By Zephyria 
“That ungrateful bastard left without a word? And even stole money?”
“He must have been disoriented when his memory suddenly returned.”
“Check if anything’s missing from the house. Did you check the safe where you keep your documents? I knew he was suspicious from the start. Losing your memory and becoming like a child? Is this a drama? I’m telling you, he approached you with a motive.”
“What motive would he have?”
“You’re too damn kind, that’s your problem. Why did you bring a stranger home in the first place? You should have left him at a facility.”
Uncle! Hyung’s nagging continued, but his niece Yoon-ji came in holding something. It was a beauty salon playset, and she stuck to Lee-eum, putting earrings on him, placing a crown on his head, and giving him a necklace. It was a common occurrence, so Lee-eum calmly drank his beer.
“Yoon-ji, how’s your uncle? Pretty?”
“Yeah, pretty. Wait a minute!”
Yoon-ji quickly ran to the master bedroom and came out with makeup. Lee-eum’s brow furrowed when he saw the lipstick. Surely she wasn’t going to put that on her uncle? He looked at his Hyung, who was nonchalantly tearing open a beef jerky, seemingly used to it.
“Just let her do it. My daughter wants to.”
“Uncle, ooh-! Ooh-ooh-!”
Her chubby lips were pouting, making him laugh. He made an “ooh-ooh” sound, and she grabbed the lipstick with her tiny hands and smeared it on his lips. She smiled brightly, seemingly pleased, revealing the gap where her front teeth were missing.
Then, Yoon-ji brought a mirror and showed him his face. Lee-eum raised an eyebrow when he saw himself in the mirror. His lips were messily covered in pink lipstick, making him look like someone to be feared.
“Uncle, do you like it?”
Lee-eum nodded.
“Yeah… Yoon-ji, good job. Pretty.”
Hyung was chuckling in front of him.
“Still, you’re better off than me. Last time, she used bright red on me. I looked like the Joker.”
Yoon-ji turned to look at her dad.
“Should I do Daddy too?” At his daughter’s words, Hyung shook his head, declining. Lee-eum took a picture with Yoon-ji. The picture was funny, but he thought of it as a memory with his niece, making him feel affectionate.
After taking the picture, he was looking at it, finding it adorable, when the news came on TV. It was a report that the largest cultural complex in the country would be built, and Sehwa Construction had been finally selected as the construction company. Hyung scoffed at the news that Sehwa, a latecomer, had won the construction rights, beating out prominent companies.
“Those bastards are resourceful.”
“Sehwa Construction?”
“Yeah.”
“Hyung, you handled a Sehwa Group case last year, right? How was it?”
“Don’t even mention it. The higher-ups pressured me so much for just touching it briefly. It’s like there’s no one eating government rice who hasn’t taken money from those guys. Maybe it’s because they’re based on gangsters, but those bastards don’t care about methods when they want something.”
“The victim in the case we’re handling this time… it seems like he had some kind of deal with a Director Park from Sehwa Construction.”
“That hiking trail?”
“Yeah. It feels fishy no matter how I look at it. I’d like to meet Director Park and talk more, but I can’t seem to reach him. I went to the company to meet colleagues, but it was harder to get in than I thought.”
“Those bastards have a lot to hide, that’s why. They glare at you if you say you’re a detective.”
“So, I’m going to try again tomorrow.”
Lee-eum drank his beer and turned his gaze to the TV. The news was now showing other stories. As he finished his beer and wondered if he should leave, Yoon-ji struggled to drag something out of the room. Lee-eum’s expression darkened when he saw it.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“That… that’s not it, is it…?”
“Just a moment, I need to go to the bathroom.” Hyung pretended not to know and got up from his seat. Lee-eum tried to stop him, but he was too late. Yoon-ji took out toy plates and food from the plastic box she had dragged out.
“Okay, now we’re going to play restaurant. Uncle is the customer, and I’m the CEO.”
“Yoon-ji, isn’t it your bedtime? Mom told you to go to bed early, didn’t she?”
Yoon-ji didn’t even pretend to listen and was pretending to scoop something into a bowl with a ladle.
“What would you like to order, customer? The menu is in front of you.”
Lee-eum glared at the bathroom where Hyung had disappeared, then quickly changed his expression and smiled brightly.
“Yes, CEO. I want to eat delicious noodles.”
“That’s great. I’m good at making noodles. Please wait.”
She turned on the gas, put a pot on the stove, and imitated what she had seen. Her actions were so cute that he started recording another video, but his phone rang. Lee-eum tilted his head when he saw that the call was from a restricted number. He answered, “Hello,” but heard nothing. The other person was silent, and so was Lee-eum.
