Chapter 31

 

The day I spent with Woo Min-jae was enjoyable. Rolling around in a cool, air-conditioned hotel and watching a drama recommended by my mom. I eat delicious food and play soccer games on the big screen TV. One day was enough for something like that. I'm not a 15-year-old kid, I'm an adult man, but aren't we at an age where we can be satisfied just by looking at each other's faces? I wanted to touch Woo Min-jae. When I came home in the evening, that thought became even bigger. Even though my partner is the same man, I have long since given up the feeling that it is awkward and disgusting. When I think about being fucked by that guy, my lower stomach starts to tingle. I've said everything. As my needs grew, the underlying problems I was worried about became less serious. Seeba. Why not give it a try? If I couldn't do it even if I died, then I would either put it in or give up so easily. While taking a shower, thinking about Woo Min-jae, while masturbating. And I tried to put it into practice the next day. But then I remembered that he came home earlier than promised, so I called Woo Min-jae right in front of his hotel.

"where are you?"

[lodging]

okay. It's in here. I rang the doorbell. Soon, when Woo Min-jae, holding his cell phone, opens the door, his eyes widen in surprise... and he blinks.

"who are you?"

An unknown man in a suit asked me. I looked around. Isn’t this Woo Minjae’s accommodation?

“Hey. Who is this person?”

As soon as I asked into my cell phone, the real Woo Min-jae appeared from inside. There was no surprise or joy that I expected. Did you just come? He had a look on his face and motioned for me to come in. There was one more person in a suit inside. A person who looks older than the man who opened the door. Minjae Woo introduced them.

“They are the people who manage my assets.”

1. A person who manages money. At that time, I introduced Minjae to both of them.

“Say hello. This is the person I was talking about.”

Then the two people bent their waists 90 degrees towards me. I instinctively lowered my head, but they both raised their heads after a while. What on earth did you say about me? I was curious, but the three of them didn't finish their work, so I had to stay alone in the living room near the kitchen. The three people talked while looking at documents and laptops on the terrace. The two people in suits were mainly talking, and Woo Min-jae just listened and looked at the documents and laptop screens they showed. That guy must have a lot of money. I felt it again, but honestly, I still didn't realize how rich he was. So his appearance now was unfamiliar. Woo Min-jae had no expression throughout the explanation. He remained silent, but only once did he open his mouth. I could immediately recognize the shape of the mouth that was slightly opened.

'no'

The expressions on the faces of the two people who were talking and laughing immediately became contemplative. The older one did his best to keep his smile, but the younger one's embarrassment was evident and he made several mistakes in pulling a piece of paper out of the folder. On the outside, Woo Min-jae appeared to be just an ordinary customer sitting across from the two people, but a little observation revealed that he was different. To the two of them, Woo Min-jae seemed difficult enough to make them think he was an object of fear. He was an athlete in the past, and Woo Min-jae, who was an ordinary physical education teacher, was not there. Suddenly, I remembered the cold feeling I felt yesterday when he talked about the class president. Could this guy be scarier than I thought?

.....what. Then how about it? But that doesn’t mean that Min-jae on the right becomes Min-jae on the left. I stopped observing and looked away. I saw a book on the table. The book I fell asleep reading last night. I didn't want to see it so I quickly averted my gaze. However, a minute later, the book appeared again in my hand, which had nothing to do. The description of the room where the murder occurred continued. I opened my already sleepy eyes and wondered why the author had written something that wasn't even remotely entertaining. It's clear that unnecessary scenes are created to fill the length of the story. Seeba. It was clear that the writer was paid according to what he wrote. Fortunately, the description ended in one page. And finally the line came out. I felt like I could breathe easier as the length of the sentences became shorter. But who is the main character? A detective came out. Is this him? It is said that this is already the fourth serial murder. However, another person suddenly appears and shouts. This murder is different. It was said that the graffiti-like signatures that murderers always leave on corpses are different. Seeing him doing Ojirap, it was clear that this guy was the main character. He listed the differences between the previous three murders and this one. He was bored. Damn, these things will be exchanged between them in documents. Why are you making such a fuss explaining it?

