The Connection Between Us (3)
“Do you really think he’ll be able to take care of your mother after he’s tossed in jail? Or do you think he’ll think to give someone else the order to look after her?”
Dal-Gon was left in a state of confusion.
Although he wanted to reject it, the reality of the situation had been laid out right in front of his eyes.
I didn’t cut him a break and continued speaking.
“Dal-Gon-ah1. I can help you out.”
“What?”
“Your mother’s medical bills. I’ll take care of them for you.”
“Stop messing with me. On a government salary? You should quit and make a living with that silver tongue of yours.”
I took out both Chief Kim’s business card and my own license.
“A civil servant’s salary might just be chicken feed, but I’m loaded.”
Dal-Gon couldn’t take his eyes off the words ‘Gogwang Group’ that were embossed onto Chief Kim’s business card.
Then, as if vaguely recalling my public identity, he frowned.
“Could it be, the third son?”
“Gon-ah.”
The tone of my voice had grown softer.
Gon-ah, Gon-ah.
Involuntarily, I had reverted to the habitual way that I used to call Dal-Gon.
“When you’ve got a chance like this, you have to grab hold of it. Opportunities like this don’t come into life very often. Especially such a life-changing one.You still need to open up that small garage of your dreams, so that you can take care of your mother.”
Back in prison, this was something that he had talked to me a lot about.
He should have grabbed hold of the chance when he had it, but he had missed it.
It was something that he had already learned at a young age, but he was so regretful that he never managed to put it into practice.
And if he had the chance, once he was released, he told me that he definitely wanted to open up a small garage.
Because his only hobby and passion in life was cars.
Dal-Gon’s eyes widened.
“You… who are you?”
“Who else could I be. I’m just a police officer.”
“…stop telling lame jokes.”
“It’s not a joke. If you want, I’ll even get you a competent attorney. He can take care of everything else, so you’ll only need to bear the burden of your own sins.”
Dal-Gon kept his lips shut as he thought about it for a while.
The minute hand of the clock on the wall kept moving slowly on its round journey, but I didn’t rush him.
Eventually, the guards who were sitting in the corners stood up.
That meant visiting hours were almost over.
I finally gave him my last words for the day.
“Think of your mother. Because your decision won’t affect only you, it will even influence your mother’s future.”
This should do for today.
Now I have no other choice but to come back and persuade him when I have the time.
As I was standing up, Dal-Gon’s lips parted.
The words poured out slowly, as if they were having difficulty rising from his throat.
“…make sure to take care of it. My mother’s hospital bills.”
“That’s of course.”
I raised my hands to intercept the guards.
I was asking them for just a little more time.
“Also, keep this confidential.”
“Not a word will pass my lips.”
“Okay. So what were you after?”
“Our first priority is to find the location of Song Dae-ak and the drugs lifted from the Guma Gang.”
“Since you already knew everything before you came here, I guess I can’t leave anything out.”
Having made up his mind fully, he nodded his head.
“Even I don’t know Hyong-nim’s location. He would likely only let one or two of his closest comrades know how to contact him. And since he changes his residences every so often, even they don’t usually know where he lives.”
As expected. It’s because of this that the spy sent in by Ma Eun-Tae can’t find out Song Dae-Ak’s location.
If things stay like this, it could really end up as a long-term standoff.
It would take way too much time and effort to track him down by using the footage from the cctvs.
“However, Hyong-nim has several lovers.”
“Other than his wife?”
“Since they’ve separated, their marriage is a sham. Anyway, among these lovers, there’s someone that he’s kept on seeing for a while now.”
“And who might that be?”
“Madam Shim.”
“Madam Shim?”
“A woman who manages a club in Gangnam called Exodus. According to the rumours, it seems like that woman is in control of Hyong-nim’s slush fund.”
“So you’re saying that there is a second set of books.”
“…well I can’t say that there aren’t.”
“Well. At this point, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
Madam Shim.
A woman who might just be the key to catching Song Dae-Ak.
“Also, there is a company that specializes in storing drugs. I registered the drugs there under my mother’s name. That’s the last of it, I couldn’t tell you any more even if I wanted to.”
“That’s fine. This much is already plenty.”
Footnote:
1 -ah is a diminutive and affectionate suffix added to the end of a name. Used by older relatives or close friends.