Because Comfort Orphanage in Gwacheon City was a large orphanage built on a plot of about 500 pyeong, I could spot multiple weak points in security even at a glance. There seemed to be at least three or four holes in the fence, and the walls weren't high enough to prevent someone from climbing over during the night unnoticed. Especially considering last night's heavy rain, it must have been difficult to monitor anything. In this situation, I couldn't blame anyone for losing track of the child. After all, no one would think the orphanage director is someone so negligent he wouldn't even do bed checks. I drove past the orphanage entrance and into the wide empty lot next to it. It seemed to serve as a parking area, as several cars were already parked. One of them was the Binz S-Class that Lee Soo-Chan drove. I parked next to his car and got out. Lee Soo-Chan stepped out of the driver's seat and approached with an umbrella. Lee Ho-Jae followed behind him. I opened the car door and had both of them get in. As soon as Lee Soo-Chan sat in the passenger seat, he bowed his head. "Hyung-nim, I'm really sorry." Lee Ho-Jae, who got in the back seat, bowed as well. "This was our mistake." I patted Lee Soo-Chan on the shoulder and said, "It's fine. This wasn't your main job. I only asked you for a favor. And no one expected the director wouldn't even do a bed check. Really, it's okay. Lift your heads." I hadn't expected Lee Jun-Sung to disappear so soon either, so it wasn't anyone's fault. If there was any blame, it lay solely with the criminal who took Lee Jun-Sung. Only then did the two slowly lift their heads. "First, tell me what you've found so far." Lee Soo-Chan nodded and answered. "Last night, Lee Jun-Sung snuck out of the orphanage, saying he was going to see his dad." "Yes. Apparently, his father visited the orphanage a few days ago, saying he had found a job at a nearby woodworking shop. He told Lee Jun-Sung he'd save up money and come back to take him. I think Lee Jun-Sung got excited and bragged about it, and an older kid at the orphanage, four years his senior, hit him." At orphanages, there were two kinds of children—those with parents and those without. Both lived difficult lives, but children with parents at least had the hope that one day they will be reunited. For children without parents, there was no such hope. If Lee Jun-Sung talked about leaving right in front of them, the older boy likely hit him out of childish jealousy. Both the hitter and the one hit must have been hurting. It made my chest ache, reminding me of the past. However, now wasn't the time to be emotional. "Did you check the woodworking shop?" "Yes. Actually... we sent people to Changsung Lumber, but it turns out the father was lying." "What do you mean lying?" "He did come to work there briefly as a day laborer. He begged them to let him stay even for low wages, but Changsung Lumber wasn't doing well financially and had to let him go quickly." My heart sank. The father had been trying to get a job to bring his son home, but after failing, he must have lied to his child out of desperation. I calmed myself and asked, "Then did the kid go to the lumber shop?" "Has anyone nearby seen him?" "There's a person at a supermarket about 50 meters from the orphanage who said they saw him. But nothing after that..." At that moment, another bolt of lightning and thunder struck nearby. Cruelly, the heavy rain kept falling harder. "Sigh. With this weather, it's going to be hard to find him. But did you check the security camera?" "I'm looking into it through my contacts. But with tightened security these days, it seems hard to access without going through the police directly." Although I couldn't be sure yet that this was a disappearance case, I had no intention of sitting back and hoping it wasn't, risking everything in the process. It had happened sooner than I thought, but I called the personal number on the business card Park Dong-Joon gave me. -Yes, this is Park Dong-Joon. "Mr. Park, I'm sorry for calling so early. This is Chief Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment. We met yesterday." -Ah, yes. No problem. What's going on? "Well, I'm calling because I was wondering if I could file a missing person report." Immediately, Park Dong-Joon's voice changed. -A missing person, you say? The slightly drowsy tone vanished, replaced by one as sharp as a blade. It was the voice of someone determined not to repeat what happened twenty years ago. -Please provide the details of the missing person. Is it your child, Mr. Jung? "Oh, no. He's a child I personally sponsor from an orphanage." Park Dong-Joon's voice grew heavy. -I'm sorry, but in the case of an orphanage child, the director must file the report. If there are parents, they can file as well. "Understood. I'm in front of the orphanage now, so I'll speak with the director and ask them to report it." -Then I'll head over to