# Chapter 14
After handling what Hyegang had asked for at the Superpower Management Office, it was already lunchtime. Iyeon got up with a cheerful motion. Since there had been many strange events today, lunch should be something especially delicious.
For Iyeon, who knew all the good restaurants in the area he frequented, there were many options. After thinking briefly, he chose a rice ball shop.
The advantage of rice balls was that the shop mainly did takeout. Though they could eat there, he wanted to introduce the Superpower Management Office’s good restaurant to Sano, who had recently become a new member of the office.
Though small in size, the rice ball shop was well-known among local foodies. Since ingredients often ran out if you were a bit late, making it impossible to even place an order, Iyeon hurried his steps.
Fortunately, since it hadn’t been long since lunchtime began, they were still taking orders. There would be no issue with getting food. His face, full of expectation, happily flushed.
But looking carefully, the last person in line was that line-cutter from earlier.
“…”
Unlike the area near the office, this was near the Superpower Management Office, so it was a neighborhood with major companies. There were many people in suits, making it uncertain at first, but seeing that annoying back of the head made it clear.
How did the line-cutter, who was near the office just earlier, get here? Iyeon was puzzled and suddenly had an ominous feeling. Wait a moment. No way…
“Fifty of each kind, please.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t have that quantity…”
“Then please give me as many as you can prepare.”
“Understood.”
“…”
In an instant, sold-out tags were attached to all menu items. Iyeon’s eyeballs shook violently, having nowhere to go after this disastrous bulk order.
After finishing his order, the line-cutter turned slightly and confirmed Iyeon’s face. Their eyes met. Because they were very close, Iyeon could see the expression in the line-cutter’s eyes beyond his sunglasses.
There was a faint smile.
That was the limit of Iyeon’s reason.
“Thank you.”
The line-cutter, who had wiped out the entire lunch business for the day, bowed to the owner with a large bag of rice balls in his arms and left the store. Despite carrying a heavy load, his steps walking down the street were light and cheerful. Thinking of that face from just before, his stomach felt full even though he hadn’t eaten.
Something caught his foot.
Thud. Looking down curiously, the line-cutter discovered a strangely shaped string tied around his ankle.
And with that, he was dragged into an alley between buildings.
“Wh-what the!”
The line-cutter, struggling to steady his wobbling body, realized he was trapped in a giant birdcage. The ugly and dented cage, which didn’t match the alley at all, was quite solid and dense, making it impossible to escape alone.
“Mister.”
From the innermost part of the alley, a low voice flowed from the darkness. The owner of the voice, which felt eerie, confirmed that the line-cutter was caught and walked step by step out to where light was visible.
A young man with hair that seemed faded, goggles carelessly hung around his neck, a loose-fitting sweater, light blue jeans, and one foot wearing a stained shoelace. A familiar figure.
“Do you know the saying that if you endure three times, even murder can be forgiven?”
Iyeon smiled faintly from beyond the iron bars. A thin pen was spinning in his hand.
“It means if you’ve endured three times, you can commit murder once…”
No, that’s not it.
“Y-you counted wrong! I didn’t endure three times.”
The line-cutter shouted urgently.
“Ah… that’s true.”
Iyeon looked coolly at the face behind the sunglasses.
“Since I endured once every time you took rice balls, I’ve endured over a hundred times. Then I could murder about thirty times.”
“Why are you suddenly calculating so meticulously? Why count the rice balls individually? You lumped the eight drinks as one.”
“Unlike our rigid modern society, I’m quite generous.”
The face smiling as if to ask if he wasn’t grateful was tinged with madness.
“Properly calculated, it would be over thirty times of killing, but I gave you a discount. Grateful, right?”
“Who carries around thirty lives?”
Having said that much, the line-cutter suddenly came to his senses. He was being dragged into a meaningless power struggle.
“No, that’s not it! I meant you only endured twice!”
“Oh…”
Iyeon opened his eyes wide. There was a strange glint in his bright pupils.
“You remember. So it was intentional, wasn’t it?”
“…”
He had dug his own grave. Cold sweat ran down the line-cutter’s spine. His trembling hands, not knowing what to do, tightly gripped the rice ball bag. Iyeon smiled gently.
“It’s okay. Everyone has their circumstances, so I won’t ask for reasons.”
It was a face saying he would just bury him instead.
“Y-you!”
The line-cutter’s mouth opened urgently. When Iyeon stopped his movement and stared blankly, the line-cutter’s voice grew louder as if encouraged.
“It’s because someone like you is sticking around him!”
“…Pardon?”
“He’s lowering his standards!”
It was a line you would only hear in dramas. While Iyeon was still confused, unable to grasp the situation, a calm voice echoed from the entrance of the alley.
“That’s enough.”
Iyeon and the line-cutter turned their heads. Though the face wasn’t visible due to the backlight from behind, an ominous presence emanated from the tall, slender figure in a neat suit.
The unknown figure who suddenly appeared walked steadily toward the two. It was an unwavering stride.
Something caught their foot.
“Ah.”
