Come Back

“I’m a lot more calculating than that guy.”

Song Hyun-su seemed to view himself as someone savvy and quick-witted when it came to worldly matters. However, to Lee Hye-seong, he didn’t appear that way at all.

Having been exposed to many people and their most greedy desires, one inevitably becomes adept at discerning the true nature of others, even if they don’t want to.

The man in front of him wasn’t the type who would calculate to fulfill his desires, or deceive others without guilt. Instead, he was someone who exposed his weaknesses, a vulnerable person who was easy to manipulate. He was someone who, despite being starved for affection, thought he was protecting himself by putting up small defenses.

Yes, those types of people only targeted kids like him on purpose.

Taking another sip of whiskey, Lee Hye-seong, suppressing his emotions, calmly asked, “Have you heard any more details?”

“More details?” Song Hyun-su asked, confused.

“Like, about the dates we had…”

Song Hyun-su immediately furrowed his brow.

“Why would I talk about that? It’s so cheesy.”

This time, Lee Hye-seong frowned.

“You’ve never mentioned it?”

“…”

“About what movies we watched, where we first met, where we went… how we started dating… have you really never heard any of those stories?”

His calm demeanor started to waver violently. He had been sure that Song Hyun-su was the source of all the information. He came here today just to confirm that for himself.

Even if Song Hyun-su hadn’t directly told Yoon Hye-an, at least some of it should have leaked out from this place and reached Yoon Hye-an. That would make sense. But now, Song Hyun-su was saying he had never mentioned it?

Until that moment, Song Hyun-su had been speaking without hesitation, but now he flinched, shrinking back as he glanced around.

“…No.”

“…”

“…He just said you were someone who treated him really well, someone who treated him like a treasure. That’s all he said. So… there’s nothing to worry about.”

After saying this, Song Hyun-su clenched his glass with both hands and fell silent for a while. It seemed like he was holding back tears. Watching his trembling cheek under his lowered eyelids, Lee Hye-seong knew that he wasn’t lying.

Although he couldn’t be called particularly righteous, he was someone who would do reckless things for people he cared about. He wouldn’t lie about something that involved the name of the departed Choi Hong-seo.

Jung Ji-in, Song Hyun-su.

Who else could Choi Hong-seo have confided in, aside from them?

It felt like there must be some kind of detailed journal or records somewhere that Choi Hong-seo had left behind, which Yoon Hye-an must have gotten a hold of. But even that seemed almost impossible.

After the accident, it was Lee Hye-seong, not Choi Hong-seo’s family or agency, who acted the fastest. In the chaos caused by the arrest of CEO Myung Do-hoon, who had thrown UB Entertainment into disarray, even Choi Hong-seo’s family entrusted Lee Hye-seong of ARA with handling the aftermath of the incident and the rights to his belongings. It was done so simply.

Thanks to that, all of Choi Hong-seo’s possessions left behind in Bangkok and Seoul were verified by Lee Hye-seong. He made sure not a single scrap of paper was thrown away, thinking it might help the investigation. Even after the trial concluded, he kept everything Choi Hong-seo had left, living buried beneath it all.

Yet, there was no diary or anything like it to be found.

Of course, it was possible that someone else had obtained it before it came into Lee Hye-seong’s hands.

However, Choi Hong-seo was not the type to systematically record his thoughts or feelings in writing. The only records he left behind were small notes for songwriting.

What had seemed like a matter that could be easily proven and resolved was becoming complicated.

Feeling like he was grasping at straws, Lee Hye-seong brought up the name.

“Do you know Yoon Hye-an?”

Song Hyun-su slowly lifted his head. Then, he nodded slowly. Seeing the somewhat dazed expression as if wondering why the name was being brought up, Lee Hye-seong felt frustrated, thinking that this question might not yield any results.

However, Song Hyun-su’s next words were completely unexpected.

“Of course, I know. The role Hong-seo had in *Cream Mansion*, Yoon Hye-an was recently cast for it.”

“…”

“A few days ago, she also came to our bar.”

Lee Hye-seong’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Yoon Hye-an came to that bar?”

“She said she stopped by while passing by… You might not know, but her public image was a bit… well, a bit extravagant for a celebrity. She doesn’t seem like the type to visit a place like ours, so it was surprising.”

Song Hyun-su seemed to think little of the incident. Shrugging his shoulders, he spoke casually, his nose reddening as he smiled with a chuckle.

“When I saw her in person, she did resemble Hong-seo, though. Maybe that’s why… she didn’t seem like the trash people say she is.”

As expected, Song Hyun-su was an easygoing person.

He was quick to form opinions about others, changing his view just because someone resembled his friend.

“You don’t have a good eye, Hyun-su.”

“…”

“You don’t see any resemblance, do you?”

This time, Song Hyun-su grinned at Lee Hye-seong, as if teasing him.

“Sounds like you’re upset that someone said she resembled Hong-seo.”

Lee Hye-seong was slightly taken aback by the way Song Hyun-su was treating him. However, he didn’t mind. He couldn’t be upset with this clumsy young man, who would probably do anything for his late friend Choi Hong-seo.

Well, well.

It wasn’t that he was easy to like just because he resembled a friend.

“By the way, why are you suddenly asking about Yoon Hye-an?”

“Didn’t you ask Hyun-su anything about Hong-seo?”

“Hmm… no. Why would I ask about someone I don’t know?”

