Chapter 52: Teacher Pyo’s Revelation

“Who is it? Where are they now?”

My voice rose sharply.

“I’m heading to Busan now, so we can meet up when I arrive. I’ll be there in two hours.”

“Ah…”

After hanging up, I stared blankly at the ceiling.

The sudden noise must have startled Grandma, as the door cracked open and she peeked in, though I didn’t notice.

“Mu-hyeok, is everything alright?”

Grandma’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

“My child, you don’t look fine. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

“Really, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

Grandma lingered at the doorway, her face etched with concern, but I couldn’t tell her.

“Honestly, everything’s fine.”

“If anything’s wrong, you better tell your grandma, you hear?”

“I got it.”

After Grandma closed the door and left, I sank back into my thoughts.

“What could they know? The culprit? The mastermind? Or maybe a witness?”

No matter how I looked at it, it was hard to believe someone could remember an incident from over a decade ago so clearly.

Unless they were directly involved, that is.

Two hours passed as I pondered this unsolvable puzzle.

I told Grandma I was going out and stepped outside.

Manager Ma, who had been waiting in the car, got out when he saw me approaching.

“Where are we going, sir?”

“Park Dong-su is coming.”

“Mr. Park?”

“Let’s get in the car. I have something to discuss.”

As the car door closed, Manager Ma silently watched me.

After a long pause, I finally spoke up.

“Someone claims to know about my parents’ case. Do you think it’s true?”

Manager Ma just stared at me without a word.

“I hope it is. Even the smallest lead would be something.”

I turned my gaze out the window as I finished speaking.

Manager Ma remained silent.

A moment later, Park Dong-su’s car pulled up in front of the house. Manager Ma got out to greet him as he approached.

Park Dong-su slid into the seat next to me through the door Manager Ma held open.

The car door closed slowly.

Park Dong-su’s face was unusually tense as he settled into the car.

I turned to him, my gaze urging him to speak. He began reluctantly.

“He’s someone who left school and cleaned up his act. Used to be quite successful. Name’s Kim Jun-geun. We agreed to discuss details in person.”

“He wasn’t involved in or carried out the incident, right?”

“No, couldn’t be. He was at school when it happened.”

I nodded slightly.

Turning to face the driver’s seat, I spoke.

“Manager Ma, let’s go. Where are we headed?”

“We’re meeting in Hadan. He wanted somewhere quiet, so he called us to a room salon. That okay?”

“Yeah, anywhere is fine.”

The car moved slowly. Until we arrived, the silence inside was unbroken.

Park Dong-su and I got out first when we reached the establishment. Manager Ma handed the keys to an employee asking for them before stepping out.

As we entered the room salon, the madam greeted Park Dong-su warmly, but he shook his head.

“Where’s Jun-geun hyung?”

“He’s inside.”

The madam, sensing the tense atmosphere, wiped the smile off her face and led us in.

Inside the room sat a middle-aged man, his hair starting to gray.

“Jun-geun hyung, it’s been a while.”

As Park Dong-su bowed in greeting, the man stood up with a smile.

“Well, well! Dong-su! How long has it been? Over 10 years?”

“Yes, hyung.”

I scrutinized the man as he exchanged greetings with Park Dong-su. Despite his retirement, years of rough living showed. He was in surprisingly good shape for his age.

“Is this the one? The guy asking about that incident?”

“Yes, he’s my sponsor.”

Surprised by this, the man looked me up and down.

“Have a seat first, hyung.”

Park Dong-su sat down with him while Manager Ma and I took seats opposite them.

Park Dong-su poured him a drink and began to inquire.

“So, hyung, how do you know about that incident? It was so long ago, and weren’t you in school then?”

He drank the offered alcohol and spoke casually.

“I didn’t know either. But this guy I shared a room with at school talked about it. Said he was in Seoul. Honestly, he was nobody, not even worth talking to, but he was a decent, likable fellow.”

