NFS 1.19

“Try posting a few Cookie-related posts on major communities to create a small buzz.”

At Seo Ahn-jae’s words, Department Head Koo from the web services team tilted his head to one side saying, “Well…”

“Lost dog issues aren’t that rare.”

“Murder isn’t rare either, but it becomes an issue if there are interesting elements. Give it a try.”

No, murder was rare. Those listening froze momentarily, but Department Head Koo collected himself and asked,”Does this lost dog Cookie have any particularly newsworthy elements?”

“The owner who adopted Cookie is a single man in his early 30s. He’s active on social media, mostly showing off material things—cars, watches, travel, girlfriends. Plus, he shows no remorse about Cookie. He’s the perfect case to make into a public enemy. Looking at his responses to some confrontational comments, he’d be the perfect bait to ignite controversy when people start flooding in. And there aren’t any major issues these days, right?”

Director Gu nodded his head.

“True. The world is too quiet lately. It’s time for a villain. Since women are particularly interested in abandoned dog issues, if we work through communities with many female users, he’ll become this month’s bastard in just a few days.”

“Work quickly on building the controversy before finding Cookie. When it becomes an issue, connect it to news articles right away. Just briefly mention that our company took interest and posted on social media.”

“Do you have anything else in mind after this?”

“When the issue grows bigger, reveal our plans to support this shelter with game content. We should get at least this much attention for spending money on a good cause.”

Director Gu strongly nodded in agreement.

“Of course. We can’t waste money.”

A new service team employee who happened to join the meeting was busy hiding their shock and tension at the direction this conversation was heading. To think there was this much groundwork even for promoting donations. Since it appeared to be purely calculated for business, no one suspected Seo Ahn-jae had any genuine motives. Even Secretary Choi wondered throughout the meeting if this wasn’t actually done out of personal interest. So after the meeting, he couldn’t help asking casually.

“It seems unlike you to get involved with Cookie’s case like this—so it was all for publicity?”

Secretary Choi looked up a beat late after checking their tablet while asking this particular question. And froze for a moment. He was sitting there, staring intently at him. Secretary Choi immediately regretted it when their eyes met. Why did I ask such an unnecessary question?

Seo Ahn-jae rarely showed emotion, perhaps because his mere presence could command the atmosphere. He knew his cold gaze could make others shrink like mice, so he only used it when necessary. That was how Seo Ahn-jae’s eyes were now. Secretary Choi instinctively lowered his gaze and cleared his throat.

“Ah, I apologize for speaking out of turn…”

“How does it feel?”

“Pardon?”

“These actions that aren’t like me. How does it feel?”

Though wondering if he was scolding him, staying completely silent out of fear would be even worse. Seo Ahn-jae preferred people who spoke their mind even when intimidated. Secretary Choi hated that he were calculating their boss’s preferences even at this moment, but he wanted to last long in this position. He still had 26 months left on his car loan. Secretary Choi glanced sideways as he spoke.

“Just…it’s interesting because it seems unlike you…”

 His voice became as tiny as an ant’s under that gaze. Fortunately, Seo Ahn-jae turned his attention to the monitor and clicked his mouse. For a while, only the sound of his mouse clicking continued. Just as Secretary Choi felt suffocated, the order came.

“You may leave.”

Secretary Choi quickly turned and escaped his room as quickly as he could. Only once at his desk could he finally breathe and blame his careless teasing mouth on what just happened. But part of him also felt puzzled. Why did he get so angry at my words? It wasn’t much…It was as if he’d heard something he didn’t want to hear…Did I say something I shouldn’t have?

“Fuck.”

As soon as Secretary Choi left, Seo Ahn-jae cursed. ‘Unlike you.’ Whether Secretary Choi’s words crossed a line wasn’t important. The problem was that he had hit the mark. Ordering the SNS posts about Cookie was impulsive. Converting it to publicity was a belated attempt to justify this action. Because Joo Seung-ha shouldn’t be worth that much.

Actions that seemed unlike him and aimed at winning Joo Seung-ha’s favor crossed the line Seo Ahn-jae had originally drawn. Actions that deviated from his purpose. Purpose. Seo Ahn-jae pushed away his anger and irritation and recalled his purpose. Getting his hands on that bastard. Maybe he was too absorbed in that purpose. Making him do things that weren’t like  him.

While Seo Ahn-jae stared expressionlessly at the large monitor, his sharp eyes glowed intensely as if ready to devour the unseen Joo Seung-ha. When Joo Seung-ha came to the beef bone soup restaurant that day, perhaps because he’d been at the shelter, his clothes were quite wrinkled and dusty, and he even smelled.

Though his bangs were quite disheveled from repeatedly running his hands through his hair while working, Seo Ahn-jae found it particularly hard to take his eyes off him that day. As if the dirt on him made his true self shine even brighter, even that image of him looked fresh. The atmosphere was quite good that day too.

He pretended not to, but showed interest in Seo Ahn-jae and obediently ate the beef bone soup Seo Ahn-jae had told him to eat. He even filled his spoon with rice and meat, stuffing his cheeks like balloons as he chewed deliciously. It was a sight impossible to see seven years ago.

