Chapter 59

So Gi-hyeon was the kind of man who could sleep soundly in a snake-infested trench during a live-fire field exercise. During extreme winter combat training, he had slept in vastly worse conditions.

Adjusting to a comfortable, fully enclosed home with a solid roof was practically effortless. His culinary repertoire was slowly expanding, and his daily constitutionals often took him quite far afield.

Jo Yeon-oh, who had spent the first few days aggressively haunting the neighborhood, had apparently reached his absolute limit; the bastard hadn’t been seen in days. Having intimately witnessed the sheer, staggering volume of the man’s corporate workload, Gi-hyeon had fully anticipated this exact outcome. As a result, he was finally enjoying a period of genuine peace.

Of course, it wasn’t absolute tranquility.

A violently boiling resentment toward Jo Yeon-oh still flared up sporadically. The sole, undeniable reason Gi-hyeon had been forced to flee to Ilsan was Jo Yeon-oh, yet the bastard had casually strolled up to him in the parking lot and asked about the move as if they had merely engaged in a petty lover’s spat. Every time Gi-hyeon recalled that sheer, unadulterated audacity, a string of vile curses practically tore itself from his throat.

The monumental disaster that was their relationship was absolutely not the kind of trivial nonsense that could be casually brushed aside. They hadn’t argued over supporting rival sports teams, nor had they fought because Gi-hyeon ignored Yeon-oh’s nagging and forgot to line up his slippers after using the bathroom.

If their problems had been that incredibly pathetic, Gi-hyeon never would have fled to Ilsan in the first place. Furthermore…

—We’re re cutting all ties, Yeon-oh-ya.

He never would have delivered such a final, devastating blow.

The fact that the bastard was aggressively acting like they were just taking a temporary break after a minor disagreement was utterly sickening.

…No, the agonizing truth was that Gi-hyeon was actually violently sick of himself for caring this much. In the end, he could only offer a bitter, mocking laugh at his own pathetic existence. It felt as though no matter where he ran, he was constantly orbiting Jo Yeon-oh’s shadow, leaving a crushing, leaden weight on his chest.

That was precisely why he aggressively threw himself into stabilizing his new life.

Fortunately, he genuinely loved his new sanctuary. The quiet, idyllic city perfectly aligned with his reserved temperament. There were endless scenic routes for walking, and a nearby specialty grocer often stocked bizarre, fascinating products, making it a perfect destination for window shopping.

Today was no exception; he had picked up two new sauces from the grocer and grabbed a bag of madeleines on his way back. The intoxicating aroma of lemon zest radiating from the pastries had been so overpowering that he aggressively devoured three of them just walking to the car.

Because he was technically borrowing Beom-hee’s pristine convertible, he absolutely refused to eat inside the cabin. Leaving the driver’s side door wide open, he casually dangled his legs outside while munching on a madeleine. A dog out for a walk suddenly stopped dead in its tracks, staring intensely at Gi-hyeon’s snack. Knowing he couldn’t feed a dog baked goods, Gi-hyeon felt a pang of guilt. The owner chuckled apologetically, “He always stares like he’s starving when people eat. Sorry about that, young man.” When the dog stubbornly refused to move, the owner simply scooped the animal up and carried it away.

The late afternoon sun filtered beautifully through the leaves of the street trees, casting intricate, dancing shadows across the remaining madeleines. After polishing off the very last pastry, he realized he had absolutely no food left at home. He briefly considered running back to buy more, but ultimately decided against it and hit the ignition.

Pulling back into the villa parking lot, a sudden, chilling thought aggressively struck him. When was the very first time I saw that car?

Gi-hyeon narrowed his eyes, staring intensely at the vehicle in question.

It was an incredibly common domestic model. Not black, but white. The exact second he registered the wildly popular mid-size white sedan—the absolute default choice for the average Korean driver—parked directly in front of his building, a violently unsettling realization washed over him.

His eyes narrowed further before smoothing out into a mask of absolute apathy. He smoothly steered his own SUV into an empty spot and grabbed his groceries.

