#220

Lee Seok-doo still had nightmares. Even though Maria, who would never lie to him about such a thing, and Seon-jae had told him that Father was dead, Father often appeared in Kang-woo’s dreams. He cursed at Kang-woo, yelled at him, and threatened him, just like before.

Father always called him Ki-beom, and when he did, Kang-woo was confused about who he was.

Every time he woke up from a nightmare, he worried that Father had taken the the child away. Even though a dead person couldn’t do that, Kang-woo wanted to call So-jin’s house in the early morning, picking up and putting down the phone several times. Waiting until 6 a.m. was agonizing.

The the child no longer woke up at 5 a.m. He usually woke up at 6 a.m., and sometimes even slept in until 6:30 a.m. In the early morning, the the child always sounded sleepy when he answered the phone, and was generally indifferent, but Kang-woo had to hear the the child’s voice to start his day.

The the child said that he ate breakfast prepared by So-jin’s grandmother and walked to the village hall with So-jin. On the way, he joined the few remaining friends, older sisters, and older brothers.

The the child, who had lived with his Father in the remote village of Yongdugol, was amazed that he could walk anywhere in the village. It only took 10 minutes to walk to the supermarket, and the village hall was just as close. Not to mention, he could take a bus to the town from the bus stop in front of the hall.

Because Kang-woo lived in Seoul, the the child also enjoyed visiting Seoul with So-jin every other week. He especially loved eating out with Seon-jae. Even if it wasn’t a fancy or extravagant meal, he was overjoyed to eat street tteokbokki.

Kang-woo was happy whenever he saw the the child like that, and he felt sorry for not being with the the child every day.

Honestly, Kang-woo enjoyed his life in Seoul very much, except for the Father dreams.

Unlike in Dongjam-ri, he lived with Seon-jae like a real newlywed couple. They had a real romance. They had sex as much as they wanted without worrying about anyone’s eyes. They kissed and sucked each other all the time.

Most of all, Kang-woo no longer heard the auditory hallucination of Father scolding him whenever he desired Seon-jae. That was the biggest change for Kang-woo.

Of course, because he had lived under Father’s influence for so long, he couldn’t stop scolding or punishing himself even if he didn’t hear the auditory hallucination. He still filled the sink with water and plunged his head in to punish himself. Still, he was [stolen content]style="font-sizevisit our site:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">visit our siteless likely to fall into self-deprecation and become depressed than before.

Kang-woo might have to fight with his dead Father for the rest of his life. When he thought about that, he was scared, but he took courage by reminding himself that he was dead.

But was Father really dead?

How did he die?

Accident, illness, or…?

He was curious, but he didn’t ask in detail.

Maria was released by Father’s death, and he was also freed. So, what did it matter how he died?

He acted like it was nothing, but honestly, he was scared. He was afraid that Seon-jae and Maria were involved in Father’s death, and that something might happen to them later because of it.

Kang-woo ignored Father’s death because he felt like nothing would happen if he didn’t mention it. He vowed never to be curious. Even if Seon-jae told him the story one day, he would cover his ears. If Maria couldn’t bear her conscience and went to the police station, he had to stop her by any means. By any means.

How?

Kang-woo often thought up to this point and always stopped at Maria.

Knowing everything about the life she had lived by Father’s side, what right did he have to stop Maria?

He decided to have a serious talk with Maria someday, and he came to a proper conclusion three weeks after only [unauthorized copyvisit our siteimagining about Father’s death.

Kang-woo often blamed himself for being stupid. He didn’t know it when he was just farming, but after coming to the city, he felt very inadequate. He worried that his brain had melted from taking so many drugs and having so much sex at the orphanage.

On days when worry turned into fear, he went to the bookstore. It had been so long since he had read a book that he often wandered around the bookstore and returned empty-handed, but just going there changed his mood.

Of course, Kang-woo wasn’t just living idly with Seon-jae. On the contrary, he was very busy.

Kang-woo was busy going in and out of the police station like it was his own home, and Seon-jae left home every day to go to his new job. He sometimes went to work on weekends or holidays. Even so, they always ate dinner together. If they had time, they also went grocery shopping together.

Kang-woo thought of the the child every time he saw or ate something good, but he tried not to show it in front of Seon-jae. Seon-jae was also very precious to Kang-woo, as much as the the child, so he didn’t want to make him feel sad. Especially at gatherings that Seon-jae had prepared for him.

