#211

Lee Seon-jae rang the doorbell of the apartment.

It was Kim Sung-hwan’s house.

“Who is it?”

Soon, a cautious female voice came from behind the door.

“I’m sorry for the late hour. Is this Lee Sang-hoon’s residence?”

“Yes, it is. Who are you?”

Footsteps were heard from the front door, but the door didn’t open. It seemed she was checking who the visitor was through the peephole.

Seon-jae bent slightly and gave a friendly smile towards the lens.

“Pastor’s wife, hello. I’m Lee Seon-jae, a volunteer who will be working with the Director.”

Then, the closed door opened. Of course, with the safety chain still on.

“Oh. Yes, hello. I was worried because I couldn’t reach my Husband.”

A middle-aged woman in a sleeveless top looked up at Seon-jae with a worried expression.

“I’m sorry. We had a drink together to celebrate my welcome party today, and the Director must have been in a good mood because he got very drunk.”

Seon-jae explained the situation with a troubled expression. Immediately, the safety chain was released.

“Oh, dear. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. No one ever comes at this hour.”

Kim Sung-hwan’s wife smiled with great relief.

“Where is he?”

She craned her neck to look behind Seon-jae. Noticing no one was there, she asked, “Is he perhaps unconscious?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. That’s how it turned out.”

Seon-jae scratched his head and apologized once more.

The middle-aged woman said, “It’s not your fault,” and felt sorry instead.

“I’m the one who should be sorry. My Husband hardly ever drinks, but he gets like that once or twice a year.”

There was no hint of annoyance towards her Husband in her tone or actions.

“Where is he?”

“He’s in a taxi now, but he refuses to get out. So, I had to come up.”

“Oh, my. What a fuss.”

The woman chuckled as if it were amusing. Her affection for her Husband was palpable.

“If you could persuade him…”

“Just a moment. Let me grab a cardigan.”

Kim Sung-hwan’s wife went inside, leaving the door open.

Soon, she came out wearing a summer cardigan and quietly closed the front door. She only closed it, not locking it.

She very naturally walked past Seon-jae and pressed the elevator button.

“Is it hot?”

She asked.

She thought Seon-jae was sweating because of the heat.

“It’s a bit hot since I walked.”

Seon-jae lifted his shirt and wiped away the sweat.

“Oh, my. Why did you walk?”

“I waited and waited, but the elevator wouldn’t come down.”

“Oh, dear. I’m so sorry. There’s no reason why anyone would be holding it at this hour.”

With a more apologetic expression than anyone, Kim Sung-hwan’s wife looked up at the elevator display. The elevator had been stuck on the 7th floor ever since she pressed the button.

“Oh, why is it doing this?”

She pressed the button rapidly.

“Maybe it’s stopped?”

Seon-jae said cautiously.

“Oh, dear. It’s doing it again. What are they even using the management fees for?”

She took Seon-jae’s words at face value and walked down the stairs.

“I’m sorry. What a hardship because of my Husband in this summer heat.”

“It’s nothing. It’s not a hardship at all. It’s an honor to work with such a respected Director.”

Kim Sung-hwan’s wife waved her hand at Seon-jae’s flattery.

“Oh, no. What respect?”

But she was genuinely pleased.

“But you’re so handsome. More handsome than most actors. And so tall. You must hear that a lot?”

Kim Sung-hwan’s wife praised Seon-jae in a clear voice. Her face was full of smiles as she looked up at him. She wasn’t exactly pretty, but she had a unique aura that made people feel comfortable.

As they walked down the stairs, Kim Sung-hwan’s wife asked Seon-jae how old he was, what he did for a living, and didn’t forget to ask him to take good care of her Husband.

When they arrived at the entrance to the building on the first floor, Seon-jae’s cell phone happened to vibrate. Seon-jae pretended to answer the phone and pointed to the taxi parked at the entrance of the apartment with the engine running, saying, “That’s the taxi over there.”

Without any suspicion, Kim Sung-hwan’s wife went to the taxi and apologized to the Driver through the open driver’s side window. Then, she opened the back door.

“Oh, the smell of alcohol.”

With those words, her body was sucked into the taxi.

Immediately, the taxi door closed, and the taxi slowly drove out of the apartment complex.

Seon-jae watched the scene and closed his cell phone. Just then, a shadow suddenly appeared behind Seon-jae. It was Mr. Lee, who had been holding the elevator on the 7th floor. He was wearing a police uniform and a hat, so his face wasn’t easily visible.

“The door’s open. No matter how important her Husband is, she came out without locking the door while the kids are sleeping.”

Seon-jae grumbled with a smile.

Mr. Lee, who saved himself the trouble of picking the lock, nodded to Seon-jae and disappeared into the place where Seon-jae and Kim Sung-hwan’s wife had just come out.

Soon, the children would hear the news of their Father’s accident from Mr. Lee, disguised as a police officer. Along with the story that their Mother had rushed to the hospital where their Father was admitted, leaving him, a police officer, to stay and take care of them.

Seon-jae looked up at Kim Sung-hwan’s house.

A moment later, the living room light turned on. Almost simultaneously, Seon-jae’s cell phone vibrated.

“She left her phone behind. Should I grab it?”

Mr. Lee, who had climbed to the top floor using the stairs, was already breathing evenly. He was certainly a man with incredible stamina.

“Grab it. Turn it off.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Don’t make the kids cry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m amazing at handling kids.”

