SRSYT C10

Chapter 10

“What’s wrong?”

He asked, then remembered that Haegang had asked something similar a moment ago and he himself had said nothing.

“Ah! Well. There was a nice scent from somewhere, so I looked to see what it was. I think it was coming from those roses over there.”

Seojin smiled awkwardly and nodded toward the wall. Haegang seemed to look that way too, then lost interest and started walking again.

When they reached the office, Haegang said something unexpected.

“Go on in. I have somewhere else to be.”

“Where are you going?”

Seojin asked without much thought, then paused at the answer.

“JS Gallery.”

Why there of all places… A sigh came out on its own. JS Gallery was the part-time fill-in job Shin Seyeong suddenly ended up taking.

Wow. So this is the point where the secondary top and the main bottom start getting tangled in earnest.

From now on he had to stay sharp so he would not get swept up with them.

“Please go carefully.”

He made the quiet vow and bowed. Haegang, already blowing smoke from his mouth, flicked a hand and strode away.

Up in the office, Manager Kim was already back. Maybe because he was the easier person to deal with, the afternoon passed more comfortably than the morning.

Then it was just past four-thirty.

“Seojin-ssi! The president isn’t here, so let’s leave for the day.”

“Now?”

“Yeah. It’s Friday. Spend some sweet time with your daughter and see you Monday!”

Manager Kim waved cheerfully.

“You have a good weekend with your family too, Manager. I’ll just finish this and go.”

The words early leave put Seojin in a good mood. He offered a bright greeting, and an unexpectedly sunken voice came back.

“Seojin-ssi.”

“Yes?”

He looked up. Manager Kim’s eyes looked lonely.

“I’m a goose dad. The kids and my wife are all in the States.”

“Ah…”

The sloppy clothes and tired face had given off the air of a man living alone.

“If it’s alright, would you like to have dinner at our place tonight before you go?”

Seojin’s chest ached a little. He asked it quietly. Dinner was going to be eaten anyway, and one more spoon would not change anything.

“Huk! I-is that okay? Really?”

“Yes, of course.”

When Seojin nodded, Manager Kim’s face lit up like a fluorescent lamp switching on.

Seojin had worried Euni might find Manager Kim hard to be around. That worry was wasted.

Of course, the fact that the man stopped at the mart and arrived loaded with gifts and snacks to win the child’s favor was a big part of the success.

“Ohh… Seojin-ssi, you really cook well. The bulgogi isn’t tough at all, it’s tender, and the sauce is salty with just the right hint of sweetness. I haven’t tasted this in so long!”

Manager Kim praised so fast Seojin wondered if the man was even breathing. Watching him pick up bulgogi, onion, green onion, and enoki all at once and put them in his mouth seemed pretty amazing to Euni.

“Wow…”

The child sat with rice in her mouth, jaw dropped. That look was cute too. Seojin smiled, pleased.

“I’m glad it tastes good. Please keep eating.”

“Yeah. It’s been so long since I had a proper home meal like this. I’m moved. And a spread like this that actually tastes good…”

Manager Kim piled on praise to the point of embarrassment, then smacked his lips.

“This is a bit lacking as it is. Do you have beer? I think one can would be nice.”

Even after emptying one or two bowls of rice, his face still looked like something was missing. He asked for a drink as if checking Euni’s mood.

“Beer! I’ll get it!”

Euni herself ran to the fridge as if she had been waiting for those words. Manager Kim looked at Seojin, dumbfounded.

Feeling oddly ashamed, Seojin scratched his cheek and quietly looked away.

“So Seojin-ssi likes drinking too.”

The man made a fuss as if he had found a comrade, and Seojin’s earlobes felt even hotter. Beer cans were set down, and the rising mood broke when Manager Kim’s phone rang.

“Huh? It’s the president?”

The call was not just unwelcome. It felt ominous.

“Uh, that document? You want it delivered now?”

Manager Kim rubbed his neck, looking trapped. Seojin glanced at the digital clock on the wall without meaning to.

Eight in the evening. Not that late.

Still, calling someone who’s already off work to come and go.

This was why people said Yoon Haegang was a yandere top short on common sense.

“Haa… I know Managing Director Choi is a bit particular. Yes, you’re the one having a hard time, President. Of course. If you call, I have to go.”

So it was not Haegang who needed the document. Seojin took back the judgment he had just made.

Even Yoon Haegang, who looked like he answered to no one in the world, seemed to know how to adjust a little for a conglomerate managing director. Well. No matter how self-made he was, he would not stand shoulder to shoulder with a large-company executive.

Starting as a gangster with nothing and putting up a proper information-company building in Gangnam was, honestly, an ability worth recognizing.

The problem was that he bragged about that grand landlord title directly to Shin Seyeong and only lost points.

These days being a building owner was a huge charm point, but unfortunately he was not the main top. Words that would have been flirting if the main top tossed them off carelessly became empty swagger when secondary top Yoon Haegang said them. Thinking that made Seojin’s chest ache in a strange new way.

“Um, but President. As you know, I don’t have a car.”

Seojin folded the thought in his head and looked forward at the sound of running feet. Fresh from washing, Euni came running, her face even fairer.

“Appa, read Euni a picture book!”

“Did you brush your teeth and wash your face?”

“Yes!”

The stout answer was so admirable he stroked her cheek, then met Manager Kim’s eyes over the call. The look said he could die from how cute she was. The man probably had a daughter too.

“Alright. Bring the picture book Euni wants to read.”

At that the child ran to her room, excited. The pink slippers made a cute pop-pop-pop.

“Ah, yes. Of course. That’s something I have to handle. Yes, but it has to be there in twenty minutes?”

Manager Kim’s eyes darted, at a loss.

“Appa! Euni this! Please read this!”

Euni held out a picture book with a chick on it.

“Aigooo, I understand. I’m at Seojin-ssi’s place now, so if I hurry as much as I can I should make it. Yes? Yes… Seojin-ssi’s house. That’s right, yes, why? No?”

Manager Kim took the phone from his ear, made a tearful face, and tilted his head.

“Why does he keep asking if I’m at Seojin-ssi’s. Ah! That’s not what matters right now!”

Then, as if his heart was racing, he jumped up.

“Seojin-ssi, I have to go! The president wants an important document brought over. Haa… I don’t know if I can catch a taxi.”

It was Friday evening. A time when customers piled up. This was a residential area, so taxis were scarce, and even calling one on an app was not certain.

Seojin thought for a moment and looked down at Euni.

“Euni, instead of a picture book today, should we go for a drive with Appa?”

“A drive?”

Euni’s eyes shone even brighter than before. When Seojin nodded, she turned right around and ran to her room.

“Manager, it’ll be hard to catch a taxi at this hour. I’ll take you in my car.”

“Seojin-ssi, you have a car?”

Manager Kim looked at him, startled.

“Yes.”

Seojin answered as if it were nothing and looked around. In the original, when the secretary fled he had driven the car parked at home, so it would be somewhere in the parking lot.

Then he opened a nearby living-room cabinet drawer. Sure enough, a smart key sat there neatly.

Wow, noona. You really went all out.

Finding the emblem carved on the key, Seojin huffed a laugh.

“Appa! Euni is all ready!”

In that time Euni had changed into going-out clothes and appeared again. Her cheeks were pink, excited by the idea of a drive.

Seojin had said he would go along because Manager Kim looked stuck, and only then asked for the destination.

Manager Kim answered with an oh-right face.

“You know Bugak Sky, right? We need to go to the JS Gallery there. From here by car, about fifteen minutes? If there’s traffic, twenty?”