MIM 28

“Why weren’t you fired?”

Jae-seung asked, not taking his eyes off the gardener. He deliberately tried to push the seemingly tense man. People sometimes let slip things they shouldn’t say, and often that’s where the truth lies.

“Everyone was fired except for just three people, including you. What do you think is the reason you survived?”

“I’m not sure. I just… thought I was fortunate to be able to stay. I never questioned the decision.”

“You wanted to stay in a house where people died? Do we pay that well?”

“Well, that’s… true, but it’s not just because of the money.”

“Then what is it because of?”

He’d run to another place in a heartbeat if they paid more. Jaeseung asked listlessly, leaning back in his chair. Room and board? As Jae-seung was considering the most likely reason, he felt a gaze and looked up. The gardener was looking at Jae-seung with a subtle expression. Although his complexion was naturally ruddy, making it hard to read properly, somehow he seemed to have complicated feelings.

Did the gardener owe his parents a favor? No. It couldn’t be such a human reason. Suddenly, the large pine tree in the garden came to mind. He had heard it was over a hundred years old. To his eyes, it was just a tree, but to the gardener, it might be a treasure.

“A sense of duty to restore the garden damaged by the fire?”

“Hahaha!”

The gardener burst into laughter unexpectedly. He quickly covered his mouth with the back of his hand, but the laughter didn’t subside immediately. Though he was tense, it seemed he wasn’t naturally stiff in character. He mumbled an answer while wiping his reddened, wet eyes.

“Your appearance has changed a lot… but you’re still the same.”

“What is?”

“That personality. You were like that when you were young too. You were witty.”

When he was young. Jae-seung tilted his head. He had almost no memories of his childhood.

“Did we ever talk?”

“You often hid in the garden. So I would deliberately trim the places where you were hiding last.”

Remembering those times, the gardener smiled while leisurely scanning the air. The color that had flushed his face without drinking soon spread to his eyes.

“I’m glad you’ve regained your spirit.”

The gardener’s soft mutter was drowned out by the sound of the chair being pushed back. As soon as Jae-seung stood up, he looked at the clock. He had found out Han Yoon-sung’s home address. He needed to move quickly before Shin-woo returned.

* * *

Surprisingly, Gong Ji-un, real name Han Yoon-sung, who had seemed like a rich kid with an air of leisure and nobility, was from a poor background. Not far from Mangwol District, there was a small neighborhood called ‘Bihyang’, mainly populated by illegal immigrants and drug addicts. Unlike Mangwol District where public authority was completely uninvolved, Bihyang had a considerable number of government-provided rental apartments for the poor.

Jae-seung looked up at the apartment building that seemed even older than the pine tree in the garden. This was where Han Yoon-sung lived.

“Young master, shall I wait here?”

The driver approached and asked quietly as Jae-seung was looking at his car, which didn’t fit the scenery at all. Jae-seung nodded glumly. He had just realized why there were ordinary and modest cars among the many in his father’s garage. Like clothes or accessories, cars seemed to have their time and place too.

If he got terrorized or robbed, so be it. Quickly giving up, Jae-seung looked around. There weren’t many shops or restaurants in this neighborhood, so jobs were scarce. While there might be some like Han Yoon-sung who worked hard and commuted, he had heard that most people here didn’t work. He could feel gazes from beyond the apartment windows or from secluded corners of the alleys.

How about Mangwol District? A place with a much worse reputation than Bihyang.

Shin-woo’s hometown.

Somehow, his thoughts drifted there again. Tsk. Just as Jae-seung clicked his tongue and tried to drive the guy’s thoughts out of his head, Shin-woo called.

The reason for the call was probably to soothe his separation anxiety. Jae-seung snorted and entered the apartment building. He wouldn’t answer. He could manage without hearing his voice. It was broad daylight, and he didn’t want to give Shin-woo any clues about Han Yoon-sung.

“Hmph.”

Jae-seung rejected the call and switched his phone to airplane mode. He had the upper hand. Fortunately, with his rut over and feeling much better, he could ignore the call. Jae-seung bounded up the stairs three or four at a time and stood in front of Han Yoon-sung’s home. After looking around for a while for a doorbell, he realized there wasn’t one and quickly knocked on the door.

