Why… How… Who… Why?

The questions endlessly chased each other through his mind. Soo-hyun sat huddled in the corner of the bed, biting his nails with audible clicks. Why would Seo Min-jun visit Chairman Yang’s house so late at night? What did they discuss there? Did Ho-beom know about this?

Could Chairman Yang and Seo Min-jun have joined forces, planning to make me their sacrificial lamb?

If so, who sent this photo? Kim Woo-jin? Yang Ho-beom? For what purpose? To warn me of danger? Or just to toy with me? If it was Woo-jin, that’s one thing, but if it was Ho-beom, there might be a thread of hope.

He buried his face between his knees and wrapped his hands around his head. Don’t overreact. Maybe he just stopped by for a year-end greeting. But were Chairman Yang and Seo Min-jun close enough to visit each other? Back to square one.

The ticking of the wall clock seemed unusually loud today. As time passed, his stomach suddenly clenched with pain from the stress. Soo-hyun climbed off the bed and staggered to the drawer. He took out stomach medicine he’d gotten from the hospital earlier and swallowed it.

After tossing the medicine packet into the trash, he picked up his phone. Rather than agonizing, he should just ask directly. But who to call first? After much hesitation, he tapped on Kim Woo-jin’s contact. After pressing the call button, Woo-jin answered with the same voice as always.

[Hyung, what’s up?]

His casual tone made Soo-hyun wonder if it wasn’t him after all.

“Just calling… Wondering how you’re doing…”

[Where are you?]

“In the dorm after work, where else?”

[Still…?]

Still? What does that mean?

[I thought you’d have run away after seeing the photo…]

Ah, staring into space, Soo-hyun squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face. His last thread of hope snapped. So it wasn’t Ho-beom. His voice trembled and cracked involuntarily.

“That… you sent it?”

[Yes…]

“Why?”

[Prosecutor Seo came here yesterday. I wasn’t present, and he talked with Grandfather before leaving, but I don’t know exactly what they discussed. However…]

Woo-jin paused. Soo-hyun waited quietly, and after a silence, Woo-jin continued.

[This morning, I overheard Grandfather talking with Secretary Choi in the reception room… saying everything went well… that it wouldn’t be bad if Prosecutor Seo became ‘our person’… And at the end… he also said that once they deal with Baek Soo-hyun properly, there would be no problems.]

Soo-hyun was too shocked to speak.

[So after thinking about it, I captured the CCTV footage and sent it to you…]

Despite having just taken medicine, his stomach churned. Clutching his solar plexus, Soo-hyun asked his next question.

“Was… Yang Ho-beom… there too?”

[Yes…]

“What did… he say?”

Kim Woo-jin fell silent, and Soo-hyun grew anxious.

“Woo-jin.”

[I believe he agreed.]

Soo-hyun dropped his head and bit his lower lip. “Hyung…? Are you okay?” Woo-jin’s voice sounded distant. Soo-hyun couldn’t answer. He wasn’t okay at all. He never imagined things would turn out this way. He had thought Chairman Yang might use and discard him, but he never expected it would result in him joining hands with Seo Min-jun. His eyes reddened with despair and betrayal.

[Hyung…]

“Yeah…”

[Run away now. I’ll… help you as much as I can…]

Ha, haha. He had to laugh. While grateful to Kim Woo-jin for saying this, he couldn’t help but be suspicious now. Why would Kim Woo-jin go this far for him? Because he liked him? Even if there was another reason, he wasn’t the type to be honest about it.

Soo-hyun slowly raised his head and stared at the wardrobe in front of him. Money and jewels. Even if he disposed of them immediately, his options would be limited. These weren’t items that could be easily sold, and if he ran away, he’d surely be caught quickly. Right now, he needed someone to help him.

“Woo-jin. I’ll call you back. Thanks for letting me know.”

[Call me anytime. I’ll be waiting.]

What foolish talk. He’s still Chairman Yang’s grandson. Even if he’s sincere, isn’t he still too young? After ending the call, he could only laugh bitterly. Would Ho-beom really have agreed to this? Thinking about it, it wasn’t so strange. He’d read something in Ho-beom’s eyes, but it certainly wasn’t affection.

