Ilkyung let out a deep sigh.
“Or what, did you expect something? That I’d say Woo Ilkyung-ssi is currently sprawled out spread-eagle on my bed sleeping?”
“No!”
The last syllable cracked and shot up. Daehoon laughed lowly and carefully removed the needle stuck in Ilkyung’s arm. Ilkyung trembled at first with his forearm held, but was so surprised by how naturally Daehoon removed the needle that he just stared.
“Anyway, I’ve told your home, and it’s already almost midnight.”
“Already? I really slept a long time.”
“I felt this before too, but Ilkyung-ssi sleeps quite roughly. You have no idea how many times I stopped you from pulling out the needle. If you’d been hospitalized, the nurses probably would have tied you tightly to the bed.”
“It’s not that bad! Don’t lie.”
“What do I gain from lying?”
Daehoon shrugged. Whether Director Ha’s words were true or if he was just teasing, there was no way to know, but Director Ha didn’t seem like he’d say something pointless, so then was his sleeping habit really that bad? Ilkyung thought he should ask his family members.
“Let’s eat something first and then take medicine or whatever.”
Daehoon helped Ilkyung up. Perhaps because of the IV, the fever seemed to have gone down, but his body was still heavy. Since Ilkyung had taken a taxi this morning, to go home now he’d have to call a taxi or ask Director Ha, and both were equally uncomfortable. Thinking he’d eat something first and then think about it, Ilkyung followed Daehoon and sat at the dining table.
“Porridge would be better than rice, so let’s eat some porridge and take medicine.”
On the dining table was abalone ginseng chicken porridge, called a nutritious food. But the appearance didn’t look like it was from a regular porridge restaurant…
“Um, did you also personally make this, Director…”
“The working ajumma came and left.”
“What? It’s almost midnight though?”
“They’re people who are there for such things.”
Ilkyung shook his head. He didn’t know if chaebol families were originally like this, but it was burdensome.
“Director, I told you not to show off being a chaebol.”
“So didn’t I say I’d only show off until today? Ah, it’s midnight now.”
What a thoroughly meticulous person! What does he have to make you so speechless, really? Woo Ilkyung, who usually didn’t back down in arguments, had been losing every single battle lately, and the person right in front of him was that opponent. I’ll win someday! Ilkyung burned with pointless fighting spirit.
“Anyway, I’ll eat well.”
Ilkyung first greeted him with an expression that was grateful but not completely grateful and sat in front of the dining table. By the way, he’d felt this before too, but this house was black or white. Does he like Go?
“Eat a lot. That’s how you’ll get better quickly.”
“This is all Director’s fault.”
As soon as the warm porridge went into his stomach a bit, Ilkyung started openly voicing his thoughts. Daehoon sat across from him and looked at Ilkyung with an absurd expression.
“It’s not my fault you got hit by water, is it?”
“That’s not it, but not sleeping properly is because of Director.”
Ilkyung said grumpily and stared. His eyes were full of discontent.
“Why couldn’t you sleep because of me?”
Daehoon asked while looking with an expression that he really didn’t know. Ilkyung didn’t know how to say this and gathered his thoughts. Then suddenly got worked up and glared. You really don’t know that?
“It’s because Director keeps bothering me!”
“For that, I saw you sleeping really well earlier.”
“That’s! Because I was sick.”
Daehoon shrugged his shoulders.
“When you’re done eating, take your medicine.”
Even after eating porridge and taking medicine, sleep didn’t come, so Ilkyung decided to sit side by side with Director Ha on the sofa and watch a movie. Director Ha made a cup of warm tea and handed it to Ilkyung.
“Thank you.”
“Should I bring you a blanket?”
“No, I’m not cold.”
“Tell me if you need it.”
Ilkyung nodded.
He’d thought the house was huge when he first came, but he didn’t know there’d be a separate space for watching movies like this. Ilkyung’s house—his two noonas got married and are now independent, but before, they all lived together, so it was always bustling. Ilkyung’s house was quite large too, but still, with many family members, it felt cramped.
“Um, but Director.”
“Yes.”
“Do you live alone?”
“Then who would I live with?”