Mr. Lee joked. Seon-jae and Mr. Lee laughed almost simultaneously.

That was the end of the cleanup on this side.

Kim Sung-hwan was imprisoned in the Black room, Kim Sung-hwan’s wife had just been taken away by Mr. Park and Mr. Kim, and their children were being secured by Mr. Lee.

Seon-jae had never intended to persuade Kim Sung-hwan in a gentle way. Nevertheless, he sent the mail and gave him a chance to contact him directly, but Kim Sung-hwan had, as expected, failed to meet his expectations. A man with an evil nature was bound to show his true colors in important moments.

Not that Choi In-ho was any different. Choi In-ho was simply a man who was very faithful to his desires. Thanks to that, Seon-jae’s job became easier.

He was overwhelmed with despair and anger during the nearly two hours he spent with Seon-jae.

He sobbed upon hearing the news that Yoon Ki-beom had left the world at the young age of twenty. He lamented how unfair it was that he had been killed by none other than Kim Sung-hwan.

And, as expected, he was greatly angered by the fact that Shim Kang-woo had imitated Yoon Ki-beom, whom he loved so dearly. He was furious that that second-rate bastard, that incompetent worm, had dared to insult his muse.

Choi In-ho hated Shim Kang-woo, who had imitated him, even more than Kim Sung-hwan, who had actually killed Yoon Ki-beom. Judging by that reaction, it seemed that Choi In-ho was aware that Kim Sung-hwan killed people.

In any case, the intensity of his anger grew stronger and stronger, accompanied by all sorts of insults towards Shim Kang-woo. He listed flaws that seemed forced, from how slow-witted Shim Kang-woo was during his orphanage days to how stupid he was.

Seon-jae, who had been listening quietly, was starting to feel bad, and he even thought, ‘Should I just kill this bastard too?’ but fortunately, Choi In-ho got up first.

‘I will definitely reveal who that bastard is. I can’t let him live as Yoon Ki-beom, even if I die.’

Choi In-ho was more enthusiastic than anyone about Seon-jae’s proposal to expose that Shim Kang-woo was not Yoon Ki-beom. Seon-jae wondered if he would still say such things even if he knew what charges Yoon Ki-beom was currently facing.

‘Actually, I have Ki-beom’s sperm stored in a sperm bank. At the time, Korea didn’t have such technology, so I even went to Japan to get the equipment. I wanted to spread his blessed genes far and wide.’

He didn’t hesitate to spout nonsense about blessed genes. But it was very pleasant nonsense after a long time, so Seon-jae tried not to show that he was excited.

‘I also have his pubic hair, hair, and nails. Korea can do genetic testing, right? If that doesn’t work, I can send it to Japan. I have many experts in that field among my mentors and friends. If we just do the genetic testing, that bastard Shim Kang-woo won’t be able to pretend to be Yoon Ki-beom anymore.’

He even volunteered to tell him how to do it.

Choi In-ho had parts of Yoon Ki-beom’s body. He had DNA.

What wonderful news.

He had to find out where they were stored.

Of course, there was a condition. They had to give him all of Yoon Ki-beom’s data.

‘I’m not asking for it for free. I can give you as much money as you want, so please, sell it to me. Anything is fine as long as it’s data containing Ki-beom.’

Choi In-ho pleaded earnestly.

He didn’t realize that he was in a position of power and instead bowed his head to Seon-jae. Seon-jae thought it was a windfall.

‘Shouldn’t we ask Kim Sung-hwan? Kim Young-ja said that Kim Sung-hwan was the first to look for those materials. Thanks to that, you got stabbed pretty badly, didn’t you? I hate complicated things.’

To be honest, if Choi In-ho would just testify, he would even be willing to give him a copy of the original as a service. Fortunately, he kept that thought to himself.

He barely managed to recall the children in the video and brought up Kim Sung-hwan.

Choi In-ho was very upset when he heard Kim Sung-hwan’s name, but he couldn’t deny Seon-jae’s words.

Unlike in the orphanage, the power dynamic had completely reversed. It seemed that Kim Sung-hwan was acting important just because he had a medal. Other than the fact that he had been to prison, there was nothing that could be seen as Kim Sung-hwan’s weakness against Choi In-ho. Frankly, their very existence was a serious weakness and disadvantage to each other.

Choi In-ho finally said that he would discuss it with his wife in response to Seon-jae’s question about what to do with Kim Sung-hwan and left the office.

Choi In-ho hesitated at the last minute, even though he had been trying to get rid of Kim Sung-hwan from the beginning.

Such a timid bastard.

Choi In-ho and Kim Na-yeon went straight back to their safe house without stopping. That was already more than an hour ago.

Even while Seon-jae and the Mr. Kim, Mr. Lee and Mr. Park were carrying out a joint operation to imprison Kim Sung-hwan and kidnap Kim Sung-hwan’s wife, there was no contact from Choi In-ho. Kim Sung-hwan’s Ghost phone remained silent.

It seemed that Choi In-ho and Kim Na-yeon were really going to get rid of Kim Sung-hwan. He would only know when that point was and what the method was when he received a direct call.

Seon-jae threw the cell phone that Kim Sung-hwan officially used into the apartment flower bed and left the apartment with only the Ghost phone he used to contact Choi In-ho.

The deadline for the residents’ vote on whether to expand CCTV was tomorrow.

Chapter 212