Contract
Jeong Minha, 24 years old. Physical Education major, senior year.
Minha’s first memory of meeting Seo Sihan began from this moment.
It was January, four years after the previous Olympics.
A cafe near campus during winter break, snow-covered streets. There were hardly any customers. The boss said he wouldn’t be coming in today, so it was a day when Minha had to close up alone.
Minha turned on his phone to check the message that had come yesterday. Ever since his mother had been hospitalized long-term, he’d been paying the hospital bills periodically in chunks of a few months at a time. Well, it was because he didn’t have the money to pay it all at once.
He stared blankly at the notification that this hospital payment period was about to expire and he needed to pay again.
“Ah… what do I do?”
Should I take out another loan? Or get a few months’ advance on my part-time pay? That would be unconscionable though… Should I just go back to doing loading and unloading work every day like before? I almost died back then.
“Haah… If I just take a leave of absence, I feel like I could somehow manage…”
His mother, even while lying in her hospital bed, nagged him every time he visited to make sure he graduated.
Honestly, he wanted to drop out of school too. He had no money and had quit being an athlete, so what was the point of graduating from this useless physical education program?
When he’d said that to his mother at the time, she’d threatened that if he really dropped out, he should know he’d be dead when she got better, which scared him into just taking a year’s leave of absence before returning to school.
Having made it to his senior year that way, it seemed better now to just graduate quickly and start working rather than take another leave.
“Mmm…”
I’ll just have to work more weekend night shifts. As he was thinking that and lying slumped over the counter looking for jobs on Cou*, he came to his senses and saw a black suit in front of him.
Minha hastily turned off his phone and stood up.
“Huk… I’m sorry, welcome! Ah, but we’re about to close soon…”
“Do you have time? I’d like to talk for a moment.”
“…M-me?”
Wondering if some crazy customer had arrived saying nonsense like “Can I order? Not coffee, but you, part-timer,” Minha looked up at the other person properly with both eyes for the first time and was shocked.
‘Wow… He’s really handsome. Is he some kind of actor?’
Come to think of it, the man who even had an actor-like voice really did look like an actor with his neatly swept-back hairstyle and formal dark suit.
Looking at his face, he could be an idol too… Huh? Wow, he really looks like that person? Minha recalled the face of a certain famous female idol who often appeared on MiTube, then looked back at the man in front of him. They looked similar enough to be siblings. Anyway, the point was he was that handsome.
Of course, handsome was handsome, but Minha didn’t have the luxury to look kindly upon a crazy customer who came right before closing and even spouted nonsense.
“I’m busy.”
“Just 10 minutes. Since I’m rudely taking your time… How about 10,000 won per minute?”
“I’ll show you to that table over there, customer.”
Seeing him ask for time, was he some cult member? He wasn’t sure, but anyway, this was the first time he’d seen a cult member who gave money rather than asking for it, so Minha personally escorted the suspicious man to a table. His mindset was that if he really gave the money, jackpot, and if not, he’d just kick him out.
Immediately after sitting across from the suspicious man, Minha hesitated for a moment. Wait, do I have to make coffee or something? I already did all the dishes though. Ah, annoying, whatever. He first asked the other person, pretending to be calm.
“Why me?”
“You are Jeong Minha-ssi, correct?”
“…Yes? How do you know my name…”
“The athlete who won a silver medal in shooting four years ago… isn’t that you?”
So much for pretending to be calm. It was fortunate he hadn’t brought coffee. If he’d been drinking while hearing this, he definitely would have spit it out. So now cult members even knew personal information. It was a crazy world.
Actually, right after the Olympics when he was working part-time, there were quite a few people around who recognized him. Of course, if he looked like a beggar and said he was someone with the same name, everyone believed him.
And by now, there was almost no one who recognized him. Well, unlike the athlete who appeared on TV, with his carelessly worn hair, carelessly worn glasses, carelessly worn clothes, and an expression that said everything was bothersome… even he thought he looked like a different person.
Minha was starting to get scared. Was it because he’d been massively scammed by some crazy bastard? Ever since then, he’d developed a distrust of all people.
“I am, but… why?”
“May I see your hands for a moment?”
“What?”
While Minha was spacing out, the man sitting across from him grabbed both of Minha’s hands and slowly pulled down his gloves.
‘Aaah…! I-it tickles! No, who takes off gloves like this…!’
Before he could say “I’ll do it myself,” the man even put his hands inside the slightly lowered gloves.
Screaming internally, Minha tried to pull his hands back in shock, but the other person made a serious expression and applied a bit more force to prevent him from escaping. Eventually, after even touching their fingers together in an overlapping way, he let go.
