SU | Chapter 2.3

It was understandable since the client couldn’t keep watch in front of the house 24/7. Ji Youngwon hadn’t come out for a preliminary investigation either, so it was an unexpected turn of events.

“So, especially on-site, don’t move recklessly without my permission.”

“…Got it.”

“I absolutely hate causing trouble.”

Seeing Yoohan frozen in place, Ji Youngwon scolded him again. With no words left to say, Yoohan lowered his head. While Ji Youngwon and Gu Kangsan seemed unfazed, he had been feeling chills running through his body since earlier.

‘…There’s someone sick at home, so it’s uncomfortable. If you let me know the exact date and time for the next visit,’

‘My mother is a bit scared of big people.’

The attitude of someone hiding a secret didn’t seem to fit. It felt like the face and tone of someone who truly believed their mother was alive. If he had really come here alone… just the thought sent shivers down Yoohan’s spine.

There was clearly something wrong with the mind of the man named Lee Seongmin. It was a situation that happened more often than one might think. Especially if someone was isolated and cornered. Yoohan could understand that well; he had almost lost his mind when his mother passed away.

While Yoohan precariously stood by the shoe rack, Ji Youngwon and Gu Kangsan rummaged through the empty house, searching for anything valuable. After searching for about ten minutes and finding nothing, Gu Kangsan kicked the floor in frustration.

“Oh?”

He stepped on something. As he peeled back the oddly raised linoleum near the wall, a white envelope was revealed.

“Director, over here.”

Ji Youngwon, leaning against the gas stove while answering a phone call, raised a hand for a moment.

“Yeah. If you come back and bother me again, just say I’m on a business trip like today. Okay. I’ll be back in the office soon, so talk to me then.”

After finishing the call with Executive Gu Kangmin, Ji Youngwon looked at Gu Kangsan, who was shaking the white envelope in front of him.

“How much is it?”

“Just by looking, it’s not even a thousand.”

“That’s how these guys who take the money and disappear are. They think they can just hold onto it without a care. Right? Han-ah?”

What’s with the attitude again? Yoohan shot a timid glare at Ji Youngwon. It was a jab at his earlier claim of wanting to pay later. Limping on his sore knees, Yoohan stepped outside. Not long after, Ji Youngwon and Gu Kangsan came out one after the other, having finished their search.

“This stinks.”

Once outside, Ji Youngwon raised one arm to pretend to sniff the air. Yoohan, who had been rubbing the tip of his sneakers against the dirt, lifted his head. Seeing Ji Youngwon’s disgusted expression made him feel a bit bitter. It felt like being mocked by the smell of poverty that had once clung to him. Of course, nothing had changed now, but still…

Without looking back, Ji Youngwon walked past Yoohan. After staring at his back for a few seconds, Yoohan slowly moved his feet, which felt like they were glued to the ground.

Ji Youngwon continued his work calls all the way back to the office. This time, he was using a different model of phone. Managing multiple businesses meant he received all sorts of calls. He had three phones sorted by necessity.

Sitting next to Ji Youngwon, Yoohan fidgeted uncomfortably. He kept glancing back, as if he was nervous about something. It was amusing to see him so on edge about the man lying unconscious in the back seat.

After finishing his call, Ji Youngwon caught Yoohan’s wandering gaze. Snap! He clapped his thumb and middle finger together, making a sharp sound.

“Hey, lookout.”

Now he was being called something that didn’t even sound human. Yoohan tried to hide his sulky expression as he turned to Ji Youngwon.

“Just sit still; it’s making me uneasy. This time, I’m really going to hit you. I’m not joking.”

“You always say that…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Yoohan shut his mouth and shifted his butt to the side. Then he leaned his head weakly against the door, trying to create as much distance as possible from Ji Youngwon.

They had caught a truly rotten man who refused to pay his debts, and Yoohan had done his part. The man’s family was gone, so he should have felt a weight lifted off his heart.

But the tightness in his chest was something he couldn’t explain. It was like the discomfort of not washing his hands after using the restroom—an uneasy, lingering grime. Whether it was the sight of the single room where the man had lived stirring up memories of his own past, or simply the weight of the job itself, he couldn’t tell.

“Stop thinking useless thoughts.”

At that moment, Ji Youngwon hit the nail on the head. Was this guy really studying mind-reading? Yoohan turned his creaky neck to look at Ji Youngwon. With sunglasses perched on his nose, Ji Youngwon leaned against the window, resting his chin on one hand.

“There’s such a thing as necessary evil in this world.”

“……”

“Things that are required in unavoidable situations.”

Yoohan looked at Ji Youngwon with a bewildered expression as he suddenly launched into a philosophical discussion.

“Evil is met with evil, or something… This righteous statement feels so far removed from this world.”

Ji Youngwon continued, admiring the confusion in Yoohan’s eyes.

“When both sides are the worst, there’s a choice of lesser evil that must be made. Like when all the candidates in an election are terrible, and there’s no one to vote for. It means there are people who choose the lesser evil to defeat that evil.”

“……”

“This is just that kind of place. A place where people like you, with nowhere to go, choose the lesser evil. Do you understand? Even if it’s the worst, it’s only right to respect those who come here out of necessity.”

Yoohan began to grasp what Ji Youngwon was trying to say and bit his lip.

