Chapter 14
“Once I find a pattern, I’ll identify his family, mistress, and everyone around him.”
I slowly studied their eyes.
The words were simple.
But the confidence behind them was strong.
The investigation agency owner spoke again.
“Don’t worry. We’ll move quickly and accurately. You just need to wait for the results.”
The atmosphere around the table became more serious.
I looked between them.
“Once this one is finished, I’ll immediately give you the other two cases.”
The agency owner smiled slightly.
Expectation appeared on his face.
I picked up the other two envelopes from the table.
Then slowly handed them over.
“Once you have circumstances, evidence, or a clear pattern, don’t hesitate. Contact me immediately.”
The agency owner gathered the envelopes.
Then firmly nodded.
“Understood, Client.”
He lightly tapped them.
“We’ll finish not only this case but the next ones properly too.”
After speaking, he slowly looked around.
There was no reason to remain any longer.
I slowly stood.
The agency owner and the woman both looked toward me.
The owner added one last thing.
“Keep us updated on the progress, and report immediately if there’s a problem.”
I lightly nodded.
“Yes. Understood.”
A factory in Guro.
Lin sat at a sewing machine inside the factory.
She tried to focus quietly on work.
But her beauty became a problem.
The factory manager kept circling around her with an unpleasant look in his eyes.
“Lin, you really work fast. Vietnamese people are hardworking.”
Lin hid her discomfort and kept staring at the sewing machine.
The manager approached from behind and deliberately brushed against her shoulder.
Lin flinched.
But she said nothing.
The manager stepped closer.
“Lin, how about having coffee with me later?”
Lin forced a smile and refused.
“I’m sorry. I have to go straight home after work.”
At that moment, the factory manager naturally began massaging her shoulders.
Lin froze in surprise.
He smiled slyly.
“Your shoulders are really stiff. Let me massage them.”
His hands slowly moved from her shoulders toward her collarbone.
Lin pressed her lips together.
She desperately endured the discomfort and barely managed to speak.
“I’m okay, Boss. Thank you for worrying about me.”
She hid her trembling hands and focused on the sewing machine again.
Inside, she repeated to herself.
Just endure a little. I need to endure this for Dong-su oppa too.
That evening.
Inside a street food tent.
I was drinking soju with Uncle Dong-su.
He said nothing.
He only played with his soju glass.
Something about his fingertips looked pitiful.
I quietly watched him.
Then spoke.
“Uncle.”
His eyes slowly turned toward me.
“Are you worried about Ms. Lin working at the factory?”
He hesitated.
The dim light inside the tent cast shadows across his face.
After a long moment, he took a drink.
Then struggled to answer.
“To be honest...”
His eyes dropped toward the floor.
“I am.”
He paused to breathe.
“Lin is extremely beautiful.”
He placed the glass down and continued.
“At a factory... I’m afraid something bad might happen.”
His voice faded.
“I’m always worried.”
He stopped speaking.
He picked up a piece of grilled hagfish with his spoon, then put it back down.
His shoulders looked even heavier.
I nodded.
“Honestly, I was surprised when I first saw her too.”
He looked at me again.
I wasn’t joking.
Her height...
She was around 152 centimeters tall.
But her proportions were excellent.
Her face looked much younger than her actual age.
Her chest was also quite large.
A lot of Southeast Asian women tended to wear more revealing clothes.
Lin was similar.
So I hadn’t known where to look.
But the biggest surprise came later.
When I first met Lin, I thought she was in her mid-twenties.
Then Uncle told me her actual age.
Thirty-nine...?
That alone was surprising.
Then I heard something even more shocking.
She had a nineteen-year-old daughter in Vietnam.
And that daughter already had a three-year-old child.
Amazing...
From that perspective, Southeast Asian cultures did tend to be somewhat more sexually open.
Of course, that didn’t apply to every woman.
I chose my words carefully.
Then spoke again.
“She really is beautiful enough to stand out.”
I took a slow breath.
“And Korean men still...”
I hesitated.
“Have a tendency to look down on Southeast Asian women.”
Uncle slowly rotated his glass.
