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Il-hyun looked at the clock on the shelf while buttoning his shirt in front of the mirror. It’s the one he put on Lee Ja-kyung’s wrist last night, and it contains a wiretapping device. He had no idea Ja-kyung would rip it open. He looked down on him because of his sloppy acting, but he thought that his opponent might not be as easy as he thought.
He dressed up, grabbed his jacket, and went outside. The house chef was sorting the morning newspaper in the living room.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes, I’ll have breakfast at work.”
Il-hyun stopped in front of the stairs leading up to the second floor. Because Lee Ja-kyung sleeps a lot in the morning, he always couldn’t get up until late. Besides, he must have been quite tired yesterday. After that, he tortured him to do it a few more times.
“Please prepare Yi An meal with care. Something nutritious.”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
Il-hyun greeted her and went out. The staff was draining the water on one side of the pool. The water became dirty due to the rain last night, and the filter failed to function properly, so company employees came to inspect it in the afternoon.
Tae-soo was waiting in the car in front of the gate when he came out. The car drove away as soon as he sat in the back seat. Park Tae-soo, who was in the passenger seat, handed a file to him.
“This is a list of guests coming to the inauguration ceremony.”
Chairman Kang’s name was at the top of the list as soon as he opened it. And family members, including Kang Yoo-jung, members of the National Assembly’s legislative branch, company executives, and so on
 The time Lee Ja-kyung shoots him will be right after the inauguration ceremony.
Park Tae-soo asked carefully while Il-hyun looked at the list.
“What will you do with Lee Ja-kyung when it’s over?”
Il-hyun paused for a moment while flipping through the list. But he answered in a monotone tone, as if he had made a quick decision.
“Get to work right away.”
Tae-soo in the mirror had a slightly surprised expression on his face. No matter how hard he tried not to show it, he knew that the two of them were more than just friends. There was also a discussion among the house chefs. Il-hyun raised his head and looked in the rearview mirror at Tae-soo.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Tae-soo immediately lowered his gaze.
“It’s nothing, Director.”
“If Lee Ja-kyung is still alive, the old man will have a difficult time, but so will I. So get rid of him completely.”
“Yes.”
Il-hyun looked out the window. He remembered Lee Ja-kyung’s excited expression from the night before. The way he looked up at him with redness under his eyes seemed to haunt him even after he died. But it’s better to get rid of it completely than to be a small source of trouble.
“Tae-soo.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t kill and throw him away, bury him well.”
“Yes.”
Il-hyun, after going over the list, covered it up and threw it next to him. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He remembered that expression again. His smooth neck. He bit his lower lip, unsure what to do. His bright red ears. His erotic eyes that turn red when he gets excited.
Hmm
 Instead of burying it in the ground, he would rather keep it.
Ja-kyung laughed at his reflection in the mirror after entering the bathroom wearing only one piece of underwear. His back ached, he couldn’t straighten out, and his entire body ached as if he’d been smashed with a hammer. His nipples were so swollen that just touching them made him cry, so he had to put a band-aid on them.
He cursed and rubbed the patch all over his body, and came out. Every time he moved, a painful sound came out of his mouth. After opening the safe under the bed, Ja-kyung took out the USB stolen from Kang Il-hyun’s house in Seoul.
He took it and walked around the bedroom. He turned on the laptop and connected it after some thought. He checked the file and found it to be empty. He clenched his teeth. Just in case, his prediction was correct. Seriously, there’s no way he could have hidden something so important in an empty house without CCTV. He took it out and put it in his pants pocket instead of the safe.
He then proceeded downstairs. He said hello to the staff as they came and went, but he couldn’t find the house chef. Instead, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen. He needed some sunlight because his head was complicated and his body ached. The sun was already high when he left the house.
Because of the rain last night, the sky was clear and blue with no clouds. He walked through the wet grass, stretching his arms upwards. The pain subsided slightly as he walked. He received a message from Wang Han while walking around the house.
[$7.5 million confirmed.]
This is the money that Kang Il-hyun sent. 9 billion Korean Won. Given that it was usually between 100 million and 500 million per case, it is an unimaginable sum. If he adds up the advance payment received from Chairman Kang, it is 12 billion won. The starting point may differ, but the goal of getting rid of each other is the same.
He gathered his thoughts and made his way to the backyard slowly. Then a voice comes from behind the building. As he approached, he noticed the house chef knocking on the ground with a shovel. A German Shepherd sits next to him and wags its tail.
