Chapter 22.2

Chapter 22.2

After descending stairs that seemed about the height of one floor, a fairly spacious area was revealed. Goosebumps ran along her spine. Not from fear, but from cold. Cold outside air was flowing in through the ventilation hole above her head.

Heeju crossed her arms and huddled her body. If she had been truly scared or valued her life, she wouldn’t have pushed herself into a place like this. Despite the cold, the air quality had improved thanks to the ventilation hole.

This seemed to be a kind of utility tunnel. In residential basements, there were underground tunnels where electrical lines, water pipes, gas lines, or communication cables could be buried and inspected. Typically, these were strictly secured to prevent unauthorized access by ordinary people.

It was by no means common for such a utility tunnel to be connected all the way into a house. Heeju walked steadily, shining her flashlight on the ground beneath her feet. The damp and cool air cooled her flushed cheeks.

Just as she was beginning to wonder if she had come in vain, stairs similar to the ones she had descended earlier appeared. This time, they were leading upward. Heeju swallowed a breath tinged with tension.

She climbed the stairs, panting heavily. Thank goodness her physical condition had improved recently; if she still had her previous terrible stamina, she would never have made it this far.

Having reached the top of the stairs, Heeju grabbed something that looked like a doorknob. As she turned the knob and pushed hard with her shoulder, the stiff door suddenly opened with a heavy click.

Warm air rushed against her face. There was a resonance of air as different spaces connected. She stepped into the comfortable space.

Looking back, she saw the bookshelf was much larger and heavier than the one in the break room. The shelves were densely packed with books from various fields – from architecture to humanities, weapons engineering, art books, and novels, without any genre restrictions.

Heeju walked over to the window, stepping somewhat unsteadily. She looked out the window at the view, then surveyed the room.

A desk, sofa, coffee table, expensive speakers, and a wine cellar. A lighter sat alone on the desk, looking somehow familiar. Heeju had been here before. She hadn’t thought this space would connect to the main physical therapy room, which was why she didn’t immediately recognize it despite having been here previously.

“This is…”

Kwon Gukhyun’s study.

***

Click.

The bookshelf settled back into place with the sound of its hinge locking.

Heeju returned to the break room and plopped down into the chair. Accidentally touching the mouse, the screen saver disappeared, and the computer’s light spilled brightly across her face.

“Haaa…”

She wiped the sweat beading on her forehead while letting out a long breath. Somehow, a dim darkness had already spread outside the window.

Heeju took out her phone and checked the screen. There were no messages from Sungang. She stared blankly at the night sky, where a pure white full moon hung beyond the window, lost in thought.

How should she make all of this?

The whereabouts and use of the 200 million won debt remain mysterious, and her sister’s two regulars gave off an unsettling energy, as if they were hiding something. The suspicious utility tunnel connected from the break room leads to Kwon Gukhyun’s study. Is she still being too sensitive?

‘Am I going crazy? Am I hoping there’s something more to my sister’s death?’

Heeju put on her coat that was draped over the backrest of the chair and stood up, sliding the notebook with treatment records back into the bookshelf. She had lingered inside for too long and she needed to leave to avoid arousing suspicion.

A strong feeling swept over her that she shouldn’t tell anyone about what she had discovered today. She couldn’t be certain whether Sungang knew about the utility tunnel, and even if he did, she couldn’t trust him.

After circling the break room’s interior, she went outside. In the basement gym of the main building, a man was working out with his shirt off. A snake tattoo was etched on his muscular, glistening body, wet with sweat.

At first glance, he looked like Sungang, but it wasn’t him. The man noticed Heeju looking around the gym and pulled out the earphones he had been wearing. When he set down the barbell he was holding, a heavy vibration accompanied the loud thud.

“Looking for Sungang?”

Because he often moved in a set with Sungang, he had come to recognize her first. When she thought about it, he was one of the men who casually acknowledged Sungang on the basketball court.

“Yes. Do you know where he went?”