“Let’s do it ourselves?”
When I spouted nonsense while hiding the embarrassment only I knew, Lee Hyeonseok asked back expressionlessly. He didn’t seem to fully understand what I was saying. I brazenly and carefully nodded my head. My intention was to ‘just push through with this concept.’
Lee Hyeonseok snickered, put down the tool he was holding, and lightly patted my shoulder. Everything he did was frightening, but I forced up the corners of my mouth and obediently waited for his words.
“Let’s do it ourselves, sure. When you get sued, try handling that yourself too.”
“But now add Lee Hyeonseok to that as well.”
“…….”
“Isn’t the world originally about living by helping each other? How cool, Lee Hyeonseok. Is there anything you can’t do? You know I trust only you, right?”
Lee Hyeonseok seemed thoroughly offended and closed his mouth after his warning. Until it got dark, he didn’t give me a glance or say a word to me. In the midst of it all, he didn’t forget to grab my collar tight and drag me along. I didn’t give in to him and diligently fawned over him, but Lee Hyeonseok didn’t even pretend to listen.
Just as I was about to act sullen at his incomprehensible attitude as usual, I made eye contact with Lee Hyeonseok. Only after seeing those utterly dead eyes without a hint of emotion did I think ‘oh no’ and stop in my place. It was to steel my resolve to say words I’d absolutely hate to say in my right mind.
Thanks to moving my feet diligently without stopping, Lee Hyeonseok, who arrived at the front door right on time, seemed to mistake my appearance of preparing myself mentally as not wanting to go inside the house, and showed an ominous look.
Noticing that sign, I urgently opened my mouth first before he could speak, but I stuttered because I was so nervous.
“I, I’ll….”
“You’ll.”
I decided to just do it even though I was embarrassed to death. If I delayed any more than this, I didn’t know how Lee Hyeonseok would devour me like catching a mouse with those menacing eyes. They say pheromones are affected by emotions, and whether intentional or unconscious, the pheromones currently flowing from Lee Hyeonseok were so heavy they were suffocating. If even I, who was insensitive to pheromones, could feel it, that said it all.
Seeing me frozen stiffly unlike usual, Lee Hyeonseok let go of my collar and leaned his back against the door. Then after crossing his arms, he tilted his head as if to say go ahead and speak.
“Even if I end up getting arrested, if you smooth it over for me, tonight I’ll do whatever you want!”
“…What?”
Lee Hyeonseok’s expression, which had been heavily sunken and utterly menacing, cleared up in an instant. I never knew Lee Hyeonseok could open his eyes that round. Lee Hyeonseok, as if unsure whether he heard correctly, asked me again. Honestly, even I couldn’t believe that what I just said truly came from my own mouth. Starting from my neck to my ears and entire face felt hot, so I was definitely red.
“Usually, that thing…. What you were saying… what you wanted… anyway, that kind of….”
Once opened, my mouth started rambling incoherently. I wondered if this would even work, and I didn’t know what kind of mindset was making me say such things, but when I thought about it, it was confidence Lee Hyeonseok had created. I thought it might be good bait for a twenty-year-old with a strong sex drive.
“Ha, I’m going crazy. Why should I agree to that? I can make you submit anytime…. You’re serious, right?”
Lee Hyeonseok took the bait while bursting into hollow laughter several times sarcastically as if dumbfounded. Perhaps quite flustered, he spoke faster than usual. Every word he said was a gem, but the corners of his mouth were heading toward his cheekbones. When asking if I was serious, his eyes were even sparkling. He was a real prize catch.
“Very, very actively.”
Seeing him delighted with sparkling eyes somehow made me, who was embarrassed, feel like a fool. I stared at the excited Lee Hyeonseok with eyes as if my soul had left, and answered as if making a promise to myself. Since it had come to this anyway, my intention was to let things be.
“Ha, really. Wow, you really…. Even over the phone?”
Lee Hyeonseok gave another hollow laugh and covered his face with one hand. Good that he covered it. I didn’t particularly want to see your face right now either. While he was covering his own face, I scrunched up my face with all my might. It was truly lamentable.
After briefly spewing out exclamations to himself repeatedly, Lee Hyeonseok finally seemed to have organized his emotions, slowly lowered the hand that had been covering his face, and asked seriously. Is that really a topic to ask so seriously right now…?
“Y, yeah….”
“You’ll be active?”
“O, of course….”
It was both pathetic and contemptible, but I decided to deal with my feelings later. Even though I tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible, I couldn’t erase the flatness in my voice. Even though Lee Hyeonseok must have clearly felt the flatness that couldn’t be hidden no matter what, he only seemed to hear the affirmative answer and didn’t care, asking about other things too.
While spending the night together, he could force me to do all sorts of things I disliked, but as long as I didn’t respond, doing it separately was impossible and I wouldn’t be active either. Perhaps he really wanted to do that, as afterward Lee Hyeonseok continued listing his demands for a while. You bastard, my bones are going to melt….
