“Anywhere?”

[That’s right. Any country you want.]

His gaze shifted to the desk calendar on the table. Going closer to check the date, Soo-hyun realized there wasn’t much left of this year. If possible, he wanted to start fresh in a new place.

“Can it happen as quickly as possible?”

Kim Tae-shin told him to wait a moment, then seemed to call someone. One person, when can they go? Send them out as soon as possible. An important client. I’ll take responsibility. After a lengthy conversation, his voice returned.

[Two days from now. How’s that?]

Soo-hyun’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That quickly?”

[Why? You were acting like you needed to leave immediately.]

When there was no answer, Kim Tae-shin laughed.

[Baek Soo-hyun. Don’t overthink it—grab the opportunity while you have it.]

“So I’ll be going by boat, but where to?”

[First to China, then from there to your final destination. Send me a photo first.]

“A photo… why?”

[Kid, you need a passport. Haven’t you ever been abroad?]

‘How could I have? I’ve never even been to Jeju Island.’

But there was no reason to tell Kim Tae-shin that. He said he would text the exact meeting place and time by tomorrow. He added a warning to be careful not to attract attention, then hung up first.

After ending the call, Soo-hyun collapsed onto the bed. He felt completely drained. He hid the flip phone under the mattress and stood up, but his solar plexus twisted again. The medicine helped only temporarily. After being on edge all day without eating anything, nausea was rising.

“Damn it…”

As he rummaged through the refrigerator looking for something to settle his stomach, there was a knock at the door. Who could it be at this hour? If it was the manager, he wouldn’t knock. Could it be Kim Tae-shin? Warily approaching the door, he listened. Who is it? he asked cautiously, and an unexpected voice answered.

[I’m from the kitchen team.]

Soo-hyun opened the door slightly and peered outside. A young employee in kitchen uniform stood there holding a shopping bag. He had delivered porridge a few times before. Each time he had worn a sour expression, and today was no different.

Relieved, Soo-hyun opened the door wider.

“What is it?”

The employee impassively held out the shopping bag, which Soo-hyun took reflexively.

“Cabbage porridge.”

“What?”

“The CEO personally asked the chef to make porridge that’s good for gastritis and deliver it to Baek Soo-hyun.”

The employee gave a perfunctory nod before turning to leave. He looked full of resentment. Soo-hyun had recently realized that some hotel staff viewed him unfavorably. They probably thought he had an easy job with good pay because he was the CEO’s acquaintance. In reality, he was practically a hostage.

After closing the door, Soo-hyun took the porridge out of the shopping bag and set it on the table. Why would Yang Ho-beom have this delivered? His gaze suddenly shifted to the trash can. The discarded stomach medicine packaging was visible. Could he have seen it when he came earlier?

Yang Ho-beom certainly had an attentive side, unlike his appearance.

[Was Yang Ho-beom… there too?]

[Yes…]

[What did he… say?]

[I believe he agreed.]

If he agreed to get rid of me, why send porridge? Was this some kind of message—eat porridge to prepare for death? His appetite vanished completely. I hope he didn’t put something in this. Opening the lid with suspicious eyes, the rich aroma stimulated his senses, making his mouth water.

Ah, whatever. Let’s eat. They say those who die after eating look better anyway. Taking a spoonful, whether because the chef had taken special care or because he’d been starving all day, it tasted incredibly good. A bitter smile escaped him. Why show this kind of consideration and make me feel strange?

Two days. Two days until his appointment with Kim Tae-shin.

Christmas Day, of all times.

At least he could give Yang Ho-beom an unforgettable gift.

***

“We’ve lost contact with our people inside Kim Tae-shin’s organization.”

“All three?”

“Yes.”

Ho-beom repeatedly opened and closed the silver lighter in his hand. Click, snap, click, snap—the rhythmic sound suddenly stopped. All three men planted in Kim Tae-shin’s organization had gone silent. This coincided perfectly with Soo-hyun’s particularly suspicious behavior today. Ho-beom’s gaze fell on the shopping bag on the table. The gift from Soo-hyun.

“Track Kim Tae-shin’s movements today. Check the department store CCTV where Soo-hyun went, see if they met.”

“Yes.”

“How many men do we have watching Soo-hyun?”

“Two at the moment.”

