PEN Vol 1 Ch. 21

There were various types of drugs distributed through the club. The crystal meth involved in this incident was under Dalma’s supervision. As a broker, Dalma handled the distribution of crystal meth in Korea, working with the manufacturer that only he knew how to contact.

Since the delivery didn’t arrive on time, Shin Jihan must have contacted Dalma, likely giving him an earful. If anyone suffered the most from this incident, it was undoubtedly the deliveryman and Dalma.

Cheon Sejoo stood up from his seat and checked Haewoong’s laptop. He skimmed through the deliveryman’s messages, where he had vented to a friend about his boss’ outrageous behavior. Since he couldn’t outright refer to him as a broker, he had simply called him his “boss”, but it was clear that the boss in question was Dalma. Suddenly, the phrase donggwigeojin^[1] (同歸於盡) came to mind.

Could it be that the deliveryman’s real target was Dalma?

As Cheon Sejoo thought this far, a headache began to form, and he frowned He slouched on the sofa, propping one leg up as he continued to think. Then, he reached for the phone he had left on the table.

The direction of the case seemed to be heading downward. No matter how much he looked at it, this had nothing to do with Shin Gyoyeon or Shin Jihan. Cheon Sejoo’s job was to clean up and resolve issues caused by those who might harm the organization. Now that the items had been recovered, his work was done. There was nothing more to gain from further investigation.

Besides, if the deliveryman’s actions were really meant to harm Dalma, there was no need for Cheon Sejoo to get involved any further. Dalma wasn’t a member of the organization.

Cheon Sejoo’s fingers hovered over the screen as if he were about to make a call at any moment. However, his finger, which hesitated over the call button for a long time, eventually couldn’t press it and instead moved his hands toward the corner of his forehead. He pressed down on the side of his head where a headache was throbbing as if trying to massage it away.

Throughout the entire interrogation, the deliveryman had stuck to one story. He claimed that he was only following orders from “above.” And the one who had given him those orders was Dalma. The deliveryman had shifted all the blame onto Dalma. There was no doubt about that.

There were only two possibilities. Either the deliveryman had falsely accused Dalma to frame him, or Dalma had indeed manipulated the deliveryman. The former seemed more plausible than the latter. After all, if the drugs went missing, the person who would suffer the most significant loss was Dalma, so there was no reason for him to deliberately put himself in danger.

Moreover, Dalma was the only one who knew the identity of the manufacturer. He was the sole contact. If someone else wanted the drugs, they could have just arranged a new deal with him. Since increasing the production was a simple matter, there was no reason for him to siphon off the drugs that were originally intended for his deal with Shin Jihan.

All the evidence pointed to the delivery man acting alone. And yet…

“F*ck.”

Feeling something was still off, he cursed under his breath and stood up. Ignoring the curious glances from his team members, Cheon Sejoo grabbed a cigarette and lighter from the suit jacket he had taken off. He needed some fresh air. Since there wasn’t a single window inside the workshop, he opened the door and headed toward the stairs.

Despite the building’s rundown exterior, its security was tight. After passing through two doors, one with a heavy steel door and the other one requiring an eye scanner, he finally stepped outside. He walked around the side of the building and settled in a nearby alley where an old tin can, repurposed as an ashtray, was placed.

As he roughly ran a hand through his disheveled hair and brought the cigarette to his lips, about to light it with his lighter, he heard footsteps echoing down the alley. Cheon Sejoo glanced toward the sound, his expression suddenly souring as he snapped the lighter shut. With a sharp click, the lid of his Zippo lighter closed, catching the attention of the person passing by who was holding newspapers.

“…….”

Their eyes met. Cheon Sejoo let out a dry chuckle and rubbed his forehead.

“Hey.”

“…….”

A stiff gaze scanned Cheon Sejoo from head to toe. Under that gaze, Cheon Sejoo crumpled the unlit cigarette in his mouth and tossed it into the tin can. Then, as he took a step forward, Sejin, who had been staring at him blankly, flinched and trembled. The newspaper, filled with job advertisements, was neatly folded. Sejin quickly hid the classified advertisements behind his back and lowered his head.

“I told you to study.”

It was absurd. After dragging him back to school this morning when he tried to run off, now here he was, out wandering around the neighborhood again. Like a stray dog, no less.

Cheon Sejoo stared at him, at a loss for words. With a look that seemed to question whether he was in his right mind, Sejin nervously chewed on his lip, guilt evident in his expression. But he quickly avoided Cheon Sejoo’s gaze, choosing to remain silent.

“When did you sneak out?”

“…….”

“I asked when you sneaked out. Don’t even think about lying to me. Tell me straight.”

At the harsh tone in his voice, Sejin briefly frowned and glanced up at him. But then, seeing the even colder expression on Cheon Sejoo’s face, he paused.

Transparent as glass, Sejin’s thoughts were written all over his face.

Who do you think you are to interfere?

You’re just hiding out in an alley smoking, so why should you care if I go to school or not?

