As expected, he had to send him off this time. Even though their actual ages were the same, currently Chahyun was mentally younger, and it was his first time dating—Yiyoung belatedly felt pathetic for just waiting for Chahyun’s contact.
Yiyoung thought, recalling the texts Chahyun had sent him every single day without fail even before they started dating.
‘I should ask what he had for lunch and send him a photo.’
If Chahyun showed a positive reaction, he planned to entice him to come over again, saying he’d make it for him.
Actually, he’d wanted to make dinner for him last time, but Chahyun had other business to attend to, which was very disappointing. It would have been nice if he’d hung out a bit longer and stayed one more night. Of course, he was in a state where he couldn’t have sex anymore even if he was about to die. He also felt like a mummy whose energy had been sucked out by Chahyun’s singing.
Still, it had been fun enough to feel reluctant about just letting Chahyun go.
However, whether it was truly urgent business, Chahyun, who had refused Yiyoung’s suggestion, left heartlessly without even looking back. Next time, he should play live stage videos of artists Chahyun liked day and night to make it so enjoyable that he’d completely forget about going home.
With such pleasant thoughts, he was repeatedly writing, deleting, and rewriting a text to send with the photo when a preview of a newly arrived text message appeared at the top of his phone.
Yiyoung reflexively frowned. Then with a sullen expression, he checked the text Taeseong had sent.
[Trash:
I’m near your place
You know Jeongseong Pharmacy on the main road
Come out front for a bit]
12:06 PM
Yiyoung replied with an increasingly hardening expression.
[Why?]
12:07 PM
[Trash:
You bastard
Just come out when I tell you to
Don’t act like a fucking asshole about everything
You fucking attitude is]
12:07 PM
Yiyoung closed the chat window at the words that would obviously continue with “why is it like that.”
He frowned and pondered briefly before eventually getting up from the dining table. He didn’t know what business it was, but since Taeseong had come all the way here, there was no way he’d just leave. If he made him wait long, the curses he’d have to hear would only get longer.
He arrived at Jeongseong Pharmacy quickly, but Taeseong was nowhere to be seen.
In front of the pharmacy, there was only one large truck, the kind that might be used to sell fruit and such, parked with its hazard lights on. While looking around for Taeseong, the truck’s window opened.
Taeseong, sitting in the driver’s seat of the unfamiliar truck he was seeing for the first time, shouted.
“Bae Yiyoung!”
Yiyoung jumped in surprise at the booming call, then moved his feet as if entranced. With a dazed look, he admired the truck that was shiny like new and quite impressive, then asked Taeseong.
“What’s with the truck? Is it yours, hyung?”
“Yeah. Got one.”
Taeseong turned his head toward the passenger seat, fumbling around for something, and added indifferently.
“Thought I’d try selling fruit. I heard from a hyung-nim I knew before that if you set up in a few spots and work diligently, it’s better than most shops.”
Yiyoung’s eyes widened even more in surprise. For once, Taeseong had made a plan that was both legal and even constructive.
He’d heard from his mother that he originally had good business sense. The problem was that he only did business where he had to bribe police every time and collaborate with former colleagues who could backstab him at any time.
But if it was ordinary business, Yiyoung welcomed it too. If he’d listened to Taeseong’s story until the end that day, he might have pondered together how to get the 30 million won. As long as he worked properly, Taeseong was a man who had no reason to be bad for his mother.
‘…But this only costs 30 million won?’
Even to Yiyoung’s eyes, who didn’t know much about cars, a truck like this seemed like it would cost much more than 30 million won.
“How did you get the money to buy the car?”
“Your lover gave it to me.”
Taeseong said something like a bolt from the blue as casually as could be, muttering “Ah, found it.” Yiyoung was startled and unconsciously shouted.
“What?!”
Without even seeing Taeseong hand him a thick white envelope, Yiyoung urgently asked.
“You met Chahyun-ssi?!”
“Yeah. Three or four days ago. Was it five days ago?”
“How did you, hyung, meet Chahyun-ssi…”
When the excited Yiyoung got angry, even panting lightly, Taeseong frowned as if wronged.
