77.
People don’t change. That was true for Lee Jeongin, Haseo’s father, and it was true for Choi Mujin. Having lived like garbage since times he could barely remember, genuine goodness no longer properly surfaced in him.
“This bastard is persistent.”
Choi Mujin struck Lee Jeongin again with the leather belt in his hand. Even so, Lee Jeongin didn’t drop the paper bag. As if he absolutely couldn’t lose it, he clutched it tightly while crawling on the floor like an insect.
The man who had been smoking was being restrained by Seo Miso, who had been hiding on the other side. A man versus a woman—it wasn’t easy to win in terms of strength or build. However, that’s why Seo Miso always carried various weapons.
Bzzzzt.
Calmly dodging the punch the man threw, she drove an electric shock device into his flesh. The device, with voltage higher than what was legally sold, quickly neutralized the man. Only then did Choi Mujin hand Lee Jeongin over to Seo Miso and approach Haseo.
Creak.
The car body must have been old, as noise came when Choi Mujin put his weight on it. Choi Mujin lowered his head to examine Haseo’s face. But something was strange.
“Cough.”
Even in his unconscious state, Haseo coughed and furrowed his brow as if in pain.
“Ah, aah!”
Seeing the limp body begin to tremble slightly, Choi Mujin urgently lifted Haseo into his arms. He turned to look at the hospital, but it was still in chaos due to the fire. Even if he rushed a patient in immediately, it didn’t seem like they would be able to treat him.
Choi Mujin ran with Haseo in his arms.
“Director!”
He heard Seo Miso’s surprised voice, but he paid no attention. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, and even if left alone, she would handle it well. Choi Mujin rushed straight to his car, put Haseo in, and took the wheel.
In just a moment, various thoughts crossed his mind. The closest hospital from here was the one affiliated with Isaac Finance—the hospital where he had first taken Haseo. But if he went there, all their information might flow to Chairman Jang. Nevertheless, there was not a trace of hesitation in Choi Mujin’s movements as he turned the steering wheel.
He couldn’t risk losing Haseo out of fear of information leaks. With unexpected events unfolding, he had to accept some disadvantages. While driving, Choi Mujin called the hospital to urge them to prepare.
“It seems Haseo has taken some drug. Please prepare for treatment.”
─ Yes, we’ll prepare in advance. But do you know what kind of drug it is?
The doctor didn’t panic, as such cases were common.
“I don’t know.”
Choi Mujin answered while roughly turning the steering wheel. Unlike his usual self, he had been meticulously following traffic signals until now. But today, he had no such luxury. Fortunately, he didn’t encounter any police on the way. It might cause problems later, but that wasn’t important right now.
The doctor was already waiting in front of the hospital. As soon as he spotted Choi Mujin, he rushed over to check on Haseo. Then he quickly moved Haseo to a hospital bed and pushed him inside.
“We’ll start with a gastric lavage! Director, please wait outside for a moment.”
The doctor said this and went into the treatment room.
“Hah.”
Left alone, Choi Mujin finally pushed back his sweat-soaked bangs and sighed. He had anticipated the kidnapping, but not that they would drug Haseo. Those who recognized Haseo as Choi Mujin’s weakness were desperately trying to attack him instead of Choi Mujin. And in such a situation, Choi Mujin had acted too softly. In the past, he wouldn’t have done this. What had made him so weak?
‘Lee Haseo…’
It was love. This was why he had tried not to create weaknesses. But a person’s heart doesn’t move as intended. That was true for Choi Mujin as well. He let out a deep sigh and slowly sat down on a chair against the wall.
Every minute, every second felt excruciatingly long. After quite some time, the doctor came out and explained to Choi Mujin about the drug Haseo had swallowed.
“We’ll need to wait for the detailed analysis results, but it seems to be some kind of narcotic. Fortunately, he didn’t swallow much, and we’ve properly flushed his system, so his life isn’t in danger.”
“What about after-effects?”
“He’ll have various difficulties for a while. But if you consistently take care of his health, you don’t need to worry about long-term effects.”
The drug bottle Lee Jeongin had was quite small, and since Haseo was unconscious, he had spilled about half while swallowing. Thanks to that, his condition wasn’t as serious as expected.
“It would be best for him to stay hospitalized for a while to monitor his condition.”
So Haseo returned to the hospital room where he had previously stayed. His complexion was pale as he slept with an IV drip. If not for his chest rising and falling with breath, one might mistake him for a dead person.
