NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 113: Catch him.
Chapter 113 < Catch him. >
Yeon Seo had been thinking about it ever since he was in the hospital.
‘Why did he call me his son?’
He couldn’t forget the sinister and unpleasant voice in his memory synchronization.
‘He could be delusional. Then he might be one of the stalkers that Ryu Hye-kyung mentioned…’
Stalking someone is a crazy behavior in itself. It’s not surprising that he added delusions to it. If he chased after Lee Hee-seo and gradually went insane, and then thought of Yeon Seo as his real son…
‘Creepy bastard.’
Of all times, the shadow had to cover him then. But he had obtained the privilege of replaying his memories, so if he kept rewinding, he thought he could see his exact face…
The beta read his thoughts and said firmly.
<You can’t.>
‘…I got it.’
He had to do it as soon as his body recovered. He heard the beta warn him, but Yeon Seo ignored it and stared into the air.
“Do you have any suspects for the stalker?”
“Let’s start with what we investigated first.”
“You guys are really brothers.”
They were both good at hiding their cards. They looked alike, not only in appearance but also in personality. Baek Seo-joon sighed deeply as he looked back and forth between the two brothers.
Well, what a surprise. Yeon Seo shrugged his shoulders.
“We looked into the investigation records at that time.”
“What, you did everything without me?”
“I’m telling you in advance, I told you to tell me quickly.”
“Really?”
The two men’s eyes turned to Yoo Eun-ho. He raised his hands in surrender under their silent pressure. Yeon Seo and Baek Seo-joon got along well for the first time they met.
“Anyway, some of the investigation records were missing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Someone erased them very neatly, as if on purpose.”
Someone who could erase the investigation records, then… Yeon Seo’s eyebrow twitched. He felt more and more suspicious. Baek Seo-joon confirmed his thoughts.
“Besides, he killed someone in a mansion that was second only to the Blue House in security and escaped… This means there’s a high possibility of an accomplice inside.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think of that.”
Yeon Seo muttered to himself. If what Baek Seo-joon said was true, it meant that the accomplice was among his close relatives. He felt his strength drain from his body. Yeah, why didn’t he think of that?
“Don’t you have anything you investigated?”
“Well, I investigated the big grandfather’s side, but it’s clean. There’s nothing suspicious.”
Big grandfather… Yeon Seo recalled the family tree of Joo Sung Group. There was a possibility, but if what Yoo Eun-ho said was true, it wasn’t them.
With a nagging feeling, Baek Seo-joon asked cautiously.
“Hey… it’s not Vice Chairman Choi, is it? She was close to the deceased, and she was also close to your aunts.”
“It’s not.”
Yoo Eun-ho and Yeon Seo answered at the same time. They didn’t want to believe that Choi Yoo-jin’s sincerity was a lie. And they guessed that there was no possibility of that.
Baek Seo-joon scratched the back of his head at their firm answer. He couldn’t find a way to dig in. There was no data left…
“So tell me about the stalker.”
“I worked with my mom’s old colleague on a project.”
He briefly explained what had happened with Ryu Hye-kyung. Baek Seo-joon and Yoo Eun-ho listened to his words with serious expressions.
Coincidentally, Yeon Seo had killed the person himself, and the two of them had investigated the accomplice and matched perfectly.
“First of all, I guess he checked his identity whether he disguised himself as a bodyguard or played a substitute.”
“Right. They wouldn’t let anyone pass. You said you saw someone you didn’t know then, right?”
And young Yeon Seo had remembered the faces and names of all the servants at that time. And the servants knew that fact, so it wouldn’t have been easy to enter the mansion. Or he boldly replaced someone, or he bribed one of the bodyguards.
“Why didn’t you believe me when you remembered that?”
“Hey, Eun-ho. You were wrong. You crawl on your own.”
Yoo Eun-ho bowed his head at the slightly spiteful words, and Baek Seo-joon chuckled as he caught him.
“Then we need the list of the servants at that time…”
“But, can you really be sure that he’s the one when you see him? You have to think carefully. The picture and the real thing might be different, and your memory might be confused by the shock.”
Yeon Seo snickered at Baek Seo-joon’s question. He had the ability to replay his memories.
“I can’t forget.”
“…”
“Never.”
Yoo Eun-ho and Baek Seo-joon closed their mouths at the answer that contained a lot of meaning. After that, no one spoke.
At the end of the short silence, Baek Seo-joon scratched his head as if to clear the air.
“Anyway, how do we get the list of the people who worked then? Hey, Yoo Eun-ho. Don’t you have any ideas?”
“Well… I’m investigating on my own, but there was no progress.”
“Yeah, you have to be careful when you approach.”
If he investigated rashly and the culprit found out, there was a possibility of destroying the evidence. Yoon Yeon Seo lifted his head after a moment of thought.
“I think I can do something about that.”
“How?”
He turned his head and looked at his brother.
“Where is grandmother?”
***
Gyeongju, where cultural relics poured out if you dug the ground, Park Geumju opened a grand commemorative event for the completion of the Gyeongju Juseong Art Museum, which would open soon.
“Thank you for contributing to the development of our country’s culture.”
“What did I do?”
“Haha! Director Park, you know that being too humble is not good, right? In the midst of the cultural infrastructure being concentrated in Seoul, here you have such a big art museum… The people will love it.”
“Too much praise is not good either.”
The people from the political and business circles rushed to congratulate the opening of the art museum and stamped their eyes on Park Geumju. Park Geumju greeted them with a smile and proceeded with events such as an auction of his personal collection.
When the event was halfway through, the entrance became noisy.
“Oh my.”
“Oh my goodness…”
Yoo Eunho and Yoon Yeon Seo, who were neatly dressed, walked towards Park Geumju.
“What are you doing here?”
