# Chapter 7
“Fuck, where the hell did you crawl in from?”
The ashtray that hit his forehead made a sharp breaking sound as it shattered into pieces. As the glass fragments drew a large line across his forehead, blood began to pour from the torn skin like a bursting fountain.
It was truly a nightmarish first meeting.
Cha Jaehyun. He could finally understand the identity of this person who had been shrouded in mystery.
Daejin Group’s hidden illegitimate son.
The type of person Woojin despised the most. Someone with zero ability who runs wild without fear of the world just because they have money. He was a scoundrel who couldn’t even be compared to Cha Taehan, and he was a stupid human being. The only moment when Cha Jaehyun became a gentle lamb was when he faced Cha Taesan and Cha Taehan. Woojin found that sight extremely disgusting.
The reason for offering 1.5 billion won was clear. It included hazard pay for silently enduring that filthy temper which was hard to bear for even a day, no, even a single hour. But he couldn’t give up the huge sum of 1.5 billion won, so he gritted his teeth and endured for two years.
After enduring for two years, there was 1 billion won in his bank account. 1 billion. It was a huge amount that he couldn’t have dreamed of before, but after spending two years that were worse than hell, it didn’t feel like much compensation compared to his suffering.
‘Let’s stop thinking about it. Just a little longer…’
While figuring out the phone password, he suddenly remembered the old days. Woojin sighed as if annoyed and began touching the phone again.
He says to release Seo Hanryul. He also says he hit his head again and forgot the entrance password and even the phone password. It was ridiculous. What kind of bizarre concept was he playing today? Anyway, he thought he was an annoying bastard that he wanted to kill.
The only strange thing was that today he hadn’t done any crazy behavior at all. In the past two years, had there ever been even one day like today? But he wasn’t relieved by this. It was obvious that he would start acting crazy again from tomorrow.
“Hah… fuck. I can’t remember the password. I hit my head while drinking yesterday, and I can’t remember small details. You fix it.”
The bastard’s face appeared again. Unlike usual, he awkwardly cursed and acted like a fool who had forgotten everything. At first glance, he seemed angry, but upon closer inspection, he looked like an amateur actor awkwardly imitating.
How much alcohol did he drink to become such a fool overnight? He was always a stupid bastard, but today he seemed even worse. Or maybe he took a lot of drugs for once.
‘If you hit your head, you should have just died right there.’
Having fixed the phone, Woojin entered the master bedroom where Cha Jaehyun was lying. Being careful not to make any footsteps or breathing sounds that might wake him up. Cha Jaehyun was sleeping, oblivious to the world. Seeing that peaceful face made his anger rise again.
Cha Taehan was also an unpleasant person, but at least he had ability. But Cha Jaehyun was nothing but a corpse without money. For two years, Woojin had been reporting Cha Jaehyun’s every move to Cha Taehan.
Two years. It was a life worse than hell, but ironically, he was able to continue this job for more than two years because Cha Jaehyun was stupider than he could have imagined.
Stupid bastard. No matter what crazy things he did in front of him, he wouldn’t suspect anything because Woojin would follow his orders without changing his expression. He probably had no idea that for two years, every single one of his actions had been reported to Cha Taehan, the person he feared the most.
Asshole. That was the name the peacefully sleeping guy had saved Woojin under in his phone. When he first found out, he felt not just simple anger, but humiliation.
‘I want to kill him.’
Woojin thought again about the man sleeping in front of him. He sincerely wanted to kill this man right now. If he pressed a pillow against his face now, he would die. No, let’s endure for just two more years. Once he receives the 1.5 billion won, he’ll cleanly disappear from this damn Daejin Group. He’ll find out who the real bastard is in the end.
‘You’ll be cleanly removed from Daejin anyway.’
Woojin looked cynically at the man in front of him, then left the house quietly after placing the fixed phone and a note with something written on it on the bedside table.
* * *
Where am I now? Earlier I woke up in some novel world, but now everything my eyes can see is so white that I feel like I’m going crazy. It was a place a million times more surreal than where I woke up before. Damn, this is one hell of a dynamic day.
A world completely white. All I could see was just one long path stretching ahead. I saw a man walking ahead on the path. For some reason, I felt an instinctive need to catch that person.
“Excuse me!”
“Hey!”
But no matter how much I called, the man didn’t turn around. No, he didn’t even pretend to hear. In the end, I desperately ran and grabbed the shoulder of the walking man.
“Excuse me! Just a moment.”
Only then did the man turn around with a frown. Is this for real? The man was Cha Jaehyun.
“What?”
I was so surprised at that moment that I blurted out “What?” even though I was the one who stopped him.
“What? I don’t think that’s what someone who suddenly grabs a person walking should be saying first.”
He had a point. But cursing from the first word? I can see again that he has quite a character. But I had so many questions, so I asked first.
“Do you also know the current situation?”
“I was wondering what kind of bastard took over my body, and it turns out to be an even more messed up guy.”
