Why, how did he die? Song Hyunsoo wanted to know everything, every detail, right now.
Gripped by curiosity and anxiety, Song Hyunsoo unconsciously clutched at his waistband.
“Wow, as expected, our cast’s visuals are incredible. I can’t wait to watch the film on the big screen.”
A staff member who had taken a few photos checked the camera screen and marveled.
Next, it was Superstar Yoon Jooho’s turn to perform the cake-cutting ceremony.
Taking advantage of the commotion, Song Hyunsoo slipped away from the center of the group.
He pretended not to notice Yoon Jooho’s suspicious gaze trailing after him, grabbed his padded jacket, and slipped out of the restaurant.
Screeeak.
“……”
After sliding open the door and stepping outside, he found that the snowflakes had grown larger.
The refreshing chill biting at his face and lungs seemed to tell Song Hyunsoo to calm down.
As he took slow, deep breaths, it felt as if his mind and chest cooled a little.
Hoo. Exhaling a long breath, Song Hyunsoo turned the corner of the restaurant toward the smoking area.
“Why are you just standing there instead of coming back in?”
It was Aunt Kurin’s voice.
He hadn’t noticed her come out, but there she was, standing in front of the house where the Samseki family lived.
“Come here. Come on, over here.”
Song Hyunsoo turned his head in the direction she gestured.
A small cat was perched atop the wall bordering the empty lot.
Narrowing his eyes, Song Hyunsoo approached Aunt Kurin.
“Auntie, isn’t that the kitten with the… the spot by its nose?”
“Of course it is. Look at it, all pitiful out here in the snow.”
Glancing back at Song Hyunsoo, she clicked her tongue and shook her head. Then she looked down at the food bowl.
“That rascal barely eats anything these days.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s waiting for its mother and siblings, that’s what.”
“What? Samseki left? She abandoned her kitten?”
Song Hyunsoo’s voice rose.
“Nobody abandoned anyone. She passed her territory on to that little one and left. I suppose she figured this one couldn’t even feed itself yet.”
“What about the other kitten? There were two left unadopted. Where’s the other one?”
Song Hyunsoo looked around, even stooping to peek inside the house behind the plastic curtain.
“That one started wandering off on its own even before the mother left. Didn’t take long before it became independent.”
“Isn’t that too young?”
Inside the house and all around, Song Hyunsoo couldn’t find any trace of another cat.
The one on the wall was still so tiny, it looked like a baby that couldn’t possibly survive on its own.
At least, that’s how it seemed to Song Hyunsoo.
“Cats are all different, just like people. Some find their own territory before twelve weeks, some are late bloomers… like that one up there.”
Aunt Kurin folded her arms tightly and watched the kitten on the wall with a worried look.
“The sibling that left first still comes by now and then to eat. Probably when it’s gone hungry. Maybe that’s why this one waits here, hoping it’ll come back… always wondering when it’ll show up again.”
Unable to stand it any longer, Aunt Kurin walked over to the wall.
She tried coaxing the kitten to come, but it kept shying away—until, in the end, she managed to catch it in her hands.
With slightly rough hands, she brushed the melted snow from its fur, then set it down beneath the eaves, where the snow didn’t reach.
The kitten spun in circles a few times, then started drinking a little water.
Aunt Kurin squatted beside it and gently stroked its tiny back.
“Oh, these troublesome brats. I’m the only one to blame for taking them in.”
“Still, it lets you touch it. It never comes to me when I try. I thought it hated people.”
Sitting beside her, Song Hyunsoo reached out a hand to the kitten.
As always, it watched him with curious eyes, but hesitated and shrank back.
“It’s not really like that. It’s just scared. You have no idea how much it loves being touched by people.”
Watching the kitten nuzzle its head into Aunt Kurin’s palm, it seemed her words were true.
“But still.”
“Yes?”
“How’d you get such a nice jacket?”
Aunt Kurin looked Song Hyunsoo’s padded jumper up and down with a skeptical gaze.
Straightening his back proudly, Song Hyunsoo showed off his jacket.
“Ah… this? Nice, isn’t it? Looks good, right?”
“Looks expensive. Doesn’t seem like you’re in a position to be wearing stuff like that yet.”
“Jooho-sunbae gave it to me. He said he didn’t wear it anymore.”
“The Prince did?”
“Yes.”
Tsk. Aunt Kurin clicked her tongue and tilted her head.
“That’s not really the Prince’s style, though.”
For Aunt Kurin to notice as much.
“You think so too, right? Still, what can I do? He said he didn’t wear it anymore and gave it to me. I should trust him, right?”
With a grunt, Aunt Kurin stood, bracing her knees.
“So there’s another one who loves people’s hands but is too timid to show it.”
