* * *
Siho went to the entrance and tentatively opened the door.
Perhaps because of yesterday’s events, his heart was pounding.
With a trembling heart, he checked outside, and thankfully, there was no one there.
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
He took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief.
The urge to run away kept bubbling up, but he calmly descended the stairs and walked toward the meeting place he had arranged with Kim Seunghyun.
He felt the people around him glance at him and subtly move away.
It felt strange, but he had no time to worry about it.
As he walked, he felt someone constantly following him.
He quickly glanced back and saw a man in a suit and sunglasses.
When Siho looked back, the man either pretended to be busy with something else or hid somewhere.
Realizing this couldn’t continue, Siho feigned a turn and then suddenly appeared in front of him.
“Who are you?”
“…”
“Who sent you?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”
“It’s obvious. You were tailing me.”
The man continued to feign ignorance until the end.
A black suit and sunglasses.
Even the way he was following me.
If not for the sunglasses, he looked like a typical bodyguard.
“Who assigned you?”
“I truly do not know what you are saying.”
“You’re watching me, aren’t you? Is it Yoo Joohwan? Or Moon Dowon? Or is it Kang Taeyun?”
For an amateur tail, he didn’t react to the names of the three men.
Seeing that he wouldn’t crack, Siho pulled out his phone.
“Should I call? Or will you speak?”
“…”
“If you keep silent, I’ll have no choice but to check.”
Siho looked displeased at the man who remained silent until the end.
It wasn’t that he was upset about being followed, he just wanted to know who the person was.
I was planning to let him go if I just knew the name.
But the man remained completely silent.
“Who could it be? The person who ordered you to follow me.”
“…It is not anyone you mentioned.”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
Siho’s eyes widened in disbelief.
When their names were mentioned, the man’s expression had remained perfectly blank.
It was a look deliberately crafted to maintain control.
“This won’t do. Make the call.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean. I told you it’s not any of the people you mentioned.”
“Exactly. So make the call. I’ll check who it is myself.”
Siho smiled and held out his hand, meaning for the man to call and hand the phone over.
At Siho’s action, the man frowned in distress and let out a deep sigh.
“…I’ll be disciplined if they know I was caught.”
“Is it someone scary?”
“Yes.”
“Then just tell me who it is. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice you were following me.”
It was a good proposition for both of them.
I was curious who this powerful person was that the man feared so much.
“Will you truly pretend not to know?”
“Yes.”
At Siho’s firm answer, the man took off his sunglasses.
A small scar was visible beneath his eye.
Despite his intimidating appearance, his crestfallen look was pitiful to watch.
“Can’t you just let it go?”
“No.”
I had seen many scenes in movies and novels where the protagonist used the weakness of their pursuer to turn them to their side.
Siho thought about using this man in reverse to make him an ally.
“Is it Moon Dowon?”
“No, sir.”
“Then—”
In the middle of my sentence, the man took out a phone from his jacket.
As if not a second could be wasted, he held the phone respectfully and answered the call.
“Yes, Young Master.”
The man’s face was pale as he continuously apologized and said he had committed a terrible sin, bowing slightly as if the person were right in front of him.
Siho felt strangely sorry for him, seeing his large body utterly flustered.
Just when he thought he should have just looked the other way, the man, utterly dejected, held out the phone.
He looked like a giant, moping dog.
“Hello?”
—I forgot. That you’re a stalking specialist.
At the voice he heard as soon as he answered the phone, Siho’s mouth wouldn’t close.
He thought only Moon Dowon would have someone like this working for him.
But the voice on the other end belonged to Kang Taeyun.
—I was too complacent. I should have assigned someone professional.
At the word “professional,” Siho choked on his breath and swallowed it.
The word felt out of place, and his low, sunken voice sounded chilling through the phone.
A shiver of foreboding, as if something terrible was about to happen, made Siho unconsciously look at the man.
—There won’t be an incident like this again.
“…Then what happens to him?”
—Why do you ask that?
‘Why do I ask?’
Because the man in front of me is trembling as if he were a living corpse.