“…”

“Actually, I was the one who started the conversation. I told her to take good care of the role, since it was something Hong-seo was supposed to do. I told her I was Hong-seo’s friend.”

“Is that all?”

Song Hyun-su nodded.

It was surprising that Song Hyun-su was not the source of the information, and that Yoon Hye-an hadn’t asked him any questions about Choi Hong-seo even after seeking him out. However, it was clear that Yoon Hye-an knew an unusually large amount of information about Choi Hong-seo.

Yoon Hye-an probably didn’t know that he was Choi Hong-seo’s friend. Although Song Hyun-su seemed to believe Yoon Hye-an’s claim of having just passed by the bar, Lee Hye-seong’s thoughts were different.

What Yoon Hye-an claimed to be a coincidence was far from it.

Moreover, the fact that Yoon Hye-an had gone as far as seeking out Song Hyun-su suggested that she was likely to take more active steps moving forward.

Lee Hye-seong took a business card out of his case and handed it to Song Hyun-su.

“If someone tries to dig into Hong-seo’s past, have them contact me right away. My secretary will get in touch with them.”

“Why… why? Is something going on? Is someone trying to harm Hong-seo?”

Song Hyun-su’s eyes widened as he took the card. Lee Hye-seong looked him straight in the eye and spoke with deliberate certainty.

“That will never happen. I promise.”

Song Hyun-su quickly seemed reassured by Lee Hye-seong’s promise.

People like Lee Hye-seong of ARA could do anything, and Song Hyun-su likely thought the same way as Choi Hong-seo did.

While it may not be true that there was nothing he couldn’t do, Lee Hye-seong would never allow anything that would tarnish Hong-seo’s name again.

After finishing his drink, Song Hyun-su stood up and prepared to leave. Lee Hye-seong paid the bill and exited the bar first.

As he stepped out of the two-story old building, he lit a cigarette. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the chilly autumn air, mixed with the smoke.

The narrow alley where cars couldn’t enter had the sedan waiting at its entrance. As soon as Lee Hye-seong appeared, one of his bodyguards stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“Wait a second!”

As Lee Hye-seong walked toward the car, he was called out by a frantic voice.

Still holding the cigarette between his fingers, Lee Hye-seong knelt down and waited for Song Hyun-su, who was panting as he caught up.

Swallowing hard, Song Hyun-su stood up straight and looked Lee Hye-seong directly in the eye. His gaze was sharp, almost challenging.

“You asked me a lot of questions, so answer just one of mine.”

“You want to make a deal with me?”

It seemed that Song Hyun-su wasn’t intimidated by even someone like Lee Hye-seong of ARA. But it wasn’t just courage; it was innocence and naïveté. Like a child, it didn’t matter to him if his opponent was a billionaire, a politician, a king, or a celebrity.

Lee Hye-seong smiled, but Song Hyun-su’s face was serious, even grim. His expression looked like a child who was focused on just one thing in his mind.

“Iseo Kyung.”

“…”

“Did you kill him?… You killed him, didn’t you?”

That was a completely unexpected question. Lee Hye-seong casually flicked the cigarette, letting the ash fall as he asked, unbothered.

“…Why are you asking that?”

“Please kill Myung Do-hoon too!”

“…”

This time, the smile vanished from Lee Hye-seong’s face.

Song Hyun-su spoke without a single hesitation, not even a stutter. His words were as sharp and firm as a blade, shouting for someone to be killed.

There was no hesitation in his gaze as he looked up at Lee Hye-seong. His request seemed more righteous than asking for someone’s life to be spared.

“To Hong-seo, Myung Do-hoon is worse than Lee Seo-kyung! At least I didn’t get hurt that badly because I wasn’t worth as much… but, ugh… Ho… Hong-seo… sniff… Hong-seo was worth something…”

As he spoke, his lips trembled, and eventually, he broke into tears.

“Please kill Myung Do-hoon too! Then Hong-seo can rest in peace! You said you loved Hong-seo! Then kill that bastard! Kill him!”

Now, he was screaming at Lee Hye-seong, as though he were angry with him. Once his emotions broke through, it seemed he couldn’t stop them.

Lee Hye-seong sent Song Hyun-su home in his sedan. He handed him over to his bodyguard to ensure he was safely taken to his house.

Although he told his bodyguard he would take a taxi home, Lee Hye-seong instead drove into a more secluded alley and spent a long time driving through the dimly lit Naksan Park.

He knew that Myung Do-hoon was a worse bastard than Lee Seo-kyung. At least he wasn’t unaware of the fact that both were equally despicable. After all, he had gathered more information and truth regarding the “X-gun scandal” than the prosecutors or the court ever had.

“You said you loved Hong-seo! Then kill that bastard!”

Although Song Hyun-su had pleaded so desperately, Lee Hye-seong would not kill Myung Do-hoon just because of his request.

Nevertheless, the sight of Song Hyun-su, drenched in tears, shouting like that left a strong impression on Lee Hye-seong’s heart.

Yoon Hye-an claimed that her actions were without purpose, but if that were truly the case, she wouldn’t have imitated Choi Hong-seo, even if she had known the information.

She wouldn’t have gone so far as to seek out Song Hyun-su.

Though Lee Hye-seong still hadn’t figured out where the information had come from, he wasn’t planning on just sitting back and waiting either.

After staring silently at the night view of eastern Seoul for a long while, Lee Hye-seong suddenly turned around, as though he had made up his mind.

As he blended into the dazzling lights, the darkness of the night seemed to cling to his back.