by Asher Quinn
HE AWOKE the next morning and Woo-bin was gone. Jack listened for sounds of him in the bathroom, but there were none. All was quiet. Getting up, he pulled on a robe and headed to Woo-bin’s room. He knocked but received no answer. Choon-hee was coming down the hall with towels.
Jack nodded. “Choon-hee, have you seen Woo-bin this morning?”
“Yes. He leave for Seoul very early. That general manager pick him up. Take him to airport.”
“What?”
“Woo-bin say he work at office in Seoul now.”
Jack didn’t respond. He could feel the rage and the longing rising in him.
He opened the door to Woo-bin’s room, and all of his personal things were gone, except for his guitar. He closed the door quietly.
The housekeeper was still standing where he’d left her. “Choon-hee, have Byung-soo get the car ready. I won’t be having breakfast this morning.”
“Why you no eat?”
“Because I have a belly full of anger.” With that, he went back to his room to shower and dress.
Before he left, he called Missy. “Hey. I know it’s early. That fucking bastard sent him to Seoul. I’m not sure of the details.”
“Oh, Jack. You’re not serious? Of course you are.”
“I’m headed to GM Lee’s house now.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Might want to calm down first.”
“I don’t care anymore, Miss. He’s an asshole, and I am done dicking around with him.”
“Wait. I’ll go with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m probably going to punch him in the face.”
“Okay. Really not a good idea.”
“Letting him bully Woo-bin and control me has been eating me up inside. I’m not dealing with this calmly anymore.”
“Let me come, and I’ll wait in the car.”
He knew what she was trying to do. “So you can talk me out of it on the way over? No.”
“Please, Jack. You’ll get fired at the very least. How will that help Woo-bin, or you for that matter? You’re in a foreign country, and without the company you’ll be deported or arrested or both.”
He thought about that. Then he would never see Woo-bin again. “Then what the hell am I supposed to do here? Just give up on him? I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that.”
“I’m not suggesting you do that. But at least if you’re still with the company, you could maybe leverage the request you made to the executive director. Go to Seoul. See Woo-bin, and then take it from there.”
Jack was silent. Thinking.
“Seriously, Jack.”
“I really don’t know what I would do without you, Miss.”
“You’d be in jail.”
“I’d be in jail.” He looked down at his feet. He’d forgotten to tie his shoes. He was wearing his steel-gray single-breasted suit, a white linen shirt, and a deep-purple-and-silver-striped tie. “Thanks, Missy.”
“Doing my job. Taking care of you, and Song Woo-bin.”
“Clear my schedule, and if the GM asks for me, tell him I’m out sick. Make something up.”
“Will do. I’ll call and make the travel arrangements and use your personal card so it can’t be traced back to the company.”
“Okay. Good thinking. I’m heading to the airport. I’ll get a cab so I don’t involve Byung-soo. Call me as soon as you’ve booked the flight.”
“I will.” With that, she hung up, and he called a taxi.
THE TWO-HOUR flight to Seoul was two hours too long as far as he was concerned. The final descent announcement was made, and he was relieved, anxious, and concerned. What had happened? How did the GM get Woo-bin to go to Seoul? It was most certainly not money, right? He never seemed financially motivated. It’s not because of me, is it?
Jack grabbed a cab from the taxi stand and headed to corporate. He didn’t have a plan yet. I’ll wing it if I have to. If he’s decided to stay in Seoul, how will I deal with it? One crisis at a time. The cab pulled out into traffic and accelerated. He’d paid extra for speed.
They pulled up in front of the Chapel Resorts Corporate Office Seoul. He paid his fare and added a little more for the driver. “Gamsahabnida.”
“Ne.” The driver pulled away.
Jack stood there looking up at the tall chrome, glass, and gray granite building. The Koreans did not spare any expense to be impressive. He entered and walked over to the reception desk.
“I’m Jackson Calloway, Division Manager Chapel, San Francisco.” He handed the young woman his card with both hands.
She accepted it and introduced herself in English. “I am Kim Ye-seul. How may I help you today, Division Manager Calloway?”
“I’m trying to locate an employee originally from the site on Jeju Island. Song Woo-bin.”
She worked her laptop. “Ah yes. He is our senior team leader of property development. Twenty-fifth floor, suite 2503.”
“Thank you.” He headed for the elevators, stopping to wave his ID badge at the scanner on the security turnstiles. It let him in. He realized that GM Lee would now be able to discover his whereabouts. He didn’t really care at this point. As he waited for the elevator, he ran through the things he would say to Woo-bin over and over in his mind, as he had been rehearsing in the cab. Woo-bin, you don’t have to do this. Come back to Jeju. If there’s a problem with GM Lee, we can quit and find some other way to live here. If my visa becomes an issue, we’ll get you a passport, and you can come to the US. I’ll marry you so you can become a citizen. When he was convinced this was what he would say, he boarded an elevator.
Finding suite 2503 was easy enough, but Woo-bin wasn’t there. The wolf fetish that he had given Woo-bin was sitting on the desk next to his name plaque. Jack asked the admin out front where Woo-bin was. Apparently he’d been in a staff meeting with the other team leaders since 8:00 a.m. Jack sat in Woo-bin’s office to wait. It was now 9:50 a.m. At around 10:05 a.m., he showed up and seemed startled to see Jack sitting there.
