It did not take long to find the rat who had been leaking Nexus internal information outside like a sewer rat. Several sets of footsteps echoed down the corridor toward the owner’s office.
“The kid.”
“Tied up in the storage room. From what they’re saying, they just did what they were told from above. Looks like they’re just the tail.”
Taesik watched Seunghyeok carefully as Seunghyeok turned and shrugged off the suit jacket. One side of the well-shaped lips was split, as if someone had struck there. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened at headquarters a few days ago. Taesik subtly straightened, making sure not to do anything that might sour Seunghyeok’s mood.
Inside the owner’s office, it looked as though a storm had swept through. Envelopes and scraps of paper lay scattered across the sofa, the desk, even the floor. Every drawer that could be opened had been pulled out.
Standing with weight shifted to one leg, Seunghyeok took in the scene. The jacket in hand was passed to Taesik before walking toward the storage room attached to one side. The two men blocking the entrance bowed and opened the door. Seunghyeok bent slightly and stepped inside.
In the center, a man was kneeling.
Click, click—click.
The sharp, chilling sound of dress shoes echoed in the cramped space. Seunghyeok crouched in the middle of the crew who stood like folding screens around the room and met the kneeling man’s eyes. The man’s body began to tremble even harder.
“Caught digging through the file cabinet in the owner’s office, I hear.”
“I—I was just cleaning in there… that’s my job….”
Bound and shaking, face mottled with dried blood, the man looked pitiful enough. Seunghyeok showed no reaction. The frightened face was turned with one hand, then released as if discarded.
As though bored, Seunghyeok scanned the space once before walking to a metal chair in the corner and dropping into it. A cigarette was placed between the lips; someone hurried to light it.
Exhaling smoke while watching the trembling man, Seunghyeok frowned slightly as pain flared from the split at the corner of the mouth.
“P-please spare me. I don’t know anything.”
“You don’t know anything, but you’re shaking like that?”
“M-Manager Gu—”
“How does a part-timer like you know I’m Manager Gu?”
Ignoring the pleading voice, Seunghyeok let out a long stream of smoke. Fingers tapped against the armrest before speaking again.
“Let’s see… Mr. Kim wouldn’t have told you to pull out every single drawer and wipe them down like that.”
“Th-that was already… like that from the beginning, before I came in—”
“The only one around me who’s that obsessive is Gu Jinhyeok.”
The moment the name Gu Jinhyeok was spoken, shock flickered across the terrified face. Seunghyeok gave a short laugh and continued.
“You must’ve been surprised to hear there was a ledger you didn’t know about. You probably siphoned everything off behind Mr. Kim’s back. Every time I see Gu Jinhyeok’s eyes go cold, I get chills myself.”
“H-how did you—”
“But you could’ve at least considered the poor bastard who has to clean up after you.”
Mr. Kim, as the general manager, was effectively Chairman Gu’s hands and feet. There were limits to how freely Gu Jinhyeok could manipulate things. It hadn’t been hard to assume a new string-puller had been planted. The only surprise was that the rat had been stupid enough to get caught in such a trivial trap.
So Gu Jinhyeok had really been handling this place however pleased, without bothering to hide it.
Thinking of Chairman Gu, smug without knowing a thing, Seunghyeok smiled thinly.
The lighter rattled softly in hand while looking down at the part-timer. Judging by the terrified state, it wouldn’t take much before everything known would be spilled. Growing bored in an instant, the phone was checked. One of the crew from outside approached.
“Hyung. We found this in the corner of the owner’s office.”
Placed in Seunghyeok’s hand was a small, worn leather wallet. Is this yours? was asked of the part-timer while opening it carelessly—then gaze met a familiar face in the photo embedded in the ID card.
“…Ha.”
Black straight hair, cut just above the brows. Thin double eyelids that tilted slightly upward at the ends, giving a faintly aloof impression, though the calm expression softened the overall look. A small mole beneath the right eye stood out.
