NFS 1.8

He had an unsettling dream. It had been three weeks since he met Ahn-jae, and he couldn’t understand why he dreamed about the hotel room they used to frequent. Seung-ha tried to forget the hotel room that felt so vivid in his dream. Ahn-jae didn’t appear in it. He was just standing alone in the empty hotel room. Though it wasn’t a nightmare, when he woke up, his heart felt heavy and chills ran down his spine.

After finishing his morning schedule, Seung-ha sat in a café he habitually visited every Wednesday afternoon and finally figured out why. He had thought the hotel only held memories of time spent with Ahn-jae, but there was something else. He had received the call about Seon’s death there. Right, that had happened.

Seung-ha stared blankly at the notebook he had opened to write business records, unable to move the pen in his hand. Perhaps he had the dream because Seon’s death anniversary was approaching. Was Seon trying to remind him, worried he might have forgotten? But he had never forgotten, not once. Grumbling internally to his friend who he could no longer meet, he reached for the cold drink filled with ice.

Though it was still mostly full since he had only taken a few sips after coming in because of the heat, he couldn’t lift the glass. Creak, suddenly the chair opposite him moved, and someone sat in it. The person who sat down as naturally as if they had an appointment was by no means a welcome figure. Tall, with a handsome face like an actor, he met Seung-ha’s eyes.

What the fuck, suddenly? Seung-ha cursed internally while looking at Ahn-jae. Watching Seung-ha’s obvious displeasure, Ahn-jae reached out and pulled away the drink he was about to sip. Then he casually drank from it. Still maintaining eye contact with Seung-ha, his Adam’s apple bobbed several times as he gulped down the drink. The drink decreased by a third in one go. Ahn-jae put down the glass with a handsome smile, as if finding something amusing.

“So you know how to curse now.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You cursed with your eyes.”

Since he was still cursing even now, Seung-ha couldn’t deny it and silently packed his things. Ahn-jae watched him pack leisurely and asked.

“Aren’t you curious how I’m here?”

“Not really.”

Seung-ha answered halfheartedly and picked up his bag. However, he failed to stand up. Ahn-jae’s answer was quite irritating.

“Every Wednesday at 3, before going to your next client. You’ve been consistent for three weeks.”

“…”

Seeing Seung-ha’s hardened expression, Ahn-jae’s lips curved again.

“I had someone follow you.”

That smiling face making such a brazen confession would have seemed quite charming to others. But Seung-ha looked at him with disinterested eyes.

“Why?”

“There’s something I want to buy.”

Seung-ha recalled his proposal from the hotel three weeks ago. So this person, now that he had money, suddenly remembered past humiliation and wanted revenge? Seung-ha muttered to himself while suppressing his irritation. Of course, loud enough for him to hear.

“What a joke, as if acting like a dick is something to be proud of.”

Hearing this, Ahn-jae’s expression didn’t change much, but something flashed like a spark in his eyes before disappearing.

“Want me to act more like a dick?”

Ahn-jae blurted out while slightly rubbing the rim of the cup with his thumb. It was where Seung-ha’s lips had touched. Then he brought the moisture on his hand to his lips and lightly sucked it.

“Like this, you mean?”

Unlike his characteristic throwaway tone, his eyes stared at Seung-ha as if he would devour him. What a real dick move. Seung-ha thought internally as he stood up. This time Ahn-jae didn’t stop him. Instead, Seung-ha’s smartphone stopped him with a brief notification. Thinking it might be from a client, he checked to find consecutive messages from Jjangi Noona in the animal shelter’s group chat.

—We received a demolition order from the city. The owner reported us… the owner’s name has changed.

—I contacted the previous owner who said they sold the land. But considering they reported us as soon as the new owner changed, it seems they want to evict the shelter.

—Can’t reach the new owner right now. Apparently someone named Seo Ahn-jae bought it…

Seung-ha checked the messages up to that point and slowly turned his hardened face. Ahn-jae, who was sitting in his chair looking up at him, asked coldly.

“What? Did you find something you want to buy too?”

The evening after the bomb dropped, at 8 PM. The shelter’s management gathered in the old farmhouse. Seung-ha arrived a bit late due to work, but it seemed a discussion had already taken place as the user “Bongi’s Mom” sat with a clearly upset expression.

Bongi’s Mom, who ran an online shopping mall, had previously expressed dissatisfaction with operational issues, so it seemed she had spoken up first this time too. Though Jjangi Noona, the shelter’s representative, was good-natured and nodded “yes, yes” to all opinions, realistically, not all suggestions could be implemented.

