“Do you take me for an idiot? How many years have I been making a living doing this? You think I can’t catch on? What is it? Do you need money?”
Ah, I shouldn’t have called this hyung. He just wanted to create a route where he might coincidentally meet Sa Gong-hyun, but his irritation was rising. Jae-young opened his mouth wryly with a face that looked like it was rotting.
“If I asked to borrow money, would you lend it?”
“Are you crazy? How would I know you wouldn’t run off with it? Why would I lend it to you?”
Then what was he supposed to do? He narrowed his brow incredulously, but Ju-seong laughed boisterously as if it had been a joke meant to make him laugh. He was a person with whom Jae-young didn’t match in values, tendencies, or sense of humor.
Zzzing. At that moment, the phone placed on the table vibrated. Jae-young, who hadn’t even closed his mouth and was gently biting his tongue, rolled his eyes downward.
[5km]
[Moving toward your location]
It was a message from Ju-yeon. He had clearly been feeling unpleasant and annoyed until just a moment ago, but suddenly his mood improved.
Jae-young hurriedly relaxed his expression and sat up straight. With a very natural gesture, he immediately deleted the message from Ju-yeon.
“So stingy despite having so much money.”
He’s thrilled just because I played along a bit. Ju-seong, finding something amusing, laughed until the corners of his mouth stretched. Zzzing, zzzing. Two more vibrations sounded.
[3.5]
[Car stopped]
Reflexively frowning, Jae-young subsequently deleted the messages.
“What? Who is it?”
“If I tell you, it’s no fun.”
He kept looking at the screen repeatedly, waiting for messages from Ju-yeon. He continued to stare at his phone, but no matter how long he waited, no contact came. If a signal had been blocked, it should have been released by now, but strangely there was no contact.
“Do you want to do some business with your hyung?”
“What kind of business?”
“I’m planning a Ponzi scheme right now.”
Jae-young, who had been looking at his phone without paying attention to Ju-seong, contorted his eyes. So this was the reason he came out to meet him despite being so suspicious.
By Ponzi, he meant a multi-level marketing scheme. Jae-young quietly observed Ju-seong’s face before lowering his gaze.
“Forget it. I don’t get involved in Ponzi schemes.”
“Why?”
“What’s there to squeeze out of such small money? I’m not doing it.”
“You bastard, you’ve become full. Don’t you know that even dust gathered becomes a mountain? The real money comes from those small amounts.”
Jae-young snorted and rested his chin on his hand. Zzzing. And right on cue, his phone vibrated once more. The screen lit up and displayed a message from Ju-yeon.
[Going back 6km away]
He’s fled. Jae-young smiled while blinking slowly. It was a smile without malice. He was so dumbfounded that he wasn’t even annoyed anymore.
“That’s right. I can eat well without doing that. If you want to do it, hyung, go ahead. That kind of long-term thing doesn’t suit me.”
He had just wasted time unnecessarily. He should get up soon. If he drank one more bottle here, he felt like he might pour alcohol over Ju-seong out of irritation.
After checking the time, Jae-young turned his head toward the window. With the casually continued movement, his eyes met with someone who was looking in his direction.
Didn’t they say they were going back? Why is that person here? Jae-young’s eyes widened greatly.
“Hey, Jae-young.”
“Huh?”
He stared at Ju-seong with startled rabbit eyes. When he checked outside the window again, Sa Gong-hyun, who had definitely been making eye contact with him just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. Jae-young hurriedly stood up from his seat.
“Hyung, I need to go first. I’ll contact you again later.”
“What? Hey! Do Jae-young!”
He left the bar before Ju-seong could grab him. Even though he had only made eye contact with Sa Gong-hyun, the rising intoxication disappeared.
Despite thoroughly scanning the surroundings, Sa Gong-hyun wasn’t showing even a strand of hair. Where did he go? Jae-young surveyed in all directions as he walked down the sloping road.
Although he hadn’t dawdled enough for Sa Gong-hyun to disappear in the blink of an eye, he couldn’t find him.
Zzzing. His phone, which he had hastily put in his pocket as he left, flashed its screen, but he didn’t have the leisure to check it.
Thinking Sa Gong-hyun might have gone toward the residential complex where he lived, Jae-young hurriedly moved his steps. Jae-young displayed frustration all over his face at the silhouette that was nowhere to be seen.
Finally, he lost him. It was the moment when Jae-young turned around, irritably running his hand through his hair.
“Who are you looking for so desperately?”
“…Hyun-ssi.”
He saw Sa Gong-hyun walking leisurely behind Jae-young. His breath caught, but he soon forced it out painfully.
“It seems like you were moving knowing exactly where I was going.”
His surprise was evident at first glance. The moment Sa Gong-hyun unexpectedly appeared from behind, he felt it. His unknowingly grown tail had been stepped on, and he was one step away from being completely screwed.
As Sa Gong-hyun slowly approached, Jae-young reflexively stepped back. Sa Gong-hyun was smiling. And very kindly at that.
“Is it my misunderstanding?”
Looking at Sa Gong-hyun like that, Jae-young only moved his lips silently.
“Do Jae-young-ssi.”
“…Don’t come closer.”
“In this situation, explaining yourself should be the priority.”
His mind was racing. He was going to make the excuse that he had come to meet a friend and encountered Sa Gong-hyun by chance, but it was obvious that Sa Gong-hyun wouldn’t believe that if he brought it up abruptly.
Sa Gong-hyun took repeated steps after taking the first one. With each step he took closer, Jae-young stepped back. When a solid wall touched the back of his head, he swallowed heavily.
Sa Gong-hyun was clearly smiling, but that smile was eerie. Jae-young took a deep breath. He needed to find a way to escape this situation.
Should he say he had been secretly following Sa Gong-hyun before? That was impossible too. Sa Gong-hyun wouldn’t have missed Jae-young’s clumsy presence.
Then…
“Now that I see it, you have a lot to explain to me, Do Jae-young-ssi.”
The cold words continued. Before the thorn hidden in those words could tighten around his neck further, Jae-young raised his head. And, from a distance, he saw a startled Seung-kwon running toward them. It seemed he had been secretly following Sa Gong-hyun all this time.
Is that guy crazy? Why is he coming here? Don’t come. The crisis in the script construction hasn’t even arrived yet. Even if the crisis had arrived at this point, Seung-kwon’s help wasn’t needed in the process.
The sound of Seung-kwon’s running steps grew closer. Just as Sa Gong-hyun’s eyes were about to roll slowly—
“I had my suspicions.”
Jae-young hurriedly opened his mouth. Sa Gong-hyun’s gaze entangled with Jae-young’s again.
“If what that person said is true, if it’s really true… I was just going to see your face secretly and leave.”
“…”
“Even though I knew exactly how you would see me, without realizing it myself…”
Jae-young bit his lip firmly. The slight trembling of his hands had already stopped.
“Excuses should be made in a way I can understand. Where you heard it from whom, and how much you heard. You should at least show that much sincerity for me to pretend to believe. Isn’t that right?”
There was no particular emphasis in his tone. However, a heavy pressure was felt even through just his voice.
Jae-young continuously swallowed, moistening his burning throat. He would assert that in his acting career, there had never been an opponent as difficult as Sa Gong-hyun.
“That day… I heard it in front of the club. From that person.”
“That person?”
“The person I was with before meeting you, Hyun-ssi.”
He spoke in a voice that sounded as if he was forcibly pulling the words out. His eyes wandered as if he felt sorry for carelessly spreading words he had heard.
“That person told me. That you work at Sebin Construction, and also… that you probably live here…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
