A week later, Krystal and Jooyoung reluctantly returned to Siem Reap, Cambodia. No matter how much Krystal tried to convince her father to let her stay in Korea, John would not change his mind. Jooyoung, on the other hand, had no say and he had to follow his boss’ order. Once the both of them safely reached Siem Reap, John and Haeri waited for them eagerly at the airport.

   The moment Krystal spotted her father amongst the crowd at the airport’s waiting area, she flashed an indignant glare at him and stomped off. Jooyoung greeted John and Haeri before catching up to Krystal.

   “Hey, you shouldn’t act like that in front of your parents,” Jooyoung said.

   “I’m angry at them for bringing me back here and if you are asking me to talk to them, I ain’t going to,” Krystal huffed before picking up her speed. Jooyoung shook his head disapprovingly and reluctantly followed behind her.

   Krystal, being stubborn as she is, refused to strike up a conversation with her parents during dinner. She only answered curtly whenever her parents asked her questions. Without finishing her dinner, she stormed off to her bedroom. Haeri was about to follow her when John stopped her.

   “Leave her alone. She will get over it by tomorrow morning. Eat your dinner,” John said while enjoying his dinner. Haeri flashed a worried glance at Krystal’s bedroom and sighed. She reluctantly abided her husband’s order.

~.~

   “Alex, I want you to meet me at my office at 10pm. I have something to inform you.” John’s words kept on ringing in Jooyoung’s head. What does he want to tell me? Is it important? Jooyoung could not help but feeling slightly nervous about the meeting with his boss.

   Ten minutes before he was due to meet John, he slowly made his way to John’s home office. Jooyoung noticed that the office’s door was ajar and he could hear a conversation in the office. He decided to wait outside the office. He peeked into the office and noticed John and his assistant, Charles in a serious conversation. Being curious, he eavesdropped their conversation even though he knew that it was a wrong thing to do.

   “John, as a friend, I think I have the right to advise you on this,” Charles sighed.

   John remained silent and he was in deep thoughts.

   “Are you sure you are going to ask that Alex boy to help you in this project? Do you know how risky it is to ask such immature boy to do this?” Charles furrowed his eyebrows.

   Why are they talking about me? What project are they talking about? Jooyoung’s brows creased in confusion.

   “Who are you to tell me what to do, Charles? I’m confident that he’s capable of doing anything. Since this is a risky project, I’m sure he can do it,” John flashed Charles an indignant glance.

   “I’m just giving you my opinion. Do we even know if he’s trustworthy? What if he’s actually an undercover agent who is waiting to bust us?”

   John scoffed, “Bull, Charles. You are just coming up with all these excuses because you are not given the authority in this project.”

   “This isn’t about the authority of this project. I’m just giving you a warning on who to trust. I don’t think I trust that boy,” Charles said through clenched teeth.

   “I don’t think your opinion counts for this project. I believe that as a friend, you know how I work and how I make decisions. Your opinion doesn’t affect my decision in any way,” John spat contemptuously.

   Charles clenched his fist and his eyes narrowed, oozing with intense anger. “Don’t make me walk out on you, John. You do know that I hold most of your secrets and I can uncover them whenever I want.”

   John smirked, “And you bloody well know what will happen to you if you do that.”

   “I don’t care about your threats anymore. I had enough living under your orders all the time. Bloody hell, John. You can’t get away with your doings all these while.” Charles snapped and immediately stood up from where he was sitting.

   He was about to leave when John scorned, “You will regret the moment you stepped out of this office.”

   “I’ve already regretted working with you, John.” Charles stormed out of the room. Jooyoung who realized that Charles was about to leave the room, immediately hid behind a nearby drawer. He watched Charles walking down the stairs until he was out of sight.

   Jooyoung scratched his non-itchy head. What was that about?

   Then, he overheard John speaking on his phone, “You know what to do. Finish him off.”

~.~

   Three days later, Jooyoung attended a funeral. To everyone’s shock, Charles was found dead in his apartment. The cause of his death was drug overdose. The police deduced that it was an act of suicide as they found a suicide letter in his apartment.

   The atmosphere was solemn. Close family members of Charles were struggling to hold back the grief. Eulogies were given and prayers were made. Jooyoung noticed that a weary expression crossed John’s face throughout the funeral service. It seemed like he was grieving for his friend’s death. However, John’s words rang in his head.

   “Finish him off.”

   Is sajangnim genuinely sad or is this part of an act? What if Uncle Charles death is planned and not a suicide? Jooyoung continued to observe John’s actions until Krystal quietly approached Jooyoung.  

   “Alex oppa…” Krystal blew her nose and her eyes looked moist.

   Jooyoung who was in deep thoughts did not react to Krystal.

   “Oppa, oppa!” Krystal shook Jooyoung’s arm gently, snapping Jooyoung from his thoughts.

   “What is it, Krystal?”

   “Can you accompany me to the bar after the funeral service? This grieving is too much for me to handle and I need a drink,” Krystal sniffled.

   Jooyoung nodded, “Okay. I think it’s better we head to the bar now.”