Come Back

Lee Seo-kyung, who was castrated by Hanseo Group and became a ‘severed kite’, was indicted and put on trial not only for the ‘X Group scandal’ but also for various other charges. In addition, the large amount of bribes she received from high-ranking government officials in several Southeast Asian countries for the purpose of real estate speculation also caused problems.

After the first trial in Korea, Lee Seo-kyung was ordered to appear for investigation in a foreign country. This was a very unusual event.

The purpose was to summon and question the donor, Lee Seo-kyung, as high-ranking government officials who were under investigation were denying receiving bribes. In relation to this, Lee Seo-kyung was scheduled to be questioned in two countries: Thailand and Malaysia.

Lee Seo-kyung arrived in Bangkok in prison clothes, handcuffed and bound with ropes, and was taken to a police facility inside the airport. The scene was widely reported in Korea just a few hours ago.

And the next news was the news of Lee Seo-kyung’s murder.

No matter how you look at it, the current Lee Seo-kyung was in a corner. In the process of investigation in Thailand and Malaysia, Lee Seo-kyung was talking nonsense because she couldn’t die alone? If that happened, there would be many people who would be embarrassed. There would be many people who would be uncomfortable with Lee Seo-kyung losing her background as the Hanseo Group.

After reviewing the article from beginning to end, Hae-seong went back to the previous page. In the meantime, dozens of related articles had been newly updated.

Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung was shot as she got out of her escort vehicle and headed toward the inside of the Bangkok prosecutor’s office building. The initial report that she was shot three times – in the back of her head, the back of her neck, and her upper back – and died instantly was later revised to say she was shot five times.

It was a murder aimed not just at causing pain, but at definitely severing the victim’s airway. It would have been a disaster if they had targeted a weak spot and then miraculously survived after receiving treatment. It was the clean, expert work of a professional, without a single mistake.

“hmm…”

Hae-seong Lee put the tablet down on the table and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

The calm cream-colored curtains were gently filtering out the mid-August sunlight. The quiet interior, softly bathed in late afternoon light, felt like a space cut off from the outside world. Lee Hae-seong savored the silence for a moment, as if enjoying beautiful music.

And then he slowly got up from his seat and left the room. Hae-seong’s bedroom was the closest room to the master room at the end of the hallway.

Hae-seong walked up to the door of the master bedroom, and as always, he hesitated and couldn’t open the door right away. As if someone was on the other side of the door. Just like anyone would stop and catch their breath before knocking on the door of someone they care about.

One, two, three, four, five…

After counting the numbers by folding each finger one by one, I slowly opened the door.

This was the room that Choi Hong-seo used when this house was the dormitory for the members of ‘Layered’. The room was exactly as it was when Choi Hong-seo was alive.

A desk with simple equipment for composing, a double-sized bed that wasn’t quite big enough for two people to lie down on, and a low bookshelf filled with my favorite comic books.

There were several movie posters hanging on the bookshelf. They were movies the two of them had seen together. Whenever they saw a movie together, they gave each other a movie poster, but there were only three of them.

Choi Hong-seo said that he intentionally placed the posters closer together because he would have to walk more in the future. However, there was only a long space between the three posters that were placed close together.

The dressing room on the bathroom side was also left untouched. Not a single sock or toothbrush was thrown away.

So that it doesn’t get old and dusty.

Just this morning, that kid woke up here and went to work.

At dawn, the child who finished his schedule would return here. I was giving special instructions to keep it that way, but even so, every time I opened the door, everything here seemed to blur. Everything seemed to be pushed back, discolored, and slowly sinking and sinking.

Although his heart was still the same, it felt like this space was fading away just like Choi Hong-seo, and the feeling of wear and tear was painful.

Sitting or lying down on the bed was still out of the question.

Haeseong Lee stopped at the entrance to the room, leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, and slowly took in every corner of the space that seemed to be filled with time from the past.

Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung was murdered.

I hope this relieves your frustration a little.

Just a little bit… If only I had held on a little bit longer…

Before he knew it, Lee Hae-seong was biting his lower lip and lowering his head. His heart was pounding. He felt like a small fishing boat floating on the rough sea at night. The fact that he looked strong was just the result of training for a long time not to let his emotions be read.

Haeseong slowly walked into the room, adjusting the pillow that wasn’t even a little bit out of place several times, and then quietly left the room. As if someone, someone very precious, was sleeping there.

As Hae-seong closed the door, he felt someone approaching him. It was Director Kang.

“Vice President, Mr. Jeong Ji-in and Managing Director Lee Han have just arrived in the basement.”

It was the day that Lee Han and his lover, Jeong Ji-in, who had gone on vacation together to France and Italy, returned from their vacation. Lee Hae-seong had a business trip to North America starting tomorrow, so he had inevitably asked for her time today. The two of them were the only people, aside from Director Kang, who knew the relationship between Choi Hong-seo and Lee Hae-seong.

Hae-seong Lee nodded, hiding his expression by firming his lips.

“Really? I’ll go pick you up myself. The director, you can rest in your private room.”

“I will go in after saying hello.”

“No. Today is a private occasion between the two of us, so don’t worry about it. Just think of it as me giving you my seat.”

“Okay, then.”

