#200

Detective Oh was running amok. How dare he pocket Lee Seok-doo’s 100 million and contact Lee Seon-jae. He knew he’d try anything to survive, but he was more reckless than he thought. Cops always thought they were something special.

What a pathetic bastard. Tsk.

Lee Seok-doo clicked his tongue.

He wasn’t a man to waste money. He had to get back what he invested, and if he couldn’t, he at least shouldn’t lose money. He hated losing money more than anything.

Just thinking about the damage Dongbang Construction had caused him made him so angry he couldn’t sleep. Now, Lee Seon-jae was included in that damage.

Of course, the damage Lee Seon-jae had caused before Dongbang Construction snatched him up was nothing compared to what Dongbang Construction had done. Il-gwang was shaken because of one person. He never imagined that a mere Chief who only handled money could cause such a big ripple effect. Lee Seok-doo still believed it was all because of his foolish son. He believed his son was blinded by immediate profits and couldn’t see what was truly important.

But all this commotion would soon be over. Il-gwang would regain stability and return to its original orbit. Because Lee Seon-jae, the source of all the problems, would come back on his own.

Shin Jeong-ho had wasted money. He threw away hundreds of millions into thin air.

Serves him right.

Lee Seok-doo burst into laughter.

The one who gave him the very valuable information that made all this possible was none other than Detective Oh. Detective Oh was also the one who gave him a proper asset like Park Dong-Hee.

So he tried to be nice to him as much as possible. He intended to turn a blind eye to whatever he did and leave him alone. He had even told his men not to react even if he tried to bring him down.

But Detective Oh didn’t know his place and was running wild. It was one thing to spoil a done deal, but he dared to take Lee Seok-doo’s money and scheme. He was trying to interfere with a crucial plan. It was safe to say his liver had jumped out of his stomach.

Lee Seok-doo, who had been tailing and eavesdropping on Detective Oh even before entrusting the work to Park Dong-Hee, intensified his surveillance of Detective Oh after Jeong Jae-jin was attacked. He monitored not only Detective Oh but also his family. In particular, he had a single tail on Detective Oh’s only daughter, just in case he needed to use her as bait.

He thought a violent crimes detective would have that much common sense. He thought he would naturally keep in mind that once he walked into Lee Seok-doo’s territory, he could no longer be free from Lee Seok-doo. But that wasn’t the case at all. They ignored the danger with the arrogance unique to those who had pride as detectives ingrained in their bones.

There were others besides Il-gwang chasing Detective Oh. He couldn’t tell if it was Baek Gyu-ri Prosecutor’s side or Jeong Jae-jin Prosecutor’s side, but anyway, they and Il-gwang’s hounds often ran into each other. But they pretended not to know each other. Since the target was Detective Oh anyway, they engaged in a war of nerves but tolerated each other unless something special happened.

Dealing with Detective Oh and other detectives was surprisingly easy. If you were polite and bowed your head, they thought they had won. They didn’t even know that the hounds were being polite on purpose and boasted among themselves, saying, “At least they have the basics down.”

They didn’t expect Lee Seok-doo to be plotting to kidnap Detective Oh.

So, during lunchtime, the busiest time of day, Detective Oh was moving towards a restaurant district in Nakwon Arcade. He seemed to have used his head to choose the place and time, but that actually worked in favor of the hounds. For the detectives who were tailing him slightly behind Lee Seok-doo’s hounds, there was no better shield than an anonymous crowd to distract their attention.

Detective Oh often looked around while going to the meeting place. He was sweating profusely and looked pale. Then, when he mingled with the office workers and college students who were crawling out from everywhere to eat lunch, he foolishly let his guard down. He seemed to have mistakenly thought he had arrived in a safe zone.

That’s when the commotion broke out. Someone shouted, “Thief!” and made a fuss. A man in a summer suit and those who appeared to be his colleagues pointed at a young man in black clothes and started running.

“Thief! Please catch the pickpocket!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Then the men around him rushed in that direction, and some even stepped forward and ran to catch him instead. Then, for some reason, they quickly backed away. The pickpocket had pulled out a knife.

Screams and murmurs instantly turned the surroundings into chaos. The pickpocket’s showmanship was extraordinary. The pickpocket waved a sashimi knife in the air and occasionally kicked.

Someone shouted to report it to the police station, and someone created an atmosphere of fear, telling people to run away. The detectives who were tailing Detective Oh happened to witness the scene.

The detectives were righteous and reckless as Lee Seok-doo had expected. Forgetting their purpose, they jumped into the chaos to arrest the pickpocket. It goes without saying that Detective Oh was also distracted by the commotion. Wasn’t he a violent crimes detective?

Everything went smoothly as planned. Detective Oh did not arrive at the meeting place. Only Lee Seon-jae would be waiting for Detective Oh, who wouldn’t come, inside the crowded restaurant.

There was a knock.

“Come in.”

At Lee Seok-doo’s words, the office door opened and his secretary came in.

“Chairman, everything is ready.”

“What about Chief Choi?”

“He’s waiting downstairs.”

The secretary quickly approached and waited with Lee Seok-doo’s jacket.

Lee Seok-doo leisurely got up from his seat, put on the summer jacket that the secretary was helping him with, and straightened his clothes.

He was about to meet the righteous detectives of this country with Chief Choi Dong-jik. He had already secured the prosecutors and judges who would request and issue the arrest warrants, so the rest would be a piece of cake.

Lee Seok-doo smiled with satisfaction, thinking of Lee Seon-jae, who was probably eating at the restaurant, and Baek Gyu-ri Prosecutor, who would be anxious about missing Detective Oh.

