“Lee Junghyun-ssi?”
Just as he was about to say he’d be leaving again right away, a low voice echoed from behind him.
Stopping in his tracks at the unfamiliar voice, he turned around to see a man with an unknown face standing there.
It was a middle-aged man dressed in an expensive suit.
“……Who are you?”
Since he didn’t have particularly good memories with that type of man, Junghyun asked back in a guarded tone with his guard up, and the man spoke politely.
“I was asked to provide guidance. I understand you have an appointment to see Jung Hyeseon-ssi.”
At the man’s attitude of mentioning his mother’s name precisely, Junghyun tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
The only people who knew he would be at the airport at this time were the people from the detective agency. He had called them just before departure, and they said they would come to pick him up, but he had declined saying it wasn’t necessary.
Having multiple people move around would just be cumbersome.
“……I didn’t hear anything about someone coming out?”
“The shop that Jung Hyeseon-ssi is operating is not a place just anyone can enter. It operates on a full-time reservation system, so you need to accompany me to get in.”
He hesitated at the man’s following explanation.
If he remembered correctly, there was such content in the report.
The shop where his mother was working after returning to Korea was a boutique store for several luxury furniture brands that weren’t officially imported domestically.
And he had already confirmed that the place operated on a reservation system.
So he had been planning to just go there and wait stubbornly. She would get off work eventually.
– Who is it?
While Junghyun was lost in thought for a moment, Juwon asked with puzzlement.
Only then remembering he was still on a call, Junghyun lowered his voice a bit.
“I don’t know either.”
– Isn’t it someone sent from the detective agency?
“They did say they’d send someone to guide me, but I declined.”
– Then call them.
“I should.”
Just as he was about to finish the call with the uncle after saying he’d talk to them first, the man made a suggestion.
“Let’s confirm while moving. There’s a car waiting outside. Today’s appointment is at 6 o’clock.”
Junghyun immediately turned his gaze to check the time.
The timing was tight.
Even if they left now, they would arrive just before 6 o’clock at best.
“I’ll explain on the way.”
At the man’s urging, Junghyun hesitated for a moment.
The reservation aside, the shop’s operating hours were until 7 o’clock.
He did have the home address, but once you entered the house, there was no telling when you’d come out.
Even if she did come out, he wasn’t confident he could recognize her coming out of the apartment entrance.
The detective agency had offered to send his mother’s photo, but he had declined.
He wanted to confirm it himself.
Whether he could recognize her even after seeing her for the first time in 19 years.
And whether she could recognize him too.
Honestly, he couldn’t remember her face at all, but he was planning to leave it to chance.
– Hey, what are you going to do? If it feels fishy, just decline. I’ll come pick you up.
“……No. It’s fine. I’ll follow him. I’ll call you back later.”
– Really, will you be okay?
“You know I’m not the type to get kidnapped easily.”
– Not that. I mean, will you be okay seeing your mother directly?
At the words that hit a sore spot, Junghyun smiled bitterly.
Although he had never talked to him about stories related to his mother, perhaps because he watched over him from the closest place, he knew well what he was afraid of.
He was a sensitive person in those aspects.
“……I’ll probably be fine. I have low expectations for people.”
Especially for family, and among them, his expectations for parents were so low they were almost nonexistent, so he’d be fine.
There would be no more disappointments or hurt.
– Then that’s fortunate……
“Don’t worry. I’m hanging up. I’ll call after finishing everything.”
– Don’t forget and make sure to call.
“I told you I would.”
– You seem like you’d just handle your business and go straight to America!
“Do you fly to America? I don’t even have a place to stay for a while until I book tickets, so I’ll call after finishing everything, and you can come pick me up then.”
– Alright, then.
After finishing the call with the final goodbye, Junghyun observed the man as if studying him for a moment.
An expensive suit and a build that wasn’t particularly large but looked solid, with a neat impression.
No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t seem like someone who would work at a detective agency.
Since the location was what it was, they seemed to have sent someone who would fit in there.
