Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 7

After all that chaos she’d caused inside, she was weirdly quiet once she was in the car, getting dragged off somewhere else. Even when they drove past the people knocked out cold outside, she didn’t flinch — just looked right past them like it was nothing. She didn’t even blink at the tools Gi-seon hadn’t bothered to pack up — the kind of stuff that would make most people freak out.

If someone saw her, they’d think Muk-hyun was taking her on a picnic or something. Her forehead and nose were squished flat against the window, face practically glued there like a little kid, looking like she was having the time of her life.

Sure, she’d been locked up for ages, so maybe it made sense she’d act like that now that she was out — but she didn’t seem to care at all that she was bleeding in places, or twitching every so often. She didn’t even seem to notice she’d been dragged out barefoot with nothing but a thin scrap of cloth on.

“Happy to be out, huh?”

“Mhm…”

“How old are you?”

“…I don’t know.”

“What’s your name?”

“…Don’t remember.”

“Wow. Not even blinking while lying through your teeth, huh?”

“…”

That was the whole conversation they’d had in the car. Muk-hyun didn’t see the point in dragging it out — all she ever said was she didn’t know this or didn’t remember that. So he let her just stare out the window the whole ride until they got where they were going.

“Where to, boss?”

“Seon Idong.”

“You gonna check on her?”

Muk-hyun didn’t bother answering. He just took a long drag from his cigarette instead.

***

“They just left the columbarium. He probably dropped her somewhere near Seonjae-dong.”

Inside the moving car, Choi Jung-do clicked his tongue as he listened to Chief Gu’s report.

“Always so loyal to that worthless bloodline. He acts like he owes something to a woman who did nothing but give birth to him.”

His displeasure was obvious in the reflection on the car window. Once, he’d cared for that woman enough to father a child with her — but now he couldn’t even recall her face. Too much time had passed, and she wasn’t the only woman he’d ever tangled up with that way.

“I’m the one who kept him alive this long. And yet he wastes his devotion on something that is pointless.”

How many women had secretly had his children over the years? Plenty. Some he’d coldly turned away, some he’d paid off with a neat contract and hush money, and some had run off terrified. Choi Muk-hyun was just ridiculously lucky. He’d happened to show up in that town, met the right person, dug up old talk, and remembered the woman. Then the news she’d died landed right in his lap — and the funeral just happened to be nearby.

If he hadn’t picked up that kid he’d left behind so carelessly… well, everyone knew exactly how that would’ve ended. Muk-hyun did too.

“And yet he dares. There’s a reason they say people are the most ungrateful beasts alive. If he knew what gratitude was, he wouldn’t even think about pulling this. Leaving? Says who? For whose benefit?”

Choi Jung-do scoffed, curling his fist. It’s the master who decides when a dog has served its purpose — not the mutt on the leash. How dare he even think it?

“Chief Gu. What about that thing we talked about?”

“It’s in motion, sir.”

“Make sure Muk-hyun doesn’t catch on. If he does, you know how that’ll go.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Only then did Choi Jung-do relax his clenched jaw and lean back, closing his eyes. In his mind, he could see the plan clearly — Samun, the media, the prosecutors, even the political sphere. Along the way, there would be messes to clean up. And for that, he needed a sharp, obedient blade.

So, no — it wasn’t time yet.

***

Seon Idong was a quiet neighborhood in Gyeonggi Province, not far from Seoul — an old industrial area with scattered factories forming a cluster of small industrial parks. When the next neighborhood over, Seonjae-dong, went through redevelopment, Muk-hyun had been part of the Samun Construction team that handled the land designations and modernization bids, so this area was familiar to him. He knew every inch of it — the factory-lined main roads, the tightly packed residential alleys behind them, even the hidden red-light joints.

There were still plenty of people here who recognized him. Back then, he’d helped force out the original residents who were illegally occupying the redevelopment zone. Because of that, people treated him like some kind of grim reaper. If their eyes met his, they’d flinch like he could snatch their soul away. Naturally, no one dared stick their nose in his business whenever he came around.

