Seojin went straight to Manager Kim’s desk as soon as he arrived at the office.
“Manager Kim, could I ask you for a favor?”
“Hm? What’s gotten into you first thing in the morning, Seojin? What is it?”
Manager Kim, who had been holding a packet of instant coffee mix between his lips, set his cup down and turned around. Seojin placed a memo with a phone number written on it in front of him. It was the number he had gotten from Shin Seyoung yesterday.
“Could you possibly find out where this call came from?”
“Hm? Why this all of a sudden?”
Manager Kim’s brows drew together. Seojin gave the excuse he had prepared.
“Well, I got a call yesterday, and something about it’s been bothering me.”
“What kind of call?”
“Um… at first I figured it was just voice phishing. But they kept calling from the same number, so it started bothering me. I was wondering if you could find out who it belongs to.”
“What? Who the hell dares pull something like that on our Seojin!”
Manager Kim’s eyes widened.
“Don’t worry, Seojin. I’ll find out who this bas— who this person is right away.”
Then he immediately pulled his chair closer and stared intently at his monitor. Unlike his usual easygoing attitude, he looked serious. Seojin thanked him and returned to his seat.
It was well past three in the afternoon when Manager Kim finally clicked his tongue and called him over.
“Seojin, come here for a second.”
When Seojin approached, Manager Kim pulled up someone’s personal information on the screen. Their name, contact information, and even photograph were all visible at a glance.
“This definitely isn’t voice phishing.”
“What? Then what is it?”
“There’s a pretty notorious gang around here. This number belongs to one of the guys under them.”
“A gang? Are they loan sharks?”
When Seojin cautiously threw out the guess because something came to mind, Manager Kim gave an ambiguous nod.
“They do private lending too, but they’re worse than just loan sharks. But why would these guys contact you, Seojin? Any idea? You didn’t borrow money from them, did you?”
“No… Not at all.”
“Well, you do look like the type who’d never live with debt.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Oh, there’s such a thing.”
As though trying to lighten the increasingly heavy atmosphere, Manager Kim tossed out a joke before frowning again.
“More importantly, if you never borrowed money from them and they’re still doing this, hmm…… They might have decided you live alone and have some assets, so they’re setting you up as a target.”
“What assets do I have……?”
But when Seojin looked back at him, Manager Kim was pouting.
“If you say that while driving a car like yours, ordinary working people like me get sad, you know?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…….”
When Seojin lowered the corners of his eyes apologetically, Manager Kim waved a hand and said he was only joking.
“Anyway, be careful. These guys are nasty. If they give you any trouble, make sure you tell me. And… No, never mind.”
Manager Kim seemed about to say something more, but ultimately closed his mouth. Seojin did not press him either.
“Okay, Manager Kim. Thank you for looking into it.”
He had no intention of digging any deeper into it anyway.
‘I’ll just pass this on to Shin Seyoung and let him handle it.’
Seojin returned to his seat and immediately sent a KakaoTalk message.
[Me: Shin Seyoung, this is Noh Seojin. I traced that phone number, and apparently it isn’t voice phishing. It’s connected to a gang. Do you have any idea why they might have contacted you? 3:33 PM]
He waited for a moment to see the number 1 disappear, then turned his attention back to work.
Shin Seyoung finally contacted him while he was on his way home after work.
[Shin Seyoung: Thank you for looking into it. My father said he’s safe too. I really caused you a lot of trouble yesterday. Thank you for everything. 4:48 PM]
Seojin carefully read the message, then checked the KakaoTalk message he himself had sent earlier.
Seyoung had thanked him and mentioned his father.
But considering that he had avoided answering the most important question entirely—
“Hmm……. So that means he doesn’t want to tell me?”
In that case, Seojin decided it was no longer something he needed to involve himself in. He sent a short reply and slipped his phone into his pocket.
Even though the situation still bothered him, he actually felt relieved that Shin Seyoung had drawn a line himself.
* * *
At that moment, Manager Kim, who was alone keeping watch over the office, met Yoon Haegang’s eyes the instant the door opened and he walked in.
“Ah, Boss. You’re here?”
Lately, Haegang had been stopping by the office much more often.
At this point, Manager Kim no longer even asked why he had come. He greeted him casually and tried to return his attention to his work.
