Left alone at the table, Seungyeon sipped wine with a dazed expression. His pride was hurt, but the food was delicious and the wine was sweet.
“Money is nice.”
For all the talk about “a place where adults would go,” it wasn’t a bad turn of events. Eating and drinking leisurely and then being taken all the way home—what reason was there to refuse? Seungyeon muttered while observing the restaurant interior.
“I should come here with Mom next time.”
The atmosphere was nice and the food was delicious, so it seemed like his mom would like it if he brought her. Seungyeon made a note of the restaurant name on his phone. He could clearly picture his mom’s face—saying she won’t go, she doesn’t want to, but then being happy when he actually brings her.
“Huh?”
Chuckling as he was making notes, he discovered a missed message. Seungyeon tapped the screen to check the content.
[Noona: Seungyeon-ah, do you have time right now?]
At the sudden contact, he tilted his head. What business does Baek Sehee have at this hour?
[Me: What’s up?]
Before long, Baek Sehee sent a response along with a crying character emoticon.
[Noona: There’s something I urgently need to get, but I’m at work right now and there’s absolutely no way I can make time ㅠㅠ If you’re okay with it, could you come out for a bit?]
Seungyeon, who’d been contemplating for a moment, glanced at the empty seat. Yoon Taerim hadn’t returned yet, but since there were no plans after this, there was no reason he couldn’t help Baek Sehee.
[Me: Where should I go?]
She sent the address and repeatedly thanked him, saying she was sorry and grateful. Seungyeon appropriately cut off the conversation and just as he was putting down his phone, Yoon Taerim appeared from the entrance. He approached with a smile and gestured toward Seungyeon.
“If you’re done eating, shall we go now?”
Seungyeon stood up from his seat without saying anything and followed behind him. He got in the car following Yoon Taerim, who said he’d already paid. After fastening his seatbelt, the car moved forward smoothly.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“Don’t mention it. Just rest comfortably until Sanho contacts you. I’ll try persuading him once more too. There’s no need for us to waste each other’s time—if we just persuade Sanho, the problem will be solved.”
It was the most normal and reasonable thing Seungyeon had heard from Yoon Taerim all day. At Seungyeon’s brightening expression, Yoon Taerim smiled.
“Should I take you home?”
“Ah, I need to stop somewhere briefly. I’ll put in the address.”
Seungyeon entered the address he received from Baek Sehee into the navigation. After confirming the destination, Yoon Taerim turned the steering wheel without comment.
In the peaceful silence, Seungyeon slightly opened the car window. After driving a while longer in the cool breeze, they were finally able to arrive at the destination. Yoon Taerim checked outside the window and tilted his head.
“Why did you come here?”
The office district densely packed with a forest of buildings was understandably unfamiliar. Seungyeon unfastened his seatbelt, struggling to hide his awkward expression.
“I have business here. Anyway, thanks for the ride. Take care.”
Before he could say anything more, he hurriedly got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He moved his feet almost at a run to avoid Yoon Taerim, who opened the car window to say something. Gratitude was one thing, but Seungyeon was still uncomfortable with Yoon Taerim. The car, which had stopped briefly, slowly joined the road. Finally free, Seungyeon let out a sigh with a relieved face.
The address written on his phone pointed to a five-story building at the very end of the densely lined forest of buildings. During the walk, even the faint buzz from the alcohol completely dissipated. He considered calling Baek Sehee but decided to arrive at the destination first. She’d said he just needed to get the item and keep it, so it wasn’t particularly a difficult request.
Seungyeon, who arrived at the five-story building in no time, looked around the interior. It seemed like one company used the entire building, as there were no particular signs visible. There was an information desk in the small lobby, but the seat was completely empty. Seungyeon, who’d been peeking around, eventually called Baek Sehee.
—Hello? Seungyeon-ah!
“Yeah, Noona. I arrived, where should I go? There’s no one in the lobby.”
—Oh, really? Then could you go up to the second floor? There’ll be people there. If you mention Noona’s name, they’ll give you the item, so take it home. I’ll come get it later.
What could it be that she’s going through the trouble of leaving it at home and coming to get it? He was curious, but for now he answered that he understood. If Baek Sehee was asking, there must be a good reason.
Seungyeon took the stairs to the second floor. As soon as he opened the door, a space appeared that was too wide to be a hallway and somehow ambiguous to be a lobby.
It was a structure where the elevator and restroom faced each other, and if you followed the path stretching inward, offices continued. Because of the opaque glass, he couldn’t see if there were people inside.
Because there were no signs and no signs of human presence, he wondered if he’d come to the right place. Though he hadn’t committed any crime, his steps became cautious like someone who’d done something wrong.