Maintaining a perfectly indifferent expression as he slammed the driver’s side door, he threw a completely casual glance at the license plate. Just as I thought. He had absolutely seen that car before. Two days ago, when a sudden, violent craving for blueberries had sent him back to that exact same fruit stand, he had seen it. And yesterday morning, it had been parked directly across from the cafe where he bought his sandwich and apple juice.

Gi-hyeon let out a low, vibrating hum, casually walking straight past the white sedan and into his building. Maintaining his absolute routine, he bypassed the elevator and took the stairs. The fact that his anterior talofibular ligament and Achilles tendon weren’t screaming in agony as he climbed meant his ankle was in remarkably good shape today.

Standing before his own front door, Gi-hyeon deliberately checked the tiny, paper-thin slip he had meticulously wedged into the door hinge. The thin strip wasn’t just lying on the floor; it had been violently torn in half. Someone had absolutely breached his apartment and left.

Clicking his tongue, he noted there were no signs of forced entry, ruling out a common burglar. Furthermore, his entire excursion had lasted barely two hours, and no self-respecting thief would ever target a residential villa complex in broad daylight, right when kids were getting out of school.

Punching in his passcode and stepping inside, the apartment was exactly as he expected—completely untouched. There were absolutely no signs of a struggle, and nothing had been violently ransacked.

Acting with chilling nonchalance, Gi-hyeon strolled over to the living room window, aggressively pulled the curtains shut, and immediately began changing his clothes. Having gone out in rigid denim, he desperately needed something vastly more functional. He stripped off his collared shirt, threw on a highly elastic athletic tee, and jammed a black baseball cap onto his head.

Taking zero chances, he grabbed his sports tape and C-tape, aggressively strapping his bad ankle before pulling on high-top athletic socks. Heading to the entryway, he grabbed his heavy-duty sneakers—the ones with the aggressive anti-slip soles—and carried them directly to the utility balcony located just off the kitchen. This balcony was situated on the absolute opposite side of the building from the living room windows.

Next, he pulled out the keys to his brand-new SUV. Thanks to a canceled pre-order, the dealership had delivered the vehicle shockingly fast. However, using the excuse that he absolutely loved Beom-hee’s convertible, he had aggressively delayed returning it. Director Lee, who was incredibly busy and rarely drove anyway, had simply told him to keep it for now. As a result, Gi-hyeon had continued driving Beom-hee’s car even after his own had arrived.

There was a slight chance his stalkers had already identified the new SUV, but Gi-hyeon highly doubted it.

He had only first spotted the tail two days ago.

Shoving the car keys deep into his pocket and aggressively zipping it shut, Gi-hyeon marched straight out to the utility balcony. He meticulously tightened the laces on his anti-slip sneakers. Then, throwing the window wide open and shoving the screen aside, he stared straight down.

“Hmm…”

Now that he was actually looking down, the drop seemed significantly more intimidating than he had anticipated, sending a jolt of genuine adrenaline through his veins. Because his living room windows were directly visible from the parking lot where the tail was stationed, he had deliberately left the lights blazing despite it being mid-afternoon. Whether they could actually see inside was irrelevant; they knew Gi-hyeon was a severe homebody who rarely left once he returned. His behavior over the past few days had established a rigid, predictable pattern.

Reaching out, he aggressively yanked on the exterior drainage pipe. It held firm, heavily secured to the brick exterior with industrial iron brackets.

“It’s solid, but…”

Taking a massive, steadying breath, he stepped out onto the narrow window ledge. Thank God he only lived on the third floor. If he had been any higher, this absolutely insane stunt would have been physically impossible. Because it was one of the incredibly rare days his ankle wasn’t screaming, driving his heavy sneakers into the rough brick face didn’t trigger immediate agony. Plus, he would be relying almost entirely on his upper body strength to descend anyway.

Gripping the thick pipe, he channeled the deeply ingrained muscle memory from his days as a military cadet, when he used to aggressively scale the barracks walls to smuggle in alcohol. He began to slowly, meticulously lower himself. He was actually incredibly grateful that he weighed significantly less now than he did during his peak military conditioning. Since he had rigorously maintained his upper body strength training, he was confident his muscles wouldn’t fail him.

