SU | Chapter 1.2

Without warning, the man reached out his hand, causing Yoo Han to flinch and lean back instinctively. By the time Yoo Han realized what had happened, the yellow business card was between the man’s fingers, his movements smooth and casual. He twirled the card between his fingers as if showing it off.

“Of course. As long as you pay, there’s nothing they can’t do.”

Yoo Han stared at the card in the man’s hand, his lips parting as if to ask something. Yet, he quickly decided against it, knowing nothing good would come from extending the conversation. He shook his head and bit into his triangle kimbap instead.

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The man, watching Yoo Han chew with exaggerated focus, checked his watch and slowly rose to his feet.

“You’ll get indigestion,” he remarked.

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Thunk.

A blue ion drink landed in front of Yoo Han. He blinked at the can, confused, as the man picked up his jacket, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and strolled out of the convenience store.

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Like someone under a spell, Yoo Han turned his gaze back to the window. The man opened the rear door of the black sedan parked outside. Within moments, the car drove away.

“…….”

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Yoo Han stared at the blue drink left behind. Droplets of condensation beaded on its surface, making it look like it was sweating. Without hesitation, he cracked it open and took a long sip.

The sweet, cool taste of the ion drink felt like a small, comforting gesture in the middle of his unlucky day. It was a ridiculous, pitiful thought, but he couldn’t help feeling that way.

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***

“Yoo Han, how much do you have left on your card?”

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If he had paid a bit more attention, he might have quickly caught onto the signs of betrayal that were all around.

“I have an interview for a part-time job today, but I don’t have money for a haircut… Can I take fifty thousand won from the wallet? I’ll pay it back at once with the money I borrowed last time for clothes.”

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“No, hyung. That’s our budget for this week’s meals.”

“The money you saved is for making soup, man. Let’s just use that for now. I’ll pay you back double once I get the job.”

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Ever since they started living together, Kim Minjae had been rolling around like a lazy bum, pilfering Yoo Han’s money. Initially, Minjae did go to his day jobs regularly, but at some point, he stopped going and started taking money from Yoo Han under the pretense of job interviews whenever he wanted to have fun. Thus, he parasitically clung to life there for over a year.

Exhausted by the repeating cycle, Yoo Han was planning to end his cohabitation with Minjae soon. But as soon as the bastard sensed that Yoo Han was onto him, he took off with all the money he could carry.

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“I should’ve broken it off sooner.”

No, I should’ve just stayed home that day. Or I should’ve kept Mom’s keepsake on me. Or I just shouldn’t have lived with him at all. No, no, no.

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Ultimately, Yoo Han ended up resenting his past self for ever meeting Kim Minjae in the first place. As time passed, he increasingly found himself blaming the victim—himself.

“Damn bastard…”

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A week had passed since Kim Minjae fled. Holed up in a corner, waiting for the bastard who’d never return, Yoo Han’s swearing had advanced to expert levels. He wanted to go out and earn some money, but he hesitated to leave the house in case Minjae called or visited. He received no updates from the police either, which made it seem like his case hadn’t been properly handed over.

“What do I do now?”

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Moreover, today was the due date for his studio apartment’s rent, forcing Yoo Han to pack up his belongings and find a corner in an internet café.

The white light from the monitor made Yoo Han’s already pale face look even more ghostly. Despite the noisy chatter of teenagers pounding on keyboards in the next booth, Yoo Han’s eyes kept drooping from accumulated fatigue.

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He began to futilely trace Kim Minjae’s digital footprints on social media. Knowing it was pointless, he scrolled until his eyes were dry. It seemed Minjae had deleted his account.

“How am I supposed to find a guy who’s made a run for it like this…”

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Yoo Han muttered as he slumped his forehead onto the desk.

He had met Kim Minjae early last year at a construction site for an apartment complex. They started living together around mid-year, so they had spent about a year and a half together.

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But Yoo Han knew very little about Minjae. He didn’t know his hometown, let alone anything about his family. Minjae intensely disliked talking about his past. All Yoo Han knew was that he had dropped out of middle school and lived a miserable life.

“That pig. With that leech-like face, he’ll probably swindle someone else like me who’s lost their mind and live off them for a few months.” Yoo Han slowly lifted his head after banging his feverish forehead against the desk.

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“Ah.”

Under the partition dividing the desks, a yellow business card caught his eye.

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<Speed Errand>

※We’ll find your swindled money.♡
Protection of personal information, asset recovery, insurance fraud
Traffic accident investigation available 24 hours! In-person consultation available!

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★We are different from illegal detective agencies!
Affordable and confidential services to resolve your concerns cleanly.^^

It was the same business card he had seen at the convenience store. Yoo Han reached into his pocket as he kept his head down. A faded business card popped out from his washed-out jeans. He flattened the crumpled yellow card.

