VDN Ch 16

When Nam-woon came out after washing, a small, round dining table was set in the middle of the room. On the table, adorned with a colorful floral pattern, sat a large mixing bowl, from which white steam rose from the rice inside. Kwon Seo-oh was nowhere to be seen, having apparently stepped out for a moment.

Se-han, who had followed Nam-woon out of the bathroom, wiped his still-damp face by lifting his shirt and rubbing it. This exposed Se-han’s round, bulging potbelly.

“Wooni Hyung.”

“Huh?”

“Come here, please.”

Nam-woon followed where Se-han’s tiny hand led him. Behind a fairly large shelf, many plastic bottles were lined up. Nam-woon’s eyes widened.

“Oh? This…”

The plastic bottles were filled with rice.

“You gave us so much rice, Wooni Hyung, we can eat a lot!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Hyung and I worked really hard to put all of this in!”

Se-han, hugging a bottle, shouted proudly. Nam-woon responded with a smile. Squatting in front of the bottles with Se-han, Nam-woon cautiously asked,

“Se-han, uh, ahem, did your Hyung like it too?”

“Oh, Hyung said it like this!”

Se-han scowled, his eyebrows rising at the ends. Then he lowered his voice and mimicked an angry tone.

“‘What am I supposed to do with something this big? I have nowhere to put it! This bastard!'”

“Your Hyung said that?”

“Yes! I secretly heard everything.”

Se-han’s expression quickly changed as he giggled and added,

“He said we wouldn’t be able to eat it if it got hot, so Hyung and I went around looking for plastic bottles.”

Nam-woon hadn’t thought about the shortage of bottles.

“Grandpa Nam-nam gave us the most.”

“Oh, I see.”

Nam-woon felt good that the rice he gave was being well-eaten but also felt sorry thinking about the brothers searching for plastic bottles in the scorching sun. And Kwon Seo-oh, who had been so adamant about throwing it away, was now going so far as to find plastic bottles and store it carefully, which made him feel he was a bit cute.

Nam-woon chuckled and muttered,

“He’s like a child.”

Seo-oh appeared from somewhere with a cucumber, which he washed thoroughly and placed on the dining table. Se-han and Nam-woon also sat down at the table. Both had only washed their faces, so their hair was sticking out everywhere.

The table, usually occupied by only Seo-oh and Se-han, had plenty of space, but with three people, their knees touched. Seo-oh sat as close as possible to Se-han to avoid contact with Nam-woon. Se-han seemed excited, as if he liked the suddenly cramped space.

“Let’s eat.”

“Let’s eat~!”

Following Nam-woon, Se-han also shouted. The only side dish was one cucumber, and for breakfast, there were just three bowls of kimchi fried rice with no egg.

Despite the modest meal, Nam-woon ate heartily, puffing his cheeks with food. Se-han, not to be outdone, chewed noisily, smearing red rice grains around his mouth and cheeks. After meticulously finishing every last spoonful of rice, Nam-woon pulled out his phone from his pocket and answered a call. Repeating phrases like, “Uh, uh, yeah,” he finally said, “I’m coming now,” and stood up.

“I have to go now.”

“Ah, Mister Wooni, are you leaving already?”

Se-han asked with a sad face. Nam-woon patted Se-han’s small head and smiled.

“Eat well. I’ll come again.”

At that, Seo-oh snorted. Nam-woon looked apologetically at the empty rice bowls.

“Uh… the dishes, I’ll definitely do them next time I come.”

“Next time? Are you crazy?”

“Thanks for the meal. I’m leaving.”

After Nam-woon left, the house returned to its usual quietness. However, Se-han’s face was much brighter than usual.

“I wish Mister would come to our house often.”

“Se-han.”

Seo-oh spoke as he picked a grain of rice from Se-han’s mouth.

“I told you not to get close to that person, didn’t I?”

“……”

“I won’t let him in the house anymore, so don’t ever get close to him…”

“Why can’t I get close to him?”

“Something dangerous, like last time, could happen to you. So you have to be careful of that person…”

“No.”

“What?”

Seo-oh was taken aback by Se-han’s firm response. Clutching his small spoon tightly, Se-han looked defiantly at his brother.

“I don’t want to. I know that person used to bother us. But he doesn’t anymore.”

“Kwon Se-han.”

“Wooni Hyung isn’t a bad person! You don’t know because you weren’t there!”

“Hyung? Why are you calling him Hyung?”

Seo-oh frowned and grabbed Se-han’s shoulder.

“Kwon Se-han, have you met that guy alone?”

Seo-oh asked sternly, but Se-han didn’t answer the question and instead said something else.

