VDN Ch 89

Nam-woon cut off his thoughts and checked the time. Since losing track of Kwon Sang-moon, Nam-woon had been making sure to return home first to match Seo-oh’s school dismissal time. It was to avoid leaving Seo-oh alone at home.

It was already time for Seo-oh’s school to end. Today was an exam day, so he said it would finish a bit earlier. 

“Huh?”

As Nam-woon was heading toward the shoe rack, his eyes caught a beer bottle-shaped tumbler. It was a tumbler he had received instead of a drink he ordered at a club. He had intended to return it to its bartender but couldn’t meet them again, so he had brought it home.

Wondering if there might be a clue to find the owner, he took out a document envelope. Looking at it now, the outside of the envelope was a mess. It was covered in dirt, and it seemed to have been hastily packed, as it wasn’t properly sealed. Because of that, the paper inside was slightly sticking out.

Nam-woon’s eyes widened as he checked the paper. It was because a photo of a familiar person was printed on it. He hurriedly pulled out the paper.

It was a photo of Kwon Sang-moon. The paper, which at first glance looked like a resume with basic personal information, had unusual writing at the bottom. After staring at the incomprehensible English for a while, Nam-woon flipped to the back page. His eyes then began to shake.

First extraction. Strong rejection reaction.

Second extraction, sedative administered.

.

.

.

35th extraction, pheromone gland function lost.

This document was an experiment log that recorded the horrific things that had happened to Kwon Sang-moon.

***

“Are you out of your mind or what!”

“I’m sorry…”

Detective Jang Myung roughly slammed the stack of documents he was holding onto the desk.

“You couldn’t even properly retrieve that one thing? Huh?”

“T-they said they gave it to another detective…”

“That’s the point, the other detective who should have received it was you, you! Are there any other detectives who know this fact besides you and me?

“I’m sorry….”

The man with his head bowed deeply apologized once more in a small voice. Jang Myung pounded his chest as if he was about to burst with anger. A groaning “Ugh” accompanied it.

This wasn’t just any document. It was a precious piece of evidence that Kwon Sang-moon had risked his life to obtain. And now, that valuable document had been snatched away by some random person.

But that wasn’t all. Kwon Sang-moon, whom he had promised to protect, had been kidnapped again. From what they had investigated, Kwon Sang-moon was abducted while with Kwon Seo-oh and some high school student. The other person was suspected to be a student whom Kwon Seo-oh had previously tutored.

It was embarrassing that civilians had to step in to do their job. No wonder people were calling his team incompetent.

Jang Myung took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking.

“What about Kwon Seo-oh?”

“…He’s been attending school normally. That kid’s really tough. Oh, and there was something odd. Seok Nam-woon went into Kwon Seo-oh’s house.”

“What? Tell me more about it.”

Upon hearing the unexpected news, Detective Jang Myung frowned.

There’s not much detail to tell. Seok Nam-woon just went into Kwon Seo-oh’s house. Carrying mustard sauce.”

“Mustard?”

“Yeah, he probably went to pick a fight again. Maybe he even vandalized the place with mustard.”

“What the hell?” Jang Myung mumbled, racking his brain. But he couldn’t come up with any other explanation than a mustard-related attack.

Then the phone on the desk rang.

Just then, the phone on the desk rang.

“Hello, Detective Team 3, Jang Myung speaking.”

Listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, Jang Myung soon spoke in a mocking tone. As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he will come. An unwelcome guest has called.

“What brings a busy person like you to call me of all people?”

With a smirk on his lips, he listened to the other person, but suddenly his face turned fierce.

“So you were the bastard who took it?”

***

“Here.”

Seok Nam-woon placed a beer bottle on the desk. It was the item Jang Myung had been desperately searching for. Jang Myung glanced at Nam-woon with suspicious eyes before picking it up.

After taking out the envelope from the tumbler and checking its contents, he organized the documents and asked.

“Did you open this?”

“Yes.”

At the unhesitating answer, Jang Myung stared at his face observantly. Was he handing this over even though he knew what his father was up to? Or was he giving it up so easily because he hadn’t fully understood the contents of the documents?

The Seok Nam-woon he had met at the restaurant last time didn’t seem like the simple thug that people had described as dim-witted. There could be some ulterior motive at play.

Just then, as if remembering something, Nam-woon handed Jang Myung a shopping bag he had placed on the floor. 

“Take this too. I wore it when I needed to escape from the apartment with Mr. Kwon Sang-moon. Please return it to the owner of the apartment.”

