Things That Deserve To Die

Translated by Springlila

Ja-kyung frowned as he looked in the mirror. His eyes were puffy from crying the day before. He came out of the bedroom after washing his face in cold water to wake up, but Kang Il-hyun, who had been by his side all night, seemed missing and didn’t appear to be getting ready for work.

He thought about whether he should sleep more or go down and have breakfast until he realized that Il-hyun’s birthday was two days away. He woke up at the thought of a gift. What should he buy? As he thought about the gift in his mind, he changed his clothes and noticed a box on the bedside table.

It wasn’t there until yesterday. The palm-sized box had a large ribbon on it. On top of it was a card. When he opened the card, he found neat handwriting.

[My birthday gift. Wear it when we go on a date.]

He was taken aback. He opened the box slightly with a feeling of disbelief and closed it immediately, tightly closing his eyes. Oh, damn it. He calmed himself down, opened the box again, and checked its contents properly. The underwear, which the artisan had made with meticulous care, was white lace, and surprisingly, there was a cat embroidered on the backside.

Ja-kyung was horrified and shoved it into the box, then closed the lid. It had been nice until he comforted her last night. He then hid it in a drawer in case someone might see it, and came out of the living room.

He lit a cigarette and sat on the sofa. Then, he opened the album he received from Jang Tae-ho. Flipping through the album one page at a time, he was thinking about his mother, whose face he couldn’t even remember when a message arrived. It was from Kang Il-hyun.

[I’m looking forward to the gift.]

Ugh, he groaned as he tossed his phone aside.

***

Ja-kyung definitely checked the message, but there was no reply. Il-hyun clicked his tongue. He had suggested having dinner in two days, but he wondered if Ja-kyung would agree. Although he had only imagined his reaction for a moment, it felt like he was getting aroused.

“Would it be okay for you to go alone?”

Park Tae-soo, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, sent a somewhat worried look through the rearview mirror. Il-hyun chuckled. He knew what he was worried about. The words “Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office” came into view outside the window. When he had come here before, the reporters were bustling around.

After getting out of the car, Tae-soo opened the trunk and took out a fruit basket. Straightening his tie once, Il-hyun walked inside. He felt the uneasy glances as he entered as if unwelcome guests had arrived. Going up to the third floor, Il-hyun stopped in front of the door with “Prosecutor Jang Tae-ho” written on it.

Knock, he knocked on the door and went inside. When he entered, Jang Tae-ho’s secretary was the first to greet him. He recognized Il-hyun, his eyes widening, and then he stood up abruptly. The other colleague next to him also stared with a wide-open mouth.

Il-hyun greeted them casually and then placed the fruit basket on the table in front of the sofa. Jang Tae-ho, who had been talking on the phone with his back turned, turned to find Il-hyun, then stopped talking and frowned.

After ending the call, he asked his employees to give them some privacy for a moment. When they left and only the two of them remained, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

“What did you come here for?”

“Let’s sit down and talk. My leg hurts.”

Without asking permission, Il-hyun took a seat on the couch and sat down. He crossed his long legs and rested his hands on the armrests of the couch, and tapped his fingers. Jang Tae-ho looked disapprovingly at the fruit basket he had brought and took a seat across from him.

Kang Il-hyun looked inside the office. He had noticed it since the last time,

“It’s small. The chief prosecutor’s office is much bigger.”

“Cut the nonsense, just get to the point and leave.”

Il-hyun smiled leisurely as he noticed the hostility in his eyes. He then took something from his arms. It was a USB the size of a finger. Jang Tae-ho looked at it and then lifted his gaze to stare at Il-hyun.

“What is this?”

“Things that might be useful to you.”

“Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me.”

“For example, evidence supporting allegations of someone’s corruption, accusations of sexual bribery, or embezzlement.”

Jang Tae-ho returned his gaze to Kang Il-hyun after looking at the USB with a questioning expression on his face.

“Prosecutor Jang, you’re brimming with a sense of justice, while I’m brimming with power rather than justice. If we collaborate, we might create quite an exquisite picture, don’t you think?”

Jang Tae-ho sneered.

“Don’t play tricks. Do you think I don’t know you, CEO Kang? Even if you combine all the scoundrels inside this thing, there won’t be anyone worse than you.”

“You really know how to make words sting.”

“To be honest, tell me the real reason for all this with me.”

Kang Il-hyun chuckled, giving him a smile that seemed to say he was asking a foolish question.

“Are you asking because you don’t know? It’s because of your brother.”

“Don’t drag Kyung-joon into this. He’s different from you. If he had grown up properly, he wouldn’t have gotten involved with someone like you.”

Il-hyun smiled. It seemed that in Jang Tae-ho’s eyes, Lee Ja-kyung was just a cute and innocent little brother who had been lost in childhood.

“Therefore. I’m here to make peace. How upset the cat must be if the two of us keep fighting. Don’t you think? I can’t stand seeing that.”

“If that ever happens, Kyung-joon, he will be on my side.”

Il-hyun chuckled at Jang Tae-ho’s confidence.

“We’ll see about that. Let’s both make an effort to get along from now on. This isn’t a threat, it’s a request.”

