# Chapter 58
“By the way, Manager Yoon Hyesu, isn’t she really great?”
“…Why? Is she your type?”
“What do you mean ‘type’? You shouldn’t have personal feelings for someone you’re in a business relationship with. One wrong move and you could lose both the person and the job. Don’t you remember how shocked I was when my previous manager noona confessed to me? It was fortunate that our relationship didn’t become awkward, but imagine if it had. How uncomfortable would it have been every time we met?”
“Then what do you find great about Manager Yoon?”
“Come on, you were there too—how could you not notice? She’s incredibly good at her job. Changing the MC seat position, taking care of my teacher when I mentioned her… I was really touched earlier.”
Just as he was about to perform an exaggerated gesture of being moved, the chicken arrived. They had each emptied one can of beer by that point. Mo Eunje, who noticed it first, quickly ran to the door connected to the emergency stairwell to receive the chicken. After thanking the delivery rider, he closed the door that had been propped open.
“I’ll go throw away the pickled radish juice.”
Leaving the setup to Tae Igyeol, Mo Eunje took the pickled radish and went inside the house. The thin blanket that had been covering Ban Hajun had fallen beneath the sofa. Looking at his eyes, which were still swollen even though they were closed, Mo Eunje felt sorry for him. Feeling apologetic that there was realistically nothing he could do to help, he picked up the blanket and carefully covered Ban Hajun again.
At the sink, he peeled back the plastic wrap around the pickled radish just a little to pour out the juice, then grabbed two forks and two cans of beer before heading back to the rooftop. Tae Igyeol, with an unreadable expression, was staring at the waxing half-moon floating and shining alongside two or three stars.
“Ban Hajun is still sleeping. Are we going to let him keep sleeping?”
“What else can we do?”
“What’s going on with you? I thought you’d wake him up and kick him out. You never let anyone sleep over, even if they drink until dawn.”
The reason Mo Eunje could comfortably come and go to Tae Igyeol’s place as if it were his own and even claim the bed was because they had been accustomed to living that way since childhood, which they could barely remember. Otherwise, Mo Eunje wouldn’t have dreamed of staying over at Tae Igyeol’s place either. Tae Igyeol didn’t even let his brother Tae Iden sleep at his house.
“You think I’m leaving him there because I want to? I’m just letting him be because kicking out someone in that pathetic state would cause me more trouble later.”
“You did well. Tae Igyeol is gradually becoming more human. Hajun’s sleeping face looked pitiful too.”
“He must be exhausted. Aren’t you tired?”
Come to think of it, it had been a long day. They had woken up early to go to the shop, had the live broadcast in the morning, spent the afternoon having lunch with Writer Kwon Jiyeon, and then came home to comfort a sobbing Ban Hajun. Mo Eunje had even cried himself to the point of exhaustion, so he should have been tired by now, but he felt surprisingly fine.
“Yeah. What’s going on with my stamina today?”
“You’ll probably pass out after drinking beer.”
“So what if I do? It’s not like I have anything special tomorrow.”
He opened the cap of the cold beer can he had just brought out and handed it to Tae Igyeol. Then, after opening his own can, Mo Eunje casually picked up a piece of chicken with his fork and put it in his mouth. The crispy batter and spicy marinade made his appetite surge.
“Don’t renew it.”
“What? The contract?”
“Yeah.”
“What nonsense are you talking now? Do you know how different it is with or without an agency? Having an agency makes things so much easier for me.”
He answered lightly as he gulped down his beer. He truly understood why the saying “in life, chicken and beer are better than connections” existed. Finding happiness in chicken and beer rather than connections, Mo Eunje vowed that if he had to choose between connections and chicken and beer, he would choose chicken and beer without hesitation. Humans find great happiness in relatively small things.
“You can still have an agency without renewing with them.”
“Come off it. Among writer agencies, our company has the best conditions and is well-known. Why would I leave them to contract with another place?”
“I’ll do it for you.”
“What?”
“Agent.”
“…You?”
Mo Eunje blinked with wide eyes at the unexpected suggestion. It wasn’t that he had never thought about it—no, he had thought about it every time Tae Igyeol accompanied him to schedules—but he had considered it a distant future possibility. Now that it was approaching reality, he felt dazed.
“I’m already acting as your chauffeur anyway, so what’s the big deal? I was thinking I could take you on first, as experience before joining my father’s company.”
“Really? But what about after you join your uncle’s company? Will you abandon me? Will you abandon your Eunje?”
“Oh god, this crazy guy, really.”
As soon as Mo Eunje displayed his brief aegyo, Tae Igyeol frowned severely and crushed the empty beer can in one hand. Reflexively thinking he might get hit, Mo Eunje took up a basic boxing stance in defense.
“Stop acting so full of yourself.”
“…”
“As if I would abandon you. By then, I’ll either expand into the writer agency business or just continue handling your work alongside my other duties. I already told my father I wanted to start with your work, and he said he’d give me a business card.”
