35.
Since the abandoned building didn’t have proper water connections, there were limitations to washing up. That’s why Choi Mujin stopped by his home first. He could have borrowed a place somewhere to clean himself, but he wasn’t keen on that idea. If he was unlucky, he might get caught somewhere.
When he arrived home, even though it hadn’t been empty for long, it somehow felt vacant. Originally, he lived alone with Park Dongsu occasionally dropping by, nothing more. The loneliness he felt now was unfamiliar. But it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
Choi Mujin entered the bathroom, thoroughly washed himself, then put on new clothes. He placed the blood-soaked clothes in a ziplock bag; Park Dongsu would come and dispose of them later. He was about to leave the house when something occurred to him, and he stopped by Haseo’s room.
Since Haseo’s hospital stay was getting longer, he thought he might find something to bring him.
“If only I had experience caring for someone.”
Not seeing anything obvious, he opened the wardrobe for no particular reason. While scanning through the clothes, he noticed something strange. The clothes Haseo usually wore weren’t in the wardrobe. He wasn’t the type to throw away his old clothes just because he got new ones. Suspecting something, he checked the large box in the corner and found clothes and personal items neatly organized inside.
As if ready to leave at any moment.
Choi Mujin rubbed his chin with his fingertips, then picked up the box. He removed only an old bankbook and a box containing photographs, then placed everything else on the living room table.
He planned to tell Park Dongsu to dispose of these things when he came to handle the clothes.
‘He won’t need them anyway.’
He didn’t think Haseo had taken the drug entirely for his sake. If that were the case, no matter who threatened or persuaded him, he would have told Choi Mujin about it. So Haseo still had remaining sins. And Choi Mujin had never fully let go of anyone who had wronged him.
That would apply to Lee Haseo as well.
* * *
Ryu Jiho glared at his silent phone before throwing it somewhere out of sight. It made a cracking sound as if hitting something hard, but he didn’t care.
“Well, I expected this.”
Choi Minchul was stupid for someone involved in illegal activities. That’s why Ryu Jiho had planned to use him as a disposable pawn someday, and that just happened sooner than expected. Knowing what kind of person Choi Mujin was, he had predicted Choi Minchul’s fate. And in such a situation, he had also predicted that Minchul would call him.
‘Then I would have mocked him.’
Since Choi Mujin would likely be right beside him, Ryu Jiho had planned to send a message through Minchul. But he couldn’t do that. All Ryu Jiho did was blurt out a few words in panic and hang up.
“What’s so great about Choi Mujin anyway.”
Despite everything, he was still just Chairman Jang’s dog at Isaac Finance. Not even a blood relative, just someone used for dirty work who would eventually end up in prison. If not that, he might meet a violent end from revenge somewhere. He was in a completely different league from Ryu Jiho, the son of Toho Construction. Yes, that’s what he had thought until now. But ever since hanging up on Choi Minchul, he’d been plagued with anxiety.
Come to think of it, precisely because he was a dog with no future, couldn’t he bite back? Trying to gather his wits seemed pathetic now, but it wasn’t easy.
Ryu Jiho had been acting arrogantly, relying on his background, but he had never once dirtied his own hands. He always ordered others around, controlling them with words. Since he had never directly witnessed Choi Mujin’s work, he had underestimated him in a corner of his mind. But now, faced with this situation, fear was creeping up from deep within.
“Nothing will happen.”
There was no way Choi Mujin could touch Ryu Jiho. As he was reassuring himself, suddenly the doorbell rang. He had moved out of his family home and was staying in a luxury officetel, and not many people knew this location.
Nor had he ordered any deliveries.
No one should be visiting at this hour. After hesitating briefly, Ryu Jiho looked outside through the device installed next to the door. In the camera’s view, there was just a strange delivery box sitting alone.
Though no one was visible, he didn’t hastily open the door. The first thing Ryu Jiho did was call the security team employed by the construction company. The security team, which had been at another location, arrived at Ryu Jiho’s officetel only after about 30 minutes.
Only when he saw their familiar figures did Ryu Jiho, unconsciously sighing in relief, open the door.
“Young master, what’s the matter?”
“That, check that out.”