He raised his gaze slightly as if reaching into his memories and continued.

“So he was in our room, looking after me and such… When I asked for an interesting story, he started talking about things he’d done. That’s when it came up. I knew about the incident because many of our boys were questioned about it.”

Park Dong-su glanced at me. I nodded slightly, and he asked again.

“Can you tell us more? Did he say he did it?”

“No, he didn’t do it himself. Said he just drove. Uh… what was it? He said they offered him 500,000 won just to drive round trip from Busan to Seoul with people he’d never met before, so he took the job right away.”

“Ah, then he probably doesn’t know much.”

“No, no. That bastard might have been sly, but he was sharp. He remembered everything they talked about in the car.”

“Where is this person now? What’s his name? Where does he live?”

I interjected into their conversation.

Kim Jun-geun shifted his gaze to me.

“Oh my, our young sponsor seems very curious. Can’t spill everything without some incentive, you know?”

“Hyung, I told you I’d take care of you. Just answer the questions and don’t complicate things.”

Park Dong-su intervened as I was starting to get irritated.

Kim Jun-geun deflated and shook his head.

“He’s dead. Got taken out by someone at school.”

Damn it all to hell.

It felt like our only hope was slipping away.

“He talked about it like some heroic tale, said everything was settled with the police and prosecutors, so he had nothing to worry about. Seemed like it was ordered by some bigshots. Oh, wait, what else did he say? Ah, the guys he drove called someone ‘Teacher Pyo’ or something.”

I stood up involuntarily at those words.

“Teacher Pyo? Are you sure?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Wasn’t there anything else? Any other names or words that could identify the culprit? Any physical descriptions?”

“He never mentioned any other names besides Teacher Pyo. That’s all I know. I don’t have any more information.”

I slumped back into my seat.

“Teacher Pyo was active over a decade ago too?”

I don’t even know Teacher Pyo’s face or real name.

I only know that he’s the Cheongpung Group’s cleaner.

His subordinate was none other than Park Seong-gi, also known as Manager Park, who had tried to kill me.

Feeling suffocated, I poured some whiskey from the bottle on the table into a glass and downed it.

The strong alcohol burning down my throat somewhat brought me back to my senses.

I couldn’t afford to lose composure any longer. I stood up and looked at Park Dong-su.

“Please take good care of this gentleman and compensate him appropriately. Thanks to him, we’ve at least got a small lead.”

As I turned to leave, Kim Jun-geun added, as if remembering something.

“The woman was the target in that dead couple, wasn’t she? Something about having the wrong parents, that’s why it happened.”

Manager Ma opened the door.

Before leaving, I turned back to him and said,

“If you happen to remember anything else, please tell Mr. Park. We’ll compensate you generously.”

Manager Ma and I walked through the long corridor we had entered through and stepped outside.

The chilly winter air cleared my head as it hit me.

In the car Manager Ma had brought, on the way back home,

“Manager Ma, please pull over somewhere quiet for a moment.”

Manager Ma parked the car in a quiet lot near the house and got out.

He tactfully gave me some alone time without me even asking.

Closing my eyes, I started recalling old memories.

“If Teacher Pyo is involved, it definitely means the Cheongpung Group is connected. But why would they take the risk of eliminating Mother themselves when there was a chance Grandfather might find out? What could they gain that was worth such a risk?”

While it made sense that the Cheon brothers and Cheongpung Group joined forces to get rid of me for Grandfather’s inheritance, I couldn’t fathom why Cheongpung Group would kill Mother.

Behind every incident, there’s someone who benefits. If anyone stood to gain from Mother’s death, it would only be the Cheon brothers.

“What if the Cheongpung Group and the Cheon brothers had been in a secret alliance since over a decade ago? If they temporarily joined hands for mutual benefit?”

That would explain everything.

It would also explain why they keep funneling money to the Cheongpung Group despite Grandfather’s angry protests.