“You look tired, sir.”

“Want to look in the mirror?”

By the time Muk-hyun got to Seon Idong, the sun was already setting.

“Chief Yook is handling things outside, and Gi-seon is keeping watch inside.”

The alley leading to the old mansion was too narrow for cars, so they’d gotten out of the sedan and walked the rest of the way. The big luxury car sat there blocking the street, but no one in this neighborhood would complain about that.

They turned into the alley and arrived at an old building made of red brick. It had a side staircase, the kind you’d see on old apartments, and the whole place gave off an eerie, run-down vibe. Maybe it was the dark brick, maybe it was the rusty, outdated windows — either way, the atmosphere was grim enough that normal people wouldn’t want to live there. Most residents had moved out long ago. Now, the place was basically used as a shared dorm by nearby nightlife workers.

Hostesses from karaoke bars or massage parlors would stay there for a while, or sometimes shady guests would pay for a night. Local thugs used it too — whenever they needed to hide out and do something they couldn’t risk being seen doing elsewhere.

Muk-hyun looked up at the railings lined with random underwear and dingy yellow blankets. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“How’s she doing?”

“Been sleeping nonstop, apparently. Gi-seon said he peeked in to check if she’d died or something, shook her a bit just to be sure.”

“He must’ve freaked out. That coward.”

Jung Yoon’s lips curved faintly at Muk-hyun’s offhand reply.

“Still, they said she actually got up and moved around today — but she won’t take a single step out the door.”

“You didn’t threaten her, did you?”

“No, sir. It seems like she just doesn’t even think about leaving. She just stares blankly out the window all day.”

Muk-hyun paused, thinking for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh and shrugged.

“…I was kind of like that too, right after I got out. You get used to being locked up.”

“And apparently… she’s looking for you, Director.”

“Me?”

Muk-hyun narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing up toward the third floor where the girl was staying, then let out a breath of smoke. His brow twitched as if something annoyed him.

“What do you think she is?”

Jung Yoon didn’t answer right away. He hesitated before saying,

“It’s hard to say. She’s too young and too messed up to be a hidden mistress, and if she were some illegitimate kid, I don’t see why they’d keep her like that. Kim Deok-gyu’s got a reputation for doting on his wife — he gets a lot of perks through her family too…”

“It’d be a big risk. Even if it was a one-night slip-up, getting rid of a kid isn’t exactly hard.”

“Yes, exactly. So… this is just my guess, but maybe…”

Muk-hyun listened to Jung Yoon’s unsure words but didn’t bother giving his own opinion. Maybe. Maybe not. He just flicked the stub of his cigarette away and brushed off his suit, his face unreadable.

“We’ll find out soon enough. Doesn’t really matter if we don’t.”

“Are you going to keep her here?”

“We’ll see.”

Slap!

The sound of Muk-hyun slapping his own cheeks echoed through the empty lot. He tilted his head side to side and rolled his shoulders — a habit Jung Yoon knew well. He only did it when his nerves were too sharp or a pounding headache needed pushing down.

Hoo…

Today he looked darker than usual. Maybe it was the black suit, black shirt, black shoes, black watch — everything as pitch-black as funeral clothes. Or maybe it was just him.

If he’d been smaller, it might’ve been different. But Muk-hyun wasn’t exactly sleek — his build was thick, solid, almost heavy in a way that gave off a raw tension. Just standing there made the air feel tense, feral.

Ah. Maybe it wasn’t even the body — maybe it was that face.

Even now, Jung Yoon sometimes felt a chill when their eyes met. Muk-hyun’s eyes weren’t big — they were so narrow they almost looked like a sanpaku stare, yet somehow they glinted sharply. How could someone look so bored with the world and yet so dangerous at the same time?

The long scar crossing the bridge of his nose didn’t help, adding to that threat in his face — but that wasn’t all of it.