“Well…somewhat. But you have to look for a person who could do that. If you do find someone, then you have to pay them but a kid who is working here and there to pay off the debt, wouldn’t have that kind of money…”
Ah, there it was. The way he could continue to keep an eyes over Yigyeom. Kwon Taejung then looked at the old lady and smiled. The ticked off expression he wore when she previously called him a thug was different from what he had worn now. Wherever they were, whether it was a place they met or an interview place, it flustered the old lady to know the fact that the man could do nothing but have a free pass.
“Don’t worry about those things. I will take care of the old man.”
“…You, young man?”
“Yes, anyway, we are going to come here everyday until the demolition starts so don’t worry and leave him to us.”
“Well I…I would be very grateful if you could do that but serving older people isn’t easy and can someone as young as you handle it?”
“Of course. I also take care of my old dad.”
Secretary Baek awkwardly smiled at Kwon Taejung who was looking at the old day and the latter who suddenly changed her attitude. Secretary Baek shot Kwon Taejung a look, questioning him what he was up to but Kwon Taejung pretended not to see and met the old lady’s eyes and smiled.
“But it would be better to look for a caretaker. That person can also take him to the hospital.”
“Oh my gosh, even the hospital? Is that possible? That must require a lot of money though…”
“He reminds me of my father so I can’t ignore these kinds of things.”
“Is that so…I misunderstood you, young man. I am sorry about earlier. Before, all those thugs like bastards treated Yigyeom disgustingly and didn’t let him live in peace. After they were scammed, the loan sharks even came and pestered them….”
“You must have done so because you were worried.”
Kwon Taejung, who easily charmed the old lady, didn’t lose his smile until the end and even walked to the end of the alley with her.
“Ah…if it’s okay, when you come to prepare dinner for the old man, can I tag along…will that be alright?”
“Of course. That will be nice of you. I will cook around 5pm and come here around 6pm. Come later at 6pm. We can go in together and greet him. Oh my days. Your face is so handsome and your heart is also pretty. If our Junghee was even 5 years older, I could have made you my son-in-law. My daughter turned 17 years old yesterday. What a pity.”
“What a big dream…”
Kwon Taejung who barely suppressed the urge to bid her farewell with “See ya later” was interrupted with startled Secretary Baek, who was afraid that he might blurt it out, and as if he wanted to stop, stepped in and bowed to the old lady with a polite smile. Kwon Taejung, from behind, greeted her with a thank you and bowed to her properly as well. Secretary baek, who watched the old lady’s back which eventually disappeared, heaved a sigh of relief.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“No, she was being too harsh.”
“You could have just let her speak. She liked you that much.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ah, I am not good with those kinds of words. I should let her know by pointing out exactly that I don’t do those things even if I die.”
“…Zfjc.”
“Qfii, P ilxf yflcu wfjc. Rbatlcu ubbv mbwfr bea bo yflcu clmf.”
Bkbc Kjfpecu ragfamtfv bea tlr jgwr jcv qbqqfv tlr raloo cfmx. Ejatfg atjc atlcxlcu tf kjr algfv ogbw wffalcu atf biv ijvs ktb rqbxf abb wemt, tf atbeuta la kjr obgaecjaf atja tf uba rbwfatlcu ugfja bea bo la. Snfc lo atf alwf rqfca kjr cba wemt lc atja jiifs, la vlvc’a fcv eq yflcu j kjraf.
“Did you mean what you said earlier? You said you were going to take care of Yeon Gyuhak.”
“Huh, of course. I meant it.”
“Are you going to prepare his lunch and dinner by yourself?”
“I should use someone else. It’s good to use money for things that ought to be worth the spending.”
“Why are you thinking of spending money even if you are doing the difficult part? Did he really remind you of Chairman?”
Secretary Baek was quite naive sometimes. Kwon Taejung smiled at him, thinking how he believed him for his words as he walked towards the container.
“If I care for the old man there, I can visit the house easily. It will give me an excuse to meet Yigyeom even if there is no need for me to. I am taking care of his grandfather and he won’t be able to pretend that he doesn’t know me.”
“…You thought that far in that small span of time?”
“These days I don’t think about anything else but Yigyeom. I just think about how I am going to keep him by my side. Rather than waiting like a dog for my landlord, it worked out well, I guess.”
“I knew that you were clever but sometimes I think you might be a genius.”
“Are you talking about right now?’
“Uh-huh. You use your head well on these things.”
“I will take it as a compliment.”
“It is a compliment.”
“It’s a relief that you said so. Let’s grab some lunch. I used too much of my energy. It’s tougher than the briefings we used to gather for in the military.”
Kwon Taejun shook his head thinking of the old lady who spoke too fast and too much. It was very tiring but imagining how surprised Yigyeom would be, who assumed that he would come across me again, made him kind of excited.