Oh, and he shouldn’t forget that bastard Shin Jeong-ho either.

Heh heh. Lee Seok-doo laughed without considering his dignity.

He felt like he was going to die of fun.

* * *

Seon-jae, who was waiting for Detective Oh in the restaurant, didn’t even know that a commotion had broken out nearby. This was because the restaurant was as noisy as a marketplace. Perhaps because a new employee had just arrived, the serving staff kept making mistakes, causing men to shout from here and there. Even the particularly old fan was making a loud clattering noise as it struggled to turn, making him feel like he was in a factory rather than a restaurant.

Detective Oh, who was never late for appointments, was late for some reason. He wondered if he was testing the waters after asking to meet first, or if he was deliberately coming late to shake off the tail. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered the possibility that Lee Seok-doo had plotted something, but he believed that there would be no problem because there were detectives attached by Baek Gyu-ri Prosecutor. Even if there was, he was sure that he wouldn’t be kidnapped at least.

“Ugh, it’s hot.”

Seon-jae glared at the lousy fan and ate without really eating. Yong, on the other hand, ate all the stew and side dishes, and ordered another set meal under the pretext of being considerate. He even changed the menu from soybean paste stew to pork.

They were constantly getting the side-eye because two big men were taking up space even after finishing their meals. It wasn’t like they wanted to be here; his shirt was soaked with sweat and his butt was damp. But he couldn’t leave either.

He ate his fill of glares and stayed until the restaurant became deserted, but Detective Oh never showed up. It was a waste of time.

He found out about the commotion because of Baek Gyu-ri Prosecutor’s phone call.

He was just about to leave the restaurant when the phone rang at the right time.

Did Detective Oh come?

As soon as Baek Prosecutor answered the phone, she asked urgently.

“No. I haven’t seen him at all.”

Ha, damn it. I think we missed him.

Baek Prosecutor sighed.

“Missed him? You said you were watching him?”

We were. We were, but….

Baek Prosecutor couldn’t continue.

Then she said, “Let’s talk about the details after we find Detective Oh first,” and ended the call.

Damn it. What’s going on now?

Seon-jae frowned and received his change.

The street in front of the restaurant and the surrounding area were peaceful as if nothing had happened. Office workers with coffee cups in their hands were gathering in groups of three or five and returning to the company.

“Yong, buy coffee. You ate for two.”

Seon-jae said.

Just then, the traffic light at the Pagoda Park crosswalk turned green.

“Run!”

Suddenly, Yong shouted like this and started running like crazy. Seon-jae followed Yong in a daze. He wondered why, but Yong was entering Burger King.

“Come in. It’s cool.”

“Are we eating hamburgers?”

“Come in quickly.”

Seon-jae reluctantly entered Burger King.

He was buying coffee.

“No, there are coffee shops all over the place, do we have to buy it here?”

“It’s close.”

Yong handed Seon-jae the coffee as if telling him to shut up and eat. Seon-jae grumbled and sucked on the straw. It didn’t taste good, but he drank it because it was cool.

“The price is reasonable too.”

Yong’s proud expression could be seen over his sunglasses.

Seon-jae laughed in vain and followed Yong for the first time. A long scar at the end of Yong’s head caught his eye. Anyone could tell it was a knife wound.

He had forgotten that Yong was one of those people.

He smiled bitterly.

“Where should I take you?”

Yong asked.

“Let’s go to the hospital. I have to go see the the child.”

Seon-jae replied. He made up an excuse about the the child.

He was supposed to meet Detective Oh, but unfortunately, the meeting fell through.

Baek Gyu-ri would find him somehow, Seon-jae thought somewhat naively.

He was anxious to return to the hospital and be with Man, and to hear Man’s smiling face and laughter for the first time in a long time.

Thanks to the the child, he would be happy all night today.

Seon-jae was so excited that he couldn’t come to his senses.

“Isn’t it pretty? Ji-hye gave it to me. It’s my present.”

He showed Yong the doll hanging on his pager and boasted.

“Yes.”

Yong replied insincerely.

“You know, you should show some sincerity. Do you even know what the doll looks like?”

Seon-jae grumbled and fastened his seat belt.

“It’s a ballerina.”

He didn’t expect an answer, but it was unexpected.

“Oh. You have a good eye.”

“It’s my job.”

“Still, I didn’t think you’d be interested in this kind of thing. Ji-hye said it looks like me.”

Seon-jae stared intently at the ballerina and laughed, amused by himself for being so excited about such a small gift.

The price or size of the gift didn’t matter at all. Sincerity, thoughtfulness, and the heart that thinks of me were the most important. He only realized that after eating thirty-one years, so he thought he was still far from being human.

Even though there was still a mountain of things to solve, Seon-jae saw the world in rainbow colors.

man and he had only suffered so far, so he rationalized that they deserved to enjoy today, even just for one day.

The road to the hospital was too far. Why was the traffic so heavy in the middle of the day, and why was there a car accident right in front of him? Seon-jae’s face, which would have frowned normally, was calm. For some reason, he wasn’t annoyed.

Was I such a generous and relaxed person? He smiled to himself, feeling new.

As he entered the hospital parking lot, a police car and a van with flashing lights passed by Seon-jae’s car. He thought lightly that they must have been carrying an injured suspect and waited for the car to stop. But right in front of him, three familiar figures were running towards the side where the police car had passed. Two were the shoulders Shin Chairman had sent him, and the other was the the child.

Ji-hye was crying.

201 – Chapter 201