Tiring.

I was in the middle of reading a book and getting angry when I received a text message.

[President Kwon. Is it true that Jiyong is quitting? [I said thank you for everything.]

It was Chungyeon. that's right. I received a phone call right after I sent the reply.

[Shouldn’t I stop you?]

“What are you going to do? You should do what you want to do.”

[Why on earth are you quitting? I heard that there was a fight, but why was that?]

“He said he was looked down upon working in the market. He said he wanted to quit and work for a company with a good name.”

There was a short silence. After a while. I heard Chungyeon's small sigh.

[Phew. Everything is not what it seems on the outside.]

“Appearance may be important. Well... but aren’t you going camping? Come on and have fun.”

[Huh? Uh…………….]

There was something awkward about the answer. Now that I think about it, it felt like it wasn't outdoors because there was no surrounding noise.

“You’re going camping, right?”

[No, actually... I couldn't go. Is it your house.]

"why?"

​

 

The vacation you were so looking forward to? Since I was going with my kids, I prepared for my vacation months in advance. Of course, it is dozens of times more than me who prepared only the mouse gun.

[I scolded the kids and they protested by locking the door and saying they wouldn't go. haha...]

Is that something to laugh about now? I frowned.

“Hurry up and go on a trip. Why did you scold me? Did the kids get into trouble?”

[no. Our kids are good. No accidents or anything like that. just.........]

I thought it might be difficult to talk about, so I thought I would just skip it, but I heard Chungyeon sigh.

[I asked if I could go back to work, so I nagged him and he got angry.]

“Company? Well, I guess I don’t like it because my dad works at night and I don’t have time to see him.”

[It would be better if it were like that. Play with me on my days off. I just need to travel.]

“Then why don’t you like it?”

[Dad says what he does is embarrassing]

"............"

[That’s because they’re still kids and don’t know anything.]

I hung up the phone and looked at the book, but I couldn't see the text.

“Isn’t that book that interesting?”

Woo Min-jae’s voice came to my senses. I guess I was frowning. When I looked around, the two people were gone.

“It’s really not fun.”

As I said this, I marked the places I read.

“It’s not interesting, so you want to keep reading?”

“Look. So don’t ever tell me the ending.”

I nailed it in advance. The guy opened his mouth wide at my reaction.

“Then it makes me want to talk more.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If you tell me the ending, I won’t leave you alone.”

“Then how about another ending?”

A different ending? What do you mean? I looked up and saw him sitting next to me, reading a book.

“I didn’t find that book very interesting either. So when I was reading it, I thought, ‘If it were me, I would explain the story this way.’ Can I say this?”

what. It'll be okay. I nodded and gave permission.

“The book starts with the fourth murder. But only the fourth was a copycat crime. The remaining three are serial murders, but the last murder has a different cause of death. In the book, it is assumed that the fourth and final murderer knows the real culprit, so they try to find him. But If it were me, I would do it differently. In fact, the fourth murderer doesn't know the real culprit. Rather, the reason he committed the fourth murder was to find the real culprit. With a copycat crime, he wanted to provoke the real culprit into revealing himself. So, he committed the 5th and 6th murders until the culprit showed up. "Don't do it."

“Why? Because you have a grudge?”

“No. I wanted to get an autograph myself.”

"............"

“The culprit of the fourth murder has a hobby of collecting autographs of famous people. So, I become the seventh victim. I get autographs on my body as I wish.”

“That...what is it? That’s such a ridiculous story.”

I was amazed and he grinned.

“Yes. It’s ridiculous. But people are horrified when they see small things being committed as big crimes. Are you horrified?”

what. any. I answered and still frowned when he looked at me with soft eyes.

“Do you know what? When people are in a crisis or when their anxiety increases, their liking for the person they are with increases.”

“What is that?”

“If you want to cling to me, cling to me.”

“Shut up. Before I pick up the whip.”

"ha ha ha...."