Should he contact Ho-beom to confirm the truth? Ridiculously, he was afraid. Just yesterday he’d been contemplating running away with the jewels, but now that he thought Ho-beom had betrayed him, he felt a sudden fear. He couldn’t bring himself to ask others for help either. What if his call with Woo-jin had been wiretapped? Everything seemed suspicious now.

While he was on high alert, the manager unexpectedly entered.

Soo-hyun rose awkwardly from his seat to greet him.

“Why are you back so early?”

“Left something in the car, but I don’t have the keys.”

“Ah…”

The manager glanced at Soo-hyun.

“What’s with your face again? I heard you got off early—are you sick?”

“No…”

Then he spotted the stomach medicine Soo-hyun had thrown away and clicked his tongue. Oh boy. Go to the hospital. Still having stomach problems? Soo-hyun smiled faintly. Then, noticing the mobile phone in the manager’s hand, he called out to him.

“Manager-nim.”

The man, searching for his keys, scolded him without turning around.

“What’s with the ‘nim’? Call me hyung, kid.”

“Hyung. Can I borrow your phone? I need to make a call.”

Without asking why, the manager unlocked the pattern and handed it to him. Soo-hyun took it into the bathroom and closed the door. Fortunately, the manager’s attention was entirely focused on finding his car keys. He dialed the number he had memorized, and after a moment, a rough, hoarse voice answered.

[Hello.]

“It’s Baek Soo-hyun, sir.”

Well, f*ck me. Who’s this? At Kim Tae-shin’s incredulous laugh, Soo-hyun calmly continued.

“I have something to discuss with you privately. Let’s meet briefly. But don’t tell anyone and come alone.”

[What kind of bullshit is this? Did Yang Ho-beom put you up to this?]

“It’s not like that. You’ll understand when you come.”

Kim Tae-shin was silent. Having been beaten by Yang Ho-beom a few days ago, his wariness was understandable.

Soo-hyun took a deep breath with a determined expression.

“Come. I promise you won’t regret it.”

***

Ho-beom sat motionless in the back seat of the car. The alcohol made his body feel heavy. His eyes met Park Tae-jun’s in the rearview mirror. The driver looked like he had something to say but didn’t open his mouth.

This time, Ho-beom looked out the window. He noticed cars parked in a row. After smoking a cigarette, he called to Park Tae-jun.

“Wait. I won’t be long.”

Park Tae-jun turned and nodded. Ho-beom got out of the car and walked through the parking lot, taking the elevator to the first basement level. As the doors opened and he passed by the casino, several employees recognized him and hastily greeted him. Ignoring them, he turned toward the dormitory.

Walking down the corridor, it was unusually quiet. By now, the day shift workers would have returned and been resting. He walked slowly and stopped at a particular spot. The name of the worker next to the door caught his attention.

Lee Yun-cheol, Baek Soo-hyun.

Lee Yun-cheol was on night duty, so Baek Soo-hyun was likely alone inside. He stared at the door and raised his hand to knock. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. F*ck. The more he thought about it, the more pathetic it seemed. Why had he come here? A self-deprecating laugh escaped him.

Others might think he lived as he pleased, but he had never gone against the old man’s wishes. So he should do as he was told. But… Ha, he sighed softly and then clenched his molars. As he steeled himself and turned to leave, Baek Soo-hyun was standing in front of him.

Ho-beom raised one eyebrow, and Soo-hyun’s expression froze in surprise.

“What are you doing, standing there like a stalker?”

He demanded with wide eyes, but why did it feel reassuring? Ho-beom smirked and then noticed the shopping bags filling both of Soo-hyun’s hands.

“Where have you been?”

Soo-hyun held them up for Ho-beom to see.

“Shopping.”

“This late?”

“I finished earlier, of course. But I couldn’t catch a taxi and had to wait a long time.”

