NFS 3.20

“Ah, yes, yes, ma’am…Ah, just a moment, he just arrived…Ah, yes. I’ll put him on.”

The pet hotel employee handed over their smartphone as soon as they saw Joo Seung-ha.

“It’s Cookie’s mother.”

Joo Seung-ha hesitated before taking the phone. Um…that noona? Though she’d never spoken harshly to him like Seo Ahn-jae had, Joo Seung-ha’s voice stiffened nervously as he greeted her.

“H-Hello.”

—No, I’m not doing well since I can’t see our Cookie. Ah, not seeing him for one day feels like there’s a hole in my heart.

Rather than sympathy, Joo Seung-ha felt confused by her muttering. It had only been about a month and a half since she started living with Cookie? Already feeling a hole in her heart…well, I guess that’s possible. Cookie is pretty cute after all.

—I hear Joo Seung-ha-ssi is living with that bug and taking care of our Cookie?

“…Me?”

—Is that not right?

Feeling killing intent in her sharp question, Joo Seung-ha quickly agreed with her.

“Yes. While Attorney Seo is away on a business trip.”

—Me?

“Aren’t you on a business trip?”

—…Yes, I am.

“I’ll take the best care of him for the week.”

—A week?

Her voice was mixed with shock, making Joo Seung-ha feel startled as well.

“Is it not?”

—…Yes, it is.

But then he heard a faint voice as if she was speaking away from the phone. “Ugh, this bug, really.”

—It’s only for a week. No longer than that.

Something seemed odd about her words, but talking to her made him nervous, so he just said he understood.

—And while you’re taking care of him, keep sending me photos of Cookie’s condition. You know he needs to be handled carefully like glass because he’s under treatment, right? I’m barely trusting you with him because it’s you, Joo Seung-ha-ssi.

Again something seemed strange about her words, but he automatically said “Thank you.”

—Of course, it must be inconvenient for you to live with that bug for a week.

Today’s nickname for her brother was “bug.” Joo Seung-ha was newly amazed at their sibling love. But it was too early to be impressed.

—I’m saying this for your sake, but carry a knife for self-defense while staying at the bug’s house.

“Pardon?”

She continued quickly, regardless of Joo Seung-ha’s surprise.

—If that bug tries anything weird, aim for the stomach and stab diagonally. That way you can finish him in one strike without the ribs getting in the way.

Wait, finish him means…

—The heart is actually off-center, you know. If you get the angle right, you can stab it. It might be hard to claim self-defense if you strike first, but you could argue temporary insanity from the stress of living with Seo Ahn-jae and possibly get a reduced sentence. I’ll testify about that bastard’s awful personality.

“…Are you joking?”

—No. I don’t usually joke about my brother.

These siblings only spoke truths about each other. In a situation where it was awkward to either laugh or be shocked, Joo Seung-ha could barely get his mouth open.

“Thank you.”

—No, I should thank you.

“Not at all. I was the one who entrusted Cookie to you in the first place…”

—Thank you for looking after Seo Ahn-jae.

Not just the content, but her calm voice made Joo Seung-ha close his mouth. Do I have any business looking after him? We’ll be done once I repay my debt anyway. Joo Seung-ha hadn’t said anything, but as if reading his thoughts, she carefully added:

—Please just think of it as looking after one crazy stray dog for a little while.

He hadn’t planned to stay at Seo Ahn-jae’s house. Yesterday he couldn’t go home because he fell asleep when Seo Ahn-jae returned past midnight, but today he planned to hand Cookie over to Seo Ahn-jae when he returned and definitely go back to his gosiwon. That was the plan before receiving Seo Ahn-jae’s sister’s phone call, anyway.

While watching Cookie in the living room and looking at his laptop, he heard the front door opening with a beep. It was exactly 7:30. Since Cookie was pressed against Joo Seung-ha, he stayed seated and just turned his head, worried Cookie might be startled if he stood up. But at the door sound, Cookie flinched as if wanting to run away and tried to stand.

Joo Seung-ha gently stroked his back to calm him. Soon, a tall figure appeared at the living room entrance, scanning the interior with sharp eyes. Joo Seung-ha realized he probably wasn’t very visible sitting on the floor under the sofa from his position. But why is he looking around so menacingly?

“You’re back?”

Seo Ahn-jae’s shoulders jerked as he quickly turned his eyes. Joo Seung-ha felt he saw relief spread across his eyes for a moment. Though thinking that couldn’t be right, the smile spreading across Seo Ahn-jae’s lips made him unable to dismiss his suspicion. After confirming Joo Seung-ha’s presence, he looked like a completely different person from moments ago, appearing relaxed and pleased.

“Yeah, I’m back.”

Seo Ahn-jae answered and looked at Cookie, who was sitting pressed closer to Joo Seung-ha’s side.

“He’s here too.”

