

“Isn’t that Yoon-hoo’s friend?”

 

Seo Do-hwan shifted awkwardly, forcing a smile.

 

‘I was hoping he wouldn’t notice…!’

 

But with hair that bright, going unnoticed was impossible. Caught under Kwak Jin-tae’s gaze, Seo Do-hwan greeted him politely.

 

“Ah, hello, sir. It’s been a while.”

 

“That’s right! You look well. And the student with you is…?”

 

“My name is Lee Yoo-seong.”

 

Following Seo Do-hwan’s lead, Lee Yoo-seong stood and bowed politely.

 

Pleased, Kwak Jin-tae returned their greeting with a warm smile.

 

“Yes, I remember now. You were one of Yoon-hoo’s students, weren’t you? So, the two of you came here for dinner?”

 

“Yes, the boss—”

 

No, that wasn’t right.

 

“Yoon-hoo had some work to take care of, so we came on our own,” Seo Do-hwan clarified.

 

Kwak Jin-tae nodded.

 

“I see, so it’s just the two of you tonight. Well then, would this old man be intruding if I joined you?”

 

At the lighthearted question, Seo Do-hwan and Lee Yoo-seong exchanged glances.

 

Then, almost in unison, they smiled and replied,

 

“Of course not.”

 

Even if they had wanted to refuse, they couldn’t. Taking that as permission, Kwak Jin-tae naturally sat down and immediately began asking questions.

 

“Yoo-seong, was it? Did Yoon-hoo teach you well?”

 

“Pardon? Ah—yes! He made the lessons really fun and easy to follow!”

 

Seo Do-hwan grimaced inwardly.

 

He had only gone to school with Lee Yoo-seong for a short time, but everyone knew Kwak Yoon-hoo’s lectures were notoriously difficult to keep up with.

 

Still, Kwak Jin-tae chuckled, pleased with the answer.

 

“Yoon-hoo always did enjoy teaching others, even from a young age.”

 

Murmuring fondly, he suddenly turned to Seo Do-hwan.

 

“And what about you, Mr. Seo? Are you still on good terms with Yoon-hoo?”

 

“Of course, sir.”

 

Seo Do-hwan awkwardly curved his lips into a smile as he poured water into Kwak Jin-tae’s glass, as though it were alcohol.

 

“Yoon-hoo and I get along very well.”

 

“So it seems. He doesn’t usually get along with others easily, but he’s living with you, right? And of course, with Yoo-seong here too.”

 

Emptying the glass in one go, Kwak Jin-tae set it down and continued.

 

“There’s something I’ve been curious about.”

 

“Yes, sir. Please, ask anything.”

 

“How exactly did you first meet Yoon-hoo?”

 

Kwak Jin-tae asked, a playful smile in his eyes.

 

“I heard Yoon-hoo met you during some social activity. Is that true?”

 

Seo Do-hwan swallowed hard.

 

Well, they had met during a social activity—if dancing at a club counts, then yes, it was a social activity.

 

“I’m also curious how you became so close.”

 

How did we become close?

 

‘Stun gun.’

 

That was the first word that came to mind. He tried to think of something else, but…

 

‘Drugs.’

 

Worse thoughts immediately came to mind, so Seo Do-hwan chose to mumble a vague answer.

 

“Well… I don’t really remember clearly. We just had a few conversations, and somehow ended up becoming friends.”

 

“I see.”

 

Kwak Jin-tae nodded at the answer, and Seo Do-hwan awkwardly smiled while taking a sip of water. Seeing that, Kwak Jin-tae’s face lit up with satisfaction.

 

“But from what I know, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

 

His expression hardened.

 

“You… our Yun-hoo has a record of admitting someone to the addiction treatment center at AMA Seoul Hospital, didn’t he?”

 

“Puh?!”

 

Startled by the sudden remark, Seo Do-hwan ended up spitting out the water he was drinking—right into Kwak Jin-tae’s face.

 

“Cough! Ugh, I’m… I’m sorry!”

 

Seo Do-hwan stood up and grabbed a napkin.

 

While he was flustered, Kwak Yoon-hoo arrived.

 

“CEO!”

 

“Kang Ye-seong.”

 

Shortly after, Kang Ye-seong himself arrived at the Gangnam Police Station.

 

***

 

Kang Ye-seong pulled his cap low and masked his face, cautious of being spotted.

 

Victory had gained a lot of fame with their new song, and if any Nikes or reporters spotted him at the police station, it could become troublesome.

 

“I’m sorry for calling while you’re busy. But I think I need your confirmation on something.”

 

“I’m both a victim and a witness. Besides, I’m not that busy. There’s still a little time before our next promotions.”

