055 – Rat Poison if Eaten #3
In the morning as the male student came to school.
The air in the basement, gradually heading toward summer, was as cold as in winter.
It was because of what had happened in the morning.
“Cycling machines would be nice, you say? What, are you here for a picnic? Is this a training ground, huh?”
Seugal shot a cold remark at Yurerm.
Her cynical words jabbed at Yurerm’s heart like a sharp bee sting.
Yurerm recalled the earlier incident.
When delivering the morning newspaper to the basement, student Hanamjin arrived, and Yurerm mentioned something she’d been hesitating to say for a long time.
That they should have a cycling machine here in this basement.
Even if asking to be let out of here or requesting to write a letter home was out of the question, a cycling machine seemed like a reasonable request for negotiation.
“Health management is important.”
Though Yurerm’s reply came off as cynical, it was partly genuine.
She was growing restless, feeling her muscles were atrophying from being confined here for too long.
Yurerm simply wanted to do something meaningful with the time she spent in this place, and that something turned out to be a cycling machine.
However, Seugal criticized Yurerm’s attitude.
“Wow, are you one of those girls who wags her tail for boys and gets whatever she wants? I’m truly shocked. Wasn’t it you who rejected advances in middle school by saying you weren’t interested in romance?”
Seugal and Yurerm had been classmates at Baekhwa Middle School.
Though they had never been in the same class, as one was an only daughter of a global conglomerate and the other the daughter of a presidential candidate, they were acquaintances who occasionally exchanged light greetings.
In Seugal’s memory, Yurerm was a girl with a short haircut who usually dressed in school sports attire, more popular among other girls than boys. Despite this, a few boys occasionally asked her out.
All these boys from what was called the “Noble School” were sons of ministers or influential business families.
However, Yurerm rejected every bit of their attention.
“I’m not interested in such things,” was her reason.
Therefore, some rumors speculated if Yurerm possibly liked girls—now, though, it seemed as if everything was merely an act.
“Yurerm, are you turning into some kind of prostitute?”
Seugal openly criticized Yurerm for fawning over the male student just to get a “cycling machine.”
Yurerm fired back.
“What? What did I do to deserve this much criticism?”
“You think I didn’t notice you flirting with Hanamjin? Making eye contact constantly, bumping into him like it was an accident, then apologizing! Are you delusional? It’s disgusting!”
Yurerm’s face turned red for a moment.
She hadn’t expected Seugal to be so perceptive about her subtle attempt at luring the male student for a cycling machine.
‘Of course, Seugal is far more experienced in this sort of cunning behavior than me.’
Yurerm thought back to all those years when she’d observed Seugal since middle school.
To Yurerm, Seugal had always been the epitome of pretense.
Every action, even the seemingly accidental drop of a handkerchief, was calculated.
‘How exhausting to live that way,’ Yurerm thought but never had any intention to comment on it.
Since being locked in the same room, however, Yurerm started to question how little she actually knew about Seugal.
Despite all this, Yurerm still held the upper hand.
She managed to get a “cycling machine” through the male student.
More importantly, she learned that negotiation with the male student was possible.
That gave her a degree of satisfaction.
When Yurerm regained her composure, Seugal irritably said,
“Are you serious about messing with me? Do you even know what happened to Baek Yeo-ul, who once crossed me?”
The mention of Baek Yeo-ul momentarily transported Yurerm’s memories back to middle school.
Seugal had once been extremely close to Baek Yeo-ul, closer than bl**d sisters.
Best friends.
Even to Yurerm who wasn’t aware of their intimate relationship, the two seemed inseparable. However, as high school approached, Seugal and Baek Yeo-ul’s relationship sharply deteriorated.
If anything, Seugal began to bully Baek Yeo-ul almost unilaterally.
Yurerm suddenly wondered.
Why did Seugal, who was once such a close friend, resort to bullying Baek Yeo-ul? They had been so close once.
# # #
At the Seonam Group headquarters,
on the rooftop, there was a penthouse.
