— A customer came saying they want to borrow quite a lot of money. But…. No, just come first. Come and check.
If someone came to borrow money, it definitely wouldn’t be related to Kyung-heon. Young inwardly felt relieved and checked the clock on the wall.
There were no more meetings scheduled today, it seemed fine to be away for a moment.
Noona was extreme when it came to Young’s affairs, but she wasn’t someone who did frivolous things. Even if she didn’t explain properly, it meant that if he went, it wouldn’t be a ‘huh?’ situation.
“Where is it. Noona’s company?”
Young turned his steps outside the office even before finishing the call.
***
It had been a continuous shitty feeling since the heat cycle. But interest stirred for the first time in a while. Young flew to Noona’s company in one go with practiced racing skills.
It was free pass from the entrance. Receiving greetings from employees whose faces he didn’t even know, he entered and immediately went up to the CEO’s office.
“The CEO is inside.”
It seemed she’d given notice to them beforehand. The secretary guarding in front of the CEO’s office said so as soon as they saw Young. He raised his hand with an ambiguous meaning between ‘I see’ and ‘thank you’. Then he flung open the door without even knocking.
“Huh?”
As expected, he didn’t go ‘What?’, but “Huh?” did pop out. Young tilted his head at an angle as he entered the CEO’s office.
“Oh. Young, you came?”
Noona waved her hand lightly while sitting on a single-seat sofa.
“What is this situation?”
Young narrowed his brow and made a questioning voice. With narrowed eyes, he swept through the sofas in the CEO’s office. Past Noona raising her eyebrows interestingly, empty seat, empty seat, and….
A familiar face sitting at the very end of the multi-seat sofa.
“……”
The outsider caught between the affectionate siblings could do neither this nor that and just rolled his eyes. Young stared at the man with very clear eyes. Only when the other person averted his gaze did he say a word.
“Kwak Du-jin, I’m seeing you here?”
The identity of the customer who made Noona urgently summon Young was Kwak Du-jin. Bullying, ostracism, sarcasm, disregard, family insults…. That person who tormented Young in very colorful ways throughout their school years.
Was it only during school? Even at the wedding where Young was the protagonist, even at the charity event that had a wedding-like atmosphere, he thoroughly treated Young as invisible.
The reason was simple. Because he was the son of a gangster family that didn’t match his class.
But now he came on his own to borrow money from a gangster?
Young rolled his eyes downward with a rumble. And by the time he sat down, Seong-jae’s voice came to mind in his head, saying Kwak Du-jin had asked to borrow money. The content he’d encountered on short-form gossip sites not long after receiving that call also auto-played.
Those two memories were enough to grasp the situation. He must have tried hard to break through another path somehow but it didn’t work out. So he came to this place as a last resort.
He came reluctantly because there was no other way, but it seemed he hadn’t fully abandoned his pride yet. Kwak Du-jin deliberately avoided Young’s gaze.
If he was going to act like this, there wasn’t really any fun Young could see.
“What. If you’re going to be like this, why did you come?”
Young made a bored expression then just stood up from his seat.
“Noona, just send him away. He doesn’t seem particularly desperate either.”
Only when he spoke coldly and took steps toward the door did Du-jin, who had been sitting like he was dead, flinch. He jerked so greatly that a stiff friction sound rang from the leather sofa.
“I, that… I’m sorry! I was wrong.”
When Young looked back at the desperate cry, Du-jin was still sitting on the sofa. His fists resting on his politely gathered knees trembled.
Young looked over everything from the top of his head to his toes. Only then did he say bluntly.
“Just with words?”
“……”
“Just go. Seeing how comfortable you are coming all the way here without any resolve, you haven’t come to your senses yet.”
Young took steps again without regret.
It wasn’t for show or for pressure. Even though the guy who absolutely wouldn’t say one word of sorry when adults recommended reconciliation every time friction occurred during school years was now apologizing, it wasn’t refreshing at all.
