Chapter 166 – Peace – Part 2

Chapter 166 – Peace – Part 2

* * *

Lee Hyerim, who arrived at Chairman Lee’s Residence, entered the study.

Chairman Lee, who had been standing still looking out the window, turned his body and formed a wrinkled smile.

“You’re here?”

“Grandfather…”

Lee Hyerim didn’t know what to say.

Her gaze at her grandfather just wavered.

But soon she opened her mouth.

“Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”

Chairman Lee put his hands behind his back and smiled a little more deeply.

“Are you that worried about this old man?”

“Well…”

Lee Hyerim unconsciously covered her mouth with her hand.

Her eyes grew hot, and then they welled up with tears.

Her grandfather, who usually seemed stiff and cold, looked completely different today.

His hair was white as if frost had settled on it, and his two shoulders, which seemed as if they could bear a rock without faltering, looked small.

His wrinkled hands, too.

Some people fear this side of her grandfather, and some admire it.

Some even call him a cold-blooded man.

Suddenly, she remembered when her grandfather had given her a stick of candy with those wrinkled hands when she was a child.

“You’re a good girl… Sit down there.”

Despite his words, when Lee Hyerim didn’t sit down, Chairman Lee approached her, patted her on the shoulder, and made her sit on the sofa.

Chairman Lee also sat down and looked out the window for a moment.

“The weather is really nice today. It’s a good day.”

“Grandfather, first of all, you should be hospitalized at the hospital…”

Chairman Lee, who had been looking out the window, turned his gaze to her and cut her off.

“Hyerim. It might feel a bit early, but it’s a natural process. Everything is like that. It’s born, it grows, and when growth stops, it gets old and sick.”

Lee Hyerim spoke quickly, her eyes red with emotion.

“Grandfather, I’ll find a doctor. There might be a way to cure it. I…”

“It’s useless. They say they can only slow its progression.”

Lee Hyerim bit her lip.

Had she ever worried about her grandfather before?

She didn’t think so.

Because there was no reason to worry about her grandfather.

But at this moment, he looked pathetic, unfortunate, and powerless.

“You know that my illness must be kept a secret, right? Even from your father.”

“…Yes.”

Chairman Lee nodded.

His children might bribe the doctors and not tell him about his illness. They might even try to use him as he succumbed to it.

It was possible.

There’s a species of spider called the Nursery Web Spider.

It even offers its own body as food to its newly hatched young.

He thought his children might be capable of that.

Conversely, they might not know about his illness.

“Hyerim, you made a mistake.”

Lee Hyerim, her head bowed, shook it slightly.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Lift your head and look at me, your grandfather.”

She slowly raised her head and looked at Chairman Lee.

Immediately, her grandfather’s image came into Lee Hyerim’s eyes.

The smile he had worn earlier was gone, replaced by his usual blunt gaze, looking indifferent and direct.

“If you get a hold of someone’s weakness, you have to hold onto it until they collapse. You have to be selfish for yourself. It’s a luxury to think of others when everyone has the same limited time. You have to be fiercely selfish. Otherwise, you’ll get stabbed in the back.”

Lee Hyerim shook her head.

“I can’t do that. I can’t, Grandfather.”

Chairman Lee, who had been terrifyingly expressionless, smiled again as if nothing had happened.

“Hyerim, may this grandfather ask you a favor? Can you grant it?”

Lee Hyerim slowly nodded her head.

Grandfather was not in a position to ask for favors,

“Please, tell me everything.”

“Will you be my Executive Assistant from now on?”

Lee Hyerim’s eyes widened. The tears that had gathered there fell.

“What?”

“You know what I mean. As the illness deepens, my vision will narrow, and my thoughts will become dark as if a light has been turned off. My mind will also come and go. Stay by my side, Hyerim, and be my ears and my mouth. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your salary is generous. Hahahaha!”

The salary Chairman Lee was talking about was not a concept of money.

He could separate affiliates or transfer shares.

Because to be his ears and mouth, she would need to have that much power.

Chairman Lee absolutely did not want his children to fight in the mud, causing Shinhwa Group to waver.

Lee Hyerim wiped her eyes and replied.

“I understand. I’ll do it, Grandfather.”

Chairman Lee looked at Lee Hyerim and slowly nodded his head.

“Sometimes, an unselfish heart can come up with a brilliant idea.”

He was referring to Lee Hyerim.

“Oh, what kind of guy is Shin Woojin? He doesn’t seem like a guy who only sells Brain Food and plants, does he?”

“He’s just… someone who wants to try everything. He’s someone who always does what he wants to do.”

“He’s an interesting fellow, Hyerim.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“Keep him by your side. He’ll be a great help. Give him water and sunlight as if you’re doing him a favor. Keep him like that.”

Lee Hyerim slowly nodded her head.

“Yes.”

Grandfather couldn’t have known.

That it was the opposite.

It was Woojin who offered water when he was thirsty and provided warm sunshine when it was shady.

“I’ll do that.”

Several years passed after that.

* * *

10 PM.

It was the Downtown of Ji Room, dominated by bars.

There was a man there, using a utility pole as a toilet, urinating freely.

Women passing by on the street frowned at the sight. But the man urinating had a wide smile on his face.

“Hehehe, you bitches, you must be dying of joy seeing mine, right? Ah~ that’s refreshing.”

After satisfyingly urinating, he adjusted his pants.

He had deliberately come out despite there being a bathroom in the bar. As he turned to go back into the bar, then.

“Fuck, you scared me!”

A Police officer was standing right behind him.

It was none other than Woojin.

“Sir, you have violated Minor Offenses Act Article 3, Paragraph 1, Item 12. May I see your ID?”

He blinked his eyes and then produced a sly smile.

