# Chapter 39
What, does this person really think I’m 007? Even with good speaking skills and technique, is it okay to assign tasks that seem impossible like this? Moreover, Seowoo possessed neither of those things. He was just an utterly ordinary person.
While looking at Seowoo, who couldn’t continue speaking due to his bewilderment, Hyungil nonchalantly asked again.
“You can do it, right?”
“Isn’t this harder than getting into the CEO’s office?”
“No, I’m not asking you to sneak in or anything. If you casually strike up conversations, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to extract information. Please, I’m asking for your help.”
How sharp is Seo Dohyun’s instinct? He’s the type who immediately detects something off if you say one wrong word. He’s practically a human siren. This was coming from someone who knew Dohyun well, not a stranger, which made it even more infuriating.
“Aren’t you using me too carelessly? Have I not told you yet that I almost died that day?”
“Of course I’ve heard? After overcoming that huge crisis, aren’t you now living safely with Seo Dohyun in the same house?”
“That’s not what I’d call living well!”
“I meant that you’re still alive, which is living well.”
He said such chilling words so casually again. Seowoo rubbed his wrists as goosebumps subtly crept up on him. Hyungil shrugged his shoulders and spoke with an aggrieved voice.
“Would I push an innocent citizen into enemy territory just for my own benefit? Think about it. Who contacted me first asking for help?”
It was shameless but true. Now Seowoo understood how this man had confronted Seo Dohyun for so long. Aside from knowing Dohyun well, there were subtle similarities in their behavior patterns.
Seowoo knew in his head that he shouldn’t get angry when dealing with this type of person, but it wasn’t easy. He let out an explosive sigh and leaned deeply against the backrest.
“You’ve been chasing him for 7 years, right? Honestly, which side benefits more?”
“Why? If Seo Dohyun gets caught, Han Seowoo-ssi gets revenge, your life becomes safe—how advantageous is that? If you let go now, not only will your revenge fail, but you’ll have to live filming a cohabitation with your enemy, not knowing when a knife might come to your throat.”
Seowoo was at a loss for words at Hyungil’s fluid speech. There was nothing to refute; it was all true.
“Why do you think I benefit more? Because I get results? I’m not even in a threatened position right now.”
“…Then why have you been chasing him for 7 years? You can achieve many results without Seo Dohyun.”
Thinking about it, there was a discrepancy in saying he was helping Seowoo simply for results. Seven years is no small amount of time. Moreover, rather than helping Seowoo, Hyungil was deploying Seowoo as an assistant in a plan he had already arranged himself.
It meant he had been continuously chasing and paying attention to Dohyun for that long. Is that possible without a reason?
“Is performance important in putting trash behind bars? They go to prison because there’s a problem.”
It wasn’t a clear answer for a reason. It wasn’t entirely wrong, but could it explain seven years of time? Before Seowoo could ask more, Hyungil cut him off.
“Let’s just use each other favorably. We have the same goal, don’t we?”
“…That’s right. In the end, our goal is the same.”
There was no point in being sharp with Hyungil. Hadn’t they said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend? The more knives at Dohyun’s throat, the better—what could be wrong with that? Seowoo slowly nodded.
“So, until when do I need to find out? About this schedule.”
“The sooner the better. Even if you don’t know the specific location, finding out the date is actually the most urgent. It would be most troublesome for us if we asked and found out it was already over.”
“Don’t you have even a vague idea of when it might be?”
“It can’t be far off. The fact that I’ve heard about it means the outline has emerged to some extent.”
If that’s the case, it feels even more like we’re racing against time. Already, during this recent filming, Seowoo had been caught up in an unnecessary incident that made his relationship with Dohyun somewhat delicate. After that, Dohyun acted just like usual, but that made Seowoo even more anxious. When they talked, he was clearly sharper than usual, but he acted so nonchalantly.
“But what’s this information used for? Seo Dohyun has many businesses, so meeting with DY Motors doesn’t seem unusual.”
“I’m not asking you to find out because it’s unusual.”
“What?”
“It’s part of the plan. To decide where to set the trap.”
Hyungil smiled slightly. The explanation wasn’t very meaningful, and Seowoo didn’t feel like digging deeper. It seemed like it would take quite some time to get used to Hyungil’s emotionless smile.
❖ ❖ ❖
Dohyun said with his own mouth that he wasn’t specifically monitoring Seowoo, but it wasn’t a very credible statement.
Of course, this wasn’t just Seowoo’s opinion. Hyungil also said it was hard to believe, so before visiting Prosecutor Baek’s house, Seowoo parked his car in a park parking lot that was several tens of minutes away on foot. It was something he wouldn’t normally do because it was such a hassle, but he had no choice.
‘Better than getting caught and screwed…’
Although it was annoying and irritating, when considering the worst-case scenario, even that annoyance seemed to fly away.