Seven years ago, when occasionally ordering room service, Joo Seung-ha would eat in tiny bites, barely opening his mouth. As if he didn’t want to show any unsightly appearance in front of Seo Ahn-jae. How irritating that was. Joo Seung-ha always said it was a matter of love, but to Seo Ahn-jae’s eyes, it seemed like a calculation to solely look good in front of him.

How could he act so fake while hiding his true self? Seo Ahn-jae, who had never experienced such love, could never understand Joo Seung-ha. Now Joo Seung-ha faced him genuinely without pretense. Though that was pleasing, it was also lacking. Far too lacking. That was why he got so angry at that bastard President Kang’s message.

Though Seo Ahn-jae couldn’t be certain of the nature of this thirst for Joo Seung-ha, one thing remained clear. If he held him again, if he could tightly embrace his naked body and enter his narrow, hot inside, this thirst would be somewhat quenched. After all, just thinking about Joo Seung-ha made him want to masturbate in his office in broad daylight.

Seo Ahn-jae pushed aside his unclear emotions and refreshed the facts he’d defined from the start. Joo Seung-ha is nothing but a cum dump to me. I need to act like myself. What’s needed now is to shake and break down Seung-ha’s emotions. Only that way would there be room for me to squeeze into.

Seo Ahn-jae accessed his secure email to check new messages. While building connections with wealthy and powerful individuals, he’d learned of several services used discreetly by a select few. Like escort services, this company was quite useful too. The email was from them. Seo Ahn-jae stared intently at the last of the tasks he’d requested from them.

‘The investigation subject Seung-ha’s mother is under pressure from her business partner and multiple fraud victims. Though the victims are ordinary citizens, the business partner is connected to local organized crime, so Seung-ha’s mother is currently hiding in another region. According to the investigator who spoke with her, she has a son but revealed their poor relationship with harsh cursing. She’s now afraid of gang members finding her, and showed desperation, saying she has nowhere to go and no money left.’

With nowhere to go and no money, she would eventually go to her only family. Plus, it seemed this mother had made quite a big mistake this time. After looking at the screen for a moment, Seo Ahn-jae sent a brief reply to the company.

‘Roughly leak Seung-ha’s mother’s location to the organization.’

All week, Joo Seung-ha and the rest of the shelter staff were overwhelmed with issues having to do with Cookie. As Cookie’s case suddenly became a hot topic online, countless messages poured in. Moreover, when the owner who abandoned Cookie had his personal information exposed and created a huge fuss threatening to sue the shelter for being behind the exposure, the shelter also gained fame by association.

However, Cookie, who was actually important, still hadn’t been found. Still, since Cookie had become famous in the community, they were receiving quite a few tips and could roughly guess where Cookie was wandering. Friday morning, Joo Seung-ha was exhausted  from not getting proper sleep due to tip messages coming in at dawn. Nevertheless, the tip that came in at dawn seemed quite credible.

‘I saw him near the convenience store where I work. I left cat food near the parking lot, and he was eating it. It was dark so the photo is blurry, but are his back legs white like he’s wearing pantyhose?’

As the tipster said, the photo was blurry, but it was a dog with many spots on its face just like Cookie. And the color of the back legs she mentioned, though an unpublicized detail, was Cookie’s characteristic. It seemed almost certain to be Cookie. Although Joo Seung-ha’s eyes were swollen due to lack of sleep, he arrived at the office with hope that they might be able to find Cookie soon.

His steps were light with the thought of being able to ease one of the shelter staff’s greatest worries. However, Joo Seung-ha’s steps entering the office soon turned to iron weighing a thousand pounds and stuck to the floor. At 8:45, before all the employees had arrived, there was someone who wasn’t an employee in the office.

Long wavy hair pinned up with several glittering clips, a tight-fitting lace dress showing her figure, and dark nail polish. The owner of this outfit sat in Joo Seung-ha’s seat with her legs crossed, wearing high-heeled sandals.

“Um…they say she’s Team Leader Joo’s…mother,” a CS team employee approached Joo Seung-ha and said quietly, appearing flustered.

Even without her telling him, Joo Seung-ha obviously knew the woman before him was his mother. Though she still dressed inappropriately for her age, looking closely, the lace on her dress had worn and torn spots, and her nail polish seemed old with the tips peeling off.

“That’s right. I’m that bastard’s mother. Seung-ha, you tell that woman clearly. Tell her I’m your mother.”

Probably because the CS team employee didn’t believe her, his mother tattled to Joo Seung-ha in annoyance. At her words, the employee turned bewildered eyes to Joo Seung-ha. She wasn’t the only one bewildered. The employees who had arrived early were also poking their heads out to take a look at what was going on.

“You, if you understand, go get me coffee. Fill it with ice.”

His mother ordered, pointing at the employee, then brought her hand to her forehead as if she was nursing a headache.

“Ugh, these days I get headaches if I don’t drink coffee.”

“Get up.”