He laughed out loud. The sound of his laughter made me feel good too. He was amazing. The feeling that had subsided a little while ago when I heard Chungyeon's call came back to me as if it had never happened before. So I didn't pay much attention to the low words that came out of his mouth.

“Well, I guess it’s not that difficult.”

He turned his gaze outward. There was still a smile on his face, but he seemed to be thinking about something.

“So what really made you feel bad, other than the book?”

Anyway, he's a ghost-like guy. I relayed the transcript of the phone call with Mr. Chungyeon and added:

“If you think about it, I really should be filial to my uncle.”

“Unclefather?”

“Yes. I said all sorts of immature things to my uncle because I didn’t want to work at the market. In the end, I got down on my knees and begged him to take it back. Even though my uncle must have been really angry at the time, he didn’t say anything to me. But now I know. What kind of person is he? Was it the heart?"

“How are you feeling?”

“It’s vain. And.”

and? Minjae Woo asked. I looked into space and then raised my eyes. He answered in an angry voice.

“And tomorrow is so damn good. Fuck it. I’m going to do this for the rest of my life. No matter what other people say, I’m going to make a lot of money and do what I’m good at until I die.”

He grinned. okay. Well thought out. Even though he didn't say a word, his smile sounded like a big cheer.

“I’m unemployed from now on, so I’m worried about what I’ll do for a living, so I guess I’ll have to rely on you.”

what? So fucking rich? I was so shocked that I let out a sigh.

“I can make him sleep, but I can’t do anything else. I can’t even buy him the expensive food they sell at places like this. But whatever. I’ll buy him meat on his birthday.”

"............."

"why?"

I asked the guy who was still, but he just lowered his head and chuckled. I guess I was thrilled that they bought me meat. Actually, anyone would be thrilled. Should I say I’ll buy you some raw fish too?

“Hey. I’ll buy you meat today….”

“I need to live a long time. If I want to earn money for the rest of my life.”

“......I’ll get it for the rest of my life?”

Laugh again. Why does this kid laugh so often? But I didn't feel bad. In fact, it was the opposite. So much so that even I couldn't help but laugh. I think he really smiled. He slowly wiped his smile as he looked at me. And he took a step back.

“Hey. Why are you...”

“I have a question.”

"What?"

“You ran away from home before the summer vacation of your second year in high school. What did you do then?”

Why are you asking that out of nowhere? I frowned. That's one of the things I don't want to revisit in life.

No, it's number 1.

“It’s been so long I don’t remember.”

“Really? I fly.”

"what?"

“I remember you running away from home.”

So why do you remember that? I suddenly felt bad and looked away, but a cold gaze fell on my face. I felt like he knew I was lying. I glanced at it and sure enough, it was different. The guy was looking at me.

“Why are you suddenly asking me about running away from home?”

"Just curious."

“So why are you curious about that?”

He smiled instead of answering. But this time, I didn't want to laugh. Instead, he stared at me as if he was going to fight, and his smile deepened.

“I’m curious about everything about you. Everything, no matter how trivial.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Sorry. I have one more person to meet. It won’t take long.”

He spoke and went to the front door. This time there was only one person. The man in his early 40s had sharper eyes than those who came before. Although he was an office worker, he felt like a person of high rank. He spoke from the front entrance without seeing me inside.

"We found the black box vehicle I was talking about. We received it from the owner and checked it. Since we handed it over to the police station right away, the police will contact Jiyong Moon. And the chairman of the xx Foundation will contact us saying he would like to talk to you... .."

It wasn't until he came in that he noticed me and immediately shut his mouth. I had never seen him before, but he slightly bowed his head as if he knew who I was. I also bowed my head, but I couldn't greet him with a smile. That person just said Jiyong’s name, right? I stood up. While the new man looked at me with an expression on his face, Woo Min-jae explained calmly.

“I asked this person just in case. He asked me to collect the black box of the car parked near the club where Jiyong was hit. I found it on his behalf. Since it was handed over to the police, Jiyong can also report the other person for assault.”

“Thank you for your help. But couldn’t you have told me in advance?”

