“Grandmother.”
“Who the hell are these people. Who told you to just let strangers into the house! Jeongan, haven’t I always told you to be careful around people!”
“Quite the temper. Is everyone in this village this angry? Talk this loud before we’ve even had a proper conversation, my ears are going deaf.”
“Get out! Get out of my house, right now!”
The woman called Mrs. Oh looked considerably older than old man Shin, somewhere in her eighties, maybe even her nineties. And yet she was remarkably spry and vigorous, shoving aside Jeongan, who clung to her arm, and swinging her cane straight into Yongsik’s back.
Unable to bring himself to do anything to an elderly woman, Yongsik hopped around on the spot, rubbing at his back. Then, catching a blow to the back of his hand from the cane, he let out a yelp and started bolting around the yard like a startled calf.
“You ought to at least hear him out before chasing him off.”
Yelp! Yelp! Even as Yongsik kept shrieking, Jonghyeok and Mrs. Oh both stayed remarkably composed. Only Jeongan darted his eyes between Mrs. Oh, Jonghyeok, and Yongsik, utterly at a loss for what to do.
“Obviously. Aren’t they here to sell off the village? You think I don’t know what that looks like, at my age? You think living out in the countryside means I don’t know a thing or two? You think I haven’t seen my share of punks like you? Get lost, all of you!”
Remarkably vigorous for her age, Mrs. Oh swung her cane even harder as she marched over to the outdoor tap in the yard. There, she abruptly turned on the water, rinsed her mouth with the ladle sitting beside it, and spat the water straight at Yongsik and Jihwan.
“This old woman, honestly.”
Jihwan shook the water off his jacket, his forehead creasing sharply. Jeongan’s expression grew more and more strained by the second. Yongsik was still hopping around in pain, and even the usually quiet Jihwan was now openly venting his displeasure. Their opponent was Mrs. Oh, an elderly woman well past her years, and there was nothing Jeongan alone could do to stop any of this.
“Jeongan, go bring the salt. Now!”
“Grandmother, please calm down. Later. Go inside first. I’ll see these people off.”
“See them off, my foot! After letting them right into the house. Hurry up and go get the salt!”
Apparently not the least bit tired despite her trip into the city, Mrs. Oh scooped up more water and flung it again. Yongsik, caught square in the face, let out a shout. The expressions on Jonghyeok’s men grew darker and darker by the second.
“Quite the greeting, ma’am. What is all this, coming at us out of nowhere?”
The village being as quiet as it usually was, this small commotion quickly drew attention. A middle-aged man who’d been approaching to ask Jeongan something about the supermarket turned tail and bolted, and some auntie, hair still wound up in pink curlers, came charging into the yard with a broom, having heard the noise from somewhere.
“Ow, ow! It hurts! It really hurts!”
“What are these people doing to an old woman! You trying to send an old lady to her grave early?”
Whether her words were meant to defend Mrs. Oh or not was hard to say, but she swung the broom violently enough to send her curlers flying. Yongsik, taking the full brunt of that wild broom swinging, hopped around a while longer before finally snatching the broom right out of her hands.
“Oh my!”
The woman with the curlers, her face going pale, clearly hadn’t expected Yongsik to actually grab hold of the broom and snap it in two.
“Stop this at once!”
Amid the chaos, Mrs. Oh, having fetched the salt, hurled a fistful of coarse salt straight at the back of Yongsik’s neck without hesitation. Jihwan let out a sigh, eyes narrowing, while Jonghyeok, watching the absurd scene unfold, clicked his tongue at the sight of Jeongan and Mrs. Oh, both clearly at their wits’ end.
“What exactly is the problem here?”
Jonghyeok finally stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Yongsik. Jeongan, just as quickly, moved to block Mrs. Oh.
“Sir, please, stop. She’s an elder.”
“Then an elder should act like one.”
“How dare you barge into someone else’s home and cause a scene like this. Did you think I’d welcome someone who came here to sell off my village!”
Jeongan did his best to hold her back, but Mrs. Oh kept her voice raised regardless. Jonghyeok let out a short laugh, raking a hand back through his hair.
“Let’s get our facts straight, whatever else we are. I didn’t do a damn thing, and it was old man Shin who called me here. I didn’t barge in like you’re saying, so if you’ve got a problem, take it up with him, not me. I’m not the type to just sit here and take this.”
“Um, Mr. CEO. Sir.”
Jonghyeok’s tone grew sharper by the moment. Usually fairly composed, but when pushed the wrong way, this was the tone that came out, cutting and fierce. Jeongan trembled slightly at that harsh edge without meaning to, yet still stood his ground in front of Mrs. Oh.
