DrinkyL C8

Chapter 8

 

“Answer.”

Before even three seconds had passed, the man showed his impatience, and Seolgu quickly gave the answer he wanted.

“I drank water from the bathroom sink.”

“Huh…?”

“Was I not supposed to do that…?”

Hearing Seolgu’s increasingly timid response, an incredulous smile crossed Ban Dayeong’s face. At the clear derision, Seolgu’s face began to pale—the first sign of his hiccups coming.

Ban Dayeong clicked his tongue briefly and then smiled prettily to reassure Seolgu. If he had to listen to that stupid hiccup just one more time, he felt he’d throw the elf out, blood or no blood.

“Now that you know where the fridge is, drink your water from there from now on. Let’s eat.”

“Yes. Thank you for the meal.”

The two ate without exchanging a word. Seolgu’s eyes sparkled at the unfamiliar side dishes, but he kept his head down watching Ban Dayeong’s mood, while Ban Dayeong only picked at his rice with little appetite.

Seolgu only noticed after he was full that the man’s lunchbox had barely gone down.

“Excuse me, Ban Dayeong?”

“…What did you say?”

“Ban Dayeong…? Uh, did I get your name wrong?”

“No, the name’s right….”

Then what’s the problem? All he’d done was say the name. Seolgu’s eyes darted.

“It’s just, why do you add ‘sir’ after my name? As if I was your master or something.”

“Um… aren’t you?”

From the moment he arrived at the officetel instead of paying for land, he was basically a possession, wasn’t he? Surely “sir” was the minimum he should use.

“Mr. Baek Seolgu. There’s no need to use such extreme honorifics.”

“Oh! Then ‘Vice President’?”

Recalling the secretary’s suggestion, Seolgu looked eager to get it right this time. But Ban Dayeong shook his head again.

Seolgu’s eyebrows dropped in disappointment.

“Just call me by my name. Leave off that annoying ‘sir.’”

At the grumbling tone, Seolgu answered quickly.

“Yes, I’ll do that. So, Ban Dayeong? Just the name—is that right?”

“…….”

Is this kid doing this on purpose?

Tensing his grip on his chopsticks, Ban Dayeong’s mouth twisted up.

“I tell you, talking to you really shows me what it means to get mad.”

At those words, Seolgu closed his mouth, then peeked at him and spoke carefully.

“I noticed you’re not eating. I was wondering if you’d want some of my blood instead.”

“Mr. Baek Seolgu.”

“Yes?”

With a click, Ban Dayeong put down his chopsticks and straightened up. Even his normally tall frame seemed to fill the doorway.

The overwhelming pressure made Seolgu take a short breath.

“What did I say at the hospital?”

“At the hospital….”

They’d had several conversations there, so Seolgu tried to guess which answer he wanted. If he got it wrong again, he was sure that huge hand would hit him. But no clear answer appeared.

As Seolgu fumbled, unable to reply, Ban Dayeong bent his large body and looked straight into his gentle, brown eyes.

“I said to get strong.”

“Oh! Yes, I remember!”

“Do you feel stronger now just from one iron supplement?”

At the icy glare and words, Seolgu shrank again.

“If I suck your blood and you faint again, what then? Will you expect me to take you back to the hospital myself?”

“That’s not what I—”

“That’s not what? What.”

“It’s my role. If I can’t even do my job properly, I won’t be allowed to stay here.”

Seolgu tried to sound calm, but desperation colored his words. Even if he fainted twice, he never wanted to get kicked back to the elf forest.

“You’re mistaken. Your job now is to get strong. That’s how you won’t be kicked out.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really. So do as I say—eat well and take your meds.”

Seolgu nodded vigorously to show understanding, and Ban Dayeong looked satisfied.

With that level of desperation, Baek Seolgu would surely cling here even if he had to donate blood every day.

Ban Dayeong felt full even without dinner and tidied up the lunch. Seolgu watched the untouched side dishes with regret, but Ban Dayeong tossed it in the trash without hesitation.

“I’ll send someone to cook from tomorrow, so don’t leave anything uneaten.”

“Yes.”

“If you get stronger, then you’ll stay.”

Rising from his seat, Ban Dayeong patted Seolgu’s hair before vanishing.

“Huh…?”

Again, searching for the spot where the man had disappeared, Seolgu only saw a swirl of black mist.

There was commotion outside. Ban Dayeong frowned as he looked over routine reports.

“Boss!”

Bursting into the vice president’s office was Ban Jinyeong’s older sister, Van Hotel President Ban Haeyoung.

She had Jinyeong by the ear, dragging him along. Jinyeong protested at the embarrassment, but no one cared—they just assumed he’d caused trouble again.

“Boss!”

“Yeah.”

After shoving Jinyeong onto the sofa, Haeyoung strode over to Ban Dayeong.

With each step of her high heels, a chill swept the room. Anyone else would have shrunk under the atmosphere, but Ban Dayeong merely raised his brows in curiosity.

“Do you know what this bastard did?!”

“Did what?”

“He tricked the elves and brought one back?”

“What are you talking about?”

Looking at Jinyeong, Ban Dayeong realized the elf Haeyoung mentioned was Baek Seolgu—but “tricked and brought back” was news to him.

Jinyeong looked indignant.

“Trick? I was the one tricked! I had a legit contract!”

“That contract was fake, you jackass!”

Smack!

Haeyoung slapped the back of her brother’s head for emphasis. Jinyeong glared, but when words failed, violence dominated between the siblings.

Come to think of it, they’d even come out of their coffins just a second apart!

“Stop hitting me, my head’ll burst!”

“If busting your head makes you smart, I’ll do it as much as it takes. But you know you’re not right? Hopeless brat.”

“You gonna keep calling me brat just ‘cause I’m a few seconds younger? What, wanna drop ranks and settle this?”

“Fine, you little punk. I’ll make sure you never come out of your coffin again.”

They seemed to fight every time they met, but somehow, their bickering was only getting worse.

Watching the childish sibling quarrel with tired eyes, Ban Dayeong had no choice but to step in when it showed no sign of ending.

“You can fight all you want, knock heads, whatever—just finish what you were saying. You trying to kill me with suspense?”

His gentle voice carried less gentle content. The siblings immediately straightened at the rebuke.

“No, no!”

“Yeah, not at all!”

“Enough.”

Veins stood out on Ban Dayeong’s forehead. One more interruption and they were getting thrown out. While still jabbing her brother’s side, Haeyoung got down to the details of Jinyeong’s fraud.

She explained:

The land in Namyangju set for development had long been bought under Jinyeong’s name, but the development of the elf forest was supposed to be abandoned as soon as the elves opposed it at the executive meeting.

In other words, Jinyeong’s promise to spare the forest in exchange for an elf was a scam.

“Even among the construction execs, most agreed the elf forest was best left alone. The elves had settled there ages ago, and messing with fairies always brings nasty consequences.”

Haeyoung shrugged.

Just as she said, fairies in Korea were tightly-knit and operated as a pack. Their persistence was legendary—the saying goes, you avoid dog shit not out of fear but because it’s dirty. The fairies were a diehard bunch of collective isolationists, content to stew in their own deep woods.

“And then he went and spread false info to the media, then bragged when the elves came to negotiate and just snatched up an elf?”

“So what? It’s my land—should I let them live there for free? Even if I don’t develop it, rent’s not free.”

“Then say that! Why lie in the name of Van Construction?”

Haeyoung’s latest smack rang out in the office.