“That’s why I’ve been saying we should fix up the warehouse and indoor kennels that could be cited as illegal facilities. Shouldn’t we just fix everything they’re asking for, go to city hall, properly reapply for installation permits, and set things right?”

Bongi’s Mom raised her voice in frustration. Dallae, who ran a small café, countered her argument.

“The problem is that the person who reported us is the new landowner. If they reported us to evict us, it’s obvious they’ll find other reasons to report us again even if we get past this. That’s why we gathered here – to come up with a different solution.”

“What different solution? Moving? Ha, how can we move right now? Nothing’s prepared!”

“We can prepare. We’ve been saving moving costs, and we recently received a large donation…”

“That money’s not enough. And where would we move to? It’s obvious people will put up banners opposing us anywhere we go, saying a dog shelter would be too noisy.”

“We still have to look.”

Their voices grew increasingly louder. Unlike usual, because people had gathered late at night, dogs had been barking in the outdoor kennels. Those beside Seung-ha who hadn’t joined the argument quietly tried to identify the barking dog.

“Is that Sungnyung?”

“No, it’s Bomdong.”

“The bark is deep though? Must be Sungnyung.”

“Yeah, Sungnyung.” 

Watching others nod in agreement, Seung-ha interrupted the ongoing argument between Bongi’s Mom and Dallae.

“Let’s do both.”

One advantage of having good looks was that people paid more attention when you spoke up. That’s why Seung-ha usually didn’t speak unless necessary, but when needed, he fully utilized this advantage. He deliberately made eye contact with both of them alternately.

“Even if we move, we’ll need to buy time by addressing the city’s concerns. Since we’ll have to do both anyway, let’s split into teams and focus on each.”

“But moving right now is unrealistic…”

“Has anything we’ve done at the shelter ever been realistic?”

At Seung-ha’s words, Bongi’s Mom pressed her lips shut. Then Dallae hesitated before speaking, as if she had something to say.

“Actually, there might be a way to move without much difficulty…”

But for some reason, Jjangi grabbed her arm and quickly stopped her from speaking. While everyone wondered what was going on, Jjangi dismissed it as nothing and changed the subject. What struck Seung-ha as odd was that both of them seemed to glance at him cautiously. What’s that about? While he was puzzled over this, Bongi’s Mom, still reluctant about moving, added one more point.

“We should consider moving as Plan B, and make extending our stay through negotiation with the landowner our primary goal.”

“If the landowner was a reasonable person, they would have notified the tenant first. Just think of them as a bastard.”

Seung-ha shrugged casually while cursing, but since it was the first time they’d heard him curse, everyone chuckled quietly.

“Sunny, let’s avoid dog-related curses though. The dogs outside might get shocked.”

Just as Jjangi joked, the barking outside grew louder. Everyone’s mood lightened and they started laughing heartily. Thanks to this, the resolution to “Okay, let’s move” came easily. Seung-ha watched the brightened atmosphere as he stood up with his smartphone.

“Excuse me, I’ll make a quick call.”

Though Seung-ha smiled as he asked for permission, as soon as he stepped outside into the darkness, his relaxed expression hardened coldly.

“Fucking bastard.”

Seung-ha cursed through gritted teeth. As a person came out of the farmhouse, Sungnyung’s barking grew louder. Knowing that the deafening sound was a scream of fear, Seung-ha moved in the opposite direction of the kennel. At times like this, he desperately missed the cigarettes he had quit five years ago.

Seung-ha took deep breaths, trying to calm his anger. Though this situation was his fault, he hadn’t gone to see Seo Ahn-jae because he felt meeting him wouldn’t solve anything. “Sell your body for money.” Though accepting his demand might resolve things easily, he strongly felt it wouldn’t end so simply.

That’s why he wanted to cut ties here, even if it was difficult. But with the shelter suddenly suffering, he felt like falling to his knees from guilt at any moment. Still, he gritted his teeth and endured. I’ll dedicate myself more to the shelter and work harder. That’s how I’ll repay them. He also didn’t want to accept Seo Ahn-jae, who had appeared after seven years, tormenting him with past events.

In fact, he didn’t understand why he was going to such lengths to torment him. With his current success, could he really be his only blemish? Was it the humiliating time of lowering his pride and having unwanted sex for money? Damn it, he decided everything himself, so he has to endure it himself. Seung-ha cursed inwardly and took another deep breath.