“…No, what the…”
“Fortunately, you don’t seem to have any injuries…”
“Huh? Ah, yes…”
…Huk. Wait, is this that thing? “Only healthy adult males, please come to the back alley. This is definitely not organ trafficking…” Boss, please save me!
Minha, now thinking “forget the cafe, I need to survive first,” was gauging his chance to run.
Regardless, the man continued speaking.
“You still like shooting, don’t you?”
“…I don’t like it anymore.”
“I know you go to the shooting range every week.”
“…”
…Not a cult member, but a stalker! How do I call 112 again? Ah, 112. Oh this is crazy, I left my phone on the counter earlier! Wh-what do I do?!
Minha was internally in chaos, but by this point became curious enough to just ask.
“How do you know? No, more than that, why is that even important… right now?”
He asked while looking at the crazy person with a serious expression. Then the man hesitated for a moment, then gave a soft eye-smile as if slightly embarrassed and said,
“I’m… a fan of athlete Jeong Minha…”
“…What?”
It was something he hadn’t heard in a long time. Well, he did actually have fans. “A handsome (this is absolutely not his own opinion but borrowed from internet comments) silver medalist in shooting”—at the time, he’d set SNS on fire.
But now that several years had passed, naturally there were few people who showed interest. And above all, a crazy person who stalked someone while claiming to be a fan… except the face giving that eye-smile was too dazzling to call him that. Even though he wasn’t particularly someone who fell for looks, the man before him was so pretty that it created this complicated feeling.
While he was dumbfounded, the man dropped another shocking statement.
“Would you like to… try being an athlete again?”
“Ah… that’s a bit… yes…”
Why had he quit being an athlete?
Well, because he’d been massively scammed by the coach he trusted and even ended up in debt!
Moreover, money was an issue, but what still made him angriest was the coach disappearing in the middle of the competition. His first time abroad with people he’d never seen before, countless cameras… When he said he was so nervous, the coach had even made various plans, saying he’d cheer him on throughout the entire competition. Until he disappeared, the coach had been a really good person.
Looking back now, good person my ass—there was no bigger bastard. Anyway, to lose the gold medal because of that bastard, this was unacceptable.
No matter how nervous he was, Minha, who had never doubted his genius shooting ability, was greatly shocked when he hit the 8-point range for the first time that day. He’d never hit the 8-point range even during practice.
After the competition ended, barely able to speak English as he was, he almost cried taking the plane back to Korea alone. When he finally made it back with such difficulty, he heard the news that his mother had collapsed and been hospitalized.
He couldn’t think anything. No, he didn’t want to think. He thinks he was holed up in his studio apartment for about a month. He doesn’t remember well.
After that, he pulled himself together and just kept working part-time jobs continuously. He had simply liked shooting, but everything got all tangled up.
By the time he thought this far, Minha’s expression had darkened rapidly. When his expression became one where you couldn’t tell if it was anger or depression, the man across from him added in a flustered manner,
“You… like shooting, don’t you?”
“…”
“…Ah, I’m late with introductions. I’m Seo Sihan.”
The man who introduced himself as Seo Sihan handed over a business card. Minha sighed and accepted it.
And as he read the writing on the business card, thinking his eyes must be wrong, he blinked several times.
“…?”
The company name written on the card, R Corporation, was a famous conglomerate that any ordinary person would know. Isn’t this that foreign brand? Minha knew even better. R Corporation was like a major sponsor that displayed advertisements throughout the Olympics.
Moreover, next to it was written “Director Seo Sihan.” So you’re saying you’re a director at that famous company? This has to be bullshit, right? These days, cult member stalkers apparently go around brazenly impersonating high-ranking people.
Well, with that face, there would probably be quite a few people who’d be fooled. Why would a decent-looking young man act like that? He even looks young, so if you’re going to lie, why not use a different position instead of director? The lie was so ridiculous at this point that it was quite funny.
Just as Minha was adding the titles of cult member stalker and impersonator to the other person, Seo Sihan spoke with a serious expression.
“If athlete Jeong Minha wants to resume activities, I’d like to support you.”
“Wh-what…?”
“Whatever you need. Our side has been… providing a kind of investment-like sponsorship to capable people.”
At the word “capable,” the corners of Minha’s mouth lifted slightly. Seeing this, Seo Sihan gave more of an eye-smile and continued speaking.
“So I too… if athlete Jeong Minha just promises to resume activities, I can do whatever you need.”
“No, first of all, that ‘athlete’ title… I’m not one right now.”
“Yes. Then… Minha-ssi?”
“…”
He thought calling him that with that face was unfair, but since he’d brought it up first, he couldn’t exactly say anything.
More than that, to suddenly offer sponsorship to someone he’d just met—no matter how capable I am, this definitely seems to be some multi-level cult thing.
“Shall we make a contract?”
Cou* (쿠*) – (Part-time job site, likely Coupang)
