VDN Ch 40

After finishing the soup and bread in an instant. He intended to get the money right away, but the next dish appeared as soon as the plate was emptied, as if someone had been waiting outside.

At first glance, it looked expensive. After the dish was served, the chef who came inside started explaining this dish and that dish. Nam-woon, with a stunned face, listened to the explanation, and Hae-geon said to him,

“Have dinner with me. I’ll definitely give you the money.”

Nam-woon nodded as if enchanted by the beautifully decorated food. Why refuse when he’s being treated and promised to be paid back? He was already captivated by the lavish course meal.

***

“How is it, Nam-woon-ah?”

“The meat is too small.”

“I asked about the taste, I didn’t think about the size.”

The man added,

“I’ll order a double portion next time.”

Nam-woon nodded his head slightly and picked up a piece of meat with his fork. As Nam-woon chewed his meal, Hae-geon watched him leisurely. Clumsy knife skills caught his eye. Such poor dining manners. No matter how much Chairman Seok disliked his own son, he wouldn’t have expected him to lack such basic manners.

Chairman Seok had been recently working on a contract with the Mooyoung Group. Chairman Jin, Hae-geon’s grandfather and head of the Mooyoung Group, disapproved of Chairman Seok, who came from a gangster background. But there was always a dark side behind a corporation’s clean image. These were the perfect tasks for Chairman Seok. Despite his grandfather’s disdain for Chairman Seok, it was clear that the two would eventually join hands.

After a chance encounter with Nam-woon, who was delivering pizzas, Hae-geon looked into Seok Nam-woon a bit. He was just another insignificant loan shark thug. Although there was a pitiful aspect of him being abused by his father, that was none of Hae-geon’s business. He was simply interested in the words and actions of the man before him. And his appearance too.

“Hey, it seems like there’s paper in this.”

At that moment, Seok Nam-woon muttered as he lifted the thinly sliced truffle with his fork. Why would there be paper in it? Hae-geon slightly crinkled his eyes and laughed at Nam-woon’s serious expression.

“That’s a mushroom.”

Nam-woon said, “Ah,” opened his mouth, and popped the mushroom inside. The smooth curve of his mouth was clearly visible.

Hae-geon carefully observed Nam-woon’s face. The indifferent eyes, well-shaped nose, lips with smooth curves, and then the entire clean and handsome face. Suddenly, as Nam-woon lifted his head, their eyes met unintentionally. Hae-geon’s hand, which had been spinning the wine glass, paused for a moment.

Nam-woon stuffed the last remaining piece into his mouth and said, while chewing,

“But this place is pretty good.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

“Honestly, it’s delicious.”

Nam-woon’s response brought a deep smile to Hae-geon’s lips. He suppressed the urge to laugh out loud. He kept catching his eye. Hae-geon spoke up.

“The alcohol here is also delicious.”

“Have a drink.”

Hae-geon suggested a drink, but Nam-woon shook his head. He had to return home after the meal. Although he was tempted by the man’s offer, wondering when else he would have a chance to drink in such a place, he didn’t think Kwon Seo-oh would be pleased to know that Nam-woon had been drinking.

When Nam-woon refused, Hae-geon said with a hint of regret,

“There’s a lot of good alcohol here.”

Thinking about the price of good alcohol, Nam-woon suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Hey, but how much is all this?”

He had sat down at the man’s promise to pay him for just one meal, but he had eaten more than he thought. Moreover, considering the place and the taste, this restaurant seemed to have a high price range. Hae-geon took a sip of wine and seemed to ponder for a moment before saying,

“It’s not much.”

“How much is it?”

“I’m a special customer here.”

Nam-woon asked without thinking,

“VIP? Do you get discounts and stuff?”

Hae-geon covered his mouth and muttered,

“Ah, really. I’m going crazy.”

Nam-woon frowned and subtly lifted his fork, and the man nodded. Hae-geon leaned towards Nam-woon, having moved away from the chair’s backrest, and said,

“So, Nam-woon, don’t worry and have a drink. If you really insist, I’ll order a non-alcoholic one for you.”

But when did I tell him my name? However, Nam-woon quickly forgot that question.

“I want to drink because I want to. It’s no fun drinking alone. Don’t worry about the pizza money, I’ll pay for it.”

Indeed. Seeing the checkbook full of ten million won bills in his wallet, he must have a lot of money, so there was no way he would scam 180,000 won. But remembering the last delivery incident, Nam-woon looked at him suspiciously.

“You know, right? If you try anything funny, I’ll handcuff you right away.”

“Handcuffs? That might be okay too.”

Hae-geon replied contentedly and pulled out his wallet. The wallet was different from the last time. Hae-geon took out several fifty thousand won bills, and then Nam-woon spoke up.

“Then I’ll have a non-alcoholic drink.”

Hae-geon smiled deeply.

***

“Phew…”

Nam-woon was already sprawled out on the chair. Hae-geon, who had been sipping his drink, asked with curiosity,

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I feel a bit dizzy.”

Hae-geon tilted the bottle into Nam-woon’s empty wine glass. The clear glass was filled with a light-colored liquid. Nam-woon shook his head.

“I should stop drinking now.”

“But that’s no fun.”

