By Zephyria 
In the amicable atmosphere, Chairman Choi glanced at his son, Choi Won-joon. Choi Won-joon had been at the main house for several days, and he had heard that he had broken up with that detective. His actions were no different from usual, so he secretly felt relieved.
“Won-joon. Eat this too. Your face looks gaunt these days.”
Madam Lee carefully deboned a fish and handed it to her son.
“Don’t worry about me, Mom. You eat.”
Madam Lee couldn’t take her eyes off her son’s face.
“It’s so nice to have our son home. Eating breakfast together like this.”
Chairman Choi looked displeased at his wife, who only cared about their son.
“Let him eat on his own. He’s a grown man, does he not have hands or feet? He should get his own side dishes.”
“Look how gaunt his face is. How can you say that?”
“Is that my fault?”
“Because of the fuss you made that day, Lee-eum said he wanted to break up.”
Chairman Choi was dumbfounded and asked back, “Lee-eum?” Madam Lee sighed deeply.
“Do you know how hard it is to meet someone you truly like in life? You’ve experienced it, so you should know. How can someone who put on a show of dying in front of my father not understand his own child’s heart?”
“A show? I really thought I would die if my father-in-law didn’t allow it. Because my life without you is hell and suffering, and…”
Madam Lee told him to be quiet and eat, so Chairman Choi, sensing her mood, shut his mouth. Instead, he glared at his son once, expressing his discomfort. Throughout the meal, Choi Won-joon didn’t say much. After finishing his preparations for work, Madam Lee followed him to the front door.
“You said it’s an evening flight, right?”
“Yes, I’ll attend the wake in the morning, and go straight to the airport when it’s over. I’ll contact you when I arrive in Singapore.”
“You’re working so hard. Go and shake it all off. It won’t be easy, though.”
Won-joon stared at Madam Lee for a moment and suddenly hugged her. After holding her tightly, Madam Lee smiled.
“What’s this? You’re extra affectionate today? Suspicious.”
Won-joon then approached his father. He tried to hug him in the same way, but Chairman Choi frowned and subtly moved away. Madam Lee gave him a look, so Chairman Choi reluctantly hugged Won-joon as well.
“I’ll be back.”
After that, he came outside and Director Lee was waiting in front of the gate. As soon as he got into the car, Director Lee handed him a tablet from the back.
“Money from Kim Ji-cheol’s borrowed-name account has been transferred to Secretary Yang’s account.”
After checking it, he moved on to the next screen, which showed Kim Ji-cheol meeting someone at the nursing hospital. The man, who was covering his face with a hat and wearing a black jumper in this heat, was unusual at first glance. Seeing that, Won-joon chuckled.
“Good build. Who scouted him?”
“Secretary Yang found him.”
“He’s very cooperative in driving his own master to his death. He doesn’t know what the end of a hunting dog is like.”
After flipping through a few more pages, there was a photo of the man who had moved into the floor below Kim Yi-eum.
“Did they meet?”
“Yes. He apparently made the excuse of moving in downstairs and exchanged greetings. He’s from a special forces unit and has a history of working as a mercenary, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“Tell him to guard him well. If even a hair on Kim Yi-eum’s head is damaged, I won’t let it go.”
Kim Ji-cheol was convinced that Choi Won-joon had conspired with Kim Yi-eum to make him like this. He was so enraged that he instructed Secretary Yang to find someone to eliminate Choi Won-joon and Kim Yi-eum, no matter how much it cost. Of course, Secretary Yang leaked the information and incited him first. Without knowing that the plan had originated in Choi Won-joon’s head, Kim Ji-cheol was excited about taking revenge.
“Are you going to be okay?”
Director Lee’s eyes, reflected in the rearview mirror, were filled with genuine concern. Seeing that, Choi Won-joon smiled and was rather delighted.
“Ji-hoon.”
“Yes.”
“You know I even got Kim Yi-eum’s childhood student record, right? What did it say?”
“I don’t know.”
“He has a great passion for learning. He is kind, sincere, and considerate. And so on, the teacher used all the good words. There was one word that was always included without fail. What could it be?”
Director Lee, thinking of Kim Yi-eum, answered without hesitation.
“Responsibility?”
“Bingo.”
Won-joon pushed the tablet aside, leaned back in his seat, and smiled languidly.
“So, I have to make him take responsibility for me. Even if it means planting guilt in his kind heart.”
❖ ❖ ❖
“Do we have to do even this kind of thing?”
“It’s the chief’s order. And it’s our district.”
Team Leader Oh soothed the grumbling detectives.
“A big shot died. It’s a place where everyone from gangsters to politicians to chaebols comes. If something happens here, how are we going to handle it? We need to prevent it in advance.”