I lowered the window and called out to Manager Ma.

“Manager Ma, get in.”

Manager Ma, who had been standing in front of the back seat door, turned and opened the driver’s side door.

“We’re going to Seoul the day after tomorrow. Please make the preparations, and I’d like to visit Cheon Su-han. Could you arrange that?”

“Understood.”

“Let’s go home. Grandma must be waiting.”

It was already late when I got home, but Grandma was dozing in the living room, waiting for me.

The sound of the door opening seemed to wake her. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids and called out to me.

“Mu-hyeok?”

“Grandma, you didn’t sleep?”

“How could I sleep when my child hasn’t come home? Did you drink?”

“Yeah, a little. I’m tired, Grandma. You should go to bed too.”

“Alright, alright. You go ahead and sleep. I’ll head to bed too.”

Only after confirming I was home did Grandma finally go to her room.

As I watched her closed door, tears welled up in my eyes.

The next morning,

Grandma woke me up, saying it was time to eat.

Though tired from a restless night, I got up and left my bed.

Seeing the spicy bean sprout soup on the table, I couldn’t help but smile.

“As expected of my Grandma~ You made bean sprout soup to help with my hangover.”

“Hurry up and eat before the soup gets cold.”

“Okay.”

After finishing the meal, we sat together in the living room.

Grandma peeled a tangerine and handed it to me.

When I just held the tangerine without eating it, Grandma asked,

“Why do you keep staring? Is there something on my face?”

“Grandma, are you sure you don’t want to come to Seoul?”

“Every time you come down, you ask the same thing. I told you, I don’t want to go. I like it here. I know you’re worried, but your in-laws are here, and so are Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong.”

I had asked Grandma many times to come live with me in Seoul.

She always refused, but…

“Why do you look so down since yesterday?”

“It’s just the alcohol. Grandma, I have to go back to Seoul tomorrow.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“I was planning to stay longer, but something urgent came up in Seoul. I’m sorry, Grandma. I’ll come back soon.”

“If you’re busy, you have to go.”

Despite her words, disappointment was clear on her face.

At times like this, she really does seem like a young girl.

“Are you disappointed?”

“No, I’m not disappointed.”

“Hahaha, Grandma, your face says otherwise.”

“I said I’m not.”

I got lost in the fun of teasing Grandma, momentarily forgetting my worries.

“Sure, sure.”

After teasing Grandma for a while, I got up.

“I’m going to see Hyeon-seong before I leave for Seoul. Don’t prepare dinner, we’ll eat out.”

“Why waste money unnecessarily? We can eat at home.”

“I want to treat you to something delicious. I’ll be back before dinner after meeting Hyeon-seong.”

Manager Ma and I arrived in front of Hyeon-seong’s house.

“Manager Ma, please wait in the car.”

I got out of the car alone and rang the doorbell.

“Who is it?”

“Mother, it’s Mu-hyeok.”

“Oh my, Mu-hyeok is here!”

Hyeon-seong’s mother opened the gate, beaming.

“Your skin looks even better. Are you eating something good by yourself?”

“Oh, stop with the flattery. Are you here to see Hyeon-seong? Let’s go inside.”

I chatted with Hyeon-seong’s mother as we entered the house.

“Hyeon-seong! Mu-hyeok is here! What are you doing, not coming out?”

“I’ll go in myself. I have something to discuss with Hyeon-seong.”

“Alright, go on in. I’ll cut some fruit for you.”

Hyeon-seong opened the door and came out.

“Come in. Let’s talk inside.”

Whatever he had been doing, the window was open and the room was chilly.

Though his cast was off, he still seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Hyeon-seong sat on the bed, and I pulled out a chair to sit.

“Are you going to stay in Busan? I asked you to come to Seoul and help me.”

After a long silence, Hyeon-seong finally spoke.

“…Mu-hyeok, I’m scared of you.”