As Young said, it could be because he didn’t seem that desperate, or because it was just empty shell without sincere reflection. Whatever the reason, since there was no satisfaction at all from receiving the apology, how could he want to grant the request?
His firmness seemed to be fully revealed outwardly too. Did he feel rushed thinking if he left like this it was the end? Kwak Du-jin, who had been maintaining proper posture, stood up in a fluster. He almost crawled to Young’s front and knelt.
“I’m sorry, really sorry, really. Our company is on the edge right now. Just once. Huh? Help me just once. I’m begging.”
Whether this was simply for crisis avoidance or sincere wasn’t important. Seeing Kwak Du-jin kneeling and begging in front of him standing straight made him feel somewhat satisfied.
Young pretended to think for a moment. He pointlessly looked up at the ceiling and pouted his lips, rolled his eyes. He soon lowered his head again and looked at Kwak Du-jin kneeling in front of him.
“If it’s company business, you wouldn’t have come to borrow just a few pennies. Then what will you give?”
The expression barely managing “…What?” was complex. It was a face containing the meaning of what more do you have to give, just sign documents and pay interest faithfully.
“It’s helping you after all, so I need to get something too for it to be a deal.”
Young’s gaze swept Kwak Du-jin divided by body part. What did he think from that clear gaze? In an instant, Kwak Du-jin turned pale.
“I, I drink and smoke a lot so my liver and lungs are bad, my eyesight is bad too, use… useless! Really I’m nothing special without my parents’ company. Huh? Young-ah. Please.”
They say you can’t cure your own habits. To say such things even in this situation was ridiculous. He thought he was just discriminating by dividing classes based on superficial business atmosphere. It seemed he’d sincerely believed they did such things.
Young let out an empty laugh.
“This bastard, I’ve been watching and watching…!”
Instead, Noona, who had been silently watching, stood up abruptly. Young lightly shook his head to dissuade her. Then he gladly played along.
“Whether you cut out one kidney or peel off a cornea, it won’t come out to much. How much money are you trying to borrow that you’re trying to settle with such pennies?”
“……”
“Should you just offer one wrist? It won’t be useful, but if you’re inconvenienced in one place, it’ll help improve my mood.”
“N-no, please! I’m begging. I’ll do whatever you say, so please spare me. Huh? I’m begging like this. Please…”
The sight of him frantically begging because he was scared they’d really cut off some part was worth seeing. He came all the way here and was still standing tall with pride, but now that even that had collapsed, he was finally somewhat satisfied.
“Do everything I say?”
“Yeah. If you just let me live intact, I’ll really… do everything, everything! Anything!”
There was nothing to make him do anyway, and he had no intention of seeing that face again and again. But if he was prepared to go this far, it seemed worth sparing him a bit. Young snorted softly and looked at Noona.
“Give him money and send him. I’ll take care of collection myself.”
Noona simply nodded. Up to here the deal was done. Having resolved his business, Young turned to leave.
But suddenly his pant leg was grabbed.
“Young-ah! Young-ah, grant me one more thing!”
It seemed Kwak Du-jin still had more to say.
“You’ll help me so I can somehow block the lump sum repayment, but this also just buys time. This won’t solve this problem.”
Even though they’re blood relatives, he’d suspected from the time this guy who hadn’t even taken an important position at the company yet came. The fact that he didn’t come here on Kwak Du-jin’s own judgment but was pushed here.
Well, roughly his parents must have ordered it, and Kwak Du-jin seemed to faithfully follow their demands. You could tell just by the way he recited like lines memorized and chewed over several times.
Young looked down at Kwak Du-jin with an expression of let’s hear what he has to say. The servile crown of his head was trembling unstably.
“Joo… Kyung-heon. Right, speak well to Joo Kyung-heon for me! The bio relocation construction and all, business partners, funding sources… anyway everything’s blocked up now so we’re completely tied hand and foot. We can’t do anything.”
