Dongha, who confirmed that Seongyeom had entered the house, took out a cigarette from his pants pocket.
“What the hell is that bastard?”
He took a deep drag of the cigarette and exhaled. Narrowing his eyes at the strong scent, Dongha muttered once more.
“Kwon Siwon, this traitor.”
He turned around before being caught by the organization members guarding the gate. Dongha gave a self-deprecating laugh and got into the driver’s seat, picking up his cell phone.
“It’s me.”
—What is it this time?
As he checked his wet bangs in the rearview mirror and arranged them, gentle eyes shaped like water droplets were revealed. His slanted gaze stared at a woman’s photo inside the sun visor. Inside it, a woman who looked exactly like Dongha was smiling brightly.
“I found a new weakness.”
Laughter came from the other side of the phone. After bursting into laughter for a while, the other person asked in a leisurely voice.
—What’s this? That bastard’s weakness died a long time ago.
“Watch your mouth.”
—I’m talking about your noona.
The man giggled and finally crossed the line.
“This bastard…”
—Ah, fine. I get it. You must have called because you have something to show off too. So, what’s this new Kwon Siwon weakness you found?
Dongha glared at the phone with coldly sunken eyes. He held back the urge to smash it right away and continued speaking.
“He has a new lover.”
—Already? How long has it been since his wife died?
“That’s what I’m saying…”
Dongha threw his gaze in the direction where Seongyeom was. The man on the other end of the phone laughed with a rough voice.
—If there’s something like that, you should grab it right away. I was about to get bored, so that’s good.
“Don’t just pathetically hover around the periphery, kill him cleanly for sure!”
—Right. We should kill him, someday. But let’s move a bit more efficiently, right?
“Hey, Choi Jeongcheol!”
—Ah, fine, you bastard. A young punk like you, fuck, my name isn’t some neighborhood dog’s name, but you keep yelling Choi Jeongcheol, Choi Jeongcheol, damn it. This shit. Hey, I’ll contact you when I grab that weakness thing, so don’t act up unnecessarily. Got it?
The call was cut off just like that. Dongha irritably threw the phone. Even seeing it rolling on the passenger seat floor, he left it alone and took out another cigarette from his pocket.
***
Seongyeom looked at the plain head lying face-down on the desk. Then he asked with a serious face.
“Is this really the best you can do?”
At Seongyeom’s question, the owner of the head, Seoldong, just smacked his lips like sleep-talking.
Ah. Stress.
The corners of his eyes trembled. Seongyeom took a deep breath and turned his eyes to the test paper with Cheong’s round handwriting. As expected, Cheong quickly learned the solution method after looking at the explanation. If he continued like this, he could definitely aim for a grade 1 in mathematics.
The problem was Choi Seoldong. His hair, which had been scratching from the moment he started listening to the solution, had swelled up and become disheveled, and just when it seemed he’d solved two problems, he fell asleep. Seongyeom felt at a loss about how to get through this situation.
“Choi Seoldong.”
He tapped the shoulder of Seoldong, who was using this precious tutoring session worth a million won per hour as sleeping time. However, Seoldong didn’t budge.
Yi Cheong, who had been demonstrating high concentration and writing the answer to the last problem, straightened his bent body and struck Seoldong’s head.
Smack!
I thought it would make a clear sound because there’s nothing in his head, but it makes a clean impact sound.
Seoldong’s body flinched greatly, then there was no more movement.
…Is he dead?
“Yaaawn… What. Did you call me, Teacher?”
Seoldong, who had been scratching the back of his head, stretched and got up.
He must have gotten a really good sleep. With a red paper mark on his left cheek, he asked nonchalantly. He was so dumbfounded he had nothing to say. When he turned his gaze from Seoldong to look at Cheong, this one was already grading his work.
Seongyeom nodded happily and clapped his hands. A wonderful idea came to mind for these two guys’ relationship and future academic improvement.
“Wait, I have a good idea.”
“What is it?”
“If your average goes up by more than 10 points, the other person grants that person one wish. How about it?”
“Cheong will grant my wish?”
Seeing his cheekbones rise, I can tell what wish Seoldong will make without him even saying it. Cheong responded indifferently.
“I don’t have any wish I want to ask from him.”
“You will have one, Cheong! At least one!”
“I don’t.”
“You do!”
“I said I don’t.”
“You… you! You said you wanted to learn to drive! I’ll teach you!”
“Really?”
“That won’t do! You’re still minors!”
Seongyeom urgently stopped the two, but Yi Cheong seemed tempted by Seoldong’s words and raised the corners of his mouth. When he beckoned with his hand to come closer, Seoldong quickly brought his ear to Cheong.
“I said driving won’t do?”
Seongyeom looked back and forth between the two with anxious eyes. The two troublemakers grinned with mischievous faces.
