VDN Ch 67

Nam-woon looked at the man after suddenly hearing his name and the man flinched before turning around and starting to run away. However, Seo-oh, who was behind him, tripped him, causing the man to tumble to the ground. Seo-oh grabbed the man’s shoulder, and he struggled violently.

“Ack, get off me!”

“Do you know him?”

When Seo-oh asked Nam-woon, the struggling man suddenly turned around and started shouting profanities.

“Seok Nam-woon, you son of a bitch, my grandfather wasn’t good enough for you, and now you’ve come all the way here to extort money from me? You bastard! How much did my grandfather suffer because of you? He was even taken to the hospital because of you!”

The man who had been speaking suddenly hardened his face as he continued.

“Don’t tell me you. What did you do to my grandfather? What happened to him? If something happens, I’ll kill you!”

The man’s face turned red as he shouted furiously. The only grandfather who was paying his debt to Nam-woon was the owner of a Haengwon restaurant. Nam-woon stared at him and blurted out.

“Kim Haeng-won?”

The man glared at Nam-woon with fierce eyes.

“We used him for withdrawing and delivering the money, but he took the money he got from you and ran off with it. When I caught him, he said, “Seok Nam-woon’s money is my money!” Anyway, we needed to get the money back and keep him quiet, so we decided to keep him for a while. That’s how it happened. And when we said we’d get more money from you, he quickly agreed to join us.”

That was the explanation from the boss of Umpyeong. It was clear. Kim Haeng-won had joined them to extort money from Seok Nam-woon, who had been harassing his grandfather for money.

“Why didn’t you let him contact his grandfather?”

“It’s risky. He’s greedy for money, suspicious, and has no decency, he might involve others to rob the office or might run away and report us. That’s why…”

Whack! Nam-woon couldn’t stand it anymore. He held back and hit the boss of Umpyeong hard on the head.

“Ow!”

The boss of Umpyeong rubbed the spot where he was hit and couldn’t say a word. Kim Haeng-won was being held tightly by two Umpyeong employees. And with Seo-oh standing guard beside them, Kim Haeng-won seemed unable to muster the courage to run away. Nam-woon spoke to Kim Haeng-won.

“I’ll take you to your grandfather later.”

“Shut up. Fuck you.”

“You shut up.”

Seo-oh stared intently at Kim Haeng-won after saying those words. The two continued their staring contest for a while. Eventually, Kim Haeng-won lowered his gaze first, ending the contest.

Nam-woon glanced around the office. There were promotional flyers for the errand center on the wall, and they were of much higher quality than Nam-woon’s own office flyers. Nam-woon stared at them and then asked.

“Do you guys find people well?”

“If there’s money, we can find almost anyone, right?”

Kim Haeng-won had been found, so now the people left to find were Chun-gil and one other person.

Then, Seo-oh suddenly asked the boss of Umpyeong.

“How much is it to find someone?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, the boss of Umpyeong replied,

“To find someone?”

Seo-oh tore off one of the flyers on the wall and scanned the details. He had ignored the Good People Center flyer but showed a remarkably different attitude now.

Nam-woon stared at Seo-oh.

Kwon Sang-moon only appears at the end of the novel. It’s because Jin Hae-gun finds Kwon Sang-moon at that time. For Jin Hae-gun, Kwon Sang-moon’s disappearance was just a means to exploit Kwon Seo-oh. He reports to the police and even tries to request through the errand center like now, but in the end, Seo-oh can’t find Kwon Sang-moon.

Throughout the novel, Kwon Sang-moon doesn’t show even a single strand of his hair until he contacts Seo-oh once to meet. That was his first and last chance, and on that day, Seo-oh returned home without finding Kwon Sang-moon.

While Nam-woon is lost in thought, Mr. Umpyeong begins to explain to Seo-oh the amount of money for the missing person’s case. It’s not much different from what Nam-woon told Jin-sang, including the basic cost and various allowances. Seo-oh’s expression darkened when he heard the amount of the request.

Nam-woon watched him silently, then spoke.

“I have a job for you guys.”

“Really?”

The boss of Umpyeong looked at the 50,000 won bill in Nam-woon’s hand with a bright expression. However, as Nam-woon tilted his head and kept a blank expression, the boss of Umpyeong’s shoulders soon dropped. He muttered listlessly,

“You have to give us the basic personal information. You can send it to the ID written on that flyer, or you can write it down now.”

The boss of Umpyeong handed out a piece of paper along with a pen. Nam-woon said to Seo-oh,

“What are you doing? Write it quickly.”

Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon with a blank stare.

***

Like escorting a criminal, Seo-oh and I grabbed Haeng-won by both arms and left the Umpyeong Center. By the time we borrowed a car from the boss of Umpyeong and headed to the restaurant, the sun was already down. Haeng-won started whining incessantly beside us,

‘I’ll just go in the morning!’”