Joo Seung-ha commanded coldly. His mother only raised her eyes sharply.

“Look at how this kid talks. You haven’t seen your mother in years and you can’t even say hello?”

“Get up.”

Though Joo Seung-ha ground out the words through his teeth, she instead smirked and sank herself deeper into his chair.

“You, did you think I couldn’t find you here?”

Joo Seung-ha quickly approached his sneering mother and grabbed her arm.

“I said get up.”

Though Joo Seung-ha’s voice was still not loud, because the office was so quiet, it sounded like a shout to those listening. Mother had no other choice but to stand under Joo Seung-ha’s force, but she shook her arm violently trying to break free from his hold.

“Let go, you bastard! I’m your mother, you bastard!!”

An employee just arriving stopped with wide eyes in surprise at his mother’s scream-like shout. Joo Seung-ha practically dragged his resisting mother out of the office. Though the door closed behind them, it felt like the employees’ gazes were piercing through the wall, following them the whole time.

“You fucking bastard, I said let go! I’ll walk on my own!”

Though his mother, who was held by Joo Seung-ha, mercilessly scratched and hit his arms and body with her hands, Joo Seung-ha didn’t let go of her until they reached the empty lot behind the building. When Joo Seung-ha finally released her arm, his mother pushed back her disheveled hair and spewed curses at the face she finally confronted.

“You damned bastard, how did I raise you alone, for you to treat me like this? How much of my money did you spend all this time?! When I was doing well you clung to me and spent so freely, but now that I’m a bit short on money you won’t treat me like a parent? Even a dog would be more grateful than you!”

She screamed as if possessed by a demon. Joo Seung-ha just looked at her expressionlessly and said one thing.

“Leave.”

“I can’t leave. I won’t leave until I get back all the money I spent raising you, so give me the money.”

She looked straight at Joo Seung-ha while saying that in a somewhat calmer voice. The face that was once famously beautiful could no longer hide its age behind fine wrinkles. And though her light brown eyes were the same color as Joo Seung-ha’s, they looked completely different, clouded with malice and greed.

“100 million won. If you give me 100 million won, I’ll disappear like you want, so give me 100 million.”

“I can’t. I don’t have money to give you, and even if I did, I wouldn’t.”

“You think I can’t come here again?”

At his mother’s sneering threat, Joo Seung-ha tilted his head to the side.

“You’ll cause a scene? Go ahead. At worst, I’ll just get fired. So what?”

When Joo Seung-ha showed no signs of fear at all, the smile slowly disappeared from his mother’s face.

“I can follow you for life and make sure you can’t even enjoy that pathetic life.”

“Go ahead. Each time, I’ll take whatever legal measures I can. And then I’ll go back to my pathetic life. I don’t care if it’s hundreds or thousands of times. Unlike you, Mother, I know exactly how I should live.”

Though Joo Seung-ha’s voice was low, it was calm, and his gaze stared straight at his mother. He was going to make sure she couldn’t repeat her ineffective threats. Out of spite, she could have said “Fine, I’ll follow and torment you until you die,” but right now, that spite wouldn’t come easily.

The son she was seeing after several years had become a completely different person. If it had been the old Joo Seung-ha, she could have clung to him out of anger, but the current Joo Seung-ha made her hesitate somewhat, making her feel like they were strangers. But still, he was her son. His mother ground her teeth and spat out, “50 million, no, give me 20 million at least.”

“I don’t have it.”

“You fucking bastard! I said give me the money!”

She screamed again as if wanting to use her voice to tear through the air. But no matter how much she screamed and made him ashamed as people looked out their windows, her son’s indifferent eyes didn’t waver. He just waited until she tired herself out and stopped shouting, then repeated what he’d just said.

“Leave.”

“Even if not from me, you’ll end up getting your money taken anyway. Trust me. It’s a hundred times better to just give it to me willingly. If you give it now, I can at least protect you.”

Perhaps because her voice had settled into seriousness, for a very brief moment, Joo Seung-ha felt she was genuinely worried about him. So his resolve momentarily wavered. Should he help her just this once? As his mother said, he had received a lot of money from her. Especially seven years ago.

So since she really seemed to be struggling, wouldn’t it be okay to help just one more time? Noticing Joo Seung-ha’s wavering this time, his mother quietly waited for his answer. The words offering to help rose to Joo Seung-ha’s throat. But seeing his mother unable to let go of her old fashion, heavy makeup, and hairstyle made her seem like a child who hadn’t grown up yet.

“I’ll protect myself. You take care of yourself too, Mother.”

His mother’s eyes instantly turned venomous. Joo Seung-ha turned to leave, but her lowered voice stopped him in his tracks.

“I didn’t want to have you, but even after taking pills you survived like a parasite, so I was forced to give birth and raise you, damn it.”

Her small voice continued behind Joo Seung-ha’s frozen back. It was a cold, detached voice without even a sneer to it.

“You should have died in my womb back then. Your father, that bastard, threw me just 100,000 won and ran off telling me to kill you, but you’re even worse. Well, a son of a dog can only be a dog.”

***