NFS 2.5

Joo Seung-ha had been preoccupied with his own problems lately, but hearing the word ‘rain’ at the management meeting at lunch literally woke him up. They needed to create water drainage paths for the rainy season, and the wall behind the kennels needed repairs as it could collapse if the ground weakened. Setting up waterproof tarps over the outdoor kennels was also too difficult for women to do alone.

Perhaps because immediate tasks were pressing, ironically, the problems that had bothered him for days suddenly seemed trivial. Including the person in front of him. Maybe that was why he didn’t have the energy to get angry today. Unaware of Joo Seung-ha’s change of heart, Seo Ahn-jae simply voiced his disapproval in regard to the other man’s busy schedule.

“It doesn’t have to be you doing it all.”

“No. There’s no one else who can do it.”

“The type of employee I hate most is someone like you. Believing that without them, the company, group, or organization won’t function. But that’s not true at all. Things will run without you. Everyone is replaceable.”

It was odd coming from a CEO. Setting aside group setting, wouldn’t someone who approached work with that type of mindset be quite hardworking?

“Are you replaceable at the company too, senior?”

Of course. Seo Ahn-jae readily agreed while pouring water into Joo Seung-ha’s empty cup.

“That’s why I’m deceiving many people into thinking I’m irreplaceable.”

His confident statement left no room for response.

“I don’t think I’m irreplaceable to the shelter, and I’m not trying to deceive anyone. It’s the opposite. The shelter is irreplaceable to me.”

Though he helped the shelter for seven years under the name of volunteering, looking back, it was thanks to the shelter that Joo Seung-ha had managed to survive those seven years. He had no enemies and the world was peaceful, but ‘survival’ was the only word that came to mind for that time. While Joo Seung-ha was lost in thought, he heard two words,”I’m jealous.”

Joo Seung-ha immediately furrowed his brow. Ah, more nonsense…However, due to a sudden phone call, he couldn’t express that he wasn’t falling for Seo Ahn-jae’s disease-and-cure strategy as he took out his smartphone.

‘XX Boutique President Kang’

He hesitated whether to reject the call upon seeing the name on his smartphone. While it wasn’t a call he needed to take, he was also mindful of Seo Ahn-jae’s previous reaction to him. But perhaps because he had just resolved not to fall for Seo Ahn-jae, or out of spite not wanting to mind Seo Ahn-jae, he answered the call.

“Yes. This is Team Leader Joo Seung-ha.”

[You’re on vacation but really won’t come visit?]

“No, I won’t.”

Despite Joo Seung-ha’s firm refusal, President Kang continued to persist.

[You’ll regret not coming. It’s amazing here right now. We’re having a party on my building’s rooftop. You’d love it if you came!]

So the rich have parties on their building rooftops. Joo Seung-ha refused firmly again.

“I don’t think that’ll be the case, so I won’t come.”

[No, you’ll definitely love it when you see it. I’m dying here myself.]

Behind his voice, loud dog barking could be heard. Then suddenly, more dogs’ barking followed in succession. Hearing the barks of countless dogs, Joo Seung-ha forgot Seo Ahn-jae was in front of him and asked, “You said it’s a party?”

[Yes. A dog party.]

Joo Seung-ha let out an incredulous laugh.

“You’ll get reported to the police.”

[That’s why. Come see before we disperse. You won’t find another mess like this in the world.]

As if proving his words, the dogs started barking in unison again.

“No, I’ll pass…”

[Hey! Antoine! What are you doing to your friend?! Ah, I have to go, come visit!]

Joo Seung-ha looked down at his phone in disbelief after the other man had hung up on him. Was this really the same person who was dying from the pain of hardship? As he was dumbfounded, he belatedly remembered the person sitting across from him. As soon as he looked up, his eyes met Seo Ahn-jae’s. Though he hadn’t done anything wrong, his heart sank a little in his chest. Why is he looking at me like that? Joo Seung-ha lowered his gaze and picked up his chopsticks to eat the little remaining food on his plate. He felt no need to explain his personal call. But Seo Ahn-jae asked first, “President Kang?”

Joo Seung-ha was about to pick up his remaining meat when he casually nodded his head. Though there was no response, he could feel the burning gaze on him. As Joo Seung-ha was about to look up, unable to bear it anymore, another dish was pushed in front of him.

“Eat vegetables too.”

At this unexpected motherly-like nagging, Joo Seung-ha looked at him incredulously. Seo Ahn-jae, meeting his eyes immediately, smiled with curved lips.

“Don’t like vegetables?”

“I already ate plenty.”

