48.
As Choi Mujin left the building, Park Dongsu, who had been standing in front of the officetel, bowed his head.
“You’ve come out, sir?”
The building’s security guard looked strangely at Park Dongsu’s behavior, but Park paid no attention. He was simply doing what he was supposed to do.
“How’s the original house?”
“Chairman Jang called for that person today, so it’s empty. Should we return there?”
“No, if he called him, something must have been resolved. We won’t be going back, so have it cleaned.”
This wasn’t simply about having a housekeeper tidy up. It meant that since an unwanted outsider had been in and out, the place needed to be thoroughly cleaned, including disinfection.
“Yes, I’ll handle it. But where are you going, Director?”
“The old man summoned me.”
“You mean Chairman Jang?”
Choi Mujin nodded.
“He probably wants to show me off to his son.”
“Haven’t you already met him?”
“That’s a different matter. More importantly, I have something to ask of you.”
“Yes!”
“Move your surveillance position.”
“The current position isn’t visible from inside.”
“I’m saying to move to a position that can’t be seen even from outside.”
Only then did Park Dongsu seem to understand what Choi Mujin was trying to say. The current house didn’t have proper surveillance devices inside. That was because it was acquired as a temporary safe house. That’s partly why Park Dongsu had been guarding outside. But asking him to move to an even less visible position meant that Mujin wanted to test Haseo.
“He did say he would stay quietly at home.”
But would he really do that with no restraints? Part of Mujin wanted to trust Haseo, but he had doubts. He knew even more so because he wasn’t the most important person to Haseo.
“I’ll change my position.”
“Good.”
Choi Mujin gave a slight wave and got into his parked car. Then he drove leisurely toward Isaac Finance. Since it was around lunchtime, if he took his time, he would arrive just as everyone was finishing their meals. Chairman Jang wasn’t the type to skip a meal just because he had called someone. And this assumption proved to be exactly right.
“Hey, Mujin!”
Chairman Jang welcomed Mujin with a friendly face in his office, and judging by his protruding belly, he had eaten quite well.
“Chairman.”
“Come in. I called you because there’s someone I want to introduce.”
With a flick of his thick fingers, Jeong Heejun, who had been standing beside him, politely greeted Choi Mujin.
“Hello. We meet again.”
“I know you’re already familiar with each other, but this is a different setting.”
“Have you decided to formally register him?”
“Not yet. The formal registration seems like it will take more time.”
It appeared that Chairman Jang’s wife was still opposed to the idea.
“Still, she agreed to keep him close. So I was thinking of teaching him some work bit by bit.”
“For such matters, wouldn’t Secretary Ahn know better?”
“No, not that kind of work. To learn under me, he needs to understand your work first, Mujin.”
What a father. He should only show the bright aspects, but it seemed he intended to have him learn about the work Mujin handled. Well, it would be problematic if he knew nothing at all.
“To what extent should I teach him?”
“Start with what a newcomer would do and learn. Nothing too rough.”
So picky. Choi Mujin clicked his tongue lightly.
“I look forward to working with you.”
Jeong Heejun said that, but once he saw what Choi Mujin did, such words would quickly disappear. After all, not everything Mujin did was entirely legal. According to his background, Heejun had lived a very upright life. Would he be able to handle it? And if he couldn’t, would Chairman Jang still want to keep Heejun as his son?
‘It’s not my concern.’
In the end, it was someone else’s misfortune. Choi Mujin didn’t care what happened to others. Whether they became accustomed to his commands and became corrupted, or couldn’t endure and ran away to meet a miserable end.
He felt no guilt whatsoever.
‘I’m human garbage.’
Choi Mujin was merciless in his self-assessment. And that assessment was generally accurate. In this field, conscience wasn’t particularly necessary. It was a world where one’s reputation increased the better they consumed others.
“I look forward to working with you.”
Choi Mujin twisted his lips and displayed a peculiar smile.
* * *
After leaving the house, Haseo felt somehow scared and couldn’t even use the elevator. With his bag on his shoulder, he slowly and carefully descended the stairs. With each floor he went down, the sound of his heartbeat grew louder. It felt like his heart might jump out of his mouth. He reached the first floor and surveyed the outside. Once again, no familiar faces were visible.
‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’
Haseo stood there for a while, carefully examining every movement outside. And when the security guard momentarily left his post, he quickly slipped outside. Choi Mujin hadn’t even assigned a watchman. What could that mean? Haseo started to ponder this but then shook his head.
‘No, no.’
The urgent matter right now was his grandmother. Haseo quickly ran along the road. After running for less than five minutes, he found a bus stop. Upon seeing it, he realized his location.
‘Fortunately, my grandmother’s hospital isn’t far.’
If he moved quickly, it would take about an hour and a half for the round trip. That was fortunate. The bus with the number he needed to take also arrived quickly. He promptly boarded the bus, paid the fare, and sat in an empty seat.
‘It would be nice if I had a cell phone.’
Haseo fidgeted with his empty hands and then turned his gaze out the window. Now that he was comfortably seated, all sorts of thoughts swirled in his mind. Maybe he was doing something crazy right now? Choi Mujin had told him not to leave the house.
The worry was maddening, but he couldn’t turn back now. Even though his grandmother couldn’t open her eyes, he believed she could understand what he was saying. A doctor had once mentioned that such cases existed. So he wanted to go and talk to her.
Grandmother, Haseo is fine. I’m doing well now, so you need to get better soon too. He had so many things he wanted to say. Haseo sighed deeply and leaned his head against the bus window.
─ This is XX Hospital station. Passengers going to XX Hospital, please exit here.
Suddenly, the announcement inside the bus pierced his ears. It seemed he had momentarily fallen asleep due to fatigue. Haseo quickly got up, pressed the bell, and stood by the exit door. After barely managing to get off the bus, a familiar landscape greeted him.
His grandmother’s hospital room was a place he had visited so often that his footsteps naturally headed in that direction.
“Oh my, Lee Haseo-ssi. Are you here to see your grandmother?”
He met a nurse who was somewhat familiar with him and had been kind to him out of pity.
“Yes, is my grandmother doing well?”
“She’s doing well.”
“Thank you as always.”
“It’s nothing. What’s there to thank me for? More importantly, go see your grandmother quickly. You know, whenever you visit, her condition always improves.”
The nurse said this while pushing Haseo’s back gently. It might have been said just to make him feel better, but hearing it was reassuring. Haseo quickly found his grandmother’s room and went inside.
“Grandmother.”
His grandmother hadn’t changed much since the last time he saw her. She was still very thin and was quietly breathing with her eyes closed. Haseo slowly dragged his feet closer and held her empty hand.
“Grandmother. I should have visited more often. I’m sorry I couldn’t. You must have been lonely?”
Haseo spoke with a forced smile.
“I’ve been doing well. I told you last time, didn’t I? That I got a job as a housekeeper in a place with good pay. So life is much more comfortable than before. I’m eating better and have gained weight.”
In truth, he had lost weight again due to hospitalization from medication and subsequent emotional distress. But there was no need to tell his grandmother that. Haseo wanted his grandmother to hear only happy and joyful stories. But fearing that if he portrayed his life as too good, his grandmother might feel slighted and not return, he added some longing to his stories.
“Grandmother, I miss the kimchi jjigae you used to make.”
They were too poor to add meat. The ingredients were just old kimchi, seasoning, and a bit of tofu bought from the neighborhood, but how delicious it was. Whenever his grandmother made kimchi jjigae, Haseo would devour two bowls of rice.
“Your cooking skills are the best!”
He said that he had inherited those skills and could cook quite well. While Choi Mujin pointed out the flaws in his cooking at every meal, he conveniently omitted that part.
“I’m good at cleaning now too. Well, actually, maybe I’m not. The vacuum cleaners these days are so good that they clean everything just by pushing them. When you’re discharged, shall we buy a vacuum cleaner?”
With their difficult financial situation, vacuum cleaners were expensive, so they always mopped the floor. But if his grandmother woke up, what wouldn’t he do for her? As he talked, time passed quickly. The minimum time he had set aside had long passed. He knew he should get up and return immediately, but strangely, his body felt heavy.
‘I don’t want to get up.’
He wished he could stay by his grandmother’s side forever.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
