VDN Ch 7

Se-han ran across the narrow yard in a flash, flinging off his slippers and entering the room.

“Hyung! I brought him water!”

“Good job.”

Seo-oh pointed to the floor.

“We’re going to eat later, so let’s clean up the notebooks. Why did you take out the sticker book? Eat the snacks after we finish our meal, okay?”

“Uh-huh, got it.”

Se-han quickly tidied up the scattered items following his brother’s words, then looked up with sparkling eyes. Seo-oh’s large hand gently cradled Se-han’s small, round head. Feeling happy with his brother’s affectionate touch, Se-han began to ask various questions he was curious about.

“But Hyung, you don’t like that Hyung, I mean that man. Why did you give him water?”

Se-han changed his form of address quickly after seeing Seo-oh’s face.

“It’s hot, isn’t it? If he collapses in front of our house, we’d have to deal with it.”

“Ah, I see. But that man’s bicycle looks just like the one next door, doesn’t it?”

Seo-oh thought for a moment and said.

“Se-han, when you go out to play later, check if Mrs. Soon-i’s bicycle is still there.”

“Huh? Okay! But why did he leave rice behind?”

“What?”

At Se-han’s question, Seo-oh’s expression hardened, and he quickly went outside. Se-han quickly picked up his slippers and followed his brother. There was a large bag of rice left in front of the gate. Se-han grabbed the hem of his brother’s pants and stuck his head out.

“We already have plenty of rice at home!”

“…I know.”

Seo-oh pressed his lips tightly together. What’s he trying to do now? Seok Nam-woon had been very strange lately, but today was especially worse. He suddenly showed up at school, insisted on taking him home and came on a strange bicycle. He even followed him to his house and left rice.

I thought Seok Nam-woon would laugh at my house like before. But he didn’t do that today. Instead, Seok Nam-woon’s expression was one of shock.

It wasn’t even funny. He’d seen the house before, yet he acted as if it was his first time.

Was it really so laughable that Se-han and he lived in this house? And then he left rice behind. He was angry. If he had just openly scoffed, Seo-oh could have dismissed it, thinking, “That’s just how he is.” But this new method of ridicule only made him let out a hollow laugh.

Seo-oh muttered in a low voice,

“Does he think we’re beggars?”

Hyung is making a scary face again.

To cheer his brother up, Se-han looked for giant ants on the floor. While moving and looking at the floor, Se-han’s foot nudged something.

“…..?”

There was an unfamiliar black plastic bag where Se-han had left the note and sticker earlier. Se-han checked to make sure his brother was still looking at the rice, then quietly turned around and opened the bag.

Rustle.

“Wow, Choco Mushrooms…!”

Se-han’s favorite snack was Choco Mushrooms. There was also a bag of jelly and two lollipops.

Did the man leave these? Se-han, delighted, smiled, and his plump cheekbones puffed up slightly.

He felt a bit regretful giving Alkongi to the man, but seeing that he had accepted it made him happy. He noticed that the man’s bicycle was pink earlier. It was clear that the man must like pink.

Se-han lifted his yellow T-shirt and put the plastic bag inside it so his brother couldn’t see. Then, with a bulging belly, he waddled carefully. With a rustling sound, Se-han entered the house without his brother knowing.

***

Squeak.

Arriving in front of the office, Nam-woon parked his bicycle and took off his helmet. On the side of the helmet, which hung on the bicycle handlebars, Alkong was striking a cute pose. As Nam-woon climbed the stairs, he idly fiddled with the pants pocket where Se-han’s note was.

As he entered the office, the tough guys were milling about distractedly. Among them, Jang-mi spotted Nam-woon and asked cheerfully,

“Young master, you’re here! Oh, is there good news?”

“No, not really.”

“Come on, there is too. You’ve been smiling since you walked in.”

Was I?

Nam-woon lightly rubbed the corner of his mouth as Jang-mi said,

“Alright, everyone, let’s get ready.”

“Yes!”

Then Jang-mi picked up a wooden club that was leaning against a wall in the office. Startled, Nam-woon looked around and saw everyone grabbing a weapon and standing there menacingly. Nam-woon asked in surprise,

“Where is everyone going?”

“We’re going to collect today, young master. You should get ready too.”

Right, I have to do loan shark work too. The novel’s villain, Seok Nam-woon, enjoyed tormenting the weak and would proactively take on collection duties even when he didn’t need to.

