Initially, Lee Young-jin did not realize the invitation was directed at him. What snapped him out of his reverie was the subsequent sound of something hitting hot oil with a sizzle. Lee Young-jin hesitantly stepped into the kitchen.
Seo Seung-hyun and Jang Young-hee were there. Seo Seung-hyun was seated at the dining table, and Jang Young-hee stood in front of the induction cooktop, holding a frying pan. Having heard the bedroom door open in advance, they weren’t surprised when Lee Young-jin entered the kitchen.
Both were perfectly dressed in suits and ties, their appearances impeccably neat without a hair out of place, showing no signs of the early morning.
Lee Young-jin, considering his usual pace (which was still quite slow), hurried to the ceramic cooktop.
“I’ll do it.”
Of course, just like last time, Jang Young-hee declined.
“Mr. Lee Young-jin, please have a seat.”
His polite tone pushed Lee Young-jin back.
Jang Young-hee cracked two more eggs into the frying pan. The egg whites bubbled furiously in the oil.
Lost on what to do, Lee Young-jin only moved towards the table when Jang Young-hee perfectly served the sunny-side-up eggs onto a plate. Watching him with some amusement, Seo Seung-hyun gestured to the seat next to him. Lee Young-jin obediently sat down, and Seo Seung-hyun lightly tapped the white nape of Lee Young-jin’s neck peeking out from his round-neck tee. Lee Young-jin just rolled his eyes. Seo Seung-hyun chuckled.
Just in time, Jang Young-hee approached with plates in both hands. His robust hands placed the plates on the table. Thick bacon, eggs, and crispy toast were piled high on the plates. After setting down his own plate last, he fetched jam from the refrigerator.
The meal was simple but generous.
“You came just in time.”
Seo Seung-hyun picked up a piece of toast, placing his phone on the table with the other hand.
“If you look at the call log, there’s the most recent one. Call that.”
At his command, Lee Young-jin blankly stared at the phone. He didn’t understand why Seo Seung-hyun was ordering this, but he was in no position to refuse. Carefully, he extended his finger towards the smartphone. The screen, unlocked, slid to reveal the recent call log. A number starting with 86 was at the top. Lee Young-jin glanced at Seo Seung-hyun before pressing the number with his fingertip.
The dial tone followed.
It wasn’t long.
Soon, a sound of picking up the receiver echoed from the other side of the phone.
[You son of a bitch. Didn’t I tell you I won’t say a word until you confirm that my colleague is safe? Stop calling me!]
A familiar voice growled fiercely through the frequency.
Lee Young-jin’s mouth fell open.
His eyelids lifted, and his eyes widened in shock.
[Damn it, you have all the time in the world for calls…]
The voice was so loud it resonated through the phone’s speaker.
Seo Seung-hyun, who had been spreading butter on his toast, frowned.
“I only called twice.”
Lee Young-jin didn’t catch the excuse.
In fact, he barely grasped the content of the rant on the other end.
“Ah, Uncle!”
He gripped the phone tightly with both hands, pressing it close to his ear.
[…….]
The other side followed with a short silence.
As brief as the past 37 days.
[Is that you, Lee Young-jin?]
Between his tense and shocked breaths, a gentle voice asked. Lee Young-jin nodded, even though he knew the other couldn’t see him.
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.”
[Ha, ha, haa…]
The man on the other end let out a mix of laughter and sighs several times.
[How are things? Are you safe? Are those bastards who said they had work for you still keeping you? Where are you now? In Seoul? Are you hurt?]
“No, I’m fine. How about you?”
A tearless reunion of long-lost family members ensued for a few minutes, each asking after the other’s well-being and physical condition.
Seo Seung-hyun slowly chewed on his bread, buttered, fixating on Lee Young-jin’s side profile, which was almost tearful. His plate was still half full, a paltry achievement compared to Jang Young-hee, who had already finished five eggs, a dozen long slices of bacon about a centimeter thick, and four slices of toast generously topped with jam and butter.
[Is Eun-young okay?]
“Safe. I met her… She was worried about you.”
[Her?]
Laughter burst forth, heartily. It was a laugh as relieving as tears. Lee Young-jin nodded passively.
“Yeah. She was worried.”
[Good. Anyway, it’s a relief you’re both safe. How are things going for you? What has that bastard done to you?]
Lee Young-jin wasn’t sure who “that bastard” referred to, so his answer was vague.
