DI Ch 70

Hearing such words for the first time was humiliating, but looking at his face as he gently ruffled my bangs and carefully chose his words, I decided to bear it.

“That’s not it… If you’re not going home, just study here. Look at your hyung who missed you.”

Not understanding what he meant, I looked at him confusedly, and he began to whisper secretly.

“It’s a waste to just stay at home during the vacation.”

“That’s true…”

“Do you really want to go to school or outside in this heat? I don’t think so. Do you?”

“Well, if I had to choose, I wouldn’t want to.”

“Then you can stay here.”

How does that work?

“Study and rest here. I’m working around here for a while, so let’s spend the evenings together.”

“Uh. But hyung…”

I muttered, glancing around the room in confusion.

“This is a hotel room.”

“I’m not so desperate for money to nitpick about that. I stay in this room when I work around here, so don’t worry about it.”

“But still…”

“Don’t worry about my wallet situation and just say yes.”

But…

Of course, the idea of spending time with Tae Seong-je at the hotel, even temporarily, was naturally appealing since I hadn’t even considered it before. Before or after work, at least twice a day, I could see him. If I were lucky, I might have enough time to do things I hadn’t been able to do yet.

For example, rolling around on the bed for half a day or watching a movie together. Those small things I couldn’t do and regretted not doing made me look forward to it. Still, I couldn’t give an immediate answer, and it was because of Woo Ji-min.

“What are you so worried about?”

“Oh, actually, I have a prior arrangement.”

“With whom?”

“Just a senior I know.”

“Ah.”

Taeseongjae was grumpy and sarcastic, with a cold expression on his face.

“Just a senior you know?”

“Yes…”

It’s not like I said no, I’m just thinking about it, but this is too much…

“Come over here.”

Tae Seong-je stood up and walked towards the balcony as I shrugged my shoulder and looked around. He gestured for me to follow, his hand in his pocket.

As I approached, Tae Seong-je pulled back the curtain that had been partially covering the window. Only then did I see the clear, beautiful summer sky and the ocean. The brilliant blue sea under the midday sun was more dazzling than the spring night sea I had first seen with him, and I was momentarily captivated by its beauty.

“Isn’t the view nice? You like the ocean, right?”

Well, I didn’t exactly dislike the ocean, but I wasn’t overly fond of it either. However, the way he stated it so definitively made me wonder if I had liked the ocean that much. When he opened the balcony window, the warm and muggy air enveloped me. I had momentarily forgotten how hot it was outside due to the cool air conditioning inside.

The salty scent of the sea and the soothing sound of the waves seemed to penetrate deep within me. I had been surprised by the unfamiliar room earlier, wondering if I was still in Daegu, but now I didn’t really care whether this place was different or not. My curiosity had simply melted away.

Oh, what should I do? Now, whenever I see the ocean or even think about it, it feels like this person will come to mind.

I stared at the horizon with a blush on my face. Tae Seong-je playfully patted my sweaty back, asking if I was hot. But when I saw his smiling face that seemed to radiate a sense of victory, it felt like he had sensed that I was content being here.

“But aren’t you sleepy now?”

“No. I’m fully awake.”

“Okay. If you had slept any longer there, you would have turned into a bear. I thought you were hibernating.”

I don’t think I slept that long… I wanted to say that, but the sun was already up in the middle of the sky. I was excited at first, but then I was embarrassed. My heart continued to race at the sight of his smiling face, and my face turned bright red.

I quickly retreated to the restroom and grabbed my phone to check my messages. There were a lot of KakaoTalk messages accumulated, but most of them were from people I didn’t know well or weren’t close to, so I ignored them and searched for messages from the people I knew.

As expected, there were messages from them. Without thinking, I read the messages on my KakaoTalk, then slapped my forehead with my palm. It was only then that the reality hit me, after hearing Tae Seong-je’s words about sending the guys home. No matter how I treated him and his subordinates without much thought, they were never just “ordinary” people.

Shit, don’t we need to report it to the police?? [03:11]

Ah, I sent the wrong KakaoTalk message. [03:19]

But Seo Seung-won, are you using loansharks??? Who are those middle-aged guys??? [03:20]

The uncle who gave me a ride has knife scars on his face; what the hell;; [03:20]

No, no, no, first of all, where are you? Are you okay? [03:23]

Can you take a call right now? If you can, please contact me. [03:23]

Kwon Joong-hyuk, who knew nothing, seemed to fall into a panic. And even Park Kang-woo, who knew a little about the situation, seemed quite shocked.

