MJ 51

Thump, thump.

“Kim Yun-shik!”

Even with the green gate being pounded as if to break it down, not even an ant was to be seen. Lee-eum sighed and looked around. There was a car nearby, but it wasn’t the one Lee-eum was looking for.

Returning to check the mail stuck in the mailbox, he saw several overdue payment notices. Most of them were for Kim Yun-shik. Since there was no sign of the owner returning anytime soon, he went to the car and took out a bottle of water to quench his thirst.

In the meantime, a message arrived from Jeong Nam-su.

【President Choi Won-joon is getting married. Did you know?】

Lee-eum silently opened the link. It wasn’t much different from what he’d heard on the radio. The partner was said to be an Omega with a pretty face and talent to boot.

Looking at the photos, they made quite a well-matched couple. When Lee-eum first heard the news, he was overcome with an unknown emotion. Unpleasant, dirty, and feeling like he’d been toyed with would be the right way to describe it.

Why me, when you have someone to marry?

However, Lee-eum soon gave up trying to understand. His father had always emphasized that if there were people you just couldn’t understand, you should give up on them decisively. Besides, thinking about it the other way around, wasn’t it a good thing for him?

What could be better than the guy who kept popping up and gnawing at his nerves finally disappearing? Reading the comments on the article, there were many reactions saying they looked good together. Lee-eum diligently pressed ‘Like’ on each one.

Not only that, but he even wrote a comment.

【They look great together. Please get married.】

After writing it, it didn’t feel sincere enough, so he changed it to ‘Get married!!!!!!!’ It even felt like a desperate cry. Lee-eum smiled with a relieved expression and blocked Choi Won-joon. Now that the article was out, there would be no more reason to contact him.

Then, he tore open the bread he had bought in advance and put it in his mouth, watching the green gate. After waiting for a while, a man walked towards him. The man stopped in front of the gate and inserted a key into the lock.

Lee-eum put away the half-eaten bread and quickly approached the man.

“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”

The man turned around. He was holding a bag in one hand and standing in an awkward posture. The man, wearing a stretched-out t-shirt, was small and frail, and quite old. He was definitely not Kim Yun-shik. According to the con man, he was tall and well-built.

“Does Kim Yun-shik live here?”

“He’s my younger brother. Did you come to collect money?”

Lee-eum took out his ID and showed it.

“I’m from the Seoul Seobu Police Station, Violent Crimes Unit. Your brother’s residence is listed as here. Don’t you live together?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in contact with him. Why? Did that bastard commit a crime?”

“No. I just need to ask a few questions related to a case. How long has it been since you lost contact?”

“Around this time last year. I said something to him because he was living like a bum, and he ran away. I haven’t heard from him since. A friend of mine said he saw him at a soup kitchen somewhere, but I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Lee-eum showed the man a photo. It was the car that had been tailing him and Jeong Nam-su.

“Have you ever seen your brother driving a car like this?”

“How could a penniless beggar have the means to?”

“Do you know where the soup kitchen your friend saw him at is?”

“It’s near a park. Just a moment.”

The man contacted an acquaintance and, after talking on the phone, quickly gave him the location. After thanking him, the man opened the door and went inside without even acknowledging the pile of mail in the mailbox. Lee-eum returned to the car and stared blankly at the bread he had been eating.

“A homeless person….”

There were people who bought the names of homeless people cheaply and used them for various crimes. There was a big uproar about it last year, and the perpetrators were arrested.

I’ll know when I get there.

Lee-eum started the engine and drove off. The weather was exceptionally nice today. After the rain poured down yesterday, the wind was cooler than usual, and the sky was dazzlingly blue.

Opening the window and turning on his favorite music made him feel even better. It was all music he had listened to since childhood, though.

“I want to go on a trip-.”

Will I be able to take a proper vacation this year, and if I do, where should I go? Should I go abroad for a while? Roh Seon-gyu is single now, should I ask him to go together? While planning a vacation that wasn’t even certain in his head, the car arrived near the soup kitchen.

Just as he was about to unbuckle his seatbelt, another message came from Nam-soo.

【OMG. The Choi Won-joon marriage article was retracted, and a correction article was published.】

Lee-eum’s face crumpled like a piece of paper. Looking it up, it said that the incident was a misunderstanding caused by people close to both sides, but that they were definitely good friends. After reading to the end, Lee-eum bit his lip and moved his fingers on the keyboard.

【Is marriage a joke? A happening with marriage, the most important event in human life, at a leading company? Stop talking nonsense and get them married right away! That’s my wish】 After writing that, Lee-eum erased ‘my’ and changed it to ‘many people’s wish’.

Then, after pressing ‘Like’ on his own comment, he closed the window and became agitated.

“Those bastards. Flipping marriage like a pancake.”

Huffing and puffing, he got out of the car, just as they were handing out food in front of the soup kitchen. He looked at the people lined up, but Kim Yun-shik was nowhere to be seen. He went to the volunteers and showed them the photo, and one volunteer pointed to a table in the distance.

“Try over there.”