Without asking further, Soo-hyun opened the door with his key card. Ho-beom followed him inside. Soo-hyun placed the shopping bags on the table and hung his coat on one side. His ears and nose, reddened from the cold wind, caught Ho-beom’s attention. Then he approached Ho-beom, who was standing in front of the table.

“What brings you here anyway?”

When there was no answer, he came closer, sniffed, and frowned.

“Mr. Yang, have you been drinking?”

“A little.”

“A little? The alcohol smell is overwhelming.”

Then he checked Ho-beom’s hand that he had treated that morning.

“Aren’t you an alcoholic? You know drinking makes wounds worse.”

Even while scolding him, he took out a box from the shopping bag and handed it to Ho-beom. Ho-beom didn’t take it, just looked at it.

“What is it?”

“A gift. The day after tomorrow is Christmas.”

Ho-beom was dumbfounded. How carefree. Not knowing what his future holds, yet he goes out shopping for gifts. This is why people call him a pretty idiot. As he stared at his face, Soo-hyun chuckled and pushed the gift toward him.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I paid off my debts and received a lot of money… I couldn’t just ignore that. Open it.”

With an indifferent face, Ho-beom unwrapped it and opened the box. A burgundy scarf was neatly folded inside. As he took it out to examine it, Soo-hyun came to his side and chattered.

“What do you think? You wear a lot of black suits, so I thought a colorful scarf would be nice as an accent.”

“…”

“Isn’t it pretty? Do you like it?”

Ho-beom’s gaze shifted to the remaining shopping bags behind him.

“Who are those for?”

Soo-hyun explained cheerfully.

“The manager hyung.”

Even at a glance, there were several boxes. Ho-beom asked with displeasure: And those?

“Those are for Woo-jin. Ah, I bought one for Kim Woo-young too. Despite our love-hate relationship, we see each other often, so it felt wrong to leave him out. I also got some for friends who’ve helped me, and…”

Irritation gradually spread across Ho-beom’s face.

“Don’t tell me those are all scarves?”

When Soo-hyun nodded, Ho-beom roughly tossed the scarf he was holding back into the box and carelessly covered it with the lid. Soo-hyun asked what was wrong, if he didn’t like the color, and Ho-beom replied in disbelief.

“F*ck. This isn’t like handing out towels at a store opening.”

“Hey… yours is the most expensive one, though.”

Ha, some excuse that is. As he frowned, Soo-hyun pouted and tried to take the box back. Fine. If you don’t like it, whatever. I’ll give it to someone else. Ho-beom snatched it away and carelessly set it aside.

“It’s fine. Since it’s a gift, I’ll accept it.”

Soo-hyun grumbled that he was impossible to please, then took something out of the refrigerator. After checking the expiration date, he handed it over—a yogurt served as dessert. This is all I have to offer, drink this at least. When Ho-beom didn’t touch it, Soo-hyun interlaced his fingers on the table and observed him closely. Today he was smiling more brightly than usual.

“So what brings you here?”

Ho-beom stared at that face. His clear face showed no worry or concern. What expression would he make if he knew everything? Would he tremble with betrayal? Or would he grab Ho-beom’s pant leg, begging for his life? Or would this blockhead…

“Do you have something on your mind?”

Who was asking whom about worries? Actually, looking at his face, Soo-hyun didn’t look so great either. Well, he must be tired after running around to Jecheon in the early morning. Ho-beom feigned ignorance and asked.

“Do I look like it?”

“Yeah. A little.”

Ho-beom clenched his molars until his jaw stiffened, then slowly moved his lips.

“I do have some concerns, but I think they’ll be resolved soon.”

At those words, the corners of Soo-hyun’s mouth turned upward. That’s good. Ho-beom gathered the gift he’d received from Soo-hyun and stood up, and Soo-hyun looked a bit surprised.

“You’re leaving…?”

“It’s late, I should go. Why, did you want to do something else with me?”

When he shook his head without hesitation, Ho-beom smiled.

“Thanks for the gift.”

