88.
The urgent repair of the sailing ship after the unexpected collision with the glacier was a task that only lasted until nightfall.
After daybreak, Choi Jae-won had completely recovered from his agitation, washing away his confusion and regaining his composure. As he said, it was a trace of Ryu Ho-yeon that he had barely reached after ten years. To track him down from this point, he needed to be more alert than ever. He couldn’t neglect any detail.
“Did you detain all those guys from yesterday?”
“Yes, young master. We’ve detained every single one of them without releasing anyone. Shall we move immediately?”
“Let’s do that. Just in case, contact the local authorities in advance…”
Why aren’t they eating the food that’s been prepared and just talking? Won was listening to the conversation between Choi Jae-won and his secretary while eagerly devouring sweet, sticky coffee and fluffy French toast.
By the time Won picked up his third piece of French toast, Choi Jae-won glanced at him and casually pushed the strawberry jam in front of him toward Won.
It wasn’t a particularly affectionate gesture, and since Won was the only one at the table having a proper meal, it wasn’t unusual behavior. But the secretary, who had been discussing the upcoming schedule with Choi Jae-won, was visibly surprised. The gesture was so small and natural that Choi Jae-won himself didn’t seem to notice what he had done.
“Secretary Kim.”
“…”
“Secretary Kim? What are you doing? Aren’t we leaving?”
“Ah…! Oh, yes, young master! We’re going now!”
Before the secretary could express his surprise, Choi Jae-won had already stood up, and Won, who had skillfully stuffed the remaining toast into his mouth in one bite, carefully put his mask back on and hurried to follow, pushing his hat down firmly.
It was an unbelievably calm and peaceful start to the day compared to the earth-shattering events of yesterday.
Perhaps it felt that way because the impact of the events that would unfold tonight would be so tremendous.
* * *
“Tell him that it would be better to cooperate willingly while I’m still asking nicely.”
Isn’t this already too harsh for “asking nicely”? Won had such doubts, but as an employee, he didn’t raise objections and faithfully translated Choi Jae-won’s words. In response, the C-class Esper, who was neither bound nor gagged and completely free, exploded with anger and lashed out at the fences before him.
It’s surprising that even as an ability user, he has the awareness not to harm civilians. Choi Jae-won didn’t directly lay hands on the civilians. His intimidation was directed only at the C-class Esper.
Choi Jae-won toyed with the Esper for quite some time, alternately releasing and reclaiming the guiding, and only when the C-class Esper began to follow his instructions like divine commandments without any resistance did he start bombarding him with questions.
In a very short time, the C-class Esper, who had become Choi Jae-won’s utterly faithful servant, enthusiastically hurled questions at the fences like bombs, even without being explicitly ordered to do so.
Choi Jae-won continued to watch with the elegance of a well-fed tiger—a posture unsuited to the destitute surroundings—as the mentally unstable Esper grabbed the collars of the men below and shook them violently.
The information they gained in the meantime was quite substantial.
According to the beaten fences, stolen goods circulated in this secretive manner were not sold immediately after acquisition. They said they would begin selling only when the original owner had likely forgotten about the lost item.
They claimed that Choi Jae-won’s diamond had been in their possession for at least three years. The diamond’s cutting and purity were so perfect that it would have been a waste to reprocess it, so they planned to remove just the jewel and sell it as a necklace.
They had just started to gather potential buyers and were making inquiries here and there, but how could they have known that the original owner would suddenly burst in like this?
Unfortunately for them, that diamond was the only thing Ryu Ho-yeon had with him when he left for the last time, so Choi Jae-won had been on high alert, checking the identity of any 3-carat diamond he heard about. As the fences had judged, the diamond was so perfectly cut that whoever acquired it wouldn’t bother to recut or further process it.
“…So, ask them who brought the ring. Ask if they remember what the person looked like.”
Choi Jae-won’s voice involuntarily betrayed a glimmer of hope. Though the chances were slim—one in a thousand, one in ten thousand—the thought kept arising: what if the person who brought the ring three years ago was Ryu Ho-yeon himself?
Realistically speaking, it was more likely that someone had accidentally discovered Ryu Ho-yeon’s corpse or remains and stolen only the ring, allowing it to circulate. But now that he had found a clue, his heart was soaring like a roller coaster. Even if it would come crashing down in just a few seconds, for the moment, his expectations were rising nauseatingly high, defying gravity.
What if his brother was still alive? What if he had finished his work but couldn’t find a way back to Korea? What if he had no way to contact him? What if he had grown to dislike him?
His indulgent imagination continued endlessly. Even if Ryu Ho-yeon had disappeared because he was tired of him and wanted to end their relationship, it would be fine. Even if he coldly rebuked him, saying he never wanted to see him again and to stop prying into his life in such a pathetic way, it would be fine.
As long as he was alive. As long as he was still living.
If there was even a 0.1 percent—no, a 0.01 percent chance to reclaim his intact heart, Choi Jae-won would die content right there and then.
“Ungh, ungh…”
The fences, bloodied by the blind fists of the merciless C-class Esper, murmured among themselves, their memories hazy. Choi Jae-won’s expectations soared even higher.
“Ze-Zelda…”
And then, at some point, a faint name slipped from the lips of someone who had finally recalled. Choi Jae-won’s hope came crashing down, shattered beyond repair.
“Zelda Grant…”
“…!!”
“That’s right… it was him, he came and sold it. Zelda Grant…”
Though he couldn’t understand the other peripheral details, the name Zelda Grant was perfectly clear. This needed no translation.
Choi Jae-won, well-accustomed to having his hopes dashed, immediately gathered his composure and instructed his secretary to find out about a person named Zelda Grant who had stayed in this area three years ago. In truth, though he had raised his own expectations without prompting, this was still a more brilliant achievement than any other part of his journey so far.
“Find out immediately, and bring that bastard before me no matter where he is. Use any means necessary. Secretary Kim. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, young master. I will take care of it.”
“Then I’ll go straight to the local investigative agencies. I need to check if there are any reports of unidentified bodies found during that period.”
As Choi Jae-won, having completed his roller coaster ride, calmly organized the situation and moved on to the next step, Won could not calm his startled heart for some reason.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I’m sorry.”
A slight irritation crossed Choi Jae-won’s face. But regardless, Won remained dazed.
The Zelda Grant who had sold Choi Jae-won’s diamond ring to the fence was someone Won knew very well.
‘You’re finally awake! Do you know where you are?’
Zelda Grant, a member of a non-profit volunteer organization, was the very person who had discovered Won three years ago and even provided treatment—the very benefactor who had saved his life.
* * *
Zelda Grant was having a very lucky day today.
He was able to comfortably board the commuter bus that he usually barely caught, and at the café he visited daily, he was suddenly told he’d won some surprise event and was given a free size upgrade on his drink.
That wasn’t all. On a day like today when work was piling up, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), all the office PCs stopped working, resulting in an early dismissal by two hours.
Such good luck. It was just like that day three years ago.
“I should watch the ground carefully as I walk. Who knows? I might get a winning lottery ticket for free, like that day.”
He hummed a cheerful tune, not looking ahead, unaware of what awaited him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
