DHG Ch 25
by soapa“Don’t be like that.”
Jang Seungyung spoke as he strolled alongside the elderly man.
“I feel like the wicked stepsister. I’m Kongji.”
“You are?”
The Chairman scoffed. Jang Seungyung’s eyebrows shot up. Then, in this game set up by the Chairman, would Jang Joo-shin or Jang Cheonwoong be Kongji?
“How’s the fishing going?”
The elderly man changed the subject pointlessly. Jang Seungyung readily complied.
“Well, according to my Kongji little uncle, I still can’t distinguish fish. I wish I could read their minds.”
“Haha. You’re a decent fisherman.”
“Don’t flatter me.”
“Will you join me again this weekend? There’s a place in Gyodong, Ganghwa that makes excellent noodles.”
“I’ll have to pass on that.”
Jang Seungyung, inhaling the cold, fresh scent of the coniferous forest, made a face. No matter how much it was a deceptive charade, he was done managing the old man’s bait box.
It was a staged, one-on-one meeting for show, just like the weekend fishing trip. The conversation ended there, and the Chairman, as if unaffected by the cold, ascended the back mountain like a carefree idler.
Left alone, Jang Seungyung faced the low tiled wall and the refreshing forest park beyond it. There wasn’t a trace of fishy smells, the scent of blood, or anything resembling the smell of concrete. It was utterly pristine.
Such a greedy old man.
Jang Seungyung descended by the back road. A black sedan was waiting in front of the threshold-less door, exclusively for the old man’s use.
“Let’s go.”
In the back seat were a neatly arranged coat, gloves, and other such items. Secretary Hwang had received them in advance from the mansion’s staff. Jang Seungyung, flexing his stiff, cold fingertips, suddenly noticed a crumpled file next to the clothes and furrowed his brow.
It was what he had been looking at until just before getting out of the car.
Secretary Hwang, seated in the driver’s seat, glanced at his boss’s changed expression in the rearview mirror.
“…….”
That file was a report on Kwon Heewoo. The one his boss had been preoccupied with for days.
What could be causing him such a frown?
Secretary Hwang suddenly recalled the expensive winter clothes he had delivered through Madam Won a while ago. There seemed to be no response from Kwon Heewoo, who had received a mountain of quality gifts.
Ah, is that it?
Because there’s been no positive signal from the target?
Whether Secretary Hwang was looking or not, Jang Seungyung kept his gaze fixed on the report he had crumpled. He was racking his brains for a reason different from the secretary’s assumption.
‘Are you also that type? The type who procrastinates and settles for possibilities?’
Last Friday, Jang Seungyung, after asking Kwon Heewoo about the CSAT and the GED, had hesitated. After asking, he’d been struck by a nagging thought.
The whole country knows the CSAT is in November.
Then when is the GED?
He had confined the young man for a while. Was it August or September?
Staring intently at Kwon Heewoo, forgetting even to carry the large paint-bucket-like sauce container, Jang Seungyung had pondered this and that, and on that day, for the first time, he searched the word “GED” on his phone. He immediately found the search result indicating that it’s usually held in April and August.
August. Speechless at the coincidental month, Jang Seungyung asked Chief Secretary Choi, who happened to be waiting with him,
‘When was the Benny turnaround day?’
‘August 22nd.’
Chief Secretary Choi, after checking his phone’s schedule, replied.
It felt a little petty to go to such lengths, but Jang Seungyung did just that. He checked the GED dates announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education for this year.
The date he confirmed after visiting the education office’s website was, of all days, August 25th. The damned GED test date.
Turning Benny upside down was one thing, but in the process, he had confined Kwon Heewoo. Because the young man had tried to run away, and Kim Jinhwan couldn’t be allowed to snatch the fish that had escaped the fish farm.
After a moment of silence, Jang Seungyung started rationalizing.
It was only once this year, in August. Just once, he had interfered with Kwon Heewoo’s taking the test. Kim Jinhwan had detained him for four years, and the GED could be taken twice a year. That meant there were at least eight opportunities, so there was nothing for him to feel uneasy about, but—.
‘Madam Won knows the circumstances of all the employees, right?’
Yet, something bothered him. So, he called Madam Won, who was in charge of debt repayment within Benny, obtained personal information about Kwon Heewoo from her, and compiled additional information through Secretary Hwang, resulting in that crumpled report.
Jang Seungyung had hoped Kwon Heewoo would be the type to procrastinate on things he was uncomfortable with, or that he would turn out to be an irredeemable idiot, but according to the detailed records compiled over several days, that wasn’t the case.
