#216

Seon-jae, who had been watching the CCTV footage featuring Kim Sung-hwan in the machine room, looked away from the screen at the vibration.

Kim Sung-hwan’s Ghost phone vibrated continuously. He thought it was a call, but it was a text message.

It was from Choi In-ho.

“How long do I have to wait?”

“Please answer me.”

Seon-jae raised his eyebrows.

It seemed there had been a conversation between Kim Sung-hwan and Choi In-ho that he didn’t know about.

“As you said, I didn’t accept the offer.”

“I will never accept it.”

“You can hear it if you listen to the recording.”

“So please, just don’t touch that the child.”

“You know he’s the last Yong!”

Son of a bitch. What is this pervert talking about?

Seon-jae straightened his posture and rummaged through the documents on the table. He checked the places marked in red. But there was nothing particularly noticeable.

That the child, and the last Yong.

Seon-jae muttered softly.

Was someone pregnant with Choi In-ho’s the child? It was highly likely. Maybe it was a the child made with Yoon Ki-beom’s sperm. And Kim Sung-hwan was protecting that woman or the child.

Protecting, but it would be no different from confinement.

Seon-jae chewed on the text message. He repeated it over and over in his mouth and in his head.

That the child. The last Yong.

A place where a pregnant woman could be hidden from people’s eyes.

A home for unwed mothers!

Seon-jae jumped up from his seat.

He asked Mr. Kim, who was sitting upright at the information desk, staring at the monitor, to keep an eye on Kim Sung-hwan. To leave him alone, whether it was for an hour or two, until he returned. However, if there was no movement, he told him to turn up the heat a little, and then went down to the parking lot. He chose one of the burner cars and left the building.

Bastards.

The orphanage had closed a long time ago, but it seemed they were still doing that kind of thing. They were persistent bastards who never gave up.

Why were perverts so tenacious?

Tsk. He frowned deeply and tapped the steering wheel.

It was just past midnight, so there were many cars on the road. The humidity in the air was high.

Was it going to rain?

Seon-jae thought of the man again.

The day he went to Seoul on a business trip under the name of Kim Tae-heun, the day after he heard the story about his own pathetic funeral, Seon-jae looked for the man as soon as he returned to Dongjam-ri. Strangely, he missed the man and wanted to see him.

The the man was wearing a yellow raincoat and strolling leisurely through the rainy rice paddies. It was probably the first day Seon-jae felt a strange emotion for the Man.

He was right in front of him, clearly right there, but he was anxious because he felt like he was going to disappear.

The events of that time felt so long ago that it seemed like his imagination or a dream, not reality.

What if it was really a dream? What if the man wasn’t a real person and all of this was just his imagination?

Seon-jae chuckled at the absurd thought.

He suddenly thought of the Man. Until just a few days ago, they had been sleeping under the same blanket, but now it was hard to even see the Man’s face. He wanted to hold the Man’s rough, large hands. He wanted to touch his firm but smooth skin.

Seon-jae spread out his palm. Would the day come when he could hold the man in his arms again with this hand?

He controlled himself from becoming depressed for no reason.

He was doing his best for the man right now. Doing his best was not enough, and he had to get the best results. He would bring Choi In-ho to court, regardless of the method or means. Punishing him was something for later.

To do that, he had to find the card that Kim Sung-hwan used to threaten Choi In-ho.

As he got closer to the home for unwed mothers, his heart fluttered for no reason.

Was he too nervous?

He tilted his head.

Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the facility.

Seon-jae was about to call Kim Sung-hwan’s wife to ask her to contact the shelter in advance before getting out of the car. After all, if a sturdy the man suddenly barged in at dawn, not only the resident staff but also the mothers would be scared.

Then, he suddenly wondered if Kim Sung-hwan’s wife was also involved in this. She had flatly denied knowing what her Husband was doing, but this was another matter. It was too risky for Kim Sung-hwan to handle the trump card that could tie up Choi In-ho alone.

For things like this, he needed a Helper. Someone Kim Sung-hwan could trust and rely on, the closest person he could ask for help at any time. It was Kim Sung-hwan’s wife.

Son of a bitch. He hurriedly called Mr. Lee.

“Yes, Assistant Manager.”

Mr. Lee answered the phone in his usual hesitant tone.

“Is Kang Eun-jeong at home?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t let her out under any circumstances.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“From now on, Mr. Lee, you must answer all incoming calls first, and record who the caller is.”

“Yes. But what about the call I received a little while ago? It was just before midnight.”

She received a call at that time?

He didn’t like it.

“Where was it from?”

“Well, they mentioned something about the General Manager.”