“You said all the relatives were busy and couldn’t come. We should at least brighten up the place.”
Yoon Yeon Seo smiled broadly and handed a bouquet of flowers to Park Geumju. A small scream and a murmuring sound were heard from the surroundings.
“Director Park, you must be happy. Those handsome grandsons came all the way here thinking of their grandmother.”
“That’s right, is it easy to come here from Seoul? They have different thoughts.”
“They are so handsome… And their faces are good-looking too.”
Park Geumju did not hear their compliments. She quickly looked at Yoon Yeon Seo’s complexion. He seemed to have lost some weight. His complexion didn’t look good either… And she was also bothered by Yoo Eunho’s restless behavior behind him.
“That… I heard you were hospitalized. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I was just a little tired.”
The two brothers bowed politely to the people who came to greet them. Then Yoon Yeon Seo whispered in Park Geumju’s ear.
“Shall we talk in detail after it’s over?”
“…Okay.”
Park Geumju reluctantly nodded.
When all the events were over, only three people were left in the spacious hall.
“Brother, go out for a while.”
“I’ll go too.”
“We have something serious to talk about.”
Yoo Eunho, who saw the serious expression, nodded and turned his body. Yoon Yeon Seo approached Park Geumju, who was standing in the center of the hall, with a slow walk.
“There’s nothing here.”
“Well… It’s just the beginning.”
“When is the opening?”
Park Geumju answered in a small voice. Yoon Yeon Seo looked around and casually talked to her.
“You’re sorry for me, aren’t you?”
“That’s…”
“I know.”
Yoon Yeon Seo dragged a chair nearby and sat down in front of Park Geumju.
“You know how hard grandmother feel was.”
According to Yoo Eunho, grandmother had fallen into a deep depression after losing her beloved daughter-in-law and not being able to bear the criticism from the surroundings. So she devoted herself to treatment abroad for a long time. It was unfortunate, but the wound that Park Geumju left on her was eternal in her memory.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Park Geumju closed her eyes tightly and spat out as if vomiting. Yoon Yeon Seo smiled faintly.
“If you’re sorry, can you help me a little?”
“What do you need?”
Park Geumju’s eyes were very uneasy at his smile.
The aftereffects of synchronization that pushed him to the limit lasted for more than a week, but they were still in his body. Yoon Yeon Seo, who felt tired of it, said languidly.
“I need to borrow someone.”
“Someone?”
“Specifically, I need someone who knows well about what happened on May 12, 1999.”
“That’s…”
That was the day Lee Heeseo died.
Park Geumju trembled.
A sense of foreboding came over her.
“That… Why do you need that?”
“Just listen to me once.”
“Yeon Seo.”
Park Geumju pleaded earnestly.
She also had to spend quite a lot of time to get out of the things related to Lee Heeseo. She was anxious that her grandson would follow the same rail as her.
“Being tied to the past is not good.”
“Grandma, I’m not living in the past. I’m living in the present.”
“But!”
“Please keep it a secret that I’ve regained my memory.”
He drew a clear line, indicating that he didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Park Geum-ju licked her lips nervously. She had to hear it from her grandson’s mouth.
“Just one question, then. You said your mother looked different back then. What did you mean by that?”
“Oh, are you curious about that? You’ll be surprised, grandma.”
He should tell her if she was curious. He got up from his seat and dusted off his shoulders. He felt a sudden surge of anger for no reason. Ah, so this was why the past Yoo Yeon Seo had gone berserk and caused a ruckus. It was annoying to see such things all the time.
“She’s still there. Above you, grandma.”
“What?”
“Her pale white legs under her white skirt…”
“Yeon Seo.”
“Hanging in the air…”
“That’s funny, right? It happened 22 years ago, but I still see it.”
Yoo Yeon Seo looked up at the ceiling, avoiding the phantom’s gaze. It was bad for him too. His eyes became bloodshot and he felt a fever rising. He was on the verge of tears.
“They all blamed mom. She was already dead, poor thing.”
“Yeon Seo.”
“Grandma, do you know what’s interesting?”
Yoo Yeon Seo turned his head sharply and stared at his grandmother. Park Geum-ju felt a chill from the madness in his grandson’s eyes. He took a deep breath and tapped his ear.
“She talks to me now.”
“Stop it.”
“Yeon Seo, my son. It’s your fault…”
“It’s enough.”
“It’s your fault I died.”
“Stop!”
Yoo Yeon Seo mimicked Lee Hee-seo’s voice and chuckled. He didn’t know why, but he just felt like laughing.
Park Geum-ju finally turned her back and bowed her head. He looked at her back and laughed out loud. He couldn’t stop laughing.
“Go away.”
“Are you going to run away again?”
“…”
“Grandma, I’ve had enough.”
“Send someone over by tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Park Geum-ju’s voice was trembling, but Yoo Yeon Seo left without any hesitation.
Yoo Eun-ho came out from behind a pillar near the entrance. Yoo Yeon Seo flinched for a moment, but he spat out casually.
“What, you didn’t leave?”
“…”
“Let’s go.”
Yoo Eun-ho opened the door without saying anything else.
On the way from Gyeongju to Seoul, Yoo Eun-ho, who was behind the wheel, asked his brother cautiously.
“Do you still see her?”
Yoo Yeon Seo, who was leaning against the window, turned his head and looked at his brother blankly. His face, which was hard to read, looked quite broken.
“Yeah.”
At his dry answer, Yoo Eun-ho gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“…”
“Let’s hold on.”
He swallowed hard, trying to ignore his emotions and the things he saw in front of him. But at least he wasn’t alone.
After staring at him for a long time, Yoo Yeon Seo turned his head and looked ahead. And he answered softly.
“Yeah, let’s hold on.”
With our own hands.