The call ended, and in the meantime, Yoon-ji placed the noodles she had made in front of Lee-eum.
“Here are your noodles. Enjoy.”
What is this? A threatening call? Sometimes, guys would make threatening calls after being released from prison. As he pondered, Yoon-ji looked at him with sparkling eyes full of anticipation. Lee-eum erased his thoughts and gave Yoon-ji a warm smile.
“Thank you, CEO. I’ll enjoy it.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Choi Won-joon stared at the disconnected phone, lost in thought. Then, there was a knock, and a guest arrived. The person who opened the door was none other than Park Seok-tae, the boss of an organized crime group. He was a middle-aged man and had brought one of his members with him, and he seemed quite relaxed.
Won-joon gestured politely to the man.
“Please sit down. I’m sure you know who I am, so let’s skip the introductions.”
As soon as Park Seok-tae sat down, Director Lee closed the door. Amidst the loud music, the man’s face showed a mixture of wariness and anticipation.
“I was surprised that Sehwa Construction contacted me first.”
“Well, I didn’t expect to meet you like this either.”
Won-joon poured himself a drink without offering any to the other person.
“Since we’re both busy people, let’s get straight to the point. You know CEO Yang Taek-il, right?”
“Yes, I know him. He used to be my employee.”
“Because of that man, detectives came to our company.”
“Is that so?”
Choi Won-joon took out a cigarette, lit it, crossed his legs, and leaned back deeply into the sofa. His face looked even more languid due to fatigue, and his eyes were also lewd.
“To be honest, I don’t care if your subordinate and our employee were having an affair or screwing around. But they shouldn’t splash mud on us.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, President.”
“Oh, are you feigning ignorance?”
“Haha, of course not.”
“Or were you aiming for it? A situation that would make things difficult for me?”
Park Seok-tae smiled with a friendly face.
“I don’t understand at all. If you tell me exactly, I’ll look into it. Are you in trouble because of Yang Taek-il?”
Watching Park Seok-tae deny everything, Choi Won-joon chewed on his cigarette and laughed before suddenly getting up and kicking him in the face. With a loud thud, Park Seok-tae fell to the floor, and the alcohol and snacks on the table were scattered everywhere.
His accompanying subordinate reached into his coat to pull out a knife, but Director Lee was one step ahead. The blue tip of the knife was already aimed at the subordinate’s neck.
“Ugh… damn it….”
Blood dripped from Park Seok-tae’s head as he staggered to his feet. His eyes flashed with murderous intent as he saw the blood, and he looked ready to charge at Won-joon and kill him. However, Park Seok-tae didn’t move any further, and Won-joon said in a monotonous voice.
“You have a good resistance. Anyone else would have passed out.”
Then, he threw a wet wipe at the man on the table. The wet wipe landed right in front of Park Seok-tae’s nose.
“Wipe it off. I have a weak stomach.”
Park Seok-tae sat down without a word and began to staunch the bleeding from his burst forehead. He no longer made eye contact with Won-joon, who spun his glass around.
“Clean it up by tomorrow. Can you do that?”
“…….”
“Director Park. Do I have to ask twice?”
“…I understand.”
“Good, that’s good. Now, go.”
“…….”
“Or would you like to have a drink with me?”
Knowing that he didn’t mean it, Park Seok-tae got up and was about to turn around and leave when Director Lee took out his wallet from his pocket. When he handed over a check, Park Seok-tae’s face became as fierce as it could be. Director Lee folded the check in half with a blank expression and put it in Park Seok-tae’s shirt pocket. It was a polite gesture, but it was enough to make him feel humiliated.
“This is for the hospital bill. Please go carefully.”
As soon as the door opened, Park Seok-tae and his subordinate disappeared outside. A moment later, the owner of the establishment cautiously entered through the closed door. He quickly ordered someone to call people to reset the table and spoke to Won-joon with expectant eyes.
“Oh, CEO Choi. It’s been a while since you’ve visited. I was worried because you haven’t been around lately. We have some fresh new girls who just came in,”
Before he could finish speaking, Won-joon gestured for him to shut up and leave. The owner bowed and quickly disappeared, and now only Choi Won-joon and Director Lee were left in the room. When Won-joon’s glass was empty, Director Lee came to his side and filled it.
“Should I assign someone to Park Seok-tae?”
“Leave him be. He’s not stupid enough to not understand.”
“Is it possible to find the culprit by tomorrow?”
“Ji-hoon. Do you think I beat that bastard up to find the culprit?”
“Then….”
Choi Won-joon smiled like a villain, and Director Lee belatedly understood his meaning. It meant that they should take care of it so that the police wouldn’t be interested anymore. Whoever the culprit was and wherever they were, it was none of his business.