The first page of a 20-page document titled, 'Hamyang Bank transactions' was open on the laptop screen. The secretary feels his blood run cold as he reads the page. As soon he presses the 'next slide' icon, the screen starts glitching and ends up being black.
Iyuhan Street, Seoul
Reo smirks as he thinks about what had just happened. He crosses the footpath and walks towards the other side of the road, which opens into a crowded street. He tries to spot the café.
The café was tiny and was hidden in a corner. He walks straight to the café. He pauses for a second and then pushes the door followed by the chime sound. There were around a dozen people in the café, half a dozen glanced up as he entered. Reo outshined in the crowd. He looks for a seat.
But as he moves to the end table, their heads turn back to the their coffees or pastries. Unlike the outside, the interior of the café was warm, with bright lights and colorful walls. Even the air conditioners were painted as a part of the graffiti of the walls.
'I have reached. Where are you?, Reo types on his phone.
In less than a minute a person comes and sits on the seat in front of Reo. The boy was a little younger than Reo had expected, he was around 18 years old.
He had hazel eyes which contrasted with his innocent looks. His looks were quite above the ordinary standards but if they were to be compared with Reo's, they were bland. He had got the same floppy blonde hair as his father. He was wearing a light pink shirt with sky- blue denims.
"Hei?" Reo says.
He just nods his head in response. A waiter approaches for the order.
"A cup of Black coffee. No sugar." Reo says.
"A frappé for me." Hei says.
Just as soon as they finish giving the order. They hear whispers from the table ahead of them. There were two girls who looked like they had just found the elixir of their lives.
"I feel like I just entered a drama", one of them says.
"If every man had a face like this, maybe the world would be a better place", other one says.
"Wanna try hooking up? See, there are two of them, we are two, then we can go on a double date, and we can marry on the same day and then our kids....", she suddenly stops.
Reo had accidentally looked straight to them. The girls blush and then pretend to do their work. He shifts his gaze back to Hei.
Hei's face had no trace of life. It was like he was breathing without really being alive.
The two sit quiet just looking at each other, among the noises of people and their occasional glances and the chatter of the baristas. The waiter serves the coffee.
"So, what do you think ?", Reo says finally breaking the silence, after taking a sip from his coffee.
Hei's left hand tightens involuntarily around the tissue, making the tissue crinkle.
"Did he have any enemies within the company? I tried to look into his resume and his relations with other in the company, but I didn't find anything." Reo says.
"No. He didn't discuss much about the company at home….." Hei says, unclenching his fist, looking out of the window. Reo takes a sip from his coffee.
"But he looked a little off in the recent weeks before his suicide. Hell, sometimes I don't even think it was really a suicide.", Hei continues.
"Why would you think so?" Reo asks him, pretending to hear his side, he was testing Hei.
"It just doesn't sit. Why would he suicide when he was at the peak of his career? He had a lofty salary." He exclaims. Reo just looks at him with a questionable glance.
"Do you know the reason I called you here, Hei? It was because I indeed found something really important to the case. If we don't get to it in time, we would loose it. The police is on the brink of closing the case with the assumption of him committing suicide." He continued, "I hate to see that go unnoticed. You don't want that, do you Hei?", Reo says.
"Obviously, I don't", Hei answers without hesitation. A little hope flickered in his heart. "I think I'm ready to help you, Reo", Hei says.
"Well, then let's go to a safer place. There are people who wouldn't want to hear our business." Reo says.
Hei chuckles on this.
"He laughed, he looked so cute, awwww. I want to see the other one laugh too." the girl comments.
They both get up to pay for their drinks and walk towards the door of the café.
"Yes, they both are coming out of the café. Just give the command sir." A man with a gun in his hand, replied to someone on the phone. He was constantly eyeing Reo and Hei. He was near the open corridor of the apartment just near the café.
The man on the phone laughs and says, "Just when they're 10 meters away from the cut leading to another street, shoot the guy with black hair."
"Yes sir. I will make sure to not disappoint you. Over." He cuts the call and loads the bullets in his gun.
"So where are we going now?" Hei asks Reo with a slight confusion in his voice.
"I know a place where we can discuss business, maybe we can use it as our temporary shelter for discussing matters." Reo says, walking in front of him. Hei looks around the neighborhood. Just as Reo was gonna reach the cut, he sees a man in the apartment aiming a gun towards Reo.
"REO, WATCH OUT!" he shouts and he pushes Reo and himself out of the gunman's range. The bullet shoots the garage cover near them.
"Shit." He curses out loud. He gets up and aims again towards the boys.
Reo lands on the road when Hei pushes him. A car screeched to a halt in front of them. The driver starts shouting. People near and there start to scream and panic. The man aims again at Reo but, it instead hits a car's tire which deflates, then making the car crash into a pole.
"Run! Hurry." Reo says as he looks that Hei was still standing looking out for the man to appear. With the gunman following them, they run as fast as they could and try to find a hiding spot. People watch in awe, the film shooting was amazing, they try to find the camera man, but unable to find think that it must be hidden somewhere.
Hei spots a girl entering a cab and shouts, "Hey! Wait a minute"
The girl looked like was probably in middle-school and was wearing a blue hoodie with white embroidered flowers and black jeans. She had a sub in a hand and a black leather bag in her other hand. She looks at them dumbfounded as the two boys run and get into cab. The girl was still standing outside, staring at them, trying to adjust to what was happening.
"Get inside quick or do you want to die?" Reo shouts at her . The girl acts quick and gets inside the car.
"Where do you want to go...sir?" The driver, who was busy setting the GPS asks slowly, says looking up, finally coming to his senses."
"Take us anywhere!" Hei says while panting, heavily. The girl glares at the two boys sitting with her. She was still trying to understand what had just happened.The driver takes off and suddenly swerves the car a little as he hears a gun shot right behind them.
"Fuck!"The gunman shouts, throwing his gun on the pavement.
Reo's and Hei's faces were still a little red from running. Hei was panting a little. But then suddenly Hei and the girl observe something.His breath caught, Hei asks, "You are sweating like hell? Did you just have an allergic reaction or what?"
Reo looks at them and then looks away, he unzips his coat.
Seeing the girl uncomfortable, Hei coming back to his senses says, "Sorry for disturbing you but you just saved us. Thanks"
Reo continues without looking at her,"I'll pay for your ride. I'm sorry."
The girl just nods her head.
"Sir can you please tell me where to take you?", the driver asks.
"Yongsan-gu", the girl replies.
"What can I do for you?" Hei asks, with a grateful expression
"Oh nothing, you don't have to do anything." The girl says.
"Can I buy you a drink?', Hei says.
The girl says,"On another note, I want a music album actually. It will be released soon. It has to be booked in advance. But who are you guys?"
"Oh, I am Min and this is Sae-Hyun. We're business colleagues." Hei says, smiling a little. Hei looks at Reo with a confused expression, who was looking at him like he had just committed a mistake.
"Business colleagues?" she asks in a mocking tone. "The singer's name is Zeal", the girl says showing a picture of the album titled, 'US: My Universe'. Hei peeks at her phone cover. It was white with the words 'cute but psycho' printed on it.
"Send the link to him. I will send it." Reo says.
"You didn't tell me your name, how am I supposed to deliver this?" Hei asks in realization.
The girl smiles and says, "It's Kim Seri."