Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The two-story mansion where Sewon was born, lovingly maintained for years by his late grandfather.

Sewon had been commuting between the Seoul headquarters and the Geumnakri site. But he wanted to handle things personally this time, so he had the vacant old house scrubbed clean and moved in.

Thanks to regular maintenance, it didn’t need much work. The hastily hired gardener couldn’t hold a candle to his grandfather, but he was decent enough.

It was quiet. The air was fresh. Nothing was wrong. Maybe it was just the unfamiliar bed.

He couldn’t sleep a wink. Dawn found him in his study.

“This is boring as fuck.”

Sewon slumped so low he was practically lying on the sofa. He tossed the book he’d been reading over his face.

Boring, huh? Actually, he had no idea what it was even about. He’d read halfway through the thick hardcover, but not a single word had stuck. His eyes throbbed from squinting at the tiny, dense print on the yellowed pages.

Maybe he could sleep now.

His heavy eyelids drifted shut. Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

The door opened. Even, measured footsteps approached. The book was still over his face, but he knew exactly who had stopped beside him.

It was the same mind-numbing routine every day.

“Keep it brief, Hakju.”

Exhaustion dripped from Sewon’s voice. Hakju quickly tapped his tablet awake and read off the highlights of the packed schedule.

“You have an in-person meeting with Representative Ahn of Seungri Trading this morning. Your golf outing with Assemblyman Shim is at three, so you can do a quick inspection of the demolition site before that. I’ve made reservations for dinner and drinks immediately following the golf.”

Golf, booze, women. On the surface, it was all about camaraderie. But whether he was the one bowing or the one being bowed to, the real goal was always entertainment.

It was a tedious, mind-numbing game. It was also one he couldn’t afford to slack on.

“Leave if you’re done.”

Sewon sighed softly. Hakju slowly lowered his tablet, watching his boss’s face, before speaking up a beat late.

“Your mother requested you join her for lunch.”

“I’m busy as hell. Cut that shit off at your level from now on.”

“She said she’s going to forget what your face looks like…”

Sewon pulled the book off his face and slammed it shut with a loud thud. As he slowly sat up, Hakju quietly held his breath.

Stripped of his polished public persona, Sewon looked like a wild animal.

His messy, unstyled hair, the black shirt hanging completely unbuttoned, the sharp muscles exposed underneath; it was all raw.

Though partially hidden by his shirt, the tattoo snaking from his left chest, over his shoulder, and up to his neck added a strange, intimidating weight.

Hakju was staring at the edge of the tattoo—thin lines and light shading, unlike a typical irezumi—when the heavy hardcover slammed onto the table with a loud bang.

“Hakju.”

Sewon sank back into the sofa, the leather creaking under his weight. He gently massaged his throbbing temples.

“Did that sound like a request?”

“…I’ll cut it off at my level.”

A chill ran down Hakju’s spine. He agreed without another word.

Sewon knew his mother had been badgering Hakju to death every time he ignored her calls. He knew Hakju was in no position to ignore her orders.

Even so, he reflexively bristled at the mention of his mother. What she would say if she sat him down was painfully obvious.

Are you seeing anyone these days?

You’re getting older. It’s time to start thinking about marriage.

Then she’d rattle off a pre-approved list of daughters from this or that prominent family. He was thirty. He was in his prime. What was the damn rush?

“What about the thing I told you to look into?”

Sewon brushed aside the irritating thoughts of his mother and put a cigarette between his lips. Hakju immediately handed him a business card from his breast pocket along with the tablet.

“Her name is Kang Heejae. A lawyer at MK Law Firm. She’s also the subject of this article.”

Sewon looked down at Kang Heejae’s name printed on the crisp cardstock, then shifted his gaze to the tablet screen. The article covered a recent power-tripping scandal involving a major law firm attorney, which had even made the news.

A trash lawyer with zero morals who’d defend a child abuser if the money was right. That was Kang Heejae.

As Sewon slowly scrolled up the screen, Hakju continued.

“According to the firm’s official statement, Attorney Kang is stepping away from all her current cases for the time being, not just this one. She hasn’t been fired, though. She’s probably just taking some time off to ‘reflect’ before making a comeback.”

“…”

“She probably came down to Geumnakri just to kill time.”

It sounded plausible. Sewon, who had been silently agreeing, suddenly stopped his finger on the screen.

