CHAPTER 53
Jun leaned against the bar, watching the night unfold around him—the clink of glasses, the low hum of overlapping conversations, the music playing beneath it all.
Duri stood in his usual place behind the counter, mixing a cocktail.
Surprise crossed his face the moment he noticed the familiar businessman.
Jun’s polished appearance stood out among the students and office workers scattered around the bar.
He spoke first. “We haven’t met properly, Mr. Duri Kaiser, but I’ve heard a great deal about you. My name is Han Jun. I’m the CFO at the company where Noeul works.”
His tone was light, almost playful, but something underneath it made Duri straighten. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Han.” He set the cocktail aside. “Has something happened to Noeul?”
Jun raised an eyebrow. “You’re a sharp one.”
Duri didn’t smile.
Jun’s expression changed. “Yes. Actually, I’m here because of him. He hasn’t shown up to work since Tuesday. Today is Friday. I’ve called him repeatedly, but he isn’t answering.”
Duri stared at him. “Three days?”
Jun nodded. “Have you seen him? Spoken to him?”
Duri hesitated. A few days earlier, Noeul had told him he would be buried under preparations for a major presentation. Duri had believed him.
Mostly.
Then, the previous morning, a message had arrived.
I’m okay. I just need some time to think.
At the time, Duri had assumed Noeul needed space after everything that had happened between them. Now the message felt different.
“When we last spoke properly, he told me he’d be extremely busy all week because of the presentation,” Duri said. “Yesterday he texted me. He said he was okay, but needed some time to think.”
Jun frowned. “About what?”
“Us.”
Jun studied him briefly but didn’t ask.
“I was going to give him a few days,” Duri continued. “Then see him over the weekend.”
“That would make sense,” Jun said slowly, “if Noeul had actually gone to work.”
Duri’s jaw tightened.
Jun rested one hand against the bar. “He wasn’t exaggerating about the workload. We have an important presentation next Wednesday. Tuesday was the last day I saw him. I left around seven-thirty, and he was still there working overtime.”
“What time did he leave?”
“I don’t know.”
Duri reached automatically for a beer, then stopped before opening it. “Did anyone see him leave?”
“I’m checking.”
“His apartment?”
“I went there before coming here.”
Duri looked at him sharply.
“No lights. No answer. I called while I was outside and couldn’t hear his phone ringing.” Jun paused. “I stayed for a while.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
Duri pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling Ji-Woo.”
Jun nodded, and Duri dialed immediately. Ji-Woo answered after only a few rings.
“Duri hyung?”
“Ji-Woo, when did you last speak to Noeul?”
A pause. “Tuesday.”
The answer came too quickly. Duri’s stomach tightened.
“Have you spoken to him since?”
“No.”
“Has he answered your calls?”
Another pause. “No.”
Duri glanced at Jun. “Ji-Woo, Mr. Han is here. Noeul hasn’t been at work since Tuesday.”
Silence.
“What?”
“He hasn’t shown up for three days,” Duri said. “Mr. Han has been trying to find him.”
“No.” Ji-Woo breathed the word rather than spoke it. “No, that doesn’t make sense.”
“Did he tell you he was going anywhere?”
“No. He told me he was busy. We were supposed to meet Sunday.” Ji-Woo stopped. Duri heard movement on the other end of the line. “I called him yesterday.”
“And?”
“He didn’t answer.” Ji-Woo’s breathing became uneven. “But that happens when he works late. I thought…” He stopped again. “He always calls back.”
Duri said nothing.
“Three days?” Ji-Woo asked.
“Yes.”
“My brother would never miss work without telling someone.”
“I know.”
“Where are you?”
“At the Neon Peacock.”
“I’m coming.”
“Ji-Woo.”
“I’m coming.”
The call ended.
Duri lowered his phone. For several seconds, neither he nor Jun spoke. The bar continued around them as if nothing had happened. A group nearby burst into laughter. Glasses clinked. Someone called for another drink.
Duri stared at his phone. “Maybe he went somewhere. Maybe his phone died. Maybe he needed space. Maybe he’s with someone.”
“Would he miss work?”
Duri’s jaw tightened. “No.”
“Would he disappear without telling Ji-Woo?”
“No.”
Jun looked down at his whiskey. “That’s what worries me.”
Duri glanced toward the entrance. Then a thought struck him. “Have you spoken to Lee Chung-Hee?”
Jun didn’t answer immediately.
“What did he say?”
“He told me Noeul requested leave.”
Duri stared at him. “When?”
“Suddenly.”
“And you believed him?”
“At first.” Jun’s mouth tightened. “Then I asked when Noeul had requested it.”
“What did he say?”
“He avoided the question.”
Duri’s grip tightened around his phone.
“What bothered me more was how little concern he showed,” Jun continued. “Noeul disappears in the middle of an important project, and Chung-Hee acts as though it’s completely ordinary.”
Duri looked away.
Noeul’s message. The sudden leave. Three days without work. Three days without Ji-Woo.
Chung-Hee.
Still, he resisted the conclusion. “Maybe Noeul told him something he didn’t tell us.”
“Possible.”
“Maybe they argued.”
“Also possible.”
