The Most Ironic Death – 1

Ho-cheol was worried about Inho, who had been contacting him less and less lately.

Inho entrusted him with minor tasks, but he always checked on important matters himself.

However, the frequency of those check-ins had been decreasing recently, and a few days ago, Inho had even told him not to worry about it at all, leaving Ho-cheol scratching his head.

“Could it be a promotion?”

This wasn’t exactly a company, but that’s what Ho-cheol thought.

Come to think of it, he had been working under Inho for quite some time. They had built trust, both professionally and personally, so it was possible that Inho was being given more important tasks.

Even with these positive thoughts, a nagging feeling lingered.

Recently, Inho had been taking good care of him and giving him plenty of money, but…

The Inho of the past had been an incredibly stingy person.

If they happened to eat together, they would calculate the cost of what each person ate.

His friends had urged him to quit, saying they couldn’t believe he was working under such a ruthless person, but Ho-cheol had found that life acceptable.

After all, Inho was the one who had given him, a lost soul, a purpose.

That’s why he was relieved when Inho had recently quit internet broadcasting and started exercising.

If his employer, who didn’t avoid the things one should be wary of in life—alcohol, cigarettes, and women—were to die, he would be left adrift.

Ho-cheol thought it was worth it to have nagged him like a parrot to take care of his health and be careful with women.

Just as he was starting to feel satisfied with the reformed Inho, Inho got involved with another strange woman and had been busy lately.

Fortunately, she wasn’t a gold digger like the last one, but her mental state seemed unstable, and Ho-cheol feared she would cause a major accident if left unchecked.

Recalling the memory of going to the gym late at night still made him shudder.

Garam’s eyes, as she lay collapsed in the middle of the wrecked gym, gasping for breath as if a gang fight had broken out, were still vivid in his mind.

He had mustered his courage and spoken to her, but all he got in return was the cry of a wounded animal.

He recalled how fortunate it was that the ambulance had arrived quickly, or else he might have had to dispose of a living corpse.

Anyway, Ho-cheol didn’t like Inho hanging around the abnormal Garam and had told him to stay away from her a few times.

But each time, his employer would say the word “responsibility” and claim he couldn’t help it.

“What’s with this ‘responsibility’?”

He could understand feeling responsible for drawing her into the world of internet broadcasting…

But he still couldn’t understand why he was paying for all the remodeling costs because he felt responsible.

Perhaps this was the difference between the rich and ordinary people like him.

Anyway, aside from the occasional strange behavior, Garam was a decent person.

Above all, she was taking care of Inho’s health.

With the center undergoing remodeling, Inho and Garam were spending more time outside, and when Ho-cheol asked Inho if they might end up getting married, Inho jumped and waved his hands in denial.

Well, there was a big age difference.

In any case, his busy employer had been acting strange lately.

When he called, Inho would tell him he was busy and to send a text instead, and when he did send a text, Inho would tell him to handle it himself.

“I appreciate the trust, but there are some things that only you can do.”

To dispel the growing unease, he came up with a plan.

It was something that needed to be taken care of anyway.

He tapped on his phone and sent a text to Inho.

Ho-cheol: Called about the tax stuff, but you didn’t answer.

Ho-cheol: Boss, you haven’t been in touch lately. Is everything okay?

Ho-cheol: I’ll send the files for now. Please check them and get back to me.

[Ho-cheol] sent an attachment

This required Inho’s confirmation. He couldn’t tell him to handle it himself.

The 1 disappeared from the text, but there was no reply.

Was it taking him a long time to check? He waited.

But an hour passed without a reply.

“That’s strange. Did he accidentally tap it and mark it as read?”

He considered calling to press him, but he knew Inho wouldn’t answer anyway.

Ah, if Inho wasn’t answering, maybe he could call Garam?

Ho-cheol called Garam.

[Hello? Ho-cheol Ajusshi?]

“Ah, yes. Garam. Is our Boss there by any chance?”

[No, he didn’t come to work out today?]

“Ah… There are some documents that need to be checked quickly, and I couldn’t reach him, so I thought he might be working out.”

[Ah…]

“Ah, he doesn’t like me showing up at his house unannounced… I understand.”

With that, he hung up and decided to wait another hour.

An hour later, he received a reply.

Inho Boss: Did you take care of the Guro side? Just woke up, sorry.

Ho-cheol: Not there, the Daerim side. Were you taking a nap?

Inho Boss: I fell asleep when the sun was high in the sky, and I just woke up…

Ho-cheol: Well, there’s nothing wrong with taking a nap. When are you going to do the on-site inspection here?

Inho Boss: What did the owner say? But I’m busy, so I don’t think I can go.

Ho-cheol: They said they can show it to you even if you contact them on the day, but you don’t have time?

Inho Boss: The radiator, the car radiator is a bit weird, so I have to go get it fixed. Winter’s coming soon, so I have to fix it.

Ho-cheol: Suddenly the radiator?

Inho Boss: Yeah, I made a reservation at the car center. You don’t have to make a separate reservation.

Inho Boss: Go to the Daerim side and take a video and send it to me.

Inho Boss: It’s a newly built building. I don’t think there will be any defects.

Ho-cheol: Yes, if that’s okay…

Inho Boss: Yeah, please do me a favor.

Ho-cheol: Okay. Get some rest.

After the conversation ended, Ho-cheol scratched his head, unable to shake off the strange feeling.

“What is it? Something’s not right.”

The awkward feeling was stronger than in their recent conversations.

He reviewed the conversation they had just had.

It was Inho speaking, but it felt artificial.

As he read through it again, a word caught his eye.

It was a common typo. But Ho-cheol couldn’t shake it off.

“What is it?”

He read it again. The uneasy feeling grew stronger.

“Ah…”

After reading the conversation a total of ten times, Ho-cheol discovered something, quickly gathered his clothes, and ran out.