The group made it up the basement stairs when they heard a faint clicking sound.
The bookstore door swung open and Choi Tae-ho rolled in on his wheelchair. Oh In-muk followed right behind him.
Hyeon-ju muttered under her breath. "Why is he here of all times?"
Choi Tae-ho wheeled himself toward the seating area and looked at the group. "Sit down."
Only Hyeon-ju took a seat while In-muk stood behind the old man's chair. Joe, Geon-woo, and Woo-jin lined up behind Hyeon-ju like a wall.
Choi Tae-ho looked at her with a face that showed no emotion. "What have you done? Locking people up in the basement is not something we do."
Hyeon-ju kept her mouth shut.
"You are not going to answer me?"
Woo-jin started to step forward but Joe moved faster.
"I apologize, sir." Joe gave a deep bow. "This is our fault. Something happened last night."
Choi Tae-ho looked up at him. "What kind of something?"
Joe looked over at Hyeon-ju.
"I said what was it?"
Hyeon-ju gave Joe a small nod and he straightened his back. "We were tailing Yang Jae-myeong."
Choi Tae-ho's expression turned hard. "Why?"
"Grandpa." Hyeon-ju spoke up this time. "The loan sharks are desperate to find him. We find him for them and they pay us. It is simple."
Choi Tae-ho let out a short breath. "You did all this for money?"
"Making money is not a crime."
Choi Tae-ho moved his eyes to Joe, Geon-woo, and Woo-jin. He looked at each of them carefully. "And what was your part in this?"
Hyeon-ju cut in before they could speak. "They are my friends. They are here to protect me and that is what they did."
Choi Tae-ho looked back at her and the room went quiet for a moment. "I am disappointed in you."
Hyeon-ju's face went stiff.
"Same." Her voice was flat. "I am disappointed in you too, Grandpa."
Choi Tae-ho said nothing.
"You knew something was wrong with Yang Jae-myeong." She leaned forward. "One word from you and Mr. Hwang would have handled it. Why did you just sit on it? You are frustrated with me? I have been more frustrated with you."
She turned to Geon-woo. "Take that bandage off."
Geon-woo blinked. "Sorry?"
"Do it now."
Geon-woo slowly unwrapped the white tape from his face. The deep scar from the boss of Smile Capital was visible under the bookstore lights.
Hyeon-ju pointed at his face and looked straight at the old man. "If you let Yang Jae-myeong and Kim Jun-min run their scams, people like Geon-woo pay for it. Every won you spend to help people goes into their pockets. If you want to help anyone, pull out the rot first. Start with Yang Jae-myeong."
Choi Tae-ho stared at Geon-woo's face. "Who did that?"
"The boss of Smile Capital, sir." Geon-woo answered.
"What is his name?"
"Kim Myeong-gil. He has a long knife scar on his left cheek."
Something changed in Choi Tae-ho's eyes. He went very still like he was thinking of an old memory.
"All of you head home."
Hyeon-ju stood up and the three men fell in behind her.
She paused at the door and looked back. "We will be going then, Grandpa."
Choi Tae-ho did not answer. He was still staring at the spot where Geon-woo had been standing.
Hyeon-ju watched him for a second then walked out. The door clicked shut.
In-muk stepped closer to the wheelchair. "Sir, could it be a coincidence?"
Choi Tae-ho stared at the wall. "Find out if the CEO of Smile Capital is the same Kim Myeong-gil we know."
"Yes, sir."
---
The street outside was quiet and cool. Hyeon-ju leaned against her car.
Woo-jin called out to her. "Juju."
Hyeon-ju laughed. "Getting comfortable already?"
Woo-jin shrugged his shoulders. "You called us friends back there. Honestly? That felt good."
"So?"
"So I thought it would be nice if we talked more casually. We are a team, Juju."
Hyeon-ju tilted her head and smiled. "We are only a team if we talk casually?"
"I am just saying it would be nice to feel like one big family." Woo-jin grinned.
"If we are family, the oldest person pays for the meal. Is that you?"
Woo-jin snapped into a military salute. "I deeply value formality, ma'am!"
"I will treat everyone."
Joe said it plainly. Hyeon-ju looked at him. He did not look older than Woo-jin.
"Really? You are older than Woo-jin?"
Woo-jin turned around. "Wait, are you saying I look old?"
"I am kidding. Relax." Hyeon-ju looked back at Joe.
"Twenty-seven this year." Joe looked at Woo-jin. "You?"
"Twenty-six. Not that far apart." Woo-jin pointed at Geon-woo. "He is twenty-five, but he is from the 1107th class. I am from the 1140th."
