Translated by Springlila
Ja-kyung put on sunglasses and looked up at the sky while lying in a large tube. A few clouds drifted across the blue sky. The midsummer weather was so hot that it made him dizzy, and spending the day at the swimming pool wasn’t a bad idea.
After coming down from the tube and going into the water, Wang Lun and Wang Han approach from afar. They’re carrying a square tray with large slices of watermelon, beer, and juice.
Ja-kyung grabbed the edge of the pool and came out from the water. As soon as he sat down, Wang Han handed him a watermelon.
“Have some. The watermelon is really ripe and delicious.”
Ja-kyung declined and shook his head. Instead, he picked up a refreshing glass of lemonade. Wang Lun smiled as he eat the watermelon next to him and said,
“Sweet like honey.”
Ja-kyung frowned. Now Wang Han was going crazy, telling him to eat the watermelon.
“Just have one, okay? CEO Kang planted a lot of watermelons in the backyard because he knew you liked them.”
Wang Lun nodded and agreed.
“That’s right. He’s a romanticist.”
They chuckled, saying it was true love. As Ja-kyung sipped his lemonade, he watched as the watermelon went into the mouths of the two men. It was the watermelon grown in Kang Il-hyun’s backyard, where a lot of bodies were buried.
He thought Kang Il-hyun’s remark about burying a person was a joke until he discovered a long bone while helping the house chef pick watermelons. The house chef claimed it was an animal bone, but its length and shape clearly indicated it was a human shin bone.
As he frowned, Wang Lun asked him what was wrong. Ja-kyung shook his head. It was best for them not to know, so eat to your heart’s content.
Until recently, the three of them had gathered and planned to kill someone, but recently they had been stuck in a monotonous and boring routine. On top of that, after the accident they had caused due to Wang Lun’s insistence a month ago, they were practically trapped.
Kang Il-hyun suffered significant losses from that incident and warned them that if they did anything unnecessary again, he would tie all three of them together and throw them into the river.
“It’s boring. What else is there to do?”
Wang Han muttered to himself as he laid back on the sunbed. Wang Lun placed the finished watermelon rind on the tray, stood up and stretched, and soon jumped into the pool. Plop, the big guy fell into the pool and the water splashed all over the place. Ja-kyung wiped the water off his face and emptied the remaining juice before getting up from his seat.
Wang Han’s gaze followed him.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the department store.”
“Department store?”
Kang Il-hyun’s birthday was just around the corner, and Ja-kyung had been contemplating what to make for a birthday present since last week. Wang Han already knew that.
“Ask him directly. It’s only a good gift if you give him what he wants, right?”
Upon hearing that, Ja-kyung wiped off the water with a towel and looked up. He didn’t know what absurd thing that crazy person would demand if he asked him. He recalled his own birthday a few months ago. That’s when he received a painting from Kang Il-hyun. Il-hyun brought a foreign man to his house, and he painted a portrait of Ja-kyung. It was the first time he faced his own face through a painting, and it felt unfamiliar yet not unpleasant.
Strangely enough, that painting ended up hanging in Kang Il-hyun’s bedroom, not in Ja-kyung’s room. It was displayed side by side with a model of himself. Of course, since they often slept together, he could see the painting whenever he opened his eyes. With a portrait hanging on the wall, it made him feel like he had become something.
One day, Kang Yoo-jung came to visit, and she told him that it was like a tribute and that the artist who painted it was a very famous person.
“What should I buy for him to like…”
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out. Giving a gift to a man who had everything was definitely not an easy task.
***
“You’re going to pierce a hole in the picture.”
Prosecutor Jang, who was standing in front of the blackboard, smiled at Secretary Park’s words and took a long look at Yang Seon-woo’s picture. Yang Seon-woo, a member of Kang Il-hyun’s entourage, had returned from Hong Kong, but for some reason, he hadn’t been seen at Kang Il-hyun’s house for nearly a month.
“I mean Yang Seon-woo. Doesn’t he look familiar?”
At Secretary Park’s words, Prosecutor Jang shrugged. Well.
“Oh, when Prosecutor Oh stopped by and looked at it, he said he looked like Prosecutor Jang.”
He laughed and Prosecutor Jang made a bewildered expression. Where did that come from?
“Your nose and mouth. He asked me if Yang Seon-woo was Prosecutor Jang’s younger brother.”
“…”
Seeing Prosecutor Jang’s silence, he said it was a joke, but then he realized it and quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry. I must have said something unnecessary.”
Prosecutor Jang chuckled bitterly.
“No… If my younger brother had been alive somewhere, he would be around that age.”
He looked closely at Yang Seon-woo’s photo again. He wasn’t sure if they looked alike, but their ages were roughly similar. Prosecutor Jang was nine years old when he lost his three years old younger brother. He lost his younger brother in the market before he could even speak properly.
Tragedy struck without warning. He had walked a little distance away from the store where his parents worked, trying to calm down his crying and tantrum-throwing younger brother. It was a moment of carelessness when his younger brother dropped the ball he was holding and briefly let go of his hand.