After an awkward cough to show he wasn’t dangerous, the door cracked open slightly. A woman peeked out with one eye through the gap, looking up at Jae-seung who was much taller. Hearing a child crying, he knew he had the right place.

“Who are…”

The woman covered her mouth before finishing her sentence, seemingly recognizing him. Jae-seung smiled, trying to look as harmless as possible.

Bang! The door slammed shut right in his face. It closed so forcefully that his bangs fluttered, nearly hitting his face. The audacity. He was about to headbutt the door open when he hesitated at the sound of the baby crying.

Patience. He could now unlock doors with his eyes closed. Jae-seung sighed lightly and grabbed the doorknob. As his arm flexed, the sound of the lock breaking was heard.

* * *

“I’m sorry. Please spare us.”

The repeated apology didn’t sit well with him. He should be punishing the wrongdoer, not making a strange woman bow her head while holding a child. He had only summarized that Han Yoon-sung had betrayed him, not wanting to go into details, but the woman immediately became submissive.

Though he was threatening enough without doing anything, Jae-seung still glared and spoke like a thug.

“Tell me everything you know. Where is he now?”

“I don’t know… He’s alive, right? Please tell me that. I’ll make sure he never shows his face again, please.”

“I can’t guarantee that. Shin-woo is looking for him too.”

“That person from Mangwol District? Why would he…”

Yoon-sung’s wife asked, her face turning pale. Jae-seung was inwardly flustered, unable to come up with a plausible answer. He had assumed Shin-woo would naturally want to kill Han Yoon-sung, but thinking again, there was no reason for him to keep being interested. The client was safely rescued, and no one had asked him to kill Yoon-sung, so it made sense that he had no further business.

Why had he been so certain that Shin-woo would still be angry at Han Yoon-sung? When he had asked if Jae-seung wanted him killed, it was probably just to extort more money for a contract killing. As Jae-seung’s expression darkened, Yoon-sung’s wife nervously spoke up.

“We just took a job through an introduction this time. We’ve always worked like that, and there’s never been a problem before. We really didn’t have any bad intentions!”

“Introduction?”

Jae-seung’s eyebrows twitched. It seemed Han Yoon-sung had done this kind of work several times.

“My husband had a friend in Mangwol District. That friend happened to work in Maseong, so we’ve occasionally taken odd jobs through introductions. I remember they were simple jobs like driving or transport, nothing dangerous.”

“A friend from Mangwol District… There’s no one else from Mangwol at the mansion now except Shin-woo.”

“He didn’t tell me the details, so I really don’t know more. Honestly.”

Was there someone from Mangwol District among the people Shin-woo had sent away? Were the people living with him in the annex his friends from Mangwol? Had the men he saw at the ice cream shop ever worked at the mansion? Who exactly is trying to harm him, and for what purpose?

“Please don’t kill us. Our child is very sick.”

A tiny face, not even the size of a fist, was suddenly thrust before him. The child had fallen half asleep, exhausted from crying. The mother’s voice whispered pleadingly, trying not to wake the child. We did it because times were tough. Please forgive us, if only for the sake of our sick child. Please put in a good word with Shin-woo. We’ll do anything you say…

The baby fell asleep to the mother’s whispering voice as a lullaby. Though it was irritating to see her using the baby as a shield, Jae-seung couldn’t take his eyes off the child. The claim about the baby being very sick might be a lie since it was sleeping now, but at least it was fortunate to be in its mother’s arms when sick.

He felt conflicted. After staring at the floor for a while with his head down, Jae-seung took out a business card and held it out.

“My number. I’ll spare you, so tell him to contact me when he returns. If he doesn’t, I’ll find him and kill him. Don’t think I won’t know. Don’t think you can run away either.”

“Yes! We’ll definitely do that. Thank you!”

Yoon-sung’s wife took the card, bowing repeatedly. Leaving behind the baby’s renewed wails, Jae-seung left the apartment.

On his way back, he checked his phone and saw a text message.

[Should I come pick you up? 2:03 PM]

It was him.