“Redial and see where it is.”

While Mr. Lee was checking, Seon-jae turned on the cell phone that Kang Eun-jeong had been using, which he had put in his pocket.

There was no way there would be any voice messages or texts related to that kind of thing, but he still hoped for the best. The result was as expected.

Mr. Lee came back.

“Assistant Manager, it’s from the Mapo Home for Unwed Mothers.”

Seon-jae hung up the phone and went straight into the building.

The home for unwed mothers run by Kim Sung-hwan had no separate name. It was just called ‘Mapo’ after the area.

He went to the second floor and pressed the emergency bell. Then, without asking who it was, the office lights turned on and the door opened. The shutters were still down.

“Who is it?”

The woman asked with a bewildered expression.

“I’m sorry for the late hour. I was introduced by Director Lee Sang-hoon. I have something to check.”

“Yes? Introduced? He didn’t say anything about that.”

“Should I call the Pastor’s wife?”

When Seon-jae implied that he would wake up the Director’s Pastor’s wife at this early hour, the woman said, “Come in for now,” and let Seon-jae inside.

Seon-jae was surprised to see the woman, but he tried not to show it.

She was probably around forty years old. The woman had short, curly permed hair and was wearing a T-shirt that was too big for her. She was very small, and somehow looked thinner than eleven-year-old Ji-hye. Moreover, unfortunately, half of her face was covered in burn scars. It was a trace of being burned by hot water, not fire. There were also several gruesome scars on the back of her hand that looked like they had been branded with cigarettes.

The woman only allowed Seon-jae to enter the office.

“You can’t go inside there because it’s a space where the mothers and children rest.”

Her tone was quite firm, but basically kind.

“Okay, I understand for now. I’d like to sit down and talk for a bit.”

At Seon-jae’s words, the woman finally said, “Oh, I’m sorry,” and led Seon-jae to a room with a table. Whether everyone who visited here was on friendly terms with Kim Sung-hwan from the beginning, the woman didn’t seem to be wary of Seon-jae, whom she was meeting for the first time.

The office that could be seen from the outside was as small as the palm of his hand, but if you turned slightly around the corner, there was another office that was about twice as big. It was more like a lounge, with tables and chairs for receiving guests, as well as pamphlets about the shelter, and small flyers with information about eligibility and rules, placed everywhere.

The office was a kind of intermediate zone for going to the unwed mothers’ shelter.

The woman sat Seon-jae at the table and offered him something to drink.

“It’s okay. What would you like me to call you?”

“Please call me General Manager.”

“General Manager, what did the Pastor’s wife say when she called earlier?”

Seon-jae asked directly.

“Why do you ask?”

“Will you answer me?”

“Well, it’s a private matter.”

“What did she say?”

Seon-jae asked again. This time it was close to a threat. Then the General Manager’s expression darkened and she curled her thin shoulders inward. It was a movement to protect herself.

“Well, it wasn’t anything special…”

“Should I contact the Pastor’s wife?”

Seon-jae opened the phone folder and pressed the call button, showing it to the General Manager. Whether she had memorized Kim Sung-hwan’s home phone number, the woman soon sighed and snatched the phone from Seon-jae’s hand and closed the folder.

He didn’t know where she got that strength, but he seemed to know for sure that the General Manager was afraid of Kim Sung-hwan and his wife.

The General Manager went to the cabinet with an angry expression and brought the register. The moment she stood next to Seon-jae and turned the cover with the number 2,000 written on it in large letters, Seon-jae frowned at the sense of déjà vu. The register writing style was almost identical to that of the Galilla Orphanage. The photos of the mothers were not explicit, but for some reason, the mothers’ faces were taken with great care.

“This one and this one.”

The General Manager pointed to two girls.

Sorry to say, the girls’ appearances were nothing like Choi In-ho’s type. There was no way the man who only spread his seed to Rank 1 girls would have been satisfied with these girls.

“Who are the other three pregnant women?”

No sooner had Seon-jae finished speaking than she searched the register and pointed out three more pregnant women. They didn’t look like women who would be pregnant with Choi In-ho’s the child either. In the end, he checked the two pregnant women who had recently given birth, but the result was the same.

Was I thinking too deeply?

The circumstances of the 2000s were certainly different from those of the 1980s orphanage. It wouldn’t be as easy to impregnate a woman of the desired type as it used to be.

Nevertheless, Seon-jae was convinced that there was a woman pregnant with Choi In-ho’s the child in this facility. There was no other space under the name of Lee Sang-hoon and his wife besides this one, and otherwise, there was no way Choi In-ho would be so subservient to Kim Sung-hwan.

