Episode 204
Kim Yeon-woo had good observation skills.
That was not an ability I acquired with the intention of becoming a police officer. Kim Yeon-woo was a pure talent born from a young age, and that talent only became more powerful thanks to his wish to ‘become a police officer to help people’.
The impression that Kim Yeon-woo had when he first entered the house of a man named Lee Jae-heon was…
“….”
“Is there a problem?”
“…no.”
vacuity.
“I was surprised that it was such a nice house.”
And it was very lonely.
Kim Yeon-woo looked at Lee Jae-heon, trying hard not to show his emotions. Carelessly revealing what you personally felt in front of that person could hurt the other person’s feelings. In particular, Lee Jae-heon was a person with good sense, so he should not have behaved rudely.
However, as Kim Yeon-woo thought, Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s eyes were cold as he looked around the house to see if he had felt anything.
“…Did you decorate it yourself?”
“Of course, we called a company for things like shelves and closets. All I had to do was stuff it inside…”
“I see.”
“Why do you want it?”
Detective Hong Gyeong-jun was seen frowning slightly at the mischievous question and then straightening it again.
“I don’t think you need such flashy things to live as a detective.”
“There was no need to live as a manager. It was all a show of power. “Isn’t this showing that I am living well?”
“I don’t really feel it, but…”
Lee Jae-heon let out a faint smile at Detective Hong Gyeong-jun who said that.
“I don’t know why you think I don’t mean it.”
However, Kim Yeon-woo’s words did not feel sincere.
Aside from the impression she got from the interior, there were things she had seen in the other world. Lee Jae-heon was a wealthy man, as he appears, but at the same time, he was a man who was far from words such as ‘showing off power’.
‘I got hurt like that in the first place to save people.’
Lee Jae-heon, who did not know Kim Yeon-woo, recalled the moment when he saved his life and spoke in a relatively light voice.
“But you really can take it if you need it. For example, a watch? If you go inside, there is a collection. Or how about wine? “I think I can receive this as a gift without feeling burdened.”
“…For something that was given away so easily, you put a lot of effort into decorating it, which is unusual.”
That was something everyone heard when they heard it.
Kim Yeon-woo noticed that Detective Hong Kyung-jun wanted to delve into Lee Jae-heon’s psychology, and it was probably the same for Hong Kyung-jun and Lee Jae-heon themselves. Having been given tacit permission to observe, she listened carefully to the conversation between the two people.
“Well… doesn’t that mean it’s not worth that much?”
“Don’t you think it’s a waste?”
“I had fun decorating it, so that’s it.”
Lee Jae-heon’s voice was loose, but there was a weak scent hidden behind a thick mask.
“….”
Kim Yeon-woo turned his gaze again and looked around the spacious house.
A dining table carved from marble. Beautiful lighting decorated with glass crafts on top. A large display stand with a frame made of black wood. A transparent glass wall surrounds it. Wine and glasses filled with wine and neatly displayed by type. Everything is kept clean and without a trace of dust.
‘…If you become a manager, you might get it as a gift…’
There were many colorful and shiny things, but there were no flower pots in sight.
“…House is.”
Kim Yeon-woo pursed his lips.
“It’s really cool.”
“….”
“It looks just like a work of art.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I was impressed from the first time I saw it.”
“I’m glad you noticed. I spend quite a bit of time maintaining it…”
“It seems so.”
As Kim Yeon-woo exclaimed with excitement on his face, Lee Jae-heon shrugged his shoulders. I don’t know that it was a made-up exclamation, but it didn’t seem to make him feel bad. Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, perhaps aware of her intentions, just quietly listened to what Kim Yeon-woo said.
“Plus, the house is very spacious. “I barely managed to find a place to rent.”
“Even if you praise me like that, nothing comes out of it.”
Jaeheon Lee burst into laughter.
“Would you like to take a look around?”
“…may I?”
“We can talk about the real thing slowly.”
It is sweet to see him kindly give permission even though he clearly knows what is going on. Kim Yeon-woo was embarrassed that his entire plan was discovered, but he accepted Lee Jae-heon’s consideration.
Kim Yeon-woo was also curious about what kind of person he was.
“Thank you for your permission.”
When Kim Yeon-woo was in the secret world, the person who impressed him the most was Lee Jae-heon.
He is sacrificial. considerate. Very considerate. But at the same time, Kim Yeon-woo clearly remembered the sense of danger and emptiness he felt. Aside from being physically strong and having good patience, Yeon-woo was worried about Lee Jae-heon’s mentality.
And Lee Jae-heon’s home seemed to fully capture his condition.
“Wow, the TV is really big.”
It was a nice, big TV, but the remote control was neatly placed on the drawer in front of it. Everything else is clean, but there is a bit of dust here.
You don’t enjoy watching TV.
“We have a variety of alcohol… do you like it?”
“Not much about drinking. “It’s all for decoration.”
The liquor on the shelf is clean and neat without a speck of dust, but there is only one empty spot. One of the hooks that seemed to hold a glass was empty. There is no bottle of leftover alcohol anywhere to be seen.
Is it because he doesn’t want to show that he touched an ornament or that he’s been drinking?
“I think it would be difficult to clean if it’s this wide.”
“I don’t really like people coming in, so I don’t use a cleaning company. “I sometimes think it’s too spacious.”
“I think I can run at this level.”
“The soundproofing is good, so even if you run, the house below won’t come up.”
Although the house is clean overall, there are some rooms that do not feel hot at all. A little bit of dust has accumulated, and since the boiler is not turned on, it is cool and empty, as if the air has stopped.