Duri swallowed. “Maybe Noeul is with him.”
Jun’s eyes lifted.
Neither man spoke. The possibility sat between them.
Duri’s heart began to beat harder. “He wouldn’t stay with him voluntarily for three days without telling Ji-Woo.”
Jun’s expression darkened. “No.”
“And Lee Chung-Hee has his apartment keys.”
Jun looked at him. “How do you know that?”
“Ji-Woo told me before.”
Another piece.
Duri felt cold despite the heat behind the bar. “I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I.”
“I hate saying this about your friend.” Jun’s expression tightened, and Duri chose his words carefully. “But if Noeul is with him and hasn’t been allowed to contact anyone…”
He couldn’t finish.
Jun did. “Then he may not be there by choice.”
Duri looked at him.
A familiar voice came from behind them. “I think the same thing.”
They turned.
Ji-Woo stood several steps away. He looked as though he had run most of the way from wherever he had been. His face was pale.
“Ji-Woo.”
“Lee Chung-Hee has Noeul hyung’s spare keys,” he said immediately.
Jun nodded. “Duri told me.”
Ji-Woo’s hands clenched. “My parents trusted him. They thought he could help my brother.”
Duri stepped out from behind the bar.
Ji-Woo looked between the two men. “I never did.”
“Ji-Woo,” Duri said carefully, “we still don’t know what happened.”
“I know.” His jaw tightened. “But I know my brother.” He looked at Jun. “He wouldn’t disappear.”
Jun nodded once. “No. I don’t think he would.”
Ji-Woo drew in a slow breath. “Then we stop guessing.”
The two men looked at him.
“We find him.”
Jun set his untouched whiskey down. For the first time that night, his uncertainty disappeared. “All right. Then let’s start with what we know.” He looked at Ji-Woo. “Do you have a spare key to your brother’s apartment?”
Ji-Woo’s displeasure was immediate. “Only Lee Chung-Hee has one.”
Jun’s expression darkened.
Duri folded his arms. “Then we need to go to his penthouse.”
Jun hesitated. “He lives in a highly secured building. There’s a concierge downstairs, and visitors have to be announced before they’re given access to the elevator.”
“So call him,” Ji-Woo said.
Jun looked at him.
“Tell him you’re coming.”
“If he knows we’re looking for Noeul, he may not let me up.”
“Then don’t tell him.”
Jun considered that.
Duri glanced between them. “Can you get inside if he thinks you’re there for work?”
“Probably.”
“And once you’re inside?”
“The elevator opens directly into the penthouse. There’s no hallway, nowhere to wait without being seen.”
Ji-Woo’s jaw tightened. “So you go in first.”
Jun looked at him again. “And what exactly are you two planning to do?”
Duri hesitated. He had an idea.
A reckless one.
But it was the only one he could think of.
“I know the penthouse beside his.”
Jun frowned. “You know the owner?”
Duri looked away briefly. “Yes.”
Ji-Woo noticed the hesitation. “How?”
“I’ll explain in the car.”
Jun clearly wanted to ask more but didn’t. “Fine. I’ll get Chung-Hee to let me inside. You two stay nearby. If Noeul isn’t there, we call the police and report him missing.”
“And if he is?” Ji-Woo asked.
Jun held his gaze. “Then we get him out.”
No one argued.
Duri asked to leave work early. Jun drove separately, while Ji-Woo climbed into Duri’s car. For the first few minutes, neither spoke. Duri kept both hands tight around the steering wheel while Ji-Woo stared through the windshield.
Finally, he asked, “Who owns the other penthouse?”
Duri exhaled. “My mother.”
Ji-Woo turned sharply. “Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“You have a penthouse next to Lee Chung-Hee and you never thought to mention that?”
“It wasn’t relevant.”
Ji-Woo stared at him. “Duri.”
“I know.”
“You said you’d explain.”
Duri kept his eyes on the road. “My mother inherited most of my father’s estate. She bought the apartment recently.”
“And you never told me?”
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
Ji-Woo let out a disbelieving breath.
Duri finally glanced at him. “We can talk about my family later.”
Later.
If there was a later.
Ji-Woo looked away. “Right.”
Duri’s hands tightened around the wheel. After another moment, he said quietly, “There’s a garden between the penthouses.”
Ji-Woo looked back at him. “A shared garden?”
“No. Separate gardens, but there’s only a fence between them.”
“You’re planning to cross it.”
“If Jun can get inside and open Chung-Hee’s garden door, yes.”
Ji-Woo stared at him. “That’s breaking and entering.”
“If Noeul is there against his will, I don’t care.”
Neither did Ji-Woo.
He pulled out his phone again and called his brother. No answer. Again. Nothing.
He stared at Noeul’s name on the screen. “Come on, hyung.”
Duri looked at him briefly.
Ji-Woo called again. Still nothing.
“He said we’d meet Sunday,” Ji-Woo whispered.
Duri didn’t know what to say.
“He promised.”
“I know.”
“He wouldn’t disappear again.”
“No.”
Ji-Woo lowered the phone. “I can’t lose him twice.”
Duri’s chest tightened. “You won’t.”
Ji-Woo looked at him.