“…Please.” Haeng-won glanced at Seo-oh and added softly.

“Hey, do you know how much your grandfather has been worried about you?”

At those words, Haeng-won looked at Nam-woon with a shocked expression. Then he shouted loudly,

“Shit, that’s what you’re going to say, don’t fuck with me!” Again, then a whisper-like voice followed a beat later.

“…Please.”

Kim Haeng-won, having caught his breath while looking at the back of Seo-oh’s head as he sat in the driver’s seat and continued,

“Anyway, my grandfather doesn’t care about me. He even said not to come back forever when I left home a few times.”

“Are you sure he said that?”

“I’ve heard it all the time! But seriously, what? Why are you like this? Are you crazy?”

“What?”

All the way home, Haeng-won kept raising and lowering his eyebrows, staring at Nam-woon as if he’d seen a ghost.

***

Creak.

In the dim dawn, the green gate opened. Come in. Nam-woon spoke as if it were his own house, Kim Haeng-won hesitated and entered the house. While he was looking around the yard, Nam-woon said,

“We’re leaving as soon as it gets bright.”

Kim Haeng-won nodded. Kim Haeng-won, who had been whining about not being ready to meet his grandfather, insisted,

“My grandfather wakes up at dawn anyway, there are only a few hours left, so I’ll go when it’s time for him to wake up.”

Eventually, they agreed to stop by Seo-oh’s house for a moment and then go to Kim Haeng-won’s restaurant when it got brighter. Seo-oh, who had entered the room, turned on the fluorescent light and laid out a blanket in preparation for Se-han’s return in the morning. Kim Haeng-won stood awkwardly by the door. Nam-woon took the small bag from his hand and gestured towards the bathroom

“Come out after you wash.”

Kim Haeng-won stood still and looked at Nam-woon.

***

“Wooni Hyung! I’m here!”

With a loud bang, the door opened, and a small body slammed into Nam-woon’s chest. Uh. Nam-woon let out a faint groan and slightly opened his eyes.

The warmth of a young child was felt, along with the smell of the outside. Suddenly coming to his senses, Nam-woon sat up abruptly and looked beside him. Se-han, who had buried his small body in Nam-woon’s chest, also opened his eyes wide and looked at the stranger lying in the corner. Fortunately, Kim Haeng-won was asleep.

Nam-woon had intended to wait for Kim Haeng-won to come out after washing up, but he accidentally fell asleep. It seemed like Seo-oh had been watching Kim Haeng-won all night. Maybe it was because he overdid it yesterday, but he still couldn’t shake off the fatigue. Se-han, lying next to him, hugged Nam-woon’s neck tightly and raised his voice.

“Wooni Hyung!”

“Huh. You came?”

“Wooni Hyung.”

Se-han called out “Wooni Hyung!” about three times in a row. His cheeks were flushed as if he had run here. Nam-woon wrapped Se-han’s body with the disheveled blanket like a cocoon, and the child screamed,

“Ack!”

“You’re going to wear out my name.”

Se-han, who poked his messy head and bright face through a hole in the blanket, asked,

“Did you miss me last night?”

“I missed you a lot. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes! What about you, Hyung?”

“I slept well too.”

Nam-woon hugged the blanket-wrapped Se-han with his arms and legs and said,

“But Se-han, I wish you wouldn’t sleep at Min-chan’s house anymore.”

“Why? But Min-chan and I are best friends?” Se-han replied in surprise and then made a sad face, saying, I can’t do that. To which Nam-woon immediately changed his words.

“It’s a joke.”

No, actually, I’m serious. Strange things keep happening because you’re not here, Se-han. Nam-woon shed tears inwardly. At that moment, Se-han, who glanced at Kim Haeng-won, sleeping beside him, asked,

“But who is that person?”

“Someone I know.”

Startled by the conversation between Se-han and Nam-woon, Haeng-won turned over and sat up, blinking his eyes as he looked around. He blinked when he saw Se-han in Nam-woon’s arms.

“Hello…”

When Se-han greeted him softly, Haeng-won replied with an awkward voice,

“Hello.”

Click. Seo-oh, who had entered the room, glanced at Nam-woon and Kim Haeng-won. In his hand, he held lettuce picked from the garden. Se-han ran to the sink and clung to his brother’s leg.

“Hyung! What are you making?”

“Pickled lettuce.”

“Pickled lettuce? I’ve never eaten pickled lettuce before!”

“I’ll make it tasty for you.”

Gurgle. Just then, a thunderous sound rumbled in Kim Haeng-won’s stomach.

“Are you hungry?”

When Nam-woon asked, Kim Haeng-won looked around cautiously and then nodded carefully. Nam-woon stood up and asked Seo-oh.

“How much rice is left?”

“There’s enough for breakfast.”

“I have to feed Haeng-won, too.”

Hearing that, Haeng-won paused and turned his head to look at Nam-woon.