Jang Tae-ho sighed and pointed to the fruit basket as Kang Il-hyun stood up after finishing his business. “Take this with you, on your way out.” Just then, Kang Il-hyun picked up the cutter knife that was beside him and pushed it up. Jang Tae-ho flinched as the knife come out. Il-hyun slashed open the wrapping and pulled out an apple.

After taking a quick bite of the apple, he waved it at Jang Tae-ho.

“It’s done, right? You can eat it now.”

As Kang Il-hyun left the office, Jang Tae-ho looked in the direction he disappeared and then stood up from his seat. Immediately, his gaze landed on the USB on the table. He clenched his fist. “Dammit… How dare he… What does he take me for?”

Il-hyun stepped outside and tossed the apple he had been eating into the trash can. Bastard. He’d kill him if it weren’t for the fact that he’s Lee Ja-kyung’s brother. He received a message from Lee Ja-kyung as he gritted his teeth and walked to his car. I’m going to my brother’s house today. My brother wanted to see me.

Il-hyun stopped in his tracks, and couldn’t help but turn around. This bastard. He couldn’t erase the thought that Tae-ho had deliberately brought Ja-kyung into this to provoke him. He bit his lip, sending a reply. Sure, have a safe trip. He even added a smiley face to the message.

***

The clinking sound of ice being poured filled the glass. After pouring the drink halfway, Il-hyun lay down on the sunbed and pulled out a cigarette. The evening rain had given way to a clear sky. He was admiring the stars when he heard footsteps. When he turned, he saw Ja-kyung standing there, dressed in a seemingly modest shirt and pants.

Il-hyun sat up as he left his seat.

“You’re home early.”

“Why are you out here?”

Il-hyun showed the glass of wine. He was going to have a drink and then head in to sleep. After finishing the remaining drink, he placed the empty glass on the table. Jaekyung pulled up a chair and sat across from Il-hyun, picking up some fruit that was served as a snack.

“What have you been doing?”

“Just had dinner, listened to stories about my parents, you know, random things like that.”

“It must have been enjoyable.”

Ja-kyung nodded.

“I always wondered why I liked watermelon so much. My parents used to own a fruit store when I was a kid. Even back then, I loved watermelon the most. Isn’t it interesting?”

Feeling excited, Ja-kyung talked about his childhood, and Il-hyun poured the rest of the alcohol.

“Did Jang Tae-ho say anything else?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Between you and me.”

Ja-kyung hesitated. In fact, Jang Tae-ho had asked if he had to stay at Kang Il-hyun’s house, or if he couldn’t come to stay in his house. He flatly said he didn’t have that intention, thinking he didn’t want to give false hope. Jang Tae-ho seemed somewhat surprised and perhaps a bit hurt.

“He didn’t say anything specific.”

After spitting out the watermelon seeds, Ja-kyung reached into his back pocket, took something out, and held it out. Il-hyun looked at it and raised an eyebrow. A USB. At first, he thought it was the one he gave to Jang Tae-ho during the day, but looking closely, it was different. Il-hyun puzzledly looked at him before Ja-kyung slipped the USB drive into Il-hyun’s shirt pocket.

“CEO Kang, it’s your birthday present.”

Il-hyun took it out and checked. It had the name “Kang Il-hyun” written on it.

“It was at my brother’s house. It was at the top, showing the bad things you did.”

Il-hyun’s eyes widened. Still, it wasn’t enough. He realized that the team leader in charge of accounting had suddenly lost contact with him and fled the country. They were still tracking him. Park Tae-soo said he had proof that he had met with Jang Tae-ho before he left the country.

As Il-hyun looked at him with a disbelieving expression, Ja-kyung told him that he didn’t need to be grateful.

“Did you know what’s in it?”

Ja-kyung bit into the watermelon and spoke.

“It seemed like some kind of financial file. The amount… wow.”

As Ja-kyung shook his head, Il-hyun’s eyes narrowed.

“How did you find it?”

“When I secretly went there last time, I planted cameras and wiretapping. I was trying to retrieve those and delete the recording files, but I accidentally found this.”

Even after doing something unexpected, he remained calm. A tinge of joy began to spread across Il-hyun’s face. Look at this, Jang Tae-ho. You are very mistaken. Cats aren’t that naive. He smiled and tried to pull Ja-kyung into an embrace, but Ja-kyung pushed him away with his finger, keeping him at bay.

“I gave you a present, so I’m canceling the panties.”

“Just hug me for now. I’m feeling so excited that I might explode.”

Even when Il-hyun said that Ja-kyung persisted. Il-hyun clung to him stubbornly as Ja-kyung tried to push him away. Come here. He eventually pulled Ja-kyung into a tight embrace. Actually, the USB wasn’t important. Even if these things fell into Jang Tae-ho’s hands, they could be made useless. But he was anxious the whole time. He wondered if Ja-kyung was wavering, wanting to return to his original home. To the point that it made his earlier confidence in Jang Tae-ho seem shallow.

“If your brother finds out about this, he might be furious. Are you okay with that?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t met in a long time, so he might just let it slide. If not, I’ll handle a few hits.”

Il-hyun whispered softly into Ja-kyung’s ear. Thank you.

“If you’re thankful, I’ll pretend I didn’t have any panties.”

But to that end, Ja-kyung couldn’t get an answer.

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