Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 2

“Mujin? What’s out there?”

“Kim Deok-gyu’s villa, sir.”

Muk-hyun took his eyes off the man who’d slipped away into unconsciousness and wiped his hands on his clothes like it was nothing.

“Kim Deok-gyu? Kim Deok-gyu…” He narrowed his eyes, staring into space, then let out a soft laugh and pulled out a cigarette.

“Oh. That pain-in-the-ass prosecutor. Or is he a district attorney now?”

He bit the end of the cigarette and dug around in his pocket. Chief Jung quickly held out a lighter.

“The villa — why?”

“You’re to report in once you arrive. Chairman said he’ll tell you himself.”

As Muk-hyun blew out a cloud of smoke, something drained out of his face. Maybe tension — the tight edge that always held him together seemed to slacken, just a little. Only Chief Jung knew that Muk-hyun smoked to calm himself down, to take the sharp edge off that kept him tense all the time.

“A surprise, huh?” Muk-hyun gave a dry laugh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Exciting, isn’t it, Yoon-ah? Don’t you think so?”

“….…”

“A son just out of prison — you’d think he’d want to see me at least once. But no, the moment I’m out, he sends me everywhere to fix problems.”

“I already sent the guys ahead. They’re checking things out.”

“…So I have to go now?”

Chief Jung looked nervous. Muk-hyun frowned in a fake, playful way.

“…I’m sorry.”

Muk-hyun gave a small laugh, pinched Chief Jung’s cheek, then put a new cigarette in his mouth for him.

“You always say sorry, but that’s it.”

Above their heads, as they stepped out of the building, the full moon hung low in the night sky.

“Yoon-ah. What do you think the Chairman is planning?”

Muk-hyun’s voice was clear, not like someone who’d just woken up. Chief Jung glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Muk-hyun was looking out the foggy window with his usual blank face.

“Does he have no plan to keep his promise? Or is he just planning to squeeze every last bit out of me until the end?”

“Maybe he’s just buying time,” Chief Jung said.

“If he buys time… does that mean he can keep holding onto me?”

Muk-hyun didn’t say more. He just looked at his own reflection in the window and thought of his father.

In just a few years, Samun rose to the top of the country’s construction companies. Then he grew the business even bigger, turning it into the Samun Group it was now. Maybe that really did show he had vision.

But now he was an old man. The chosen successor, Choi Il-hyun, unfortunately didn’t have what it took to beat his father — or even match him. Maybe he could keep things running as they were, but that was it. Look at the big projects he touched lately — all failed inside the company. He couldn’t even handle people properly, which ended with someone else taking the fall and going to prison. Looking at that, there was no way to promise Samun’s glory would last forever.

So what could they do? Like the sun rises and sets, Samun was bound to fade too.

And now, to make it worse, all the secret double deals, slush funds, and tax tricks they’d been doing for years — the books proving it all were now in the hands of the prosecutors. It was like having a knife pressed right under their chin.

“Director.”

The car stopped in front of a small diner with a sign that said Breakfast Served Here.

“Are we stopping to eat?”

“You haven’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday,” Chief Jung said.

“Really…?” Muk-hyun muttered.

Thick fog made it hard to see any buildings or people around them — it gave everything an eerie feel. But the small diner with its old sign had a warm light spilling out onto the street.

“Director, it’s Yook Chief,” Chief Jung said.

Right then, someone stepped out of the diner. He had short, bright red hair, a big solid build, and chunky piercings in both earlobes — he looked like a grizzly bear.

As soon as he saw the car, he bowed deeply at the waist, grinning widely as he hurried over to open the back door.

“Boss! You’re finally here! Man, I thought I was gonna die waiting to see you!”

“Cut it out.” Muk-hyun tapped Yook Jung-pal’s cheek lightly, then glanced into the diner.

“Were you eating?”

“Come on, it’s me, Yook Jung-pal! I might not be book-smart, but I know my manners. Respect your elders, right? I kept the food hot and waiting till you got here, boss!”

The restaurant looked like an old local spot. One wall was covered in autographs from famous people who’d visited. Even though it was still early, half the seats were already filled.

“I heard that place is like a damn palace, you know?” Yook Jung-pal said.

Yook Jung-pal started spilling all the info he’d gathered ahead of time — it was always his job to collect the details before anything kicked off.

According to him, rich folks started building villas here about five years ago, drawn by the nice scenery. Out of all of them, the district attorney’s villa was built last — he bought up every bit of land that was left.

“The owner on paper is the DA’s* wife’s cousin’s kid. The kid’s only six years old, so you can guess they’re just using his name,” Chief Jung added, tapping away on his tablet next to them.
TL/N: *District Attorney.

Yook Jung-pal went on, saying that unlike the other villas, this one had huge walls all around it, which made the locals suspicious.

“People say no one ever sees anyone going in or out. Once, real early in the morning, an ambulance came and then they carried something out covered in a white sheet — the rumors got real nasty after that.”

“Got it. Eat up before it gets cold,” Muk-hyun said.

“Yes, boss! You eat plenty too. Ma’am! Got any perilla powder over there?”

Muk-hyun didn’t say much while they ate. He just slowly finished his food, watching Yook Jung-pal sweat bullets over his hot soup, and grinning when Chief Jung bit into a tiny pepper, made a face, and quietly set it back down.

When they were done, the owner of the restaurant even asked Muk-hyun for an autograph — a funny little moment for people who’d just been dragged out of town on short notice. The mood was surprisingly warm.

“Boss! You know you gotta finish off with a cup of instant coffee — ahh, perfect!”

“Give it here.”

Muk-hyun was already pulling out a cigarette. He took the paper cup in his other hand, but instead of drinking it, he just held it and walked away with both hands.

He walked over to a small street stall set up near the diner.

“Mother.”

An old woman with white hair looked up when she heard the friendly word — then her eyes went wide. Who wouldn’t be shocked if a tall, handsome man suddenly called her “Mother”?

“Did you have breakfast?” Muk-hyun asked. He held out the coffee cup with such an easy smile that he really looked like her own son.

“Oh my, where did this pretty boy come from? With a face like that, your mama must never worry about food,” she said, laughing.

“I didn’t even wash my face, so I’m not that pretty today. Mother, can I take some of these peanuts?”

“Didn’t wash your face, huh? Alright, one scoop is ten thousand won.”

“See those guys over there? They all eat a lot. I think we’ll need all of this — can you pack it up for us?”

“All of it?”

Muk-hyun pulled out a check from his wallet and handed it to her, then cracked open a peanut and popped it in his mouth. While he did that, Chief Jung came over and politely took the bags of peanuts, bowing his head in thanks.

Watching all this, Yook Jung-pal shook his head when Muk-hyun came back.

“Seriously… Boss, you still haven’t kicked that habit. You buy up everything like that, these old ladies won’t have anything to do all day. You should buy just enough!”

“You like peanuts, don’t you?”

“Aish… really, it’s a sickness. Haven’t you heard being too kind can be an illness too?”

Muk-hyun just smiled quietly. No matter how much Yook Jung-pal joked around, he never said a word about it. That was the kind of man he was — quiet, kind, graceful.

Chief Jung once said that if this were old times, Muk-hyun would’ve been born into royalty. A noble who’d spend his days writing poems and living easily, only to twist off track in strange ways now and then.

To his own people, Choi Muk-hyun was endlessly generous.

“Chairman’s calling,” Chief Jung said.

Muk-hyun’s lips still curved smoothly into a smile as he took the phone from him — watching Yuk Joong-pal toss a peanut in the air and catch it with his mouth like it was a circus act.