“He’s nice to us, right? He didn’t bother me or Hyung today, he just stayed quietly and then left. Hyung, please…”

“Kwon Se-han! You don’t know what you’re talking about. That person is…”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know, Hyung!”

Tears welled up in Se-han’s large eyes.

“When you weren’t there, Wooni Hyung stayed with me!”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Seo-oh’s eyes widened. Se-han stood up and shouted at Seo-oh,

“I’m always alone. When I play at the playground, when I come home, when I eat, and when I do homework, I’m always alone!”

“……”

“Hyung isn’t here! You always say you’re busy! Even when I ask you to play, you don’t play with me! Wooni Hyung stayed with me. When I was playing alone, he played baseball with me, and when I said I was eating alone, Wooni Hyung bought me jajangmyeon^[1]! And Wooni Hyung doesn’t leave until he takes me home! He only goes home after I turn off lights!”

After finishing his outburst, Se-han sat on the floor, crying pitifully.

“I like Wooni Hyung… waaah… You’re the bad one… Huhuhu, I’m always alone…” he sobbed.

Seo-oh’s face twisted with sadness as he listened to Se-han’s crying.

***

Nam-woon went to the pork belly restaurant where he had passed out yesterday and picked up his car. Unexpectedly, the parking time was long, and he ended up paying hefty parking fees. After getting in the car, Nam-woon headed to a toy store near the office that he had seen before.

“Welcome. Are you looking for anything?”

“Do you have puzzles here?”

“Yes. Come this way.”

Nam-woon followed the clerk to the puzzle section and pondered. After carefully looking around for a while, he finally said what he had intended to say from the beginning.

“Give me the easiest one.”

“Who will be doing it? If you tell me the child’s age, I can recommend one.”

“Me.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll be doing it.”

The clerk was silent for a moment, maintaining her smile, and then soon picked up a small puzzle.

“How about this one? It’s perfect for beginners. The difficulty level is low, too.”

Looking at the picture, it was a cake. It definitely looked easier than the one he did with Se-han. As he took it and turned towards the counter, a puzzle with a baseball player on it caught his eye. Nam-woon picked that one up as well.

“Give me this one too.”

Se-han would probably like it. Nam-woon’s lips curled slightly into a smile. He left the store, swinging the shopping bag, and headed to the office.

As he entered, several of his subordinates were pacing nervously around the office, like before. Yong-deuk, who had been waiting for Nam-woon, quickly approached and bowed.

“Young master, you’ve arrived.”

“What’s the situation?”

“We can leave in an hour. He’s currently at the golf course.”

Nam-woon took out his phone to check the time and asked,

“What about the money?”

“We’re short at the moment.”

Nam-woon knew he had to face Chairman Seok at some point. Now that the system was in power-saving mode, it was the perfect opportunity. It was an earlier meeting than Nam-woon had expected, but it was better to get it over with; if it was unavoidable, sooner was better.

“Let’s go.”

Nam-woon turned his back on his worried-looking subordinates and walked away.

***

“Young master, we’ve arrived.”

Nam-woon adjusted his shirt collar as he got out of the car. Yong-deuk quickly followed behind him.

“Since he’s usually in a good mood after playing golf, I’m sure you’ll be able to extend the deadline for the payment if you speak nicely.”

He scraped all the money he had saved but it was not enough to cover the amount due. I wonder what the old man, Chairman Seok, would say?

As they entered the gray building, several burly men in black suits checked Nam-woon’s face and lightly bowed their heads. Nam-woon approached the door. One of the subordinates standing in front knocked on the door with a gruff voice.

“Chairman, the young master has arrived.”

A deep, low voice from within responded, “Let him in.” Yong-deuk watched anxiously as Nam-woon stepped forward.

As Nam-woon entered, he saw a man of average build, dressed in golf attire, standing with his back to the window. The man turned his head slightly, prompting Nam-woon to bow respectfully.

Stepping forward, the man emerged from the shadows, his face, hidden by the light, was revealed. His hair, which was swept back without a single strand out of place, was stark white, and his face was wrinkled, yet he did not look frail. On the contrary, he seemed quite the opposite.

The sharp, snake-like eyes stared fiercely at Nam-woon.

“You’ve arrived?”

He sat first on the sofa and gestured with his chin for Nam-woon to sit. Nam-woon silently took a seat on the sofa next to him.

Seeing Chairman Seok in person, sweat formed on Nam-woon’s hands. His heart pounded as much as, or perhaps even more than, when he was chased by loan sharks in the past. This man was the real deal.

“It’s been a while.”

“How have you been?”

“Same as always. It’s quite something that my one and only son actually came to visit his old man, enough to make ghosts weep.”