Had it been about 10 minutes since he grabbed the steering wheel and hit the road? A phone ring broke the silence inside the car. Glancing at it, it was Manager Gu. Seowoo’s hand, which was about to answer immediately, stopped abruptly upon seeing the caller’s name.
It wasn’t strange for him to call. He was a manager after all. But before being a manager, he was Dohyun’s right-hand man. What if he had sensed something and was calling because of that?
After several seconds of agonizing, he couldn’t reject the call either. After clearing his throat a few times, he pressed the call button, and a familiar voice echoed.
— “This is Manager Gu, Han Seowoo-ssi.”
“Yes, I know. What’s the matter?”
— “Why did you go out?”
At the question, Seowoo’s heart sank for a moment. For a casual-sounding question, it was quite brutal and direct. Despite this, Manager Gu’s voice had no difference from usual, which made Seowoo’s heart shrink even more.
“…Ah.”
How did he know? Has Seo Dohyun already returned home? I deliberately ended the conversation early. If I had known I’d be caught, I would have been honest from the beginning, especially since I was deliberately slipping out without a word, fearing that he might immediately follow if he informed Dohyun. There wasn’t much of an excuse.
In that split second, there was a scenery quickly passing by the window. People lined up in front of a bookstore. Next to it, a large panel read “Author Kim Mi-hyun’s New Book Signing Event.”
“Ah, I forgot that today was the signing event for an author I like.”
— “A signing event?”
“Yes, a signing event. Author Kim Mi-hyun…”
Of course, it wasn’t true at all. Seowoo couldn’t even remember if he had ever read Kim Mi-hyun’s books. Seowoo quickly turned the steering wheel toward the bookstore.
“She released a new book recently.”
— “Is that so? If you had mentioned it, I would have driven you there.”
“I was already so busy today, why would I call someone for something so trivial?”
How could I have told you I was going to meet a prosecutor? Even if he were really going to a book signing, he wouldn’t have wanted to call Manager Gu, but today especially was a no-go.
Whether Manager Gu bought Seowoo’s excuse or not, he didn’t pry further.
— “So you’re participating in the signing event now?”
“Ah, I’m about to go in. It’s a bit far from home.”
— “I’m sorry for disturbing you. Actually, I called to ask you just one simple question.”
“Has there been a change in the schedule?”
— “No. Have you eaten yet?”
Isn’t this too embarrassing to call a simple question? He’s calling just to ask this? Does it have some other meaning? Seowoo pondered several assumptions in his mind to answer carefully, but he was puzzled as to what other purpose there could be besides asking about meals.
“…No, not yet.”
— “Yes. Understood.”
“…?”
What is he trying to do? The response was so plain that it made Seowoo’s cautious reply feel embarrassing. Manager Gu was silent for a moment, then added one more question with an “Ah” exclamation.
— “Between noodles and rice, which do you prefer?”
“Is this a psychological test right now?”
Seowoo asked half-jokingly, half-seriously, but Manager Gu maintained his silence. Well, of all people, Manager Gu wasn’t the type to call and make jokes.
— “Just tell me what comes to mind now.”
“It is a psychological test.”
Choose the food that comes to mind at this moment. Option 1, pasta. Option 2, fried rice. Option 3, braised ribs. Is this the kind of question? What result comes from choosing? Seowoo’s voice inadvertently mixed with a chuckle.
— “You can answer comfortably.”
“Noodles. Why suddenly…”
— “Thank you.”
“What? No, why are you asking? Hey, Manager Gu.”
If it’s a psychological test, shouldn’t he tell me the result? Seowoo clung to the call desperately, but Manager Gu only offered a plain thank you. It was ridiculously clean-cut.
— “Ah. He says drive carefully.”
That was the last comment. What’s with the “he says”? Not even “he said.” But before Seowoo could express his confusion, the call was abruptly ended.
“What kind of person does this…”
After staring at the screen displaying the call end message for a while, Seowoo turned his head. The surroundings were a bit bustling. He had already arrived at the bookstore.
A decent-sized building, about a medium-sized bookstore, was filled with quite a few people. Since they were holding a book signing, this number of attendees would be appropriate, but for Seowoo, who had never been to an author signing event in his life, it was just fascinating.
Having arrived late, even parking was a challenge. The parking lot was already full, so he had to roughly park in a parking zone a bit further away and come out.
“The line for Author Kim Mi-hyun’s signing event is this way!”
“Please line up in a single file!”
The staff’s loud shouts could be heard from the entrance. Fortunately, it seemed the signing event hadn’t started yet. Pressing his hat down more deeply, Seowoo approached the display shelves full of books.
‘Kim Mi-hyun, Kim Mi-hyun…’
Since the author was having a signing event today, they would have placed the book on a visible display. At the end of his desperate scanning, the familiar three characters finally caught his eye.
“…Found it!”
Author Kim Mi-hyun’s “The Rose at My Bedside.” The book band was elaborately inscribed with phrases of praise.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