The slightly disgruntled tone made Joo Seung-ha blink in bewilderment. What’s that supposed to mean? I’m here because of Cookie.

“They say he did well today. It’s impressive considering he might get stressed from frequent environment changes, right?”

“The impressive one is me.”

“How exactly?”

Seo Ahn-jae turned his eyes from Cookie to Joo Seung-ha.

“I’m taking care of my sister’s dog.”

“…Strictly speaking, I’m the one taking care.”

“I’ll take care of you.”

“I don’t need—”

Joo Seung-ha started to refuse outright but stopped when he saw the bag Seo Ahn-jae held up demonstratively. He’d been noticing a faintly appetizing smell for a while.

“I bought chicken. Let’s eat.”

“I…already ate dinner.”

Joo Seung-ha expressed his refusal indirectly, but his eyes wouldn’t leave the bag. Once he recognized the contents, it was hard to resist the tempting smell. Damn, what kind of chicken smells this amazing?

“What did you eat?”

“Just something.”

Unable to cook in someone else’s house, he’d bought and eaten a sandwich. The small piece of bread had digested within 30 minutes.

“I’m…full, I don’t need to eat.”

“I’m going to drink beer too. Just clear your laptop from the living room table, we’ll eat here.”

Ignoring Joo Seung-ha’s weak refusal, Seo Ahn-jae put the chicken bag on the living room table and went to change out of his work clothes. As the source of the smell got closer, Joo Seung-ha’s stomach began making its demands. Eat it. It’s clearly more than three chickens. Wasting food is a sin. And beer too. Just thinking about it made him swallow. While Joo Seung-ha had made firm resolutions about coming to Seo Ahn-jae’s house because of Cookie, none of them involved resistance to chicken.

“We can eat this much even with strangers, right?”

Joo Seung-ha asked Cookie while stroking his head. Cookie, who had flattened his ears back in tension at the large homeowner’s appearance, calmed at Joo Seung-ha’s touch and lay down quietly. Despite being hurt by people, to trust and surrender to a gentle touch so quickly…Maybe you’re the truly brave one. Joo Seung-ha thought while continuing to praise Cookie with his hands. The real cowards were people who built walls and remained wary because of their wounds.

“So it turned out the developer we hired had paid someone else to do the entry test assignment.”

As Seo Ahn-jae finished his now-light beer can in one gulp while speaking, Joo Seung-ha who was listening slightly furrowed his brows.

“Their skills would be exposed during work anyway, why go that far?”

“Since people often change jobs after projects here, they probably planned to hang on for half a year and use it to negotiate higher pay when switching jobs.”

Even so. Joo Seung-ha couldn’t understand.

“No matter where they move to, their lack of skills would be exposed everywhere, wouldn’t it?”

“It would.”

Seo Ahn-jae smiled as if finding Joo Seung-ha’s lack of understanding cute.

“Some people just live like that. People who casually commit fraud and deceive others as part of their daily life.”

“…That’s really selfish. Most people try to get into good companies through hard work and skill.”

“They don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. They see shortcuts as just alternative routes. If they get caught, it’s bad luck, and next time they’ll just cover their lies more carefully.”

“Don’t they get a bad reputation in the industry?”

“There’s no evidence. And usually such people are very good at handling others. They try everything to make lies seem like truth. Using connections is basic, sometimes they evoke sympathy, and if they think someone’s weak, they’ll use gaslighting to shift blame. They keep getting better at these techniques.”

What started as light company talk became slightly chilling. Joo Seung-ha took a gulp of beer and leaned back on the sofa.

“Good thing we don’t have people like that at our company.”

At Joo Seung-ha’s muttering, Seo Ahn-jae asked, “Then what kind of person is troubling you?”

Joo Seung-ha hesitated for a moment as Manager Park came to mind, and turned to look at Seo Ahn-jae. Does he already know and is asking?

“Every organization has at least one enemy.”

“Do you have any, sunbae?”

“Many.”

Ah, of course. Joo Seung-ha felt he’d asked something unnecessary. Seo Ahn-jae’s question came again.

“Who is it?”

“Just someone that exists in every organization.”

“Is there someone embezzling company money there too?”

Joo Seung-ha, who was about to drink his beer casually, was so surprised by the response that some beer spilled from his mouth.

“Someone embezzled at Million?”

“They sold company information, so it’s similar.”

Seo Ahn-jae opened a new beer with a click and smiled at the shocked Joo Seung-ha.

“We caught them. Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course, you should catch them. I would have been disappointed in you if you hadn’t.”

Seo Ahn-jae’s eyes changed to show puzzled amusement.

“That sounds like you respect me quite a bit.”

“You’re someone everyone respects.”

With Million causing such a stir. Even Joo Seung-ha, who wasn’t interested in IT or stocks, had heard about Million’s IPO several times.

“Though of course, you didn’t do it for others’ recognition.”

“There are many people like that.”