The unique scent of the countryside, a mixture of fertilizer-mixed soil and the lush forest, filled his lungs. Just a little outside of Seoul, as if in a different world, this place had none of the city’s smells or noise. This place is nice. Seung-ha looked around the dark surroundings and his heart wavered for a moment. Maybe he should just sleep with him once. What’s the big deal? Actually, after parting with him yesterday, he’d received a text in the evening.

‘Save this number.’

An unfamiliar number. But he knew immediately who it was. Of course, Seung-ha didn’t save it. He deleted it instead. But knowing Seo Ahn-jae’s company, it wouldn’t be impossible to contact him if he wanted to. As Seung-ha quietly stared at his smartphone’s black screen, suddenly the phone rang.

Startled, he checked the number – unknown. As a salesperson, he should answer unknown numbers without hesitation, but Seung-ha hesitated looking at this one. The last four digits bothered him. He used to know someone with a similar number. His mom. After staring at the ringing phone for a while, it stopped. But soon after, a message arrived.

—Seung-ha, it’s Mom. Call me. I feel like I’m dying, so hurry.

He had received similar messages several times after being discharged from the military. Every time it was the same story about dying, but each year she lived to send the same message. Seung-ha expressionlessly looked at his mother’s contact after three years, then swiped to delete it. Like Ahn-jae’s message, his mother’s disappeared from Seung-ha’s smartphone. Seung-ha put his phone back in his pocket. His intention to contact Ahn-jae had completely vanished. Right, I don’t want to get involved.

Despite returning home close to midnight, Ahn-jae showed no signs of fatigue. The reason he was able to establish the company and work without weekends until now was thanks to his stubborn persistence towards the goals he wanted to achieve, but his naturally tireless stamina also played a part. He had finished overtime and dinner appointments, but after washing up, he felt even more refreshed, so he took out a beer from the refrigerator.

Though he’d drunk quite a bit of whiskey at the gathering, oddly, he didn’t feel like he’d properly finished drinking without a beer as a nightcap, so he always had one at home. While drinking, he checked the report about Seung-ha that the agency had just sent. Today’s photos of Seung-ha were closer and clearer. There was a special note below the report.

—As per your request, today we followed Mr. Joo Seung-ha openly without concealing our presence. However, he showed no signs of concern or awareness of us. We even took photos from close range, thinking he might not have noticed, but from how he turned to look at us as if giving a warning, we suspect he was definitely aware of our presence. Nevertheless, he thoroughly ignored us and continued with his schedule.

Thoroughly ignored. Ahn-jae ruminated on these words with displeasure. There was one additional note below the report: We cannot continue following him so openly. The risk of police reports or legal complaints is too high.

Unlike the agency’s concerns, Ahn-jae believed Seung-ha wouldn’t file any reports or complaints. The answer was already in the report – thorough ignorance was his strategy. Even though Ahn-jae had attacked his weakest point, he had shown no reaction for days.

Ahn-jae drank his beer while zooming in on one of the agency’s photos with his finger. A face staring directly at the camera with hostility. None of the smiles and warm gazes he showed to people at work were present. But there was emotion in his eyes. Even if it was annoyance, he was certain Seung-ha must have thought of him when he spotted the camera.

But he easily returned to his routine after turning away. This fucking strategy of indifference spread like hot fire of displeasure through him. The heat began to solidify in his lower abdomen. For some reason, his irritation and anger toward Joo Seung-ha made his cock hard. Ahn-jae finished the rest of his beer in one gulp while staring at the photo that seemed to glare back at him. Then he changed into workout clothes and went down to the residents’ gym in the building.

Since Ahn-jae attended five or six meetings daily and had many external appointments, he didn’t have much spare time. So when the search engine development department was suddenly summoned, it was early morning when Ahn-jae could barely make time. Four people were called in.

The general manager, planning team leader, server development team leader, and their direct superior, Director Park. The issue that required the CEO’s involvement was team conflict. While no team is without conflict, in an industry where skilled developers are rare, it was unusual for people to keep changing throughout a project period. Moreover, having team leaders quit was a major problem.

Just yesterday, when both Android and iOS team leaders simultaneously submitted resignations, posts about the cause flooded the company’s anonymous board. The cause was the planning team leader. While the general manager’s role was to oversee all development, the planning team leader actually led development.

He was recruited for this project due to his exceptional skills, but there were personality issues. Even those of equal rank couldn’t withstand his verbal abuse and gaslighting. The reason he could act this way was the general manager’s trust and the project’s 80% completion rate.

Despite his terrible personality, they needed him to complete development. So Director Park had ignored several reports about him, saying it would be over soon. But no matter how many new people they brought in, as long as the cause remained, the dam would keep leaking.