The prince was twenty-five. Zahir was twenty. They had spent their entire lives together, yet soon they would have to part forever. No matter how lovingly the prince raised his precious bird, feeding him the finest medicinal herbs, the difference in their species' lifespans was something neither money nor power could overcome.
One of the most common excuses people gave for abandoning parrots was their "long lifespan." Countless parrots were discarded simply because they lived longer than their owners had expected. Small parrots had an average lifespan of fifteen to twenty years. For some people, that was an unbearably long time, long enough to throw an animal away like garbage. For others, it was painfully short, a span they desperately wished they could stretch just a little longer.
Hae Dam had witnessed scenes like this countless times. Literally countless. Probably dozens, at least. Yet his eyes always filled with tears.
No. If I'm going to cry, I should wait until I'm home alone. People will think I'm weird if I bawl my eyes out at my age.
He had barely steeled himself when the sight of the prince and Zahir crying together made his nose sting all over again.
But I can't help it when it's so sad…. I wish humans and animals could live for the same amount of time….
Sniff.
Just as Hae Dam turned away, sniffling, a handkerchief appeared before his eyes.
His gaze traveled up long, pale fingers, past a wrist with prominent bones, and along a sleeve of soft fabric until he reached the apartment owner's handsome face.
The look in his eyes seemed to say, Here, use this.
Touched, Hae Dam accepted the handkerchief.
"Thank you…."
The apartment owner really is thoughtful.
He dabbed at his damp eyes. When he tried to hand the handkerchief back, Ji Jeongwon spoke.
"Keep the handkerchief, Detective."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes. You."
He was giving away what looked like an expensive handkerchief to someone he'd only met today?
Hae Dam was puzzled for a moment before understanding dawned.
Oh, it's because I got my tears all over it. The apartment owner is such a neat freak, after all. My tears are dirty.
Jeongwon's fingers twitched.
If Hae Dam had looked up, he would have seen the mixture of indignation and bewilderment on Jeongwon's face. But with his head lowered, he noticed nothing.
"That's—"
Just as Jeongwon opened his mouth to say something—
He cares so much about cleanliness, but he was willing to sacrifice a whole handkerchief just so I could wipe my tears. He's so kind and considerate. I'll have to buy him a pretty new one someday.
That was what Hae Dam was thinking.
Jeongwon closed his mouth again.
His eyes practically shook in their sockets, but Hae Dam, still looking down, missed that too.
A little while later, Prince Jawud, having regained his composure, proposed proceeding immediately with the contract they had postponed.
"Jeongwon, your big brother will finish up his work and be right there, so wait for me. Secretary Yoon, take our Jeongwon to my room. And transfer the detectives' case fees."
"Yes, sir."
The room Ji Seokwon had mentioned was one floor below, but Jeongwon insisted on waiting in the first-floor lobby instead.
Before leaving, Hae Dam offered the oil prince the advice he had promised to give, despite the man's lofty status.
"I know you raise this parrot with love. And I know some people choose not to clip their birds' wings precisely because they love them. But for Zahir's safety, if you're going to keep bringing him into crowded cities and around so many people, please use either a leash or wing clipping. At least one of the two."
He hadn't raised his voice or tried to pick a fight, yet the interpreter was sweating profusely as he struggled to soften the message in translation.
Prince Jawud looked back and forth between his little bird and the impertinent Korean, his face still wet with tears.
Then he nodded a couple of times and gathered his little bird into his arms again.
Whenever the prince murmured something through his tears, the parrot answered with little chirps and whistles.
Afterward, Jeongwon and Hae Dam accompanied Secretary Yoon down to the first floor.
While Secretary Yoon summoned the detectives to settle their case fees, Hae Dam carefully folded the handkerchief and tucked it into his bag. Then he checked his work emails and decided where to go next.
"Detective Hae Dam."
"Yes?"
Hae Dam looked up at Jeongwon's voice. Get faster updates on g.com.
Jeongwon gazed at him with an almost pleading expression.
"At least stay for a meal."
"Oh, I've already eaten. I'm full."
I ate a ton at your place, so I'm stuffed. Besides, I'm way too busy. I just need to say goodbye to the detectives and get out of here.
Thinking of all the animals who were lost even now, desperately waiting for their owners, made him anxious to get moving.
"I'll contact you later. About the weasel…."
"Yes. Anytime."
"If you could give me your number…."
Jeongwon held out his phone.
He had already received Hae Dam's email address earlier, but now he was asking for his phone number too.
Hae Dam readily entered his number, and Jeongwon immediately tapped the call button.
