TTD Ch 9

“Are you okay?”

The guard who appeared in front of him asked with a worried expression. Ja-kyung smiled apologetically and nodded his head.  He purposefully dropped the big vase in front of the window, and when moving it, he cut his hand, but the guard quickly arrived.

Even though he didn’t call for help, they appeared like a ghost, indicating that he was being monitored in real-time and recorded by CCTV. That meant he couldn’t do things his way in this house.

“Please wait a moment, I’ll bring a first aid kit.”

“Can you just bring me a band-aid?”

Ja-kyung took a tissue from next to him and placed it in his hand. The guard called the servants and instructed them to clean up the shattered glass in the drawing room. The flowers that Kang Il-hyun gave him were moved to another vase.  He applied the band-aid the guard had given him to the wound. Ja-kyung stepped out into the hallway and began strolling around the house while the staff cleaned up the leftover shards of glass.

This appears to be fine, given that no one showed up like before. It was easy to work if he had a basic idea of where the object was located, but it was difficult to figure out because each corner was big. Furthermore, each room was locked, making it impossible to access without a card key.

He walked from one end of the hallway to the other, looking around the house and occasionally looking at the paintings on the walls. There were also several things in the paintings that gave off a warm feeling. It was completely different from the owner.

It was quiet when he went downstairs since it was time for a break. He walked around the first-floor living room and stopped in front of a wide window. The view through the window as the sunset was beautiful. He sat on the window for a while, staring out the window, when he heard a voice calling out from behind him.

Ja-kyung shifted his gaze. The old man who looked after the housework was approaching. Despite his white hair, he had a straight back, and several wrinkles around his eyes, he also had a warm impression.

“The scenery is wonderful, right? The director also  occasionally stands here and looks out.”

“It’s cool, but being at home is a little boring.”

“Oh no, It would have been better if master Seok-joo had arrived earlier today.”

“Seok-joo… is?”

“This family’s youngest young master. He’s supposed to be here tomorrow morning.”

Ah. Then he remembered who Kang Seok-joo was. He was called by Kang Il-hyun. He was going to play with him. Ja-kyung was curious as to how his character will turn out. Perhaps he was the client. He was strangely excited at the thought of meeting one of the client candidates.

Ja-kyung erased the thoughts of the client from his mind for a moment.

“Can you tell me who built this house?”

“It was built by a well-known architect. The design was done by Director Kang himself.”

“By himself? Wow… Incredible.”

“There’s nothing he can’t do.”

He spoke of Kang Il-hyun as if he were an almighty god. Ja-kyung smiled unintentionally. Anyway, he didn’t think he’ll be able to wake up from death. Only time will tell.

“What is the architect’s name?”

“Why?”

“I like the house… I’d like to meet him and ask him to make something similar.”

“Well… I heard he built this house and then went abroad. I don’t know exactly where.”

It would be heaven, not a foreign country.  He couldn’t possibly let him build this house while yet keeping him alive. Ja-kyung made the decision to ask him one last question.

“There was also a basement, what was there?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know because I haven’t been there.”

That’s all right. When Ja-kyung made a sad expression on his face, the old man smiled kindly.

“Yi An-nim you can ask Director directly. Maybe he will answer you.”

Ja-kyung couldn’t help but smile. Kang Il-hyun would be suspicious right away if he did it. He asked a question but received no enlightening answers. After Ja-kyung did some more digging, the old man returned to the kitchen and said that it was time to make dinner. When Ja-kyung was left alone, he climbed up the window frame and sat with his legs crossed, looking outside.

The sun began to set behind the mountain, and the sky darkened even more. He enjoyed surfing at the beach when he wasn’t working, but it was especially pleasant to watch the sunset while floating in the ocean. He was so engaged in watching the sun dip into the water that he imagined himself being drawn into it.

Maybe it was because he was so immersed at the time that he didn’t notice a chuckle behind his back till later.

He turned his head to see the person, but his face was already on his shoulder. Ja-kyung was startled and started screaming.

“Oh, fuck!”

Kang Il-hyun’s face naturally tilted and their eyes met from a distance. Fuck?

“You curse so naturally.”

Ja-kyung was confused and stuttered.

“That, that… Because my mother is Korean…,”

What a stupid thing to say. Nevertheless, Kang Il-hyun smiled. He sat across from Ja-kyung, oblivious to his presence, and stared at him. Ja-kyung’s neck became stiff. He questioned whether it was obvious. For the first time, he relaxed his eyes, raised his glasses, and lowered his gaze.

