#02

One of the main businesses of Ilgwang Financial was private investigation. It was surprising that Lee Hyun-joon, who knew this better than anyone, not only sought out another investigation agency but also shared information about the burial site with the most talkative guy in that field. In other words, he seemed to be hoping for rumors to spread, but the reason behind it was completely unclear.

The burial site was under Seon-jae’s responsibility. He had already gathered enough information about the landowner, so there was nothing more to uncover. Yet, Lee Hyun-joon had stuck his nose into Seon-jae’s work. Both Lee Hyun-joon’s unusually bothersome actions and the sudden assignment of the burial site were suspicious.

It wasn’t the first time his uncle had been looking at burial sites, but recently he had been too busy with demolition services and construction site management to even go home. However, a week ago, he unexpectedly handed that land over to Seon-jae.

The timing was not good, so he could have made various excuses to delay it. But since it was a task personally ordered by his uncle, it had to be resolved without fail. In other words, this too had to be dealt with. No, it would be better to at least pretend to handle it properly.

Could it be that he was caught?

He shook his head vigorously.

No matter how distracted he had been lately, this was a matter of life and death. For the past month, he hadn’t wasted a single drop of water. Naturally, he hadn’t left any traces or clues that they could notice. It was probably just a baseless worry. He reassured himself to be as careful as possible for the next four days.

After hanging up, Seon-jae downed his drink in one go. Then he stood up.

“Are you leaving already?”

Madam Jeong asked.

“I have to work. Let’s see if digging up the land yields any money.”

As he stepped out of the café, the mixed smells of the market greeted him along with the hot breeze. Seon-jae grimaced at the unpleasant scents and hurriedly made his way through the narrow, crowded alley.

* * *

Lee Seon-jae entered the yard of a detached house. The small but well-kept garden was in full bloom with flowers of various colors, and unknown saplings were adorned with lush green leaves. It seemed that there was not a single spot untouched by the homeowner’s care.

“Manager, what are you doing outside?”

A hulking figure shouted at Seon-jae. The guy, with a thick double chin, was already shirtless. His upper body was covered in tattoos, making it hard to tell where his skin ended.

As he blinked, he found himself in the living room. Seon-jae turned to the sound of muffled sobs, tapping the polished wooden floor with his shoes.

Tied to chairs in each direction were four people: a father, a mother, a high school daughter, and a middle school son. The age gap between the eldest son and the youngest brother was said to be fifteen years. He recalled the words of the gambling addict who had put the house documents on the table.

The father, an executive at a mid-sized company just three years away from retirement, had drained all his savings due to his eldest son’s gambling debts, had taken an advance on his retirement pay, and even taken out a loan against the house. The family of four barely survived on what was left after paying off the loan with the father’s salary. Still, they had a decent home. That precious house was sold off by the son who had cut off his pinky in front of his parents, vowing never to gamble again.

This was not a matter Seon-jae needed to handle personally. There were people who specialized in such tasks. Even though he knew that, his uncle insisted it was a particularly important matter and urged him on, mentioning new experiences. Seon-jae, who was also deeply into working out at the time, bit the bait, thinking that dealing with gangsters was no big deal.

With his uncle’s backing, he called four of the most notorious and ruthless thugs in the company. If it weren’t for his uncle’s name, those four would never have gathered in one place.

The ones sobbing were the women. The mother and daughter. The high school daughter was neither pretty nor cute. Seon-jae thought it was a relief. It seemed unlikely they would be harassed just because she was a high school girl, which gave him some comfort. That was all.

The younger brother was equally unimpressive. He looked more like an upper-grade elementary school student than a middle schooler, being small and thin. Yet, he did not cry.

The father, with a composed expression, said useless things like “It’s okay. Don’t worry,” to his wife and daughter. He tried to reassure them with silent gestures, avoiding the thugs’ eyes.

Bang!

A loud noise erupted.

One of the thugs was urinating in front of the high school girl. When he turned around, it seemed the father had fallen over while struggling.

“Ah, this bastard. He’s a handful.”

The thug guarding the father frowned and roughly set the chair upright. The father’s face was flushed.

“Hey, you bastard! Don’t you have parents or siblings? No matter how uneducated you are, to urinate in front of a girl younger than your sister! Even animals wouldn’t do that. You filthy bastard!”