Cha Jaehyun said with a severely distorted expression. His expression looked like he was about to hit someone. Fortunately, Cha Jaehyun was also aware of this situation.
Every word he threw at me was unpleasant, but since I already knew his personality, I didn’t want to provoke him unnecessarily. Getting answers was more important right now.
“So you’re also aware of this situation. Anyway, you want to get back to your body quickly too, right? What are you going to do?”
“This guy is funnier than I thought. You’re just full of questions without any context, aren’t you?”
Just when I thought he was about to get angry, he suddenly burst out laughing. His laughter overflowed with madness. Who does he think he is, the Joker? Does this bastard also have bipolar disorder? He’s too much. I was getting annoyed.
But if I get annoyed too… we might just end up fighting with no progress on this situation. I kept repeating the virtue of patience in my mind.
“Don’t you want to go back to your body?”
As soon as I said this, Cha Jaehyun suddenly shoved me hard. It happened so suddenly that I fell to the ground, hitting my butt hard.
Ah, that hurts a bit. This clearly seems like a dream, but why does it hurt? How did Han Woojin endure this guy’s ridiculous personality for two years? Han Woojin must be amazing too. I really want to fight this guy.
“What? Are you going to return or not? If you have a mouth, answer!”
I got up, dusting off my butt, and raised my voice at Cha Jaehyun.
“It’s quite amusing to see you shouting like an idiot who doesn’t know his own situation or anything else.”
A tone full of mockery. Completely ignoring my words, Cha Jaehyun turned his back to me and walked away again.
Whether this was a dream or whatever didn’t matter anymore. I couldn’t take it anymore. Meeting him in person, he was even more hopeless than I thought. I quickly followed him, intending to at least hit the back of his head, when suddenly a thought flashed in my mind.
What date was it when I woke up? I don’t remember the exact date, but I remember it was June. Thinking from today, in the novel, about a year and a half later, Seo Hanryul receives the grand prize at the year-end awards ceremony, and Cha Jaehyun commits suicide. Could it be that I just need to endure until the point of suicide?
“Hey! You crazy bastard, stop there. Can’t I curse too?”
Cha Jaehyun turned around again with a frown. That expression. It was no longer just about hitting someone. It was an expression of wanting to kill. I could feel killing intent. Honestly, I was scared. But I had to say what I needed to say.
“Never mind all that, just answer this one thing. Can I return around the end of next year?”
It worked. As if he found my question interesting, he walked briskly back toward me and suddenly was right in front of my face.
Huh? I did want him to come to me, but this time he approached uncomfortably close. This guy has no middle ground. Cha Jaehyun’s face gradually got closer.
‘W-what?’
He firmly grabbed my chin with his hand and began to stare intensely into my eyes. His face was unnecessarily handsome, which gave me a strange feeling.
“What are you doing? If you’re going to tell me, tell me quickly. Stop doing weird things.”
“Why is your face getting red? I think you’re the one doing weird things.”
My face is red? Why? Either way, it was embarrassing.
“Hah, what a sight to see.”
Cha Jaehyun unpleasantly released my chin with a snap.
“Ha… can I return? Just answer that one thing.”
“Well, are you that curious?”
After hearing my question, he gives a slight eye-smile. Just a moment ago, he had an expression like he was about to kill someone, and now he’s smiling like a seductive fox.
This bastard must be testing my patience… But I shouldn’t get caught up in this. I answered as kindly as possible, forcing a smile. Just answer me, you damn bastard.
“I asked because I’m curious, right? Please. Just tell me.”
“Are you that curious? Then why don’t you kneel down in front of me?”
Ha, this crazy bastard. It really isn’t easy. But what’s so difficult about kneeling? If there’s a way to return, how could I not do that much? I dusted my knees and prepared to kneel.
“You’re really a funny guy! You’re really going to kneel? The more I look at you, you’re kind of like a cute little bastard…”
What is this psycho babbling about? Cha Jaehyun approached me again.
“You’re asking if you can return? You’ll find out when the time comes anyway, you stupid bastard.”
“…”
Should I just kill this bastard?
“Since you look like you’re dying of curiosity, I’ll give you a hint. It depends on what you do, right? You might be able to return. That’s all I’ll say for now.”
After giving this half-opened strange answer, he quickly disappeared from my sight. He left so quickly that I couldn’t catch him. As if he had teleported.
I might be able to return? Does that mean I might or might not be able to return depending on what I do? What a petty bastard. How nice it would be if he explained more in detail. Doesn’t that guy care about returning to his own body? Well, his life is a mess, and he’s an outcast at home. I could understand to some extent.
But anyway, it means I can return, right? If I just endure for a year and a half. I continued to assign a positive meaning to Cha Jaehyun’s answer.
No, I don’t think I need to assign meaning. He specifically said “You might be able to return.” I don’t know what the method is, but isn’t he saying that I can return if I do well? I will definitely resolve this terrible situation and return home.
Definitely.
