At the Crossroads

Chapter 1

The manager of 'Green Velvet' was busy making sure two specific rooms on the eleventh floor were all ready for the two seemingly important clients.

The two room attendants, Park Jinyoung and Choi Youngjae, watched their manager finally leaving the lobby, with faint interest. Youngjae heaved a sigh of relief as the manager disappeared from the sight.

"I've never seen him that frantic," Jinyoung commented, leaning against the reception counter. "Are those two men so special?"

"Businessmen. One of them is the CEO of 'Crystal' Oil Company. He has one of the scary faces I've ever seen. I mean, not ugly. He always has that kind of expression." Youngjae pressed his lips tight and looked at Jinyoung sternly, for demonstration.

"You know him?" Jinyoung showed his interest. "He's been here before, right?"

"He was here last year too. I heard he's always here in spring. Just to relax, you know. It's just a waste of money, isn't it? He has so many places to live in but comes here and pays for a two-month stay."

"What about the other one?"

Youngjae shook his head. "I don't know much about him. Maybe, just a business partner of Mr. Kim."

"Mr. Kim?"

"Kim Shiwoo. That's his name. Why don't you know him? He appears on TV so often."

Jinyoung just shrugged, "I'm just not interested in business stuff, I guess."

"But if you work here for long, you'll know most of the important businessmen in the country."

It was true. 'Green Velvet' was more famous among the local businessmen than among foreign tourists. It was far from the downtown area of Seoul and was adjacent to 'Green Velvet' Golf Club. It had all the luxurious things to offer and the price was so high that a normal tourist would not dream of staying here even for one night.

"Seems like they're arriving here soon. Almost lunch time," Jinyoung commented. The staff from the reception and bellboys were glancing at the entrance too often.

"It was about lunch time last year too."

A Mercedes entered the hotel driveway, with a Lexus following behind. They stopped at the hotel entrance and a number of men came out of them. A bellboy named BamBam led the two cars, with the chauffeurs inside, to the car park while the men entered the hotel, with two men at the front and a few bodyguards behind.

Kim Shiwoo. Jinyoung kept his eyes on the middle-aged man, with an upright body posture, determined steps and cold gaze. He looked like a rich, powerful villain who would destroy everything the protagonists had achieved, with a cold-blooded heart.

Jinyoung hung around the reception, just to hear them giving their names to the receptionist. It seemed only the two businessmen were staying here, not the bodyguards included.

Mark Tuan. That was another businessman's name. What was the relationship between Kim Shiwoo and Mark Tuan? Mark Tuan seemed to be much younger than Kim Shiwoo and was much more handsome.

Suddenly Mark Tuan's eyes were on him. It was unexpected. He had been caught staring. Before Jinyoung could shift his eyes away quickly, he was startled by a wink which was directed at him. Had Mark Tuan just winked at him? Maybe, he had mistaken Jinyoung's scrutiny for some other reasons.

Jinyoung kept his eyes on the floor below as the two men passed by, with their bodyguards. He looked at their backs till they disappeared. Youngjae was no longer beside him and it was better as he could make his way to the staff room, without having to give any excuse. The staff room was empty; Jinyoung looked around, making sure no one was here.

Satisfied, he locked the door and took out his phone. He pressed the contact name 'Jaebum' and it was answered immediately.

"Can I talk to you?" Jinyoung asked, "Are you with the others?"

"Yes, both of them are with me. In the office. You sound excited. I guess Kim Shiwoo's already there?"

"Right. Just arrived now," Jinyoung paused, "There's another thing though. There's another man with him. Namely Mark Tuan. They seem quite close. I think I need to keep my eyes on him too."

"Mark Tuan? From Royalty Import Export? I'm not sure. I'll check that. Do you think he could also be involved?"

"I don't know," Jinyoung remembered the wink, "He seems flirtatious. Anyway, I must find out the connection between Kim Shiwoo and Mark Tuan."

"Yeah. Just be careful. Don't let them suspect you or it'll be over," Jaebum warned, in a cautious tone.

"I know. Okay, I should be back on my duty. Look up some information about Mark Tuan. He could be another subject to watch."

"Got it."

Jinyoung ended the call and checked himself in the wall mirror. He had got used to this room attendant uniform, this staff room and this hotel, during the past week.

Him, Jaebum, Jackson and Yugyeom. They were in one of the teams of Special Investigation Teams (SIT) in the police headquarters. Kim Shiwoo case was the main one they were dealing with at the moment. There had always been this suspicion that Kim Shiwoo was a mafia boss and was involved in black market crimes. But because either Kim Shiwoo was so sly and careful or the suspicion was wrong, no solid evidence had been found against him.

Now it seemed another man was added to the list. Jinyoung would have to find ways to detect the relation between Kim Shiwoo and Mark Tuan. It was going to be exciting. If he could be as sly and careful as Kim Shiwoo.