He wasn’t blackout drunk like the last time he had soju mixed with beer at the barbecue place, but he was definitely tipsy. Wasn’t it supposed to be non-alcoholic? It was strange. Thinking it was time to leave, he took out his phone from his pocket to check the time, but then.

Gasp.

There was a pile of notifications on the phone’s main screen. Missed calls were stacked up like a mountain. Not to mention the messages. He hurriedly checked and saw a familiar name over and over.

[Kwon Seo-oh]

[Kwon Seo-oh]

[Kwon Seo-oh]

[Kwon Seo-oh]

[Kwon Seo-oh]

Nam-woon immediately opened the message window.

[Come early today.]

[Where are you?]

[Hyung]

[Where are you right now?]

[Why aren’t you at the office?]

[Did you go to collect money?]

[They said there’s no collection today.]

[Where are you?]

[Hyung]

[Who are you with?]

[With someone you know?]

[At the house of someone you went to last time?]

[Why aren’t you coming?]

[Where are you?]

[Hyung]

[Who are you with?]

The messages seemed endless. Nam-woon quickly checked the time. He hadn’t realized it was already late at night because he had been inside the store. He had planned to leave early, but that was ruined. Nam-woon scrolled to the very bottom of what seemed like thousands of messages, feeling his heart pound. His face turned pale.

[Seok Nam-woon.]

[Why aren’t you answering the phone?]

It was the last message. Nam-woon jumped up from his seat. As he did, the glass that Hae-geon had refilled toppled over, staining Nam-woon’s pants.

“Oops.”

Suddenly standing up made Nam-woon’s head spin, and he leaned on the armrest of the chair. Hae-geon, who was sitting opposite him, immediately stood up and steadied Nam-woon’s body.

“What’s the rush? Stay a bit longer.”

“I really need to go.”

Nam-woon tried to pull away from Hae-geon. Just then, his phone, which he was holding, vibrated.

[Kwon Seo-oh]

Nam-woon swallowed hard. Even the grim reaper wouldn’t be this scary. Carefully pressing the call button, a child’s voice, suppressed to the point of breaking, came through, along with the sound of heavy breathing.

– Oh! You picked up! Wooni Hyung! Where are you now?

“Uh, Se-han.”

– Wooni Hyung…come quickly… Hyung is really angry right now.

Se-han whispered. Hae-geon asked from the side, “Who is it?”

“Uh, I’m on my way now. Se-han, try to calm him down. I didn’t realize the time had…”

– Do you even know what time it is?

“…….”

Gulp.

Nam-woon’s mouth clamped shut like a clam. A chilling silence flowed through the phone. The voice, much lower than usual, let Nam-woon guess how angry Kwon Seo-oh was. As Nam-woon hesitated to speak, the other side continued.

Hyung, do you have eyes?

Gulp.

– You carry your phone like an ornament, are your eyes just for decoration too?

“No, no… I didn’t set it to ring.”

– Shut up

– Where are you now?

“Here… I just stepped outside for a moment.”

– A moment? For you, a moment seems to last 24 hours.

It wasn’t 24 hours, but Nam-woon had nothing to say and closed his mouth as Seo-oh had ordered. Silence enveloped them again. Thinking Nam-woon had hung up, Hae-geon next to him spoke up.

“Who is that?”

– Who is that?

Seo-oh asked the same question, having heard Hae-geon’s voice. Hae-geon continued speaking.

“If you like the store, you can visit it anytime you like. I’ll tell the staff.”

– Who’s next to you?

“Uh, what?”

The angry voice through the phone and Hae-geon’s bright voice overlapped at the same time, leaving Nam-woon confused.

“Don’t worry about the money. Contact me when you visit the store. If you call, I’ll come right away.”

– Aren’t you going to answer? Who is that!

“I want to see you more often.”

– Shit.

It was over. Really. Nam-woon abruptly stood up and hung up the phone. The call with Kwon Seo-oh had sobered him up. Without staggering, Nam-woon headed straight for the door. Hae-geon’s eyes widened.

“Where are you going?”

Nam-woon tried to leave without a word, but Hae-geon caught his hand.

“Where are you going? You haven’t taken the money.”

“I don’t need the money. I’m leaving.”

He probably ate more than 150,000 won worth of food today. The money was as good as it was received in his stomach. But the situation at home with Kwon Seo-oh seemed serious. He had to get back before Seo-oh turned into a real demon.

Nam-woon flung the door open. In front of him was a server holding a wine bottle. Startled by the suddenly opened door, the server looked up at Nam-woon.

As he tried to pass by, he felt something catch on him. Turning around, he saw a large plant hooked on the hem of his shirt that had stuck out. He pulled it out and took a step when he heard a noise behind him that sounded like something was breaking.

Crash~!

No way. Nam-woon turned his head. The pot that had been intact until a moment ago was now shattered before his eyes. Nam-woon stared blankly at it, and then a slow voice came from above.

“Oh no, what should we do? It’s broken.”

Nam-woon looked up. Hae-geon, looking troubled, gazed down at the broken pot and said,

“It was expensive.”

“…How much?”

Nam-woon’s mouth moved involuntarily. Hae-geon looked at the soulless Nam-woon and smiled refreshingly.

“Seven hundred.”