The Serpent's Offer
Her eyelid had reddened as she tried to continue speaking. She feared the words would spill over if she paused, so she hastily piled a few slices of samgyeopsal onto a lettuce leaf and formed a massive ssam wrap.
“About that incident… our sister who was an educator passed away. I wonder how everyone could care so much about other people’s affairs… It must have been because she couldn’t bear the relentless parental complaints or the stares from the public. All because of me. I was just stupid and got punished… Everything’s ruined.”
She was irritated and furious.
Jeong Yeon-jae had never spoken of her secret to anyone before, and she poured it out now as if possessed. Was it because the listener was Kwak Dong-cheol?
As Kim Ui-jae had said, once she had joined Echo Research, she seemed to be gradually growing accustomed to the darkness and losing her edge. While he spoke with a casual tone, she felt no anger—only a deep exhaustion weighing on her body.
She bowed her head before the tears could fall.
Ultimately, to resolve this injustice, she had to become Kim Ui-jae’s marionette. A wave of revulsion surged through her.
“If you decide to work with me, come find me. I’ll design everything then.”
He had made that final proposal.
She closed her eyes and pictured Sa Hee-eon’s face.
The silhouette that remained like an afterimage through the helmet, and the voice that had asked her to run errands for cigarettes.
The owner of that voice that she had listened to through the body-cam footage all night, Sa Hee-eon.
That man had overshadowed everyone in every aspect. Whether human or object, even mere props in a poster, their presence vanished before him.
He was that strikingly noticeable.
Yet why was Kim Ui-jae suspicious of Sa Hee-eon? More precisely, his grandfather, Sa Jae-cheol.
From what she knew, Sa Hee-eon was the beloved youngest grandson of the Sahwa Group and the one Sa Jae-cheol cherished like a gold nugget. And they suspected that such a Sa Hee-eon…?
The secretary who betrayed the Sahwa family, Yoon Jun-mo, and Sa Hee-eon’s late wife, Yoon Jun-hee. If the two had a genuine blood relation, then Sa Hee-eon would have been at the center of their intersection.
It was easy to guess Kim Ui-jae’s intentions without even trying. The secretive tone when he had mentioned the word “design” alone was enough.
“What do you want to do? If it’s too hard for you, I can go find Kim Lawyer and offer it to someone else…”
“I’ll handle it. It’s not even enough to pay the fee—why would I give it to someone else?”
When Jeong Yeon-jae looked at him with narrowed eyes, Kwak Dong-cheol, who had been a little calmed by her reaction, threw out a joke with a mocking tone.
“Listen, do you remember that day when you first came? Like a frog that had swallowed a load of poison—cheeks all puffed up, eyes blazing with killing intent.”
“That was something I waited for. Even after combing through everything like a wave, I couldn’t catch even a strand. But now you just appeared out of nowhere…”
She trailed off, averting her gaze from Kwak Dong-cheol’s curious stare and swallowing the rest of her words.
“How was I supposed to miss this opportunity?”
The chance to set the flame to the hideous snake pit she had searched for so desperately.
* * *
“Ha…”
It was a memory from a few weeks ago that had been terrifying. She had shaken off the intrusive thoughts and stared at her reflection in the mirror, still wearing the crumpled good clothes. It looked like a photo she had awkwardly pasted on, but fortunately, the bruises on her face had faded.
She lightly touched her still-painful ribcage. The ache that lingered with every touch revived the humiliation of that day in full.
“Ms. Jeong Yeon-jae.”
While she was touching her aching skin and grinding her teeth, a man’s voice came from outside the bedroom. It was Kim Ui-jae, who had escorted her to this guest house.
With a reluctant expression, she quietly opened the bedroom door a crack and stepped out. Kim Ui-jae, who had been standing in the reception room glancing around, saw her and smirked.
“Come, let me see your face.”
He strode over with a strong grip on her chin, turned her head left and right for a thorough inspection. Jeong Yeon-jae raised her eyes and retorted mockingly.