Nam-woon didn’t want to go, but seeing his subordinate’s demeanor, he became anxious about what they might do. Moreover, an unavoidable system message appeared.

[It’s time for your main job! Please proceed diligently!]

[Today’s location is Haengwon Restaurant.]

After reading the message, Nam-woon checked just in case.

“Where are we going?”

“Haengwon Restaurant.”

They’re going to a mere restaurant carrying those things? Nam-woon swallowed hard once and first pointed at Yong-deuk.

“You.”

Then, he scanned the faces of the tough guys again and picked a man with a gentle face.

“And you. Just the two of you are going.”

At that, the subordinates stirred.

“No, young master! You’re taking Deok-chil, but why are you leaving me behind?”

Jang-mi then whined, “Please take me too.” stretching out her words and twisting her scarred face. Nam-woon deliberately ignored her hard-to-look-at appearance and told Yong-deuk and Deok-chil. Then Jang-mi made a pitiful expression and whined, “Please take me with you too.” Nam-woon, trying hard to ignore him, told Yong-deuk and Deok-chil,

“Put those things down and follow me.”

The alley was very quiet. Deok-chil said that after numerous chain stores popped up nearby, the commercial district had died, with few customers and many businesses having left.

Haengwon Restaurant

The red stickers were peeling off here and there, making it hard to recognize the store’s name, but Yong-deuk, who was walking ahead, stopped in front of it.

Slide.

As he opened the sliding metal door, an old man with a bent back and white hair looked up. Seeing Yong-deuk’s face, the old man began to tremble.

“Grandfather, we’re here! We’ve come to collect.”

Deok-chil spoke in a friendly tone, and the old man hurriedly cleared the leeks and onions from the table, muttering,

“No money, no money…”

Then Deok-chil threw one of the baskets against the wall. The ingredients scattered everywhere, and the old man gasped in shock.

Deok-chil, why the hell are you throwing precious food around? Nam-woon’s eyes turned red from behind. He then bent down and carefully picked up the onions that had fallen on the floor. The old man, with red eyes, quickly went to the sink, filled a bowl with water, and splashed it at them

Splash~!

“Ah, it’s cold!”

“No money! You took it all!”

As Yong-deuk approached him, the old man screamed like a madman. The old man’s gaze was fixed on Nam-woon, who stood behind Yong-deuk with surprised eyes.

“You beast, worse than an animal! Because of you…!”

Nam-woon involuntarily took a step back. The image of his past self, repeatedly saying, “I have no money. Really,” overlapped. But he quickly regained his composure, stopped Yong-deuk, and stepped forward.

“You devil! Get, get away!”

His two eyes were full of contempt and hatred, staring at Nam-woon.

“Because of you, because of you, our grandson… went to work and then…”

Tears welled up in his eyes.

“He hasn’t come home… Sniff… My grandson, what happened to my grandson?”

The old man covered his face with his wrinkled hands and sobbed. Nam-woon watched silently for a moment and then told his men,

“Let’s go back.”

“Huh? What about today’s money?”

“Don’t take it.”

The old man had an incredulous look in his eyes. Yong-deuk quietly called out to Nam-woon from beside him.

“Young master, we’re short on money for the chairman.”

“I’ll take care of that.”

Nam-woon stared intently at the menu on the wall before asking,

“Sir, do you also do takeout for side dishes?”

An hour later, Nam-woon placed a black bag full of items on the office table. His subordinates gathered around.

“Take these home.”

“Didn’t you go to Haengwon grandpa’s today? Did he say he has no money again? Seriously, why did he give us these useless side dishes?”

“I bought them.”

“…You bought them?”

“I bought them.”

The subordinates looked at Nam-woon with wide eyes. Nam-woon spoke expressionlessly.

“Yong-deuk.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Find out where Haengwon Restaurant’s grandson is.”

Yong-deuk, who was standing behind, quietly spoke up.

“I’ll look into it, but young master, if the Chairman hears about such actions, it won’t be good. And you might want to reconsider lowering the interest rate…”

“Don’t tell my father.”

“Of course, I won’t report it.”

The usually noisy subordinates were silent, only watching Yong-deuk and Nam-woon. Nam-woon took out all the side dishes from the bag and blurted out.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let it affect you guys.”

“…….”

Nam-woon knew well that this was something he couldn’t control as he wished. With Chairman Seok involved, it would be difficult to quit the loan sharking business immediately. Still, Nam-woon wanted to live his life his way, if he could.