Chapter 2: Predetermined Trajectory

  The night was deep, and the neighbors who came to help one by one bid farewell and left. Friends and relatives stayed behind to help with some trivial matters. After a painful cry, An Junhe's emotions gradually stabilized, and he sat cross-legged in the hall, staring blankly at the photo in front of him.

  How familiar is this scene? Two months ago, that one after another unwilling to face, even thought it was a fanciful dream, had such a picture.

  The dream was so real, in the dream he was also called Ahn Jun-hee, and like him, he was born in 1986 with his sister Ahn Ji-soo in a ordinary salaried family in Busan. It was an era of chaos that was about to end but had not yet ended. The Chun Doo-hwan government became more frantic as it faced its final days. His father was arrested shortly after he was born for participating in certain activities that the ruling party did not want to see, and was released 4 years later due to Roh Tae-woo's pardon, but his body had already been drained by years of imprisonment. He passed away soon after returning home.

  His mother raised him and his sister alone, while the political turmoil continued to reflect on the people, making life increasingly difficult. It was hard for men to survive, let alone two children and a widow. They managed to hold on thanks to the help of several uncles from their mother's side, as well as some of their father's former comrades and friends who provided relief. Until later, when the country finally stabilized and Busan began to develop its tourism industry, his mother borrowed some money, and they moved to Haeundae to open a roadside stall, and their lives finally improved slightly.

  He still remembers that when he was young, he and his sister sat quietly in a small tricycle, with their mother pedaling hard in front of them, going back and forth between various fish stalls. Sometimes they would argue with the boss to save a little cost, and it was common for them to be scolded. Occasionally, they would encounter someone with a bad temper and get slapped a few times. Even on normal days, business was not smooth, with competition among peers, and sometimes customers who had drunk too much would become violent.

  It was this kind of bumpy life that gave him a deep stimulation, and as a child, he often fought with others to protect his mother. As he grew older, it became even more intense. Later, in order to help his mother's business, he secretly formed a gang with some cousins and friends from fishing families, and they started collecting protection fees and eating "霸王餐" (a type of extortion) along the streets, causing chaos in that area. Over time, customers from that street district all came to this side, and business boomed. Before long, he had saved up enough money to expand his business, and eventually even opened a barbecue restaurant.

  He had a clever mind since he was young, and sometimes thought that if it wasn't for the first year of high school, when he was eating outside and met his mother, who grabbed his leg and beat him hard with a stool, and begged him to study hard with a broken heart, maybe his unfinished club would have developed greatly.

  Maybe it was the slaps on his head, or maybe it was his mother's tears. That night, he suddenly felt that he had matured, learning to consider problems from his mother's perspective, striving to become a good student, and letting her worry less. Even later, in order to take over her burdens as soon as possible, after graduating from high school, he did not apply for university but volunteered to serve in the army, wanting to solve the problem of military service first, so that when his mother grew older, the burden would not become heavier.

  Never thought of it anyway...

  An Junhe lowered his head, one hand tightly covering his eyes, tears seeping out from between his fingers and falling to the ground, shattering into powder.

  My heart is like that drop of tear, torn apart by regret into pieces.

  Two months ago, in that dream, everything that happened was foretold to him. In the dream, his mother and sister were on their way to buy groceries when they were hit by a speeding business car driven by a drunk driver. The right rear wheel of the car ran over his sister's legs, then dragged the tricycle and his mother into the car's belly, dragging them for more than 50 meters before stopping due to the screams and blockage of passersby on the side of the road.

  But he thought it was just a dream, except that after waking up, the lingering and seemingly real sorrow in his chest, nothing else was on his mind, and he forgot about it in a few days. In the following days, except for occasionally calling home to remind his mother to take care of her health, he did nothing...

  If I had believed in that dream at the time, if I had hurried back home as soon as possible, whether it was selling the barbecue shop or hiring someone to run the business, and letting my sister take my mother out for a walk, this thing could have been avoided no matter what.

  At least...

  At least she won't be like this now, a corpse that can only be sewn together, hidden in a sealed coffin, surrounded by darkness, never to care for him, scold him, or show him a loving smile again. And he won't be sitting here helplessly, waiting for the day when she is buried under the soil, further and further away from him.

  "Bastard! An Junhe, you bastard!"

  He suddenly became violent, raised his hand and slapped himself several times. The crisp sound was very loud in the quiet room. His brother-in-law, who was still outside and hadn't gone to rest yet, heard the commotion and rushed in, holding his hands while anxiously shouting: "Junhe! What's wrong with you? Stop it!"

  "It's all my fault... it's all my fault..." Several slaps landed on his face, and his cheek visibly swelled up.

  "How can it be your fault? Junhe, Auntie is already gone. You've always been so filial. Now, are you going to make Auntie restless even in the afterlife?"

  Table brother tightly hugged him and softly comforted: "Calm down, okay? This isn't your fault. Natural disasters and accidents, who can predict them in advance?"

  Who can know in advance?

  After struggling for a moment, An Junhe lay down on the ground in exhaustion, his tears mixed with dust and covering his entire face. The dim light of the hall cast a faintly ferocious expression on him.

  He knew it beforehand, but he didn't seize that opportunity and let it continue to happen along the predetermined track.

  But this fact cannot be told to others, even if he is heartbroken, his thoughts are still dominated by reason. He knows that if he says that dream out loud, no one around him will believe him, and on the contrary, they may think he is too sad and mentally ill.

  Mom is dead, now this family needs him to hold it up. If he were the only one left, it wouldn't be so bad, but there's also Zhi Xiu.