the orphanage right away. In the meantime, please make sure a formal report is filed by the director or the parent. Normally, they wouldn't even accept a missing person report under these circumstances. Nevertheless, Park Dong-Joon was determined because of what happened twenty years ago. And because he knew I, along with Lee Soo-Chan, planned to help Lee Soo-Yeon with the film proceeds, he was being especially cooperative. "Understood. I'll see you soon." I hung up and looked at Lee Soo-Chan. "Soo-Chan, I'm going to meet with the orphanage director." "Got it. I'll go find out where the boy's father is." Lee Ho-Jae in the back seat nodded. "Then I'll contact the detective agency guys and keep checking the situation." "Good. If you find even the smallest piece of info, text me or call right away." I put on my raincoat in the driver's seat and was about to get out. Then Lee Soo-Chan asked, "Hey, hyung-nim." "That kid... who is he, really?" As I opened the door, I answered, "The child I have to save." Lee Soo-Chan looked puzzled, but I just smiled. 'And... the child who will stop the upcoming serial child disappearances in Gwacheon.' I kept that part to myself and headed toward the orphanage. Inside Comfort Orphanage director's office, Director Choi Tae-Yong, a man in his mid-50s, greeted me with a broad smile. "Oh my~ our sponsor's here! What would you like to drink? Coffee, black tea, green tea, barley tea—just say the word. Hahaha." To prepare for the Gwacheon serial child disappearance case, I had been making small donations to Comfort Orphanage. I had designated support directly for Lee Jun-Sung and also made general contributions to the orphanage. That was the reason I was able to get a meeting right away in a situation . But looking at the director now, it was clear the donations hadn't been used properly. Taking care of children was such tough work that most orphanage directors tended to be thin, but Choi Tae-Yong was rather chubby. Still, calling out misuse of funds could wait. Right now, my top priority was reporting Lee Jun-Sung missing. "I'll pass on the coffee. I heard on the way that Jun-Sung has gone missing. Is that true?" Choi Tae-Yong's smile faded into a frown. "Ahem... I don't know what the kids have been saying, but there must be a misunderstanding. Jun-Sung often sneaks out to see his father. I've already sent people out to look, so don't worry. He usually comes back by afternoon when he gets hungry. And once he returns, I'll make sure to contact you right away. Hahaha." 'Bullshit. He didn't send anyone out.' According to Lee Soo-Chan, not a single adult had left the orphanage. I glared at Choi Tae-Yong and spoke bluntly. "Enough. Just file the missing person report right now." Choi Tae-Yong grimaced. "Sir, a missing person report isn't something you just file lightly. If this gets reported in the news... Our orphanage's reputation will be ruined and other sponsors might pull out." "A child is missing, and you're worried about your image?" "You're being unreasonable. You don't even understand how an orphanage operates..." At that moment, I stared him down and said, "I grew up in an orphanage since I was a baby. I helped the nuns run it after I grew up. So don't say nonsense about me not knowing, and just report the child missing to the police! Or I'll cut off all donations." Choi Tae-Yong hadn't expected I was an orphanage kid himself, as his face clearly showed his shock. Flustered by my intensity, Choi Tae-Yong hesitated with the phone in hand. However, he suddenly exploded in anger. "Ah, screw it! I'm not doing it! Our orphanage runs fine without your donations! A young punk like you, donating a few bucks and acting like you own the place!" A child was missing, and all he could worry about was losing funding. 'Fine, if that's how he wants to play it.' Knowing how orphanages work also meant I knew exactly how to bring him down. "Mr. Choi, should I arrange for a special audit of the designated donations? I've got prosecutors I can call and reporters I can tip off. Once that's done, you'll be treated like garbage by the whole community and probably end up behind bars." Choi Tae-Yong's face drained of color in an instant. The more corrupt the directors were, the more they understood the consequences of exposure. "Wait, no... the kid's run away a few times before, you know? And now you're telling me to report him missing? Isn't that a bit much?" Now he was so flustered he started speaking informally. I shook my head firmly and said, "I don't care if he's run away a hundred times. Just file the report. Or I'm calling the prosecutor right now." Choi Tae-Yong stared at me, but when I grabbed my phone, he quickly began dialing 112. "Hello? This is Comfort Orphanage in Gwacheon. A kid named Lee Jun-Sung left last night and hasn't come back. Is it a runaway? No, I said it's a missing person! Tell Chief Park Dong-Joon!" After shouting