Structural Damage

Chapter 23 - Amends

The cab ride seemed to take forever. When Se Ri was riding with the police, the drive seemed short. However, now that she wanted to try to find an end to this nightmare, everything was slowing down. She had no desire to deal with people in the building lobby, and frankly, she didn't want to deal with the security staff either. She asked the cab driver to let her out at the entrance to the parking garage. He obliged, and she walked up the ramp towards the private elevator. Right now, she was on auto-pilot. As the elevator took her to her floor, she quickly texted Jeong Hyeok to let him know that she was dealing with a problem and would call him later. She didn't want to talk to him when she was this worked up. Plus, she didn't know how to tell him she was a possible murder suspect.

She entered the apartment and dropped her purse and keys on the entryway table. Taking a page directly from Jeong Hyeok' playbook, she walked straight into the kitchen and poured a glass of whiskey. No measuring needed, she needed to get as much alcohol in her system, as quickly as possible. Before she could get too inebriated, she made a quick call to the firm where Cheol Gang had been working in Busan. She figured they needed to know he was dead, she had no idea if the NIS would inform them or not. It was not a call she wanted to make.

Se Ri talked to Joo Myung Soo, the principal at the firm, he said all the right things about how sorry he was to hear about Cheol Gang. She knew he was just polite. After all, it wasn't really nice to speak ill of the dead. He knew that Se Ri and Cheol Gang were divorced and did not speak, but he offered to box up the office and send Cheol Gang's belongings to her. She didn't really want them to be honest. But, it would be best to get the box and filter through it, just to make sure there wasn't anything she needed to burn. Jung Myung Soo asked about the apartment where Cheol Gang lived in Busan. Right now, Se Ri wasn't sure what to do with it or the place he had in Seoul. She would deal with that another day. Frankly, she was disgusted that it was even falling on her to consider these things. Damn, she hated Cho Cheol Gang and even in death, he was haunting her.

As she hung up the phone, she took another swig of whiskey. She could feel the buzz coming on, the numbness taking over. She quickly topped off the glass and was prepared to take another drink when she heard the knock on the door. She was not yet too drunk to get up and answer the door, although her coordination was a little off. She opened the door, bracing herself against it to make sure she didn't completely fall over.

"Se Ri-ya, have you been drinking?" Seo Dan asked as she walked into the apartment and took in Se Ri's appearance. She watched as Se Ri pushed herself away from the door and stumbled back towards the kitchen. She noticed the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the counter, "Good grief, please tell me that bottle wasn't full when you started drinking?"

"Um, no, it wasn't full. Jeong Hyeok started drinking it last night. But I am determined to finish it today. Do you want one?" Her words were starting to slur. Seo Dan shook her head then stepped forward and snatched the bottle from her hands. "Hey, that's mine, you can't do that!"

"I can, and I am. You need to sit your ass down before you fall down and tell me what is going on. Your text message said it was urgent. Does this have to do with Jeong Hyeok? Did something happen with you two?"

"Nope!" Se Ri shook her head, a little too enthusiastically. "Nothing has happened, yet. And this has nothing to do with him. Okay, maybe it does a little." She was trying to gesture to show just how little but it wasn't working, her coordination was off thanks to the whiskey. "The big problem is fucking Cho Cheol Gang. Did you know my idiot ex got himself murdered, and the NIS thinks that I did it? How do you like that shit? I'm being investigated for murder, Dan-ah. Now give me back my bottle, I've got reasons to get drunk."

Seo Dan did need a drink but not whiskey, she walked over and grabbed a bottle of wine. She opened it and poured a glass. She could at least keep her wits about her with this, but she knew she would not be able to make it through this entire conversation without some kind of alcohol. But before things went further, she needed to get something out of the way. "Yoon Se Ri, did you ask me to come over here as your friend or as your attorney?"