VDN Ch 41
by STAR“Seven hundred?”
“Yes.”
Nam-woon looked at the broken flowerpot with an awkward smile.
“Ah…I’m sorry for breaking the flowerpot. But… is it seven hundred? Haha, hey, don’t joke around.”
Nam-woon laughed, but Hae-geon did not.
“Why would I joke about something like this?”
He said, his eyes wide as he gripped his phone tightly.
“Do you want me to show you the price?”
Hae-geon searched something on his phone and then handed it to Nam-woon. Crazy. Nam-woon swallowed a curse in his heart as he looked at the screen. It really was seven hundred million won. Actually, the exact amount was slightly over seven hundred million won. He messed up. Nam-woon held Hae-geon’s phone with both hands in despair. He quickly thought about the remaining money in his account.
Even the money he had gotten from a phone scammer, combined with what he had earned so far, did not add up to seven hundred. Just the living expenses alone were draining his money like a leak. Moreover, although Chairman Seok had said he would extend the deadline for the payment, Nam-woon didn’t know when he would demand the money.
Hae-geon quietly watched Nam-woon’s expressions change moment by moment. Nam-woon, unable to meet Hae-geon’s eyes, struggled to speak.
“Hey, I’m really… sorry.”
“……”
“Hey, but you know. Right now, I… I don’t think I can pay it all back right away.
Nam-woon bit his lower lip. Hae-geon’s steady gaze followed.
“At least three hundred…”
As Nam-woon muttered to himself with a troubled expression, he pressed the bank app on his phone, and Hae-geon spoke.
“Nam-woon-ah, are you out of money?”
Startled by the direct question, Nam-woon nodded his head. The man who had always been confident seemed to have lost his confidence in an instant. To someone, he might look pitiable, but Hae-geon felt a strange sense of pleasure.
“Good.”
Nam-woon lifted his head at those words and looked at Hae-geon. He was smiling as if he were pleased.
***
“Clean it up.”
After giving a brief order to the server at the door, Hae-geon put his hands in his pockets and left the room. The server, with a bewildered expression, looked down at the tragically broken flowerpot and then headed towards the cleaning tools. As he took out a dustpan from the cabinet, another employee asked,
“Cleaning? At this time?”
The woman looked at her wristwatch and said,
“Oh, boss broke the flowerpot.”
“What? How did that happen?”
The server, who had let the words slip without thinking, was startled by the woman’s reaction and quickly corrected himself.
“No, it wasn’t the boss, it was the boss’s guest.”
“Really? But well, if it’s the boss’s guest, they must have a lot of money anyway.”
The woman, with an indifferent expression, adjusted her uniform while looking in the mirror and then went outside. The server sighed. He recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier. It was true that the flower had caught on the hem of the shirt of the man who came as the boss’s guest. However, the man quickly removed his shirt, and everything had been fine up to that point…
Until the boss kicked the flowerpot with his foot.
The server, recalling the boss’s nonchalant expression as he told the man it was seven hundred, rubbed his arms with goosebumps. In times like these, it was hard to find a place that paid so well. Just pretend not to know. It’s not my business anyway. Even after paying off the loan this month, his living expenses were tight.
***
Nam-woon climbed the uphill road with a distraught expression.
“Come out whenever I call you.”
“I don’t have anyone else to run errands for me.”
“That seems like a fair deal for someone who broke a flowerpot worth seven hundred million won.”
He was uncertain. It sounded like a good deal just from listening, but he didn’t know what kind of work that crazy person would assign him. There was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. He asked what the errands were, but the man didn’t give a clear answer, saying it wasn’t a big deal. In any case, he had no choice, as he didn’t have the seven million won on hand to pay immediately. Nam-woon used the money transfer function of the messaging app to transfer fifty million won as a down payment to him, then quickly left the store and headed to Kwon Seo-woo’s house.
Seo-oh was really angry.
Nam-woon stood in front of the green gate and hesitated for a moment. Although he had been told to come home early, he wondered if he would be forgiven since people sometimes get delayed when working. But why did he say to come early?
Nam-woon carefully pushed open the door. Fortunately, it was not locked. However, it was dark all around, and the surroundings were silent. The house seemed quiet, as if everyone were asleep. Nam-woon carefully stepped on the dirt yard, not wanting to wake Seo-oh and Se-han. Step by step, he quietly crossed the yard, but an object placed right in the middle of the yard caught Nam-woon’s eye.
That’s my pillow.
On a round chair where one would squat to do yard work or farming, Nam-woon’s blue floral pillow was placed haphazardly. Approaching it, Nam-woon picked up the pillow. Who put it here? Nam-woon shook the pillow, carefully tucked it into his arms, and then went to the front of the house and gently turned the doorknob.
Rattle.
“Huh?”
Rattle, rattle. The door was locked. Nam-woon turned his head to look at the farming stool and then looked down at his pillow.
“……”
Even though the days were warm, the temperature had dropped slightly in recent years, and it was chilly at night. Moreover, there were many insects and mosquitoes because of the mountain behind the house. Nam-woon tried turning the doorknob a couple more times before giving up and shuffling toward the window.
