Chapter 24: Get some answers

Goto lay in his hospital bed, his injuries still aching, but his mind restless. The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the city outside. Through the window, his eyes were drawn to a massive advertisement displayed on a nearby building. The bright screen showed the face of a man smiling confidently, endorsing some luxury product. The name beneath the image read Kwak Ji-Boem.

Goto narrowed his eyes, a flicker of recognition passing through his mind. He turned to Mr. Kim, seated nearby. "Who's the guy in that advertisement?"

Mr. Kim looked up from his tablet, following Goto's gaze. "That's Kwak Ji-Boem. He's a pretty big deal around here. Famous actor, model, philanthropist—you name it. He's got connections everywhere. Why do you ask?"

Goto didn't answer right away, his thoughts drifting back to his encounter with James Park. The only thing he truly knew about James was his name, and yet… something about the face on that building stirred a strange familiarity in him.

"Kim," Goto finally said, his voice sharp. "Find out everything you can about that guy. I want details—background, affiliations, everything."

Mr. Kim raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Got it. I'll dig into it right away."

---

Meanwhile, Kang Jae-Sung was standing in front of Si Mok and the rest of the group, recounting everything he had seen at the abandoned school.

"The place was a wreck," Kang said, leaning casually against the wall with his ever-present sunglasses. "I mean, craters in the walls, trophies scattered everywhere. But the weirdest part? All those trophies were still perfectly intact. Like someone deliberately avoided damaging them."

Osamu frowned, crossing his arms. "The hell has that idiot gotten himself into this time?"

Lee Man-Ho leaned back in his chair, a wry smirk on his face. "Well, looks like things are about to get real messy."

Han Park shook his head, a mixture of disbelief and frustration. "Damn. I don't even know what to make of this anymore."

Kang shrugged. "Anyway, Goto said he wants to talk to you guys. He's laid up in a hospital, but he's still calling the shots. Let me take you to him. Might be easier to get the full story straight from the source."

Si Mok nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. Let's go. We need to figure out what the hell is really going on."

As they prepared to leave, Si Mok's mind was already racing, piecing together the fragments of information they had so far. The abandoned school, James Park, the assemblyman, and now this Kwak Ji-Boem character—it was all connected somehow. And if Goto was calling for them, it meant things were escalating faster than they had anticipated.

"Let's move," Si Mok said, leading the group out. "Time to get some answers."