Bzzzt—
The phone in Hae Dam's hand vibrated.
"Well, I'd better get going. Get plenty of rest!"
"Wait—"
If I finish work quickly, I can get back to the apartment tonight. I'll play with the apartment owner's fingers, run through the tunnel for a while, and then sleep in bed with him tonight. He isn't going to start bad-mouthing the detective he met today without realizing it's me, is he?
"…Take care on your way back."
The apartment owner spoke with a faint smile.
On your way back?
What an odd thing to say.
Still, Hae Dam smiled brightly, gave a little bow, and left the hotel.
Jeongwon didn't move until Hae Dam had disappeared from sight.
There was a room in this hotel that his eldest sister always kept available for her younger siblings. It had a beautiful view, and Jeongwon used it from time to time.
He sat down in a chair beside the window.
Sunset was already settling over the world.
Orange clouds lay in layers across the sky. Golden sunlight rested on the corners of buildings. A sightseeing boat slowly crossed the river, cutting through the crimson water.
And then….
Blink once, and darkness has arrived.
Sunsets were always like that.
One moment, you were certain you were watching the sunset. The next, you came to your senses and found that night had already fallen.
Once you became aware of it, the amber sky grew difficult to find. You searched every corner of your vision, scouring the horizon until you finally caught the faintest golden afterglow. Only then could you breathe a sigh of relief.
It's not night yet.
Jeongwon thought that perhaps this was why people had bothered to give the time between day and night a name of its own.
Because it vanished so quickly.
Because they wanted to give a name to this brief, burning, lonely stretch of time.
He sat there like a stone statue, waiting for his brother to arrive.
A long while later, he heard the door open.
His brother approached cautiously, then stopped.
Jeongwon could almost hear him debating whether to speak.
Still gazing out at the night, Jeongwon opened his mouth.
"Hey, about that detective."
"Yeah. Just who the hell is that little bastard, anyway? I've never seen our Dungdung act so strangely—"
"He really exists."
"What does?"
"A psychic."
"…!" This chapter is updated first at g.com.
"There really is one. Another psychic… besides me."
His brother was so stunned he could barely breathe.
His thoughts reeled.
It was impossible to believe.
And yet he had no choice but to believe it.
If Jeongwon said so, then that kid really was a psychic.
Without a shadow of a doubt.
And for a perfectly good reason.
Because his little brother was the only real psychic in the world.
3. First Day as an Assistant
The Jess Hotel, run by Ji Hae Ri, the eldest daughter of the Ji family, was known to the world as a five-star hotel with three basement levels and twenty floors aboveground.
That was the official story, anyway.
In reality, there was another floor underground.
The fourth basement level was accessible only to the six Ji siblings and their closest confidants. They called it the "Secret Chamber."
True to its sinister name, the Secret Chamber was a kind of workshop where they dealt with matters that properly belonged in the shadows.
Ji Shin, the founder and former chairman of the Ji Shin Group, had undertaken an extensive campaign to legitimize his businesses and erase his reputation as a former gangster.
But he had kept the Secret Chamber.
Out of unavoidable necessity.
Ji Jeongwon, the beloved youngest child of the Ji family, was completely free from the responsibility of running the family business.
He had no duties, no obligations, and enjoyed all the privileges of being the youngest son of a wealthy conglomerate family without having to shoulder any of its burdens.
Yet there were times when even he had to visit the Secret Chamber.
For the same unavoidable reason.
The Secret Chamber contained several rooms, one of which was an interrogation room with a wall made of special glass.
From inside, the glass appeared to be a mirror. From outside, it was transparent, allowing an unobstructed view of the room.
Jeongwon, Ji Seokwon, and Secretary Yoon stood on the other side of that glass.
"Bring them in."
At Secretary Yoon's order over the intercom, five men were escorted into the interrogation room.
Their hands were bound, and not one of them was uninjured. Some had bruised faces, others limped, and all five wore expressions stiff with fear and tension.
Jeongwon slowly studied them through the glass.
Secretary Yoon pressed the microphone button.
"How did you embezzle the money?"
No one answered.
One of the men shouted that he was innocent.
"Where did you hide it?"
The only response was more shouting about innocence.
"Is it password-protected?"
Someone began screaming for mercy.
Jeongwon looked at Seokwon and nodded.
Secretary Yoon stopped questioning the men and had them taken away.
Jeongwon spoke, looking a little weary.
"They were all involved in the embezzlement, and the last man was the ringleader. The one in the striped shirt…. His name is Myeong Min Chang."
"Manager Myeong, that fucking bastard. I knew it."