Director Kang, who bowed his head slightly, stepped aside to one side of the hallway so that Lee Hae-seong could go ahead. Lee Hae-seong, who was walking past Director Kang and toward the front door, suddenly slowed down his pace.

“Director Kang.”

“Yes, Vice President.”

“It’s a movie. It’s Director Kang Woo-hyun’s work.”

“yes.”

“We’re pushing for it to go into production again.”

“… … ”

There was no special determination in Lee Hae-seong’s voice. It was calm, as if he was letting go of the words that had been buried in his heart for a long time. His face when he looked back at Director Kang was the same.

Rather, Director Kang showed a rare look of surprise.

Now that Choi Hong-seo is dead, it is thought that Lee Hae-seong will no longer want to be involved in the film in any way, let alone invest. In fact, the film has been at a standstill for several months since the death of Choi Hong-seo, who was cast in the lead role.

“I told Hongseo that I didn’t invest because I wanted to look good in front of you. If I stop investing now, it would be like lying. I don’t want to do that.”

“All right.”

Director Kang did not vomit.

The corners of Hae-seong’s mouth, which had been stiff and confined by his emotions, softened for a moment and showed a smile. However, it was only a fleeting moment. The smile soon took on a complex hue and faded.

He turned his back again and walked towards the front door to greet his guests.

The couple Jeong Ji-in and Lee Han, who returned from a two-week vacation in France and Italy, looked beautifully tanned.

“You both look very healthy. Have you become more handsome?”

“My brother became more handsome, so I got into a lot of trouble.”

Lee Han joked around in response to Lee Hae-seong’s welcoming remarks. It seemed like they had a lot of interesting stories to tell during their trip.

Understanding led the two to the restaurant. For the guests who had just finished their long flight, a dinner table was set with light dishes and easy-drinking champagne.

“I’m sorry I asked to see you today, you must be tired from the travel poison.”

“It’s right near my house. Hani is on vacation until tomorrow, and I’m unemployed until my next project is decided, so don’t worry.”

Jeong Ji-in answered with her characteristically soft smile.

After the revelations of the ‘X Group Scandal’, Choi Hong-seo’s death, and Lee Seo-kyung’s indictment and trial, Jeong Ji-in completely changed her path from being a drama actor to pursuing her original dream of being a stage actor.

Although it was different from Choi Hong-seo’s method, Jeong Ji-in was also one of the victims of Executive Director Lee Seo-gyeong, and because he cared for Choi Hong-seo a lot, Lee Hae-seong was grateful to him and had a special sense of camaraderie. He thought that he received a lot of help from both Jeong Ji-in and Lee Han.

“It’s been fun living so close to home, but I’m already worried that I’ll be lonely after they both go to Europe.”

“I still have at least one more year to go, you know.”

“A year is a long time,” Lee Han said with a smile.

Jeong Ji-in and Lee Han were planning to move to Paris, France after Lee Han finished the project he was currently working on at his company. It was a good thing for them, but Lee Hae-seong was already feeling regretful.

After they left, Choi Hong-seo would be mentioned less often, and I was worried that maybe the child’s memories would fade a little bit… That was unbearably painful.

“By the way, did you hear the news?”

Unlike Lee Han, who was as cheerful as usual, Jeong Ji-in, who had been observing Lee Hae-seong’s expression with an expression that seemed to indicate that she had something to say, cautiously began to speak.

“Huh? Oh… yeah, I heard.”

Lee Hae-seong nodded, putting down the glass of champagne he was drinking.

The murder of Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung.

It was a significant event for all three of us gathered here. It would have been awkward not to bring it up. However, Lee Hae-seong did not want to attach any significance to it as if it were some great event. He asked the two people in a casual, flat voice.

“Did you two hear it after getting off the plane?”

“yes.”

“At first, they announced that there were three shots, but just a little while ago, they revised the article to say that there were five shots.”

The voice of Lee Hae-seong, who spoke like that, was also calm, as if he was talking about news like the weather or sports. Lee Han also spoke about the incident with an expression and voice that showed no signs of shock or agitation.

“This is the work of a top-class professional. The culprit won’t even be identified. It must have cost at least several hundred thousand dollars.”

“Maybe I paid more than a million dollars.”

Raising the champagne glass to his lips, Hae-seong said nonchalantly, as if correcting the cost of the request that Lee-han had guessed.

The simple meal was almost finished. Lee Han stretched and offered Jeong Ji-in a cigarette.

“I’ve been holding back since the plane ride and I really want to smoke a cigarette. Do you want to join me?”

When he heard the word cigarettes, Jeong Ji-in also looked like he wanted to smoke.

“Hey, can we go out for a smoke?”

“Okay. Take your time.”

After the two people left the restaurant affectionately, Hae-seong called someone over and asked them to open a bottle of red wine instead of champagne. It was one of the precious wines that he had planned to drink on special occasions or special days.

He used a fork and knife to slice the warm roast beef thinly. The meat was served in chunks so that he could eat it himself, and the meat juices and sauce flowed out with each cut.

He put the cut meat into his mouth, chewed the flesh, and lifted his glass to gulp down the dark red wine.

Across from where Jeong Ji-in and Lee Han were sitting, the night view of Seoul across the Han River was splendidly sparkling. The image of Lee Hae-seong chewing meat and drinking wine was vaguely superimposed on the scenery.