My Bloody Valentine - 89

Chapter 89

Tasenda felt like a completely different world, almost like a distant country. A place where, due to the time difference, the day ended just as others’ days began. Strangely, it now felt like home.

Han finished closing up shop and passed by the busy workers tidying up, heading down to the third basement floor where her lodging was.

She bought a shipping box from a store selling daily necessities and entered the room next to hers. The moment she stepped inside, the scent of Jung’s perfume filled the air—a gentle tulip fragrance that suited Jung perfectly.

It had been over a month since Jung left this place, yet traces of her lingered faintly in the air, tugging at Han’s emotions.

Han began carefully packing Jung’s belongings into the box she brought. Clothes and small items were meticulously arranged to avoid damage. On top, she placed a painting she had completed a few days ago. The large box became a capsule holding Jung’s twenties.

After sealing the box with tape, Han wrote her name in the sender’s section. In the recipient’s section, she neatly wrote Jung’s name, the village of Angol, and her grandmother’s address.

Jung, who had been discharged from the hospital the day before, had immediately headed to Angol village. She had likely shared an emotional reunion there, filled with tears.

Thinking of how much Jung must have missed her grandmother, her grandmother’s house, and the cherry tree in the yard, Han smiled warmly.

As Han stepped outside with the box, she saw Myungseop waiting. He took the box from her and said,

“These days, they’ll pick it up if you request it. Why go through the trouble…?”

“I just… wanted to send it myself.”

Following Myungseop outside, Han saw a sedan with its hazard lights blinking, waiting by the roadside. Without hesitation, she climbed into the back seat, now accustomed to the routine. One of Taeshin’s men, who was assigned to protect her, was at the wheel.

“Please take me to the nearest post office.”

After placing the box in the trunk, Myungseop, for some reason, didn’t take his usual spot in the passenger seat. Instead, he opened the back door and said,

“Why don’t you go without me today?”

“Sure.”

“Take good care of her,” he instructed the driver before closing the back door. As the sedan carrying Han drove off, Myungseop waited until it disappeared from sight. Then, his sharp gaze shifted, and he began walking purposefully in another direction.

He entered a narrow alleyway between two buildings. There, a man was so absorbed in his phone that he didn’t notice Myungseop approaching. Without warning, Myungseop grabbed the man by the back of his neck.

“Argh! What—what’s going on?!”

The man, who wasn’t even 2 meters tall, paled as he looked up at Myungseop. The sight of Myungseop, silhouetted by the light, was intimidating enough to strike fear into anyone. Extending a large hand in front of the man’s face, Myungseop said,

“May I see your phone for a moment?”

“Wh-why… my phone?”

“You just took a photo, didn’t you?”

“…!”

The man’s darting eyes were an undeniable admission.

“N-no, I didn’t! What are you talking about?”

“Then you won’t mind showing me your gallery.”

“Th-that’s…”

“No more excuses?”

Effortlessly, as if taking candy from a child, Myungseop snatched the man’s phone and slipped it into his suit jacket pocket. Ignoring the man’s frantic attempts to resist, Myungseop dragged him unceremoniously back toward Tasenda.

While walking through the hotel lobby, Taeshin received a call from Myungseop, prompting him to head toward Tasenda.

In the empty office, now devoid of employees like Junho who had gone home, a familiar man was kneeling in the center, gagged and bound.

Since Han’s kidnapping, Myungseop’s vigilance had escalated to an excessive level.

“Director, you’re here,” Myungseop said, standing and bowing deeply when Taeshin arrived.

“What’s this about?”

Taeshin gestured with his chin at the kneeling man, Choi Haejun. Instead of answering, Myungseop handed Taeshin the phone he had taken.

“He was hiding across the street, secretly taking pictures of Ms. Han.”

“…Is that so?”

Haejun wasn’t experienced in this kind of work and clearly didn’t know how to conceal his presence. He hadn’t even bothered to secure his phone with a password.

Taeshin examined the photos Haejun had taken one by one, muttering to himself as he scrolled through them.

“…She looks great in these.”

Haejun, gagged, mumbled furiously, trying to say something. His eyes were filled with protests as he glared at Taeshin, who glanced down at him before turning to Myungseop.

“Untie him and leave us.”

After freeing Haejun and bowing, Myungseop left the room. Taeshin casually took a seat at the head of the table and motioned toward the opposite sofa with a nod.

Dusting off his wrinkled sleeves, Haejun sat down, his expression brimming with indignation.

“Return my phone!”