Though Joo Seung-ha protested, he still ate the vegetables offered. Only after confirming that he was eating did Seo Ahn-jae resume finishing his meal. Was that sharp feeling I got during President Kang’s call just my imagination? Joo Seung-ha wondered briefly but didn’t dwell on it. This was his first normal meeting since reuniting with Seo Ahn-jae, so he just wanted to end it peacefully. That was why he readily accepted Seo Ahn-jae’s final gesture of goodwill.

“I’ll count the dinner as your designated driver service. Go home.”

Well, if you say so. Joo Seung-ha turned away without any hesitation. Seo Ahn-jae watched him leave until the end, then walked to the smoking area and put a cigarette in his mouth. He took out his smartphone and called Hyo-joon.

“It’s me. Did you set up the next meeting with that bastard Kang? Ah, that one. Got it. …You’re asking if I’m going to fight him? Ha, why would I? Fighting should be delegated to others.”

Seo Ahn-jae hung up laughing and smoked his cigarette to the filter while thinking, flicking the burnt end with his fingers to extinguish it. Even after tossing the butt into a distant trash can, he kept his gaze fixed in the distance, still lost in thought. Then, as if having made a decision, he called someone. After a moment, he briefly stated his business, “Start the operation.”

Seo Ahn-jae took out another cigarette and put it in his mouth. His gaze now turned to the direction where Joo Seung-ha had disappeared. With him out of sight, irritation and anxiety constricted his heart like a rope. He still couldn’t clearly define these feelings of his. But one thing was certain. Whatever the reason for this obsession, it was too late to turn back now.

---

The world was truly unpredictable. Though Joo Seung-ha got this vacation for an awful reason, it turned out to be a vacation he needed to take regardless. At the shelter, there was a mountain of work to prepare for the rainy season. Joo Seung-ha once again got an early start today too.

Since there weren’t many volunteers on weekdays, no one was available to help out Joo Seung-ha with the shortage of hands. Knowing he had to do everything alone made him feel rushed. While middle and high school students seeking volunteer hours would come during vacation, the shelter was quiet this Friday as the hot weather began. So Joo Seung-ha spent the whole day creating drainage paths for rainwater and cleaning blocked sewers.

Around 5 p.m, when he went to the volunteer tent to rest, everyone there was deep in conversation about Cookie’s drama since yesterday. On Wednesday, the shelter had posted the exact circumstances of Cookie’s rescue on SNS. This was decided at Tuesday’s meeting to prepare for potential controversy with the previous owner.

Though preparation for the previous owner just meant mentally preparing for the trouble he might cause. Still, thanks to this preparation, they weren’t too upset seeing his posts criticizing the shelter. Everyone just shook their heads thinking “he’s acting up again” and prepared a response notice.

Of course, the shelter had already consulted with an expensive lawyer. While it would have been troublesome if the previous owner went to court, this issue resolved itself surprisingly easily. This morning, the previous owner suddenly posted just one apology and disappeared after closing all his SNS accounts.

“Did you see the apology that bastard wrote? Wow, you could really see him whining in the writing, I wanted to tell him to speak without crying.”

“Right. It’s strange why he suddenly changed his mind, but I’m glad he at least gave up on Cookie and admitted his wrongdoing. But really, what made he decide to change his mind like that?”

Joo Seung-ha silently sipped his drink while thinking of Cookie’s foster parent. Though he hadn’t heard anything from Seo Ahn-jae, and his sister hadn’t said much to the shelter either, he couldn’t shake the suspicion that she had intervened. Then he heard one volunteer say, “Yeah. Maybe he got bitten by a mad dog.”

Spot on. Joo Seung-ha almost spat out his drink but managed to calm down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Though the shelter dogs were just quietly wagging their tails in the shade due to the hot weather, Baekseol, who loved people, was different. Wanting attention from the newly seated Joo Seung-ha, she pressed her bottom against his leg and panted with her mouth half-open in a smile. While petting Baekseol’s head, Joo Seung-ha froze again as he listened to the volunteers’ conversation.

“It’s good that Cookie went to a nice foster home. Did you see the video of Cookie that the foster parent sent to the shelter?”

“Yes, I saw it. Cookie’s tail was down because he was scared but still wagged it seeing the foster parent. Like, are you trying to clean the floor with your tail?”

The volunteers laughed, and one spoke happily, “The foster parent seems to have such a cute personality. They talk to Cookie using baby talk. I was worried the new owner might get harmed by the previous owner since they’re a woman, but that doesn’t seem like the case at all. I’m so relieved.”

