# Chapter 19
Despite just a day having passed, the weather had turned foul unlike yesterday. The once clear sky was now filled with gloomy dark clouds. The wind was strong, and it wouldn’t have been strange if thunder and lightning suddenly struck.
If it rained today, the flowers in full bloom would quickly wither. Though they bloomed every year, thinking about how they would fall in less than a week made me feel somewhat regretful.
“Not like I have anyone to go see the flowers with anyway.”
I muttered self-deprecatingly as I entered the company building. I felt a bit bitter about my situation—being this age and never having been in a relationship.
“Oh, Jaeo, you’re here?”
The Director, who spotted me, greeted me while twirling something with her finger. Looking closely, it was a car key. Having told me to come to the building’s underground parking garage rather than the office, it seemed we were about to head out for an assignment. Heerim and Jeongmun were already there.
The Director had decided to accept the request from the client who came yesterday. Fortunately, it wasn’t about killing a boss.
“I’ve summarized the information about that bastard here, read it later.”
The Director handed me a sheet of paper. The “bastard” she referred to was Department Head Kang Seokgi, the client’s boss. His profile was written on that sheet. I neatly folded it, put it in my bag, and waited for her next words. Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard exactly what we were supposed to do today.
“Go out and dig up anything that could be a weakness for that son of a bitch. They say there’s no one who doesn’t have dirt if you dig deep enough, but this guy is trash without even having to dig, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“How exactly do I dig?”
“First, you need to follow him.”
“F-follow him?”
“There’s no faster way to investigate someone than by following them.”
Tailing someone? My mouth went dry. Although I had prepared myself from the moment I agreed to work here, when actually told to follow someone, my heart pounded.
So how do you tail someone? As I looked around wondering what to do if a chase ensued, a bright red compact car parked in front of the Director caught my eye.
“Are we going to travel in this car?”
“Yes.”
Jeongmun answered matter-of-factly when I asked in disbelief. I eyed the car with a stunned gaze. It was an old model that had been discontinued and was no longer being produced. If it had been well-maintained, that would be one thing, but seeing the dented body here and there, I doubted whether it was even safe to ride in, let alone engage in a car chase.
“When did you purchase this car? Does it even run?”
“I bought it two years ago from a used car center for 2 million won.”
“Despite how it looks, it runs well.”
I couldn’t help but make a surprised expression at the words “used car” and “2 million” that came out of the Director’s mouth. Being a building owner, yet driving a car like this?
“I mean, when you have so much money…”
As I muttered in disbelief, the Director, who was beside me, tossed the car key she was holding to Jeongmun and added:
“By the way, it’s not my car; it’s Jeongmun’s. I’ve offered to buy him a new car multiple times, but this guy keeps refusing. I’ve tried.”
“New cars require careful driving.”
“Oh my, look at him. Jeongmun, you’re supposed to drive carefully regardless.”
Jeongmun got into the driver’s seat, pretending not to hear the Director’s criticism. As he started the engine, Heerim, who had been standing silently all day, spoke with a sullen tone. Though he was still wearing a mask today, making it difficult to see his face, it was evident that he was quite displeased.
“I don’t want to ride in Jeongmun hyung’s car. Can’t we just take a taxi?”
“Pretend you’re going to a flower festival.”
“What flower festival in this weather? And even if the weather was nice, I still wouldn’t want to ride in Jeongmun hyung’s car.”
“What do you mean? Is there something wrong with the car?”
“No, no. Heerim is just saying nonsense.”
The Director smiled and grabbed the nape of the grumbling Heerim’s neck, stuffing him into the passenger seat. She quickly closed the car door to prevent him from getting out, and then looked at me.
“Come on, Jaeo, you need to get in too.”
Heerim, trapped in the passenger seat, shook his head repeatedly as he looked at me. It was as if he was signaling me to run away.
Is it really okay to ride in this car?
“What are you doing? Not getting in?”
The Director asked me with a piercing gaze. She looked like she was about to grab me by the nape of my neck just as she had done with Heerim. In the end, I had no choice but to get into the back seat.
About 10 minutes later, I realized the problem wasn’t with the car. The problem was the driver, Jeongmun.
Screech—
The sound of tire friction marking skid marks on the road was heard from the aggressive cornering.
“Aaaargh!”
I grabbed the handle above the car window and screamed to support my body, which was thrown to one side. Though I had never been to an amusement park, I imagined this was what riding a roller coaster felt like.