It’s different from what you said, you crazy bastard!!!!!! [03:04]

Anyone can see they’re gangsters, damn it, I’m so scared!!!!!!!!! Who said he’s kind??????? [03:04]

Wow; what about the family business;; Seriously;;; [03:04]

Hey. Listen, you idiot. You’re being fooled. That person you’re meeting!!!!!!!! He’s like the successor of some damn organization and he’s threatening my life!!!!!!!!!!!! [03:15]

Wait… Do you happen to know the person? [04:48]

Are you crazy? [04:48]

“…”

These two guys were clearly sent by Tae Seong-je’s subordinates. And in this world, no matter how hard you try to hide something, there are things that can’t be hidden. Tae Seong-je also didn’t keep his subordinates from contacting me, did he? Anyway, these guys were quite quick-witted, so it wasn’t surprising that they figured it out so easily.

I apologized first and told them I would contact them later. I contacted Woo Ji-min separately, then took off my clothes and took a shower. Looking at my clean self, it seemed like Tae Seong-je had already cleaned me up…

After showering, a combined breakfast and lunch were set up. As I approached the table, where steam was rising from the hot dishes, my bathrobe slipped off my shoulders and fell to the ground. Seeing that there was only one bathrobe, it seemed to be made for his size, but it was clearly too big.

I stopped abruptly and began to tie the belt again when Tae Seong-je, who had been waiting casually, smiled gleefully.

“Why are you closing it? It looks good.”

He crossed his legs like someone at an illegal auction and gave off a somewhat dark and subtle aura.

“Hyung, please fix your tone before you regret it. You sound like an old man. Who talks like that?”

I tightened the belt and tied the bathrobe tightly, then retorted to his embarrassing comment. If I had been born with a face like his, I would only speak pretty words. Sitting down on the chair, I picked up a spoon and was about to quickly start filling my stomach, but there seemed to be only enough food for one person.

“Am I the only one eating? Hyung, aren’t you having lunch?”

“Just by watching you eat, I feel full.”

Not even a single grain of rice would go in. I put the spoon down and frowned.

“Don’t joke around.”

“I ate while you were sleeping.”

Responding to his calm retort, I quickly scooped up some soup and ate it. I felt alive as the hot broth slid down my throat and into my stomach. Filling my stomach with the crispy radish kimchi, I noticed he was watching me eat each bite with interest and he asked.

“Is it delicious?”

It was difficult to answer right away because my mouth was full. I looked at him quietly as he watched me with his chin resting on his hand for a while, and as soon as I chewed the food thoroughly and took a sip of water, I answered.

“Yes. The baby says you’re the best daddy.”

Tae Seong-je’s face stiffened as he watched me lazily.

“You don’t know what moderation is.”

What’s going on? Why did the joke work earlier, but not this one? I didn’t understand, but he seemed to be in a bad mood. He glared at me while covering his face halfway with his palm.

“You jerk, if you actually have a child, you’ll have to watch what you say because I’m really going to do it until your stomach full.”

“Hyung, seriously…”

Tae Seong-je’s words were so shocking that I quickly hugged my empty stomach.

“There are things you can say and things you can’t. What if something goes wrong?”

“They say it’s better for the child if you do it when you’re full.”

“Really?”

Impressed by the new information, I suddenly remembered something and fumbled around my bag, looking around instead of eating. He sighed and tapped his fingers towards under the desk. As my gaze shifted, even though partially obscured by the chair, I felt relieved by the clearly visible presence.

Then suddenly, I recognized several familiar workbooks in my view and gently put down the spoon. Looking at them, it was clear that they were mine. Not only those, but all the books there were the ones from my own place. No wonder they seemed familiar.

“Hyung, those books over there…”

“Oh, if there’s something missing, let me know. It’s unlikely, but still.”

“Are those really all from my place? I mean, why bother?”

“For studying.”

Bringing over workbooks from my own place, and even bringing me from Daegu. What region is this guy working in that he’s moving like a nomad? Unable to hide my bewilderment, I decided to start eating first. I still felt a bit hungover.