IDTE 22

Chapter – 22

“Director. I’ve heard that Kim Geon requested a meeting with Chairman Park today.”

“So?”

“Well, um…”

“What is it? Stop dragging it out and say it.”

“He’s bringing Yoo Minha with him.”

What kind of bullshit is that now? I crushed the random sheet of paper in my hand before the irritation even fully formed.

“What nonsense.”

“I heard Yoo Minha recently submitted her resignation to the law firm she works at. It might be related to that…”

“Why the hell are you telling me this now?!”

I remembered her talking about wanting to work here not long ago. So I’d let her dip just a finger in.

That woman had flinched even at the fleeting guilt that brushed against that small finger. I thought that would be enough.

I thought I’d crushed her spirit sufficiently, but apparently not.

“…Will this be okay? Whether it’s good or bad, it won’t be good for her to catch Chairman Park’s eye.”

“I don’t know. Just let her die.”

At this point, it seemed better to leave her alone to burn up like a swarm of bugs flying into a flickering light.

Right. The original plan was to keep things vague for now and, once we cleaned up the trash on the Myeongcheon side, deal with her according to Chairman Park’s instructions.

That was the plan.

But lately, I kept remembering a single moment from childhood—when I’d once saved a fairly large moth that had been flying into a light.

It wasn’t anything grand. I’d simply turned the light off. That was all. The moth had naturally drifted away from the heat.

And the feeling I’d had then… hadn’t been entirely unpleasant.

Whenever I looked at Yoo Minha, I felt something similar. A part of me wanted to turn off the light and let her try to live on her own.

Even that small impulse from me would be an incredible stroke of luck for an unfortunate woman like her.

But she looked ready to fling herself at a light that had already gone out.

“Should we at least send a few of our people, just in case?”

“For what? And why are you so concerned about her? Do you pity her too?”

“You’re the one who’s concerned about her, Director.”

“Are you insane?”

Was today the day for hearing nothing but ridiculous crap?

I kept crumpling the paper in my hand as irritation surged up.

Don’t care. If she ends up angering Chairman Park, that’s her own doing.

Still, the irritation refused to subside. Nothing ever goes the way you want, but why does everything feel so off lately?

If I wanted to get rid of this foul mood, I had no choice but to put an end to this.

I called Kim Geon.

“Where are you?”

[Whoa. Why does Lee Hyun-ah’s voice sound so scary?]

“You’re really taking Yoo Minha to see Chairman Park?”

[You already heard? There’s a reason. She quit her law firm. She can’t just stay unemployed forever, right? So—]

“Don’t cross the line. Go back.”

[Why? It’s not like she has a high chance of succeeding. Don’t worry—she won’t be getting into Sungjin Capital.]

“What are you talking about?”

[It’s not good for her to catch Chairman Park’s eye. If she does, she might get dealt with even sooner. Wouldn’t that be better for you? Don’t be mad. I’m trying to help you.]

“Shut up. Where are you?”

He said they were on their way to pick her up. Even if I left now, I’d be too late.

I decided to head straight to Sungjin Holdings and stop them there.

Why?

I didn’t know. Maybe I just felt like saving one stupid bug.

“She was quite capable. Said everything she prepared. I liked her more than I expected.”

“Please don’t concern yourself, Chairman. I apologize for the commotion.”

“What commotion? I told you—I liked her.”

“I don’t think it’s wise to keep an outsider like Yoo Minha any closer. I’ll take care of it on my end.”

“Hmm. No. No.”

Chairman Park rose and walked to the flowerpot he treasured. His eyes shone brightly—just like they used to.

“You need a sheepdog to keep the flock from scattering. Should I have her gather up the sheep scattered here and there?”

Damn it.

There was no reading Chairman Park’s true intentions. But it seemed he’d developed more interest in Yoo Minha than expected.

I had thought she shouldn’t be further entangled with him.

But maybe we were already too far gone.

After leaving his office, I gave Han-gyu the strongest orders I could manage.

Prevent Yoo Minha from coming to work if possible. And if not, make sure she can’t get any further involved.

Don’t let her learn anything more.

“Assistant Manager Kim Jun-hee from Compliance used to work at a law firm as well. I’ll tell her to look after Yoo Minha.”

“Forget it. If you step in, it’ll just cause misunderstandings. Make sure it doesn’t get out that we’re engaged.”

“Then I’ll just drop a subtle hint. She’s someone who understands.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“I told you before. Because you care.”

“Shut up.”

For now, I needed to speed up cleaning out the small fry on the Myeongcheon side.

Break off this ridiculous engagement first. Then clean up this mess as quickly as possible.

“So she came in after all?”

“Yes. Even on her first day, she was alone most of the time.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Um… later, Kim Geon picked her up. I thought you should know.”

“That bastard is still pulling this crap?”

I felt that inexplicable irritation surge up again.

Seeing the two of them together outside Chairman Park’s office had been unpleasant enough.

What was Kim Geon thinking?

One moment he pitied her. The next, he said it’d be better if she were dealt with sooner.

We’d grown up almost like brothers, but sometimes I wondered what lay beneath that agreeable skin of his.

“It’s not usually the kind of place where people are left unattended like that. I did give Assistant Manager Kim a subtle hint.”

A few hours passed in that uneasy state.

Suddenly, in the afternoon, I wondered if she was out stirring up trouble somewhere.

It’d be best if she just stayed glued to her desk, but Yoo Minha was unpredictable.

In the end, I sent Han-gyu down with instructions to simply confirm she was still at her seat.

But the message I received shortly after was exactly what I’d expected.

—She’s not at her desk. They said she went to the archive room in the basement level one.

The basement? That was where they dumped useless junk. Was there even an archive room there?

The uneasiness wouldn’t leave me.

I went down to the basement to check it out myself.

The moment I stepped off the elevator, stale dust filled my lungs. It was unpleasant.

I pushed forward through the haze of dust until I spotted a worn-out sign covered in grime. I’d never seen it before.

I knocked. No answer.

Had she already left?

I pulled the door open. It screeched horribly, the metal warped with age.

Inside, Yoo Minha lay there wearing nothing but her underwear.

A blood-stained cloth was loosely tied around her head.

There had been only a few times in my life when I’d doubted my own eyes.

Today was one of them.

“Yoo Minha! Stay with me! Yoo Minha!”

I shrugged off my jacket and covered her immediately.

I checked her breathing—faint, shallow breaths escaped intermittently.

Stay calm. This is nothing new. Injured people. The smell of blood. Familiar sights.

But my heart was pounding uncontrollably. My hands—unlike me—were starting to tremble.

“It’s a mild concussion. But if she’d come any later, it could have been dangerous.”

After admitting Yoo Minha to the emergency room, my thoughts were tangled.

Why had she been lying there like that?

Who had sent her there in the first place?

“Director, the head of Compliance is on the way.”

“Tell him not to come. I’ll go to them.”

“And Kim Geon somehow found out and is asking for the hospital location. What should we do?”

“Tell him to get lost.”

Not long ago, I’d been worried that Chairman Park was paying too much attention to Yoo Minha.

Now I understood.

The one paying too much attention to her… was me.