Choi Mujin sat beside Haseo and carefully looked down at him.
‘What should I do now?’
Although Haseo had been put in danger, everything had gone according to Choi Mujin’s wishes. Haseo’s grandmother had died, and his father, obsessed with money, had betrayed his son. Now Haseo was completely alone.
He had removed all the people and blood ties Haseo loved most. Now, Choi Mujin was the only person left for Haseo. While feeling a pang in his heart at this fact, he also felt satisfaction.
‘What garbage of a human.’
Again, people don’t change. Never.
News reported that there had been a fire at a hospital in downtown Seoul the night before. Upon investigation, the fire had started from the battery of an abandoned mobile phone. But there were some suspicious aspects, so additional investigations would be conducted—that’s how the news ended.
Jeong Heejun turned off the TV and tiredly leaned back in his chair. He had waited because Ryu Jiyeon said she would help, but things had gotten strangely complicated.
“I was trying to help you, Heejun-ssi.”
But she said things had gone awry because another force had intervened.
“Who is this other force?”
“Father said you probably know them too.”
Saying this, Ryu Jiyeon handed Jeong Heejun an envelope. It was a written summary of the previous night’s events. For something like this, explaining in person would be safer.
“Do you know the contents of the envelope, Jiyeon-ssi?”
“No. Father told me not to look at such things.”
She smiled innocently, and he could understand Chairman Ryu’s intentions. He seemed to want to raise his only daughter well, keeping her away from such matters.
“He said to dispose of the contents after you’ve read it.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Not at all. I can always help with matters like this.”
Her sincere words made Jeong Heejun’s heart sting.
“Would you like some tea while you read? I make good tea, if I may use your kitchen.”
“No. It would be better for you to leave now.”
“Already? Well, I suppose that might be better.”
Ryu Jiyeon’s gaze touched the envelope and then fell away.
“But in return, you have to go on a proper date with me next time, okay? There’s a movie I want to see that just came out.”
“I won’t forget.”
Jeong Heejun escorted Ryu Jiyeon downstairs from his officetel. With a driver waiting, it wasn’t difficult to send her home. After that, he hurriedly returned and opened the envelope, finding unexpected contents.
“Oh my.”
The other force that had intervened in this matter was his father, Chairman Jang. It seemed he also wanted to extract Haseo. Was it to fulfill his son’s request? Or to seize Choi Mujin’s weakness? Jeong Heejun slowly followed his thoughts.
The answer came soon enough. Jeong Heejun couldn’t imagine Chairman Jang acting for his sake. Even while promising him the position of successor, he had not hidden his greed. Even after becoming the heir to Isaac Finance, he would probably have to move according to Chairman Jang’s wishes—until he swallowed up Toho Construction.
“I wonder how Haseo is doing.”
It seemed Choi Mujin had taken him, but there was no news of Haseo after that. He had scouted the hospital connected to Isaac Finance just in case, but only learned that Haseo had been discharged. He then checked Choi Mujin’s villa, but it was empty too. The furniture remained, but there was no sign of people coming and going even after several days.
He probably owned other buildings, but it didn’t seem likely that he would hide Haseo there. Men like Choi Mujin typically owned buildings under their subordinates’ names as well. But searching through all of those would take considerable time.
“Such dirty bastards.”
People who didn’t know how to live cleanly made it harder to find them. Where could the two have hidden?
“I hope Haseo is safe.”
Worry for his friend kept him from sleeping.
* * *
It had been raining for days. As if the sky had been punctured, the pouring rain drenched everything around.
“Wow, why is it raining so much?”
“I know, right? It’s not even the rainy season.”
“True. But did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“They say someone moved into that house up on the mountain recently.”
“Ah, the house that rich person built? Wasn’t that abandoned? Kids used to snoop around there occasionally.”
“No, no, there’s an owner, so don’t let them snoop around. Don’t want trouble if they get caught. It’s written there: ‘Private Property.'”
An old man with an upturned basket on his head clicked his tongue.
“Not a soul was seen there for years.”
“Well, maybe they finally wanted to enjoy country living.”
“You think so?”
“I do.”
The conversation paused briefly. The old men looked at the heavy rain and flapped their wet clothes before shaking their heads. Right now, getting home through the pouring rain was more important than whoever had newly moved into the house on the mountain.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