through the call, Choi Tae-Yong glared at me. He was probably already thinking about taking it out on Lee Jun-Sung later. However, I had no intention of letting that happen. Once this case was over, I would make sure Choi Tae-Yong was removed from his position and someone else would come in to run the orphanage. With that vow made, I left the director's office. As I slowly walked down the long hallway, I silently prayed again and again that Lee Jun-Sung was safe. Then, I got a call from Park Dong-Joon. -Mr. Jung, this is Chief Park Dong-Joon. I've reviewed the security camera footage near the orphanage after receiving the report. And... this doesn't look like a simple runaway case. A chill ran down my spine. If it wasn't a simple runaway, that meant it was an abduction. Which meant the Gwacheon serial child disappearance case had already begun. -I just arrived in front of the orphanage. "I'll be right out. Let's talk in person." I hung up and dashed across the puddle-filled yard, straight for the orphanage's front gate. When I reached the front gate, a police car was parked there. Park Dong-Joon had gotten out and stood waiting for me in a raincoat. Park Dong-Joon let out a sigh and greeted me. Then he tried to calm me. "Please don't panic." "Don't worry, just tell me. Why do you think this isn't just a missing child?" Park Dong-Joon showed me his phone. "We confirmed the child left the orphanage a little after 8 p.m. But we received a photo of him meeting someone in the Galhyeon-dong area." They had traced the child's movement using nearby security camera footage. While following his trail, they found a photo of him meeting an adult. "Take a look at this." Park Dong-Joon scrolled through the images on his phone and showed them to me. A man in a black raincoat was holding out a clean umbrella to Lee Jun-Sung. Then, Lee Jun-Sung dropped his old umbrella and took the new one. "Seeing how short he is, that can't be the boy's father." "Yes. He looks about 170 cm tall. The father is around 178 cm, so definitely not him." "Then are you already starting an investigation?" I had been sponsoring Lee Jun-Sung all this time but never once got to visit. And I couldn't find time to see him yesterday either. I was planning to come today, but in just one day, the boy was gone. Regret surged in all at once. Just then, Park Dong-Joon placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't blame yourself." "I've been there... blaming yourself doesn't help much." Park Dong-Joon was right. Now wasn't the time to feel guilt, but it was time to find the child. I shook off the cloud of thoughts and tightened my grip. Then, my phone vibrated in my hand. It was a new notification for Fortune of the Day. [Notification: Fortune of the Day has been registered.] Hoping for a clue, I quickly checked my phone. [Date: February 11, 2021] [Fortune of the Day: It's darkest under the lamp. The answer is not far.] 'The answer is not far? Does that mean he's nearby?' Suddenly, the orphanage director's twisted face flashed through my mind. It was rare these days, but there were still cases of corrupt orphanage directors harming children. The odds were low, but I had to consider every possibility. "Mr. Park, are you going to investigate the orphanage director too?" Thankfully, they would investigate him. Still, I decided to assign someone to watch him separately just in case. Then, Park Dong-Joon's phone rang. When he picked up the call, his expression brightened. "Yeah, yeah. What? You found the kid's trace? You're heading to the suspect's house now? Got it. Thanks, Lieutenant Choi. I'll head there too." 'They found the kid's trace? This easily?' Park Dong-Joon hung up and explained, "While reviewing the security camera trail, they found a button from the clothes the kid was wearing. They're now searching the suspect's house." "Can I come along too?" Park Dong-Joon hesitated, then answered, "You can't ride with us, but I'll text you the address." He then sent me the suspect's home address. "Yes. About 500 meters from here." Park Dong-Joon said that and got into the police car. He turned on the sirens and drove off. I immediately ran to the empty lot where I parked and met up with Lee Soo-Chan. "Let's go, hyung-nim." Lee Soo-Chan told Lee Ho-Jae to in the car they brought, then got into mine. I spoke to him in the passenger seat. "Soo-Chan, also put someone on the orphanage director." As he got in, Lee Soo-Chan made a call somewhere. Meanwhile, I drove to the address I was given. Praying that Lee Jun-Sung was safe, I began driving through the downpour. However, the skies, oblivious to my urgency, only raged harder. A short while later, I arrived at the address Park Dong-Joon had sent in the blink of an eye. A rundown single-story house came into view. In front of it were three police cars and Park Dong-Joon's car. But what was happening on the scene was nothing like I had anticipated.