The single, catastrophic risk was being spotted. He was particularly terrified of terrifying one of his neighbors, but the massive, overgrown trees in the villa’s rear garden—thriving aggressively in the approaching summer heat—provided a perfect, natural smokescreen. The only minor irritation was the leaves aggressively tickling his back as he descended.

Gi-hyeon shimmied down the pipe with terrifying efficiency. When he was barely a meter from the ground, he simply let go and dropped. He braced for a blinding spike of pain in his ankle, but after rolling it tentatively, there wasn’t even a dull ache. He immediately broke into a swift, silent walk.

The villa complex featured both a subterranean parking garage and a surface lot; he had taken delivery of his new SUV directly in the underground facility. The major complication was that accessing the subterranean garage normally required exiting through the main lobby and walking down an exterior stairwell. Gi-hyeon’s specific building did not have a direct elevator down to the garage.

That was precisely why he had bypassed his own front door to scale down the exterior plumbing like a common cat burglar. Keeping his profile incredibly low, Gi-hyeon aggressively pulled his cap down and slipped around the rear of the building. Ducking behind the small, decorative shrubs planted near the entrances, he sprinted silently and slipped perfectly into the lobby of an adjacent building.

From there, he took their elevator directly down into the subterranean garage. He was incredibly cautious, acutely aware that the white sedan might have backup stationed below, but he had absolutely nothing to lose at this point. Finding his pristine SUV—the protective plastic film still clinging to the seats—he aggressively threw himself behind the wheel.

Exiting the subterranean garage through the rear ramp, Gi-hyeon took the SUV on a wide, evasive lap around the neighborhood. Catching a green light, he casually pulled back into his own villa complex and parked directly in the surface lot. He strategically chose a spot diagonally facing the front of the white sedan—a complete blind spot where neither their side mirrors nor their rearview mirror could possibly detect him.

Then, the agonizing waiting game began. Because he absolutely could not alert the tail that his engine was running, turning on the AC was impossible. He cracked the windows slightly, but the early summer air was aggressively, suffocatingly humid.

But Gi-hyeon was perfectly fine. The sheer, petty satisfaction of knowing the bastard in the white sedan was suffering in the exact same sweltering oven made the heat entirely bearable. It felt like a psychotic battle of wills, and Gi-hyeon was fiercely determined to outlast him.

He had no idea how much time had agonizingly ticked by when the white sedan’s engine finally roared to life, and the car immediately began pulling out. Keeping his head aggressively low, Gi-hyeon waited until the sedan completely exited the complex and took a hard right before slamming his foot on the gas and peeling out after him. He immediately blasted the AC.

“I thought I was going to roast to fucking death in there…”

He had genuinely feared he might steam like a dumpling, but his patience had paid off. Slipping out of the complex, Gi-hyeon aggressively maneuvered his SUV, purposefully wedging two random cars between himself and the white sedan before beginning his pursuit.

Because the city was built on a highly organized grid, predicting the white sedan’s trajectory was incredibly easy. Surprisingly, the tail wasn’t heading out of the city; he was driving straight into the bustling commercial district. He clearly hadn’t noticed he was being followed, as he made absolutely no evasive maneuvers to lose a tail.

Gi-hyeon shadowed him relentlessly. A short time later, the white sedan pulled over abruptly in front of a busy downtown cafe. The man who stepped out was a complete stranger; he wasn’t wearing a suit, his hair was painfully flattened in the back, and the back of his t-shirt was violently wrinkled, screaming that he had been sitting in a car for hours. He looked exactly like a cheap private investigator or a freelance tail.

Gi-hyeon aggressively parked his SUV in front of a nearby soup restaurant. Marching inside, he ordered a bowl of gukbap to go, telling the owner he would be right back while it was being prepared. The owner cheerfully agreed. Throwing a quick thanks, Gi-hyeon immediately sprinted out of the restaurant and closed in on the cafe.

Yanking his cap down aggressively, he aggressively claimed a plastic table outside a convenience store situated diagonally from the cafe. From there, he threw a sharp, sideways glare through the cafe’s massive front windows.

