14.
When the CEO Myeong and Lee Seokyung noticed Choi Hongseo, he had just graduated from high school, freshly twenty years old. Legally an adult, but socially still a child. It was more terrifying than a violent threat with a knife.
‘Please think carefully, sir. I just did as Lee Seokyung instructed! In a way, I’m also a victim like Hongseo! Please… Please speak favorably to the Vice President. Yes?’
Listening to CEO Myeong, who had the audacity to claim he was a victim like Choi Hongseo to General Manager Kang, Lee Haesung had cut off the recording. If it wasn’t about Choi Hongseo, it was just the sound of a dog barking.
In any case, he had no recollection of seeing the name Yoon Haean on any other investigation lists.
Meanwhile, the car was entering Dongho Bridge, heading towards Yeoksam, where ARA Electronics’ office was located. Lee Haesung, having hardly smoked a few puffs, took a deep drag on the cigarette that was almost down to the filter, and then snuffed it out in the ashtray without hesitation.
“Check if there are any parts left uninvestigated regarding Hongseo’s acquaintances. And do a brief check on Yoon Haean too.”
“Should I go into detail?”
“No, just the basics will suffice for now.”
“Understood.”
“And when was the day you’re returning from the Gumi plant?”
“Thursday.”
“Secure some time, as we’ll drop by Hanam on the way back that day.”
General Manager Kang discreetly checked Lee Haesung’s expression through the rearview mirror, hiding his surprise.
Hanam, meaning the memorial park where Choi Hongseo’s ashes were laid to rest.
Lee Haesung had never visited that place before. More accurately, he had never entered the columbarium building. He had people decorate it with fresh flowers every week and had visited the entrance of the memorial park several times.
But he had never succeeded in getting out of the car.
All he did was smoke several cigarettes in the back seat, staring at the building set against the backdrop of Namhan Mountain.
This time, however, his tone was different. It seemed like he had made up his mind to face Hongseo and Hongseo’s death.
Finally, had he decided to step out of the long shadow? General Manager Kang felt a hint of relief but spoke cautiously, not showing it.
“Are you sure?”
“Well… I feel quite odd today.”
“……”
“I feel like I can go now.”
Lee Haesung mumbled to himself, resting his head on the seat. Outside the window, the autumn Han River was glittering magnificently, like countless shards of the sun broken into pieces.
“Time has passed. You will overcome ‘that incident’ too, eventually.”
“I’m sure Hongseo would be glad.”
General Manager Kang misunderstood, thinking that the traces of Choi Hongseo were fading. But Lee Haesung just quietly smiled. It was a shy smile, like an introverted boy savoring his secret among many people.
There was no need to explain it in words.
No matter how much time passes, these ‘memories’ and ‘feelings’ wouldn’t grow distant and fade, transforming into ‘those memories’ and ‘those feelings.’
@
“When moving a cat, you shouldn’t just grab its front legs… hmm, one hand under the chest, the other under the belly… support and lift them…”
Sitting on the small two-seater sofa next to the bed, mumbling and reading a book, Choi Hongseo lifted his head to look at the cat.
Tiffany was looking down at him from inside the transparent hammock of the cat pole.
“You need to give me a chance to hold you… Tiffany, when will you let me hold you?”
Despite the somewhat pleading question, she licked her lips indifferently. Choi Hongseo turned his eyes back to the book.
“When you pat their butt firmly and they lower their hips while meowing loudly… Ah, this means to reduce the intensity…”
Nodding and seriously pondering the contents, Choi Hongseo once again looked at the cat. This time, he left the book open on the page he was reading.
“Butt pats? You won’t even let me hold you, will the day ever come when I can pat your butt? What do you think, Tiffany?”
Meow.
This time she opened her mouth and let out a sound, like yawning. It almost felt like she was answering that it was impossible, making him chuckle lightly.
Two weeks had passed since he moved from the officetel in Nonhyeon-dong to Yongsan-gu.
The new place wasn’t much compared to Yoon Haean’s officetel, but for a studio, it wasn’t too cramped. For Choi Hongseo, who’d spent a long time living in cramped multi-family housing with bunk beds filling the room, it was satisfactory.
He placed his bed by the window and set up a cat pole at the foot of the bed. From there, he could see the entire rectangular-shaped room at a glance, enjoy the sunlight, and look outside. As he had read in books, cat towers and poles should be placed in such spots, and it really worked. Within a month, it completely became her den.
For both him and the cat, they were unfamiliar beings to each other despite sharing the same appearance as their previous owners. Choi Hongseo had no experience with raising pets.
To live with her, he had to learn and get used to everything, one by one. Because of that, various books like
“Tiffany.”
Her small ears twitched inside the semicircular transparent acrylic hammock.
“What do you think? Do you think I can pass the ‘Cream Mansion’ audition?”
She still wouldn’t come close without treats, nor did she allow him to pet or hold her, making grooming a struggle every time. Even though he had to carve out time to study the cat’s habits, he didn’t mind living with her.
Rather, he felt grateful she was there.
Were it not for her, he might not have been able to endure the anxiety of his unstable situation. He might have wandered the streets every night, looking to quell his unease.
At least she would look at him when he talked. Sometimes she’d twitch her ears, make small crying sounds, and flick her tail, as if encouraging him to keep talking.
Of course, it would be even better if she let him pet and hold her…
Choi Hongseo pulled his legs up onto the sofa and rested his chin on his knees. “They said the audition results would be out today, why haven’t they contacted me yet?”
Tiffany cocked her head to the side.
“It’s not even 1 PM yet, maybe I’m being too anxious?” She tilted her head again.
“If I don’t make the casting… I won’t have any way to see him again.”
Now, I am nothing to him. I can’t call or visit him; I am merely a stranger who has no connection with him anymore. No, I must not call or visit him.
This time, the cat gave no reaction at all. Not even a head tilt.
It felt like she was criticizing him, questioning what he could do if he met him again. Maybe that was just his paranoid interpretation.
“Tiffany, should I give you a treat?”
To distract himself from the growing anxiety over the audition results, Choi Hongseo brightened his tone. At the word “treat,” she raised her head and perked up her ears. As Choi Hongseo got off the sofa and headed toward the kitchen, she jumped down from the cat pole and followed him.
Her straightforwardness about treats, while ignoring him at other times, was endearing, making him laugh.
“Alright, I’ll give it to you now. Tiffany, do you want some Churu?”
Churu, the liquid treat, was her favorite. At the mention of Churu, her meow grew more excited as she followed him.
Just as he was about to open the cabinet where the treats were kept, his phone, left on the sofa, rang.
“Just a moment. I’ll give it to you right after this call.”
