EMATEC Chapter 149

 149

Once the college entrance exam was over, there was nothing left to study for at school. For seniors, the exam was practically a graduation. I thought that once it was all behind us, I’d finally learn that person’s name—and see his face.

Back then, I was more nervous about the idea of actually getting to know him than I was about the exam itself.

But... he never showed up. Not the next day. Not the day after that, either.

“That student used to study here every day. Now he’s just... gone.”

“Of course he’d stop coming. The exam’s over. What’s his name?”

“I... I don’t know his name.”

“What?”

I still can’t forget the way the teacher looked at me—like they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. And honestly, I couldn’t believe it either. How could I not know the name or the face of someone I thought of as a friend?

The shame that swept over me in that moment—it’s hard to put into words.

“I don’t know his name, teacher. I don’t even know what he looks like.”

Sigh “And you want me to help you find someone with that little to go on? What am I supposed to do with that?”

“Was there anyone who suddenly stopped coming to school? He wanted to go to the police academy too—just like me. Did anyone else apply?”

“Nope. Everyone’s still attending. And you’re the only one from our school who applied to the police academy. You do know it’s not something you get into just by doing well on the exam, right? You’ve gotta work even harder. Don’t start slacking off and hanging out with your friends now.”

In the end, no matter how much I asked around, I couldn’t find a single trace of him. It was like he’d vanished from the school—as if he had never been there to begin with.

Disappointed, I threw myself into my own struggles, determined to move forward.

I thought I had let go.

But I didn’t realize until much later—after I became an inspector, and after I uncovered that the man who killed the couple who almost became my adoptive parents was none other than Assemblyman Ahn Hyeongsik, the shadowy powerhouse behind the ruling party—that I had never truly forgotten them.

“You’re really gonna go after Ahn Hyeongsik without a warrant?”

“Senior Daejin, I’m not trying to take him down. I just want a look at his face.”

“Are you out of your mind? Do you have a death wish or something?”

“If I ever disappear, I at least want the mice and birds to know it. That’s why I became an inspector. If you’re not coming to see Ahn Hyeongsik’s face with me, then step aside.”

“He’s on TV all the time. Don’t do something reckless just to see him in person, okay?”

“Then don’t come if you’re scared.”

That was the day I rushed into his campaign headquarters with nothing but a suspicion about a DUI charge hanging over Ahn Hyeongsik.

“Sorry, but the assemblyman is, quite coincidentally, out at the moment.”

“……!”

“I don’t know which precinct you’re from, but barging in like this—well, I’ll keep this incident off the record from the assemblyman. So how about you quietly leave?”

That was the voice of Yoon Doyoon, Ahn Hyeongsik’s aide. The first time I heard him speak—

“Wait… did you go to Ilhwa High School?”

Before I knew it, I had grabbed him by the collar and demanded answers.

His voice… it sounded just like that person’s. So much so that it overlapped in my mind for a moment.

I must have looked desperate, holding onto his collar like that, worried he might bolt at any second. But Yoon Doyoon simply gave a faint smile and said.

“Hmm, I think you’ve mistaken me for an old classmate…”

“No mistake. Your voice…”

“If I said I went to Ilhwa High, would that clear our assemblyman of all charges? Sure, then. From today on, I’m a proud Ilhwa High alum. Good to see you, buddy. How’ve you been?”

“……You bastard. You’re not him.”

“Of course I’m not. We’ve never met.”

He grinned, casual and mocking.

“So would you kindly let go? Even when the assemblyman is furious, he never grabs me like this. You’re being extremely rude—and, quite frankly, a poor example of what an inspector in Korea should be.”

He swatted my hand away with a firm motion, his eyes lifeless and cold—and in that moment, I knew.

I had mistaken him for that person.

Just hearing a similar voice had made me desperate to find him. I still longed for him that much.

“If you bring a warrant, I’d be happy to arrange a meeting with the assemblyman. I’ll even guide you personally—assuming, of course, that you can get one.”

Yoon Doyoon smiled icily at me and Senior Daejin, but all I could hear in his voice was that person again. It was maddening.

“Senior, who is that guy? Since when did Ahn Hyeongsik have such a young aide? That wasn’t the guy who used to work for him, right?”

“Yoon Doyoon is someone Ahn Hyeongsik personally supported and raised for a long time. You know Yoon&Mi Group, right? He’s the CEO’s son.”

“Yoon&Mi… you mean…”

“Yeah. It’s the company used to launder Ahn Hyeongsik’s slush funds. The CEO’s son was known as a prodigy, and Ahn Hyeongsik kept coveting him. Eventually, they handed him over.”

“Ha… What do we do now?”

“What else? I’m already digging into Yoon&Mi. You focus on the ruling party leader. There’s no way Ahn Hyeongsik isn’t feeding them something.”

“Got it.”

That was when it really began—my long, twisted connection with Yoon Doyoon, someone I didn’t like from the start.

“There was this guy I couldn’t stand. Every time he spoke, I’d be reminded of my first love. It drove me crazy. I hated it, but when I missed that person… I started wanting to hear his voice. That’s how messed up I was.”

I clicked my tongue and kept walking.

Kane, who had frozen for a second from the story, jolted back to reality and hurried after me.

“It was so frustrating. Not only did I realize just how much that first love still affected me…”

Before I could finish the thought, he appeared in front of me—that irritating man.

With a bouquet in one hand that didn’t suit him at all, and a ring in the other that suited him even less.

“I kept looking for pieces of him in that guy.”

It was Enoch Gray.

“You weren’t coming out, so I let myself in. That’s okay, right, Cherrya?”

“Not at all. Since you’re already inside the mansion, can you at least toss that damn bouquet somewhere? The spies from the social circles watching this place don’t have eyes inside the house.”

“The flowers didn’t do anything wrong, you know?”

Enoch handed me the bouquet as he continued speaking.

“I’ll leave it with you. Do whatever you want with it.”

“You’re being a pain.”

I scowled and passed the bouquet off to Kane. Then, nodding toward the ring in Enoch’s hand, I asked.

“You planning to throw that away too?”

“Nope. I’m gonna sell it. Gotta save up if I want to buy a bigger diamond.”

“It’s going to be common knowledge that Enoch Gray is desperate to get engaged to Cherrya Emblem.”

“That’s the whole point.”

Enoch tucked the ring back into his coat and let out a deep sigh.

“Better for people to think the Gray heir is head-over-heels for the head of the Emblem family… than for them to whisper that he’s being groomed as a student under her guidance.”