When he pointed at the package, a security guard immediately bent down to examine it.
“Who sent it?”
“There’s no sender’s name attached. But the recipient is clearly listed as you, young master.”
“Open it.”
“Here?”
“Yes, right there.”
As soon as the security guard touched the package, Ryu Jiho slammed the door shut. What if it was a bomb? There was no need to put himself at risk. Despite Ryu Jiho’s attitude, the security guard stoically opened the package. After removing the tape and opening the lid, a deeper-than-expected bottom was visible. Then the security guard’s expression distorted.
It was as if he had seen something horrific. There was even a hint of fear in it, causing Ryu Jiho to furrow his brow in the same way.
“What is it?”
When he opened the door again and asked, the security guard sighed quietly.
“May I come in to tell you?”
It seemed inappropriate to discuss outside. Ryu Jiho stepped back with a grumpy face. Only then did the security guard carefully carry the package inside.
“What’s in it?”
“Would you like to see?”
The security guard who had looked inside asked.
“Since it contains something quite horrific, it might be better if you don’t see it.”
“I want to see.”
Ryu Jiho hadn’t lived such a sheltered life. As the son of Toho Construction, he had experienced various incidents. His father wasn’t exactly a virtuous man either. Revenge had extended to Ryu Jiho. But despite such experiences, he was still standing here unharmed.
The security guard placed the package on the table for easier viewing. Looking inside, Ryu Jiho momentarily held his breath. Inside were neatly arranged fingernails. They weren’t even bloody. Just that, yet it sent chills through his entire body.
“They appear to be men’s fingernails. Judging by the number, they belong to two people.”
Crazy bastard. Ryu Jiho swallowed his curse. Only Choi Mujin would do something this insane. One set probably belonged to Choi Minchul, and the other to that guy who had been tagging along with him. The vicious intent was palpable from the fact that he had torn out intact fingernails, even washed them, and then sent them. It would have been less frightening if they were soaked in blood.
“…Couldn’t they be fake?”
“They seem real. Though we’d need to examine them more closely to be sure.”
“He’s truly insane.”
The fingernails seemed to have been sent as a warning to Ryu Jiho. A lowly thug who knew nothing but violence was threatening him. Ryu Jiho gritted his teeth, denying the fear he felt.
‘He can’t touch me anyway.’
He must know that, so he’s resorting to such pathetic threats. No matter how much a dog barks, it can’t bite. There was no need to be excessively afraid. Ryu Jiho took a deep breath and closed the delivery box.
“Take care of this. And I need security for the time being.”
“Understood. How many guards should I assign?”
“All of them!”
“Some already have schedules.”
“Like what?”
“Director Ryu is going to inspect a construction site. So they need to accompany him.”
Currently, the most important people at Toho Construction were his parents and the eldest son. Ryu Jiho was next in line. He chewed his lips nervously before speaking.
“Then how many can be assigned to me?”
“Four are possible.”
They’re going to the construction site inspection with that many security guards? His parents favored his academically accomplished older brother, but Ryu Jiho couldn’t understand. It’s not like good grades put food on the table, yet they were pushing his brother who was only good at studying. After all, Toho Construction had followed similar procedures as Isaac Finance to get where it was today.
‘Wouldn’t I be more suitable as a successor?’
However, Ryu Jiho didn’t voice this thought.
“Then assign at least four.”
“Will do. Should we report this incident to the Chairman?”
“No need. It’s not important enough to report to my father.”
Though he said this, it was obvious that the matter would reach his father.
‘How disgusting.’
Then his father, upon receiving the news, would be angry again. Maybe this time he’d swing a golf club. But what could he do? He had to remain under his father’s wing for a while longer.
‘But I don’t plan to live like this forever.’
Ryu Jiho had no intention of watching his brother dominate from above forever. He wanted to create trouble to bring him down, or kill him, or get rid of him somehow. Then perhaps his parents’ obsession with his brother would disappear too.
Meanwhile, one of the security guards carried the package outside. Exactly four remained at the officetel as the security team leader had initially said, and the rest withdrew. The surroundings became quiet again, but Ryu Jiho was too unsettled to rest comfortably.
Strangely so.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