Don’t throw a question back at a question and give a proper answer! Ilkyung pouted his lips and asked again.
“Aren’t you lonely living alone in this wide house?”
“I wonder.”
Well, chaebols must have always lived in houses like this, so he probably doesn’t feel that.
“Woo Ilkyung-ssi, don’t you have thoughts of becoming independent?”
“Not yet. Just living with my youngest noona and my parents isn’t bad. Rather, it’s good. Maybe because I grew up bustling around in a house with many family members since I was young, I think I’d be lonely living alone. But you seem to like movies.”
“Yes, my family invests a lot in movies too. When I was young, I went to see a lot of movies following Grandfather, but after manifesting as a Guide, those opportunities decreased.”
The side profile of Director Ha speaking calmly somehow looked lonely.
“Manifesting as a Guide… you don’t like it?”
“I don’t think much about it.”
At the calm answer, Ilkyung nodded. Somehow, it seemed like this man would be like that.
In the movie, when the female protagonist asked where he wanted to go, the male protagonist was answering, “Anywhere, any place, wherever you want to go.” It was a movie Ilkyung knew well too. It was a movie that came out before Ilkyung was even born, but it was so famous that he’d seen it a lot here and there on programs introducing movies.
It was a movie made before Hong Kong was returned to China, and it was a movie Ilkyung had watched often too, and even watching it now, he thought both the visuals and music were all good.
“Do you like movies like this?”
“I watch without being picky. By the way, you must be disappointed you couldn’t watch the movie to the end earlier. You should have said you were sick if you were sick.”
“I wasn’t that sick then and I didn’t know I’d fall asleep while watching the movie. It is disappointing since it’s a director I like.”
Ilkyung smacked his lips while drinking the warm tea. The movie was almost over. The time had already passed 2 AM, and whether because of the medicine’s effect, his eyes slowly closed. In the end, Ilkyung couldn’t finish watching the ending credits and leaned deeply against Director Ha sitting next to him.
Daehoon, who had moved the sleeping Ilkyung to the bed, frowned while looking at the missed call list. Then he quietly picked up his phone.
“They say you have no sleep when you get old—is that how Grandfather is?”
—You brat, calling now to wake up your grandfather!
“Ah, were you sleeping?”
Daehoon answered shamelessly. He was really brazen. The sound of Chairman Ha’s blood pressure rising seemed to be heard even beyond the phone.
—Calling only now, what have you been doing all this time!
“What are you asking? You heard everything.”
Dr. Ahn was also Grandfather’s person, and strictly speaking, so was Executive Secretary Min. Executive Secretary Min was someone Father had used, so he was more completely devoted to Chairman Ha’s words than Daehoon. After all, Chairman Ha was at the top of the pyramid.
When Chairman Ha attached Executive Secretary Min to Daehoon’s side, he had him report on his grandson. But the one who just raised Executive Secretary Min’s salary significantly to make him his own person and have him make false reports was Daehoon, playing right on top of his grandfather’s head.
—Is that friend really your lover?
“Grandfather, what more do you want to know? Should I wake the person sleeping in my bed now and put them on? Then Grandfather’s image would be really good, right?”
Daehoon mocked him by beating around the bush sarcastically.
—Ahem, fine. Go to sleep.
“What kind of missed calls are so many…? If someone saw, they’d think Grandfather is my stalker.”
—Fine, hang up.
Chairman Ha spoke irritably and hung up the phone.
The only one who knew their meeting was a contract relationship was Executive Secretary Min. Executive Secretary Min also knew that Woo Ilkyung had openly cursed Ha Daehoon and got caught, and before that, appeared in women’s clothing at Ha Daehoon’s arranged meeting spot and ruined the meeting. All facts learned while investigating Woo Ilkyung’s background.
How could that Executive Secretary Min not know that today Director Ha rented out the entire movie theater saying he was watching a movie with Assistant Manager Woo Ilkyung? Executive Secretary Min made the movie theater reservation. But when he thought they watched the movie well and went to a restaurant, the call that came was about Woo Ilkyung being sick and to buy medicine. And when he arrived, the even more absurd thing was that Assistant Manager Woo Ilkyung was lying asleep in Director Ha Daehoon’s bedroom.
