The Butterfly on the Vase (2)

Above all, Ji-won's resolve never to have anything to do with his father's side of the family again was absolutely unshakable.

The moment the lawsuit ended, Ji-won packed his bags and followed Lisa to New York. They had spent so little time together that things were awkward at first, but it didn't take long for the two of them to accept each other as true family.

What would have happened if I'd missed that call? The bell had rung a mere five minutes before an important meeting was set to begin. During the meeting itself, she would have seen the incoming call and ignored it—so if the timing had slipped by just a little, she might never have found Ji-won again. And if those people had torn the door off its hinges and dragged the boy out by force… Even now, the thought sent a cold sweat down her spine. A horrifying what-if.

Right. Considering all that, I should be grateful things worked out this well. Human greed really has no end, does it? Watching him grow up so beautifully, I can't help wishing that, while we're at it, he'd fill the seat beside him too…

"No girlfriend? How does a man your age turn thirty without a single partner to bring home to his parents? What a waste of that face, honestly."

"I told you. The moment I see them drooling over my money, whatever feelings I had cool off instantly."

"You have to tolerate a little of that. Where on earth is there a person without any greed for money? If it bothers you that much, find a woman richer than you."

"Aigoo, how is Mrs. Yun still this naive? To be richer than me at my age in Korea, you'd have to be a chaebol heiress at minimum—and families like that wouldn't give a nobody like me the time of day. Fighting through every hardship and adversity to win love? Not my style. It ruins the look."

Just as Ji-won was smoothly deflecting with an oily, easygoing smile, a melody drifted in—slow in tempo yet strangely charged with tension. Ah, a transition call from Zenith. Checking his screen as naturally as he could manage, Ji-won allowed the faintest, barely-there crease between his brows.

Yeon Hae-soo. Why does this kid always pick the exact moments I'm off duty to call? When I'm at the office, he's off running around like a stray dog with training this and that. Raised on nothing but being coddled, so he doesn't know how to be afraid. My juniors at school and my army subordinates couldn't even get a word out around me—so is this what happens when someone doesn't know enough to be scared? Haah. I never should have let him latch on in the first place. And here I am, going soft over a grown man sniveling at me. Unlike me.

After a single beer, the kid's round puppy eyes had gone glassy with tears, and Ji-won had wondered if he'd lost an older brother in some childhood accident. Even the famously cold-hearted Cha Ji-won, sharp as a winter wind, had no armor against that particular kind of pain—so he'd told the kid to do as he pleased. That had been the root of it all. As it turned out, Hae-soo's usual state was insufferably high-energy, but the moment alcohol touched his lips he turned misty-eyed, as if embracing every sorrow in the world. That was his poison.

"Aunt Lisa, one moment."

Ji-won first asked for her understanding calmly, then started walking at a leisurely pace, careful not to betray any fluster. As he drew far enough away that she couldn't hear the conversation, the call dropped once—then rang again in under three seconds. This brat, rushing me. I'm picking up, I'm picking up. When he had real business, Hae-soo would call until the line connected, so short of powering the phone off entirely, there was no escaping it.

"What."

[Hyung! Are you busy right now?]

"Not busy, but I don't have time for you. I'm on vacation for the next ten days, starting today."

It was his first real vacation in the six months since he'd begun working as a Guide. The nature of the job meant no fixed working hours, and since most cases were resolved at the level of ordinary Guides, work didn't come in every day. But when a situation arose that absolutely required a High-Level Guide of Ji-won's or Hae-soo's caliber, it couldn't be wrapped up in an hour or two. Sometimes they spent days haggling with a Mangja; occasionally all three High-Level Guides had to descend on a case at once.

It was never easy work—but neither was it physically exhausting. It was the emotional fatigue that weighed heavier. The Mangja who clawed desperately to stay in the living world usually carried heavy stories and heavy grudges. Ji-won, who had never once cared about the affairs of strangers, found that this line of work kept forcing him to learn the most intimate corners of people's private lives—and sometimes to become entangled in them.

He was hardly the type to be swayed by other people's emotions, but constant exposure to bleak, dark circumstances did wear on him somewhat. Judging that regular rest was necessary to continue the work as the Management Department recommended, Ji-won had submitted his vacation request immediately—and today was the first day of that precious break. So no matter what Hae-soo spewed at him today, he was not giving an inch.

[Right. I know that. And I swear this isn't deliberate…. It's just that I'm in a slightly difficult situation, and it happens you're close by, Hyung.]

Ji-won, who had been idly kneading the back of his neck with a bored expression, suddenly shot his brows up. What kind of creepy nonsense is this kid spouting?

"Close by? Are you tracking my location now?"

[Aigoo, no! What a creepy thing to say…. You said today's your parents' memorial day, right? Then you'd be in Yongin right now. And I happen to be in Yongin too. So come help me out for a minute, Hyung. Okay?]

"No."

[Ah, Hyuuung! I'm about to lose the Mangja I've been chasing for fourteen hours!]

Fourteen hours. Ji-won wavered briefly at Hae-soo's pleading, then hardened his heart. If a Mangja had eluded Hae-soo—a man far younger than him but far more experienced—for fourteen hours, Ji-won would likely struggle against it too. However confident he was in his stamina, with a long flight ahead of him, pulling an all-nighter was the one thing he wanted to avoid.