Clang!
As he moved his foot, he hit a small jar below. Now he was about to break a pot. Nam-woon moved even more carefully and placed his hand on the window.
Clunk, clunk.
The window wouldn’t open either. Nam-woon gently shook the window, then pressed his lips to the tightly closed window frame and whispered.
“Se-han.”
Se-han likes to sleep next to the cool window.
“Se-han, it’s me, Hyung.”
“……”
There was no response. He didn’t want to call out loudly and risk waking Seo-oh, so Nam-woon pressed his lips to the window frame again.
“Kwon Se-han, please open the door for Hyung.”
That’s when it happened.
Click.
The door opened! Kwon Seh-an, nice! Nam-woon forgot the situation and grinned as he hurried to the door. But as soon as he saw who was standing in the doorway, his smile froze on his face. The person spoke.
“Are you smiling?”
Kwon Seo-oh was standing guard at the door like a stone statue. Nam-woon’s mouth clamped shut, and he hugged his pillow, staring at the ground. Maybe it was just because it was dark, but Seo-oh really did look like a grim reaper.
Bzz, bzz. Only the sound of insects could be heard as the two men faced off at the door. The first to speak was Nam-woon.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“……”
“It was for work.”
“Who were you with?”
He thought Seo-oh would ask what happened, but instead, he asked something else. How was he supposed to explain who that Jin-sang was? When Nam-woon didn’t answer, Seo-oh asked again.
“Who was it earlier?”
“Just someone I know.”
At that, Seo-oh turned his head and let out a hollow laugh, then looked straight at Nam-woon.
“Just someone you know talks to you like that?”
“What do you mean, like that…?”
“What’s with the restaurant? Is that bastard’s place?”
“I’m not really sure.”
Nam-woon answered Seo-oh’s questions one by one, but somehow Seo-oh’s expression seemed to get worse with each answer.
“Is he someone you actually know?”
“……”
He didn’t know. The man was just someone who had swindled Nam-woon out of money and ran off. Now the situation was the other way around.
Seo-oh put on slippers and came down to the yard. Up close, it was apparent that he was barely holding back his anger.
“How many people do you ‘just know’ like that?”
“Not that many… Why are you so mad? I said, I was sorry for being late.”
Kwon Seo-oh let out a sigh and ran a hand through his bangs, his smooth hair falling over his forehead.
“Be honest. If I hadn’t called, you wouldn’t have come home, right?”
“What are you talking about? No. You told me to come home early.”
“But you didn’t reply.”
“That’s because I didn’t need to.”
I figured I’d just come straight home anyway. But at Nam-woon’s words, Seo-oh’s face hardened. After a moment of silence, Seo-oh spoke again.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“……”
“You didn’t contact me at all. Were you planning to sleep at that guy’s house?”
“What? Why would I go to his place?”
Nam-woon shook his head, but it was clear Seo-oh didn’t believe him at all. Feeling frustrated, Nam-woon frowned and said,
“If it was that urgent, you could’ve called me first and told me what was going on. Or at least left a message explaining why. That would’ve been enough.”
“……”
Kwon Seo-oh kept his mouth shut tight. Nam-woon, suppressing his desire to just go inside, asked quietly,
“What’s going on?”
“…It’s nothing.”
If it was nothing, why was he so angry? Nam-woon couldn’t understand. As he tried to walk past Seo-oh, he said,
“Move. Let me wash up first.”
Suddenly, Seo-oh grabbed Nam-woon’s wrist tightly as he tried to go into his room.
“Hyung, did you drink?”
He furrowed his brow and continued,
“You said it was for work. Is drinking part of your job now?”
“I didn’t drink.”
The guy had said it was non-alcoholic, but since he’d felt a bit tipsy, there must have been some alcohol in it. Still, Nam-woon didn’t want to make things worse by admitting he’d been drinking, so he just brushed it off. Kwon Seo-oh cursed.
“Shit, you did drink.”
“What, shit?”
“How many times are you going to lie?”
“When did I ever lie to you?”
“If you’d passed out from drinking, you would’ve slept at that guy’s place!”
“Why would I sleep at his place? I told you I wouldn’t!”
Nam-woon shouted, jerking his hand away. Seo-oh, with a chill in his eyes, spoke in a low voice.
“That guy told you to come to his restaurant, right? You’re just going to go there again, aren’t you?”
“……”
I’m not going, Nam-woon added belatedly, but the brief silence was as good as saying he would go to the store again. After all, he had caused an accident, so he had to go if called.
“Are you a dog? You just go when he calls?”
“Why are you talking to me like that?”
“Am I wrong?”
“So you’re right?”
Nam-woon tilted his head defiantly and glared at Kwon Seo-oh.
“What, you’re never late coming home? You never drink? Why are you making such a fuss when you do all the same things?”
What a hypocrite. At Nam-woon’s words, Seo-oh bit his lip and looked down, staying silent for a while. After a moment, he spoke quietly.
“I thought you’d come home early today… I ordered chicken and waited for you the whole time.”