“Seonsaengnim.” Woo-bin bowed.
Jack laughed softly at this. The bow seemed ridiculous. We slept together, for Christ’s sake.
“Woo-bin.” Jack didn’t get up.
“What brings you to Seoul?”
More soft laughter. “Really. What brings me here?” Jack raised his voice.
Woo-bin closed the office door. “I understand it was sudden, Jack, but the GM offered the promotion, and I felt it was best to take it.”
“The GM offered. Why didn’t you tell me? How could you just leave without a word?”
“That is why I came to you the night before.”
“We slept together. Nothing was said about this!”
“Jack, please understand.”
Jack stood and walked over to the windows. “Nice view. Is this the price now to break a heart? An office?”
“Jack….”
“Well, if you’re going to work for corporate, it’s best to maintain respect, no? Aren’t you forgetting honorifics?”
“Yes Seonsaengnim Calloway.”
“Just tell me why. This makes no sense. After what we said to each other. Is this some crazy cultural thing? Because you can’t be a gay man here, so you just walk away from what your heart is telling you is real?”
Woo-bin was silent. He remained standing by the door.
“Why?”
“I need the money, Seonsaengnim. For my father, for my brother.”
“You’re doing this, you’re the GM’s puppet for… money?”
Again Woo-bin was silent.
He moved over to stand in front of him, grabbing both his shoulders. Woo-bin declined his head.
“Look at me.”
He didn’t move.
Softer now. “Woo-bin. Please look at me.”
He slowly raised his head. Their eyes met. There were tears in Woo-bin’s eyes.
He embraced Woo-bin. “If you need money
, I’ll give it to you. We’ll take care of your father and brother, together. Don’t do this. I need you with me, back on Jeju. It’s our home.”
Woo-bin slowly pulled himself out of Jack’s arms and wiped his eyes. “I will stay here. You should go, Seonsaengnim, before the GM finds out you’ve come.”
“I don’t give a good goddamn what the GM thinks. He’s lucky I haven’t beaten him to a pulp.”
It was Woo-bin who was standing at the window now. “I don’t think I can be with you like you want me to. So we should just leave it as it is. I will come to visit occasionally to see you and Choon-hee, Byung-soo, and Ms. Argent.” He sobbed.
“I don’t believe you. I don’t know what your reasons are, and I don’t accept anything you’ve told me. You know how I feel about you, and I know how you feel about me. And I am going to figure out what’s going on here and get you back to where you belong. Next to me.”
“Jack, leave it. I mean it.” Woo-bin was angry now. Jack had only seen him this way once before, when the GM had promoted him and pulled him off Jack’s team.
“I won’t, Woo-bin.” Jack looked at the wolf fetish, then at the back of the man he loved staring out over the Seoul skyline. “This isn’t over.” With that, Jack left. Woo-bin never turned around to face him before he did.
He arrived back in Jeju late that evening, and he called Missy.
“Jack.”
“Sorry it’s so late.”
“It’s okay. What happened?”
“He told me he’s staying and that it’s about money. Needing it for his father and brother.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No. Something’s going on between GM Lee and Woo-bin. I can’t figure out what the hell it is. I’ve been going over and over it in my head for hours. Can you come over?”
“Yes, sure. Give me fifteen minutes.”
“All right. Door will be unlocked. Just come to the kitchen.”
“’K. See you in a few.” She hung up.
Jack changed into sweats and a T-shirt, stopped to unlock the door, then headed for the kitchen. He found Choon-hee there having tea.
“He decide to come back?”
“How did you know I went to see Woo-bin?”
“I know. All that matters. Don’t ask questions,” she said gruffly.
He sat, and she got him a cup. It was chamomile. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “Why he stay?”
“You might want to get another cup. Ms. Argent is coming over.”
“It too late to be entertaining a woman.”
“It’s about Woo-bin.”
“Ah.” She got up and retrieved a cup from the cupboard and set it on the table next to Jack.
“So why he stay in Seoul? Is job that good?”
“I don’t know. He said it was to support his father and brother financially.”
“It not that. Even if he feel responsible, he still hate that man and brother.”
“That’s what I thought.”
They both heard the front door close.
“That was fast.”
“I rushed. Choon-hee.” Missy bowed.
Choon-hee nodded and got up to get tea. She filled Missy’s cup.
“What’s the plan?” Missy sat next to Jack.
Choon-hee excused herself. “Time for old woman to sleep. Bring him back, Seonsaengnim.” With that, she left the kitchen.
“I don’t have a plan. I have an idea, though.”
“Shoot.”
“I want to send the GM off to explore a property option near Busan. While he’s gone, I want to audit his financials, search his files and whatever else we can find. I don’t trust him. We’ll have to get into his desktop. I’m sure he’ll bring his laptop with him.”
“What if what you’re looking for is on his laptop and not the desktop?”
“I’m betting that he keeps the important files on his desktop. Safer because it stays in his office.