Hakju guessed his train of thought and hesitated before adding,

“Otherwise…”

Ha Hyunsu, who had personally visited the law firm just recently, and Attorney Kang Heejae, who had just shown up in Geumnakri.

Could that really be a coincidence?

Sewon gripped the tablet tightly, biting down on his cigarette filter.

“Push the morning meeting.”

Heejae stepped out of the bathroom, towel-drying her wet hair.

Her steps faltered at the sight of the garish green wallpaper covering one wall and the absurdly large bed. It was the motel room she’d hastily booked the night before.

She had a reservation at a residence hotel further out of town, but she hadn’t been in any condition to drive there last night.

The headache she’d thought would pass hadn’t let up. She’d swallowed every painkiller she had on her, but it hadn’t made a dent.

When she was desperate, she’d been grateful just to have a place to lie down. How fickle people were. Now that she felt halfway human again, all she wanted was to get the hell out of here.

She could overlook the rest, but the musty smell that wouldn’t leave even with the window open, and the vivid moans of the couple next door, were unbearable.

“Ah, ah! Oh!”

Frowning, Heejae tossed her damp towel onto the vanity. She plugged in her phone, which had died overnight, and rummaged through the cheap complimentary toiletries. As she nudged a disposable razor aside, her fingers stilled.

Underneath lay a small silver foil packet about the size of two fingers.

And a condom.

The man from the store last night came to mind. She thought back carefully, but it was definitely a face she’d never seen before. Or was it just one she couldn’t remember?

The man with that strange gaze, looking as if he were dissecting her, seemed to know her.

And then there was the memory that had suddenly surfaced when she saw him.

“There’s definitely something…”

Bzzzt.

Heejae was staring hard at the condom when her phone buzzed to life.

Two missed calls and a text from Ha Hyunsu.

— Heard you came down. You could’ve at least told me. I’m on a business trip right now.

— I sent Secretary Oh on ahead. I’ll head down as soon as I’m done here.

She had purposely come down earlier than their agreed date, so how did he know? The unfamiliar number among her missed calls was likely Secretary Oh.

Glancing at the red battery icon, Heejae set the phone down instead of calling back and left the room.

Downstairs, she got a rough map to the village hall from the motel clerk.

The directions, scribbled in blue pen, were surprisingly accurate.

Right at Dong-a Supermarket, straight ahead, then left at the red gate. Just like the clerk had said, there was the village hall.

Heejae stared at the sign reading Geumnakri Village Hall, then crumpled the map into her pocket. She approached cautiously and pulled the door handle. It was slated for demolition soon, but thankfully, it opened.

As soon as she stepped inside, she saw a dark dining hall. The motel clerk had said the villagers used to gather here for meals and small events.

Thick dust swirled up even at her light footsteps, showing it had been abandoned for a long time.

Coughing dryly, Heejae spotted a narrow hallway off to one side of the dining hall and headed toward it.

Clink. She heard the sound of shattering dishes, and a phantom of a man flipping a table flashed before her eyes.

She had lost her memories, but she knew exactly who that phantom was.

Her father, probably. Regardless of her lost memories, he had always been that kind of person to her. Unchanging until the day he died.

Heejae ignored his lingering image, which still tormented her even after his death. Reaching a small iron door at the end of the hallway, she grabbed the round knob. She pushed the old door open, revealing a tiny room attached to the hall.

This was where her family had lived eleven years ago. After losing even their two-million-won deposit to pay for her father’s settlement, the family of three had nowhere to go, and the village head had kindly offered them this space.

At least, that was what her mother had told her. It was a single room with nothing but an unusually large built-in closet. Looking at it now, she couldn’t fathom how three people had lived here.

As she stepped inside and scanned the room, she froze at the sight of a small side door.

This was the real reason she had used Hyunsu’s offer as an excuse to return to Geumnakri. That side door was in the memory that had suddenly flashed through her mind.

Along with the small yard behind it, and the man planting roses there.

Why roses all of a sudden?

To her blunt question, the man had replied,

They say snakes can’t crawl through rose vines.

…

You said you were scared of them. Every summer.

It was as if he were talking about her nightmares.

Could the snakes in her dreams, which plagued her every summer without fail, be connected to Geumnakri? The memory was enough to raise that question.

Heejae walked slowly toward the side door.

She was about to grasp the old-fashioned handle when she felt a presence behind her.

She whipped her head around. A man was leaning against the open doorframe.

It was the man from last night.

Dong-a Supermarket, the Bohem Cigar Master, and the condom…