PEN Vol 2 Ch. 20

Flashing him a middle finger over his shoulder, Cheon Sejoo left the room. He handed some tips to the staff waiting outside for cleanup and then made his way to the parking lot.

His handsome face remained furrowed throughout the entire time he drove. While he was glad to finally be rid of Shinsa Capital, Shin Gyoyeon’s words bothered him. The way he spoke earlier felt like a clear threat to Cheon Sejoo.

If he created any weakness, Shin Gyoyeon himself would personally remove that weakness…

Was that it?

Driving toward Shinsa Capital, Cheon Sejoo tilted his head deep in thought.

Or was it more of a warning that if a weakness were exposed, it could be exploited, and he should be prepared for that…?

“Ah, f*ck.”

He sighed in frustration and cursed under his breath as he leaned his head against the seat. Understanding that psychopath’s thoughts was too difficult. Considering Shin Gyoyeon’s nature, the first interpretation seemed more likely. But then again, thinking about how he cared for him and Chae Beomjun in his own twisted way, the latter interpretation seemed plausible as well…

Either way, there was something more important than Shin Gyoyeon’s intentions in saying those words. Without even mentioning a name, Cheon Sejoo immediately thought of Sejin’s face when the word “weakness” was brought up. That was the real problem.

Didn’t that mean Cheon Sejoo himself already considered Sejin someone important to him?

Was Kwon Sejin significant enough to be considered his own weakness?

The idea was hard to believe.

Cheon Sejoo saw Sejin similarly to the younger kids in the orphanage. The boy’s bratty behavior was amusing, and Cheon Sejoo often found himself thinking about him. However, he had never felt genuine affection towards Sejin.

But now, facing this situation, he began to wonder if he actually cared for Sejin more than he realized. Not just as a younger kid living under the same roof, but as Kwon Sejin himself.

It was a ridiculous thought.

Cheon Sejoo had never considered himself to have enough emotional capacity left to care about anyone…

With his usual indifferent expression, Cheon Sejoo arrived in Gangdong-gu. He drove past East Seoul Boys High School, where the supplementary classes would be taking place, and parked his car in front of Shinsa Capital. But in front of his Lamborghini, there was a familiar-looking electric car that looked like he had seen somewhere.

Where have I seen that car before…?

Cheon Sejoo racked his brain for a moment, but he couldn’t pinpoint the owner. Thinking it was just his imagination, he stepped out of the car.

“You’ve arrived, sir!”

Seeing the loud-mouthed, thuggish men greeting him, Cheon Sejoo let out a short sigh inwardly.

He’d told them more than ten times not to call him “sir,” but they still did. They were definitely monkeys in human skins. No, that’s not it. To be fair, chimpanzees were likely smarter.

With his hands in his pockets, he walked into the run-down building he thought he would never visit again. He passed the hallway where he had first met Sejin and stepped into the rattling elevator. As soon as he exited on the third floor, he immediately encountered a familiar yet unpleasant face he didn’t want to see.

It was Han Jonghyun.

“…”

“…”

This b*stard’s here again.

Cheon Sejoo’s irritation flared up as he stared at Han Jonghyun, not moving.

The elevator doors, which had opened wide, began to close and Cheon Sejoo reached out to press the button for the first floor. Just then, a hand slipped through the small gap, and Han Jonghyun’s grinning face appeared as the doors creaked open again.

“Aren’t you going to greet your Director?”

His tone was distinctly blunt.

Swearing internally, Cheon Sejoo gave him a curt nod.

“Hello.”

Then, without another glance, he briskly walked past Han Jonghyun and headed toward the office. His plan was to deliver his final instructions to Kim Donggil and then go pick up Sejin. But once again, Han Jonghyun was a step quicker.

Swish.

Moving his long legs to block Cheon Sejoo’s path, he tilted his head and smirked.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

The last time they had met was almost four months ago, back in early October, when they encountered each other at a club. Unlike that time, when Han Jonghyun had been drugged up and half-naked, he looked more like a proper human today. He wore a fully buttoned-up shirt with a slim tie, and his three-piece suit, featuring a light blue striped pattern, gave him a clean, professional appearance.

Han Jonghyun, despite carrying a nasty reputation as Chae Beomjun, perhaps even more so, was a strikingly handsome man. If Chae Beomjun exuded the aura of a news anchor, Han Jonghyun gave off the atmosphere of someone who might have been everyone’s first love in college, fresh and composed. That was, if he kept his mouth shut and stayed still like a statue.

“What the f*ck, why is it harder to see your face than the President?”

The vulgar words that spilled out every time he opened his mouth didn’t just degrade Han Jonghyun’s personality, but it also made his handsome face repulsive.

Cheon Sejoo, well-accustomed to his sneers, responded in an indifferent tone, his expression still cold.

“Is there something you need?”

“What, are you so important that I can’t even speak to you without a reason? My apologies then, Manager Cheon, for not recognizing someone as high and lofty as you.”

As Han Jonghyun sarcastically addressed him as “Manager,” Cheon Sejoo shot him a gaze full of disgust. Han Jonghyun, seemingly embarrassed by the silent disdain in Cheon Sejoo’s gaze, cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking again.

“Hey, let’s grab a meal together.”

Is this b*stard out of his mind?