Detective Yoon, who was listening, grumbled that they should have brought in the riot police. It was already hot, and it was even more stuffy with all the men crammed into the van. Lee-eum, who was behind the wheel, was thinking of going out for some air when a strange man knocked on the window. As soon as he opened it, a man in a suit bowed politely.
“You must be the detectives? Please have a meal before you go. Our elder has always been grateful for the help he has received from the Western Police Station.”
Instantly, the air inside the car became heavy. Who could have given help to a big shot? Only one person came to mind. The chief. While everyone was trying to manage their expressions, the man urged them once more. Team Leader Oh, who was listening, got out of the car. °
“Get out. I’m starving, let’s eat.”
“We’re here to monitor, not to eat.”
“Shut up. Who’s going to give us a reward for doing this? We need to fill our stomachs.”
“Okay, let’s eat first. I see there’s a lot of delicious food.”
Guided by the man, they went to a place where tables were set up under a tent and food was prepared for the mourners. As soon as they sat down, the staff brought out the food, which was so delicious, unlike at a regular funeral home, that everyone was busy eating as if nothing had happened. In the meantime, cars came in one after another and people got out.
“Isn’t that the former Minister of National Defense?”
“The eldest son of Sungil Group is here too. Over there.”
It was said that celebrities used to come and go so often that the threshold would wear out, and it seemed that the rumors were true. Team Leader Oh joked that it was fun just watching people, and after everyone finished eating, they rinsed their mouths with sujeonggwa and sikhye that were served for dessert.
“Ah, so refreshing. The wind is nice because it’s in the mountains.”
“Cars are coming in endlessly. They say that when a nobleman’s dog dies, the whole neighborhood comes to pay their respects, but when the nobleman dies, there’s no one there, but that’s not always the case.”
“There’s a successor. His son.”
“I wonder if he’ll be as good as his father. Looking at his face, he looks like he’s easy to ruin.”
“Since when have you been reading faces? Take a look at me.”
“Let’s see. You look like you’re going to be catching criminals for the rest of your life.”
“Hey, really.”
While everyone was laughing and chatting, Nam-soo went, “Uh, uh,” and pointed somewhere. Everyone’s eyes turned to that direction. A familiar person gets out of a car that has just arrived. Everyone looked at Lee-eum at the appearance of Choi Won-joon. Lee-eum was also embarrassed. Choi Won-joon, guided by Director Lee, moved towards the temple’s main hall.
“Wow, he doesn’t lose out in terms of physique even among gangsters. Is it because of his bloodline? He doesn’t look out of place at all.”
“Weren’t you close to Detective Kim?”
“Close? There was a lawsuit and a big fuss.”
“Didn’t you withdraw the lawsuit?”
Lee-eum took a sip of water and smiled bitterly. Then, he saw Choi Won-joon coming down after paying his respects and got up from his seat. “Just a moment. I’m going to the restroom.” Visitors were recognizing Choi Won-joon and greeting him, so they were distracted.
Choi Won-joon, with a businesslike smile on his face among the people, was quite different from the crazy bastard he knew. He waited near his car for a while, and after a while, Choi Won-joon came down. As soon as he saw his face, Choi Won-joon nodded his head in greeting.
“Hello. Detective Kim. Looks like you’re out on assignment?”
Lee-eum felt embarrassed by his dry tone and expression. Director Lee had already returned to the car, and Lee-eum got straight to the point.
“Why are you ignoring my texts? I kept contacting you to take the painting from my house.”
“Ah, that. I blocked your number because you said let’s end it.”
“……”
“I’ve been busy with work. I’ll instruct someone to stop by and take care of it on the weekend.”
Busy with work, my ass. Is that why you were rolling around with a woman? As he swallowed the words that came up to his throat, Choi Won-joon smiled in the same way as when he had been dealing with people just now.
“If you’ve said everything you wanted to say, can I go now? I have a schedule.”
“Okay…”
Won-joon, who had taken a few steps, stopped and turned around.
“Detective Kim. Have you heard any news about Kim Ji-cheol?”
“What news?”
“He’s grinding his teeth, saying he’s going to take revenge. He threatened me too, but I ignored him. Be careful, he might come after Detective Kim.”
“I’ll take care of my own business, so Representative Choi should be careful. You must have a lot of people who want revenge. Did I cut off your finger? You cut it off.”
“Hey, hey, why are you like this? It wasn’t me.”
Won-joon acted nonchalantly and then chuckled.
“Anyway, thanks for your concern. Take care.”
Choi Won-joon turned his back without any regrets and headed for his car. As the car started and drove away, Lee-eum walked towards where his colleagues were.
The painting was a pain in the ass, so this is good….
The problem was solved, so he should feel refreshed, but strangely, his chest felt as if it was being pressed down by a stone. Lee-eum rubbed his chest with his palm. It seemed that he had indigestion from eating yukgaejang too quickly.