"That's your problem. I fly out tomorrow, so I need to rest early. Call Seo Do-gyeom."

[I already did, but he's not picking up. It's urgent, Hyung. The Mangja is right in front of me, and I can't exactly just fire my gun…. Looks like some kind of weapons crackdown period. There are banners up everywhere, and armed police are spread out all along the base of the mountain. If a gunshot goes off now, don't I get arrested on the spot?]

Getting noticed by the police would definitely be a hassle… Glancing sideways to check Lisa's position, Ji-won covered his mouth slightly and lowered his voice a notch further. She wasn't paying much attention to the call yet, but if she ever learned what it was about, a few swats on the back wouldn't be the end of it.

"It's a BB gun anyway, so who cares. You're not shooting at people."

[Well… about that…]

When Hae-soo trailed off, his voice thick with embarrassment, Ji-won's smooth forehead creased deeply. For an instant, an inexplicable chill of dread ran down his spine.

"What. What now! What did you do this time! Don't tell me you brought live rounds?"

[No! It's not that, it's just… the pellet weight is very slightly over the limit under the Firearms and Explosives Act…]

"Hey, you lunatic! Have you lost your mind?"

[It's exactly 0.05 grams over. The 0.2-gram ones are too light to aim properly outdoors—what am I supposed to do about that?]

"Aaah…."

Ji-won scrubbed his face roughly and heaved a groan that was half sigh, half lament. To be fair, a 0.05-gram difference wasn't distinguishable to the naked eye, and even if he were caught, the odds of actually serving prison time over it were slim. But Hae-soo's position was different from anyone else's. In an era where eyes and ears were everywhere, if a national shooting team athlete of all people were fined for violating the firearms law… The mere thought made his vision swim.

The real problem was that Yeon Hae-soo—whose persistence rivaled a cult missionary's—was exactly the kind of man who, if it came to losing the Mangja, would fire without a second's thought for consequences. This kid really hasn't tasted the bitterness of the world yet. This is why you can't raise children wrapped in cotton wool. The boy has no fear at all.

Unleashing a vicious string of curses purely in the safety of his own mind—words he could never utter in front of his aunt—Ji-won reluctantly took a step back.

"Send me the GPS coordinates, you brat."

[Really?! You're actually coming?! Hyung, I love you!]

"Shut it. Hanging up."

Gritting his teeth, Ji-won squeezed his eyes shut and open once, then strode back toward Lisa, arranging his face into the mildest expression he could manage. The only small mercy was that his apology was genuine, so he didn't need to fake that part.

"Aunt Lisa, what do I do? Something urgent came up—I think I have to go. I can't do dinner with you. I'll come by the hotel early tomorrow morning instead."

"What urgent business could you possibly have? Gallery work?"

"No, something else."

Lisa, who had been tilting her head in puzzlement, suddenly narrowed her eyes sharply. Why on earth is a kid with property that multiplies on its own just from breathing working two jobs?

"Something else? Why would you be doing something else? Are you gambling?"

"Ha. Would I be doing anything like gambling?"

"Unless you racked up gambling debts and borrowed from loan sharks, what could you possibly need cash for right this minute?"

"It's not about money. Well, call it… a donation of talent, I suppose."

At Ji-won's vague answer, Lisa's eyes narrowed further, her gaze growing all the more suspicious. Ji-won was not a man who formed tight emotional bonds with people in private. He avoided causing others harm wherever possible, and in turn despised anyone causing him inconvenience. He extended favors just as rarely, and disliked receiving them even more. And this man is talking about donating his talent? It was as ill-fitting a phrase as a lion declaring itself a vegetarian.

Darling. Slipping away from that suspicion-laden stare, Ji-won checked his message and clicked his tongue. This kid really is right in front of me. Cutting across the mountain would be faster than going back for the car, wouldn't it? Damn it. A Velouti hike. Honestly, because of this useless creature, I end up doing everything, don't I. I waited four months for these, and now they're going to be ruined. Aaah. Does that brat even know how much these shoes cost?

"Aunt Lisa. I really do have to—"

"Fine, go for now. Explain properly later."

"I'm really sorry. Take the car. I'll call you."

Lisa caught the keys Ji-won tossed her in his haste, then watched in open disbelief as he sprinted without a moment's hesitation into the thick undergrowth.

"Hey, Cha Ji-won! Where do you think you're— No, what on earth has that boy been up to, that he goes bounding off into trackless mountains like that? Is he a water deer?"

Pausing to catch his breath, Ji-won discovered a long scratch marring the smooth calfskin and ground his teeth with an audible grind. The location should be about right around here… At the rustle of movement, he turned his head reflexively—and behind a large tree, a familiar round head flashed briefly into view.

"Yeon Hae-soo."

"Hyung! How are you here so fast— Aghk!"

Ji-won smacked the back of the delightedly approaching Hae-soo's head without mercy, then asked about the urgent business first.

"We'll settle the score later. The Mangja."

"Up in that tree over there. Can you see its face?"

Ji-won fixed a sharp stare on the spot Hae-soo was pointing at and answered shortly.

"I see it."