“What are you doing?”
As Ja-kyung approached, the house chef turned around with a shovel, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and smiled kindly.
“Happy was carrying something strange, so I buried it.”
It wasn’t until later that Ja-kyung discovered the dog’s name was Happy. It’s a really unsuitable name. The house chef took the watering can next to her and sprinkled it on the spot where she had just buried it. Ja-kyung guessed that she had buried Choi Ki-tae’s head.
When the Shepard tried to dig it, she said firmly, ‘No.’ The guy understood the house chef’s words better than he appeared to. He eventually lowered his tail and walked to another place.
“Let other people do it
”
“Whoever has the time can do it. Let’s go, now that you’re awake you must be hungry.”
She grabbed the shovel and pushed Ja-kyung’s back. Her hand dragged Ja-kyung into the house. When Kang Il-hyun was not present, the spacious house felt very different. He acknowledged the significance of his presence. She quickly prepared the food after washing her hands.
Ja-kyung spent the rest of his time sitting on the sofa while fiddling with his phone. He was bored because Kang Seok-joo, who came to see him every day, was not there. It was annoying when he was around, but it felt empty when he wasn’t. He looked around and noticed strangers entering and exiting the pool area.
They were dressed in an outfit and hat he had never seen before, and he wondered if they were Kang Il-hyun’s employees. One of them glanced over his side with his hat pressed deep.
“Yi An. Let’s eat.”
He entered and took a seat at the table. Looking at the food on the table, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. There were plenty of meat dishes on the menu, but just looking at them made his mouth water.
“Wow, what day is it today?”
“I paid attention to it because you don’t seem to have an appetite these days.”
“Let’s eat together.”
“I’ve already eaten. Actually, the Director specifically asked me when he was leaving. Yi An doesn’t seem to be in good condition, so he asked me to look after you.”
“Ah, I see
”
“I’m so proud to see him like that.”
She smiled from ear to ear. Ja-kyung wondered if Kang Il-hyun’s command to prepare the food well was something to be proud of. It was someone’s fault he wasn’t in a good condition, and it wasn’t like he was infecting him with a disease or drugs. He was resentful and thankful, but he was still confused about the emotions he felt for a brief moment yesterday, which made him feel uncomfortable.
Ja-kyung went out to the living room after eating delicious food, but there were still people in the pool. When he asked the house chef, he was told that the filter had broken due to the heavy rain last night and that they had come to repair it. However, the act of constantly being aware of one’s surroundings is suspicious.
Ja-kyung looked around the living room, took a fountain pen from the table, tucked it inside his sleeve, and came out. The guard in front of the gate casts a glance at him as he strides across the lawn. Ja-kyung walked over to the pool.
The two were filling up the pool as it seem that they had finished cleaning it. The man pouring medicine into the water returned Ja-kyung’s gaze and bowed his head.
“Are the repairs finished?”
“Yes, we should be able to get all the water in the evening.”
“That’s fortunate
 I really wanted to swim today.”
Ja-kyung approached the man and looked at the barrel he was holding.
“What is this?”
“It’s a disinfectant.”
“Can I smell it?”
He could see the man’s shoulders getting tense. Ja-kyung squatted next to the man and tilted his head to stare at his side face.
“Can I smell it?”
The man turns his head slowly. He had a hard, stiff smile on his face.
“It’s just a disinfectant
 It smells so strong that it won’t be good for you.”
“Is it okay to just put something so strong in here?”
The man frowned and avoided his gaze. Ja-kyung got up from his seat. He could sense the other man working in the front looking at him. His gaze was familiar. Ja-kyung pretended to make a mistake and pushed the man’s back while walking. The unfocused man fell into the pool and plunged his face into the knee-high water.
The man who fell into the pool panicked and attempted to crawl out. But he immediately grabbed his neck and coughed as if he was suffocated. He managed to get out of the pool, but the man squealed as he rolled over on the ground.
The man in the front quickly pulled out a knife from inside his arms.
“Fuck!”
Only then did Ja-kyung accurately remember the man’s face. It was one of the guys who worked for Choi Ki-tae. He recognized him from the cruise. Ja-kyung took the fountain pen from his sleeve and opened the lid as the man charged in with a knife. He threw the fountain pen at the running man, striking him in the eye. After hearing the noise, the guards began running while the man was rolling around, holding his eyes and shouting loudly.