It would be extremely unnatural for two men, especially two people with an apparent age gap, to visit a boutique store that dealt with bedding and furniture rather than clothes… but that wasn’t his concern.
Anyway, as long as he could get inside the store, that was enough.
“Let’s go.”
Deciding to value the aspect of not wasting time unnecessarily, he nodded to the man, and the man began to move first.
It was a quiet and light movement with an upright posture and strides that were wide but controlled.
Looking him over, his physique was sturdy, but he didn’t give the impression of doing sports. No, he did exercise, but it was strength training rather than martial arts.
Still not letting his guard down about him, he headed outside the airport and called the detective agency, but as expected, the call didn’t connect.
That wasn’t particularly surprising.
They had said they often put their phones on silent because they frequently did surveillance work outside.
[Someone came to guide me, but is this person employed by you?]
After sending a brief message summarizing the matter, as they exited the airport, he could see a car stopped right in front.
It was a silver luxury sedan.
As the man who had been walking in front of him approached that car, the driver’s door opened and a younger man got out and approached them.
The young man came right up to him, greeted with a nod, then immediately disappeared in another direction.
Meanwhile, the man who opened the passenger door politely offered him the seat.
“Please get in.”
As he got into the passenger seat first as the man suggested, the man also immediately closed the car door and got into the driver’s seat. Then, while fastening his seatbelt, he casually said,
“Look inside the glove box.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s an additional report inside.”
At his words while changing gears, Junghyun opened the glove box in front and found a file as he had said.
As he opened the file inside the slowly moving car, a detailed schedule appeared.
It was a report organizing his mother’s daily routine.
When she left home, how she commuted to work, what time she ate, what time she took breaks, what time she got off work, and what she did afterward.
Which stores she frequented and who she left work with, etc.
It was different content from what he had received by email.
“Did you investigate this for three days?”
“Actually, it was conducted for five days. We followed her continuously after figuring out her address after her entry into the country.”
Her daily life was monotonous.
Going to work and getting off work, then dining out in the evening before going home.
That was all.
Perhaps because she hadn’t been in Korea long, there was no other daily routine.
That felt a bit lonely.
Because it was too similar to himself.
* * *
As expected, arriving at the parking lot just barely before rush hour, Junghyun looked up at the building with some nervousness.
It was a single-story gray building erected in the heart of the city.
Perhaps for openness, it was structured with glass walls so that the interior corridor could be seen from outside.
Looking at the sophisticated-looking building that seemed to have been touched by a designer’s hand, Junghyun took a short deep breath.
He had been quite nervous the whole way there, but now that he had actually arrived at his destination, he seemed to become calmer instead.
As he unfastened his seatbelt with a strangely composed and quiet feeling, the man in the driver’s seat got out first.
Following him and opening the car door to step on the ground, the man headed toward the entrance and explained the situation in a small voice.
“I told the store that a nephew was planning to move and we were planning to give a gift, and designated Jung Hyeseon-ssi as the staff in charge. Please act accordingly.”
That meant he should be careful with titles and speech.
Understanding exactly what that meant, Junghyun nodded and followed him into the store to find the desk.
Then the man spoke to the staff first.
“I’m Lee Sungjun with a 6 o’clock reservation.”
When the man gave the reservation name, the staff inside the desk pointed to chairs with a smiling face.
“I’ll contact the person in charge. Please sit and wait for a moment.”
After the guidance, she made a phone call somewhere, then immediately approached them and spoke kindly.
“The person in charge will come soon. Shall I prepare coffee or tea for you?”
“No, that’s fine.”
“Then please wait just a moment.”
After the kind staff member left, Junghyun looked anxiously toward the interior.
He thought he’d be fine, but when the moment actually came, his heart started pounding again.
Feeling sweat gathering even in his palms, he glanced at the door connected to the inside of the store, and saw the silhouette of a person beyond the translucent glass door.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Hello! Are there changes in the weekly update of this story?