Chapter 4.4
The weather outside had dropped a few degrees compared to yesterday. I put on my coat and gloves in the cold weather. With the violin case slung over my shoulder, I left the officetel. A taxi was parked on the road. I got into the back seat, and told the driver the address that Senior Choi had sent me by text.
We drove for a long time in the taxi. The taxi entered a deep forest, far enough from Seoul that it was hard to believe we were still near the city, and the driver asked several times with a suspicious look if this was the correct address. I half wondered if Senior Choi was playing a prank on me, and nervously sat in the back seat. Fortunately, as we passed through the forest, the mansion appeared in front of us, and the taxi slowed to a stop in front of it.
"Please wait until I'm done. I'll add the waiting time to the fare."
"Sure."
I asked the driver to wait and got out of the taxi.
It was the private villa of Mr. Kim Jeong-geun, somewhere in Yangpyeong. The beautiful villa, surrounded by a black forest, seemed like a gateway to another world, standing before me.
I looked around after getting out of the taxi. A tree that had been felled in the middle of the garden caught my attention. The traces of it being cut and burned were still clearly visible on the stump, now darkened by the fire.
What kind of tree could have been left in such a terrible state?
The burned stump not only ruined the garden but also made the entire villa look gloomy and eerie. The luxurious and sophisticated atmosphere I had seen in the hotel was nowhere to be found. For a villa belonging to Kim Jeong-geun of the HanKyung Group, this place felt strangely abandoned.
Woof, woof!
Suddenly, the loud barking of a dog came from somewhere behind me, as if striking my back. I flinched. I had been bitten by a dog when I was young, so I was afraid of them. I quickly looked around, but although I couldn't see anything, the barking sounded very close. The sound alone was enough to guess the size of the dog. I couldn't see any shadows, but it felt as if the entire black forest and the villa were closing in on me.
A middle-aged man in a neat suit, probably the villa's manager, approached me with a puzzled expression.