 

Even so, his break was only about two days, but Kang Ye-seong smiled lightly, as if to say not to worry. I smiled back and spoke.

 

“Shall we go in, then?”

 

“Yes, CEO.”

 

As soon as Kang Ye-seong entered the police station, we headed straight for Detective Lee Jong-hoon, who was handling the case.

 

It seemed he had been expecting us, because the detective asked immediately:

 

“Are you Mr. Kang Ye-seong?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And the person beside you…?”

 

“This is Kwak Yoon-hoo from WF Entertainment. Please consider me as Kang Ye-seong’s guardian.”

 

“Sure, whatever.”

 

The detective tapped at his keyboard and spoke again. “This man claims he attempted to kidnap Mr. Kang Ye-seong this morning and has turned himself in. He’s surrendering.”

 

In front of the detective, a man who looked like a drenched rat trembled violently.

 

“Mr. Kang Ye-seong, would you like to see his face?”

 

Kang Ye-seong was about to glance at him, his expression stiff, when—

 

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!”

 

The man’s eyes met Kang Ye-seong’s, and he scrambled forward, clinging desperately to his knee.

 

“Hey! Get off me!”

 

The detective jumped back in surprise. But the man, pale and shaking, held on tighter, as if Kang Ye-seong were his only lifeline.

 

“I’m so sorry! Truly, truly sorry! I committed a crime worthy of death! Please kill me! Kill me, please!”

 

“W-wait a minute! Let go of this…!”

 

Kang Ye-seong struggled to pull him off, flustered, but the man refused to budge.

 

“What are you doing?! Someone, get him off!”

 

Only after several officers intervened did the man finally release Kang Ye-seong.

 

“Mr. Kang Ye-seong, are you okay?”

 

“Yes… I’m fine. I’m okay, but…”

 

His voice trailed off as he looked at the man, now restrained by the surrounding officers.

 

“I’ve truly committed a grave sin! It shouldn’t have happened this way! I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry!”

 

The man continued babbling apologies frantically, his face pale with fear.

 

“Please accept my apology! If you don’t, that monster will kill me! That crazy guy will kill me!”

 

Monster. Crazy guy.

 

It didn’t take long to figure out who he meant.

 

‘Lee Man-deuk.’

 

Clearly, it was Lee Man-deuk who had intervened. Otherwise, the man who had dared to attempt the kidnapping would never have surrendered.

 

The man continued frantically apologizing until the officers finally led him away.

 

The detective returned, offering an explanation.

 

“I apologize. I was concerned he might cause an accident in his unstable state.”

 

“That’s alright. Has his identity been confirmed?”

 

“Yes, he’s on the wanted list.”

 

The detective then proceeded to ask Kang Ye-seong a few questions.

 

Though embarrassed by the earlier chaos, Kang Ye-seong quickly regained his composure and answered each question in detail.

 

After a few minutes, the questioning concluded.

 

“Yes, I think that’s enough for Mr. Kang Ye-seong’s statement. He already has a criminal record, so he’ll likely be arrested—don’t worry too much.”

 

Of course, he should be taken into custody.

 

I smirked. “Alright, can we go now?”

 

The detective nodded.

 

“Just so you know, we might need additional statements later.”

 

“Understood. Please contact me directly if that happens.”

 

After handing my business card to the detective, I left the police station with Kang Ye-seong.

 

Kim Sang-cheol had already been taken into custody, and the man who attempted the kidnapping would likely follow soon.

 

With that, there was no longer any worry about him or his gang causing trouble—but Kang Ye-seong’s expression remained dark, likely dwelling on the words of the man who tried to abduct him.

 

I said, 

 

“Kang Ye-seong, just ignore what a criminal like that says.”

 

“Is it really okay to do that?”

 

“Yes. By the way, you haven’t eaten yet, right? I know a really good restaurant. Want to go together?”

 

“That sounds good.”

 

His previously worried expression softened slightly. That alone was enough to reassure me, and I took Kang Ye-seong straight to the gukbap restaurant I used to frequent with my grandfather.

 

“Hello, sir,” I greeted as we walked in.

 

“Oh, isn’t that Yoon-hoo!”

 

“Grandfather?”

 

His grandfather, mid-meal, set down his chopsticks and stood, smiling broadly.

 

“So you left your friends behind to handle business, huh? Now you’ve come for dinner?”

 

“Huh? Yes.”

 

But…why?

 

Why were Seo Do-hwan and Lee Yoo-seong sitting here with my grandfather?

 

I smirked faintly and let my gaze linger on the two of them—more precisely, on Seo Do-hwan.

 

‘As they say, let the guilty know their punishment.’

 

Seo Do-hwan quickly avoided my gaze.