“I didn’t know you would find it. Actually, if you had told me in advance, you wouldn’t have had to ask Chairman Organic to do Jiyong’s work.”

“How did you know that?”

“I don’t know. I’m just guessing. Did you really ask for it?”

“……”

He seemed to smile at me, but then pointed to the terrace with an expressionless face.

“Please leave first.”

He bowed to me again and left. I then asked. who is this?

“The person who manages the work instead of what my father used to do.”

“Do you know the nails you inherited? What’s going on?”

“Rental business.”

1. The dream job that every office worker wishes for is the rental business. How many stores do you have? I was amazed when I saw the guy going out. After all, not everyone can become rich. Does this guy with a lot of money think about taking advantage of me for the rest of his life? The guy who went outside turned into Woo Min-jae again, expressionless and in a different mood. He did not open his mouth like he did when he was with the two people managing his assets and did not react much to what the other person said. Come to think of it, I don't smile when I'm with other people. There will be no need to talk about money. I sat down and turned on the TV game console. ruler. Shall we meet Messi again, who played hard yesterday? I glanced outside as I saw the game screen pop up. The person called the manager bent his upper body towards Woo Min-jae, said something, and handed over the pad. Woo Minjae swiped the pad with his finger as if looking at its contents, then raised his head and looked at me. It felt strange. He may have seen it by chance, but it felt like the two of them had seen it while talking about me. But there's no way that manager would talk about me, right? I turned my eyes to the TV when I heard music indicating the game was starting, but I could still feel Woo Min-jae's gaze on me.

Third day of vacation. The instructions given to employees were not followed at all. I think they both heard my opinion that they should never contact me. Didn’t Moon Ji-yong get into an accident and end up at the police station? Wouldn’t Jeong Chung-yeon come into my house without warning?

“I came because I was worried that President Kwon was only eating ramen.”

What kind of ramen is this?

“Did you run away from home?”

Startle. It was right to run away from home.

“No. What’s the point of Inai running away from home…”

“Then are you going on the road?”

“......I’m running away from home. Please let me sleep.”

Come on in. Only then did I bring him inside, who had been standing at the entrance. Still, I had my conscience and bought food with both hands full. Since I hadn't had dinner either, I spread newspaper on the living room floor and laid out the snacks that he had brought. They really don't give it to me.

“Just eat this and go home. I wonder how worried your wife is.”

"............"

“Go away.”

huh. Ms. Chungyeon answered softly, barely audible. Then, as if to change the subject, he brought up Jiyong's story.

“By the way. Jiyong said things went well. The police must have found Jiyong’s hit through a parked black box. It was a two-way assault, but since it became known that Jiyong got hit more, they said they wanted to reach an agreement. Those unlucky guys. That’s it. "If Jiyong hadn't shown up, Jiyong would have been completely ruined. Jiyong said he wouldn't agree and would file criminal charges. By the way, Minjae introduced me to a free lawyer, but the lawyer advised me to take a hard line, so he ran away from there."

This is a free lawyer introduced by Minjae.

“But Jiyong doesn’t seem to be angry yet.”

“That’s right. That’s how I got hit…..”

“It was such a waste of time off, but he was so upset that he couldn’t go to the club because his face looked like this.”

.......what. What is this infinite lightness? As expected, Jiyong was not someone to be taken lightly. Chung-yeon smiled at me, who was shocked.

“But I’m glad. Even though I can’t go to the club, I still think about coming to the store again.”

​

 

“You’re coming back to my store?”

“Yeah, didn’t you hear from me?”

“I didn’t get it.”

As I spoke, I looked at my phone just in case. There was a text message.

[I will continue to go~]

It was unlucky. The '~' sign after the word was also unpleasant. Is this the end for this bastard? When I frowned, Chungyeon pulled her head out, looked at the screen, and smiled.

“Haha. This guy is so cute.”

"............"

“Hmm. Anyway, I’m glad.”

When he saw my expression, he stepped back. What is fortunate? Should I just cut Moon Ji-yong off?

“But you’re not going to let me come out, are you?”