“Uh, I’m fine. Working…”
[Teacher?]
Suddenly, Ji Jung-hoon’s voice grew serious.
[After what happened in Shanghai… Didn’t Teacher say anything?]
Lee Young-jin felt his mouth go dry.
He licked his parched lips several times, trying to come up with a natural lie. Of course, it didn’t help.
“Teacher… Teacher said…”
His voice trembled.
[What happened?]
Ji Jung-hoon’s voice grew harsh. The sound of his ragged breathing was clear.
[What did that bastard do?]
This time “that bastard” seemed to refer to someone else.
Lee Young-jin shook his head, knowing it wouldn’t be seen.
“No, Teacher… I mean, Eun-young said something about Teacher.”
He paused for quite a while, nearly a minute, before he managed to gather his thoughts.
“Eun-young and Yoon-seok both asked the same thing. If Teacher sent me to find them…”
[…]
Ji Jung-hoon was silent on the other end, for quite some time again.
[You’re not with that bastard right now, are you?]
Uncertain which “bastard” he was referring to, Lee Young-jin glanced at Seo Seung-hyun before answering.
“I’m with the CEO.”
[Okay.]
Relief seemed to permeate Ji Jung-hoon’s sigh.
[What did Teacher say?]
“Eun-young… He said to look for her. But now Eun-young is under witness protection, and she said not to tell her location to Teacher at all.”
[Damn it.]
Ji Jung-hoon cursed.
[They’re planning to get rid of Eun-young along with me, I see.]
Lee Young-jin inhaled sharply.
“Uncle. What is Teacher trying to do? What should I do?”
[Act as normal as possible for now. Since I can’t come to Korea immediately…]
“Uncle, are you in danger?”
Lee Young-jin asked, panting for breath.
[No. I mean, anyway, for the time being, that bastard has agreed to take care of me, so I won’t die.]
Ji Jung-hoon continued with displeasure.
The pronoun ‘that bastard’ was repeated several times, confusing Lee Young-jin, but he understood the last part that he was not in immediate danger.
[Act like you know nothing until I return to the country, okay?]
Lee Young-jin mulled over Park Eun-young’s advice to not trust Teacher, the request Choi Yoon-seok had made about Teacher, and now Ji Jung-hoon’s words to pretend to know nothing.
“Uncle. Teacher…”
He hesitated for a long time before finally asking.
“Why did Teacher do that?”
[Why?]
“Why did he try to do that to you and Eun-young?”
Ji Jung-hoon laughed lowly.
That laughter sounded somewhat like a growl filled with anger.
[Why? Because things didn’t go as planned, so he tried to silence us.]
Lee Young-jin said nothing.
But, why, such adverbs swirled inside his lips one after another, yet none of them managed to escape his mouth.
[Be careful. I’ll try to enter Korea as soon as I can. Don’t even think about coming out. The prosecutors are watching closely.]
“Okay.”
Lee Young-jin obediently responded.
Ji Jung-hoon sighed repeatedly.
[Take care of yourself, kid.]
“You too.”
[Should I keep contacting this number?]
“I don’t know.”
[…Alright. I’ll think about the contact method too, so don’t worry too much.]
“Mm.”
Finally, the call was disconnected.
Lee Young-jin looked at the smartphone screen signaling the end of the call for a moment before putting it back on the dining table. His hands were all sweaty.
“Th-thank you.”
Lee Young-jin muttered, looking down at the floor, towards Seo Seung-hyun, who was idly swirling a titanium cup filled with ice. Seo Seung-hyun tilted his head slightly to look up at Lee Young-jin standing in front of the dining table.
“Did you talk enough?”
The small head nodded up and down vigorously.
Then, Jang Young-hee stood up with an empty plate. Lee Young-jin tried to take the plate, but the competent secretary smoothly avoided his hand, turned around, and approached the sink. He put the plate into the sink, turned back, and walked towards Seo Seung-hyun.
“Sir, I’ll go down first.”
He bowed at a 90-degree angle, and Seo Seung-hyun nodded indifferently.
Jang Young-hee’s straight back left the kitchen.
Seo Seung-hyun continued to lightly shake the titanium cup, watching the ice inside clink against each other.
Lee Young-jin hesitated a bit more before speaking again.
“Thank you for finding him…”
But before he could finish, Seo Seung-hyun cut him off.
“Does that fucking teacher have your sex video?”
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