Three people stood frozen, staring blankly as the group headed into the center. A beat later, Cheol-won snapped out of it and shouted.
“E-Eun-jo!”
The moment he called out and ran toward him, Eun-jo finally stopped in his tracks. He turned to face them with a calm expression, not the slightest hint of surprise on his face.
“What brings you here?”
“What brings us here? You cut off our living expenses, the hospital bills—everything—and now you ask what brings us here?!”
Bok-ja, who had hurried over after him, glanced at the luxury shopping bags and let out a disbelieving scoff. Then, in a voice loud enough to echo through the lobby, she yelled.
“You can afford to splurge on all these designer brands, but you can’t spare a cent for your own family? When did I ever teach you to waste money like that?!”
“…You didn’t teach me that.”
His polite reply only made Bok-ja raise her voice, smug with indignation.
“Exactly! I taught you not to be wasteful! Your brother, your father, and I—we all live frugally. And you? What the hell is this, shopping during work hours?!”
How could they repeat the same words, like they were reading from a script? Just like his parents always had. Eun-jo looked at them calmly, then tilted his head slightly, as if he genuinely didn’t understand, and asked,
“I’m doing what you taught me. So what exactly is the problem?”
“What?!”
Still looking innocent, Eun-jo gestured behind him.
“These are all brands you said were economical, right? Plates, handkerchiefs, even hair ties—you’ve always used this stuff, so I bought some too. Is that considered extravagant?”
“……”
“I could’ve bought something way more expensive, but I followed your lead and chose these instead…”
His eyes drooped as he added meekly,
“This is what you call being frugal, isn’t it? You always said so, and you used to shop like this a few times a month… Was I wrong?”
“When did I—w-when did I ever say I bought stuff every month?!”
“Manager-nim.”
As Bok-ja stumbled over her words, Eun-jo turned to one of the employees standing nearby.
“My mom’s cardigan—that’s from this brand too, right?”
“Oh my, that’s one of this month’s new arrivals!”
Of course, the staff was on the side of their top-spending VIP. Quickly grasping the situation, the employee clapped lightly and added with a smile,
“It’s an exclusive item, only sold to customers who’ve hit a certain spending tier. It’s really hard to get, but she managed to snag it—amazing.”
Eun-jo looked back at Bok-ja with an expression that said, See? Bok-ja could only sputter, “Y-you…!” unable to form a full sentence. It was a brand-new item she’d bought at the department store before her card had been cut off, and now she was speechless. She’d shopped so much, she couldn’t even remember which brand it came from.
Frugal. Diligent. Thrifty. Don’t spend unnecessarily.
Those were the words that showed up most often in the texts Eun-jo had received from his parents. At a glance, they seemed like messages of concern—but in truth, they were always telling him to save more so he could send money home.
Ha.
The image of his dorm room flashed through his mind—bare as a model house, with not a single thing to call his own. That was why Yeo Eun-jo never had anything. Not even a decent pair of sneakers. No sofa. Not even his own blanket. He left with nothing. A hollow space, empty of even the smallest comfort.
My family acts like they’re being frugal, but they spend like there’s no tomorrow and don’t even realize it.
Eun-jo subtly turned his body just enough so only the three of them could see his face, his expression going cold. Then, in a low but rapid voice, he asked,
“For people who preach thriftiness, you sure spend a lot. Those sneakers were what—at least a million won? And that cardigan… what’d you pay for it? Eight million? Ten?”
“Yeo Eun-jo! That’s enough!”
“Must’ve been real easy. All you had to do was sit on your ass every month while your son risked his life to wire you money.”
“……”
“Don’t act like this is news to you. You see the reports—every day, the news says how many people died at the Gates. My name could’ve been on that list too.”
“You little piece of—!”
“Did I lie?”
Smack! A sharp crack rang out as his cheek whipped to the side. When he looked up, Cheol-won was glaring at him, nostrils flaring with rage.
“You ungrateful brat! Is that how you talk to your sick mother?!”
“……”
“Look at your brother! He’s going to limp for the rest of his life, and your mother and I—we’re both struggling to even get medicine. Is helping us really that damn hard?!”
Heat bloomed slowly across his cheek, but the sting only tangled his thoughts more. Was it because he was Yeo Eun-jo now? Or because these people were just like his own parents? His chest burned, fury crawling up his spine until even the back of his neck felt hot.