The father shouted, veins bulging in his neck. His eyes, filled with contempt and disgust, glared at Seon-jae and the thugs.

Hehe, someone snickered. Seon-jae frowned.

“Shut your mouth. It’s so noisy.”

Seon-jae said, and just like that, the father’s mouth was taped shut.

The mother, in fear, wet herself. This became a source of mockery for the thugs. The father’s eyes were bloodshot. The middle school boy, who had been holding back tears, could no longer contain himself and silently cried.

One of the thugs pulled down his pants in front of the mother and defecated. They cursed and giggled, complaining about the terrible smell.

Seon-jae found nothing amusing about it. He simply endured the boredom with a blank expression.

He was the one who had ordered this.

“Is it necessary to drag this out for a week? Just give me one day.”

He had confidently told his uncle.

There was no physical violence. Seon-jae was not a third-rate thug, nor did he have any intention of becoming one. He warned the thugs not to lay a finger on any of the family members. Naturally, there was some resistance, but once he explained what needed to be done, it quickly subsided.

With summer here, flies swarmed around the feces. The smell of urine was also unbearable. The thugs, unfazed, ate jajangmyeon and sweet and sour pork right in front of them. The sound of slurping noodles was disgusting. They were so engrossed in the porn playing that it became impossible to tell where the sucking sounds were coming from.

Even after finishing their meal, they remained absorbed in the porn. The video tape was filled with moans and gasps. Indeed, porn was the best. The thugs, without a shred of shame, scratched their groins and, unable to hold back, took turns assaulting the daughter. All of this happened right in front of the family, as they kept watch to ensure she wouldn’t close her eyes.

The mother, who had been sobbing, suddenly stopped. She looked dazed, her face pale as if she might faint, staring blankly at the thug’s genitals. Saliva dripped from her mouth.

Perhaps due to the heat, Seon-jae felt a heaviness in his chest. He stepped out into the yard alone and picked some flowers. He crushed the petals in his palm. His hand was stained with flower juice. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t wash off. It was particularly the balsam flower.

The family, who had stubbornly held out for over a week by calling the police and setting up barricades, declared their surrender just five hours after Seon-jae’s arrival. It was not something an ordinary husband, housewife, high school girl, or middle school boy should have to endure, so they crumbled easily.

Seon-jae removed the tape from the father’s mouth. He also untied the ropes that bound his hands and feet.

“Please sign this agreement.”

Seon-jae handed over the ink and the agreement to the father, who was trembling with shame and fear. As he read the agreement, he looked up at Seon-jae. The life had drained from his tear-stained eyes. Just hours ago, those eyes had been filled with a fierce will to live, but now they were devoid of any spirit. It was astonishing how one glance could reveal such a truth.

Thus, he obtained the signature.

“May I pack my things?”

The father asked politely, his voice mixed with tears.

“I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Having been tied up for so long, they were slow to move. The father, who had been released first, helped his wife and gathered the daughter and son. While the parents went into the bedroom to pack, the children went to their respective rooms to gather their belongings.

Their luggage was minimal. The children had only their school bags and the clothes they were wearing, and the parents carried just a small travel bag that seemed almost insufficient.

In the garden, the family and the thugs gathered together. The thugs felt disappointed that it had ended so easily. They lamented the loss of their entertainment. One thug told the high school girl, “Once your acne clears up, I’ll take you out,” and to the mother, “Auntie, what do you eat to get so fat? Lose some weight.” One thug reached out to pat the middle school boy’s head, but suddenly the boy lunged at him and bit his finger. The thug immediately raised his hand, and Seon-jae quickly grabbed it.

“I said no violence, didn’t I?”

The thug trembled.

“Go inside and clean up the house. Each of you clean up your own mess.”

Despite Seon-jae’s command, the thug continued to glare at the middle school boy for a while.

“Are you not going in?”

When Seon-jae growled lowly, the thug finally disappeared into the house.

Only the four family members and Seon-jae remained in the garden.

Seon-jae took out five ten-thousand-won bills and two hundred-thousand-won checks from his wallet and handed them over.

“Use this for transportation and accommodation.”

The father received the money respectfully with both hands. The mother hesitated in front of a flower pot.

“Take it.”

As if waiting for Seon-jae’s permission, the mother quickly embraced the pot.

What could the name of that flower be?

He watched the mother and her children leave through the front gate, thinking that the flower was truly beautiful.