* * *
To start with the conclusion, I never ended up receiving a lawsuit. It was compensation for soothing Lee Hyeonseok, who was excessively petty for someone who grew up materially abundant, through all sorts of methods that were hard to tell others about. Although my mouth was the cause, I couldn’t help the reality check that came. Rather, it would be strange if a reality check didn’t come. Toward me like that, Lee Hyeonseok said, “Why would I send something so delicious somewhere else for someone else’s benefit,” turning my stomach. Even knowing he was saying in a roundabout way that he’d help, my middle finger shot out first instead of saying thanks. Because I poked Lee Hyeonseok’s eye just like that and burst a blood vessel, for a while I had to attend to him in all sorts of ways, let alone ask if I could leave now.
He unwrapped the bandage after exactly one day. At his resentful gaze visible between the carefully unwrapped bandages, I unconsciously wrapped the bandage again and got hit on the forehead. It didn’t hurt much, but it did sting, so I went ‘ow!’ and pretended it hurt. Naturally, Lee Hyeonseok was dumbfounded and was about to say something. If only there hadn’t been a knock at that moment.
“Yes.”
I immediately answered and got down from the bed to personally open the door. I heard “That bewitching bastard” from behind. I had no idea what was bewitching about me, and it was obvious that thinking deeply about it would only be ominous, so I decided to pretend I didn’t hear it.
“Ah… Who are you?”
In front of the door stood someone I’d never seen before. The man who looked about thirty had a rather stern impression, perhaps because he wore a suit and glasses. If Secretary Cha seemed relaxed enough to be easily approached, the man had a strict atmosphere about him. He felt difficult to approach easily.
“Hello, Seo Jiwoo-nim. My name is Yoo Jiheon. Please call me Executive Director Yoo.”
“Yes. Hello, Executive Director Yoo. And you don’t need to add -nim to my name…. I’d really appreciate it if you’d drop it.”
True to his appearance that seemed like jokes wouldn’t work well, even his speech was stiff. Executive Director Yoo didn’t seem uncomfortable treating me, who was much younger than him, respectfully, but I was uncomfortable with both the formal speech and respectful attitude. I absolutely couldn’t get used to it. From arduous experience, I knew that no matter how much I said it, he wouldn’t listen, so at the very least I desperately asked him to drop the -nim.
“Understood. Then I’ll call you Jiwoo-ssi.”
He had that much flexibility, as he changed the address from ‘-nim’ to ‘-ssi.’ While speaking, he seemed to slightly check Lee Hyeonseok’s reaction, but seeing that Lee Hyeonseok said nothing, he must have allowed it too.
While calming my unsettled heart, the Executive Director entered the room and stood in front of Lee Hyeonseok. I also followed behind to the bed. I was about to stand, feeling awkward to sit on the bed with the Executive Director continuing to stand in front, but Lee Hyeonseok grabbed my wrist and forcibly sat me on the bed. I was about to resist but thought it would look worse to argue in front of someone else, so I decided to just let Lee Hyeonseok do as he pleased for now.
“I looked into the matter of Cheon Jaekyung’s military service that you mentioned.”
“!”
When did this bastard, who spent several nights with me over two days and then received all sorts of attention from me for one day, send someone to look into it? Unlike surprised me, Lee Hyeonseok and the Executive Director showed no disturbance.
“First, it doesn’t seem Jiwoo-ssi will receive a lawsuit.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
At an answer different from my expectation that I’d be going in and out of the police station several more times, I asked back with a much brighter expression and voice. At my excited appearance, the Executive Director smiled slightly as if watching a child showing off tricks, but immediately returned to an expressionless face.
“It seems Seongwon Group decided to send him to the military to prove that Cheon Jaekyung’s body is normal, and to clean up the image regarding kidnapping Jiwoo-ssi and preventing him from taking the college entrance exam.”
“Jesus….”
In short, it meant they made him wipe his own ass. An exclamation flowed from me without my knowing. I had wanted to send him, but I never thought it would actually be possible to send him. I felt both pity and satisfaction. I had mixed feelings. Still, he’s a child from a wealthy family, so he probably won’t suffer too harshly or go through too much hardship. Anyway, serves him right. Every time Cheon Jaekyung and I fight, things work out well for me, so from Cheon Jaekyung’s perspective, our compatibility might be the worst.
“That bastard’s going obediently?”
“It seems he agreed to receive various kinds of help in exchange for going.”
“Help?”
“That’s why he’s going to the military obediently.”
“Yes. That seems to be the case.”
When Lee Hyeonseok asked as if he couldn’t quite believe it, the Executive Director confirmed while mentioning the compensation. I was curious about what help Cheon Jaekyung was supposed to receive, but before he could answer, Lee Hyeonseok cut him off. I briefly thought Lee Hyeonseok seemed to have blocked the words, but thinking I’d been too sensitive lately, I rubbed the back of my neck to hide my awkwardness.