And what lay directly beneath it?
The office of chairman Seo Do-cheol.
That’s why the bald executives kept circling around the floor right below the top floor.
Sister Jin Ramyeon had warned me several times before getting off the elevator, “Absolutely no accidents.” Is it because I’m so untrustworthy?
Are there really people as timid as me out there?
Ding Dong—
And thus, we arrived at the chairman’s office.
Chairman Seo Do-cheol looked even more emaciated than the last time I saw him. His office was in utter disarray, hardly resembling an office of a chairman.
The flowers and plants from the vases were all pulled out, and here and there, broken glass. Ah, did someone break the aquarium?
Poor dead fish.
“Mr. Chairman, this is Inspector Jin Ri-Hyun. And on this side—”
“I see you again, Mr. Chairman. My name is Hanamjin.”
“Hey! How many times do I have to tell you not to make trouble right away?”
Sister Jin Ramyeon immediately scolded me.
Meanwhile, Chairman Seo Do-cheol’s eyes were entirely fixed on the tablet PC placed on the mahogany wooden desk, so much so that it seemed he didn’t even notice our arrival.
I glanced at the screen, and a video of Seugal was playing.
Tuck.
After watching the 30-second video several times, Chairman Seo Do-cheol finally shifted his gaze, jumping directly into the subject without any pleasantries.
“This ‘Zero Cola Fresh’ is an item known only to an extremely few number of executives. It’s a substance that reenergizes the Awakened Ones. How did the kidnapper know about it?”
“Isn’t it the work of an insider? I suspect his requests were a kind of warning. He might be an insider with crucial knowledge about Seonam, telling us not to act rashly.”
But I only truly wanted to drink some fresh cola. I hope they release it soon.
“If so, what does his request to use glass bottles mean?”
Seo Do-cheol asked.
This time, Sister Jin Ramyeon also shook her head saying, “How should I know?” and turned her gaze toward me.
“Dear brother, what do you think from your odd perspective?”
Why put the drink in a glass bottle?
Because it tastes better!
“The kidnapper might just fancy his drinks. Doesn’t any drink taste better when in a cold glass bottle? Plastic bottles are the worst, opposite.”
“A kidnapper meticulous enough to not leave a trace after abducting Seonam’s heiress and sending a message after a month wouldn’t demand glass bottles just because he likes the feeling, would he?”
It’s the truth though.
This situation where I can’t convey my real feelings is equally frustrating.
Growing impatient, I decided to divert the conversation slightly away from the soda.
“Mr. Chairman-in-law, what’s your take on the first item? The demand to disclose the transaction records between Seonam and Billernuz. Won’t it increase Seugal’s chances of survival if we comply with the demands?”
“…….”
Chairman Seo Do-cheol looked at me.
And then asked Sister Jin Ramyeon,
“Why is this one here?”
“He’s gonna help me these next few days as my assistant. He is a trustworthy friend.”
“Send him out.”
“Let’s go, shall we? Dear brother, could you wait outside for a moment?”
What?
With that vibe, I was kicked out of the chairman’s room.
But as I still possessed the concept of “emotion,” through the thick door, I could make out some parts of the conversation.
“——I’ve been thinking; this could be the work of Gu Se-jun and the Billernuz gang. Second, it could be a counterattack from President Nam Tae-geon. Third could be the Je-wang group, always after my position—”
Chairman Seo Do-cheol suspected three possible culprits for the kidnapping: Billernuz, the President, and the Je-wang Group.
Of course, they were all wrong.
He has too many enemies and can’t seem to figure out who’s doing him harm.
Anyway, Seo Do-cheol looked like his stomach was churning after eating my rat poison.
Sprinkle the medicine enough times, and eventually, everything inside will come out.
The definitive evidence of the final plot and the chokehold on him of the event I’m investigating.
Just then, an uncle who I presumed to be the chairman’s secretary offered me a glass of cola.
‘Zero Cola Fresh.’
“Though it’s a bit early, each store will be getting these items this week. Would you like to try it?”
