Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 70

“Yes.”

As Jung Yoon immediately bowed his head and pulled a tool from his waistband, Kim Deok-gyu’s eyes widened. His face turned pale, and when Jung Yoon actually moved, he jumped up in panic, shouting.

“W–wait! Okay! I’ll talk! I said I’ll talk! You bastard, if you take one more step—!”

“Use the longest one to slice it.”

“No! Hey, Choi Muk-hyun! Okay, fine! I’ll talk! Just tell him to stop!”

Muk-hyun paused for a beat, then gave Jung Yoon a subtle look and set the fallen chair upright. Without being told, Kim Deok-gyu dropped weakly back into the seat, looking dazed.

“Looks like prosecutors play tug-of-war with criminals, but I don’t. I don’t give warnings twice, so you’d better think carefully. After the fingers come the toes. After that, the teeth. We’re professionals. It’s not hard for us, but your son will have a hell of a time.”

“Fine! I’ll talk! You damned bastard…”

“Alright then. Let’s start from the beginning.”

After that, everything moved quickly. From the moment he’d decided to create “Illy” up to the time before Muk-hyun met her, Kim Deok-gyu confessed everything. Every detail of the life of a woman that the world never even knew existed. It didn’t take even three minutes.

A mere three minutes to describe twenty years of her life. And even that was just the same pattern repeated over and over again: neglect, surgery, recovery; neglect, surgery, recovery…

Muk-hyun couldn’t look at him anymore. If he did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back his rage. He kept his eyes lowered to the floor and asked quietly,

“She’s your daughter too, isn’t she? Were you that afraid of being judged? You could’ve just raised her as your own. Why did you have to go that far?”

He thought maybe he was asking what Irang would’ve asked if she were here. Maybe, deep down, he wanted to hear Kim Deok-gyu admit that it was out of pure greed. He wanted that disgusting, inhuman face on record. But Kim Deok-gyu’s answer came far too easily.

“If I had, I wouldn’t have been able to use her whenever I needed.”

Because his head was bowed, he couldn’t see Muk-hyun’s face twist in that instant. And because of that, he made the fatal mistake of adding more.

“She was just used for the purpose she was born for. You could even say she lived a life more meaningful than anyone—”

“—Kuhh!”

Kim Deok-gyu didn’t immediately realize what was happening. He couldn’t breathe; his eyes reddened with bursting veins—and only when he saw Muk-hyun’s furious face inches away did he realize that he was pinned under him, being strangled.

“P–please… spare…”

Compared to Muk-hyun’s body, trembling with barely restrained rage, Kim Deok-gyu’s was old and frail. He was seconds away from dying. Either by suffocation or crushed ribs.

If Muk-hyun had only meant to scare him, he would’ve held back. But he wasn’t thinking at all now. It wasn’t rage anymore. It was a state beyond reason, closer to a manic awakening. At this rate, Kim Deok-gyu’s neck would snap or his ribs would shatter within seconds.

“Director!”

Jung Yoon clung to Muk-hyun’s torso, struggling to pull him off.

“It’s no good!”

Kim Deok-gyu could feel the threat of death in his bones. The crushing weight of Muk-hyun’s body was one thing. But the killing intent in his eyes was real. Death itself felt close enough to touch, and terror gripped him.

“A meaningful life, you said…?”

As Muk-hyun’s lips curled into a chilling smile under that mask of madness, Kim Deok-gyu knew. He really could die here.

“Someone like you… has more right to live than her?”

Only then did he finally understand why Choi Muk-hyun had been asking about Illy and why he’d been so angry, so desperate. And in that moment, he realized what he needed to do to stay alive.

“T–that girl… I’ll tell you… where she is…”

That one sentence saved his life.

“If you don’t go soon… she’ll die.”

***

There was always the sound of waves here. Whether her eyes were open or closed, the distant crash of the sea was constant. And somehow, it felt soothing. She had been moved two or three times before this, and since this was her fifth day here, it seemed this was the final stop.

Maybe she should call herself lucky. She’d always wanted to see the ocean, and now she finally could. Though the window wouldn’t open, she could still see outside, and that alone made sitting by the window all day not so bad.

The only regret was that she couldn’t step on the sand herself. The place sat on a cliff overlooking the sea. The wind was strong, and the waves crashed roughly against the rocks below.

It wasn’t a lab or a hospital. It’s just an ordinary house. No one would imagine someone was being kept prisoner here. Still, she thought she was lucky. If she had to spend her remaining time surrounded by concrete walls, that would’ve been too sad.

“My… sister?”

Did Kim Soohwan believe everything she said? He might’ve thought it was just the rambling of a madwoman. It didn’t matter. Just shouting out that she was here—that she was alive—had been enough to make her feel lighter.

“Your meal’s here.”

The door opened, and a large man entered, so tall that his head nearly touched the frame. He carried a wooden tray. Half a sandwich, a cup of milk, and a few slices of apple sat on it.

“This was all I could get besides porridge.”

“I like bread. Thank you.”

There were three men guarding this place. All big enough to probably lift her with one hand. Clearly, it was their way of saying, Don’t even think about running. Not that she had any plans to. After spending so long around people far scarier than these men, she didn’t even find them that frightening anymore.

If anything, thinking there might be something soft hidden behind those rough faces made her oddly at ease. As the man set the tray down and stood guard by the door, she asked.

“Um… after I eat, could I go for a short walk?”

“No—”

“Just twenty steps outside. No, ten. I’m just feeling so cramped. The place where they operated on me hurts a bit too… Please?”

A faint crease formed between his brows. So she decided to look even more pitiful.

“Actually, this is my first time seeing the sea. I just want to hear it up close, smell it… Maybe just sit by the door for a bit. That’d be enough.”

She thought of Jung-pal. He used to make that same expression whenever she asked for something.

“If you’re really worried, you can tie me up.”

“…I’ll ask first.”

Good enough. The man left, saying she had to finish her meal first. For some reason, her father had replaced the previous staff with new ones—a mistake on his part.

“These ones are too kind,” she murmured.

Slowly, she began to eat the sandwich—egg, potato, carrot, and ham. The bread was a little tough, but it was tasty. She finished both halves, then ate the apple slices. The white flesh crunched sweetly in her mouth.

All that was left was the glass of milk. Staring blankly at it, she remembered the conversation she’d overheard last night.

“This isn’t what the contract said.”

“Since when did we start nitpicking details? They said they’ll pay double.”

“Still, this is too much… at least not a woman and a child…”

“Now’s not the time for morals. Tomorrow, we feed her the —, let her sleep, and then we’ll—”

That tomorrow was today. Which meant—today was the last day of her life.