For several days, the awkward tension between me and Dongmin didn’t go away. Whenever we ran into each other, we’d just exchange a quick greeting and pass by, but the words we’d shared under that umbrella that day kept lingering in my head.
Even though Dongmin had warned me, I couldn’t just let the Sunil Capital matter go. After work, I stopped by the district office registry alone. When I pulled the corporate registry, there was a strange name in the CEO slot, and in the auditor slot, the name “Sung-ho” was listed.
The moment I saw that name, the words Dongmin had let slip on the night of the accident came rushing back exactly as they were.
"...This car was assigned by Manager Sung-ho."
The person who assigned that brake and the person who created the hole in this ledger had the same name. It was too exact a match to be a coincidence.
And this company, Sunil Capital, was being looked into by BND under the pretense of a receivables investigation. It meant Dongmin’s company was now looking into Sung-ho.
Then I thought that the work Dongmin had been assigned probably wasn’t just a routine debt investigation either. I also remembered how Dongmin’s face changed at the words “Sunil Capital,” and how he’d drawn a line with, “Better not ask why.”
Could Dongmin also know this name, connected to that day’s accident?
I didn’t know it when I left the registry office. That the record I’d viewed would leave my name behind.
*
That night, after finishing overtime and leaving the office, I saw an unfamiliar van idling at the mouth of the alley.
At first I just passed by, but after a few steps I realized the car was following at the same slow pace.
My steps quickened. I tried not to look back, but cold sweat broke out down my back. Even though I knew one more turn through the alley would bring me to the main road, my legs kept going weak.
The car picked up speed a little more. Right in step with mine. My heart started hammering like crazy. I fumbled through my bag to pull out my phone, but my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t get a good grip. The thought flashed through my mind—should I run?—and then the passenger-side window slid down smoothly.
Someone inside was looking this way. I couldn’t see their face, but I could feel the stare. My legs lost strength, and my pace only got slower. The moment I thought I might not make it to the main road like this, the car edged closer to the sidewalk.
Then someone grabbed my arm hard and yanked me back.
I couldn’t breathe. Just as I was about to scream, a familiar voice rang out.
"...It’s me. Quietly."
It was Dongmin. He pulled me into the convenience store across the alley. Through the glass, the van passed by without slowing down at all.
*
After I watched the van disappear completely from inside the convenience store, my legs went weak and I almost collapsed right there. Without meaning to, I clutched Dongmin’s arm tightly.
"...Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?"
His voice was urgent. Instead of answering, I only nodded. He looked down at the hand I was holding, then didn’t shake me off—instead, he placed his own hand over mine.
"...You must have been scared. Breathe slowly."
As soon as I came to my senses, I tried to pull my hand away first. I’d said we wouldn’t get any closer, so what was this pathetic mess? But my hand wouldn’t obey. The moment I barely forced it free, I felt my legs still trembling, and in the end my strength gave out again.
I never thought that one hand would shake the resolve to “not get closer” this easily. I told myself over and over that he was only doing this because I was startled, and that it meant nothing else.
"...Mr. Dongmin, how did you get here...?"
"...I was just passing by."
It was a lie. There was no reason for him to be passing through this alley at this hour. It meant our repeated run-ins on my way home over the past few days hadn’t been a coincidence.
"...You’ve been following me all this time?"
Dongmin was silent for a moment. That silence, neither yes nor no, was more of an answer than anything else.
"...Because you keep doing dangerous things."
"How do you even know what I’ve been doing?"
"I know you went to the registry office."
I couldn’t breathe. That had been something I’d done alone this afternoon. I hadn’t told anyone.
"...Have you been watching me this whole time?"
"...I’m only worried about you, so don’t get me wrong."
Even as he said that, he still didn’t let go of my hand. Under the convenience store’s fluorescent lights, his face was wearing a complicated expression—not angry, not relieved.
"...Please stop digging into this. I’m asking you."
The word asking felt strange again. I couldn’t answer, only lowered my head. I couldn’t bring myself to say I’d stop, nor that I’d keep going.
Dongmin finally let out a small sigh.
*
When we left the convenience store, Dongmin said he’d walk me home.
I felt like I should at least say once that I was fine and could go alone, so I opened my mouth—but what came out was, “...Then only as far as the main road.” Even I thought it was ridiculous. The footsteps following a few paces behind no longer felt scary at all.
By the time we reached the main road, he suddenly asked,
"...Weren’t you scared? Seeing that car."
"...I was scared. My legs are still shaking."
"Then why won’t you stop?"
The answer didn’t come easily. I knew I could stop, but if I stopped here, it felt like something else terrible would happen on that settlement day, while I still knew nothing. Having gotten lucky and made it back alive, I resolved that this time I had to uncover the secret no matter what and save Dongmin.
"...Because it’s something I have to know."
Dongmin nodded without asking further. Right before we parted, he added quietly,
"...Next time, don’t go alone."
When I got home, I looked at the watch on my wrist. Over the crack in the glass, it still felt like the warmth of his hand remained.
