A Trap for the Worm (1)

“You can eat the sweets that your parents will buy you, and the ones that this uncle has brought as well.”

“…thank you very much.”

So-Yeon reluctantly accepted the sweets.

However she seemed to have no intention of eating them, and just kept fiddling with them between her small hands.

Right then, Jin Hwa-In emerged from the building and came to greet me.

“Oh my. You really didn’t need to bring all these presents. Please, come inside.”

Chief Kim and I followed behind her as we headed to her office.

Through the windows in the hallways, I spotted Sang-Beom and Ji-Hye.

After noticing each other, we exchanged glances.

“About the donation you made last time. We will make sure to put it to good use. But your departure afterwards was so sudden that we weren’t even able to thank you properly.”

“Please don’t mind that. It’s perfectly fine with me.”

“Well then. If that’s the case, please take a look at this…”

Jin Hwa-An fleshed out the guide she had shown me last time, adding more detailed information.

Where the money was usually spent, how much was needed to maintain the living standards of the children, and so on.

As she spoke, her words flowed in one ear and out the other as I waited for Sang-Beom’s signal.

“Ahah. So that’s how it is. That is some fine piece of work.”

“Hohoh. Not at all, it can’t compare with the work you’re doing.”

Without knowing the full situation, Chief Kim was exchanging small talk with Jin Hwa-An.

He was even nodding his head diligently as he responded to her explanation.

It was at that moment.

“Principal!”

Without even a knock, the door burst open.

At the same time, we were so startled that we almost dropped our teacups.

It was Ji-Hye. Her deathly pale face and the way she was hurriedly drumming her feet created quite an alarming appearance.

“Goodness gracious. Is something going on? Can’t you see I’m currently speaking with my guests.”

“S-So sorry. But there’s currently an emergency. Please come with me quickly!”

Without even explaining what had happened, Ji-Hye turned and ran off.

With a frown, the director carefully set her teacup down.

Then she expressed her apologies with a bow of her head towards us.

“My apologies. As we are a home for children, commotions like this occur occasionally.”

“Not at all. It looks to be quite urgent, so don’t mind us.”

At these words, the director stood up to leave and Chief Kim also shifted in his seat.

I secretly pulled at the back of his coat. I was signalling him to sit still.

With an awkward smile, Jin Hwa-An left the office.

“Why are we staying here? What if it’s a crisis?”

“Enough. Chief Kim, start searching from there to there.”

“Huh?”

I started rummaging through the desk drawers.

I skimmed through paper after paper, pulling out any that seemed like they might be important.

Sang-Beom said that his distraction could buy me around 10 minutes.

Although I didn’t know how Ji-Hye’s assistance might affect this, in any case, there was no time to waste.

“W-what’s going on!”

“Those Joongmae Gang bastards, it looks like they might have been laundering money through here. We’re trying to find the ledger. Hurry up.”

“Ah- Ah- L-ledger!”

Chief Kim’s hands started shaking at my sudden command.

If I knew that this would happen, I would have just asked him to keep a lookout.

Bang-

I tried to pull out a drawer beneath a bookshelf, but it wouldn’t open.

Even though all the other drawers had slid open easily.

I pulled out some plastic-wrapped clay from the bag.

What was this called again… Although I couldn’t remember its name clearly, it was something that Ha-Seong regularly used in his line of work.

It had a malleable liquid-like consistency, but it hardened within minutes on exposure to air.

I peeled off its wrapper and pushed it into the keyhole.

“Ledger, Ledger, Ledger…”

Perhaps due to it being Chief Kim’s first time with something like this, he was on the verge of panicking.

I pursed my lips and blew on it to help the clay dry quicker.

Although I didn’t know how Sang-Beom had managed to pull away the director, I knew that she couldn’t leave her guests alone for too long.

“Ah. Found it.”

Chief Kim called out.

I walked over to him and took the document he was holding in his hands.

It was definitely a record of the orphanage’s income and expenses.

There were utility bills, including electricity and water bills. The interest income from accumulated donations. Books and clothing that had been purchased in bulk….

“Oh?”

Then a certain listing caught my eye.

‘The Thrifty Grocery Store’.

The Thrifty Grocery Store was the company that delivered food supplies to Aeryuwon.

It had also been found on the bank records of the thugs from the Joongmae Gang.

I pulled out my hand phone and took a picture of it.

At first glance, it looked like they had been laundering their money with the help of both these companies, Aeryuwon and this paper company¹.

Because laundered money usually needed to be passed between different accounts several times.

Footnote:

¹ Not a company that sells paper, but a company that only exists on paper. A shell company or a dummy corporation.