"No, I don't know…" the Head Chef replied thoughtfully."…but every time, the hotel management had new excuses ready. I don't know why the old staff was removed… but forget it, those things are in the past now."
He paused for a moment, then looked at Ji-ho and smiled."But today, seeing your work truly made me happy. You genuinely love what you do—like a true professional chef. I'm impressed."
Hearing the Chef praise him, Ji-ho's face lit up with a gentle smile.He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Chef."
The Chef nodded and said,"It's gotten quite late. You should sleep now. Tomorrow is a new day… but for us, the same old routine will be waiting again."
Hearing this, Ji-ho nodded slightly, then turned off the light in his room.He lay down on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, lost in deep thought.
So much good had happened in just one day after such a long time…Even he couldn't believe it.And most of all — Min-jae.
Min-jae's face surfaced in his mind, and his heart filled with a strange kind of happiness.His thoughts naturally drifted toward Min-jae, and without even realizing it, a smile appeared on his lips.Today, after so many days, meeting Min-jae had made him feel something familiar —for the first time in this city, someone had made him feel at home.
He didn't know why, but that one brief meeting… that moment,just wouldn't leave his mind.Still smiling, he closed his eyes… and slowly drifted into the arms of sleep.
Next Morning
Morning came. Ji-ho opened his eyes and got back into his daily routine.There was nothing special about this day…If anything had changed, it was just that the Head Chef now spoke to him with respect.Even the kitchen staff, instead of mocking him, behaved normally today.
This small shift was no less than a victory for Ji-ho.There was a calm on his face… for the first time.
On the other side, Min-jae was sitting in BEAST's modern office, by the meeting table.He held some important documents in his hands.
Among those documents were details of the previously disappeared hotel staff, along with some of their photographs.
Sitting across from him was — Joon Hyunk.
Their faces were serious, heavy with thought.This wasn't about some small deal —this was something much deeper.
"Everything looked normal yesterday," Joon Hyunk said, "but I'm sure something is definitely wrong over there."
Min-jae, with curiosity in his eyes, replied,"Yeah, I feel the same… Mr. Han is definitely up to something."
Placing the papers on the table, Min-jae leaned toward him and said,"After you left, I talked to some of the old hotel staff. Everything seemed completely normal. Like nothing ever happened."Maybe everything seems normal, but I understood that those people have clearly been working there for a long time.It's very possible that Mr. Han has already turned all of them to his side.
Min-jae narrowed his eyes slightly.
"But..." he continued,"When I asked some questions to the new kitchen staff — especially the assistant chef — the answers gave me a strange feeling. Like they were hiding something. As if their face showed one thing, but their real identity was hidden underneath..."
Looking through the files in deep thought, Min-jae said,"While talking to Ji-ho, I realized that there are many things about him that match up with the people who have disappeared..."
"When I met those people," Min-jae said,"...it felt like they were just giving us a surface-level story. But their eyes were saying something else. I think… these people are doing something shady against us — right inside our own hotels."
Joon Hyunk asked with curiosity in his eyes,"You're saying these new staff members are part of a bigger plan?"
Min-jae opened a file and slid some papers toward Joon."Do you remember I ordered background checks on the newly recruited staff a few days ago?"
"Hmm... yeah, I remember," Joon Hyunk nodded.
Min-jae said,"A strange pattern came to light. In the past few months, in several of our hotel branches, new employees have been recruited from local villages and backward towns. All of them, just like Ji-ho, received casual job offers. No interviews, no document verification… just one phone call and they joined the very next day."
With narrowed eyes, Joon Hyunk said,"That's already suspicious..."
Min-jae continued,"That suspicion turned into horror when we found out that many of those people disappeared within just a few days. When we asked management, the answer was — 'They were fired because they weren't doing their job properly.'"
"But if they were fired… then where are they now?"There was more frustration than anger in Min-jae's voice as he asked this question.
Min-jae, thinking deeply, said,"That's exactly the point. None of them returned to their homes. Their parents weren't able to find out anything either. And when we dug a little deeper… we found that all the missing individuals were young and attractive. Both boys and girls. The kind of people whose personality or charm could easily trap someone in their web."
Joon Hyunk was listening to all of this very attentively.
Min-jae added that the background of all those people was,"Extremely poor. Mostly orphans. Or their parents were so desperate and powerless that they had neither the means to fight legally nor the capacity to afford a lawyer. Some of them didn't even have complete documentation."
Joon Hyunk's face was now more furious than serious. He slammed his hand on the table,"Min-jae! I've been suspicious of Mr. Han from the beginning. His positioning, his sudden control… none of this is normal. Does he really think that all of this is happening in my hotels, right under my nose — and I wouldn't find out?"
Min-jae looked him in the eyes and said calmly,"He's making a mistake."
There was a moment of silence. Then Min-jae, after pausing slightly, added,"To be honest… right now, I'll have to keep an eye on Ji-ho too."
Joon Hyunk asked in surprise,"Ji-ho? But why…"
"...because he's just like one of them, Joon Hyunk," Min-jae cut him off."From a simple family background, with a handsome and innocent appearance… the exact same pattern as the missing individuals. When I met and spoke with him yesterday, I felt he's a sweet, vulnerable boy — a perfect target for any smart manipulator. He could very well be their next target."
Joon Hyunk responded firmly to Min-jae's concern:"Don't suspect him directly. Just observe. If he really is innocent… then we'll have to protect him. And if not… he's just another regular staff member."
"You're right," Min-jae agreed with Beast's words.
Joon Hyunk then told Min-jae,"We can't just let this go. We need to act — and fast. Set a meeting with our officers tonight. If we investigate Mr. Han directly, yes, we'll catch him — but we'll never reach the one truly behind all this. Because I know he's a coward and a fool. Catching him won't be hard. But if he's doing all this, then someone else must be pulling the strings — someone who is the real mastermind behind everything. That person is Mr. Han's power. Without that, Han would never have the courage to pull this off."
"Yes, you're absolutely right, Joon Hyunk. Right now, we need a strong strategy," Min-jae replied.
Saying this, Min-jae walked out of the office, telling Joon Hyunk,"I'll see you tonight in the meeting — with all the information and a solid strategy, so we can start acting quickly."
With that, he left the office.