When he went to the department store, he sometimes thought of Maria. There were many young women around Maria’s age, so he naturally thought of her. When he saw women walking by with shopping bags, he wondered if Maria had ever come to a place like this and bought clothes. She would never have been able to do that while Father was alive, but what about now that she was free like him? He hoped she would enjoy it if she did.

Then, when he saw women with girls around Ji-hye’s age or younger than Ji-hye, his heart grew heavy. He was anxious that Maria, Ji-hye’s biological mother, might want to raise Ji-hye, and that she might ask Kang-woo to return the the child to her.

Even though Maria had never shown Kang-woo any sign of that, she always appeared as a villain in his dreams with Father. When Kang-woo had dreams in which Maria was the villain, he tossed and turned all night because he felt so sorry for her.

Pastor Father told him not to have unnecessary thoughts, but recently Kang-woo often found himself lost in thought for a very long time, presumptuously. Even though he was overwhelmed with things to do, he somehow had time to think. Time seemed to pass differently than when he was farming. But he didn’t dislike it.

Kang-woo didn’t know that he was learning how to live like other people for the first time in his life.

He had never done that before, so he felt strange about his current self.

He had another Father dream.

Kang-woo glanced at Seon-jae lying next to him and checked the time.

4 a.m., the the child would wake up in two more hours.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, he lay still as a mouse. He listened to Seon-jae’s breathing.

The city night was noisier than the countryside night. It was comforting because it wasn’t quiet, because it wasn’t desolate.

Was Father really dead?

Kang-woo closed his eyes.

Seon-jae went to visit Prosecutor Jeong Jae-jin in the hospital.

He didn’t go voluntarily, but he urgently called Seon-jae.

“You look like you’re doing okay.”

Seon-jae sneered as he put down the fruit basket he had bought as a gift.

The man who had been wearing an oxygen mask was now eating, taking walks, and shaving by himself. He had recovered enough to be alone in the hospital room without the police or detectives who had always been standing guard. He had been healthy to begin with, so his recovery was very fast.

Prosecutor Jeong put down the documents and looked at the basket that Seon-jae had bought.

“You didn’t put a money envelope in there, did you?”

“You look like you want one?”

“You little punk, you should have put one in if you knew.”

Prosecutor Jeong joked and took an apple out of the basket.

“This one’s solid.”

He took a bite right away without washing it.

“What’s the matter?”

“You’re still impatient as ever. How’s Chairman Shin?”

“Doing well.”

“You know what I’m asking, but you have to be difficult, don’t you?”

“Working life is just as shitty.”

“It must be killing you to go from playing to working?”

Prosecutor Jeong asked teasingly.

“You’ll be the same when you get back. So, what’s the matter, Prosecutor Jeong?”

Seon-jae rummaged through the basket and peeled a banana.

“How much is that?”

Prosecutor Jeong pointed to the fruit basket with his eyes.

“One hundred thousand won.”

“You little punk, really. How is that worth 100,000 won? It’s not even worth 50,000 won.”

“Complain to the fruit store.”

Seon-jae said this and bit into the banana.

“I guess it’s worth 100,000 won, this banana tastes like honey.”

He said nonchalantly.

Prosecutor Jeong shook his head at Seon-jae and put down the apple he was eating. He took out a stolen [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copy -->contentwet wipe from the side table, wiped his hands, and picked up the documents.

“I’m going to catch Lee Seok-doo this time for sure.”

He said with a determined voice.

“Do whatever you want.”

Seon-jae replied indifferently.

Seon-jae, who had realized once again how weak the law was, had no expectations. No matter how solid and flawless the law was, it was people who interpreted and handled it. As long as robots or computers didn’t handle it instead, Seon-jae was convinced that the rich would always be innocent and the poor would always be guilty.

“How’s your aunt?”

Seon-jae changed the subject.

“Department store.”

“Still the same?”

“Meet her yourself if you’re curious.”

“Not yet. Lee Seok-doo is a dangerous man.”

“That’s why I’m going to catch him, this time visit our sitestyle="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">stolen contentfor sure. The chief prosecutor and everyone else are very determined.”

Prosecutor Jeong was uncharacteristically excited.

“You’ll be summoned too if that happens. You know? Just do as we practiced beforehand, so there’s nothing to worry about, but don’t let your guard down.”

“Okay. Just call me anytime.”

