By Zephyria 
“So, you’re still searching?”
“Yes. We’re searching with helicopters as well.”
The elderly man stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and let out a deep groan. The old man was Chairman Choi of Sehwa Group, a well-known gangster in his younger days. After meeting a smart and good wife, he started a family, and when his first child was born, he vowed that he would no longer live like this for the sake of his children. So he turned his organization into a company and then worked tirelessly to grow the company.
In the meantime, his second child was born, and 10 years later, his youngest was born. He was a late bloomer, and they raised the child, who resembled both him and his wife, like gold and jade. But that son had gone missing in the mountains. He was such a tough and strong guy that he wouldn’t be easily defeated by anyone.
“Don’t notify the police. It’s not good to be in the news.”
“Yes.”
“Find him by any means necessary. Even if you have to flatten the mountain!”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock, and Chairman Choi’s wife came in with tea. Chairman Choi’s wife, Lee Mi-ran, was still upright in her 70s and her face was full of dignity. She smiled and handed a teacup to Director Lee.
“Please have some, General manager Lee.”
“Thank you.”
“Is our Won-joon doing well? I called him after dinner, but he didn’t answer.”
Chairman Choi managed his expression and gestured to Director Lee to keep his mouth shut.
“He went down to rest, so leave him alone for a while.”
“I know. I’m barely holding back from calling him every day.”
Madam Lee sighed with a troubled expression. The youngest, Choi Won-joon, had been weak since birth and had been in an incubator for a while. He was small and timid until he entered elementary school. Madam Lee was always worried about her son.
“Don’t coddle him. That’s why he’s so spoiled. Look at him now. He abandoned the company in the middle of his busy schedule and went into a temple. It’s not like he’s rebelling.”
Madam Lee glared at her husband, not unkindly. Won-joon went to the temple entirely because of his father. They clashed over the issue of arranged marriage, and because they had the same temper, neither of them would give in.
“Why do you keep pushing a child who doesn’t want to? What’s wrong with living alone these days? He already can’t sleep properly because of insomnia, did you have to push him like that?”
“You don’t know because you’re not him. If he finds the right partner, his insomnia will be cured.”
“How can an ordinary person do what even a doctor can’t?”
While the two were bickering, Director Lee sat in the middle, sipping his tea as if he couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t say anything, but his heart was burning black. The disappearance of his boss, Choi Won-joon, was by no means a minor problem. After he went missing, they searched the mountain like they were combing it, and even mobilized helicopters, but no significant results were obtained. He swallowed a deep sigh.
…President, where on earth have you gone?
❖ ❖ ❖
“How do I look, Mister?”
Lee-eum barely suppressed a laugh as he looked at the man who came out after changing his clothes. If there was a man in real life who was big and scary like in the movies, but innocent on the inside, this would be the feeling.
He gave him the largest clothes he had, but the pants were well above his ankles, and the bear on the T-shirt was stretched out to the side because of his broad shoulders.
“Can you come here?”
Lee-eum called the man to the sofa. He subtly distanced himself from the man who sat close to him, and then asked for his hand. He spread out his palm and checked his fingerprints. Occasionally, there were heinous criminals who deliberately erased their fingerprints, but the man was not one of them.
Lee-eum stared at the man head-on. His eyes were deep and his nose was sharp. His jaw was moderately angled, making him look masculine, and his physique was closer to a Westerner than a Korean. Was he mixed race? Or an illegal immigrant? But he was fluent in Korean.
“Do you remember anything?”
The man shook his head.
“Think hard. I don’t know why you were lying there, but there must have been a reason. You want to go back to your family, don’t you?”
“Is my name ‘You’?”
“Huh?”
“Mister… called me ‘You’….”
Lee-eum bit his lower lip slightly. He didn’t know his name, so he didn’t know what to call him. Just then, a dating show was on TV. All the male contestants’ names were pseudonyms, but there was one name that stood out.
“Then, until you remember your name, shall I call you Young-shik?”
The man nodded obediently. Unlike his somewhat cold appearance, he was docile and didn’t insist on anything. Assuming he grew up the same way he was as a child, he predicted that the adult man would not be much different.
“Now sleep. I’ve already told the area where I first found you, so if your family is looking for you, they’ll contact me.”
He nodded his head diligently, and without realizing it, Lee-eum’s hand went up. Lee-eum was startled and withdrew his hand. He almost forgot that the other person was an adult man and patted his head, saying he was a good boy. The bandage on his forehead was tattered, so he went to the bedroom to get a first aid kit, and Young-shik followed him.
“Why are you following me?”
“I’m scared to be alone in the living room….”
Was it separation anxiety? He didn’t seem to be listening even if he said more, so he ignored him and took out the first aid kit. He told him to sit down, took off the bandage, and applied medicine to the wound, and the man cringed, contorting his face.
“Hng….”
He groaned that it hurt, so Lee-eum had no choice but to blow on the area. Only then did his expression relax and his hunched shoulders return to normal. After putting on a new bandage, Lee-eum put the first aid kit back in its place and took Young-shik to the opposite room.
It was a room used for guests, and when he turned on the light, there was only a bed.
“You can go in here and sleep.”
“Yes….”
When Young-shik sat on the bed, there was a creaking sound of wood twisting. Then he lay down in a straight posture and looked at the ceiling. It was a single bed, so his feet were sticking out, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. He told him to sleep well and was about to turn off the light when Young-shik jumped up from his seat.
“Mister! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to sleep….”
Young-shik stood up from his seat and hugged the blanket tightly.
“Weren’t we going to sleep together?”
“Huh?”
“I’m scared…. Let’s sleep together….”
Lee-eum closed his eyes tightly and opened them. Due to the nature of his job, he had many stakeouts and often spent the night in his car. He wanted to get a good night’s sleep at home. That was why he didn’t invite acquaintances to his house. He sighed softly, and Young-shik hugged the blanket tightly and looked at him with a desperate expression. Looking at that face, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Right. This is just a little boy with a big body. A little boy.
Let’s think of him as a nephew. A very well-developed nephew.
“Okay, then….”
As soon as he gave permission, Young-shik trotted after him and immediately climbed onto the bed in the master bedroom.
“Wow, the bed is big and nice!”
Lee-eum was horrified and stopped him from jumping on the bed.
“Hey! Young-shik! You can’t jump there. Lie down quietly.”
Young-shik flinched and lay down in a proper posture, smiling brightly and telling Mister to come up too. Even though he was sleepy, he was straining his eyes and watching when Lee-eum would lie down. Lee-eum had no choice but to climb onto the bed and lie down with his back to the man.
“Good night.”
“Mister….”
His voice, full of sleep, was eerily low. When he turned around, the man grabbed Lee-eum’s hand and placed it on his chest. It was hard. Just like Nam-soo said, it was like a stone. How much exercise would you have to do to build a body like this?
“Pat me….”
This crazy….
“I’m scared… Pat me….”
What’s scary? Is this guy seeing ghosts? Is there a ghost in our house? Lee-eum glanced around at the air for no reason. But Lee-eum knew. That the scariest thing in the world is humans, not ghosts. When you think about it, the very act of bringing this strange man, who you don’t even know where he came from, into your house is terrifying. Who knows what he’ll do.
While his head was filled with all sorts of thoughts, the man’s eyes were now half-closed. Okay, go to sleep quickly. Lee-eum had no choice but to pat the man’s chest.
“Mister….”
“What is it now.”
“Sing me a song too….”
Haa, this bastard….