“Hey. Don’t yell, it’s not like I went looking for him. That bastard called me out. The bastard called me that very day without any manners and said to meet right away. And through some secretary or something too.”
When Yiyoung glared with an expression of disbelief, Taeseong continued his explanation.
“It’s true, man. I thought he was going to sue me for the beating last time, so I went out thinking I’d beat him so badly he couldn’t even squeak, you know? But then he asked why I needed money. I ended up saying I was thinking of trying this and that, and he said he’d lend it to me.”
“Even so, how could you just take it? Do you know whose money that is?”
“What do I care? That’s something the lender should worry about.”
That was true. By Yiyoung’s common sense, he couldn’t understand Taeseong who borrowed money from someone he barely knew, or Chahyun who readily gave out a large sum that he might not get back.
While he was confused like this, Taeseong smiled and said brightly.
“But that bastard is quite something. He’s like an executive director or executive assistant at Moongang Group, right? No wonder he had a different air about him from when I first saw him.”
“Ah…”
It seemed he hadn’t revealed that he was part of the Moongang Group owner family. He was confused whether he should consider this fortunate or not. Taeseong continued to chatter in a tone that even sounded somewhat admiring.
“I normally hate those educated types, you know? I thought that bastard would look down on me like a dog when I said I was selling fruit, but surprisingly he listened really seriously. I got all excited and told him in detail what I was going to do, and he said he’d give me 50 million won.”
“50 million won?!”
“And then, what did he say.”
Taeseong seemed to recall the memory, then suddenly made an exaggerated handsome, dignified expression and imitated Chahyun quite plausibly.
“After hearing about it, it seems like money I can get back, so I’m investing too.”
Seeing him lower his voice as impressively as possible to mimic him, it seemed that Chahyun in that moment had looked quite impressive in Taeseong’s eyes. Having finished his imitation of Chahyun, Taeseong pretended to laugh in disbelief, then soon showed a rather serious expression.
“So for the first time in my life, it feels like I’m doing proper work, and I really want to do well this time.”
“……”
It was the first time Taeseong had shown such a motivated appearance, so Yiyoung was dumbfounded. Yiyoung also knew what it felt like to be acknowledged by someone for the first time, so he thought he understood the reason.
Taeseong shook the white envelope in his hand toward Yiyoung and said.
“Anyway, I even wrote a loan certificate saying I’d repay the principal with interest within 10 years, so don’t worry about it. He said he’d just give it to me, but I thought you’d go crazy later if you found out, so I said let’s do it that way.”
“…Yes.”
“Take it. I didn’t end up using it, but thanks for offering to lend it. I also put in the money I earned for the first time yesterday. If it keeps being like yesterday, I’ll at least be able to put food on the table for the three of us.”
Now that he looked, the reason Taeseong came today was thanks to having money to repay Yiyoung because of Chahyun’s investment. At this point, Yiyoung had nothing to complain about. But he didn’t know why he felt so unsettled.
When Yiyoung hesitated and then took the envelope, Taeseong suddenly said “Ah.”
“He told me not to tell you about meeting him, but I forgot.”
But it was something he would have found out about eventually anyway, and thinking it was already spilled milk, Taeseong shrugged and started the truck.
“I’m going. Make sure you eat meals. Eunsu noona was worried that you lost weight.”
Taeseong rolled up the truck window. Yiyoung moved aside to let the truck onto the road, then stood there blankly for a long while.
When he returned home, the rolled omelet and kimchi stew had gone cold.
Even though he naturally sat at the dining table, Yiyoung, whose appetite had completely disappeared, had no motivation to pick up his spoon. Yiyoung checked the contents of the envelope Taeseong had given him.
It was the 3 million won he had lent, plus an additional 200,000 won. It wasn’t a large sum, but at least as far as Yiyoung knew, this was the first time Taeseong had brought money home.
Yiyoung thought, ‘The trash became a person’—a thought that was a bit presumptuous for him.
Seeing that he’d accomplished in just one day what his mother and Yiyoung, who had been closest to him for the past 10 years, couldn’t do, Moon Chahyun was quite something.
Furthermore.
‘Isn’t 50 million won a small amount for Chahyun-ssi?’
Of course it would be, but it didn’t resonate with his heart at all.