***
Ding— Ding— Ding— Ding—
“Ah, what a surprise… Wasn’t that broken?”
The grandfather clock next to the stairs announced 9 o’clock. Time had already passed and it had been 30 more minutes since the tutoring ended. Seongyeom sat almost lying down on the soft sofa in the first-floor living room, staring blankly at the ceiling.
I wanted to at least try saying things like ‘Welcome home, would you like to eat first…’ Not only Siwon but even the organization members who had rushed out in a group hadn’t returned home.
“Why are you so late today?”
Seongyeom turned his head and asked Seoldong, who was staring at the ceiling in the same position beside him. On his lap lay Yi Cheong holding a game console.
“Ah, today is sister-in-law’s… Huk!”
“Don’t move, Choi Seoldong.”
“Y-yeah. Cheong.”
Cheong raised his arm and pressed hard on Seoldong’s crotch. Seoldong, who had been about to jerk his upper body up, groaned and lay back down on the sofa. Seongyeom thought he was really in deep watching Seoldong like that.
I didn’t prepare dinner, but I can make something quickly with the ingredients left in the fridge, so let’s wait a little longer, he was thinking when Yi Cheong threw the game console that loudly announced game over, stretched, and got up from his seat.
“Hyung isn’t coming home today.”
“Why?”
Seongyeom, who had been thinking about the dinner menu, turned to Yi Cheong.
He didn’t say anything like that…
“Hyung’s busy today. More than that, Teacher, I’m hungry.”
“What. If I’d known the President wasn’t coming, I would’ve made food already! Wait a bit, quickly…”
“Never mind. Instead, let’s go eat spicy chicken feet at the crossroads food stall.”
“Chicken feet?!”
Seongyeom squeezed his eyes shut. With so many dishes in the world, why must we eat chicken feet? Seongyeom couldn’t eat chicken feet or pork skin, let alone tripe and intestines.
Imagining chicken feet that had become food while stretched out like a trident, his body automatically shuddered. Seongyeom asked Cheong again.
“Really… you want to eat that…?”
Without hesitation, Yi Cheong nodded.
What should I do, I can’t make spicy chicken feet… While Seongyeom only rolled his eyes with a troubled face, he made eye contact with Seoldong, who was already standing at the entrance.
“When the Boss isn’t here is our chance. Let’s go out, Teacher.”
“What? No!”
He recalled Siwon’s appearance warning him several times not to go out without permission.
“Ah, Teacher. Please!”
Yi Cheong, who had been putting on shoes at the entrance, sent desperate looks together with Seoldong.
My heart does ache. How much must they have wanted chicken feet to be like that?
But since there was already a history of leaving the house without notice several times, if he sneaked out one more time, who knows what trouble might happen.
He spoke with cold eyes as if he would fire me, but that dismissal could be a dismissal from this life.
Seongyeom spoke firmly to Yi Cheong and Seoldong, who were stamping their feet urging him to hurry out.
“The President said not to go out without permission. Let’s get delivery instead.”
This time, Yi Cheong made a walnut on his chin and pouted his lips.
“No! That place is only delicious if you go and eat there! Ah, Teacher! Today’s fine, if anything happens, we’ll… no, Choi Seoldong will take responsibility!”
Then Seoldong pointed at himself with his thumb and said,
“Yes. Don’t worry, Teacher! I’ll do the security!”
“Right, as long as you don’t go out alone. Ah, I’m hungry. Teacher!”
It was a valid point. He said he’d attach someone if there was a need to go out, so if Dong and Cheong, who are Siwon’s people, accompany him, wouldn’t it be okay to just go out? Of course, they’re both minors but… Besides, it’s not for personal business, but to feed the youngest members of this family.
“Then we just eat chicken feet and come back?”
“Yay! Yes!”
When Seongyeom reluctantly followed them out, the excited Cheong shrugged his shoulders and asked,
“Teacher, you have Hyung’s card, right?”
Seongyeom solemnly took out Siwon’s card that he’d put in his jeans back pocket.
“Of course, obviously.”
Even the men guarding the front gate opened the door with dubious expressions when told they’d be going out together with Seoldong and Yi Cheong. The three walked out of the residential area and then caught a taxi.
“Ooh, new face.”
There was someone watching them. A man who had been lying down in the driver’s seat without even starting the engine muttered quietly. When he straightened up, there was a brutal sound from his joints.
“Seeing him hanging around with Kwon Yi Cheong, he must be a bastard worth quite a bit.”
When the taxi departed, the man also turned on his blinker and followed behind. The man who parked next to the car that soon stopped at a red light lowered his sunglasses below his eyes and examined Seongyeom’s appearance in detail.
“With that pretty face, he looks like he’d be good for biting and sucking.”
Watching Seongyeom, who couldn’t recognize the gaze because of the heavy tinting, he licked his gold front tooth with his tongue.
“Should I get a taste too?”