“So stop looking like you’re about to cry. The ones you should empathize with aren’t the perpetrators but the clients who choose the lesser evil. Got it?”

Ji Youngwon skillfully scolded Yoohan. If he was already getting soft-hearted after just finishing the first job, it would be a problem for Ji Youngwon. Just thinking about Yoohan rushing into the house without listening to him still made his neck tense. If this continued, he was ready to abandon Yoohan, lookout or not.

Things that piqued his interest were only cute when they were under his control. Ji Youngwon didn’t have much patience for behavior that crossed the line.

But somehow, the lesson Yoohan was taking in felt a bit different.

“…You’re worried about me, aren’t you?”

Ji Youngwon, who had been about to turn his head toward the window, paused.

“What?”

“I know you’re saying that because you’re worried about me.”

As he blinked in disbelief, the man slumped in the back seat, Gu Kangsan in the passenger seat, and the driver, who seemed like a snake, all coughed as if they had been ambushed.

“This is really…”

Ji Youngwon brushed his bangs aside and ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek.

“What a ridiculous kid.”

It was a brightness that left one utterly speechless. A small chuckle finally escaped from his lips.

The Starrex had come to a stop in front of Ji Youngwon’s building. Lee Seongmin was still unconscious, being dragged out on the back of Baem.

Yoohan anxiously glanced around. He still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that a massive illegal private investigation agency was situated right in the heart of the city, and now their abduction was happening brazenly and confidently in broad daylight.

Ji Youngwon poked Yoohan’s back with his finger, like a puppy looking for its lost mother.

“Hey, mister. Did you do something wrong? Walk straight. Acting like this is more suspicious.”

Yoohan straightened his posture and asked Ji Youngwon, “Is it okay to be doing this with people walking around?”

“What can’t we do?”

“Isn’t there something like an underground parking lot…?”

“There isn’t.”

There was no underground parking lot. Instead, the parking area was located on the roof, exclusively used by Ji Youngwon and the VIPs. At the back of the building, there was also a freight car lift that led up to the roof. The button marked ‘R’ that Yoohan had seen on the elevator yesterday was the one that went to the roof. Since he hadn’t yet figured out the building’s layout and interior, he had no way of knowing about that space.

There were two reasons for not having an underground parking lot. First, the basement was the perfect place for unavoidable coercion and violence. Second, the construction costs of building an underground parking lot were a concern. It was much wiser to utilize the roof than to dig out a space that met the required height with solid walls. Ji Youngwon’s notorious love for money was evident even in such details. His nature as a “money ghost” who never suffered losses was revealed in places like this.

After all, clients looking for speedy errands rarely brought their own cars for security reasons, and VIPs tended to prefer the sunny roof over the shady underground.

“Why isn’t there a parking lot?”

Ji Youngwon found it too bothersome to explain such details and skipped over it. The reason for not using the parking lot to transport the target was purely out of laziness. Due to security, the elevator only had three buttons, which made it cumbersome to change routes midway.

Ji Youngwon turned and opened the door to the café next to the building entrance. Yoohan, picking up on the cue, followed Gu Kangsan into the building. As they walked down the hallway, Yoohan glanced at the glass wall that showed the café inside, where he saw Ji Youngwon speaking to a tattooed man in an apron.

As Yoohan got closer to the stair landing, he looked through the glass wall at the Director’s face. Dressed in casual clothes instead of a suit, he looked like an ordinary citizen at first glance. Of course, he was far beyond the standard of ordinary beauty.

Just then, a commotion could be heard coming from the stairs leading down to the basement. Yoohan froze in place, turning his gaze toward the dark underground.

“Let go of me! That bastard is lying…! Ugh!”

An unjust scream erupted. The voice of a man, filled with rage, echoed through the building. Yoohan’s body stiffened at the sound of the man’s desperate cries, a rawness he had never encountered in his life.

…Could it be that the client had even ordered an assault? Now that he thought about it, he vaguely remembered hearing that the fee for an assault request was three hundred when Ji Youngwon had taken his consultation. He had acknowledged it, but hearing it now made his heart tighten with guilt.

After taking a few hurried breaths, Yoohan lifted his head. Was Gu Kangsan also down there? The hallway was empty—not a single ant in sight. As he stood there, unable to take a step, he felt a gaze on him from somewhere.

Ji Youngwon, who had been pressed against the glass wall, suddenly raised his palm and—thump!—hit the glass. Startled, Yoohan rubbed his chest and widened his eyes. Ji Youngwon smiled lightly and pointed to the ceiling with his index finger, gesturing for him to go up.

Terrified, Yoohan nodded and began to walk toward the stairs. With each step toward the second floor, heavy thoughts poured into his mind.

‘So stop looking like you’re about to cry. The ones you should empathize with aren’t the perpetrators but the clients who choose the lesser evil. Got it?’

Ji Youngwon’s warm yet cruel voice echoed in his ears. Fortunately, no more sounds came from the basement.

As Yoohan opened the door to the office on the second floor, he paused to listen. The familiar lazy footsteps echoed through the first-floor hallway. However, no one was coming up—it seemed Ji Youngwon had chosen to go down to the basement instead. When the footsteps faded away, Yoohan let out a deep sigh and stepped into the office.