Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 372

372

“…….”

Lee Seung-cheol was momentarily speechless. He had naturally assumed it was a call from the culprit, but when he suddenly heard a woman’s voice, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

Then, the woman’s voice came through the speakerphone again.

-Hello~! Is this Hye-sun’s Seafood Restaurant?

“Yes, it is. Who is this?”

-Hello~! I’m Lee Eun-ji, a classmate of Hye-sun. Hye-sun didn’t come to school today…….

The caller was none other than Lee Eun-ji. Only then did Hyun-sung recognize Lee Eun-ji’s voice. Sometimes, a person’s actual voice and their phone voice are different. Lee Eun-ji’s case was like that. That’s why Hyun-sung couldn’t recognize Lee Eun-ji’s voice from the beginning.

The reason Lee Eun-ji called was that she was worried when Lee Hye-sun was absent from school.

Hyun-sung, having confirmed the voice, answered the phone instead.

“Hello, Eun-ji, it’s me, Hyun-sung.”

-Kim Hyun-sung? Why are you there?

“Something came up. I’ll tell you the details later.”

-What? Did something happen to Hye-sun?

“I’m sorry, I can’t talk for long right now. I’ll later…….”

As Hyun-sung was about to hang up, Lee Eun-ji’s urgent voice was heard.

-Wait a minute! Did something happen to Hye-sun?

“Yes, but it’s a bit complicated, I’ll later…….”

Hyun-sung was about to hang up again when, for some reason, he suddenly called out to Lee Eun-ji.

“Eun-ji, can I ask you something?”

-What is it?

“If, hypothetically, a kidnapper brought the hostage to their house, what do you think their motive would be?”

-Where would that ever happen?

“I mean, hypothetically.”

-If that were the case, it would be one of two things.

“One of two things?”

-Yeah, either they’re a psycho or someone close to them.

“A psycho? Okay, a psycho, but why someone close?”

-They want to protect them safely. They kidnapped them for some purpose, but…… what? Are you talking about Hye-sun?

Lee Eun-ji immediately caught on. However, Hyun-sung didn’t think it was necessary for Lee Eun-ji to know about Hye-sun’s kidnapping in this situation, so he vaguely brushed it off and hung up the phone.

Then, he looked at Lee Seung-cheol and immediately asked.

“Is there anyone among your close acquaintances who might be suspicious?”

“Hmm…… well, I don’t think I’ve ever done anything bad to anyone in my life…….”

Lee Seung-cheol shook his head slightly from side to side, seeming to ponder more deeply.

Just then, the phone rang again.

Ring!

Hyun-sung automatically checked the time. 7:10 PM.

If this call was indeed from the culprit, it meant that the culprit was so psychologically pressured that they couldn’t even wait 10 minutes. That meant there would be many loopholes.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Seung-cheol and immediately said.

“Take your time as much as possible. Don’t rush. This guy is so psychologically unstable and anxious that he can’t even wait 10 minutes. So, we need to use that psychology to figure out who he is.”

“Alright.”

Lee Seung-cheol now understood what Hyun-sung was saying and nodded, pressing the speakerphone button.

“Hello.”

-Is the money all ready?

“I received a call that my wife is on her way here. She should arrive in about 10 minutes. But what about the money?”

-The method is the same as last time. I’ll say it again, if you try anything funny, you know what will happen?

“Don’t worry about that. But when can we see our Hye-sun?”

-That’s for me to decide! Exactly 7:30! The location is the same place as before!

“Um…… hello, hello!”

Click!

The culprit didn’t even listen to Lee Seung-cheol and hung up the phone right after saying what he wanted to say. He had reduced his words to avoid making even the slightest mistake. That meant he was very nervous.

On the other hand, Hyun-sung felt a bit empty. His plan to stall for time and find out the culprit’s identity had fallen through.

Then, Son Mi-jeong opened her mouth, sobbing.

“Will our Hye-sun be safe?”

“Don’t worry. Once we hand over this money, she’ll be back soon like last time.”

“I hope so…….”

Son Mi-jeong was so nervous that her face had turned pale.