To Jaeheon Lee, this big house had no meaning.
‘And…’
A very faint trace of blood remained in the kitchen.
“….”
“I often cook, so I bought several knives.”
“…Aha….”
A kitchen knife with a light red wavy pattern.
“You seem to be good at cooking.”
The wound on Lee Jae-heon’s arm was a long vertical cut. Self-harm.
I remember strangling myself.
“I guess it will be enough to cook alone. “I can’t keep ordering food delivered…”
“I just looked and there’s a pantry, too. “This is my first time seeing it in person.”
A sacrificial spirit that seemed to not only not love itself, but also hate it.
“Even though it looks like that, there isn’t much inside. I’m a picky eater, so I only make the same foods I always eat. “All the ingredients are thrown away over time.”
“wow.”
“Are you done now?”
In response to Lee Jae-heon’s question, Kim Yeon-woo looked up at him.
“yes.”
“great.”
Lee Jae-heon, who said that, smiled with a made-up face that anyone could see.
Kim Yeon-woo felt an inexplicable sense of unreality as a deep, thin smile passed by as if engraved on his lips. His eyes, which had narrowed for a moment when he looked at me, suddenly return to clarity and look back at Hong Kyung-jun.
“Detective, if you’ve seen everything, please come this way. “Let’s have a conversation.”
“Are you deciding on your future direction?”
“A little more detail… oh wait a minute.”
Jaeheon Lee walked to one side of the room. It was the room that he did not show until the end, and it was a space that Kim Yeon-woo assumed was probably a bedroom. Without realizing it, she fixed her gaze on Lee Jae-heon’s back. Even the simple act of taking a step into the room seemed to be particularly noticeable.
A pure white bed can be seen inside the gently opened door.
“….”
“…Did you wait long?”
A vase on the nightstand next to it.
“no.”
The petals of those with cut stems are falling like artificial flowers. The petals were not wilted at all and were very vividly colored. The petals looked as if someone had crushed them roughly.
And Lee Jae-heon did not clean up the fallen flower petals.
“Are you growing flowers?”
“….”
fluttering.
He answered, holding several pieces of paper.
“…I will die soon.”
* * *
Kim Yeon-woo thought that home was his final resting place.
For people, home is a space where they can escape. It was a place where you could let go of your guard and relax. This is the last bastion where you can feel safe without even realizing it, no matter how guarded you are on the outside. Therefore, a house that someone can manage with affection is the face and heart of that person.
Knowing that, Kim Yeon-woo came to the conclusion.
“….”
This was not Lee Jae-heon’s ‘house’.
“What is that paper?”
“I thought it would be easier if I wrote it down and organized it… How many people were we in total? “Please call me by name.”
“If we include ourselves, Hong Gyeong-jun, Kim Yeon-woo, Lee Jae-heon, and Choi Jeong-man…”
Leaving behind the effortless cooperation as if they were people who had been together for several years, Kim Yeon-woo admired this splendid space even more. Decorations or lights that catch your eye are dazzling.
“…and Mr. Munsan-gun.”
“Do any of these people know where they live?”
“There are a few.”
The voice shared calmly tickles Kim Yeon-woo’s ears.
“…excuse me.”
I know it’s a very random question, but I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer.
“Do you go back to your parents’ house often?”
“…I’ve seen it…no, not really.”
It may have seemed absurd, but Jaeheon Lee answered sincerely.
“I don’t often contact my family. It’s not that our relationship is bad, but it’s not very good either. “As we get older, we all naturally become distant, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“It’s the same thing. Any adult of this age and with a job like this should at least buy their own home. “I don’t need to go to my parents’ house often…”
“Yes.”
“My home is here.”
How could I give such an empty answer?
‘Without even thinking of it as home.’
I felt sick to my stomach in an instant.
‘…This is not home….’
Kim Yeon-woo, who has good observation skills, could not have known that Lee Jae-heon was not at all at ease here. This was because even if you turned your head just a little, you could see how he usually lived in this space.
You don’t even grow small potted plants. Even the flowers that were still there had their stems cut off and were crushed.
“….”
There was a reason why Kim Yeon-woo said this place was like a ‘work of art.’
This is not a place to stay comfortably, but only for show. It was a place similar to the kind of works you would see in a gallery. Lee Jae-heon was only using this space to show the person ‘Lee Jae-heon’.
‘The main house is not Jaeheon Lee’s house either.’
So where on earth is there a place for him to rest?
“Mr. Kim Yeon-woo.”
“…yes.”
“It seems like there is something uncomfortable about it.”
“sorry.”
I had no choice but to apologize as if I had been waiting. She herself knew that she was not able to control her facial expressions, and it was Lee Jae-heon who recognized her true feelings from the beginning.
“I’m distracted… I’ll focus.”
Still, the doubts do not go away.
‘why?’
Why are you doing this? Why is he imitating a vain and greedy person called ‘Lee Jae-heon’ so much? It wasn’t even a mask that suited a person named Lee Jae-heon. He was a person who was busy sacrificing himself for someone even in the extreme environment of the underworld.
“it’s okay. “Wouldn’t that mean my house looks that good?”
“….”
“I’m just grateful that you think positively of me.”
There was no place for Lee Jae-heon himself anywhere.
The bedroom was the only space that left any traces, but judging from the crushed flower petals, it didn’t seem like he felt peaceful even there. The faint traces of blood left here and there showed just how cornered Lee Jae-heon was.
Kim Yeon-woo didn’t know everything after just looking around the house once, but there was one thing for sure.
What he loved wasn’t here.
“…you’re welcome.”
Perhaps this person was living to die.
