RB 9

“Isn’t this the loan shark who tormented you, Sim Eunho-ssi?”

“……”

“Shall I handle him for you?”

“How…”

Eunho’s anxious eyes desperately searched Yeorok. His head was too muddled to immediately grasp the meaning of “handle”.

“I cannot bring the dead back to life. But I can clean things up.”

“……”

“And you must have called me here because you wanted that.”

“…Yes.”

“You understand there will be a price. I will charge you properly, Sim Eunho-ssi.”

Yeorok’s smile deepened. It was the most amused he had looked since Eunho met him.

Eunho nodded silently. There was no other way. From the moment he asked Choi Yeorok for help, he had already made up his mind to accept whatever demand followed.

“Help… me. I will do anything you tell me to.”

But it didn’t stop him from trembling. Whether from cold or fear, his shoulders kept shaking.

“Wear this for now.”

Yeorok took off the trench coat he was wearing and draped it over Eunho’s shoulders.

“This will get blood on it.”

“It is a suit I will throw away anyway. Secretary Hong.”

His loyal right hand approached at his call. Just two tall men standing there made the small house feel heavy and crowded.

“Tell Director Kang to handle the cleanup here. I will go over to Opo later, so you take charge and supervise it until the end.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

None of their words reached Eunho. All he could do was clutch the coat hem with his shaking hands.

The luxurious fabric carried an unfamiliar scent. The lesser evil he had chosen wrapped his shivering body warmly, almost like a shield. His head grew foggy, and he could not think straight.

Before long, people in white plastic suits came into the house. They moved without hesitation, wiping away every trace of the fight.

Mr. Oh was wrapped in vinyl and carried out, and chemicals were spread over the bloodstained floor and wallpaper. Yeorok looked only that far before turning his body as if he had no more business.

“Let’s go.”

A gentle hand touched Eunho’s shoulder. His body flinched, but Yeorok did not mock him. He guided Eunho’s stiff body outside.

A black sedan was parked in the narrow alley. A luxury foreign car against a wall plastered with flyers was a sight that mismatched with the neighborhood, but at this hour, with everyone asleep and foreign cars common enough, no one would care.

Yeorok personally opened the passenger seat door. Eunho, nervous beyond measure, hesitated. Even though his slowness could have been annoying, Yeorok didn’t urged him at all and simply waited.

Eunho finally lowered his head and climbed in. With the noise of the door closing, he saw Yeorok circle the hood through the front window. When he took the driver’s seat, Eunho could not even swallow properly.

“Buckle your seatbelt.”

“Ah… yes.”

Eunho hurriedly pulled the belt across and clicked it in. He heard another click beside him as Yeorok buckled his own. Taking the wheel directly, Yeorok held it with practiced ease.

“If you feel cold, tell me. I will raise the heat.”

“I am fine.”

Instead of replying further, Yeorok focused on driving. Eunho, unable to relax from the man’s presence, fixed his gaze on the windshield just like him.

The sedan skillfully slipped out of the cramped alley. Even while watching it, Eunho could not believe he was suddenly leaving the neighborhood where he was born and raised. Outside the window, only dark sky and road remained.

Eunho anxiously shifted in his seat. With only him and Choi Yeorok inside the car, every nerve in his body felt taut. He had no topic to start with, so all he could do was watch him silently.

His mouth dried up as though burned. Where were they going? Why was it so hard to ask even one question? No matter how frustrated he was with himself, he could not do anything.

Just then, Yeorok’s phone rang. He slid a Bluetooth earpiece into his left ear. Even as he spoke, his steady gaze stayed on the road.

“Yes, it’s fine. Speak.”

His voice filled the car. Eunho’s nerves were on edge, and every word went straight into his ears. It was low and calm, reassuring but at the same time it made him more nervous.

While Yeorok was focused on the call, Eunho sneaked a glance. He did not dare look at his face, so he only stared at the fingers holding the steering wheel.

His fingers were long and straight. They looked like hands that had never done rough work. The skin was clean without a single scar, and even the color in the joints was fair. His neatly trimmed nails shone with a healthy gloss.