Gulping down dry saliva, Seungyeon knocked on the glass door. Each time he knocked, the chime bell attached inside jingled. The moment he was considering whether to knock once more after a pause, the door opened wide.
“What.”
He was a man who brought to mind a giant stone grandfather statue. Both his rough impression and black suit clearly stated what the man’s occupation was. The man looked Seungyeon up and down and fiercely scrunched his expression.
“Kid, what brings you here?”
Seungyeon awkwardly curled up the corners of his mouth. While answering in as kind a voice as possible, he subtly looked for an escape route.
“Um… I came to run an errand… My noona, no, Baek Sehee-ssi left something here…”
“Huh? Ahhh! Come on in!”
As soon as he mentioned Baek Sehee’s name, the man’s expression brightened. He shouted loudly toward the inside of the office. At the booming voice, Seungyeon flinched involuntarily.
“Hyungnim! A guest is here!”
Since he didn’t want to go in and was dawdling at the entrance for a while, the man gestured with a face asking what he was doing not coming. With a momentum that suggested he’d get hit if he didn’t come, Seungyeon hurriedly followed behind the man.
Seungyeon’s pupils, who’d expected an ordinary office, shook roughly. It definitely wasn’t a space prepared for work. He saw sofas, cabinets, and a few desks that seemed just for show scattered here and there, and the rest was empty.
And in that empty space, he saw men lying face down in a row doing pushup position.
Right in front of them stood a man holding a baseball bat. Just from seeing his back, Seungyeon instantly realized who he was.
He’d never even thought he’d meet him here, and he hadn’t expected at all to see him in this state, so he was just bewildered.
Without even turning around, Go Won removed his wristwatch. After carelessly throwing the watch on the floor, he asked casually.
“Who’s the guest?”
“It’s Sehee nunim’s guest. Says he came to pick up an item.”
He, who’d been pushing away the watch on the floor with the metal baseball bat, stopped his motion. Go Won turned his head, discovered Seungyeon, and blinked.
Go Won, who’d been standing still as if time had stopped for a while, put down the baseball bat. At the clanging noise, Seungyeon reflexively squinted his eyes. Go Won, who’d been observing him intently, pointed at the man standing beside him.
“Seungmin, you handle this.”
“Yes, Hyungnim!”
Go Won approached in front of Seungyeon. Grabbing his shoulder, he turned Seungyeon’s body around.
“Let’s go out.”
His strength was such that as he pushed, the body moved swiftly. While stammering, Seungyeon, who’d been pushed out of the office, turned his head in confusion.
“No, wait…”
“You said you came to run an errand for Sehee-ssi?”
Thoroughly ignoring Seungyeon’s words, he tapped his shoulder. Only after closing the door did Go Won let go of Seungyeon’s shoulder.
As soon as he regained freedom, he twisted his body to create distance. At the gaze full of wariness, Go Won turned his head and swept his hair back.
“You should’ve told me in advance. It’s not something for a kid to see.”
How was I supposed to contact him when I didn’t even know Go Won was here? Seungyeon’s lips twitched in absurdity.
“No, I don’t even have your contact info, so how am I supposed to… Anyway, my noona told me to come get something. Just give me that and I’ll leave on my own.”
Seungyeon requested brazenly. Meeting Go Won was unexpected, but that was all. If he just ran the errand for Baek Sehee, there’d be no more reason to see him. Whether he was disciplining his subordinates or doing gangster stuff, what did that have to do with him?
“Wait here.”
Along with the familiar commanding tone, Go Won looked at Seungyeon. Though he said to wait, he didn’t go anywhere and just stood still, so Seungyeon also stared at him blankly.
As if having a staring contest, they faced each other for a while before Go Won squinted his eyes.
“Did you drink?”
“…What?”
“Never mind. Just wait.”
Leaving only those words, he disappeared into the office. Left alone, Seungyeon couldn’t continue speaking in his bewilderment.
“What the…”
Does he have a dog’s nose? Glaring at the jingling door, Seungyeon raised his arm and sniffed. He wasn’t drunk and it was just a few glasses of wine, so there shouldn’t be much alcohol smell…
Last time too, how does he notice I’ve been drinking like a ghost?
Seungyeon approached the window and opened it wide. He fanned with his hands so any possible alcohol smell would fly away on the wind. Only after doing that for a while did Go Won reappear.
He handed a small shopping bag to Seungyeon. Recognizing what the item was at a glance from the logo, Seungyeon checked the contents with a bewildered face.
“This is…”
It was the watch that, in the original drama, Baek Seungyeon had stolen from inside Baek Sehee’s house. The watch he hadn’t even gotten to see when he stopped by that house last time was neatly tucked inside the shopping bag.