A crooked wire-like rope wrapped around their ankle. As the line was pulled, the unknown figure was instantly hung upside down. Clothes flipped over, and long straight hair flowed downward toward the ground.
The line-cutter, seeing the unknown figure captured in the blink of an eye, wailed. The cage creaked with a metallic sound due to his violent commotion.
“Noona! This bastard, release my noona!”
It was chaos. Iyeon, who alternately looked at the line-cutter and the unknown figure, softly sighed.
“Why were you following me?”
I thought something seemed strange. They were indeed a team.
“Hello, Mr. Jung Iyeon.”
The unknown figure calmly flipped through a business card holder and handed over a card, even while hanging upside down. The sunglasses, identical to the line-cutter’s, remarkably didn’t fall off despite the commotion. Iyeon, who was curiously watching this skill-like sight, took the business card.
The text on the card was excessively concise. Executive Secretary Kim Jonghee. And.
“Jesan employee?”
“I’m embarrassed to meet you like this.”
Even while dangling, the composed face offered a belated greeting.
“I’m Kim Jonghee, Je Sano’s direct secretary.”
Iyeon alternately looked at the card and Jonghee. His finger, clearly showing suspicion, pointed at the man in the cage.
“And him?”
“Why should I tell you!”
“He’s also Je Sano’s direct secretary, Kim Jongchan.”
“Noona! How could you tell him!”
It was like a comedy skit.
“Did Je Sano order this?”
That jerk, I thought he was unusually indifferent today… was this his plan? Iyeon asked with a suppressed sigh, and Jonghee answered.
“No. Sano-nim doesn’t know.”
Iyeon could confirm that Sano’s uncooperative nature was innate.
“Wait, then why?”
The idea that secretaries independently harass people their boss has found—do they dislike Je Sano a lot? It was plausible. How cruelly must he have treated them… While Iyeon was inwardly clicking his tongue, an answer burst out from behind.
“It’s because you’re not helpful to Sano-nim!”
Jongchan fumed. He looked like he might jump up and down at any moment, seemingly indignant.
“Do you know who our Sano-nim is? How busy a person he is…!”
“Wait, hold on.”
Iyeon cut off Jongchan’s words, which were about to shoot back. Though he understood what Jongchan wanted to say, Iyeon had something to say about that too.
“I didn’t want this, you know? Have you talked to Je Sano?”
Since they knew Iyeon’s whereabouts, they must be able to contact Sano, so why not just talk to the person directly?
At this logical rebuttal, Jongchan briefly closed his mouth, then soon dropped his head dejectedly.
“Sano-nim… has a strong will.”
The effort to portray his boss positively even in this situation was admirable.
To harass others after failing to persuade someone himself—this was a development so outdated it wouldn’t even appear in morning dramas anymore. In place of the quieted Jongchan, Jonghee continued the conversation.
“Jongchan overly follows Sano-nim, so his emotions intensified, but there was no ill intent.”
“No ill intent?”
Iyeon stood like a ruffian and gestured with his chin at his dirty shoes and the rice ball bag lying on the ground.
“I apologize for that part.”
“Well, since we’re on the subject.”
Iyeon crossed his arms. Though the process was a bit messy, it was a good opportunity.
“Does Je Sano perhaps not have a home?”
“He has several.”
This real estate mogul, I knew it!
“Then why doesn’t he think of leaving my house? Today I even ended up getting breakfast from Je Sano.”
From far away, Jongchan mumbled something about how well Iyeon was living.
“It looks like I’ll inevitably be on breakfast duty tomorrow. I don’t even normally eat breakfast… Why have we naturally started living together? There aren’t even any clothes at my place, but he’s neatly wearing indoor clothes from who knows where. You all should do something about it.”
“Have you asked Sano-nim?”
Iyeon’s mouth, which had been fluttering like a willow branch, closed like a shell. After a long while, a tiny voice emerged.
“Je Sano… has a strong will.”
Jonghee nodded kindly. It was an understanding that only those who knew could have.
“I believe that wherever Sano-nim is becomes his nest.”
“No, it’s my nest.”
“We can’t stop Sano-nim either. However…”
Saying that, Jonghee rummaged through her pockets.
“Please ensure there’s no lack in Sano-nim’s life.”
What she handed over was a completely plain black card. Iyeon, who scanned the rectangular body like lightning, frowned. No matter how prevalent materialism might be, to suddenly hand over something like this.
“Look here. You can’t just buy people with something like this…”
“There’s no limit.”
It was an extremely good condition. Iyeon politely accepted and tucked it away, asking:
“Can I buy anything?”
Jonghee answered firmly:
“First, buy a bed.”
The two shook hands with determined faces. The deal was quickly concluded.
Ding. The office door opened, and Iyeon entered. Sano, who merely turned his gaze to check the visitor, bluntly said:
“You’re back early.”
“Je Sano.”
When his indifferent face looked over, Iyeon smiled brightly. He was hugging a large paper bag in his arms.
“Do you like rice balls?”
And that’s how Iyeon got a temporary roommate.
