Chapter 6
The Earth Peace Research Institute was proven not to be a multi-level marketing scheme or cult, but it was still a strange place. There were only three employees, and these three had remarkably strong personalities.
CEO Jung Hanyoung was a beautiful woman with a cold and sensitive impression, but her personality was different from her appearance. She was bold and fiery. For the record, I was most afraid of the unpredictable CEO.
Heerim, with his face pretty enough to rival a celebrity’s, was as bright as if he had several screws loose. If it weren’t for the occasionally chilly expression that flashed across his face, I would have thought he was just a sheltered young master who knew nothing of the world.
Then there was Kim Jeongmun. He always sat silently and stoically in the corner, so I hadn’t had a proper conversation with him and couldn’t figure out his personality, but he must be an extraordinary person to be working with the other two. This company called “Earth Peace Research Institute” was created by these three people who seemed like they would never associate with each other in the outside world.
I played the role of the “extra player” among them. Without any work to do, I just sat idly in the same spot every day, wasting time. There was so little work that I wondered if I should really be getting paid 50,000 won per hour. I would have felt self-conscious if I was the only one lounging around, but everyone was idle, so after about four days, it didn’t bother me anymore. However, I was starting to worry whether they would be able to pay my salary at this rate.
“Hmm…”
Today, as usual, there was nothing to do. I rested my chin on my hand and fiddled with my phone. I had already read all the webtoons worth reading long ago, so there was nothing left to pass the time. I was thinking I should check the news on the portal site when Heerim, who had been eating shrimp crackers on the sofa, quietly approached me.
“Jaeo. Is something bothering you?”
“What?”
“You’ve been furrowing your brow for a while now.”
Heerim said, tapping between his eyebrows. Ah. I had been frowning without realizing it.
I hadn’t even been aware that I was scrunching up my face. I quickly smoothed out my frown with a dry rub of my hands.
“Heerim. Is work usually this scarce around here?”
I asked in a lowered voice so only Heerim could hear. Heerim tilted his head.
“Is it? I’m not sure. I’ve never worked anywhere else.”
My forehead, which I had purposely relaxed, creased again at Heerim’s answer. They would need to take on cases to keep the company finances going, but at this rate, it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to pay the office rent, let alone my salary.
“Are you worried because there’s no work?”
“Somewhat. What if we can’t even pay the office rent at this rate?”
I indirectly answered that I was worried about not getting paid. Heerim, seemingly not understanding what I meant, responded with an innocent expression.
“You don’t need to worry about that. This building is owned by Hanyoung noona—I mean, the CEO.”
“What?!”
I exclaimed loudly in surprise. Mr. Jeongmun, who was sitting in the corner, looked at me with a puzzled expression. Embarrassed, I gave him a quick bow and pretended to be busy with something else.
“You didn’t know? The building is even called the Hanyoung Building.”
“Oh, wow.”
A silly exclamation escaped my lips. Now I understood why the company was in this state. The CEO herself was born with a silver spoon, so this wasn’t a serious business venture. While I was relieved that I wouldn’t get swindled out of my pay, another question arose.
Then why did they hire a part-timer?
It seemed strange. This environment didn’t require a part-timer who would be paid such a large amount. Was there some hidden agenda? No matter how much I tried not to be suspicious, questions kept coming up.
“Jaeo. Just a moment.”
As I was deeply pondering whether the Earth Peace Research Institute really needed a part-timer, Heerim called me.
“What is it?”
“You’re furrowing your brow again.”
“What?”
Heerim suddenly reached his hand toward my face. Startled, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath.
“…!”
“Don’t frown.”
Heerim’s finger pressed firmly on the center of my forehead and then moved away.
“You’ll ruin your handsome face.”
When I opened my eyes, I saw Heerim smiling cheerfully. I rubbed the spot on my forehead where Heerim’s finger had touched, with a dumbfounded expression.
Th-that surprised me. Why is he suddenly touching my face?
Unlike me, who was embarrassed by the unexpected physical contact, Heerim was staring at me with an innocent expression. Is this supposed to be no big deal?
“Heerim, you must have dated a lot.”
“What? No? Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
“Your touch is so natural.”
I meant to tease him by implying that he was being too forward, but he jumped up in protest.
“No, no! What are you talking about! I’ve never dated anyone!”
Is this something to deny so vehemently? Eventually, Heerim’s face turned red with indignation.
“Is dating a crime? Why are you jumping up like that? It makes you look more suspicious. Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed?”
“Hyung, I’ve always…”
Just as Heerim was about to say something, moving his lips—
♬♪—
The office phone rang loudly throughout the office. Heerim, who had been about to tell me something, closed his mouth with a bitter expression. I also stopped teasing him and looked toward where the phone was placed.