Eunho suddenly looked down at his own hands. In contrast, his hands were full of eczema and calluses. Under his nails, dried blood had caked into a black stain like dirt.

Even his hands alone showed the trace of poverty. Could he really imitate Choi Yeorok’s nephew like this? Yeorok surely had a plan, but Eunho’s mind could not even imagine it.

“I’ll be there by two, so finish the preparations by then. Yes, I’ll handle the rest myself.”

Yeorok continued with his call. The hum of the car engine mixed softly with his low voice.

“He’s still blood, so I should see him on his last road.”

At those words, Eunho found himself looking up at Yeorok’s face. His expression was flat, showing no emotion at all.

Half hidden in shadow, his face looked unreal. Each feature, shaped with care, carried a natural pull that drew the eyes.

Feeling his gaze, Yeorok slid his eyes to the side. Caught staring like a thief, Eunho flinched visibly.

“We’re going to be family soon, so why sneak looks?”

He asked in a calm voice after ending the call. Eunho bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

“I… I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to be sorry. Just look straight at me from now on. You need to get used to my face.”

It was the kind of line only someone used to constant attention could say. Even the shameless words sounded natural when they came out of his mouth.

Silence followed again. After a long stretch on the road, the car entered the city. Even at dawn, the shining lights showed the new world Eunho would face.

He thought they were heading back to the mansion he had visited before, but the car stopped at an officetel in the heart of Seoul instead.

Through its glass windows, Namsan Tower stood tall. That meant the Haegang Group headquarters was not far away.

“This is a place I sometimes use as an office.”

Yeorok added the brief explanation.

When he was tired, he came here to rest. Mostly, he used it to deal with private matters no one else could see. He was giving Eunho a place filled with his own secrets. It meant he did not intend to hide anything from him.

“Wash up.”

Eunho hugged the bundle of clothes he was handed and went into the bathroom. The bathroom had no trace of dampness, no mold, not even a cracked tile, and the lights were dazzlingly bright.

He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower booth. Hot water poured out from the shower head with strong pressure. No more shivering in cold water, no more crouching miserably. Even the shampoo and cleanser on the shelf carried a luxurious scent.

As he scrubbed himself with soapy bubbles, Eunho thought he had smelled this before.

Ah… the scent from Chairman Choi Yeorok. Of course, it was his.

After finishing, he dried himself thoroughly with a thick towel. Then he pulled on a T-shirt and stood before the mirror. He saw his own condition clearly for the first time.

His face was covered in traces of Mr. Oh’s blows. A bruise swelled on his cheekbone, his lips were split in several places, and blood still oozed in spots. His pale face, covered with wounds, looked ghostly.

How could he ever pretend to be a chaebol heir like this? The luxurious background in the mirror only made him look more out of place.

Whatever… it will work out somehow.

Too drained to care, he finished dressing. The short-sleeved T-shirt hung loose, and the pants dragged at the hem. He looked like he had borrowed someone else’s clothes. Judging by the size, they were likely Chairman Choi Yeorok’s.

He carefully opened the door and stepped out. Yeorok, who sitting on the sofa, lifted his head from where it had rested against his hand. He too had changed clothes, his look subtly different.

“Alright. Proceed that way.”

Even while talking on the phone, his gaze never left Eunho. With a flick of his hand, he beckoned him closer. Eunho stepped forward hesitantly.

“You handle the final steps. I don’t have time to check everything now. I’ll be moving on to Opo soon.”

Eunho sat down awkwardly, keeping his eyes on the floor. With nothing else to do, he only listened in on the call. From time to time, he heard him say “Secretary Hong.” His back stiffened more with the thought it might concern him.

At some point, the call ended. Yeorok tossed the phone onto the sofa beside him. He picked up ointment and cotton swabs from the glass table and reached for Eunho. Startled by the hand, Eunho’s shoulders flinched.

Yeorok didn’t immediately close the distance and waited for his permission. When nervousness left his rigid shoulders, Yeorok finally cupped his chin.

“It will be clumsy. This is my first time applying medicine for someone else.”