“Do you think he’s that unaware? I think if something is going on, he’ll have covered his ass.”
“One thing at a time. Can you research the southern country area around Busan and find us some hot springs?”
“I’ll try and find something.”
“It needs to have the potential for creating another spa location.”
“Got it.” She sipped her tea. “How was he?”
“He seemed okay at first, but things got a little tough. He cried and was angry. Definite signs that something isn’t right.”
“I agree.”
Jack took a long draft off his tea, finishing it. “Feel like sharing a couple of beers and sitting in the hot tub?”
“I didn’t bring a suit.”
“Miss, it’s okay. Just wear whatever you have on under there.”
“I’m not wearing anything under this.” She had on a sundress and sandals.
“I’ll give you a pair of my shorts and a dark T-shirt.”
“Okay.”
They sat in the heat of the tub, talking about family and friends back home. Both sharing the longing for familiar surroundings and their worry for Woo-bin as the moon rose in the east, full and bright.
Eighteen
HE MET with GM Lee on a Monday.
“I want you to scout out a site for a new and additional spa in the Busan area.”
“Why me when you are more than capable?”
“Because you are a native, and I am your superior, and I’d like you to handle this.”
“I see. All right. I’ll need my admin.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll have Song Woo-bin meet me there.”
“No. A scouting trip only requires one person. It shouldn’t take more than two days. You leave day after tomorrow. Ms. Argent will make the arrangements.”
“Fine. I’ll call you from Busan. Let you know what I find.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll read the report you submit after you return.” Jack nodded and left the GM’s office. He’d given up on expecting any type of appropriate behavior from Lee Yong-geun.
IT WAS Wednesday morning and they were in Missy’s office.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“His office.”
“Okay.”
Jack had sent the GM’s admin to give the accounting team a hand for the day, and he and Missy spent two hours searching paper files, documents, signed orders, etc., but didn’t find much at first. He sat down at the GM’s desk and attempted to log in. Of course, his account was password-protected.
“Keep looking. I’m going get someone from IT to unlock his desktop. I don’t care if this is an invasion of privacy.”
“You’re sure you want to do that?”
“Yes.”
By the time he returned, Missy had finished searching and had come up empty-handed. Jack sat at the GM’s desk in front of his desktop, which had been unlocked. It took about a half hour to search all the directories and his internet history, but there was nothing except for one file that was also encrypted. He took a flash drive from his pocket and copied it.
“We’ll need to have this decrypted. Either he’s really good at covering his tracks or he’s just innocent and an asshole.” He handed her the flash drive. “Have IT get into this ASAP.”
She took the drive and left the GM’s office.
GM Lee returned a day later. Jack met with him over coffee at one of the property’s cafés: The Elite.
“What’ve you got? Any interesting prospects?”
“Three sites. The last one is the best in my opinion.”
He slid his tablet across the table for Jack to examine.
The GM was spot-on. The third option was best. Jack handed the tablet back. “Do a workup and formulate a plan for possible acquisition. I leave this to you, your project. You can head this up.”
“I’ll need Song Woo-bin on this.”
Jack tried to contain his anger. “Find someone here to assist. As a matter of fact, I’m available
. I’ll assist you.”
“Song Woo-bin.”
Jack thought about it for a minute. “Fine. Get him transferred back here, and keep his salary and position intact.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll do it or no deal. Transfer, or it’s me. Your choice.”
“And if I refuse to work on this at all?”
“I’ll speak to corporate and have you demoted for insubordination. I don’t care that your uncle is the ED. Do we understand each other?”
The GM didn’t answer. He just glared at him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jack left, not finishing his coffee.
He made several calls to Woo-bin over those few days, and they all went to voicemail. None were returned. This distressed him further.
MISSY CAME to his office with the decrypted file a week after they discovered it. She looked awful.
“What’s wrong?”
She placed the drive on his desk. “There’s a shell company.”
“A shell company.”
“Yes.”
“The GM created a shell company? For what in particular?”
“According to the documents, it was created by Song Woo-bin.”
“Woo-bin?” He felt fear in the pit of his stomach. “Created for what, exactly?”
“What looks like the illegal sale of equipment. It appears, well, the evidence shows that Woo-bin ordered the equipment and had it shipped to a warehouse then sold it off for profit.”
“Does he strike you as someone who would think of something like that? And why would the file be on Lee’s laptop?”
“Maybe he found the file. Do you think it could belong to Woo-bin? Maybe he’s keeping it as leverage. Woo-bin did say he needed money for his family.”
“Miss, we’re talking about Song Woo-bin. And leverage for what? He isn’t the type to lie or steal. The GM, on the other hand…. My guess is he did all this and had Woo-bin sign the docs unknowingly, making him take responsibility for all of it.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t fit Song Woo-bin’s personality. He’s so sincere.”
“He definitely didn’t do this. We just need to find a way to implicate the GM. To catch him.”
“This is not going to be easy at all. With all the docs pointing to Song Woo-bin, you’re going to need a witness or witnesses and most likely a confession. If we’re investigated because of this, Song Woo-bin will be the one going to jail, and Chapel will suffer a media shitstorm.”