Taeshin handed the phone back without hesitation. Snatching it up, Haejun shoved it into his pocket and demanded,

“Why didn’t you contact me? You said you’d call as soon as you found her. Why did you lie in the first place?”

“What did I lie about?”

Taeshin’s nonchalant response made Haejun’s frustration boil over, his voice rising.

“Han! Where is she?”

Taeshin took out a cigarette and a lighter from his jacket pocket, narrowing his eyes at Haejun.

The reason Choi Haejun was looking for Han wasn’t because they had a friendly relationship.

Taeshin had already assigned someone to keep tabs on Haejun and received a report not long ago. Besides the debt exceeding 100 million won that Haejun had dumped on Han, the amount of gambling debt under Haejun’s name was astronomical. However, that debt had been neatly cleared a few months ago. It had been paid in cash, laundered so cleanly it was untraceable.

That wasn’t the only strange thing. It was evident from Haejun’s phone activities that he was following someone’s orders, but the source of those orders was untraceable. The level of security involved was something only high-ranking politicians or multinational company executives could possess.

To figure out what Haejun wanted and who was backing him, Taeshin needed more time to investigate. However, Haejun had grown impatient and was stirring things up.

“I heard she stayed here. Just tell me,” Haejun said.

As part of his search, Haejun had inquired around the Tascenda area and even visited the convenience store on the first floor of the building. The store clerk immediately recognized Han when shown her photo. Han had indeed worked at Tascenda and frequently visited the store with her striking and glamorous colleagues every morning.

Through his inquiries, Haejun had also learned some new things. For example, the man sitting before him wasn’t just any hotel representative; he was the head of this entire hotel and an executive at Cheongsong Construction. Rumor had it that Han was his lover and that he kept her by his side.

The man before him, Jang Taeshin, had lied. But why? Was it because he doubted Haejun’s ability to repay his debt? After all, judging by his current appearance, it was clear he didn’t even have a few thousand won, let alone a few million.

“Really? I don’t know anything about that,” Taeshin lied shamelessly, his expression unflinching.

Haejun quickly made a decision. A vague statement about someone wanting to meet wouldn’t persuade this man. And what gangsters loved most was money.

Haejun stared intently at Taeshin as he picked up a cigarette, lifting his lighter to light it.

“Han has a mother,” Haejun said.

Click. The lighter in Taeshin’s hand faltered.

“She’s desperately looking for Han. Don’t worry about the debt. She’s willing to pay it off.”

“Who is she?”

Haejun hesitated before continuing.

“Actress Shin Soyoung. Do you know her?”

Taeshin furrowed his brow. It was hard to live in this country without knowing Shin Soyoung.

Taeshin tried to reconcile the claim that Han had a mother with the mention of Shin Soyoung. He briefly thought about her but shook his head.

It was hard to believe that someone like Shin Soyoung, who continued to star as the lead in romantic dramas and at most played the role of a mother to a young child, could have a child as old as Han.

“No way.”

“It’s true. Actress Shin Soyoung is Han’s biological mother.”

“I might have believed you if you’d named someone else. But…”

Taeshin stopped mid-sentence, suddenly recalling Shin Soyoung’s face. Han’s face overlapped with hers so easily in his mind.

“Come to think of it, they do resemble each other, don’t they?” Haejun said, as if understanding Taeshin’s train of thought.

“They don’t just resemble each other. They’re identical. At first, I didn’t believe it either. I thought there was some mistake. But the more I thought about it… they’re too similar.”

“…”

“The only reason it didn’t match right away is because they’re different genders, and Shin Soyoung is so young.”

Finally, the puzzle pieces clicked into place in Taeshin’s mind.

A lowly office worker like Choi Haejun couldn’t have obtained such a massive sum of laundered money. Nor could he have accessed a phone system with such high security. But it seemed plausible if Shin Soyoung, who was connected to the highest levels of power, was involved.

Oblivious to Taeshin’s inner turmoil, Haejun continued.

“She’s heading to the U.S. for a film shoot. It’ll take at least three years. She wants to meet Han and take him with her.”

“…”

“She wants a fresh start. Both for her career and her relationship with her son.”

Taeshin listened silently, his sharp eyes lifting toward Haejun.

“How can I trust you? A man who once sold out Han for gambling money?”

Though his words were harsh, Taeshin could tell the difference between someone lying and someone speaking the truth.

Click, click. Even after lighting his cigarette, Taeshin flicked the lighter several more times, causing meaningless sparks.

His head throbbed. It seemed like rain was coming.