224 The Mysterious New Employee, Manager Kwon (2/2)
Kwon Tae Yang threw a cursory glance at the boy, but did not react much to his suspicion. Taking out a pair of black latex gloves from within his pockets, he put them on. Just in case he needed to touch her, he thought.
”I'll be working closely with you from now on. Please take care of me, Miss Yeo Ri.” The man lowered his head politely to the girl, acting as brusque and professional as usual.
”...Likewise, Sec—Mr. Kwon,” Yeo Ri responded a beat later.
After a round of silence, Kwon Tae Yang raised his eyes to stare at Yeo Ri, ”Miss, there is something I would like to talk about with you,” his eyes drifted to the two other people in the room, ”privately,” he added.
Gun's frown deepened. Who does this suspicious b*stard think he is? In his heart, he was unwilling to leave his precious sister alone with this unknown man. He moved to step in between them, as if protecting Yeo Ri.
Yeo Ri touched her brother's arm softly, looking at him with a reassuring smile. ”It's alright. Oppa, can you give us a moment, please?” She turned to the Mrs. Choi who was still standing by the door, ”You too, Auntie. Please?”
Gun wanted to refuse, but looking at the earnest look in his sister's eyes, he couldn't say no. After a short moment, he begrudgingly acquiesced. ”If he does something to you—”
Yeo Ri smiled wryly, cutting off his sentence, ”—Call for help, I know, I know.”
”Alright, we'll be waiting outside, then. Come, Gun, let's give them some privacy.” As Park Soo Yeon led the older Lee sibling out of the room, she could not help but wonder what Kwon Tae Yang's relation to Yeo Ri was.
The two stood in silence until the rest left and the door closed shut.
Once she was sure her brother was out of earshot, she opened her mouth to speak, ”Why? What matter is so important that it can't be said in front of other people?”
Yeo Ri cocked an eyebrow, her pointed gaze showing her distaste and annoyance. ”And what are you doing here? Working for that man doesn't pay enough? To the point where you needed a second job,” she snidely commented. Did he really have to go so far? As if following her around everywhere like a d*mned stalker wasn't bad enough already.
Secretary Kwon thickened his skin and pretended he didn't hear her mockery. ”It's about the matter from the other day. The results of the interrogation had come out.”
”Interrogation?” The corner of her lips tilted downwards as her brows furrowed. To use the word 'interrogation' made it seem as if their bunch was more dangerous than she thought.
Secretary Kwon paid no mind to her reaction. ”It appears that the group who has been after you are working for a fairly strong criminal gang. For your safety, I will not disclose any information on them, as they are known for having rather strong backers that even Mr. Heo would find it difficult to stand against.”
His words caused her to smile derisively. In a rhetoric manner, she asked, ”What kind of backer would be so strong that even that man would be too scared to take action?”
”...” Secretary Kwon kept mum and avoided her gaze, signalling his refusal to answer her question. The older man shook his head and sighed inwardly. ”Aside from that, the men we've captured only divulged the name of the person who ordered your capture, and none of them seem to know why they were instructed to do so,” he produced a tan-coloured envelope from within his blazer and passed it to the girl as he explained the situation to her.
With an exasperated click of her tongue, Yeo Ri gingerly accepted the envelope, taking out the papers contained within. The papers recorded a brief report on their findings, and on the last page was a profile page of the perpetrator along with a picture of his mugshot.
”Ji Yeong Gi?” Yeo Ri murmured, mulling over the somewhat familiar name and face.
”Do you recognise him, miss?”
”...” Yeo Ri frowned. She seemed to have the answer at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't quite recall where she had seen him. ”I don't know. He seems familiar,” she replied, looking at the details written in the paper.
Surprisingly, she saw several familiar names written on it. This Ji Yeong Gi's address was in the same town which the Lee family used to live in. Listed under education, was the same high school which Hyuk attended. And finally, he appeared to have been incarcerated in the same prison Hyuk was currently in!
Yeo Ri's expression changed. ”Ji Yeong Gi, Ji Yeong Gi...” she closed her eyes, trying to sift through her blurry memories.
Her eyes snapped open, a sour feeling rising from within her chest. Frowning deeply, she turned to look at Secretary Kwon. ”He seems to have a connection to my brother. Judging from his actions, it's probably for revenge or something.” Yeo Ri properly tucked the papers back into the envelope before carelessly handing it back to the man in front of her.
”Brother...?” Secretary Kwon ruminated. In his mind, he had thought that she was referring to the young master, Heo Jin Goo, but quickly fixed his train of thoughts; there was only two people in this world whom this princess acknowledged as her brothers, and that was Lee Gun and Lee Hyuk. ”I understand. We'll try to see if we can make him stop targeting you, miss. Please be assured, we will do our best to ensure your safety.”
”Do whatever you want.”