“There shouldn’t be anywhere to park around here. What if someone tows it away? Like that car. Surely that can’t be it, right?”
“…”
Along with that innocent voice, his fingertip pointed in one direction. Where Jae-young’s finger was pointing, a tow truck that had just arrived was hoisting up a vehicle.
Manager Jo’s eyes moved slowly following the fingertip. Soon after, his expression immediately crumpled. His thinly parted lips could be seen twitching on the left side.
“That, shibal…!”
Manager Jo’s feelings were expressed through the mouth of another organization member standing behind him. The members stared at Manager Jo with bewildered faces, unable to act.
Without giving a single instruction, Manager Jo threw his gaze behind Jae-young. With his chin gesture, about half of the personnel ran to the vehicle on the verge of being towed.
Jae-young wiped the smile from his face. After looking at the two organization members who had been doused with a handful of bewilderment and Manager Jo, he stepped one step back.
“This bastard, where do you think…!”
An organization member who immediately caught Jae-young’s movement approached while spitting threatening words. Jae-young took out the jackknife hidden in his pocket and pressed the slider.
“Don’t come near.”
He pointed the instantly unfolded blade toward the three of them. Jae-young watched the organization member and Manager Jo, who were showing their boiling anger on their faces. Slowly, he stepped backward.
“Manager Jo.”
“Speak.”
“I kind of understand that Manager Jo is planning to take me away carefully.”
“…”
“I never intended to follow along obediently from the start.”
Manager Jo stopped the organization members who were trying to approach Jae-young again while gauging the situation.
It was rather Jae-young who was surprised by that instruction. Despite holding a jackknife, if they approached, he had planned to use the technique Seung-kwon had taught him. It ended up being unnecessary, though.
Even though the distance between them and Jae-young was gradually increasing, Manager Jo just silently watched Jae-young.
The plan was not to forcibly take Jae-young away. He felt this as he observed Manager Jo tacitly allowing Jae-young to continuously widen the distance. Jae-young swallowed heavily.
“Go and tell Sa Gong-hyun.”
“…”
“Tell him I’ll come find him myself, so let’s not waste each other’s energy.”
After examining the eyes that contained no emotion, Jae-young hurriedly turned around and ran. Even while navigating through the alley, he observed their movements, but they did not follow him.
Even though the personnel who had rushed to the tow truck returned and tried to chase Jae-young, Manager Jo just stopped them.
It was suspicious. He was running for his life, but he couldn’t even imagine why they wouldn’t capture him.
After cutting through the alley, Jae-young hurriedly found his bike key and inserted it into the keyhole.
Though he had left a message for Manager Jo saying he would come find him directly, he had not the slightest intention of doing so. It was a ploy to buy time somehow.
He still didn’t know why Manager Jo didn’t chase after him as he tried to escape. However, what was certain was that the decision was made with the confidence that even if Jae-young ran away, they could find him again.
He needed to follow rational and reasonable suspicions. He had to abandon the naive thought that Sa Gong-hyun wouldn’t know about Ju-yeon’s existence. It was unknown how much he knew, but he probably had a grip on quite a lot.
Could it be that he had deliberately stayed with him all day to prevent him from contacting his group? Jae-young anxiously stroked his chin.
If the reason Jae-young couldn’t contact his group was because of this, then Ju-yeon, like Seung-kwon, would have been in a pursued state from before.
Then did they wander around the area knowing that Ju-yeon would appear at the workshop again? No, that couldn’t be. He felt it instinctively the moment he made eye contact with Manager Jo.
They weren’t lingering around the workshop to meet Ju-yeon. They had come looking for Jae-young. Then how? How did they know he was there?
As he was biting the inside of his lip, the bracelet on his wrist caught his eye. The tender mucous membrane that had been tormented by his teeth slipped through his teeth with a pop.
“Oh…”
An empty laugh unconsciously escaped.
“No way. That can’t be… Ah, this is absurd.”
Though he was letting out laughter meaninglessly, his lip muscles stiffened.