“The phone keeps ringing…”
Even though the phone had been ringing for quite a while, nobody seemed to be thinking of answering it. Should I be the one to answer?
“It’s probably a telemarketer for insurance or loans. You can ignore it.”
As I walked up to the phone and hesitated, Mr. Jeongmun spoke to me for the first time today. I nodded awkwardly and returned to my seat. The phone rang for a while longer before stopping. However, it started ringing again loudly before even a minute had passed.
“It keeps ringing. What should we do? Could it be a client call?”
“No way. Who would hire us?”
“…”
At the CEO’s words, which I couldn’t tell were a joke or serious, I momentarily felt dazed.
“Then Jaeo, you answer it.”
“What? Me?”
“These days even spam callers seem persistent. Just go along with it briefly and hang up.”
The CEO waved her hand dismissively from where she was lying on the sofa. I nearly got upset at how she was passing off the annoying task, but I quietly answered the phone without complaining. As a part-timer being paid 50,000 won per hour, it was right for me to do whatever I was told.
-Ah! Someone answered!
“…?”
I heard a young woman’s voice along with noisy commotion through the receiver. The voice sounded too young to be a telemarketer.
-Is this… the Earth Peace Research Institute?
“Yes, it is.”
-We’d like to make a request.
“What? A request?”
Caught off guard, I immediately waved my hand in the air to call Heerim over and handed him the receiver. Heerim looked at the receiver and me with round eyes.
“It’s a client call. A client!”
I whispered so my voice wouldn’t be picked up by the receiver. Only then did Heerim take the phone.
“Really? That’s unusual. Yawn.”
The CEO rose from her seat, stretching and speaking indifferently. She seemed completely unbothered despite almost missing a client call.
“Yes! Of course we can!”
Surprisingly, Heerim was very smoothly continuing the conversation with the other party. Sitting beside him, I observed his face as he smiled brightly. The cool impression I had seen a few days ago was completely absent from his face.
Whichever was his true self, Heerim’s beauty was astonishing. Sometimes my sister Jaeyeon would use the term “jjoljaebbeom” (a slang term for “extremely handsome and pretty”) to describe idols she liked, and I thought Heerim’s face truly deserved that description. Hmm. Later, I should casually suggest that he become a celebrity instead of doing this kind of work. With that face, he would surely rise to stardom immediately.
As I was chuckling at these idle thoughts, I stopped abruptly at Heerim’s next words.
“Where are you located? Ah, Hanguk Girls’ High School? Yes. I understand. We’ll contact you tomorrow right away.”
Hanguk Girls’ High School.
That was the school my sister Jaeyeon attended.
“What’s the request about? What’s happening at Hanguk Girls’ High School?”
I immediately asked Heerim about the call as soon as he hung up.
“They said there’s a pervert appearing at the school and they want us to catch him.”
“A pervert?!”
“A flasher, they said?”
“A flasher?!”
My expression automatically twisted at the mention of a flasher. Heerim muttered “you’ll get wrinkles…” when he saw my deeply furrowed brow, but that wasn’t important. A flasher at my sister’s school!
“But what’s a flasher?”
“Huh? You don’t know what a flasher is?”
To my surprised look, Heerim nodded as if embarrassed. Do kids these days not use that term? But Heerim and I were only two years apart.
“A flasher?”
The CEO joined our conversation.
“A sexual deviant who exposes himself, and he’s appearing at Hanguk Girls’ High School?”
“Yeah. They want us to catch him.”
“I didn’t know there were still perverts running around exposing themselves these days. It’s still cold out. Crazy bastard. Tsk.”
Despite finally having work, she looked annoyed rather than pleased.
“Then Heerim and Jaeo should go together tomorrow. Jeongmun’s appearance is a bit… intimidating for a girls’ school.”
The CEO glanced at Jeongmun. Mr. Jeongmun made an aggrieved face, but with his large build, he might get apprehended before the flasher if he entered a girls’ school.
“But I don’t want to send Heerim alone either. You two go.”
The CEO said while emptying the entire bag of shrimp crackers Heerim had been eating. I scratched my head with a troubled expression. It wasn’t that I couldn’t go, but I was concerned about it being Jaeyeon’s school. If I happened to run into Jaeyeon, she might bombard me with questions about why I was working at such a suspicious place when I had just found a new job.
“Wow! So we’re going to handle this together? That sounds fun!”
Heerim’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. I avoided his gaze and swallowed a sigh.
“Jaeo. Is that okay with you?”
The CEO, noticing my awkward attitude, checked with me. I nodded with a forced smile. Though I was a bit uncomfortable about having to go with Heerim alone, I couldn’t just sit around wasting time forever.
It was finally time to earn my 50,000 won per hour.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