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Looking at the awkwardly placed special characters and promotional phrases, he flipped the card over. The address and phone number of the errand center were listed on the back. The detective agency was not far from where Yoo Han was.

“Should I really go there?”

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Even while confined to his room, he had pulled out the card several times. It felt like a last bastion of hope for Yoo Han, who had nowhere else to turn.

Seemingly tired of pondering, Yoo Han dropped the worn card onto the floor. Slowly removing his forehead from the desk, he reached for the partition. The new card disappeared back into his pocket.

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***

After spending an entire day in a PC room, Yoo Han headed out to the streets early in the morning. His destination was the Speed Errand Center. As he walked, staring at his phone’s nearly dead battery, he realized an hour had already passed.

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“Is this the place…?”

His jaw dropped in surprise at the size of the building. It was a five-story rectangular gray building located right in the middle of a bustling area, with a colorful private cafe on the first floor. Yoo Han, who had expected a shabby container, felt awkward and looked around.

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The entrance to the building was next to the cafe. Yoo Han quickly entered and glanced at the cafe through the window. A burly man was at the counter, chuckling and fiddling with his phone. The cafe was quiet. In fact, there was no one else there except for the man. Yoo Han walked down the corridor, puzzled.

“Maybe there are no customers because it’s morning…”

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At the end of the hallway, there were stairs connecting the basement and the second floor, along with an elevator. He checked the floor number again, but couldn’t find any guide. Yoo Han reexamined his business card. Sure enough, it only had the building’s address. He scratched his head wondering if he got the wrong place. But the address was definitely correct. As he was pondering, someone quickly approached from behind.

“What brings you here?”

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“Ah!”

Yoo Han jumped and turned around. The clerk who had been giggling at the cafe counter was now standing behind him.

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The clerk quickly scanned Yoo Han from head to toe, who seemed anxious, sweating profusely on his forehead.

“It’s clear you’re here for Speed Errand. Go to the second floor.”

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Surprised, Yoo Han just nodded without even thanking him. He stiffly stepped into the elevator as the clerk grinned, his gold teeth gleaming. He was wearing a fresh apron and had a quirky appearance.

Yoo Han urgently pressed the open button just as the doors were closing.

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“Hey, there’s no button for the second floor here!”

The floor buttons seemed off. There were only three buttons labeled F, 5, and R, above the open and close buttons. The man with the gold teeth pointed towards the stairs as if he had been waiting.

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“You seem healthy; better take the stairs if you can.”

Already exhausted from carrying a heavy load and walking for an hour, Yoo Han’s legs were shaky, and he had no energy left to argue. He quietly stepped out of the elevator, determined to succeed in his task no matter what.

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Yoo Han read the vertical ‘Speed Errand’ sign and pondered. Ignoring the old gray iron doors, the office’s glass walls were completely covered with black sheeting, making it impossible to see inside. The entrance looked quite sinister and illegal.

Should he just leave? His newfound resolve wavered like a reed bent in the autumn wind. As he hesitated, someone spoke from behind him again.

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“If you’re here, you should come in.”

“Ah!”

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He’d die of shock at this rate. Yoo Han quickly turned around, feeling goosebumps on his skin.

“Uh?”

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The man brushed past the dumbstruck Yoo Han, rummaging in his pocket for keys. The jangling of metal echoed in the hallway, and soon the door opened.

“Come in.”

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Yoo Han dumbly followed the man inside. It was clear. He was the thug Yoo Han had encountered at a convenience store a week ago.

‘Do you know this errand center well?’

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‘Yeah.’

Yoo Han gulped down his saliva, recalling their conversation from a week ago.

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‘Can you find people here, even if the police can’t?’

‘Sure. There’s nothing we can’t do for money.’

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A little reassured by the brief encounter, Yoo Han felt slightly comforted by the familiar face.

“…Excuse me.”

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Yoo Han unpacked his bag and embraced it. The man in the black suit sat casually on a metal desk, looking back at him. Yoo Han ignored the direct gaze and slowly turned his head to scan the interior of the office. The open-studio-like detective agency was both sparse and shabby.

There were two old brown leather sofas facing each other with a metal desk behind them, all dominated by a sparse decor. On the left, two large potted plants with ‘Congratulations on your opening’ messages were covered in dust and wilted. Black sheeting also covered the windows above the plants, contributing to the office’s gloomy atmosphere.

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“Sit down.”

The man, who had just spouted crude words, now pointed to the sofa in a clean suit.

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Yoo Han, feeling bewildered, sat on the right sofa. The sofa sagged powerlessly, and as he leaned forward, yellow sponge peeked out. The faux leather was peeling off in places. The man looked at Yoo Han impassively and pressed a button on the desk phone.

“Uh, two coffees up.”

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A mother-of-pearl nameplate on the desk, which seemed out of place, read:

CEO Ji Youngwon

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