“Ah, I am kind of excited.”
“About?”
“Now I think I can do some work.”
“You are being too flippant. What do you want for lunch?”
“Let’s go with what you like. I am not craving anything particular.”
Kwon Taejung looked at Secretary Baek who climbed to the driver’s seat and buried himself into the seat. His head was full of Yigyeom who would be surprised to see him, dazed or perhaps he might be angry. It was enough to wish to hop over the time ahead and he let it cover his head with peaceful darkness.
***
“It’s five thousand and five hundred won. I will be receiving your card. Would you like a receipt?’
“No, it’s fine.”
“Okay, once the buzzer vibrates, you can grab your drinks at the pick up desk to your left. Thank you.”
After rambling all those lines, Yigyeom made the drinks according to the order and boarded it on top of the tray. Strangely there were no customers that day and the drinks ordered were all easy to make so he wasn’t having a difficult time. Overall, it was a relaxing day.
Sometimes, when days like these came by, it was easier to breathe and he wondered whether it was okay to have no customers. While standing on the counter, Yigyeom took out his vibrating phone from his pocket and checked it.
[Kang Jihoon: Hey, rather than the weekend, will Friday be OK for you at the banquet hall?]
[Kang Jihoon: It’s a fucking big event, a foundation day celebration of sorts?]
[Kang Jihoon: The dough looks fucking great]
It was the most welcomed news that Yigyeom heard of recently. Yigyeom quickly sent the answer to Kang Jihoon, with both hands before the latter could change his mind.
[Kang Jihoon: OK then I’ll be informing them that you’re up for it.]
[Sure thank you]
[Kang Jihoon: Yeah yeah once decided I’ll call you, work hard]
Kang Jihoon’s action and words were quite rough however he sympathized with Yigyeom’s situation and introduced him to pretty good part-time jobs. It was common, the dent and sick person they had at home so Kang Jihoon cared for Yigyeom personally. Yigyeom was very thankful to Kang Jihoon.
Part-time jobs at banquet halls were not easy and he could work in a relatively clean place. He was also able to eat at those places so it was great in those terms. Yigyeom looked at the calendar in the small screen of his phone and organized the schedule of his part-time jobs in his head.
“Hey, what are you staring at so intently that you didn’t even notice a customer coming in?”
Surprised by the bombarding voice, Yigyeom looked up from his phone at the customer standing in front of the counter. When he realized who he was, his pupils shook while the hands that were holding on to the counter, trembled.
“You should take my order.”
“…What are you doing here? Today isn’t payday.”
“Fuck, hey. Why do people come to cafes if not to drink coffee? Just take my order.”
It was the loan shark who lent Yigyeom the large sum of money before. Goo Daebom, looked at the menu with brazen eyes before looking at Yigyeom.
“Iced americano.”
“…”
“You are being very unfriendly. Should I beat you up? Won’t you open your mouth?”
“…What kind of size do you want?”
“The largest one.”
“Your order is large Iced americano. It’s five thousand won…”
After receiving the card that was thrown in his face, Yigyeom with trembling hands punched in the order. Goo Daebom, looked at Yigyeom, smirking before tapping the counter with his knuckles.
“Hey, Yigyeom. Are you happy receiving the money for the coffee from me?”
“…”
“The debt of 300 million only increases and receiving 5000 won every time it does, and the fact you won’t be even able to pay it back with that, is so funny to me. If I were, I would have just told them not to pay.”
“…I don’t have that much money.”
“You are brave enough to talk when you don’t even have money.”
“Do you need a receipt?”
Goo Daebom looked at Yigyeom pissed, who didn’t talk much, before taking the receipt, crumbling it up and throwing it at Yigyeom’s face. The crumbled up receipt brushed Yigyeom’s cheeks before rolling off to the floor.
As if that did not satiate Goo Daebom’s anger, he hit Yigyeom’s ears and Yigyeom could not make a sound because he was so surprised, before dropping down under the counter. Goo Daebom held the counter with both hands and looked at Yigyeom, who was on the floor and spoke in a fierce tone.
“Fuck, just be grateful that you are not an Omega.”
“…”
“That time, when the broadcast allowed you to sell off your face, you gave a big bow to the broadcasting station. Fuck, if you didn’t sell that face of yours, I would have sold you off whole right then. The world is too good to you right? They give human rights to a person who can’t even pay off his debts.”
Goo Daebom often used to come to look for Yigyeom and threatened him like this. If he didn’t do the broadcast or even if the broadcasting station didn’t come to look for him, he could have put him on the market and told him to be thankful that he was not an Omega.
Whenever Yigyeom heard that, he tried not to be phased by it. If he knew that he was an Omega but didn’t function as once, he would still sell him off and so he tried not to be caught, and live honorably.
Oh my! I feel so sorry for him 😣