By Zephyria 
“Didn’t you sleep at all yesterday?”
Director Lee, who had come early in the morning, asked with a worried expression, observing Choi Won-joon’s complexion. He originally had insomnia, but it had become particularly severe lately. That was why he went to the temple. He had liked the place since he was a child, so he thought it might help. However, even Buddha couldn’t do anything about insomnia, it seemed.
“Maybe the energy here isn’t good.”
Won-joon rubbed his neck and thought of Kim Yi-eum. He definitely slept well at his house. Even after regaining his mind, it was the same. It was the sweetest sleep he had had in a long time. Won-joon went into the bathroom, stood in front of the shower, and turned on the water. The pouring water flowed down his lean, firm body.
Afterward, he went to the dressing room and got dressed. Seeing his perfectly dressed figure in the mirror, he realized he was really back home. He suddenly thought that living as a fool in a teddy bear shirt might not be so bad.
As he put on his watch on his left wrist and came out, he heard the TV and saw Director Lee standing in the living room.
【The body found in the hiking trail behind Seohwa-dong a while ago has been identified as mobster Mr. Yang, and the anxiety of nearby residents is growing. With no clues to identify the perpetrator, the police investigation is also facing difficulties, and the police are considering the possibility of a power struggle between organizations….】
Director Lee tried to turn off the TV, but Won-joon gestured for him to stop. The faces of the detectives at the scene flashed by, and he recognized one of them. The screen changed, but Won-joon couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“Did you say a detective came to the company?”
“Yes, he asked about Director Park.”
“What was the detective’s name?”
“I left the business card in the office. I’ll check and send it to you.”
The screen changed to the next news story, and Won-joon left the house with many thoughts. As he drove, the morning broadcast was playing on the radio. If he were at Kim Yi-eum’s house, he would be watching cartoons right now. And he would have pestered Kim Yi-eum’s friend to go to the playground. Remembering the day he got stuck in the slide and cried, he felt more joy than shame. It was a memory he had never experienced as a child.
“Ji-hoon.”
“Yes, President.”
“Have you ever ridden a swing?”
“A swing? Do you mean the swing in the playground?”
“Yeah.”
“Well…. I don’t remember exactly.”
“Try riding one when you have time.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s fun.”
“……”
Won-joon chuckled and looked out the window. A few raindrops fell and disappeared on the glass. He leaned back in his seat as a habit. The traffic was heavy on the way to work, and the sound of the rain was getting louder. As fatigue washed over him and he closed his eyes, Director Lee quietly turned down the radio.
Goddamn it.
He tried so hard to sleep at night, but his eyes would pop open.
Damn insomnia….
❖ ❖ ❖
“Sunbae. You look more relaxed these days.”
“Really?”
“Is it because Young-shik is gone and you feel relieved?”
“Maybe.”
He was relieved, and he might also be more relaxed because he was sleeping alone. On the other hand, he was also worried about whether Young-shik had gotten home safely and met his family. Of course, he was a grown man, so he would take care of his own business.
He parked the car and got out, but the ground was muddy from the rain, and as he avoided the puddles, he saw a dog farm in front of him. The closer he got, the more fiercely the dogs barked, and the stench grew stronger.
Knock, knock. He knocked on the old iron gate, and a man in an apron came out with a knife in his hand. Detective Jeong almost pulled out his gun, and Lee-eum was also nervous.
“What is it, from this early in the morning? Knocking on someone else’s door.”
Lee-eum took out his ID and showed it.
“We’re from the Seobu Police Station. Are you Yang Taek-il’s Hyung?”
The man tried to close the door, looking annoyed and saying he didn’t know anyone like that. Lee-eum stuck his foot in the gap and held the door. The man glared at him with his eyes wide, and Lee-eum politely asked.
“We came to ask about your younger brother. Please spare us a moment.”
Seeing that he wouldn’t back down, the man sighed and went inside, telling them to come in. They followed him into a place where a large bowl was filled with chopped chicken. Detective Jeong nudged Lee-eum and gestured for him to look at it. Lee-eum glanced at it and approached the man casually.
“First of all, I express my condolences for your deceased brother. As you may have guessed, we came because we heard that you visited your brother’s house a few days before Yang Taek-il went missing.”
“So?”
“Why did you meet?”
“Do I have to tell you that?”
“It would be more comfortable for you to tell us here than at the police station.”
The man glared at him, slammed the knife on the cutting board, and took out a cigarette. He looked for a lighter to light it, so Lee-eum took out his own and lit it for him. The man took a deep drag of the cigarette and exhaled.
“He came to borrow money.”
“Did you lend it to him?”
