#060
Yeon Tae-soo didn’t say a word the entire way back to Eden. This fact made his employees even more anxious.
He just stared ahead with a hardened expression. He didn’t move except to check employee messages occasionally transmitted to his tablet.
If he would just hit them and yell to vent his anger, they could prostrate themselves and beg forgiveness, but with no words, they couldn’t even apologize.
In the darkness, Yeon Tae-soo’s face looked pale as it caught the mottled light of passing streetlamps and neon signs.
Yeon Tae-soo with his completely blank expression was, how to put it, just like…
‘Like an android.’
Of course, today’s high-end humanoids don’t make such expressions due to sociability requirements.
As soon as the car door opened upon reaching Eden, the silence broke as security staff gave their reports.
“Sir, we just sent people to the Haeya-dong area.”
“We’ve informed the market manager about Zone 2’s border!”
“We checked the animal hospital just in case, but it’s clean there.”
Yeon Tae-soo entered Eden without responding to any of these reports. Given the situation, the first floor was empty. Most people had fled after seeing Yoo Seong-woo causing a disturbance with a scalpel, and staff had cleared out the rest.
The employees followed Yeon Tae-soo, not knowing what to do. Those who came from the military police carefully signaled to others trying to speak. Only then did Eden’s staff realize that Yeon Tae-soo’s expression was completely blank.
Their owner’s face, stripped of emotion, was smooth. It looked hard as plaster. The appearance was inhuman. Chillingly so.
Yeon Tae-soo took the elevator up. After getting off at the top floor, his steps crossing the corridor showed no sign of hurry. But everyone around knew. That he was furious.
Finally stopping in front of Yoo Seong-woo’s room, Yeon Tae-soo just stood before the closed door.
One second, two seconds. Yeon Tae-soo stood frozen, not opening the door. Just as the men beside him were about to offer to open it for him, he reached out and grasped the handle.
Opening the door revealed an empty room. Traces of Yoo Seong-woo remained throughout. Though somewhat tidied, there was the slightly disheveled blanket and pillow, and the chair pulled out from the table as if someone had sat there.
Yeon Tae-soo approached the table. He picked up and rolled a sculpture in his hand – it was clearly some kind of animal though its intended form was unclear. Unlike the room that still held traces of Yoo Seong-woo, the sculpture held no warmth.
Seeing the empty room made it real. Yoo Seong-woo was gone.
More precisely, he had run away.
“…Why?”
One syllable escaped Yeon Tae-soo’s lips. Though the voice was tiny, barely a whisper, it was clearly audible in the surrounding silence.
He couldn’t understand. True, Yoo Seong-woo had sometimes shown unstable behavior. True, he had given the impression he might suddenly disappear someday.
But actually seeing the empty room, it didn’t feel real. He couldn’t believe it. And he couldn’t understand why.
What had he done wrong? What had he lacked? No matter how he thought about it, there should have been no lack. Then there was only one reason. Not about Yeon Tae-soo or Yoo Seong-woo, but some external issue.
“You say he attacked Secretary Kim and left Eden?”
It was almost the first question from Yeon Tae-soo since the incident. The employees quickly nodded.
“Secretary Kim suddenly came to the room, and they argued… something went wrong and Mr. Yoo took up a knife…”
“Bring Kim here.”
At the seemingly emotionless command, several employees ran out, and soon thundering footsteps echoed in the corridor. It seemed Kim Ji-heon was already on his way up before being summoned.
Seeing Yeon Tae-soo standing before the room, Kim Ji-heon sighed and trudged over. His hand was bandaged.
“Sir, what in the world…”
“Why did Mr. Yoo leave?”
Kim Ji-heon flinched at the cold question. He had just realized something was very wrong with his superior.
But he felt wronged. Hadn’t he uncovered an incredible truth while investigating the man’s past as his boss had asked?
“Do you know who that person is? He’s Yoo-hyun the singer.”
He had investigated through his connections. There wasn’t just one or two organizations that sponsored arts while being corrupt and connected to police, as Yeon Tae-soo had mentioned.
But there was notable information among them.
