OMS 85
by Cherry“What a relief!”
Kim Yoon-ah was delighted as if it were her own good news when she heard about him being able to sleep with Kim Jun-han. Feeling slightly embarrassed after admitting such a thing, Park Dong-sik absentmindedly scratched his neck.
“I’m going to the hospital in two days. I couldn’t ask for more if the baby has grown.”
“The baby will grow well! Mr. Kim must be happy too, right?”
Park Dong-sik shrugged his shoulders.
“I have no idea. He’s not the type to show his emotions.”
Besides, until recently, he had wanted to terminate it.
Meanwhile, he decided that the three of them should refrain from meeting from now on. On his day off, he had eaten, watched movies, and gone for walks at home with Kim Jun-han and Kim Tae-han, but he felt more exhausted than pleased. The way the two competed with each other made him feel like a vampire was draining his blood from both sides.
“I guess polygamy isn’t always good.”
As he muttered to himself, Kim Yoon-ah glanced at him through the rearview mirror. Then she turned on the left signal and waited. Perhaps because of her previous accident, she had developed a habit of stretching her neck to double-check while making left turns.
After driving for over 30 minutes, the navigation announced that they had reached their destination. Park Dong-sik looked up at the old building. The curtains on the second floor were drawn dark, making it impossible to see inside.
“A private detective…”
According to Kim Yoon-ah, Lee Hee-soo had hired this place to find someone. The detective was reportedly someone who had made a name for himself in the police force but was now working as a private investigator after committing misconduct—though “detective” was just a fancy word for what was essentially a personal investigation service.
“Shall we go up?”
At Park Dong-sik’s words, Kim Yoon-ah took the lead.
“I’ll go first, just in case.”
Seeing the serious expression on her face, Park Dong-sik nodded his head with a smile. While she might not be great at physical confrontations, Kim Yoon-ah was quite capable in many other ways. Hadn’t she found out about this matter in just a few days? The more he saw of her, the more reliable she seemed to be.
Each step up the stairs assaulted their noses with musty mold smells. Combined with the smell of urine, it was similar to the smell he used to encounter in Moon Ho-cheol’s office. At the office door, the screech of the old metal handle turning grated on their nerves.
Inside, a man wearing a black jumper hurriedly slurped up his remaining jjajangmyeon noodles.
“How can I help you with anything?”
He pushed aside his bowl of jjajangmyeon and got up to his feet, wiping his mouth with a napkin. The old office was piled with documents, and the walls were decorated with missing person posters and trophies from his police days displayed in a cabinet.
“Hello. I’m Kim Yoon-ah, who called two days ago. I’m here about the documents we discussed.”
The man went “Huh?” but then smiled at Park Dong-sik instead of Kim Yoon-ah.
“You’re late. I was wondering why I hadn’t heard from you,”
His gaze fell on Park Dong-sik’s stomach and then away.
“Congratulations. It looks like something good has happened.”
Since he seemed to have met Lee Hee-soo before, Park Dong-sik responded brazenly.
“About what I requested?”
“Of course, I prepared it.” The man rubbed his hands together with a meaningful smile. Judging by his attitude and expression, Lee Hee-soo must have paid him well. He went to the old desk by the window and opened the safe inside. They heard the sound of the lock turning, and he took something out and walked toward the table.
“Please sit here. Would you like some tea?”
Looking at the half-eaten bowl of jjajangmyeon and the ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts on the table, Park Dong-sik shook his head.
“No thanks.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at himself, wondering when he had become so fastidious.
“Here you go.”
Park Dong-sik started to take out the contents from the envelope but stopped abruptly.
“As you can see, quite the colorful history. What we’d call a career criminal. Fraud, assault, gambling, and as for the son—”
“Stop.”
Park Dong-sik raised his hand to stop the man’s words and shoved the half-pulled documents back into the envelope. The man’s eyes showed confusion at this reaction. Beside him, Kim Yoon-ah was looking at him with a puzzled expression on her face. Park Dong-sik moistened his lips against a burning thirst and stood up, clutching the envelope.
“Let’s consider the explanation given.”
Kim Yoon-ah stood up as well, not understanding what was going on, and Park Dong-sik pulled out a check from his wallet and handed it to the detective. The man’s eyes widened at the substantial amount.
“But you already paid the fee in advance?”
“This is for keeping it confidential.”
The man who called himself a detective made a zipping motion across his lips and grinned.
“In this business, reputation is everything. I’d bite my tongue and die before talking, so don’t worry about it.”
“I hope so. Otherwise, I’ll come back and kill you myself.”
The detective laughed, “Ha ha,” thinking it was a joke. Park Dong-sik gave a quick bow and left the office, with Kim Yoon-ah following not far behind. As he descended the stairs, his head felt dizzy and his heart was pounding in his chest.
What is this…?
Once outside the building, Kim Yoon-ah darted in front of him.
“Your face looks…are you alright?”
Park Dong-sik forced out a smile and nodded.
“The air was so stuffy in there, I could hardly breathe.”
“I felt that too. The cigarette smell was awful. I can’t believe some people still smoke indoors these days.”
As Park Dong-sik was opening the car door, he hesitated before calling to Kim Yoon-ah.
“Honey, could you buy me an orange juice? I’m feeling nauseous.”
“Just wait one moment. I saw a mart down there. I’ll be right back.”
Kim Yoon-ah rushed off in that direction, and Park Dong-sik quickly got in the car and opened the envelope. The personal information written there was about someone he knew all too well.