The photo looked as though it had been taken not long after becoming an adult; the face was closer to the one in memory. Very old, long-buried memories seemed to flash before the eyes. Staring at the name printed beside the picture—Kwon Ihyeon—the thumb brushed slowly over the photo.
“This just got interesting.”
Did they really think leaving a wallet with an ID card at the scene wasn’t an obvious setup? Had someone that stupid truly been planted?
Watching the part-timer glance around nervously after attempting such a pathetic stunt, Seunghyeok let out a hollow chuckle. The fact that Kwon Ihyeon of all people had been chosen was absurd.
Still, after staring at the ID in the wallet a moment longer, Seunghyeok gestured to Taesik.
“Where’s Mr. Kim?”
“Went upstairs to check if the wallet’s owner clocked in.”
“Find him. Bring him here.”
“Yes.”
Even though it was immediately clear Ihyeon had nothing to do with this, the order to bring Ihyeon was given because those indifferent eyes were wanted—clouded with confusion, maybe humiliation.
The way that gay bastard acted as though untouched by the filth of the world had been grating for a while. The filthiest kind, fucking men.
Several crew members answered briefly and left the storage room. The cigarette was shared slowly. Every time the wallet was looked down at, the face from memory seemed to meet the gaze again. Something simmered low in the abdomen—disgust, irritation, something indistinct.
An old connection cut off long ago had no desire to be dragged back out in some pathetic, lingering way. And yet, every time Kwon Ihyeon’s face surfaced like this, the calm once maintained churned as if set to boil.
A long stream of smoke was exhaled while recalling Ihyeon’s expressionless face looking back without a trace of emotion.
***
When the phone was connected to the portable battery kept inside the locker, a large 0 appeared in the center of the screen. Ihyeon stared blankly at the reflection in the dark display, then closed the eyes and rested the head against the wall.
Since the day spent with Subin, a lingering cold had circled the body. Today it pressed down heavily. Even after taking medicine, the headache was severe. It felt as if someone were stabbing the crown of the head with a sharp awl.
I should stop by a hospital after work. But is there even one open at that hour….
At least it was a weekday. Not having to push through a club packed with drunken bodies was a relief. Just imagining dissolving into the pounding music made the chest feel tight before the shift had even begun. A quiet sigh escaped; a hand dragged down over the face before straightening.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the opening shift, so there wasn’t much to prepare. As the name tag was pinned to the chest of the shirt, hurried footsteps in dress shoes approached from the corridor.
“Has anyone seen Ihyeon? Did Ihyeon come in?”
It was Yoonjin’s voice. Yoonjin should have been upstairs preparing for opening. The assigned halls were different, so there was no reason to be searching like this. After checking once more that the locker was locked, Ihyeon stepped out of the break room.
“Ihyeon!”
The already large eyes widened further upon spotting Ihyeon. Yoonjin hurried over and grabbed both arms.
“Did you get into some kind of trouble?”
“…Trouble?”
“The owner’s going crazy asking for you right now! Why is your phone off?”
“Battery was dead—”
The brows drew together slightly at the unexpected words. Nothing came to mind. Even if some mistake had been made, there was no reason for the owner to be searching like this.
If the role had involved luring passersby or, like Subin, discreetly offering postage stamps dusted with white powder, maybe. But the tasks handled here were mostly miscellaneous chores.
There was nothing among them that could have caused real trouble, which made the words all the more puzzling.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know! But what did you do for the owner to turn pale and ask only for you? Can’t you think of anything?”
The face that flashed reflexively through the mind was Gu Seunghyeok’s, from the B3 VIP lounge. But that had already been some time ago. If something had been planned, it would have happened by now.
The head throbbed. The eyes lowered; the lips pressed tight briefly before shaking the head. Yoonjin frowned with concern at how unusually pale Ihyeon looked today and urged on.
“This is so weird… The owner almost never calls out regular staff by name. Anyway, hurry downstairs. If you’re late, something will just be used against you—”
The gaze shifted over Ihyeon’s shoulder and the words trailed off abruptly. Before turning to see who had been spotted, a lazy, insolent voice hooked over the shoulder and lodged itself in the ear.