“At the very least, you should hear out why I’m here before deciding I deserve to get beaten like some punk off the street…”
Jonghyeok exhaled a low breath and gave Jeongan’s cheek a light tap.
“And if my being in this house bothered you so much, you could’ve just said so nicely, instead of coming after this kid like this?”
He wasn’t putting any real force into it at all. He kept lightly tapping Jeongan’s cheek, but there was no actual strength behind it. He didn’t raise his voice either.
Jeongan knew that too. And yet he couldn’t ignore the tension and raw physical presence radiating off him. That calm yet suddenly razor-edged gaze seemed to press against every inch of his skin.
“Later, please, do this later.”
“Doesn’t seem like there’s going to be a later. At the very least, when someone’s been waiting around, you hear them out before shutting them down, that’s just common courtesy. What is this, no sense of decency at all.”
He didn’t seem particularly furious, but it was clear enough that he was displeased. Jeongan, well aware of Mrs. Oh’s usual temperament, spread his arms wider and spoke up.
“I’m sorry. Please, come back… later. I understand you’re upset, but please come back another time.”
“Get lost! Don’t you dare set foot in this village again! Don’t even show your face around here!”
Mrs. Oh, hot-tempered as ever, refused to let up even as Jeongan tried to smooth things over, raising her voice again. Jihwan, unable to hold back any longer, started to step forward to say something, at which point Jeongan firmly took hold of Mrs. Oh and ushered her straight into the house.
“That’s enough.”
At the sight, Jonghyeok clicked his tongue and took a step back.
“Jeongan.”
Then, with a shrewd look on his face, he turned his gaze to the one he needed to win over.
“You can take responsibility for this, right?”
“…Yes. I’ll bring her by later myself.”
“Is that so?”
His brow twitched faintly.
“Now we’re finally getting somewhere.”
“…..”
“See you at the supermarket.”
Jonghyeok brushed off Jeongan’s collar and studied his face closely. Though he hadn’t used any real force, he ran a fingertip lightly over the cheek that had, somehow, already flushed slightly red.
“Come on, Yongsik.”
Jonghyeok jerked his chin toward Yongsik. Jihwan let out a sigh and walked over, nudging him lightly with his foot. Yongsik peeled off his jacket, revealing an upper body covered in tattoos, muttering a short curse under his breath as he moved. He’d had a white shirt on underneath, and now soaked through with water, it clung to his torso, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Only then did Jeongan fully register, down to his bones, exactly what kind of people he’d been dealing with, and he clenched his jaw. Looking around at the chaos left behind in the yard, he ran back through everything that had just happened.
“…Jeongan, get inside, right now.”
A broken broom, half-dissolved salt, an entire salt container carried out and left behind, shattered pink hair curlers, and a floor soaked through with water.
There was a mountain of cleaning up to do, but hearing himself being called, Jeongan stepped inside first. He knelt down in front of Mrs. Oh, unpacking her luggage, not a trace of travel fatigue showing on her at all.
“Damn it. Is this a cane mark? Seriously, what the hell is that cane made of, hurts like a bitch. God. I thought I was getting worked over with a steel pipe again!”
“Don’t be so dramatic.”
“I’m not being dramatic! That old lady’s seriously strong. Look at this mark! Haven’t been hit like this since I first joined the organization!”
“Not organization. Company.”
“Ah, right. Company.”
Yongsik pulled off his soaked shirt and tossed it aside, revealing a raw, reddened mark left behind. Jonghyeok, seated on the edge of the porch, gave Yongsik’s calf a light kick with his foot.
“You reek of salt water. Go wash up.”
“There’s only bar soap in there… You know I only use the body wash I import from France, right?”
“Yongsik.”
“Yes, hyung!”
“Wash up before I dunk you in the sea myself, and cut the nonsense.”
“…Yes, hyung.”
Even managing to wash up somehow, head to toe with plain soap, there wasn’t anything decent to change into afterward. Yesterday he’d thrown on whatever he’d had layered underneath, more or less, but even that was now soaked through and useless. They’d only meant to take a quick look around before heading back to Seoul, so they hadn’t packed anything to begin with.
“No hair dryer, fine, I can live with that, but I need a towel and underwear at least… And I’ve got dry skin, so I need to put on body lotion too.”
“…..”
Adding one more complaint, Yongsik finally fell quiet under Jonghyeok’s pointed look and shut the bathroom door behind him. The frosted, opaque door revealed his silhouette clearly enough, showing him hunching his shoulders as he turned on the water and crouched down.
“Hyung.”
“What.”
“You’re really going through with the project here?”