Hyeon-ju drew a breath. "So Geon-woo is your sunbae? How does that feel?"
Woo-jin snapped another salute with his arm shooting up. "I deeply respect my sunbae!"
Geon-woo reached over and pulled his arm down. "Okay. I get it. Can we go eat now?"
Hyeon-ju nodded. "Let's use Grandpa's card. What do you want?"
"Rib eye." Geon-woo said.
"Then you are paying."
"Barbecue buffet." Woo-jin said.
Hyeon-ju looked at him. "A barbecue buffet?"
"I know a really good place."
"Sure, let's go."
Woo-jin stepped out in front and waved them along. "Let's go!"
---
The restaurant was loud and warm. It smelled like charcoal and sesame oil.
Hyeon-ju sat across from Woo-jin with Joe beside her. The grill was cold in the center of the table. Geon-woo went to get the meat from the buffet counter.
"How long have you known Geon-woo?" Hyeon-ju asked.
Woo-jin leaned back. "I don't think that matters. Knowing someone a long time does not make them your friend."
Hyeon-ju nodded.
"What matters is if your paths go in the same direction. A short conversation can tell you everything about someone." He turned his glass in his hand. "It is like boxing. You trade punches and you learn who the other person is. One hit tells you the kind of life they lived. You hit back and show them your own life." He smiled. "Everything is in there. Who you are and what you have been through."
Hyeon-ju looked at Joe. "You three came in together. Did you know them before?"
"Met them before joining. We used to go to the same restaurant."
Woo-jin's smile faded. "Smile Capital bastards destroyed it."
Hyeon-ju was quiet for a moment. "Sounds like we were all destined to run into them." She looked at Joe. "What did you do before this? Military?"
"I am from Japan. Came here six years ago for medical treatment." He paused. "It did not work. I stayed and looked for options until I ran out of money. Then I started working as a bodyguard."
Hyeon-ju looked at him. "You are sick?"
Joe smiled faintly. "You could say that. I was a boxer too. Retired at twenty-one. Parkinsonism."
Hyeon-ju had noticed his hands trembling before. She never thought much of it until now. She opened her mouth but did not know what to say.
Geon-woo came back and set two plates of meat on the table. "They had pork belly and beef brisket. I grabbed both."
Woo-jin's eyes lit up. "Good call."
Geon-woo laid the first pieces of meat onto the grill. The fat hit the heat and started to spit and sizzle. He watched the edges carefully with his tongs.
"So," Geon-woo said while looking at the grill. "Are you and President Choi related?"
Hyeon-ju looked at him. "That came out of nowhere."
"I have been curious since the beginning, Juju." Woo-jin dropped a piece of garlic onto the grill.
Hyeon-ju watched the garlic start to brown. "Short version."
A beat passed.
"I had spinal cancer when I was eight." She picked up her glass. "Cured by ten, but my dad died in between. I got sent to an orphanage."
"How old were you when he passed?" Woo-jin asked.
"Nine." She set the glass down. "I hated the orphanage and ran away. I was so hungry once that I ate leftover noodles someone left on their doorstep." She said it without any embarrassment. "Worked at bars with other runaways for a while. Then at seventeen I got moved to a different orphanage. Grandpa was the director."
Geon-woo flipped the meat. "President Choi?"
"Yeah. He said he built it to do something good." Hyeon-ju watched the steam rise. "He was especially kind to me. At first I thought something was wrong with him." She laughed. "But I understood later. He meant it. Kendo, riding a motorcycle, everything I know how to do. Grandpa paid for it because I had nothing."
Woo-jin slid a piece of cooked brisket onto Hyeon-ju's plate. She picked it up and ate it.
Geon-woo put more pork belly on the heat. He was quiet for a second. "I could tell right away that he was a good person." The fat sizzled. "I started working part-time jobs in middle school to pay my dad's debt. When it reached a hundred million won, I went blank. I know exactly how that number feels." He set the tongs down. "When President Choi gave me that money, I decided right then. I was going to protect him no matter what."
The table was quiet for a moment. Only the sound of the grill and the restaurant noise filled the space.
Hyeon-ju reached over and turned a piece of pork belly. "Grandpa told me once that if you want to know someone's character, open your heart first. A deep person will give that sincerity back. A shallow person will just try to use it against you."
Geon-woo nodded slowly.
"You are a good person, Geon-woo." Hyeon-ju said.
Geon-woo said nothing. He just moved the cooked meat off the grill and put fresh pieces down. His ears had gone red from the heat of the charcoal.