osmanthus, ashtray
Taehyung, taking the woman who had given up everything, insisted on giving her a room in his house. The space for the basement had been prepared a week in advance, meaning it had been prepared since the day he visited the basement house. The woman remained silent throughout the entire ride. She didn't say a word or make a sound. She was right next to a man who was determined to accept her.
Thinking of Jiha, Taehyung didn't say a word until they passed through the front gate of her house, nestled in the remote mountains of the countryside. The engine shut off and Jaehyun opened the backseat door, and Jiha, dressed in short sleeves and leggings, obediently moved. The sweat had dried and it must have been chilly as the sun set, but Taehyung followed, watching her back as she remained silent until the very end. Soon, she was leading the way, following Taehyung's lead.
"But I"
"yes."
Taehyung responded to the woman's whispered, small voice, as if he had been waiting for her to open her mouth. They had just arrived at the door to the basement room Taehyung had prepared.
“There is nothing.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Again, Taehyung has spent his entire life in an organization where men are inevitably the majority, and where he's primarily responsible for dark and dangerous work. How could he possibly think of taking care of women's daily necessities?
“…I have to go home”
"there is."
“No matter what”
“I will solve it within an hour.”
Faced with his stubborn and unyielding attitude, Jiha decided to back down this time. It felt strange to ask him specifically what he wanted. He'd even provided a place to stay, so she decided to just leave him alone. Trusting him seemed like too much of a stretch. She'd decided to just leave him alone, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
Taehyung immediately called Jaehyun and walked away down the hallway. Jiha watched his figure shrinking. Just as he turned the corner and his voice grew fainter, she opened the door to his room.
.
“…“
"What's going on?"
"Oh, okay, Jaehyun."
"It's urgent now, one o'clock,"
“Everything a woman needs in a new house.”
"…yes?"
“Bring it in thirty minutes.”
What did I hear? Jaehyun, his thoughts momentarily frozen, asked again. He knew it was best to refrain from asking questions in this world, but the order he had to fall behind was the same. So Jaehyun had to purchase all the abstract items within thirty minutes, while simultaneously completing the task of driving his host to their destination. There's a reason the pay is so high. Jaehyun, reflecting on this today, made a phone call and started the car.
.
“President Kim~”
A darkened, abandoned warehouse. Taehyung stationed all his guards at the door and entered with Jaehyun. As expected, a middle-aged man, seemingly waiting, rose from his chair and called Taehyung in a gentle voice. Behind him stood a group of men, each of whom appeared to be in their twenties, creating an air of intimidation. Taehyung watched the scene, a sneer playing across his lips as if nothing was trivial.
“It’s so hard to look at your face.”
“Who made it difficult?”
“…Haha. That’s already explained,”
“It’s a big deal.”
”…“
"I've thought about hitting him on the back of the head. I'm so proud of you."
If only those kids had gotten caught trying to jump on the boat, but hadn't they? I wouldn't have been able to do anything and would've gone to jail. Yeah?
The wrinkles on the middle-aged man's face, who had been forced to smile in the frozen atmosphere of the warehouse, gradually faded. Haha. It was a moment when even his attempts to somehow salvage the situation felt pitiful.
“…There were circumstances.”
“…”
“Just this once, Mr. Kim. Okay?”
“…”
"I'll do whatever you tell me. Even dangerous things."
“Anyway, these poor kids.”
“…”
“The repertoire is always the same.”
"I'm losing interest." Taehyung, with a cold smile, stroked the watch on his left wrist. He even loosened the tie he'd been working on to approach Jiha, as if frustrated. Jaehyun, who had been watching this sequence of events, closed his eyes briefly, as if anticipating something.
Bang—. A gunshot rang out. It was a gun without a silencer. Taehyung, sensitive to noise, momentarily frowned, and Jaehyun wrapped his entire body around him. It all happened in a split second.
It was a weapon pulled from the inside pocket of a middle-aged man's jacket. "Did you bring something like this as a precaution?" Taehyung, who had been contemplating a sliver of forgiveness, let out a sigh of emptiness. Of course, no one saw that moment.
“Kim Tae-soo!”
Those dark eyes, previously devoid of light, sank a little more at the sound of the three-letter name. Jaehyun's expression, as if he hadn't anticipated this development, contorted like someone who had forgotten how to hide something. Taehyung's expression, rather than the impatience of having his secret exposed, was closer to a look of relief, finally finding a sense of justice. Cleverly, he seemed to have figured something out. But...
You shouldn't have used it like that.
“Kim Tae-soo’s death.”
“…”
“I know it was your doing.”
Taehyung didn't say anything. He simply admired the ridiculous sight of him cornered, begging for forgiveness, then realizing his position and turning to threats. What could he say to properly bid this traitorous farewell? How should he send him off? As gunshots rang out, the man quietly ruminated on these leisurely thoughts.
“Our elders only know one thing”
“…”
“They don’t know. It’s a shame.”
“…”
“Even the death of an elderly person”
“It would be my doing.”
.
"president?"
Taehyung, who had briefly dozed off on the drive home, was awakened by Jaehyun's voice. Normally, he wouldn't have even noticed, but suddenly, a bloodstain on his shirt collar caught his eye and he rubbed it with his index finger. Jaehyun sighed inwardly, watching his boss, who hadn't gotten out of the car even after arriving at his house, acting like a fool. It all started with that woman.
“What I asked you to do.”
“I’ve already handed it over to An Ji-ha.”
“…I guess so.”
It had been about three hours since he'd been told to get ready. Taehyung got out of the car and patted the dirt off the front of his shoes, almost like he was slapping it on the floor. Even in the darkness of the night, the dark red stains clung to his shirt, clearly visible. It was clear to anyone that he wasn't working in a normal industry.
.
"Mr. An Ji-ha. This is me."
Knock, knock. The man, whose moments of politeness were few and far between in his life, knocked and called the woman's name. It was a quiet voice, perhaps to avoid her falling asleep. No sooner had he finished speaking than a frantic crash was heard, and the door swung open.
“I’m sorry I left you like that.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t open the door to hear that.”
The silence between them settled. Thanks to Jaehyun's painstaking efforts, Jiha had managed to find underwear and pajamas to change into after her shower, and even a simple skincare routine had been provided, making her seem well-prepared. Taehyung seemed agitated by her already makeup-free face, which seemed even more defined and fresh.
Jiha thought as he traced the bloodstains scattered across the man's sleeve. "So, I walked in here, willingly, to live in this man's house." He took a deep breath to steady his erratic breathing, and the sticky, pungent smell of blood hit his nose. Seeing his hair, now disheveled and tangled, unlike when they'd met at the river, Jiha guessed something terrible had happened. Could Kim Taesu have died like that?
“Please feel free to tell me what you need.”
“…Mr. Kim Taehyung.”
His eyes, which had been dark throughout, flickered slightly. He'd felt it since their first meeting, but her voice had a power that seemed to tickle a corner of him. That fleeting feeling was fleeting, and Taehyung's gaze was busy following Jiha's lips, moving even slightly. As if he wanted to capture every word she said. Tenaciously.
“Why did you kill Kim Tae-soo?”
The dark eyes that had been following her lips froze in place. His gaze, following her sunken philtrum, her straight nose, and her moderately high cheekbones, finally met her brown eyes. Of all the questions he could muster, he chose the most difficult.