“General Manager, where do the mothers get their checkups?”

From the resigned General Manager’s mouth came the name of the hospital where Choi In-ho worked.

“I heard that the Director has some kind of sisterhood relationship with the obstetrics and gynecology department there. Especially Choi Yun-beom, who is the doctor in charge, often comes for house calls. Thanks to that, we don’t have to worry even if there’s a sudden problem with a mother or the child in the early morning. That’s one of the strengths of our facility.”

She seemed somewhat proud.

“Has Dr. Choi recently examined any of the mothers?”

“Of course. All of them. There’s a regular checkup once a month. It was last week, so we all went to the hospital together for checkups.”

“What about mothers who have been examined at this facility?”

“Well, I don’t think there have been any recently.”

That’s when it happened.

“Sister, what are you doing here?”

Someone suddenly entered the office.

Seon-jae and the General Manager turned their heads at the same time towards the sound.

The face was familiar. He had definitely seen it somewhere.

But he couldn’t remember where he had seen it.

Was it someone who looked alike?

“Oh? Oh. We have a guest.”

The General Manager was flustered and stood up awkwardly.

“Why aren’t you sleeping? Are you not feeling well?”

“No. I’m hungry.”

A strange woman said, smiling bashfully.

In that instant, Seon-jae felt as if he’d been struck in the head with a hammer.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He truly couldn’t believe it.

It was Maria.

Older, but clearly the very same girl who had stood smiling with a knife next to Kim Sung-hwan. Seon-jae stared blankly at her, now a full-fledged adult, someone you couldn’t even call a girl anymore.

Maria glanced at Seon-jae before fixing her gaze on the General Manager.

“I’m going to have ramen. Do you want some, too?”

“You really are something. What’s a pregnant woman doing eating ramen? Eat rice.”

“I’m just craving ramen. I think the baby wants it.”

She said, once again stroking her flat stomach.

“Oh, you. Alright. I’ll make it for you, so go inside.”

“I can make ramen myself. Come to the cafeteria.”

Maria said this and disappeared leisurely.

Seon-jae couldn’t collect his thoughts.

Maria was here, in this place. In Kim Sung-hwan’s unwed mothers’ shelter, of all places.

The girl who knew better than anyone what kind of people Kim Sung-hwan and Choi In-ho were was staying here.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry, but who is that woman?”

“Pardon?”

“What’s her name?”

Without realizing it, his tone had become rough. The General Manager shrank back again and said, “Anna.”

Anna. And Maria.

Among the countless names that had passed through Galilla Orphanage, there were no such names. Surely she had a different real name. But Seon-jae hadn’t been able to bring himself to look at the girls’ personal records and charts, so he couldn’t match that woman with any name.

“What does she do?”

“She’s a staff member who lives here with me.”

The General Manager answered readily, as if she had given up on everything.

“A staff member?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

As Seon-jae showed an almost obsessive interest in Maria, the General Manager revealed a look of fear that went beyond discomfort. But when Seon-jae waited for an answer with a firm attitude, she reluctantly replied.

“Well, since the establishment was founded.”

“So, when was that?”

Seon-jae leaned his upper body closer to the General Manager. The General Manager flinched in surprise and subtly moved her body backward. Her face was full of fear.

“November 13th, 1997. I came on December 20th.”

Her tone became faster.

“When did she get pregnant?”

“But really, why are you doing this? If the Director finds out…”

The General Manager asked with an expression of extreme discomfort. But when Seon-jae only stared at her without answering, she had no choice but to answer.

“She’s just entering her 12th week. But really, why are you doing this?”

She raised her voice slightly, as if she couldn’t stand it any longer.

The fearful look from a moment ago was gone, and she seemed ready to fight Seon-jae if she could.

Regardless, Seon-jae jumped up from his seat and strode into the restricted area. The General Manager belatedly ran after Seon-jae to stop him, but Seon-jae had already opened the door to the cafeteria where Maria was.

If she wanted to, she could have shouted. But the General Manager didn’t want to disrupt the peace of the shelter, so she silently gestured with her whole body to stop. She clasped her hands together and begged.

“Maria!”

Seon-jae shouted toward the girl who had become a woman.

Maria, who was about to put ramen into a pot where the water had just started to boil in the cooking area beyond the partition, dropped the ramen from her hand at Seon-jae’s shout. The ramen fell to the floor and shattered.

Maria turned around.

Her face turned as white as a sheet of paper. Her hands were trembling in the air.

Then, with trembling hands, she quickly covered her flat stomach.

Her eyes, looking at Seon-jae, were filled with terror.

Chapter 217