She muttered something cryptic, then warned the kitten not to go outside again or it’d get in big trouble, and strolled back to the restaurant.
Song Hyunsoo thought the kitten would scamper back inside the house once Aunt Kurin left, but to his surprise, it stayed where it was and looked up at him.
Its small face, head tilted to one side, held eyes that seemed unusually large and glistening.
Its mother had left, its only remaining sibling had left. Was it lonely? Is that why it wasn’t running away today?
He’d forgotten all about checking for Myung Dohoon’s article as soon as he came outside, and instead, Song Hyunsoo reached out a hand to the kitten again.
“You don’t have to be scared. I know it sounds weird coming from me, but I’m a pushover.”
The kitten hesitated, tilting its head a few times, then cautiously walked over.
And for the first time, it sniffed Song Hyunsoo’s hand.
It was as if he’d witnessed a miracle. He silently cheered so as not to startle it.
Deciding it was safe, the kitten rubbed its head against Song Hyunsoo’s palm.
“See? Not scary, right? There’s a guy named Yoon Jooho in there. He’s the one you should be scared of. You’d better stay clear of him, okay?”
He smiled, but at the same time, a pang shot through his chest— a throbbing as sharp as a toothache that could even bring on a headache.
Maybe the kitten liked being petted; after rubbing its head, it turned around and pressed its back against his hand.
Summoning his courage, Song Hyunsoo gently picked the kitten up.
He managed to hold it in his arms.
He wrapped the kitten carefully inside the right side of his jacket, against his chest.
While Song Hyunsoo searched for Myung Dohoon’s article, the kitten peeked its face out from his jacket and gazed at the snowy landscape.
Myung Dohoon, currently incarcerated at Chuncheon Prison, was found dead this afternoon in the cell’s bathroom.
He appeared to have hanged himself with the top of his prison uniform, and the cause of death is presumed to be suicide.
Mr. Myung was reportedly anxious after receiving death threats, even as he was due for a special pardon for the Lunar New Year.
In a note believed to be his suicide letter, he expressed resentment toward the correctional authorities for not properly investigating the threats, as well as his frustration over his sentence.
One of the main perpetrators in the so-called ‘X-gun Scandal,’ Mr. Myung continued to insist on his innocence throughout the trial, drawing public outrage, but the court rejected his claims.
Mr. Myung, who said he was only following the orders of the privileged class, was also found to have amassed over ten billion won in hidden assets by blackmailing victims and forcing them into prostitution.
Choi Hongseo had died, and Lee Seokyung of Hanseo Group, the powerful backer who protected Myung Dohoon, had been murdered during the trial.
And now, even Myung Dohoon, who fed off Choi Hongseo’s blood, was dead.
The direct cause was suicide, but Song Hyunsoo thought he understood.
The death threats Myung Dohoon kept receiving in prison.
The one who drove Myung Dohoon to take his own life must have been Hongseo’s lover, Lee Haesung of ARA Group. He was sure of it.
A hot lump surged in his chest.
Would Choi Hongseo, that guy, finally be able to find a little peace?
Would he be a little more comfortable, wherever he was, now that it was all over?
If only things had turned out this way sooner— if those bastards who deserved to die had died earlier— then maybe the wrong person wouldn’t have had to die.
Lowering his head, Song Hyunsoo stroked the kitten in his arms.
The kitten lifted its face and met his gaze.
As if it understood and wanted to comfort him, its eyes shone with a warm, glistening light.
“It’s okay. I’m not sad. I’m just overwhelmed.”
Song Hyunsoo forced a smile as he ran his thumb over the kitten’s nose.
That was when a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
“Hugging a cat again, huh?”
Of course, it was Yoon Jooho.
He was just turning the corner.
“Are you following me, sunbae?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking if you were waiting here, knowing I’d come out for a smoke?”
“I’ll give you that much confidence, at least.”
“It’s not confidence.”
Yoon Jooho pulled out a cigarette and held it between his lips.
“It’s certainty, based on all the data I’ve gathered so far.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
As he looked through his cigarette pack and patted his outer pockets with the filter in his mouth, Song Hyunsoo offered the lighter from his own pocket.
“Here. Lighter.”
Turning his head toward him, Yoon Jooho spotted the kitten peeking out from Song Hyunsoo’s jacket and chuckled.
But as he reached for the lighter, he paused and frowned.
“Were you crying?”
“What, me? Who was crying?”
“……”
Yoon Jooho didn’t believe him.
He grabbed Song Hyunsoo’s chin, tilting it up as if searching for evidence, inspecting every part of his face.
It was clear he’d concluded that Song Hyunsoo had indeed been crying.
Taking the cigarette from his lips, Yoon Jooho gripped Song Hyunsoo’s shoulder tightly.
“Did someone mess with you during filming? Who was it?”