Yoo-hyun, the genius musician who had gained immense popularity and suddenly disappeared.
He had debuted magnificently with a major agency and had many sponsors accordingly. More than a few of them were shady.
While searching through this information, he felt a sense of déjà vu from Yoo-hyun’s photos that kept appearing.
Something crossed Kim Ji-heon’s mind as he stared at the monitor. As if entranced, he reached for the screen. After enlarging the photo considerably, he covered below Yoo-hyun’s eyes with his hand.
‘Ah, I knew he looked familiar.’
It was identical to Mr. Yoo’s face above his mask.
Like an idiot, why had no one realized? But it was understandable.
‘His personality is completely opposite to Yoo-hyun’s.’
Even accounting for possible differences between broadcast and real personalities, the gap was too large. Though there weren’t many recordings, fan-taken backstage videos and unofficial fan reviews made it hard to believe he was the same person as the current Mr. Yoo.
‘He seems like a completely different person, but I guess that’s why no one realized.’
The question was why Yoo-hyun had approached Yeon Tae-soo.
“One of Yoo-hyun’s sponsors is very suspicious. They might even be connected to the Department of Defense.”
Given their current fight with the Department of Defense, this was extremely important information. Yet somehow Yeon Tae-soo’s expression remained unchanged.
“Secretary Kim, did you send Mr. Yoo away?”
Though his voice was the same as usual, Kim Ji-heon suddenly realized. Yeon Tae-soo was incredibly angry right now.
But he had to say what needed saying. He had no intention of stupidly remaining on a sinking ship.
The man wasn’t what was important now, but the boss seemed too caught up in romance.
“When asked if you’re Yoo-hyun, the normal reaction would be to call you crazy. But that person threatened me and ran away. What do you think that means?”
But again, Yeon Tae-soo’s face showed no change. Something was wrong. He knew love had addled him, but this was just like…
“Did you send him away?”
Like he might kill someone.
Swallowing dryly, Kim Ji-heon carefully moistened his lips. He now realized. That he might actually die by his superior’s hand.
“W-whatever his reason for deceiving you, he wasn’t someone who should have been trusted in the first…”
With a thud, Kim Ji-heon’s face turned sideways. Before he could fall, Yeon Tae-soo’s fist struck again. It was his metal hand.
As soon as he fell, Yeon Tae-soo mounted him and began punching in earnest. The metal prosthetic hand was instantly soaked with blood.
Is this what they mean by seeing red? The employees rushed forward in alarm but retreated hesitantly upon seeing Yeon Tae-soo’s expression. His completely blank face was ghostlike. No, machine-like. It almost looked as if he was beating Kim Ji-heon without emotion.
But how could they not recognize this burning rage? Like cold molten iron dripping down.
“B-brother.”
“Sir, Secretary Kim will die at this rate.”
Only after Kim Ji-heon’s face was pulped did Yeon Tae-soo withdraw his hand. Kim Ji-heon was already unconscious.
After roughly shaking off his blood-soaked prosthetic hand, he left Eden silently. Some employees tried to follow but were waved off.
Yeon Tae-soo went to Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital.
Like his room at Eden, the animal hospital still held traces of daily life. Everything remained in place, including medicines and medical tools. It was as if Yoo Seong-woo might return at any moment and sit down to prepare for consultations.
Maybe he just went for a walk? Maybe they were making a fuss over nothing? Knowing it wasn’t true but thinking this anyway, he opened the inner room door. Indeed, everything was exactly as he’d last seen it.
“…Haah.”
Finally releasing his held breath in a sigh, Yeon Tae-soo collapsed. He sat down before the narrow, old bed. Resting his forehead on the mattress, he could smell Yoo Seong-woo’s scent.
He felt like he might go crazy. Like he might die. His heart felt like it was being torn apart. Grinding his teeth, he grabbed the bed sheet. The sheet tore with a ripping sound, unable to withstand the strength of his prosthetic hand.
As his body trembled, trying to suppress rage and sadness and other emotions, Yeon Tae-soo suddenly fixed his gaze on one spot.
There was something under the mattress.