“Officer, I was in too much of a hurry. I couldn’t just pee my pants, could I? Just let it go this once.”

At his informal speech, Woojin shook his head.

“You came out of the bar ‘Today Is the Day’ across the street, didn’t you? Considering the distance from the bar to here, even if we assume the bar’s bathroom was occupied, you could have held it. Even judging by the amount of urine. Therefore, it is highly likely that you came out on purpose. Sir, please give me your ID.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t bring my ID.”

“Then please tell me your resident registration number.”

“Oh, I don’t know! This is too harsh. You should just do your job well. Instead of chasing after people who need to pee, just take reports properly on time! You fake cop, don’t let people call you a dog cop! Honestly.”

As he tried to brush past Woojin, Woojin’s voice once again stopped him.

“I will work hard so I don’t get called a fake cop, a dog cop. And don’t be too upset. The number of fines issued for Public Urination reaches between seven and nine thousand cases every year. If you keep refusing to cooperate, I’ll charge you with Obstruction of Justice…”

He smiled again.

“Just let it go this once. I won’t do it again.”

“If you keep using informal speech with a Candle, I will… If you don’t pay within 10 days of receiving the notification, you’ll have to pay an additional fee.”

He ran his hand through his hair.

“How old are you, you little punk?”

“I’m twenty-eight.”

“Someone who’s still wet behind the ears… Are you really a Police officer?”

“Yes. If you keep doing this, I’ll take you to the Mask public duty room for obstruction.”

“Ha! Seriously!”

“Give it to me quickly. Your ID. If you don’t have it, tell me your resident registration number.”

He couldn’t say anything more and shoved his ID forward as if it was dirty.

Woojin then issued the fine and got back into the car.

And he spoke to the Senior Officer, who was holding the Steering Wheel and had his eyes closed.

“I’ll start driving.”

The Senior Officer said with his eyes still closed.

“It’s good that you’re working hard, but you’ll get exhausted if you try to deal with everything you see. We’re on patrol right now. Don’t forget that.”

It had already been two weeks since Woojin became a Police officer.

“Understood.”

Woojin drove the car again to go on patrol.

Today was the weekend.

Weekends are a war with intoxicated people, stretched out like laundry.

The Senior Officer said.

“Oh dear… what kind of troublesome people are going to bother me today?”

Just then.

—…Report received. Nearby patrol car, respond. Respond immediately.

Woojin immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and replied.

“Officer Shin Woojin, I’ll respond.”

As Woojin put down the walkie-talkie, the Senior Officer opened his eyes and looked at Woojin.

“Hey. Isn’t Senior Officer Jo closer there? Haven’t you figured out the patrol locations yet? I told you to memorize them, didn’t I?”

“I have them memorized. But if we turn left up ahead, we’ll be faster than Senior Officer Jo.”

“Oh dear… where did this one come from? Fine, go. Let’s see.”

The Senior Officer couldn’t scold Woojin any further.

The reason was that the guy knew the area better than him, as if it were his hometown.

And that wasn’t all?

He knew everything about civil law and criminal law like a lawyer.

The car Woojin was driving arrived at a residential area lined with rice paddies.

It was a detached house with a yard, typical of a rural village.

In its yard, people who looked to be in their mid-fifties were gathered as if watching a spectacle.

“Who made the report?”

At the Senior Officer’s words, a woman who appeared to be in her late fifties spoke.

“It was me. I came to give them some sweet potatoes, but the door is locked from the inside and won’t open. I also smell something strange.”

The Senior Officer knocked on the door.

“Is anyone home? This is the police. Are you in there?”

But, as the reporter said, there was no answer.

“I’ll have to force this open…”

The Senior Officer muttered, scanning his surroundings. He was looking for a window.

Just then, Woojin, who had been calling 911 from behind, approached.

“I’ll open it.”

What Woojin was holding was a hand hoe.

“You’re going to open the door with that?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead.”

Woojin inserted the hand hoe into the door crack and moved it back and forth.

Then he pulled the doorknob, like a reporter.

Click.

The door opened, revealing the scene inside the room. It was too dark to see clearly.

The senior officer turned on his flashlight and illuminated the room.

And then he could see.

A woman who appeared to be in her late 60s lay on her side, motionless.

Her hair was stained with blood, and Woojin was the first to move.

He immediately went inside, checked her breathing, and felt her temperature and pulse with his hand.

“She’s passed away.”

The amount of bleeding was small, so he considered the possibility of internal bleeding and also checked her abdomen, but it was not the case.

The direct cause of death was blunt force trauma.

However, the amount of bleeding was remarkably small.

Indeed, it was the opposite of what Woojin had thought. By opposite, he meant that the murder scene was not the room.

Suddenly, the senior officer spoke, almost shouting.

“Don’t touch anything! Get out of there right now. Quickly!”

Woojin immediately exited the room, as if obedient to the senior officer’s words.

The senior officer spoke to Woojin again.

“Don’t let residents come in, and calm down. Understand? You’re a police officer. Get a grip!”

“Yes.”

Woojin stepped back, asking the residents for their cooperation.

While the Senior Officer was making calls, Woojin followed the small bloodstain he had seen at the door.

It was dark and hard to see, but Woojin saw it clearly.

The bloodstains, which looked like water bells, grew larger and more numerous.

* * *

At that moment.

Someone entered the Police Substation where Woojin worked.

“How may I help you?”

The man smiled slightly, looking around the Police Substation.

It was none other than Prosecutor Kim Cheolung, no, now Assemblyman.

“He really is extraordinary.”

Just then, the Police asked.

“Oh? Perhaps… aren’t you Assemblyman Kim Cheolung?”

Kim Cheolung nodded with a pleasant smile.

“You’re working hard. Where is Officer Shin Woojin?”