Chapter 13
“I’ll get going now since I have something to take care of. Thank you for today.”
“I was lucky to find such a good tree too. Let’s meet again next time.”
I saw Choi Young-mok off first, then turned to the red eyes.
‘What is it?’
—It’s that old man.
I immediately understood he meant the grandfather ghost who had been following the security guard.
‘That grandfather? I haven’t seen him at all since earlier.’
—Looks like he went to find that troublemaker son. Where did he suddenly go?
‘If a ghost has that much resentment, the son probably won’t be safe.’
—So what?
‘The guard only has that one son. If something happens to him, the old man won’t be able to endure it.’
I immediately headed back to the guard’s house.
As soon as I entered, the guard widened his eyes.
“Attorney, did you forget something?”
“Do you have contact with your son’s phone?”
“Huh?”
“Call him quickly. Your son might be in danger right now.”
“What happened?”
“I found something suspicious. Please call him first.”
The guard hurriedly took out his phone and called.
“He’s not picking up.”
“Do you have his girlfriend’s address and his number?”
“I’ll go with you. Honey, bring my clothes.”
The guard limped anxiously, trying to rush out.
But if I went with him, it would only slow things down.
“Just stay here. Your leg isn’t in good condition. Give me the address, I’ll go myself. Keep calling your son.”
“What should I say if he picks up?”
“Tell him not to go anywhere, to stay inside the house. Not to do anything dangerous, and not to go anywhere dangerous.”
“Huh?”
“Just say that. I’ll go now.”
I took the address and phone number and headed toward the guard’s son.
The girlfriend lived in Incheon Seo-gu.
Since time was urgent, I took a taxi as soon as I reached the main road.
—But honestly, do we really need to save a guy like that?
‘He’s still his father’s son. At least we should keep him alive.’
—Even if we save him, won’t he just cause trouble again? He doesn’t seem like the type to change…
‘Still, I should do everything I can right now.’
—Are we getting a bit too involved for no money?
The red eyes frowned.
I shook my head.
‘I was told I was born under a fate where good deeds bring good luck and wealth.’
—Who said that?
‘Some monk… and so far, he hasn’t been wrong.’
As the monk said, every time I did a good deed, something always came back.
In one form or another, it always benefited me.
The taxi stopped in a dense area of multi-unit houses.
The guard’s son, Kang Seo-guk, was probably hiding on the second floor of one of these buildings at his girlfriend’s place.
Then I heard footsteps from the corner.
—Hey. Isn’t that Kang Seo-guk?
Thick eyebrows. A stubborn jaw.
It was exactly the same face the guard had shown me from his wallet.
But unlike the photo, his face looked exhausted—like he had aged ten years.
His clothes were sloppily worn, and he was holding a black plastic bag, probably returning from a nearby store.
Just as I was about to call out to him, someone shouted first.
“Kang Seo-guk!”
Startled, he turned around and ran forward.
At that moment, the man who called his name sprinted like lightning and kicked him in the back.
Thud!
Kang Seo-guk let out a short scream and collapsed.
The man grabbed his hair and lifted his head.
“Hgh!”
As his sleeve slid up, tattoos covering his wrist were revealed.
“You thought you could run forever after taking someone else’s money?”
The man was familiar.
A muscular man wearing a mustang jacket.
A loan shark I had met before.
The loan shark crouched in front of him.
“Hey. How long did you think you could run? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”
He slapped Kang Seo-guk’s face repeatedly.
“Hey, pick him up.”
The tattooed man grabbed his hair and lifted him.
“Boss… I’ll sell my father’s house and repay everything, I promise.”
“You should’ve said that earlier. I already went to your father and got humiliated.”
“I’ll call him right now and tell him to put the house up for sale. Please just spare me.”
“Fine. Sell the house and pay me back. But first, you pay for the trouble you caused me. Come with me.”
“Boss, please…”
The loan shark led the way while the tattooed man dragged Kang Seo-guk by the hair.
Kang Seo-guk was crying as he was dragged away.
—Wow, humans are scarier than ghosts.
The red eyes exclaimed.
I walked into the alley.
“Excuse me.”
“Huh? Who’s this? The lawyer guy?”
“Let go of him.”
“Don’t wanna.”
“If you take him now, it’s illegal abduction.”
“So what? I’ve got my reasons. I’m not leaving until I get my money. Move aside.”
“I can’t do that. I have business with him too. Let him go.”
“What if I don’t?”
The loan shark smirked.
I walked up and twisted the tattooed man’s wrist holding Kang Seo-guk.
“Argh!”