Joo Seung-ha shook his head while shaking his can of light beer to gauge how much liquid was still left inside.

“But there’s no one quite like you, sunbae. You’re someone who would leave Million right now if you wanted something, without caring about anyone’s opinion.”

Just one sip left. It felt slightly disappointing that the feast was ending. Even though he was full after eating one chicken and already finishing one can of beer. Of course, he couldn’t pretend to be full since Seo Ahn-jae, who had eaten two chickens, had scolded him for eating so little.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

Joo Seung-ha asked back without thinking but stopped when he saw his face. Seo Ahn-jae was looking at him with a serious look in his eyes.

“It’s just very like you, sunbae.”

Joo Seung-ha watched, entranced, as Seo Ahn-jae’s lips curved slowly.

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t really a compliment.”

“You’re the first to recognize what I’m like.”

Seo Ahn-jae’s voice was low but full of pleasure. Joo Seung-ha frowned. That can’t be right. Anyone who spends even a little time with Seo Ahn-jae would know he doesn’t care about others’ opinions.

“When you climb too high, people see the mountain I’m standing on rather than me. So they never thought I could abandon that mountain. I’ve sincerely told someone before, but they didn’t believe it.”

It made sense since Million beneath his feet was so enormous. But now Joo Seung-ha regretted his casual answer. The gaze of someone who uniquely understood him was startlingly gentle and deep. And as if noticing Joo Seung-ha’s wariness and attempt to back away, Seo Ahn-jae murmured with a smile.

“I like you more and more, to the point of madness.”

Joo Seung-ha quietly accepted his gaze for a moment before downing the rest of his beer and standing up.

“Don’t worry. You won’t go mad, and everything will return to normal. Thanks for the meal.”

No voice tried to stop Joo Seung-ha as he stood and walked to his room. Entering the room assigned to him and sitting on the bed, Joo Seung-ha looked down at the empty can he had unconsciously brought with him. Today’s beer had been unusually refreshing and more delicious than usual.

***

Friday. While it should have been a welcome day for any office worker, if not for an employee mentioning it, Joo Seung-ha might have forgotten tomorrow was the weekend.

“The Internet really exploded after that preview aired last night.”

After spending the morning in the office for meetings, he had just gone out for lunch with employees. As soon as they ordered, everyone started talking about the same thing.

“You probably don’t know what we’re talking about, right Team Leader Joo? You don’t watch TV, right?”

The teasing employee was a woman around Joo Seung-ha’s age who had recently nicknamed Manager Park “Talmud.” She worked in sales support and joined the sales team for lunch when she had time.

“I may not know what you’re talking about, but I do watch TV.”

I do watch TV too. Just haven’t properly watched in a while. When Joo Seung-ha responded defensively, the employee explained with a smile. Apparently, a show featuring a famous MC interviewing ordinary people had aired yesterday, and an incredible guest appeared in next week’s preview. Upon hearing the title, Joo Seung-ha immediately knew who had caused the Internet stir. But he wasn’t surprised. That was typical for Seo Ahn-jae.

“He was really handsome.”

Another employee agreed with her comment.

“Wow, I wondered if he was even human.”

A male sales team employee around Joo Seung-ha’s age shook his head. Then he started counting on his fingers, “Look, he’s got the face, the height, good education so he’s got the brains, he’s Million’s CEO so he’s got money. He’s got everything. It’s hard to find anything he doesn’t have.”

Then he muttered quietly so only Joo Seung-ha could hear, “Damn, at least that should be small…”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t small either. Joo Seung-ha quickly erased the image by taking a drink of cold water. Then the sales support employee suddenly said, “But Team Leader Joo, the Internet might explode after your broadcast too, right?”

“Absolutely not. It’s not even a regular broadcast, just an Internet shopping show.”

Joo Seung-ha denied it, waving his hands around.

“Oh, Team Leader, you’re too modest.”

“That’s not it, I’m lacking in many areas. There’s nothing about me worth talking about.”

At Joo Seung-ha’s repeated denials, the sales support employee smiled and briefly left her seat. As soon as she left, the employee sitting next to him asked, “If Team Leader’s lacking in many areas, does that mean down there is also…”

“No, that’s definitely there. Very much there.”

Joo Seung-ha gripped the employee’s shoulder tightly. The employee chuckled knowingly.

“Yes, yes, of course you do. Hey, I’m not mocking you. Haha.”

“You are mocking me. Let’s strip. Let’s check together.”

When Joo Seung-ha joked back, he laughed louder and expressed mock regret.

“Ah, if only my underwear wasn’t pink today, I’d strip, what a shame.”

Then he asked Joo Seung-ha curiously, “But Team Leader, you seem more relaxed lately. Is it because you’re happy about being on the broadcast?”

More relaxed? Joo Seung-ha thought “no way” and grabbed the employee’s shoulder again.

“Ah, time to restore some discipline.”