Pshhht—!
As the foam rose, I eagerly took a sip, and the celebration in my mouth extended all the way down to my throat.
That’s the taste.
My head also spun a bit.
With my brain now activated, I decided that the best course of action would be to gradually switch the locations where Seugal and Yurerm are being held.
Given the impending acceleration of the investigation, I cannot keep them as my next-door neighbors indefinitely.
It’s honestly miraculous that no one noticed until now.
“Seugal, I hope you’ll come see me soon.”
At that moment, the secretary uncle talked to me.
“Name: Mr. Kim Secretary
Condition: ‘Worry’ – Deeply concerned about Seugal’s disappearance.”
“Seugal is such a nice girl. She’s not the type to get such terrible treatment wherever she may be.”
“Seugal is angelic indeed.”
# # #
“Hanamjin, there needs to be a change in your assignment.”
Sister Jin Ramyeon relayed this news after spending some time talking with Chairman Seo Do-cheol.
“Starting tomorrow, you will be assigned to the ‘Great Labyrinth’ exploration team. I’ve already handled the discussion with their team leader, so there shouldn’t be any issues. You do know Jun Somi, right? Not necessarily as a good connection, though.”
Jun Somi… Who was she again?
Could it be the star of that embarrassing panty video when she tripped, that female model?
Just then, I remembered that Bangdaengi was going to explore the labyrinth with the model.
Am I switching to that team?
“Why?”
“Junsomi is related to Prince Juhyun. Everyone knows that Prince Juhyun was interested in Seugal. Moreover, according to the entry records, Prince Juhyun was the last person to see Seugal.”
On the day Seugal was kidnapped.
Prince Juhyun did visit Seugal that day.
Because of this, Prince Juhyun is being treated as one of the suspects.
“Prince Juhyun could have had access to exclusive information within Seonam Group like the ‘Zero Cola Fresh.’ ‘Je-wang’ and ‘Seonam’ were originally one entity, right?”
“So, you’re telling me to spy?”
“Exactly. Get close to Junsomi to dig up information about Prince Juhyun. Since you’ve caught the Judge before, starting with Prince Juhyun would be too obvious if you approached directly, so proceed gradually.”
Doesn’t really appeal to me.
When I gave this subtle reaction, Sister Jin Ramyeon, who has no secrets, added something.
“Chairman Seo Do-cheol said your ‘evidence’ is likely to be found within Je-wang. This may not make much sense, but he thought explaining it like this would help you understand.”
Evidence.
The possibility that evidence proving Chairman Seo Do-cheol ordered the arson at N-Mart could be within Je-wang.
Securing such evidence would let me string Seo Do-cheol along.
“Alright. I’ll try it.”
With that feeling, I decided to change my position to “Great Labyrinth Exploration” as one of my mid-term exam subjects.
“By the way, have you been to the Great Labyrinth before?”
“No.”
Actually, I’ve never been to the real labyrinth, only the ‘Mini Labyrinth’ used for training at Yeongsagao.
It is, in many ways, a mystery. A land of fairies, someone might say?
Just as I formed some anticipation, Sister Jin Ramyeon spoke.
“Why don’t we visit it today as a kind of field trip? There’s an entrance to the Great Labyrinth in Seonam Group’s basement.”
Really? What that means is that Seonam Group has independent access to the Great Labyrinth.
Impressive that they’ve become a global corporation in just ten years.
When we arrived at the entrance of the Great Labyrinth in the basement, Sister Jin Ramyeon said,
“Wait. I’ll inform the responsible personnel to open the door for us. Normally, ten Awakened Ones need to push hard to crack this door.”
Whoooom—.
At that moment, the ring called “Seed” on my finger began to mysteriously vibrate with a whooom sound and the tightly closed door noisily opened.
Goo-oo-oo-oh, koo-ong—!
“Ah? Why did it open all by itself?”
Even the perceptive Sister Jin Ramyeon was clueless about this situation, merely looking around with her head tilted.