Ho-beom opened the door to leave. Hurriedly getting up to follow him, Soo-hyun bumped his face into Ho-beom’s shoulder when he suddenly stopped. Ah, he grimaced, and Ho-beom turned around, still with that inscrutable expression.

“Lock the door properly when you sleep.”

At this random comment, Soo-hyun laughed in disbelief.

“Am I a child?”

“Don’t wander around at night.”

With those final words, he opened the door and left. Though Soo-hyun said goodbye, Ho-beom didn’t look back and strode toward the elevator. After watching Ho-beom’s retreating figure, Soo-hyun sighed and closed the door. The smile vanished from his face.

What if Ho-beom came back? He stood by the door waiting for a while, but nothing happened. With a resigned expression, Soo-hyun went to the bed and took out an old mobile phone from under the mattress. He turned it on and called Kim Tae-shin. Soon, someone’s screams and groans overlapped on the line.

[Hey, Baek Soo-hyun.]

Unlike earlier, his voice was now full of artificial affection.

“Did you find them?”

[Yeah. Just like you said, there were rats. Multiple ones at that. F*ck. Haha.]

His laughter was chilling. Hey, not there, cut this side, you idiot. Can’t you even saw properly? Scenes he didn’t want to imagine played out in his mind. Ho-beom’s claim about having planted informants was true. Multiple ones at that.

“What about what I asked for…?”

Soo-hyun anxiously opened his bag and checked the diamonds. The department store was just an excuse; he had secretly met Kim Tae-shin there. Wondering if Ho-beom had put someone on his tail again, he had repeatedly merged into crowds and slipped away, like a scene from a spy movie.

That’s how he met Kim Tae-shin, informed him about Ho-beom’s planted informants, and offered him a deal, giving him one diamond. He was also curious whether it was a real diamond.

[Congratulations. It’s a real diamond.]

Ha, Soo-hyun sighed with relief. That’s some good news at least. At least he had this.

“Like I said earlier, I won’t backstab you this time. If you help me, I’ll give you everything.”

The screaming was gradually fading.

[What if I betray you to Yang Ho-beom? How will you handle that?]

“You would never do that.”

At his confident answer, Kim Tae-shin sneered.

[On what grounds?]

“You want revenge on Yang Ho-beom. He took everything that should have been yours. I know you’ve been after me to find his weakness.”

[Hmm…]

“I won’t betray you. Please trust me just this once.”

[But you know what? I’m not interested in these mere diamonds.]

“Then what…?”

[There was something interesting in the photo you showed me.]

What could that be? Soo-hyun recalled the photo he had shown Kim Tae-shin.

The photo only showed diamonds and an old Buddha statue.

Could it be…

[That’s right, the Buddha statue.]

When Soo-hyun couldn’t respond out of shock, Kim Tae-shin asked incredulously.

[You don’t know?]

“Know what…?”

Kim Tae-shin didn’t answer.

Checking if the call had disconnected, Soo-hyun heard Kim Tae-shin’s laughter.

[Haha, what an idiot.]

Soo-hyun hurriedly took out the Buddha statue to examine it. Made of bronze, it was about the size of a palm, with peeling color in places. When he first saw it in the urn, he had thought it was just something his father had placed there for his mother’s peace, not something important.

“Is this… valuable?”

Again, no answer. But even without words, he could sense it. So the real treasure was something else. Looking at the Buddha statue with a confused expression, Kim Tae-shin read his thoughts and said:

[Wake up. That’s not something you can dispose of. Chairman Yang would track it down the moment you handed it over.]

“…”

Soo-hyun gripped the Buddha statue tightly. Was it more valuable than diamonds? That bastard Baek Gwang-mu really stole something like this? If he hadn’t stolen it in the first place, Chairman Yang would never have known about my existence, and I wouldn’t have ended up here. As he glared at it, gritting his teeth, Kim Tae-shin called Soo-hyun’s name forcefully, as if trying to bind him from having other thoughts.

[Baek Soo-hyun.]

“…”

[Just hand that over. Then,]

He paused for a beat before continuing.

[I’ll send you safely abroad. Any country you want.]