RB 10

Yeorok spread ointment on the wounded spots. It was clumsy, but more careful than necessary. Eunho clenched his itching hands into fists and lowered his gaze. Choi Yeorok’s face was too close, leaving him no place to rest his eyes.

“I just got word… Aren’t you curious how the cleanup is going?”

It was about Mr. Oh. Eunho’s eyes widened.

As soon as their gazes met, Yeorok tore open a bandage with a faint smile. The peach-colored strip stuck right onto Eunho’s cheekbone.

“2012 silver BMW, plate number 4885.”

Yeorok listed Mr. Oh’s car details. His voice was calm, like he was reading from a book. Eunho blinked at him repeatedly.

“Mr. Oh Jaehyung got into a major accident while driving. The car went off a cliff, and the body burned up with the vehicle. A skilled professional handled it, and Secretary Hong oversaw everything, so you can trust it.”

“Won’t the police… suspect anything?”

“No, it was perfectly covered up to look like an accident.”

At that, Eunho felt the tightness in his chest loosen. The weight of anxiety that had been pressing on him seemed lighter.

“…Thank you.”

Yeorok slowly straightened his back. He gathered the used swabs and bandage wrappers in one place, then looked at Eunho’s face. His eyes curved faintly.

“You will have to pay the price for making me do something bad.”

The emptiness left by anxiety filled again with new dread. Eunho’s mouth dried, and he forced himself to swallow.

He knew clearly what his role would be from now on, and how he would have to help the man in front of him. The only concern was whether he could meet Choi Yeorok’s expectations.

Eunho seized the chance to voice his worry.

“Chairman, I… honestly don’t have confidence. I’ve never acted before.”

“Well, it would be troublesome if you backed out now.”

“I’m not refusing… I just mean I might fall short. I wanted to tell you ahead of time, in case you’re disappointed.”

Eunho waved his hands. His lack of words frustrated him. He grew restless, worried he might look like someone who only took help and ran.

Yeorok quietly watched him try to explain. His smooth lips curved in a smile. He reached out and brushed back Eunho’s bangs, freezing him in place.

“That’s because you don’t know me well yet, Sim Eunho-ssi.”

“……”

“I never act without a 100% certainty. The fact that I proposed this first means I’m sure.”

With his whole face exposed, Eunho still looked a startled rabbit. Even his trembling eyelashes were clear at such close distance.

“I think I said it before. I’ll turn you perfectly into Choi Yoonho.”

“…How much do you trust me? You don’t even know me well.”

“And do you trust me, Sim Eunho-ssi? What if I went to the police right now and reported you?”

“……”

Reported? Eunho felt like he had been hit on the back of the head, his lips opening soundlessly.

He realized he was not the only one guilty. If he committed murder, Choi Yeorok was guilty of concealing a body. Eunho fixed his gaze and looked directly at his face.

“You’re an accomplice too, Chairman.”

“……”

A trace of a smile flickered in his eyes. Yeorok seemed rather pleased with Eunho’s defiant words.

“That’s right. Today, we committed a serious crime. Now that we’re on the same boat, we cannot betray each other.”

“……”

“You said you would do anything. You’d better be ready.”

“I came ready.”

With his face fully visible, Eunho’s expression shifted constantly. Worry, fear, and something like boldness. Different feelings surfaced and faded on his pale face again and again.

He was clearly different from Choi Yoonho. Sharing features did not make them the same person. His expressions, his speech, even his breathing would need correction one by one.

This won’t be easy, Yeorok thought and straightened his back. He checked his wristwatch, then pushed himself up from the sofa first.

“Let’s go.”

“Where….”

“To meet Choi Yoonho.”

Yeorok said it lightly.

Now that they were in the same boat, it was time to show Sim Eunho as well.

After two hours of driving, they arrived at an abandoned hospital overrun with weeds. Every open window was thick with cobwebs, it wouldn’t be a surprise if a ghost suddenly appeared here. There was no sign of life, only darkness, but a faint glow came from the funeral hall that had been set up inside.

All the way in, Eunho held Yeorok’s sleeve tightly as he walked. Though there was nothing there, he kept flinching. Yeorok glanced at him and smiled.

“You’re more timid than I thought.”

“In a place like this, of course…!”