Regarding the GED, which had been on his mind, the report was quite clear. The reason why Kwon Heewoo, who usually lived like a ghost, rarely caused trouble was related to that damned test date. The fact that Kim Jinhwan toyed with him every test date like releasing and catching a mouse, and the fact that Kwon Heewoo, in the year he first ran away, almost crippled Pyo Mingeon.
The worst of all was what happened in April of this year, after Kwon Heewoo became an adult.
Beta male prostitute. The body that Kim Jinhwan was obsessed with.
Words that Jang Seungyung himself readily used to describe Kwon Heewoo, after hearing it all with his own ears.
The dry list of information suddenly carried a faint moisture. Over that undeniable dampness, the image of Kwon Heewoo silently carrying luggage under his gaze, his long nape drenched in sweat despite the near-winter weather, overlapped.
Also, the damp voice that denied any relationship with Kim Jinhwan despite trembling with fear, and the wet eyes that looked up at him desperately as he followed him closely.
Jang Seungyung felt a pang of discomfort. His solar plexus twisted as if he had indigestion. It was the first time he had felt such intense emotions towards a person.
What kind of emotion is this?
Discomfort? Is he uncomfortable with Kwon Heewoo? Or does he suddenly pity him?
“…….”
Only one thing was clear.
He wanted to truly kill that damned Kim Jinhwan, the one he had only seen as a target for slaughter, by hacking him to pieces.
“That son of a bitch, is there any more information on him?”
“…Yes.”
Secretary Hwang, somehow understanding that he was referring to Kim Jinhwan, replied.
“As I mentioned, the last information we have is that he underwent surgery in September and was in critical condition due to an infection.”
That information was also obtained by torturing the stalker Jang Seungyung had caught, from some local clinic Kwon Heewoo frequented.
Jang Seungyung tossed aside the report, the contents of which didn’t change no matter how many times he looked at it, and loosened his suffocatingly tight tie. He wondered why he felt so uncomfortable with Kwon Heewoo’s life.
He had seen plenty of people in his life who deserved more pity and compassion. He didn’t know why Kwon Heewoo, whose situation wasn’t particularly tragic, kept popping into his head.
Is this also connected to desire?
Kwon Heewoo was the first person he had ever desired to sleep with. He wondered if that aspect was influencing his emotions and his anger towards Kim Jinhwan.
Jang Seungyung tentatively classified the irritating feeling, like a hangnail, as part of his desire. Under the fading sun, the car carrying him quickly left the winter forest. It was the time when everything became obscured, covered in long shadows. They entered deep into a dark tunnel.
✮⋆˙
“Heewoo, you look happy.”
A young woman who came to buy juice spoke to him warmly. The young women usually bought drinks from the housekeeper who visited their quarters directly, but occasionally, they came down to the kitchen like this.
“You’re full of energy. What’s your secret?”
“Caffeine.”
Heewoo gestured towards the black coffee he had brewed as strong as poison.
He enjoyed these small conversations with the young women and the Sunsus. It was something he couldn’t have dreamed of when Kim Jinhwan was around. It had been three months since he escaped from him, but the welcome changes were still ongoing.
“Ah, I heard the first digit of your debt changed, too?”
The reduced debt, now in the 100 million won range, was another positive change. This was thanks to diligently handing over all his earnings to Madam Won after deducting room and board, juice ingredient costs, and other living expenses every payday.
“I have good news.”
Just then, the Head Chef chimed in. Shaking the handle of the frying pan he was seasoning, he said,
“Hong Sunsoo almost paid off all his debt!”
“Well, he’s the most requested these days. There’s no customer in Benny he hasn’t gotten a business card from. Won’t he clear his remaining advance payment in no time?”
The young woman shrugged.
“I hope he leaves soon? So I can be number one.”
After delivering her backhanded compliment/well-wish, she took the finished juice and left the kitchen.
After seeing off the early customer, Heewoo placed an “out” sign on the juice counter. The reason he had come to the kitchen particularly early and finished his work was because he had something to do today.
Organizing clothes.
As soon as Heewoo returned to his room, he gathered the unopened shopping bags. He carried them out to the hallway and spread out the aluminum foil he had brought from the kitchen storage, quickly setting up a small stall.
Light and high-quality clothes at a glance. Practical and luxurious designs. Every time he took out a piece of clothing, his gaze lingered like regret. Like the emotions that were beginning to surface within him again.
Heewoo quickly pulled himself together. As if stamping out those emotions, he hastened to display the clothes. He and Jang Seungyung had no relationship, so there was no need to feel guilty.