I can't say anything. He smiled secretly, as he always did.

“I heard President Kwon is secretly affectionate.”

“Don’t say things like that because I’m in a bad mood and trying to be shallow. Why would I go back again?”

“When I tried to go somewhere else, I found out that the salary was much lower than I expected. If I wanted to save the money like I do now, it would be difficult to go to a club once a month, so I decided to keep going.”

I really wanted to get him a job at the club.

“I told CEO Kwon that I was quitting and must have thought a lot about it. He said he was embarrassed to quit because of something like this. I saved money while working at the market, rented out my house, and was able to take care of my grandmother comfortably because she no longer works. I think she reflected a lot. I will continue to go to clubs in the future as well. “They proudly say that they are doing this.”

It went well, right? I asked while looking at the smiling face.

“So you’re saying you were lying before that?”

“Well, well.”

He cleared his throat in embarrassment and then asked as if he suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, I heard you’re acting as Minjae’s substitute?”

It was obvious even without looking. This is Moon Ji-yong.

“No, just listen to Moon Ji-yong’s words with one ear and let them go with the other.”

“No? Then I’m glad. Minjae, you’re probably unemployed now, so I’m not sure if you’ll be okay.”

Very okay. It's so good that it's a shame.

“That bastard has plenty of money, so you don’t have to worry.”

“You probably have money now. But didn’t you say that there are a lot of lawsuits over property issues? The legal fees are high. Money runs out quickly and you can’t spend all the money you have on fun, so you must be anxious right now. President Kwon is even buying food.”

The collapse was unfair. Why don't you believe me when I say I'm rich? But I had no way to prove it. I haven't even seen that guy's bankbook. ........You must be really rich, right?

“But why did you run away from home?”

He flinched at my question and answered in a depressed voice.

“I had a fight with my daughter, but I couldn’t tell her to leave, so I came out.”

​

 

What a good dad. As I was thinking about it, he added with regret.

“If it was my son, I could have sent him away.”

“I guess you didn’t fight with your son?”

“I agreed to buy her a new CD. But my daughter…”

He shook his head. And I opened a bottle of soju that we bought together.

“Even if I offer to buy you clothes, you won’t like it.”

“Then what do you want?”

"............."

“Do you want me to buy you an apartment?”

“He told me to quit my job at the market, put on a suit and go to work again.”

I raised my head and looked at him. Do I have to hire employees again?

“My daughter. I think she still told her friends that I worked at a large company. But her parents who live in the same neighborhood said they saw me working at the market. So when all my daughter’s friends found out, they called her a liar.”

“You’re a liar.”

“No! He’s very nice!”

Ms. Chung-yeon got upset and went on for a long time about how well her daughter listens, studies well, and is pretty. I listened intently while eating snacks.

“Because you are such a good daughter, you will eventually understand what your father is doing.”

“But now you are disappointed. What if I remain a father who disappointed my children for the rest of my life?”

“That’s not even close to that.”

I smiled and poured some alcohol into my glass.

"If you want to be remembered for the rest of your life, at least Jung Chung-yeon meets a new, young and pretty woman. He tells his current wife in front of his children that he's sick of you, and then throws everything away, including his family. He lives happily with the new woman in a much better house than now, and tells his daughter that. “If you show me, I will definitely remember it.”

“I would never do that!”

Ms. Chungyeon was shocked and looked at me as if she was wondering what I was looking at. Well, it's something that not everyone can do.

“Then that’s it. Don’t worry. I’m not just working at the market for a little while. If I’m going to open a store later, I might work at this job for the rest of my life, so I have to tell him to accept it even if he complains now.”

“I know it in my head, but it still breaks my heart that she hates her child.”

Mr. Chungyeon continued to drink in silence and asked.

“But I’m a good dad, right?”

"that's right."

At least by my standards, he is the best dad. While drinking, the question Woo Min-jae asked during the day came to mind. What did you do when you ran away from home? Nothing much happened. But I am certain that those four days changed my life. I am where I am today because there was a time in my life that I didn't want to remember and was the most painful. Isn't this really funny? Thanks to hard work, I am living a good life.