The two of them weren’t on terms close enough to sit down for a meal face to face. Every encounter only ended with both of them leaving in a worse mood, so why bother having a meal? Unless Cheon Sejoo was actively looking for a reason to ruin his appetite, it was an offer not worth considering.

Cheon Sejoo stared at him for a moment, then proceeded to pull open the office door, replying as he did so.

“I just had lunch with the President. Let’s do it another time.”

“Cheon Sejoo.”

Thud.

The door, which had been about to open, was stopped by Han Jonghyun. This was the third time. In less than five minutes, Han Jonghyun had blocked his way three times. This was why Cheon Sejoo couldn’t help but dislike him. The two of them were just utterly incompatible.

Cheon Sejoo glanced down at Han Jonghyun’s hand gripping the door handle and swallowed a sigh. It seemed like today was simply one of his unlucky days.

Han Jonghyun’s voice was cold as he asked him.

“Hey, what gives you the right to refuse me?”

“…”

“If the director says to do something, you do it. Am I wrong, Manager Cheon?”

When the title of “Director” was used, it wasn’t something Cheon Sejoo could turn down. Although Cheon Sejoo stood right below the highest authority in the organization’s hierarchy, in terms of the ranks given by that very authority, he was still far beneath Han Jonghyun.

Considering he wasn’t even allowed to speak informally to Chae Beomjun, who held the title of “Director”, defying Han Jonghyun, whom Shin Gyoyeon seemed to favor for no reason, would only invite trouble.

D*mn it, today is seriously sh!t.

Cheon Sejoo rolled his tongue in his mouth, holding back his irritation, and eventually nodded his head as he answered.

“Understood. I have some business to attend to in the office, so please wait a moment.”

“I’ll be in the car, so hurry up.”

“Yes.”

Leaving behind Han Jonghyun, who scoffed as if he knew Cheon Sejoo would eventually give in, he pushed open the office door once again.

Shinsa Capital, which Cheon Sejoo had been handling for over six months, was finally starting to run smoothly, as it had before the incident. Inside the office, the sounds of keyboards clicking, and phones ringing filled the air.

As he entered, he could feel the curious glances from the newly hired regular employees, whom he had worked hard to recruit. To avoid intimidating them, Cheon Sejoo kept a faint smile on his face as he walked deeper into the office.

With the recent relocation of the accounting department outside, and the break room was moved in the inner part of the office, Kim Donggil and the other big guys had fewer interactions with the regular employees. Moreover, the previously locked back door was now being used as an entrance, which meant that the debt collectors rarely needed to come into the main office area where the employees worked.

“Ah! You’re here, sir!”

Cheon Sejoo saw Kim Donggil lounging on a sofa, trading coins on his phone. The moment he saw Cheon Sejoo, he brightened up and got to his feet. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, it seemed like he had been dealing with Han Jonghyun’s harassment quite a bit, and it looked like it had been quite some time since he had been to the office.

Cheon Sejoo sipped the green tea Kim Donggil served for him, taking his time to give some stern advice. Well, it was more of a threat than advice, telling him if there were any more incidents, Cheon Sejoo would personally deal with him, so he better manage the guys properly and avoid causing him trouble by getting called back here again.

Only after spending a deliberately long time chatting with Kim Donggil did Cheon Sejoo finally leave the office. It was a tactic, hoping that the impatient Han Jonghyun would give up on the idea of having a meal with him.

However, as Cheon Sejoo stepped out into the empty corridor and felt a moment of relief, it was short-lived. As soon as he stepped outside, there was Han Jonghyun, sitting on the hood of the electric car parked in front of his own, complaining about how late he was.

Cheon Sejoo silently cursed to himself, realizing that he had forgotten Han Jonghyun was someone with nothing to do and plenty of time to waste.

“Follow me.”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, Han Jonghyun didn’t suggest they share a ride.

Cheon Sejoo got into his own car and followed the electric car ahead.

It was already close to 4 PM. While the car stopped at a traffic light, he took out his phone to send Sejin a message, telling him to take the subway home today.

But before he could send it, a message had already arrived from Sejin.

Mutt  ^[1]

I’m meeting a friend today, so I’ll be late.. Go ahead without me

15:11

Cheon Sejoo squinted his eyes, finding the message suspicious. He thought it must be another ridiculous lie. As the light changed and he stepped on the accelerator, he turned on the voice recognition function and spoke.

“You don’t have any friends.”

However, the voice recognition function misinterpreted his words as,

Nigga don’t have any friends.

“Oh, sh!t.”

Suddenly finding himself appearing like a racist, Cheon Sejoo cursed as he repeatedly hit the backspace key in frustration. Once the text box was cleared, he made a left turn, following Han Jonghyun, and tried again.

“You don’t have any friends.”

You don’t have any friends.

This time, the input was finally correct. He pressed send and then turned into a side street. Fortunately, the place Han Jonghyun was leading him to wasn’t far from Shinsa Capital. Arriving at a Japanese restaurant, Cheon Sejoo waited for the valet service to take his car while a reply from Sejin popped up.

Mutt

ㅡㅡ ^[2]

15:47

See you later 

15:48

Clicking his tongue at the typo in Sejin’s message, he heard a light knock on the car window. He switched the car into valet mode and got out of the driver’s seat, quickly sending a reply to Sejin.

It’s not ‘있다 (itda/to exist)’ but ‘이따 (itta/later).’^[3]

The “1” notification immediately disappeared, indicating that Sejin had already read his message, but this time, no response came back.