Two… Ho-beom twisted open the cap of the liquor bottle in front of him. He filled a glass without ice and looked at Park Tae-jun while holding it.

“Increase the number. He’s skilled at running away, so tell them to watch carefully.”

“Yes, understood.”

Ho-beom stood up with his glass.

“Go home. It’s late.”

“Yes, rest well, sir.”

As Ho-beom was about to go inside, he stopped and called out to Park Tae-jun.

“Tae-jun.”

Park Tae-jun, who was about to leave, stopped and turned around.

Ho-beom was silent for a long time, and Park Tae-jun waited patiently for him to speak.

“Let’s send someone abroad without Director Yoon knowing.”

Tae-jun looked at him with a puzzled expression. Director Yoon, like himself, was someone Yang Ho-beom used as his right hand. While Park Tae-jun mainly handled external matters, Director Yoon was involved with internal company affairs. Director Yoon used to be Chairman Yang’s man. It appeared that he had been given to the grandson, but because of this, it was difficult to avoid Chairman Yang’s surveillance.

“Who would that be?”

Ho-beom took a sip of his drink and answered casually.

“Baek Soo-hyun.”

Tae-jun opened his lips halfway to say something but closed them. He too roughly understood the situation. He knew what had been discussed at the family home the day before yesterday and what conclusion had been reached. So he had been waiting for orders on when to deal with Soo-hyun. But instead of disposal, he was being told to send him abroad. In other words, he was helping him escape. But he decided not to inquire further. Tae-jun simply followed Ho-beom’s decisions in any case.

“Understood. I’ll let you know as soon as everything is ready.”

Ho-beom smiled and gestured that he could go. After Park Tae-jun bowed and left, he headed to the dressing room with his glass in hand. Pushing aside a storage cabinet revealed a door leading to another room. The room was filled with photographs.

Ho-beom pulled over a wooden chair and sat in the center. An old camera on one side caught his attention. On the day of the accident, the car had rolled down a cliff and burned, and both his parents had died. Shortly afterward, his father’s camera was found some distance away and returned to Ho-beom.

Feeling a numbness creeping in, he turned his head away from the camera. After marrying his mother, his father had settled in the countryside and supported the family by farming and raising chickens instead of taking photographs. But occasionally, on his days off, he would take his camera out and capture the daily lives of the elderly.

That’s why there were so many photos of elderly people here. Pushing away old memories, Ho-beom slowly rose and moved deeper inside. This was where he had s*x with Soo-hyun not long ago. Remembering how they had gone at it like animals that day, blood rushed to his lower body and his throat burned.

He couldn’t go against Chairman Yang’s wishes. There were plenty of reasons to kill Soo-hyun. But when he saw his face, his resolve wavered. It would be a waste to kill him. He didn’t want to kill him. He wanted to keep him by his side, whole. He didn’t want that beautiful body and face to rot away.

“F*ck. I must be crazy…”

With an incredulous laugh, he moved to the adjacent space. The photo hanging there captured someone’s shadow. There was no title or explanation, but Ho-beom knew it was his dead father.

The somewhat amateurish photo compared to the others was clearly his mother’s work. She occasionally used his father’s camera, and while her cooking and housekeeping skills were excellent, she apparently had no talent for photography. But despite the awkward composition, her affection for his father came through strongly.

Taking down the hanging photo revealed a safe. Ho-beom scanned his fingerprint, entered the safe’s password, and opened the door. Inside were dozens of memory chips and USBs. Most contained compromising material on various people. Among them was a familiar cross-shaped necklace. Ho-beom picked it up, placed it on his palm, and stared at it intently.

The image of Soo-hyun suddenly lunging forward to snatch this small necklace was still vivid. As was the thrill when they met again at the family home. Separating the necklace revealed a USB. It contained evidence of Irae Construction’s slush fund linked to Kim Hyun-sik, Seo Min-jun’s father-in-law.

Chairman Yang wanted this handed over to Seo Min-jun, but Ho-beom had changed his mind.

“Since I received a Christmas gift, perhaps I should return the favor.”

Though it was annoying that everyone got one.

He closed the safe door and hung the photo back in its original position.

Then he looked at his father’s shadow in the photo and smiled bitterly.

Father.

I might end up just like you.