“Really? I thought you said you’d join your uncle’s company in the accounting or business strategy team. Can you handle it?”
He speared a piece of chicken with his fork, coating it thoroughly in sauce before putting it in his mouth. The tender meat and sweet sauce melted gently in his mouth. This was why he couldn’t quit this sauce mixed with supreme sauce.
“Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
“Because it’s not just about being a chauffeur. My agent manages my schedule, accompanies me to venues, and deals with people—basically like a manager. Honestly, with your personality, you’d probably mess up all my current schedules…”
“Hey.”
Tae Igyeol cut him off, creating a menacing atmosphere with his fierce gaze. Mo Eunje quickly speared a piece of fried chicken with his fork and put it into Tae Igyeol’s mouth.
“I mean, the timing might be off, or it might be premature… I really like Manager Yoon Hyesu, so I don’t see a reason not to renew the contract. If it were my previous manager noona, I might understand, but I’d like to work with Manager Yoon a bit more.”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I know you must have given it a lot of thought before suggesting it. Let’s reconsider when you officially start working at your uncle’s company. For now, I’ll just accept your intention.”
Mo Eunje rarely rejected any proposal from Tae Igyeol, but this was consideration stemming from his affection for him. Given Tae Igyeol’s personality of not easily enjoying the company of others, Mo Eunje worried that he might just end up stressed while doing Mo Eunje’s work.
“And thank you.”
“If you’re rejecting me, just say sorry. Don’t thank me.”
“Not for that… for holding my hand earlier.”
“…”
“When you held my hand, I suddenly felt like I could write anything. It was truly incredibly comforting. I’m fortunate to have you as my friend.”
Mo Eunje considered it the greatest luck in his life that Tae Igyeol, who was always by his side, was his friend.
“So Igyeol… thank you.”
Whether his sincerity had been conveyed or not, Tae Igyeol’s uniquely distant gray eyes wavered, and he made an expression that seemed uncharacteristically as if he might cry. He must have felt a lump in his throat just like Mo Eunje had.
2-5
“I don’t recall bringing baby carps into my house.”
Tae Igyeol made a flippant remark as he alternately looked at Mo Eunje and Ban Hajun, who were sitting side by side at the dining table. Thanks to using an ice eye mask before sleeping, Mo Eunje could open his eyes halfway despite the swelling, but Ban Hajun was even more swollen than yesterday and couldn’t properly open his eyes.
In any case, both looked terrible. They had tried to reduce the swelling with ice eye masks as soon as they woke up, but after doing it so much, their eyes now felt numb with cold.
“This baby carp Eunje’s eye area is all stinging.”
“This carp ba- I mean, baby carp Hajun’s too.”
“…Get out, both of you.”
Despite their pitiful and miserable expressions and voices, the cold-blooded homeowner with neither blood nor tears frowned fiercely and ordered them to leave. Regardless, Mo Eunje pretended to pick his ear as he checked the delivery rider’s location on the app, while Ban Hajun, as if he hadn’t heard anything, collapsed face-down on the table and insisted on his own way.
“Even if I leave when it’s time to leave, I’m going to eat the Eggs Benedict and New York Brunch first. This place doesn’t deliver to our neighborhood. There’s no other place in South Korea that makes Eggs Benedict this delicious. I can’t give it up.”
“Of course, of course. How can anyone give up those Eggs Benedict? As long as you’re human, you absolutely can’t give them up…”
Mo Eunje, nodding his head in agreement, slouched his shoulders and approached the intercom like a zombie. While waiting for the doorbell to ring, he kept his gaze on his phone. The delivery rider was two blocks away from the Ritz Ville building.
“My friend Igyeol.”
Hearing Ban Hajun’s somehow subservient voice, Mo Eunje, standing in front of the intercom, glanced sideways at the kitchen. Ban Hajun, resting his chin on both hands, was sending Tae Igyeol a disgusting smile with his swollen, half-open eyes. Mo Eunje had the illusion of seeing Tae Igyeol’s face turn menacing, as if there were expressions on the back of his head.
“If I get kicked out of my officetel too, can I come to your place like Eunje does?”
“Nope, not allowed.”
“Then can you introduce me so I can audition for your dad’s company?”
“Nope, not allowed.”
Tae Igyeol answered both questions without any change in emotional tone. His manner of speaking suggested he had decided to answer that nothing was allowed, regardless of the content of the question.
“Why? Someone with my looks shouldn’t be a burden to your dad’s company.”
“My father is not a charitable businessman.”
It was a decisive answer that completely blocked even the slightest possibility of reconsideration. He could have at least allowed Ban Hajun to be introduced for an audition and let the company make the decision, but Tae Igyeol was not just cold but freezing, even to his own friend.
As expected, Ban Hajun quickly changed his demeanor and glared at Tae Igyeol. He unintentionally realized why Tae Igyeol had told him yesterday that glaring with baby carp eyes wasn’t scary at all.