“Where’s Noh Seojin?”
“Seojin? I told him to go home early.”
At the casual answer, Yoon Haegang swept a hand through his hair. Dressed in a fitted shirt and jeans, he looked more like a model than the owner of a company. After scanning the office once, he asked,
“He went home?”
“Yes. I told him to leave in time to pick up Euni.”
Yoon Haegang’s gaze briefly touched the clock on the wall before falling away again.
Manager Kim noticed that his brows had narrowed ever so slightly and spoke again.
“Actually, Boss, I was just about to tell you. I think Seojin may have gotten himself into some trouble.”
“Why?”
“He gave me some number earlier and asked me to look into it. But the thing is…….”
As Manager Kim clicked his tongue uneasily, Yoon Haegang folded his arms and stared down at him.
He did not say a word, but his gaze made his intention perfectly clear.
Keep talking.
“Well, you remember that mid-level boss from the organization you used to be in? Park Wan. Turns out it belongs to one of the guys under him.”
Yoon Haegang narrowed his eyes.
The ugly, vicious face immediately came to mind.
“Should I… look into what they’ve been up to lately?”
Having worked with Yoon Haegang for five years and knowing his boss’s tendencies better than anyone else, Manager Kim asked carefully.
“Do that.”
Yoon Haegang tilted his head slightly.
“For the sake of protecting an employee, that seems best.”
At his clearly displeased demeanor, Manager Kim shrugged.
Yoon Haegang went over to the sofa, sat down, and took out his phone.
Since his boss seemed to have no further business, Manager Kim returned his attention to work.
Then, after a moment, he glanced sideways at Yoon Haegang.
‘Hmm… Is it, or isn’t it? I really can’t tell.’
* * *
Having just finished eating, Seojin carried the dishes to the sink and began washing them while listening to Euni cheerfully hum a children’s song along with the music.
“When I go on an outing holding Daddy’s haaand, cotton candy that I ate! Blow, blow! When you blooow it, holes get poked in the biiig cotton candy!”
Seojin smiled at her still-clumsy pronunciation, but the child suddenly stopped singing and ran over to him.
“Daaad! Phooone!”
“Ah, yeah.”
Seojin checked the name displayed on the phone screen in Euni’s hand and hesitated over whether to answer.
The caller was Shin Seyoung.
But for some reason, he had a bad feeling about it.
In the end, he answered with a short sigh.
“Hello?”
-Waaah! Misterrr…….
Unexpectedly, however, the voice bursting from the receiver belonged to their little client.
“How do you have Seyoung’s phone…? No, more importantly, what happened?”
-Well, sniff, at the house, at Seyoung hyung’s house. Scary people came and they’re breaking stuff and yelling and everything!
As the child tearfully explained what was happening, faint swearing and dull thuds could be heard through the phone.
Seojin’s heart dropped.
“What about Seyoung hyung? Is he there with you?”
-No. He’s outside. He told me to keep the door locked, sniff…….
Seojin squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
“Okay. Mister’s coming right now, so don’t open the door for anyone. No matter what.”
After ending the call, he immediately rushed toward the front door.
If Euni’s voice had not come from behind him, he probably would have run straight out.
“Daaad, where are you goiiing?”
Seojin stopped dead and looked back.
Euni had already followed him to the entryway and was staring up at him with wide eyes.
“Ah…….”
He could not leave a child home alone.
But taking her somewhere gangsters had broken into was just as impossible.
After thinking for a moment, Seojin called Manager Kim.
At least Euni knew him, so he was the only person Seojin could think of relying on.
But the phone just kept ringing without connecting.
Seojin was anxiously about to call again when a name appeared on the screen first.
The moment he saw the three syllables Yoon Haegang, his breath caught.
“H-hello?”
Feeling an inexplicable pressure that he needed to answer immediately, Seojin tapped the call button, and a low voice flowed into his ear.
-Why is someone who’s already left work calling Manager Kim?
“W-well. Something happened to Shin Seyoung, and I need to go check on him, but I can’t leave Euni alone.”
Seojin blurted it out before he could think and looked at Euni.
A brief silence followed.
Then came the sound of a tongue clicking, followed by words he had never expected.
-Wait there. I’m coming.