「Myung」

The name on the school uniform looked familiar. It was like the uniform his younger brother had worn during high school.

The apartment where Kwon Sang-moon had been staying was actually owned by Jang Myung’s family. After his parents moved to the countryside, it had been practically empty. Jang Myung lived at the station, and his brother was stuck in the military. That’s why they had hidden Kwon Sang-moon there.

Jang Myung picked up the uniform and said,

“So it was you in that uniform?”

“What are you talking about?”

Watching Nam-woon’s bewildered expression, Jang Myung crossed his arms. You never know when or how relationships between people might develop. People who meet online for the first time can team up in just a few hours to commit bizarre crimes, and soap opera-level drama can happen in real life.

In a world where unbelievable things happen all the time, it’s almost normal for people who were fiercely at each other’s throats to suddenly develop feelings for one another.

After scrutinizing Nam-woon for a moment, Jang Myung fired off a sudden question.

“What’s going on between you and Kwon Seo-oh?”

His intuition was telling him that there had been a change in Seok Nam-woon’s feelings toward Kwon Seo-oh.

In response to his question, Nam-woon scratched the back of his neck and answered quietly, “No. There’s nothing going on.”

That uncomfortable attitude… He’s definitely developed some feelings for him. Jang Myung was certain.

Nam-woon seemed to hesitate for a moment, then added.

“I told you before. That I’d be cheering you on to catch my father.”

Jang Myung frowned. Was he really going against Chairman Seok because of Kwon Seo-oh? If his guess was right, there was no greater love story in this century.

Shaking the envelope of documents, Jang Myung said,

“So, after seeing this, don’t you feel anything? Huh?”

Since he couldn’t give away any information from their side, he decided to probe a bit.

Seok Nam-woon seemed lost in thought and was silent for a while. After a moment, when he lifted his head, his eyes looked firmer than before.

“Detective, besides that, what else do you need to catch my father?”

Jang Myung’s mouth fell open at the unexpected question.

***

“You still haven’t found the real drug? The one being traded at the club? Those are all fake. Not a single pheromone component was detected. Look at the log. With this much extraction, there must definitely be a drug containing pheromone components somewhere. But every time we think we’ve caught them, they escape by putting someone else forward before a warrant can be issued… What? Where else would it be? It has to be in his office or home. If it comes out from there, then we’ve got him for sure.”

Office or home… Seok Nam-woon thought over Detective Jang’s words as he walked.

The reason Nam-woon had decided to catch Chairman Seok was simple. It was to find Kwon Sang-moon as quickly as possible.

In the end, he had failed to return Kwon Sang-moon to Seo-oh. This might be his first and last chance to do something about it.

There were no more scenes in the novel where Kwon Sang-moon appeared. Finding Kwon Sang-moon was Jin Hae-geon’s role, not his.

How Jin Hae-geon rescued Kwon Sang-moon was not described in the novel. He just suddenly brought Kwon Sang-moon to Kwon Seo-oh one day. And that event only happened at the end of the novel.

That meant Seo-oh would have to live without finding his father until then. And in all likelihood, by that time, Nam-woon wouldn’t be able to stay by his side.

He really didn’t want to imagine Seo-oh being sad in a place where he wasn’t present. So Nam-woon thought about what he could do for Seo-oh and for Se-han too.

After much deliberation, the conclusion he reached was to catch Chairman Seok. Then he would be able to find out Kwon Sang-moon’s whereabouts.

But…

Can I search Chairman Seok’s office?

Suddenly, the image of Chairman Seok pulling out a golf club came to mind. Even though it was just his imagination, a deep-seated fear welled up inside him.

The shadow of the past, buried deep in his memory, overlapped with the figure of Chairman Seok. The fear, etched into his bones since childhood, still haunted him.

Seok Nam-woon shook his head strongly.

My father is no longer in this world.

His real father had passed away a long time ago. Chairman Seok was not his dad. So, there was no need to be afraid.

Ding.

Suddenly, a small alarm sounded, and red letters popped up.

[Emergency!]

[The meeting of the main characters has occurred on the wrong route!]

[Please carry out the main quest immediately!]

[Main Quest: Establish a meeting between Kwon Seo-oh and Jin Hae-geon!]

“….!”

The wrong route? More importantly, they’ve met now? Nam-woon quickly hailed a taxi.

“Driver, to Korea University, please! Hurry!”

There was no more time for games. He could no longer delay the quest. Nam-woon chewed on his lip anxiously.