His gaze, fixed on the bracelet, trembled insignificantly. He kept bursting into hollow laughter because it was so absurd.
The corners of his mouth, which had awkwardly risen, slowly descended. Even while denying that he was thinking unnecessary thoughts, his eyes couldn’t easily look away.
He had never imagined it. The thought that there might be a GPS in the bracelet he had put on like a collar.
There was no other way to know Jae-young’s location. He hadn’t received any strange messages except for Seung-kwon’s spam. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have clicked on them.
Wondering if a tracking device had been attached separately, he searched his body. There was nothing suspicious. Except for the bracelet.
“A collar…”
Hah, a breath that burst out like a sigh leaked out long. So that’s what the collar meant?
He couldn’t just clear his mind because he wasn’t certain. His fingertips trembled finely. Jae-young, who had leisurely unfastened the bracelet, lifted his lowered eyelids.
He saw a glass window that clearly captured the night view. Although he had come to a hotel as the safest place, in reality, there was no safe space for Jae-young anywhere in Seoul.
He had been completely played. Even breaking the bracelet during intimacy might have all been part of Sa Gong-hyun’s plan. Even though it felt like he had become a paranoid patient, Jae-young fully accepted the rising suspicions.
That’s how things made sense. It was a proper answer to why they hadn’t pursued him.
He had been stupid. He should have turned away when he first felt something strange, but he didn’t. Why hadn’t he realized? It was a clear situation where he couldn’t have missed it.
The hollow laughter wouldn’t stop. Jae-young, who had been looking down at the bracelet in his hand, collapsed into his seat.
“…You son of a bitch…”
He had thought he was the only deceiver. But in reality, he was the one being deceived. He couldn’t fully accept that fact.
It felt like realizing he had been taken for a ride after having all his assets swindled.
If it was true that the bracelet had GPS capabilities, Jae-young’s location would have already been discovered.
Since no one had come looking for him even before Jae-young harbored suspicions about the bracelet, there was no immediate need to move locations. It seemed they were planning to wait and see for now.
It was outrageous. They say you’re always in Buddha’s palm, and that was true. Jae-young, who had caught his breath in his seat, checked out of the hotel as soon as day broke.
He had left the bracelet on the hotel room’s dining table, so he thought he could evade their eyes for a while.
Jae-young had a conversation with Shin Kwang-do in the late dawn. Finding his number wasn’t a complicated task. Since Shin Kwang-do was ultimately Seung-kwon’s acquaintance, one could easily find his contact information by crossing several bridges.
Shin Kwang-do was shocked while hearing about Sa Gong-hyun. Then he told him to come down to Busan where he was. He said Seoul was dangerous, so they should meet first and then think about what to do next.
In fact, he hadn’t contacted him to ask for help. Shin Kwang-do, who had connected Seung-kwon to Logan Pierce, was still on the list of suspects.
Nevertheless, the reason he got into a taxi and told the driver the destination was because he needed someone to vent to. He might be able to help devise a way for him to reunite with his group.
While the taxi crossed the Gyeongbu Expressway, Jae-young tirelessly tried to call Ju-yeon. But she never answered his calls.
Busan, which he reached after driving for 4 hours and 30 minutes, greeted Jae-young with strong winds. Jae-young, who arrived at the place where he was supposed to meet Shin Kwang-do, opened the cafe door with a face soaked in fatigue.
He didn’t clearly remember Shin Kwang-do’s face, but when he saw the man who had taken a seat at the table and stood up upon seeing Jae-young, he recognized that he was Shin Kwang-do.
Jae-young’s eyes sharpened slightly. He had planned to grab Shin Kwang-do by the collar as soon as he saw him. He intended to press him about connecting them to such a person despite being given a job.
“Jae-young.”
Jae-young, who was increasing his stride with only a few steps left, couldn’t help but frown. He could see Shin Kwang-do’s lips moving. And belatedly, his voice reached Jae-young’s ears.
“…I’m sorry.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