He looked him in the eyes, but Kang Il-hyun remained deafeningly silent. Ja-kyung raised his head and smiled awkwardly to face him, unable to bear the suffocating silence.

“A little while ago… I was so surprised…”

“Hand.”

“Yes?”

He couldn’t help but stare at him, but he first extends his hand. Long and slender fingers resembled those of its owner. Ja-kyung lowered his gaze to his hand.

“Hand.”

“…”

He reached out and took Ja-kyung’s right hand without hesitation. Then, turn it over and visually check the area where the band-aid was pasted.

“Fortunately, you’re not seriously hurt.”

Oh, it was because of the wound.

“You know…?”

“It’s my favorite vase, but I won’t hold you accountable.”

His favorite vase. How much would it be? Ten million won?

“No. I will make amends.”

“700 million?”

“…”

“I wouldn’t say no if you insisted.”

Ja-kyung was silent and his eyes twitched. It was really 700 million. He looked serious. That had to be another reason why the guard arrived so quickly. It was no surprise that their face had grown unusually pale for such a minor injury.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know it was that expensive….”

No other words came out of his mouth to ask. In compensation for the shattered vase, Ja-kyung promised to kill him painlessly. He’s not going to make a hole in his handsome face. Of course, he had no way of knowing whether or not the promise would be kept.

Kang Il-hyun just smiled and didn’t bring up the vase any longer, not knowing what Ja-kyung was thinking. He chose to look out the window instead. With the last sting, the sun had entirely disappeared.

It was getting dark all around him, and a veil of darkness was falling over his face. His prominent features shined even brighter when the shadows fell. It looked like an animal’s face right before it went hunting. He’s the same person, but he’s really handsome and attractive.

As Ja-kyung look at him, his gaze from the outside shifts to him.

“It’s the first day, but I think you’ll have to eat dinner alone. I have an appointment.”

Kang Il-hyun got up from his seat. He said with a sad tone that he’d have to see his face tomorrow or so, but Ja-kyung was happy in his absence. It was true that he didn’t want to meet him as much as possible. He just realized that imitating and deceiving others was far more difficult than killing people.

***

Ja-kyung sat down in the empty bathtub and retrieved his laptop from his bag. After turning on the power, he took off the frame of the glasses he had been wearing.  It was unplugged and converted to a USB drive, which he placed into his laptop and a file appeared on the screen.

The files were recorded while walking around the house. He looked through the footage and discovered the scene in which Kang Il-hyun was filmed. When he noticed him having a chat in front of the living room window, he clicked the pause button. A smiling face toward Ja-kyung was as cool like a model. His self-esteem was slightly harmed as a guy.

Feeling an unexpected defeat, Ja-kyung moved the screen a little further back.  After saving the video in his hand, he immediately forwarded it to Wang Han. He closely examined Kang Il-hyun’s palm on the screen while waiting for a call.

A Korean he has known in Thailand since last year taught him how to do palmistry, but Kang Il-hyun’s lifeline was excruciatingly long. Based on the fact that it came down to the wrist, it appeared like he would live for a thousand years unless someone killed him, on the other hand, Ja-kyung’s palm was cut off in the middle and disappeared. It was an unfair world.

He took out an e-cigarette and put it into his mouth while waiting for a call. The phone rings while he hangs in the bathtub, smoking into the air. He heard Wang Han’s voice after putting on his earbuds and pressing the call button.

[The picture came out well.]

“How long do you think it will take?”

[Even if I start working right away, a week?] 

He needed Kang Il-hyun’s fingerprints to search the basement or enter his room.  There was also a method for obtaining fingerprints on objects, but the pictures were more accurate. However, he had no idea how things would change in a week. He must locate the safe and inspect the contents as soon as possible.

“Couldn’t it be a little faster?”

[I’ll try. What more do you need?]

Ja-kyung, who was worried, shook his head.

“Nothing for now.”

[Take care of yourself.]

“Yeah. You too, hyung.”

After the call, Ja-kyung placed the laptop on his upper body and laid it down completely in the bathtub as a bed. His long legs protruded out of the bathtub, but he didn’t care and continued to smoke. The smoke was sucked in without a break through a large ventilator. No matter how you look at it, the ventilation system here was amazingly well-designed.