When Seon-jae continued to act indifferent, Prosecutor Jeong called him seriously, “Seon-jae.”

“Don’t get any other ideas. That’s not advice, it’s a warning.”

He played the prosecutor for the first time in a while.

Seon-jae stared down at Prosecutor Jeong and bit into the banana.

“I’m going back to work tomorrow.”

Prosecutor Jeong said.

Seon-jae raised his eyebrows.

It was unexpected. He looked like he needed to stay in the hospital for at least another month, but it was a surprise return.

“As soon as I get back, the chief prosecutor will sign off.”

“What about the judge?”

“On our side.”

“Is it that easy?”

Seon-jae was still skeptical. Prosecutor Jeong had guaranteed it three or four times, and if you included Prosecutor Baek Gyu-ri, he had been disappointed more than five times.

“If they can do it, why can’t we?”

Jeong Jae-jin held up one finger.

“Just wait one day. Just one day tomorrow.”

Seon-jae gave instructions, telling him to wait and see, as if he knew what he was going to do.

Did the secret get out already? That can’t be.

Anyway, he’s got a knack for sensing things.

He laughed inwardly.

“One day. No more.”

Seon-jae only said this without explaining anything.

Immediately after the man was released from prison, Seon-jae was planning to eliminate Lee Seok-doo. Literally eliminate. He realized that his decision to rely on the law was wrong the moment Prosecutor Jeong was attacked, so the decision was actually easy.

Rather, it was very difficult to make a flawless plan. Seon-jae, who had some experience in this field and was confident that he knew the methods of the gangsters, tried to do it as he had been doing, but he was thoroughly scolded.

There were too many loopholes. This time, he had to handle it according to a thorough plan without relying on luck. But the plan itself was flimsy, so there was no progress.

What they, including Il-gwang, had was ruthless violence and fear to inflict on the other party. If they broke their spirit with that, anyone would have to give in.

But that method wouldn’t work on Lee Seok-doo. How many years had he experienced and seen it, and how many people had he directly made with his own hands? Would he kneel to such intimidation?

In the end, Seon-jae came to the conclusion that there was no other option but a surprise attack. All that was left was to decide whether that surprise attack was a suicide or not.

“I’m leaving.”

Seon-jae threw the banana peel in the trash and was about to turn around when he stopped, saying, “Oh, right!” Then, he took out a meticulously crafted gold business card case from his inside jacket pocket.

“Please take care of me, Prosecutor Jeong Jae-jin.”

Prosecutor Jeong smiled as he received the business card.

“Looks expensive?”

“It’s just gold. I received it as a gift when I joined the company. If you like it, I’ll give it to you as a welcome back gift.”

“Give it to me when you catch Lee Seok-doo. With diamonds embedded in it, if possible.”

Jeong Jae-jin said this and reached out his hand.

Seon-jae slipped his business card between Jeong Jae-jin’s fingers, winking as he said, “Call me, Miss Jeong. This Hyung’s heart is only for you.”

He left the hospital room to the sound of Jeong Jae-jin cursing him out with a scowl.

Lee Seok-doo had 24 hours left, just one day.

If Jeong Jae-jin won, Lee Seok-doo would rot in jail, and if Seon-jae won, he would literally rot with the dirt underground. Or become ashes.

Seon-jae hoped he would win, if possible.

The dead tell no tales.

His cell phone vibrated.

“Oh, honey.”

Every time Seon-jae said this, the man panicked and froze.

“You should be used to it by now.”

At his grumbling, the man pretended not to know, saying, “Hello?” For some reason, the word “Hello” sounded cute, and he laughed.

“Where are you?”

I just got out of the police station.

“That was quick?”

Yes. The Detective had something urgent to do.

“Ah. Are you going straight home?”

No. I was going to go grocery shopping at the market.

“I’ll go with you.”

Do you have time?

“Of course. I’ve been counting down the minutes for this.”

Seon-jae’s overreaction brought a faint chuckle from the other end of the line.

I’ll see you in 20 minutes…honey.

The the man hung up in a hurry without even telling him where to meet.

Seon-jae froze at the word “honey” from the Man’s mouth. Heat rushed to the back of his neck in an instant. Then, he grinned broadly and kissed his cell phone repeatedly.

He giggled like a madman before turning serious and sending a text message.

「Honey, where should we meet?」

A reply arrived in less than a minute.

「Home」

Seon-jae started running as soon as he saw the text.

221 – Chapter 221