Jeongmun, who I thought was indifferent and laid-back about everything, transformed as soon as he took the wheel. We were now on a wild ride in the middle of a metropolis road. If the Director had described Heerim as a “large truck with broken brakes,” then Jeongmun was a “runaway locomotive.”
“Uh, Jeongmun! Red light! It’s a red light!”
“Not yet.”
“Aaaargh!”
The traffic light was about to change from yellow to red. Jeongmun stepped hard on the accelerator. The small compact car let out a tremendous engine roar and shot forward. We passed through the signal by a hair’s breadth, but my heart felt like it was about to burst.
“Ugh. I think I’m going to throw up.”
Heerim, sitting in the front seat, made a retching sound with a pale face. Fortunately, the vehicle stopped before he could vomit. Heerim and I got out of the car as soon as it stopped, as if escaping. My legs were trembling involuntarily. Heerim even sat down on the spot.
“This is the headquarters of A Industrial. It’s where the client and Department Head Kang Seokgi work.”
Only Jeongmun appeared unaffected. Having aged considerably in that short time, I half-listened to his words as I took out the paper I had received from the Director earlier. My hands, still shaking from the shock, trembled as I searched through my bag. I wiped my pale face and carefully read his profile.
Kang Seokgi. Age forty-two this year.
Graduated from Korea University with a degree in French Literature and was promoted to Department Head of A Industrial’s logistics team two years ago.
Married six years ago and has one child.
It was an ordinary profile, not particularly outstanding for a corporate employee.
“And he did such awful things despite having a family.”
I glared at Kang Seokgi’s toad-like face, which was clipped to the corner of the document. His ordinariness made it all the more infuriating. To harass and molest a young employee while having a wife and child—it was disgusting.
As I seemed to have regained my composure somewhat, Jeongmun sat back in the driver’s seat and quietly started the car.
“There’s an hour until Kang Seokgi gets off work. Would you like to take a drive around the area?”
“What?!”
I was startled by Jeongmun’s suggestion. Get back in that car? Even if every mode of transportation in this world disappeared and only that red car remained, I never wanted to ride in it again.
“Ah! I’m thirsty, so I’ll go buy something to drink!”
I quickly grabbed my wallet and moved far away from the car. Jeongmun made a disappointed face and then looked at Heerim.
“Then, Heerim…”
“Me too! I’m going with him to buy coffee!”
Before Jeongmun could finish speaking, Heerim, who had been sitting on the ground, jumped up. He also seemed quite unwilling to ride in the car. Jeongmun watched us move away from the car as if fleeing, with a puzzled expression.
I hurriedly entered the first café I saw, without even properly looking at the sign. It was a small, privately owned café.
“Welcome!”
The staff member at the counter stood up abruptly and greeted me and Heerim. She was a young woman with a gentle appearance.
I ordered iced Americanos for myself and Jeongmun. When I asked Heerim what he wanted to drink, he chose a chocolate frappe topped with whipped cream. As I had noticed before, he seemed to have quite a sweet tooth.
“Whew. I feel like I can live now.”
Heerim downed the sickeningly sweet-looking drink in one go. His face, which had been pale, regained its color and sparkled again. Only after gulping down my iced Americano could I recover my distant and hazy consciousness.
“Jeongmun hyung transforms as soon as he grabs the steering wheel.”
“Yes, it seems so…”
“You know what’s even scarier? Despite driving like that, he’s never had an accident. Plus, somehow, he’s never been caught for breaking traffic laws.”
Heerim rubbed his forearm, pretending to have goosebumps. I understood what he meant by scary.
“Now that we’ve taken a breather, shall we go?”
Just as I was about to leave the café, stirring my half-finished Americano with a straw, Heerim pulled my wrist and sat at a table near the entrance.
“Jaeo hyung. Let’s sit here a little longer before going.”
“Oh. Is that okay? Jeongmun will be waiting.”
“Do you want to ride in that car again? If we go now, we’re headed straight for another drive.”
I sat down immediately. I didn’t want to experience that terror again.
“Then I think it would be better to ask Jeongmun to come here. I’ll try contacting him.”
As I was searching for my phone in my pocket to call Jeongmun, the wind chime attached to the café’s entrance door jingled. I reflexively turned my head to look at the person entering the café.
“Gasp! Heerim!”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Over there! Over there!”
“…?”
Heerim tilted his head. I took another look at the customer who had just entered, and then, making sure no sound came out, I mouthed silently while discreetly pointing toward the café entrance. He turned his head slightly in the direction I was pointing.
Today’s target.
A Industrial’s Department Head Kang Seokgi.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