At the table the volunteer pointed to, a man in shabby clothes with a hat pulled down low was stuffing food into his mouth. He looked similar to the Hyung he had just met. As he sat down across from him, the man slowly raised his head. A look of exhaustion and wariness appeared in his eyes.

“I came to ask you something. Are you Kim Yun-shik?”

As the man tried to get up with his tray, Lee-eum held out his ID.

“If you run, I’ll arrest you immediately.”

The man put the tray back down and rolled his eyes around.

“You have a car registered in your name, right? Where is it?”

“……”

“Kim Yun-shik.”

“I, I don’t know….”

“Did you perhaps lend your name?”

The man shook his head violently.

“I really, really don’t know…!”

“If you’re not comfortable talking here, would you like to go to the police station?”

The man flinched, clasped his hands together, and fidgeted nervously. Then, he looked around and lowered his voice.

“Some people came and took the documents after giving me money…. They said all I needed to give them was a copy of my resident registration and a seal certificate….”

“When was that?”

“It was last year, so it’s been a while….”

“That’s illegal. You know that, right?”

The man looked aggrieved.

“I’m not the only one who did that…. Other people gave them too. It’s true. Ask them.”

Lee-eum continued to ask questions with a calm face.

“What about the introduction? There must have been someone who connected you.”

“There was a Mr. Shin, but I don’t know where he is…. He’s been off the grid for a while….”

Lee-eum pressed his temples and groaned.

“Even if you need money, how can you just give it away? Do you know how it will be used? What if it’s used for a crime later? Are you okay with being punished?”

“I did it because I was hungry…. I’m sorry….”

The man’s face was full of fear as he repeatedly apologized. When asked if he had their contact information, he said he didn’t know. Hearing that he had only received cash for the documents, Lee-eum rubbed his face tiredly.

It seemed that finding evidence that Choi Won-joon had kidnapped Yang Mok-hyung would take time. There was a faster way. To have him confess himself. Of course, that shameless man would never tell the truth, even if he died.

❖ ❖ ❖

【Is marriage a joke? A happening with marriage, the most important event in human life, at a leading company? Stop talking nonsense and get them married right away! That’s many people’s wish!】

A frown appeared on Won-joon’s forehead. What? Who is this? Did an old man hire someone to write this? Should I find him and kill him? While he was pondering, the phone rang. Won-joon rejected every call that came in. After the marriage article and the correction article were published alternately, the phone was ringing off the hook.

Annoyed, he quit work and came home, but his eyes were dry from fatigue. He felt like he would feel better if he got a good night’s sleep. He tried to contact Kim Yi-eum, wondering if he should listen to his voice, but only heard a message that his phone was still turned off.

He even threatened to kiss him in front of the police station if he blocked him again.

Could it be….

Won-joon, who was resting his chin on his hand and pondering, called Director Lee, who was nearby.

“Ji-hoon.”

“Yes?”

“Call Kim Yi-eum.”

Director Lee called without asking any further questions. The signal was still short, and it went to voicemail. Won-joon didn’t give up and even borrowed another employee’s phone.

【Hello?】

As soon as he heard the voice, he burst out laughing in disbelief. When he called him Detective Kim? there was a 3-second silence, and then the call was cut off. When he called again, it went to voicemail again.

Won-joon’s eyes turned cold.

“What is he trying to do?”

Just until they were hugging each other and rubbing their dicks together at the fishing site, it was definitely not bad. He didn’t get to go all the way to his house and had to part ways regretfully, but he thought there was enough potential for development.

But he blocked me? Why?

Choi Won-joon called Director Lee.

“Ji-hoon.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you think Kim Yi-eum is acting like this?”

He was genuinely curious. If he could, he wanted to split his head open with a saw. Lee Ji-hoon, who had been thinking deeply after hearing the question, opened his mouth.

“In my opinion… he seems angry.”

“Angry? Why?”

“Didn’t you say that the two of you went fishing and got along well? If Detective Kim Yi-eum opened his heart, he must have been hurt by the marriage article.”

Won-joon’s eyebrows twitched. So, you’re saying,

“Jealousy?”

“That’s my guess.”

Won-joon finally nodded. Hmm, if I think about it, that could be it. If I had heard the news that Kim Yi-eum was getting married today, how would I have felt? Like shit.

For Choi Won-joon, sleep was now a matter of survival. His insomnia had definitely worsened, his concentration and judgment had become blurred, and his temper had become more sensitive.

Hundreds of millions to trillions of won moved with his signature, and he couldn’t forgive himself if the things he had built up so far collapsed due to a wrong choice.

That’s why he needed Kim Yi-eum even more. He planned to slowly tame him and use him as much as he could. The cleaner the canvas, the easier it is to stain.

But he’s even being cute and jealous?

“Ji-hoon. Our Detective Kim has a prim side to him, unlike how he looks. Right?”

Ji-hoon answered with a faint smile, and Won-joon got up from his seat and headed to the bathroom.

“I’m going to wash up and go out, so get a bouquet of flowers ready. So I can pick it up on the way.”

“What kind of flowers should I prepare?”

Choi Won-joon thought of Kim Yi-eum’s face and answered without a second’s hesitation.

“Lilies.”