Even without him saying a word, Sejin’s voice were practically audible in his head. Cheon Sejoo raised one eyebrow, steadily watching Sejin who was standing in front of him.

Though he tried to ignore the intense gaze, Sejin couldn’t withstand the silent pressure and eventually opened his mouth.

“After lunch….”

“Oh, so you did stay at school until lunchtime?”

Well, isn’t that an achievement.

Cheon Sejoo’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he responded and snatched the newspaper out of Sejin’s hands. Although Sejin never bothered to carry textbooks, the job advertisements in the newspaper were carefully marked with circles and crosses. But even if he had left after lunch, it would have only been 1 p.m. at the latest, and now it was just 2 p.m.

Realizing something didn’t add up with the timeline forming in his mind, Cheon Sejoo tossed the newspaper to the ground and reached out toward Sejin.

“What—what are you doing?!”

Bending down, he shoved his hand into Sejin’s pants pocket. Sejin twisted his body, trying to escape the sudden contact, but there was no way he could overpower Cheon Sejoo’s strength.

Cheon Sejoo’s large hand roamed over the inside of Sejin’s thigh, confirming that the pocket was empty before moving on to the pocket of his hoodie. From there, he found the prepaid phone he had given him, pulled it out, and immediately turned it on to check the call history.

There were records of calls made to a number that wasn’t his own. The calls were logged at 9:58 a.m. and 10:29 a.m.

“Give it back!”

Sejin reached out, but Cheon Sejoo raised his arm high, keeping the prepaid phone out of his reach. He then took out his own phone and opened a web browser. Typing the number he had just seen in the call history into the search bar, he found that it belonged to a nearby restaurant and an unidentified business. It seemed like Sejin had been calling around about the job listings he had seen in the newspaper.

However, when Sejin had left for school that morning, both his hands had definitely been empty. There was no way the school would hand out classified newspapers like that, so he must have left the school grounds after Cheon Sejoo had dropped him off to pick up somewhere outside. It was infuriating.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The words filled with disbelief escaped his lips.

Kwon Sejin’s day unfolded clearly in Cheon Sejoo’s mind. After being dragged into school by him, he must have waited and confirmed until Cheon Sejoo had left, then snuck out, grabbed the newspapers, and spent his time searching for part-time jobs instead of studying. He had probably gone back inside just to eat lunch before leaving again.

For a moment, Cheon Sejoo had worried that Sejin might be refusing to go to school because he was being bullied, but it was clear now that wasn’t the case at all.

If it were, Sejin would have left the school as soon as Cheon Sejoo was gone.

Instead, he waited around like someone biding their time for a favorite restaurant to open, only leaving after he’d had his meal.

To someone like Cheon Sejoo, who had consistently ranked first nationwide in mock exams, Sejin’s behavior was completely unacceptable. If Kwon Sejin were his younger brother, he would have given him the scolding of a lifetime.

How can someone live their life with absolutely no sense of direction?

Sure, there were plenty of people around him, especially at Shinsa Capital, who had ruined their lives by living recklessly, but Cheon Sejoo couldn’t just sit back and watch Kwon Sejin go down that path.

No matter how it started, he was now a child who was under his protection. Cheon Sejoo couldn’t just stand by while Kwon Sejin treated school as nothing more than a place to get free meals and squandered the opportunities he was given.

“Why did you tear it up?! It was mine!”

Rip, rip.

As Cheon Sejoo tore up the newspaper, Sejin let out an angry shout, breathing heavily.

His pale skin was so delicate that even the slightest agitation would easily cause the area around his eyes to turn red. This time was no different—his eyes reddened as if he might burst into tears at any moment, and he glared at Cheon Sejoo.

Of course, his glare didn’t faze Sejoo in the slightest. Locking eyes with Sejin, he asked in a threatening tone.

“Do you not want to see your mom?”

“…….”

At that question, Sejin’s usually soft jawline, lacking the sharpness typical of a man, became more defined as he clenched his teeth and looked up at Cheon Sejoo with defiance.

“I told you I’d take you back there as long as you went to school properly while you’re here with me. Is this what you consider attending school properly?”

“Hah…”

To Sejin, Cheon Sejoo’s words must have sounded like nothing more than a nagging. He let out a short sigh and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. His long, unkempt hair became even more messy, and his cat-like eyes narrowed further. Sejin finally spoke.

“What does it even mean to attend school properly? Isn’t just showing up enough?”

“It means waking up early in the morning, getting in class on time, attending all your classes diligently, and staying for after-school study. Not just showing up to eat and then slacking off like you’re doing.”

“After-school study…?”

That’s been gone for ages.

Sejin muttered in disbelief, then, clearly frustrated, began to explain.

“You just don’t know how things work at our school. No one actually studies during class, and the teachers don’t even teach properly either. Instead of wasting my time stuck there all day, it’s better for me to show up just enough to meet the attendance requirements and then go out and work part-time. As long as I get my diploma, that’s all that matters. From my perspective, that’s attending school properly.”

“Don’t give me that bullsh!t.”

Cheon Sejoo immediately dismissed Sejin’s excuses with a single remark.