“Lend it? No way. He was never the type to lend money in the first place. He was selfish and only knew himself. He was rotten from a young age, and when he grew up, he became addicted to gambling and mortgaged the house, so the family scattered. I ended up like this because I had to pay off his debts.”
“You must have resented him a lot.”
“Of course. Would you forgive him if you were a detective?”
“Did you have an argument on the day you met? I heard shouting nearby.”
The man frowned.
“Are you suspecting me? It’s true that I got angry when I was drunk, but would I really kill him? Honestly, I wanted to kill him more than a hundred times. But I’m human. Not a beast that kills people!”
“Was there anything else you talked about that day? Like he was going to get a large sum of money soon?”
The man frowned deeply. The cigarette had already burned to the end, and he crushed it on the side of the cutting board.
“Would he tell me something like that if you were a detective? He always treated me like a bug. Honestly, I don’t feel sorry for him at all. So don’t ask me any more questions.”
Lee-eum sighed quietly. Even knowing that he was a suspect, Yang Taek-il’s Hyung did not hide his animosity. There were many cases where family members were worse than strangers. No wonder family members were the first to be suspected when someone died at home.
“What did he say about his life in the organization?”
“I don’t know. I only know he was a gangster, but I haven’t heard what he did.”
According to Detective Lee, he had been neglecting the management of the businesses lately and only going out. Other members of the organization were dissatisfied. This was also just the opinion of one or two people, and most of them acted as if they didn’t know, as if they had made a promise, so there was no real gain.
“Get out of here. I’m a busy man who has to feed the dogs.”
Thank you for your cooperation. He nodded his head and came out, and a crumpled black raincoat caught his eye. There was mud on the hem, so he went closer to look, and Detective Jeong followed him closely.
“President. Can I take a look at this raincoat for a moment?”
The man was nonchalantly arranging the cut chicken and told him to go ahead. He took out the raincoat and checked it, and dust had settled on the top. The muddy water was also quite old. Lee-eum examined it closely, folded the raincoat back in place, said he had seen it well, and came out.
He got into the car, and Jeong Nam-su took something out of his pocket and handed it to him. Sunbae. Here. Lee-eum checked the item and laughed in disbelief, and Jeong Nam-su put the cut chicken pieces in an evidence bag in the car and sealed it.
“I swiped it when you two were talking. I’ll ask the National Forensic Service to check the cut surface. Just in case.”
He was about to say that he should have stolen the knife instead, but the phone rang as if on cue. It was his father. Lee-eum’s father had retired after a long career as a police officer and was now farming in the countryside with his mother. Seeing the word “Father” on the caller ID, he felt suffocated.
“Yes, Father….”
As soon as he answered, a gruff voice came from the receiver.
【It’s me.】
“Yes, go ahead.”
【Keep Saturday free.】
“Pardon?”
【You know the girl I told you about last time? Professor Yoon’s daughter.】
Lee-eum frowned and bit his lower lip. His father had married late and was quite old, so he often brought up marriage to Lee-eum, who was not even thirty.
“Father, I’m still….”
【How long are you going to be alone! How much longer do I have to live! I have to see you get married before I die!】
Lee-eum squeezed his eyes shut at the shouting. The man who jogs for two hours every morning keeps saying he’s going to die….
【I’ll send you the time and place, so don’t say anything and go. Go and meet her.】
He heard a voice scolding him for bothering someone who didn’t want to. It was his mother.
“Is Mother doing well?”
【Don’t change the subject, clear your schedule. If you reject her this time, I’m coming up to Seoul.】
“Father. I’m really busy. I don’t have time,”
Before he could finish speaking, the phone was cut off, and Lee-eum squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his temples. He groaned, and Jeong Nam-su spoke to him cautiously from the side.
“Is your father nagging you again?”
“It’s always the same.”
“You should just say you have a Darling.”
Lee-eum laughed dryly. Don’t say such terrible things. He’d book the wedding hall right away. Lee-eum sighed and started the engine. Even though it was the first time in a while that he had heard his father’s voice, he felt suffocated.
It had been like this since he was a child. His busy father was hard to see and strict, so he was always a difficult presence for Lee-eum. Unlike his older Noona and Hyung, who had strong opinions, Lee-eum was more sensitive, so it may have been more hurtful.
Besides, Lee-eum is a Beta. Compared to his Alpha brothers, he couldn’t help but feel like a lacking son to his father. Lee-eum knew that, too, and was always intimidated.
“Let’s go for now.”
As he started the car, it suddenly started to rain. The car was covered in mud from driving on the dirt road. Lee-eum regretted not having washed the car yesterday all the way.