The previous owner was more likely the one who got harmed. But since Joo Seung-ha was the only one who knew the truth, he was also the only one shocked by Cookie’s update video posted to the shelter. Though Cookie was curled up on a cushion with frightened eyes, he did wag his tail when Seo Ahn-jae’s sister approached to film him. The issue was Seo Ahn-jae’s sister’s voice, ‘Aww Cookie-cookie, you like it? Oh, how pretty. You like unnie that much? Aww—our Cookie-‘

Joo Seung-ha became genuinely curious what Seo Ahn-jae’s expression would be whikle watching this video. It made him want to volunteer as designated driver just to see his reaction without being called on.

“Right. She sounds like such a cute person from her voice. She probably couldn’t have handled it if the previous owner kept causing trouble.”

The only thing she couldn’t handle was her son of a bitch brother. Joo Seung-ha kept drinking his water, frustrated at being the only one who knew the truth.

“It’s good that the previous owner won’t cause any more problems now. I was worried he might try to take Cookie back since he stayed so bold despite all the criticism. I hope Cookie finds good adopters and only good things lie ahead for him.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Only good things ahead. While Joo Seung-ha hoped for this too, he also tried not to build up this hope too much. One thing he’d learned in his not-so-long life was that the future couldn’t be guaranteed. Just like how the forced vacation he got because of Mom’s antics turned out to be exactly what he needed, nothing ever ends with a simple result in the present.

Any event could organically intertwine with the future to become either another thorny path or a path of flowers. So when he received Seo Ahn-jae’s call on his way home after finishing at the shelter that day, he didn’t fall into deep despair. At first thinking it was about designated driving again, he answered curtly, “What?”

Joo Seung-ha was approaching his villa entrance when he stopped at Seo Ahn-jae’s words.

[Cookie has heartworms.]

Ah… Joo Seung-ha closed his eyes and swallowed a sigh.

“What stage?”

[Stage 2.]

Though he had considered the possibility of heartworm disease, given that the dog might have spent a month or several months on the street in hot weather, hearing the news still weighed heavily on his heart. Should he be relieved it was only stage 2? At least it was treatable, even if difficult. Joo Seung-ha stepped forward and entered the villa.

“Sister took Cookie to hospital, right? Are other things okay…?”

[The other issues aren’t serious.]

“…”

[Joo Seung-ha.]

He heard someone calling his name in a low voice. But Joo Seung-ha couldn’t make a sound or move. The front door of his first-floor apartment was slightly open. “Senior,” Seung-ha whispered, then quickly added, “I’ll call you back later.”

Without waiting for Seo Ahn-jae’s response, he hung up and carefully opened the door. When Joo Seung-ha entered, the entrance light automatically turned on. The rest of the interior was dark. He stood for a moment, confirming that no one other than him was inside his studio apartment, then let out a sigh.

Maybe I’m being too sensitive. But did I leave the door unlocked? Joo Seung-ha tilted his head, took off his shoes, entered the room, and habitually flipped the wall switch. With a small click, the room brightened, and Joo Seung-ha noticed the interior situation he couldn’t see in the darkness.

It turned out his laptop was open. Leaving the laptop open when not in use was something Joo Seung-ha never did. Naturally, when he left home, the laptop had been closed. Suddenly, a chill ran up and down his spine. His intuition screamed before his ears could hear: There’s a blind spot from the entrance. Right behind you.

Before Joo Seung-ha could turn his head after realizing this, he heard someone move first. Then a strong force grabbed his shoulder and struck the back of his neck. With that single attack, Joo Seung-ha’s consciousness switched off like a light.

Less than half a day after philosophically realizing that life was full of unexpected turns, Joo Seung-ha didn’t expect he’d be cursing his shitty life again. What brought his consciousness back to the world was a headache. The pain felt like electrical sparks flickering in his brain, making him furrow his brows even before opening his eyes. Because of this, even though he regained consciousness, he couldn’t open his eyes right away. While adjusting to the pain, he noticed Seo Ahn-jae’s voice.

“…Are your sources accurate? Even if the person Executive Director Hwang met was from that Chinese company that’s been shopping for Korean businesses, suspicion alone isn’t enough. Executive Director Hwang might have a personal relationship with them. …So Executive Director Hwang was the one who received the favors?

Though it sounded calm at first glance, Joo Seung-ha thought it was quite an angry tone. After a moment of silence while talking to someone, he commanded the other party in a cold tone.

“Even so, that’s not enough to say Executive Director Hwang betrayed the company. I know, both that the Chinese company is accumulating shares targeting us, and that it would be dangerous if Director Hwang transfers company shares. But there’s still nothing certain, right? Don’t show any signs to Director Hwang’s side. This is an order.”

When Joo Seung-ha opened his eyes, he saw Seo Ahn-jae looking down at his smartphone after ending the call. Though expressionless, he seemed sharp enough to cut if approached. From the conversation he unavoidably overheard, it seemed there was a traitor in the company.