Eunho flinched when he saw the swaying shadows of weeds. In the car he kept his distance, but now he stuck to Yeorok’s side.

Yeorok erased his smile and looked in front of him again. Only the sound of footsteps echoed in the empty hallway.

When they reached the underground morgue and opened the door, the bright seemed like a split between worlds. Outside it had been like a haunted house, but inside it looked clean and bright like a university laboratory.

There was a naked body laid on the slab and a man bent over, examining something closely.

The man with silver-rimmed glasses noticed Yeorok and nodded, but he did not stop what he was doing.

“How far along are you?”

“Almost done.”

He was focused on recording every physical feature of Choi Yunho, using a tape measure and protractor. He had even taken molds from the corpse, so pink alginate mixture was scattered across the slab.

“Hoo, I’ll organize it later and report, but for now take a look.”

The man tapped his back and handed Yeorok a clear board. Nearly ten pages of paper were filled with writing from top to bottom. He must have worked hard recording every detail of a person’s body by hand.

While Yeorok carefully reviewed the records, Eunho froze at the sight of Choi Yunho laid on the slab. It was already the second corpse he had seen today. The pale face looked even more like his own than in the photo, and he was shocked.

Yeorok saw Eunho’s drained expression and laughed. He lowered his head and whispered close to Eunho’s ear.

“Now you see why I was sure.”

“……”

“Now that you’ve seen Choi Yoonho’s corpse, there’s no turning back for you, Sim Eunho-ssi.”

It sounded like a threat. He said Eunho would need to steel himself.

The time to refuse had already long passed. Standing before a corpse with the same face, Eunho had to reaffirm his determination.

Sim Eunho, you hated your life anyway. This is a chance. A chance to live like a person.

He had once suspected that someone else had stolen all the luck meant for him. Facing Choi Yoonho, the heir of Haegang who lived with nothing to envy and died young, Eunho wondered if maybe he had been the thief.

Eunho clenched his trembling hands into fists.

“I’ll work hard.”

“Halfhearted effort won’t do.”

“I can do it. I will do it.”

His resolve had grown stronger. His eyes fixed on Choi Yoonho now held determination.

Yeorok silently watched him. Then, a smile appeared on his expressionless face.

After that, the two of them watched as the professional completed the encoffining. Perhaps because of the cold, Eunho kept shivering and rubbed his arms several times.

It felt like watching his own funeral. He even saw Choi Yoonho being carried into the cremator. Normally, a family member would stop there, but Yeorok, who used the funeral hall as he pleased, pressed the ignition button himself. Flames of a thousand degrees swallowed Choi Yoonho’s body.

After that it was only tedious waiting. Standing in silence for about two hours, the sky outside slowly turned blue.

A box of ashes was handed to Choi Yeorok. The plain wooden urn without even a name carved on it was small enough to hold with one hand.

He did not take it far. He dumped out the ashes ar the wash basin attached to the crematorium, shaking them out like emptying a vacuum cleaner bin. White dust scattered, and Yeorok even leaned his face back to avoid it.

“……”

Eunho watched blankly. He thought, he is an uncle, how can he do that. Even if there was a reason, it was hard to understand.

“Are you not sad?”

Choi Yeorok laughed

He lifted the faucet. The ashes collected in the drain mixed with water and flowed away. Soon Choi Yoonho’s remains vanished without a trace.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Yeorok spoke in a calm tone while he washed his hands at the sink. The sound of his scrubbing filled Eunho’s ears until he could hear nothing else.

“I despised Choi Yoonho. To the point I wanted to kill him.”

He had hated him enough to wish him dead, yet he had been someone he could not do without.

It was ironic.

While Eunho was lost in thought, Yeorok flicked off the water and shook his hands dry. Turning away, his face looked refreshed.

“I hope I can get along well with my new nephew.”

“……”

Eunho finally realized why he had felt anxious the whole time.

Chairman Choi Yeorok’s smiles and kindness toward him were all fake. Beneath the polished expression was hatred. Maybe it was because he shared the same appearance as the nephew Yeorok despised.

“Yes, I’ll do my best too.”

Eunho replied quietly.

Now that he had stepped in, there was no turning back. Like Yeorok said, all he could hope for was that they would manage to get along.