Hoo. Eun-jo exhaled, blowing a messy strand of hair from his face, and stepped forward, approaching the trio who were still playing the victims. He grabbed the picket sign hanging from their necks and lifted it.
“Funny. For someone with a terminal illness, you sure can stand all day. Didn’t you also lease a foreign car last month?”
His gaze shifted to the younger brother trying to hide. Claimed he had a limp in his left leg—but now he was awkwardly limping the right. It was laughable.
“Do you rotate which leg is injured? What, take turns with rock-paper-scissors?”
“N-no! That’s not—!”
He didn’t bother listening. Eun-jo locked eyes with each of them, one by one, and then snapped the picket sign in half.
“Mom’s drowning in card loans, Dad’s gambling away every cent, and you? Running scams on second hand sites.”
The sign that read “UNGRATEFUL SON” split cleanly in two and clattered to the floor.
“If you ever come back here again, I’ll report every single one of you. Identity theft is a crime, you know.”
With deliberate force, Eun-jo stomped on the shattered pieces until the words were completely unreadable. Then he turned away.
All those words he’d been holding in—finally letting them out felt good. Like his chest had cleared, like something heavy had been lifted. As if Yeo Eun-jo himself had just taken a deep, full breath of freedom.
He should’ve said it all a long time ago.
As he made his way back toward the center, leaving them behind still seething and ready to explode—
“You—You little…!”
Blinded by rage, Cheol-won raised a hand to strike him again.
But right then—pat-pat-pat!—a rapid, sticky rhythm of footsteps echoed through the hall. The sound of little jelly-like paws hitting the floor.
A snow-white dog leapt into the air with a bounce. And just like snatching a ball mid-air, it chomped down on Cheol-won’s wrist before the hand could land.
It was Team A’s dog—Lee Sang-heon.
“AAARGH!”
Cheol-won shrieked as razor-sharp fangs sank into his palm. No matter how hard he shook his arm, the dog clung tight.
“Dear!”
Panicking, Bok-ja tried to grab the dog’s head and pull it off, but it was no use. Like it was playing tug-of-war, the dog only bit down harder.
The whole scene devolved into chaos in seconds. Eun-jo stared blankly, stunned.
What even is this…?
His eyes drifted to the dog, now fiercely gnawing down like it had a score to settle.
Lee Sang-heon?
No sane person would ever bring their own dog to the Center.
Especially not one this big. Realizing what was happening, Eun-jo quickly wrapped both arms around Lee Sang-heon.
“Lee Sang-heon! Let go!”
“Aaagh! Ah—!”
“Lee Sang-heon!”
But the next target was already set. As soon as he released Cheol-won, the dog lunged again—this time sinking his teeth into his younger brother’s leg. The same leg he’d just been pretending was injured—his right.
“You crazy mutt! AARGH!”
The bite was so strong he couldn’t even struggle. His brother lost his balance and crashed to the ground. In an instant, Lee Sang-heon climbed onto his chest and—smack, smack!—began slapping him across the face with his soft, jelly-like paws. Like he was settling Eun-jo’s score for him.
“Grrgh…!”
The paws were small compared to his body, but each hit landed with shocking force. Even Eun-jo, trying to stop him, stood there in a daze.
Smack, smack, smack!
Each slap left a distinct paw-shaped mark on his brother’s cheeks. The shape might’ve been cute, but the swelling was anything but.
“Lee Sang-heon! Stop!”
Eun-jo gripped the dog’s plush fur more firmly. Only then did Lee Sang-heon reluctantly lower his paw, panting heavily. He shot a vicious glare at the trio, growling low in his throat like he wasn’t quite done.
“Get out. Now!”
Worried the dog might actually charge them again, Eun-jo tightened his hold and shouted.
“W-We’ll go! We’re going!”
Snapping back to her senses, Bok-ja scrambled to gather the others. Her neatly styled hair had already come undone, now wild and messy.
As the three of them finally disappeared, only Eun-jo, Lee Sang-heon, and a few staff members—still keeping their distance—remained behind.
What the hell kind of dogfight was that?
Still breathing heavily in Eun-jo’s arms, Lee Sang-heon looked like he hadn’t quite cooled off. While holding the fuming dog, Eun-jo quickly got things under control. He handed the dorm key to the staff and gave them directions to where it was.