When he turned around to give the ball back, his brother had disappeared. Even at a young age, he realized the significance of everything turning white before his eyes. He vividly remembered his parents’ shocked expressions as he frantically ran back to tell them the truth.
His parents, who were running a business at the time, reported the disappearance and closed down their shop, scouring every corner of the country like mad in search of their lost son. One year passed, then five years, then ten years, and in the end, they found nothing while their tears continued to accumulate.
That how it was. Both of them got sick and passed away early. And Prosecutor Jang couldn’t escape that guilt for the rest of his life. Although his deceased parents never resented the son they had left behind, not even once.
His mouth was dry for no reason, so he took his eyes off the blackboard and sighed. As he returned to his seat and shuffled through some documents, Secretary Park’s phone rang. His gaze flew to Prosecutor Jang. After ending the call, he smiled, indicating that there was good news.
“Yang Seon-woo. They say he is out of the house now.”
Prosecutor Jang’s eyes twinkled.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Prosecutor Jang grabbed his coat and took off the ID card he had been wearing around his neck. He puts on a camouflage jacket and thick horn-rimmed glasses, then turns to Secretary Park.
“What do you think? Do I look good?”
“You look like a detective.”
“That’s great.”
He moved quickly behind. Secretary Park received a report on Yang Seon-woo’s movement route while driving in a parked car in the parking lot. Fortunately, it was a department store close to the prosecutor’s office.
He drove to the department store at a fast speed and parked. Then, he went upstairs to where Yang Seon-woo was supposed to be. A person planted there by Secretary Park was waiting for him. They exchanged a subtle greeting with their eyes, and he entered the watch store.
As he entered, the staff greeted him. Acting as if he was browsing the watches, he circled around the man named Yang Seon-woo. He was wearing a red shirt with large flower patterns and black sunglasses that concealed his eyes.
Impressive choice of shirt. He looked more glamorous in person than in the photos. Perhaps people thought he was a celebrity because even others nearby couldn’t help but steal glances. He scrutinized the watches for a while but apparently didn’t find anything to his liking, as he left the store without making a purchase.
Prosecutor Jang immediately followed after him. Yang Seon-woo went downstairs and looked around the other stores several times. He went round and round without buying anything until the music box was chosen. He called someone after pulling out his wallet and paying in cash.
As Prosecutor Jang slowly followed after him, he suddenly turned around and came his way. Caught off guard, Prosecutor Jang quickly turned his body and accidentally grabbed one of the sunglasses that were in front of him. Yang Seon-woo’s voice grew closer.
“I don’t know what to buy. I should have come with you, hyung.”
To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.
Hyung? Was it Kang Il-hyun?
“I only bought a music box for my room. But…”
Thud! Prosecutor Jang staggered as he looked in the mirror. Yang Seon-woo, who was passing by, collided with him, causing his shopping bags and phones to fall to the ground. Prosecutor Jang’s face hardened as he was caught off guard.
Picking up the fallen shopping bag, Yang Seon-woo lowered his sunglasses down to his nose.
“I’m sorry…”
He smiled with an embarrassed face and then stood up. He checked the music box in the shopping bag and let out a short sigh of relief when he confirmed it was undamaged. After apologizing again, he continued his phone call.
“I bumped into someone. It hurts. Yeah, yeah. Should I buy sushi? It’s okay.”
Prosecutor Jang’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched the figure getting farther away. What’s this? He looks even younger than he expected. He doesn’t seem to be anything special. Is he really Kang Il-hyun’s lover, or just a plaything? He smiled and was about to return the sunglasses he held in his hand to the employee when, oh no, damn it… the bridge of the sunglasses bent.
He looked at the employee in confusion, and they still had a smile on their face. Reluctantly, Prosecutor Jang smiled and put his hand in his coat pocket to find his wallet. Huh? Even after searching the opposite pocket, it was the same.
What? Where is my wallet…
***
[Where are you, honey?]
He parked his car on the side of the road when he got a call from Kang Il-hyun. This damn “babe” nickname has become so common that it feels like a greeting now.
“I’m here at the department store.”
[Why?]
Since he probably already knows, Ja-kyung honestly spilled the beans.
“To buy a birthday present for someone.”
[Me?]
“Yes. But I can’t find anything suitable. Do you have anything you want?”
[I knew you’d say that, so I prepared in advance. You just have to wear it.]
He looked at the phone screen with a grim expression, sensing a bad feeling.
[It’s a pair of panties that a lace artisan puts effort into weaving stitch by stitch. It suits you very well.]
Thud! He pressed the end call button without listening any further. Should he sew every inch of Kang Il-hyun’s mouth shut as a gift instead? He became concerned that his words might not be a joke as he thought about them. He sighed and looked in the rearview mirror. He took out his wallet from his pocket, confirming that no one was following him.
Inside the wallet were only some cards and a total of 50,000 won in cash. He took out the man’s ID card from inside the wallet and checked his face. Jang Tae-ho, prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office?
Ha, damn it. Looks like a fly landed on him.
He clicked his tongue and threw the wallet onto the passenger seat. It seemed like going home would be the better option for today.