Then, Hyun-sung chimed in, supporting Lee Seung-cheol’s words.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen. She’ll be back soon, just like what Mr. Lee said. Judging by the fact that he’s only asking for the necessary amount of money, he doesn’t seem like a very bad person. So, don’t worry too much.”

Of course, it was nonsense. What parent wouldn’t worry when their child was kidnapped? But Hyun-sung had no choice but to say that in the current situation.

Shiver.

As expected, Son Mi-jeong couldn’t say anything more and was trembling. Lee Seung-cheol, who was holding the money envelope in his hand, was the same.

After a while.

7:10 PM.

20 minutes left until the time promised with the culprit. It’s a 10-minute walk from this seafood restaurant to the place promised with the culprit.

Hyun-sung looked at Lee Seung-cheol and said.

“Then I’ll leave first.”

He wanted to go to Lee Hye-sun’s house, but the risk was too great.

Of course, the probability was slim, but he thought that if the culprit came to the house to release Lee Hye-sun and noticed something strange, Lee Hye-sun might be in danger. The most important thing now was Lee Hye-sun’s safety, even more than catching the culprit.

So, after thinking, Hyun-sung chose the taxi stop as the meeting place with the culprit. He wanted to memorize the taxi driver’s appearance and taxi number when Lee Seung-cheol handed over the money. Hyun-sung judged that there would be some kind of connection between the taxi driver and the culprit anyway.

And the reason he didn’t move with Lee Seung-cheol was because he thought the culprit might be watching from afar.

Hyun-sung was about to leave the seafood restaurant when he was about to take a step.

Screech!

A taxi stopped abruptly in front of the seafood restaurant. Then, someone opened the back door and got out, calling out Hyun-sung’s name loudly.

“Kim Hyun-sung!”

“Lee Eun-ji? How did you……?”

The person who got out of the taxi was none other than Lee Eun-ji. It seemed she was worried and came despite the phone call being cut off. He later found out that the two had been best friends since high school.

Lee Eun-ji came closer and immediately said.

“I was worried. About that hostage thing, no matter how I think about it, it seems like it’s about Hye-sun. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

Hyun-sung had no choice but to nod. He couldn’t hide it any longer from Lee Eun-ji, who had deliberately taken a taxi all the way here.

“Just follow me.”

Hyun-sung judged that he couldn’t stand here and talk because there wasn’t much time left to meet the culprit, so he moved his feet and immediately said. He had to arrive at the meeting place at least 10 minutes before to check the surrounding situation, so he couldn’t help it.

Lee Eun-ji seemed to know that it was a serious situation and didn’t say anything, immediately coming close to Hyun-sung.

Then, Hyun-sung’s words continued.

“Eun-ji, listen carefully to what I’m about to say. So…….”

Hyun-sung began to explain the whole situation. As Hyun-sung’s explanation continued, Lee Eun-ji looked at Hyun-sung with an unbelievable expression, but didn’t interrupt him in the middle. And finally, when Hyun-sung’s explanation was over, she stopped walking and immediately asked.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, I’m honestly very embarrassed too. Oh, we don’t have time to be doing this here. Let’s go quickly.”

Hyun-sung grabbed Lee Eun-ji’s arm and hurried again.

Then, Lee Eun-ji immediately asked.

“So Hye-sun is safe now, right?”

“Yes, I’ve confirmed her voice for now.”

“Suddenly, it’s like a movie…… what’s going on? What about our Hye-sun? She must be very scared.”

“I know……, let’s hurry first.”

The two began to walk diligently towards the taxi stop.

After a while.

The two arrived at the taxi stop.

Lee Eun-ji opened her mouth first.

“Why are there so many students here?”

“It’s Friday.”

“Even if it’s Friday, why are these students here at this time?”

Hyun-sung pointed his chin at the second floor of the building. That was ‘Gyeongpo Night’ in Gyeongpo Lake [a popular nightclub]. It was a very famous place at the time.

Even though it was a bit early to go to the nightclub, there were quite a few students around. It seemed to be the beginning of the semester and it was Friday. The night lights of the nightclub reflected in Gyeongpo Lake were shining brilliantly.