If only I hadn't met my father back then. So, if I hadn't recklessly chased after him, I might have run away from home as planned, not graduated from high school, and ended up working as a delivery person on a motorcycle, and ended up immature at this age. But no matter how much my life has changed, I don't want to go through that kind of hurt again. That’s why I don’t want to fall deeply in love with Woo Min-jae. It's just good to meet someone, make you feel nervous, and make you laugh, and that's just the right amount. okay. Just like this.

Last of vacation. On this day, instead of meeting Woo Min-jae, I went to see someone else. Originally, I should have picked it up earlier, but supplementary classes at school had just started, so I was finally able to meet the teacher. The student head teacher.

He asked as soon as he saw me when he came to visit with a gift.

“Aren’t you in prison?”

This man was a true teacher. He made arrangements in advance so that his students would not have to greet him in an uncomfortable way next time.

“I’m just kidding. Sit down.”

But I was already impressed by his deep heart, so I sat down across from him and asked.

“Teacher, you haven’t been fired from school yet?”

"............"

“I’m just kidding. I brought you a gift.”

I held out the box I brought. These were the peppers I was selling. Paprika is not an item I sell, but it is good for the body, so I bought a box of it separately and brought it with me. Hakju nodded and said, as if he liked the gift.

“Okay. Enjoy your meal, Heeseon.”

“Huh? Heeseon?”

“You’re Kwon Hee-seon.”

“What are you talking about? My name is Kwon Hee-chan...”

I saw Hakju's lips twitching with excitement. As expected, he was a formidable man. This is my first time at this level since that lady.

“Does your wife run a lottery room?”

"what?"

Otherwise, that's okay. When she answered cheekily, the teacher's eyebrows twitched for a moment.

"But you know Kim Taek-in? Do you know how absurd it was for him to suddenly appear in front of the school on a vacation day and shake his fist? If you hadn't explained it to me, Mr. Woo, I would have reported you to the police. But what did you think of the agreement? Nothing from that side. “You said you released me obediently without asking for it?”

“Woo Minjae, won’t you explain that?”

“I didn’t hear the details. But since when were you close to Teacher Wu?”

“Not long ago.”

“Yes. But Teacher Wu must be having a hard time.”

“A hard time? What kind of trouble is it for that bastard to be friends with me?”

“I said that because I was in a bad situation when I left school.”

iced coffee. Me again.

“But seeing you will be another hardship.”

Did you take the gift back?

“But while we’re at it, first of all, is it possible that your family is having difficulties? I remember her living very well, don’t you think?”

“Don’t worry because you eat well and live well.”

Why is everyone so anxious that they can’t worry about Woo Min-jae?

“Okay then, I’m glad. It looks like you’re eating well and living well.”

“Of course. Teacher, you also need to continue to eat well and live well.”

Sigh, Hakju’s eyes narrowed. While I was having a snowball fight with him for a while, someone came and called Hakju.

“Sir. I heard the chairman came out.”

At those words, Hakju nodded and stood up.

“Thank you for coming. Let’s eat separately later.”

yes. I saw him answering and quickly disappearing. Why did the chairman call Hakju? He was puzzled and was leaving the teacher's office when he encountered a familiar face.

"Hello Teacher."

I bowed my head, happy to see Taek-in’s homeroom teacher. Then she asked back in surprise.

“Oh yes. But who are you?”

“I learned it from my teacher...”

I was a student who had never had any enemies. shit. sorry. It seems like I made a mistake. I apologized and was about to turn away when something came to mind and I grinned. I was attracted to the look on her face when she looked at me. I immediately asked what I needed.

“Student head teacher, are you okay?”

“Student leader, teacher? Why do you ask that?”

“He’s going to meet the chairman of the board. I think I heard that he got caught for taking a student’s side at school last semester.”

"iced coffee......."

She seemed to be wondering whether to say something or not, and then she spoke softly.

“I think the head teacher might quit. It seems like she’s trying to get rid of me by accusing the school of ridiculous reasons.”