“You said my credit card is good. I bought designer goods, took cash services to pay off debts, and received treatment at the hospital. That’s the cash I paid, right?”
“I should be the one receiving the cash. Five stitches.”
“But you’re still fine?”
How many people had she seen working at Echo Research? It was a place where the weak couldn’t survive if they weren’t tough.
Violence was terrifying, but that humiliation had led her here. Moreover, the other party was a lawyer. She was facing someone even more depraved and contemptible than she was.
“Well… I guess you heal fast. Anyway, you can use it as much as you want. There’s no limit.”
“Don’t worry. I’m already using more than the water.”
The clothes she wore now had been purchased with the credit card Kim Ui-jae had given her. She had dragged in Kwak Dong-cheol, who was watching her closely, and taken him to the most expensive shop in the department store. She had bought whatever she could grab, whatever size fit.
Watching thousands of won flow on a single piece of clothing made her teeth ache, but she had resolved to be ruthless.
There was no employee who ignored her disheveled appearance. Whatever actions Kim Ui-jae had taken, the department store had no customers, and every store welcomed her warmly.
It felt newly strange to experience this world directly.
The kind-hearted employees had served her water, carbonated water, and snacks, and offered to contact her first if she wanted something.
The glamorous life she had only watched from afar had been so easy that for a moment she had almost forgotten the humiliation and disgrace. Had she looked like someone who had won the lottery?
Money was good money.
Staring at her fixedly, she slapped away Kim Ui-jae’s hand that was gripping her chin.
Instead of reacting much, he put his hands in his pockets as if unconcerned and strolled to the reception-room sofa, dropping down heavily.
That luxurious sofa was a place she had never even sat on.
“Sit down. We need to finish talking. Cold or warm?”
The man picked up the telephone beside the sofa. He pressed a few buttons without listening to her answer and said casually, “Prepare some drinks here.”
She sat slowly across from the man. It was a cold season. The dry, twisted fallen leaves and withered grass outside the large window turned everything a washed-out color.
“This is the chairman’s villa. Sa Hee-eon lives here, and the chairman comes twice a month or so. It’s quite nice, isn’t it? Ah, the money here is good. That fireplace is worth an apartment, surprisingly enough.”
Following the man’s gaze, she turned her head and saw a massive fireplace taking up one entire wall.
Jeong Yeon-jae let out a long sigh and stared at Kim Ui-jae with a nonchalant expression.
At that moment a woman appeared and placed a tea tray between the two who were sitting face to face. She didn’t even make eye contact with them. A horrifying silence followed for Jeong Yeon-jae.
Only after the maid who had finished her chores left the guest house did Kim Ui-jae laugh lightly and pick up the teacup.
“Has anything strange happened in the meantime?”
The last time Kim Ui-jae had met her was a week ago. Precisely, he had called with an unknown number, and after receiving it, he had proposed a meeting. Kwak Dong-cheol had informed Kim Ui-jae of her willingness to join, and two days had passed since then.
Kim Ui-jae laid out the words she had expected.
1. Kim Ui-jae was searching for something stolen or hidden by Yoon Jun-mo.
2. Yoon Jun-mo had probably died.
3. Before his death, Yoon Jun-mo had contacted Yoon Jun-hee. He had always been deeply attached to his half-sister.
4. Several months later, Yoon Jun-hee had died.
5. Yoon Jun-hee was Sa Hee-eon’s wife, whom he had trusted and loved deeply.
6. Therefore, the person who received or was given the thing they were looking for was most likely Sa Hee-eon.
7. Sa Hee-eon didn’t know of the existence of that thing.
8. Jeong Yeon-jae should approach Sa Hee-eon, obtain information about his late wife, and hand everything over to Kim Ui-jae.
*Special note. If Jeong Yeon-jae does not follow the instructions, execution will proceed according to the rules.
Done.
Execution.
It was, in other words, what gangsters did. The dirtiest thing these blackmailers and loan sharks could do.