I swallowed those words.
—Anything that’s not perfect needs to be discarded. Because he didn’t handle the job properly.
“…Why did you assign someone to me?”
—For your safety.
“That’s a lie. You ordered him to follow me.”
—And if I did?
‘Yes, you shouldn’t.’
I wanted to say, but remembering how Seo Siho had stalked them, I felt speechless.
When I failed to deny it, Kang Taeyun chuckled softly, his voice slightly lighter.
—I put him there so you wouldn’t mess around when I’m not here. You’re too available.
“When was I ever available… That was just that morning, I couldn’t help it.”
—You asked for a month, and yet you’re only thinking about having fun with other guys. That’s not right, Siho.
“…”
—If you keep acting so lewd, you could truly end up getting cut off.
Even though he didn’t specify, I knew exactly which part he meant.
He spoke the frightening words casually, as if suggesting it might be better to just remove it since I wouldn’t be using it anyway.
As expected, Kang Taeyun was the scariest among them.
“Okay. I’ll be careful. Instead, if you’re going to assign a shadow, use him.”
—…Did you fall for him?
“No. Since he’s already been caught, he’s more convenient.”
While I did feel sorry for the man, Kang Taeyun would surely replace him with someone else.
Someone more seasoned and skilled than the current man.
If that was the case, keeping the current man would be much better.
—You’re plotting again, aren’t you? I told you that I can see everything you think.
“…You can see that even when I’m on the phone?”
He let out a dry laugh, seeing my flustered reaction.
At the sound coming through the receiver, Siho felt the tips of his ears burn.
—Fine. As you wish, I’ll send Noh Gontak when it’s for surveillance. But if you think about anything else, then.
“Yes. I understand.”
I knew what he was going to say even before he finished.
I quickly ended the call with Kang Taeyun and handed the phone back to Noh Gontak.
Tears welled up in his small, button-like eyes, unbefitting his appearance.
“Thank you, sir.”
Noh Gontak, having finished his call with Kang Taeyun, bowed and expressed his gratitude.
He said I was his savior and that he would repay me someday.
Siho smiled at his thanks and held out his hand to Noh Gontak.
“Let’s work well together.”
“…Thank you.”
“It seems I saved your life. Promise to help me when I’m in trouble someday, okay?”
“Yes, of course. Just say the word. I will certainly help, as long as it’s not an act of betrayal against the Young Master.”
“No. You should help even if it is an act of betrayal. I saved your life.”
“…”
“If you’re not comfortable with that, you can call Taeyun right now and—”
“No, sir! I will definitely help!”
Siho’s expression turned satisfied only after receiving the desired answer.
Convinced that this man would become a necessary card for him someday, he saved Noh Gontak’s number on his phone.
“But Kang Taeyun is still young. He’s only twenty-five. Is he really that scary?”
“…”
“He is scary, isn’t he? And you won’t tell me why he’s scary, will you?”
“…I think it would be best if you ask the Young Master about that yourself.”
I thought so.
Siho nodded, put away his phone, and headed for the place he had promised to meet Kim Seunghyun.
“Are you going to go in with me?”
“…I will wait outside.”
At Noh Gontak’s reply, Siho descended the underground stairs beneath the shopping center.
Kim Seunghyun was an art major and mostly lived and worked in a private studio he had rented for his art projects.
Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Kim Seunghyun called.
“Hello.”
—Where are you?
“I’m at the stairs. Why?”
—Because you hadn’t arrived.
“I’ll be there soon.”
—Okay.
Siho hung up the phone and walked toward the studio.
He planned to subtly test Kim Seunghyun’s goodwill regarding the three men today.
If he showed no aversion, I thought I should bring him home and let him naturally get involved with them.
He opened the door, and Kim Seunghyun came into view.
“I’m here.”
“You came?”
Kim Seunghyun must have just washed his hands, as he turned to look at Siho while drying the water on a towel.
Then, he suddenly covered his nose and stumbled backward.
His pale face looked like he might pass out at any moment.
“Are you okay?!”
* * *