“…”

The man from the white sedan had taken a seat directly across from someone. The contact was impeccably dressed in a sharp suit, exuding an aggressively cold, purely bureaucratic aura in every movement.

“Hah…”

Gi-hyeon knew that face.

It was the personal secretary of Jo Gyu-deok, Jo Yeon-oh’s terrifying grandfather. He couldn’t recall the man’s exact name or specific title, but having seen him lurking around since childhood, there was absolutely zero chance of misidentification.

Even while aggressively tailing the white sedan, Gi-hyeon had been absolutely certain Jo Yeon-oh wasn’t the one who had ordered the hit. If Yeon-oh wanted to monitor him, he would have done it blatantly, but he never would have ordered someone to physically breach Gi-hyeon’s apartment. Furthermore, since the bastard had already moved into the building literally next door, hiring a private investigator was completely redundant.

He had wondered what kind of absolute lunatic would violently break into his sanctuary, and it turned out to be Jo Gyu-deok’s doing.

“I am so entirely fucked…”

This was a catastrophic disaster.

Knowing there was absolutely no time to waste, Gi-hyeon bolted from his seat. He sprinted back to the soup restaurant, grabbed his takeout order—which doubled as his excuse for parking there—and practically flew back home.

The single, microscopic silver lining was that they were clearly completely unaware Gi-hyeon had taken delivery of the new SUV. The fact that the tail hadn’t noticed him following proved they had absolutely no idea he had even signed a contract for a new vehicle. It strongly suggested the surveillance operation had only recently commenced.

Gi-hyeon aggressively smashed the accelerator, tearing back to his apartment. Once inside, he violently choked down the lukewarm soup before ruthlessly purging his apartment. He aggressively threw out all the food scraps and completely emptied his refrigerator of anything perishable. When the purge was complete, he threw a few essential items into a single bag.

He aggressively tapped out a final message to Beom-hee.

—“I’m going completely off the grid for a while. Come pick up your car. I’ll pay you back for the detailing later. Thanks for everything.” 04:29 PM

He immediately fired off a second text containing his exact address, the front door passcode, and the location of the car keys. Before the ‘Read’ receipt could even register, he aggressively triggered a complete factory reset on his phone.

Gi-hyeon threw one final, sweeping glare around his apartment. He hadn’t yet purchased any furniture or supplies for the baby, but his maternity logbook and the prescriptions clearly displaying the OBGYN’s name were sitting blatantly on the living room table. It was only a matter of time before Jo Gyu-deok discovered the pregnancy.

If Jo Yeon-oh had caught him, he could have aggressively fabricated a lie, but Jo Gyu-deok was a different monster entirely. The old man had probably already illegally accessed and reviewed every single one of Gi-hyeon’s medical records.

And to make matters infinitely worse, Jo Yeon-oh had coincidentally moved into the building right next door. If Jo Gyu-deok discovered the pregnancy now, he would be handed the absolute perfect narrative to assume Jo Yeon-oh was the father. To an outside observer, the fact that both Jo Yeon-oh and So Gi-hyeon had abruptly abandoned Seoul for Ilsan looked exactly like they were running away together to hide a catastrophic secret.

If that psychopathic old man—a man violently obsessed with his bloodline—learned the truth, there was absolutely no telling how or when he would ruthlessly strike at Gi-hyeon and the child. To prevent that absolute nightmare, Gi-hyeon had to aggressively deliver a silent, undeniable message to Jo Gyu-deok first.

He had to aggressively prove that he had absolutely zero intention of ever appearing before his grandson again, and that he fully intended to raise the child entirely independently of Jo Yeon-oh. A paranoid monster like Jo Gyu-deok would never believe a simple verbal promise. If Gi-hyeon knew the man at all, Gyu-deok might aggressively demand a DNA test while the child was still in the womb.

In a terrifying crisis like this, trying to reason with the man was absolute suicide. Drastic, immediate action was the only option.

There was only one viable path forward.

Gi-hyeon aggressively resolved to run.

[END of VOLUME 2]