But for now, he couldn’t see that.

“Mr. Lee is here.”

Lee Eun-ji said, looking at Lee Seung-cheol who had arrived at the taxi stop.

Looking at the clock, it was 3 minutes before the promised time.

Hyun-sung moved his steps behind Lee Seung-cheol.

Maintaining a proper distance from him, Hyun-sung whispered to Lee Eun-ji.

“You know to memorize the appearance and taxi number, right?”

“Yes! I got it!”

Tension could be felt in Lee Eun-ji’s voice.

Hyun-sung was also nervous. He had only seen such things in movies or on TV in his past life, so it was natural to be nervous since he had never experienced it directly.

At that time, a taxi began to slowly approach Lee Seung-cheol.

Gulp.

Perhaps because of the tension, the two swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a young couple who appeared to be lovers standing next to Lee Seung-cheol caught a taxi and disappeared.

“It’s been 2 minutes.”

Lee Eun-ji said in a small voice, looking at Hyun-sung. Checking the clock, it was just past 7:32.

It was at that moment.

A taxi began to approach as if sliding.

Gulp.

Hyun-sung swallowed dry saliva again without realizing it.

Then, a white taxi approached and stopped exactly in front of Lee Seung-cheol.

Slide!

The driver’s seat window went down, revealing a middle-aged man wearing a mask and sunglasses. What was unusual was that he had a perm even though he was a man.

He naturally reached out to Lee Seung-cheol, and Lee Seung-cheol handed over the paper bag as if he had been waiting.

That was the end.

3 seconds!

That’s the time it took for the taxi to stop, the window to go down, and the paper bag with money to be taken away. The taxi was already far away.

Lee Eun-ji looked at Hyun-sung with a bewildered expression and said.

“What? Is it over?”

“Yeah, it was so quick that it feels anticlimactic. Anyway, did you memorize it?”

“Of course. The company is Shinil Transportation, the taxi number is Gangwon Ba 2488, and that person seemed to be wearing a wig…….”

“A wig?”

Hyun-sung tilted his head momentarily. Because he had never thought that the person would be wearing a wig.

Hyun-sung immediately asked Lee Eun-ji again.

“Are you sure it’s a wig?”

“I’m sure. I could tell at a glance because my father also wears a wig.”

“A wig……?”

Hyun-sung had a question momentarily.

He had thought that the taxi driver was simply someone who was doing errands in the middle and receiving a commission.

But that person was wearing a mask. Not only that, but he was also wearing sunglasses even though it was evening after the sun had set. And even a wig…….

After pondering for a moment, Hyun-sung immediately asked Lee Eun-ji.

“Mask, sunglasses, and even a wig, what’s the reason for that?”

“Reason? Isn’t it obvious? He wants to hide himself.”

“Hide? Why?”

“Why, that’s because he…… oh? Maybe…… that person……?”

“……!”

Lee Eun-ji stopped talking and stared at Hyun-sung. The moment the two people’s eyes met in the air, Hyun-sung’s body moved.

Thud!

Hyun-sung began to run somewhere.

It was his mistake. He had simply thought that the taxi driver was just a errand runner in the middle. But the moment he was talking to Lee Eun-ji, he thought that the taxi driver might be the culprit.

The place Hyun-sung arrived at was in front of a public telephone.

First, he pressed 114 [directory assistance in Korea].

-Yes, customer. How can I help you?

“Shinil Transportation!”

-Shinil Transportation, please wait a moment. The number you requested is…….”

Hyun-sung pressed the button again.

-Yes, this is the Shinil Transportation office.

“Is it possible to check Gangwon Ba 2488?”

-I’m sorry, but what is this about?

“It’s because of a serious incident. Please hurry.”

-I’m sorry, but what organization are you calling from?

If he said he was an individual, the answer would be obvious, and Hyun-sung had no choice but to lie.

“This is Kim Hyun-sung from the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office.”

-Bring a warrant. And don’t make prank calls.”

“No, that’s not it…….”

Beep beep beep…….

The call was cut off.