[Park Chun-bae]
Starting with his photo and resident registration number, it contained everything from his parents’ names to his hometown, schools, fraud records, and even movements of Park Chun-bae that he himself hadn’t known about.
And turning to the next page, there was Park Dong-sik.
His birth date, when he entered the orphanage, his middle school, running away from the orphanage, his assault conviction and prison time, working at a loan office after release, and his suicide…It was quite detailed and specific.
“What is this…?”
He couldn’t wrap his head around the information no matter how hard he tried. Had Lee Hee-soo investigated Park Chun-bae and Park Dong-sik while they were alive? Why? For what reason? Did that mean he had known about him? No, Lee Hee-soo never received these documents. If he had known, he wouldn’t have been so calm during their last meeting.
Then he noticed something striking in Park Dong-sik’s file.
Mother unconfirmed. Suspected omega?
“Omega?”
As he was staring at the unexpected words, Kim Yoon-ah came running back. Park Dong-sik quickly stuffed the documents away and composed his expression. The door opened and Kim Yoon-ah handed him the juice from behind.
“Here, drink it quickly.”
“Thanks.”
As he gulped it down, Kim Yoon-ah said worriedly, “How’s your stomach? Are you okay?”
When he said he felt much better, she sighed in relief. It was strange. He had unwillingly become Lee Hee-soo and was just trying to live with it as his fate, but whenever he saw Kim Yoon-ah treating him with such sincerity, he would always feel guilty.
The car started moving while his mood remained low, and when he opened the window due to the stuffiness, outside air rushed in. He thought getting some fresh air would help, but his questions and anxieties only continued to build.
What could it be? Why did he try to find my real self?
In the midst of his mental chaos, a message arrived.
[5 days left until the appointed date. Have you prepared the money? Again, if you tell anyone, the video will be spread immediately.]
“Damn it.”
He cursed and leaned his head against the window. Hee-soo’s life is exhausting as hell. It seemed like things were mentally easier when he was just collecting debts. As he closed his eyes trying to clear his complicated thoughts, the car was already entering their neighborhood.
As the car slowed down, Kim Yoon-ah let out a surprised “Huh?” Wondering what was wrong, he looked ahead to see a black sedan parked there, with all the security guards out. They were in a standoff with a visitor, who upon closer look was Butler Yoon from the main house.
“Isn’t that Chairman Kim’s car?”
Kim Yoon-ah anxiously glanced back.
“Should we turn around?”
“Why should we? It’s my house. Just park here.”
The car stopped, and Park Dong-sik walked toward the gate. The security guards looked clearly uncomfortable, and Butler Yoon’s voice was getting louder.
“Do you want to lose your jobs? Don’t you know who this is? Open it right now!”
“We’re sorry. Mr. Kim told us not to let in any outsiders.”
“Outsider? How is the Chairman an outsider?! You idiots!”
The security guards spotted Park Dong-sik and greeted him respectfully as if they had just found their savior.
Butler Yoon’s face contorted as he turned around to face him.
“Well, who do we have here? Butler Yoon, isn’t it? What brings you here?”
Kim Yoon-ah, who had followed, smartly led the security guards inside the gate and disappeared. Then she quickly came back out to stand behind Park Dong-sik. Just then, the sedan’s window rolled down, revealing Chairman Kim. His viper-like gaze landed on Park Dong-sik’s stomach before moving up, his eyes full of murderous intent.
“I came to my son’s house, and I’m being denied entry.”
“Long time no see, old man. But you’re mistaken. This is my house. It’s under my name.”
Butler Yoon jumped at the word ‘old man.’
“Mr. Hee-soo! How dare you speak that way? Show some respect to the Chairman!”
“Respect my ass. We’re divorced, so what? Should I call him ‘my dear father-in-law’?”
Chairman Kim glared at Park Dong-sik with an angry face.
“Y-You’re really planning to have this child.”
“This child has absolutely nothing to do with you, so mind your own business.”
A cold smile spread across Chairman Kim’s lips.
“Go ahead, have it then. You’ll regret your decision for a long time to come.”
“Please leave if you don’t want to hear more. Or I’ll call the police. Tell them my ex-husband’s father is harassing me outside my house. It’ll be quite a scene when the police show up.”
When Park Dong-sik pulled out his phone, Chairman Kim snorted and the window rolled up. Soon, Butler Yoon got in the driver’s seat and turned the car around to leave the alley. After the car left, Kim Yoon-ah staggered and grabbed onto a nearby tree.
“Oh my heart. Can you see that my legs are shaking?”
“Honey, don’t do that. Go inside and bring me some salt.”
“Salt…?”
“Not pink salt or table salt, but the really coarse kind. The kind that can knock out evil spirits in one go. You know?”
Kim Yoon-ah nodded her head and hurried inside. Park Dong-sik tilted his head back and sighed. How could they be so brazen? It was surprising they would think to come here. Well, they said it was Chairman Kim who first found him at the villa too.
He wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. Must stay alert.
Meanwhile, a second message arrived from the video blackmailer.
[Mr. Hee-soo, you’re not responding. I’m warning you, don’t do anything you’ll regret later on.]
Park Dong-sik narrowed his eyes at the message, then looked up to glare at Chairman Kim’s departing car. A brilliant idea suddenly struck him, and a smile slowly spread across his face. His expression turned villainous as he composed his message.
[Of course, I’ll pay. I always keep my promises. Just wait.]