The man’s arm bent helplessly.
The loan shark’s eyes lit up.
“Oh? What’s this? You trained or something?”
After the incident with Kang Seong-min’s gang in the past, I had started training.
Boxing and jiu-jitsu.
But more importantly, I had an advantage others didn’t.
I could see their weaknesses.
The loan shark’s left knee and lower back were weak.
His back showed a dark shade—likely a long-term disc problem.
The tattooed man had recently injured his right elbow.
They attacked together almost simultaneously.
But I struck the tattooed man’s elbow first, then kicked the loan shark’s knee hard.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Both stumbled back, shocked.
The tattooed man clutched his elbow and hesitated.
The loan shark couldn’t even stand properly.
“What the—are you really a lawyer?”
“Yes. So? Want to continue?”
“Then what about my money? That bastard keeps running away!”
“That money will be paid by Kang Il-nam, his father. Within a week.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“How can I trust that?”
“Here’s my business card. You’ll get your money at my office within a week.”
I handed him my card.
“Woojeong Law Office, Yoo Hyun-jae? This is the building in front of Ansan court, right?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, that bastard’s father works as a guard there, right? Fine. I’ll wait a week. If nothing happens, I’ll turn your office upside down.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Tch. Let’s go.”
Though he acted tough, he was clearly retreating.
The tattooed man limped as he supported the loan shark and left.
“Seo-guk, you can get up now.”
I called out to him, who was crouched behind a utility pole.
“Is that true? My dad really sold the house?”
“The house hasn’t been sold. Fortunately.”
“What? Then you lied?”
“The money will be arranged. Go ask your father yourself.”
“Damn it… there’s no money in that broke house anyway. So he didn’t sell it? He chose the house over his son’s life? That old man?”
His attitude changed instantly the moment his father was mentioned.
My brow furrowed.
—What an ungrateful bastard. What has he done right?
The red eyes bounced angrily.
“I’m only holding back because of your father. Stop causing trouble and contact him.”
“Then how did you get the money? Wait… you must’ve hidden money without telling me. When I asked for help with my business, you said there was none…”
His face twisted like a demon.
The red eyes gaped.
—This piece of garbage…
At that moment, the grandfather ghost suddenly appeared and climbed onto Kang Seo-guk’s neck.
“Ghhk!”
Kang Seo-guk choked, collapsing forward.
The ghost tightened its grip around his neck with both legs and long, claw-like hands.
Kang Seo-guk’s body went limp and collapsed.
—Wow… I’ve never seen a human faint this fast.
The red eyes hid behind me.
The grandfather ghost didn’t let go even though he had fainted.
‘Please stop, sir. You’ll kill him.’
The ghost looked up at me.
—Who are you?
‘I know Kang Il-nam. Who are you?’
—His great-grandfather.
‘Are you trying to kill your own great-grandson?’
—He was spoiled because there were few descendants. This is what became of him. If the family line ends, it is my karma. Don’t interfere.
‘Even if Kang Seo-guk is like that, what did Kang Il-nam do wrong? No matter how bad a son is, he is still the only child. If he dies, Kang Il-nam won’t be able to live normally.’
—Il-nam… that kind boy…
The grandfather finally calmed down and loosened his grip.
But he still glared at Kang Seo-guk.
‘Punish him, but spare his life.’
—Punish him?
‘Apologize to him in his dreams until he learns his lesson. He won’t dare act like this again.’
Kang Seo-guk was cowardly.
The only people he could ever act strong toward were his parents or maybe his girlfriend.
A nightmare would be enough to break him.
—Fine.
The ghost spoke to the collapsed Kang Seo-guk.
—I will spare your life for your father’s sake. But I will stay with you until you die, so you can never think foolish thoughts again.
Then it wrapped its body tightly around him.
“Seo-guk, wake up.”
I slapped his face lightly.
He slowly stirred.
“What… what happened?”
“Are you okay? You must’ve fainted from shock. That’s your girlfriend’s place, right? Go inside, drink some water, and call your father. He must be worried.”
“…Yes.”
He stood up shakily and walked toward the building.
—Do you think he’ll really change?
the red eyes asked.
‘At the very least, he’ll be too scared to do anything reckless.’
I looked at the grandfather ghost still clinging tightly to his neck.
The red eyes shouted one last thing.
—Grandpa! Make sure that bastard really changes!
The grandfather ghost, still on Kang Seo-guk’s back, turned and gave an OK sign with his finger.
Come to think of it, Kang Seo-guk’s stubborn jaw looked exactly like his great-grandfather’s.