  Yes, Zhīxiù!

  An Junhe hastily wiped away his tears.

  "Brother, take me to see Zhixiu!"

  …………

  Kwon Bo-geun, who had just finished his meal at the restaurant, arrived at the hospital after contacting the company's business office. The night wind was very cold, and as soon as he got out of the car, Kwon Bo-geun tightened his collar. In the darkness, the hospital building stood tall, with bright lights illuminating it against the vast black sky. The sound of the wind howled, perhaps due to the nature of the hospital's work, but before he even stepped inside, a chill ran down his spine, making him wonder if it was just the cold spring breeze or his own fear that was overwhelming him.

  I don't know why, but I always have a bad premonition.

  Suppressing his inner **, Quan Baogen followed the address given by the hospital's administration office and found a ward on the third floor.

  This is a single room, when Quan Baogen pushed open the door, in the warm ward, a young man wearing a hospital gown was laughing loudly at the TV, a plate of fresh fruit placed beside him, some peeled fruit skins scattered on the floor.

  Hearing the sound of the door opening, the man turned his head and immediately lit up with a brighter smile. He hastily waved at this side: "Director Quan, I've finally waited for you! Hurry up and settle things so I can get out of here! After lying down for two days, my bones have rusted."

  Kwon Bo-geun slightly furrowed his brow. This young man was none other than Kang Soo-chang, the one in charge of the Busan affairs, who had ended up causing a car accident while drinking during office hours and was essentially on a vacation. A rich second-generation heir, a so-called elite student from a prestigious university, but to Kwon Bo-geun's eyes, he was also a good-for-nothing who couldn't even accomplish anything properly.

  He turned around and looked outside the ward. Since no one was passing by, he closed the door, carefully examined the other person for a few moments, furrowed his brow and asked: "Are you injured?"

  "Of course not." The young man walked down two steps, indicating that he was indeed fine. He casually picked up an apple and nibbled on it: "I paid the hospital to create a fake story, saying that when I hit someone, my head hit the steering wheel, so I dragged the person out for over 50 meters before stopping...Damn, those stupid family members want to sue me for intentional homicide. They're lucky I didn't back up and run over another person, showing great mercy. How dare they sue me? Once this matter is settled, I'll make them pay..."

  "That's enough!"

  Quan Baogen let out a loud roar, scaring the young man so much that his hand trembled. The triumphant smile on his face was swallowed back into his throat, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes. He quickly regained his composure and shouted back: "What are you yelling at me for? Are you crazy?"

  However, he only dared to do so much because although Jiang Shilong's position was not high, he was a trusted assistant of President Li. He had already gotten into trouble and if he were to clash with the other party again, he would likely be in for another round of punishment. Even if he returned to the company, President Li would make sure he wouldn't get off scot-free.

  Quan Baogen didn't bother to respond to his provocative words, and coldly said: "Jiang is in Yuanxi, I don't care what you think in your heart. The task assigned by the director is for me to quickly deal with the mess you've made, and then send you back to Hancheng... During this period, if you cause any more trouble, don't blame me for not being polite! Alright, tell me about it in detail."

  Jiang was scolded by him before and felt extremely resentful, but now that he needs something from him, he's not stupid enough to not see the situation clearly. He's just silently cursing and seething in his heart, but on the surface, he's already told him everything that happened over the past few days.

  As he spoke, Quan Baogen's frown deepened, and things seemed to be even worse than expected. Jiang Yuanyuan was not a fool; when the car was intercepted, although he was flustered and frightened, he pretended to have hit his head at the first opportunity, and only because of his slow reaction did he drag the person into the car's abdomen and kill him. He also bribed the doctor to produce a fake injury report.

  The victim's family did not give up and found many eyewitnesses to prove that Jiang was not injured at the time, and dragging the person to death was a completely intentional act. They even refused the possibility of private settlement and demanded that Jiang be prosecuted for intentional homicide.

  If it's just a traffic accident, it's not that serious, and it can be easily settled with some money. But if he is really charged with intentional homicide, the nature of the case will be different. Regardless of the final outcome, for Jiang Yuan, it's not good news at all. The Jiang family cannot tolerate having such a stain on their only son.

  However, the Jiang family is not a big deal in terms of energy, just a businessman who has made a fortune in recent years, and its influence cannot radiate to Busan, which is far away from their hometown of Hanzhong.

  So, after being unable to cope, he sought help from his good friend Li Xiuman.

  Of course, there may be some deals behind this matter, after all, the Jiang family is also a shareholder of S·M, but those things are not within Quan Baogen's consideration.

  He glanced at Jiang Yuan and said, "So, it still depends on what that family thinks?"

  "Hmm!"

  Looking at Jiang Zhenyuan, who still seemed nonchalant, Quan Baogen suppressed the disgust in his heart and said coldly, "Do you know where their family lives? I'll communicate with them again."

  "I don't know." Jiang rolled his eyes and hummed a few times, before continuing under Quan Baogen's increasingly impatient gaze: "However, the other woman who was knocked down at the time is in this hospital. Her family came to make trouble, you can find out if you investigate."

  Quan Baogen didn't say a word and immediately turned around to leave. As he was about to step out the door, his footsteps paused for a moment, "Don't move until this matter is settled!"

  The next moment, the door slammed shut with a loud "bang".

  Jiang Yuan's face was gloomy as he stared out of the observation window, Quan Baogen's back quickly disappearing into the distance. He spat viciously and his expression turned venomous.

  "My god, he's just a dog of Li Xiufull, what is he pretending to be!"