They had barely exchanged a few words, yet Munyeong was already exhausted. Watching Haejeong’s outrageous behavior, standing in the middle of all these people’s scrutiny — simply being at Yeon Haejeong’s side was enough to draw stares. Of course it was all because of Haejeong, but that kind of attention wore on him regardless. And yet Haejeong, who was drawing far more attention than anyone else in the room, carried himself with shameless ease, as if he existed in a completely separate world. He picked up a salmon canapé with his bare hand, opened his mouth wide, shoved the whole thing in, and chewed it down in an utterly slovenly fashion. Given the setting, it was a graceless display — but not a single person called him out on it. Shortly after, a staff member approached Haejeong to inform him that the inauguration speech would be starting soon.
“Hey.”
Munyeong had been quietly watching from the side when Haejeong suddenly called out to him.
“…Yes?”
“Take pictures.”
“……Yes?”
“I’m saying take pictures of me during the inauguration speech. Make sure they turn out well.”
“Ah… yes.”
Whether it was another one of his shows of vanity, Haejeong always seemed to want photos taken of everything he did.
The lights cut out, and on the screen above the stage, Haejeong’s image appeared. His profile, academic background, and career history scrolled across in a long list. Then, as the spotlight fell on the stage alone, Haejeong was already standing on it — composed and confident. The slouchy, can’t-be-bothered demeanor he’d worn all evening had vanished entirely, replaced by a tone that was measured and dignified, to a considerable degree. But this was no typical formal inauguration speech. Rather than the customary humility — I look forward to working with you all, please correct me when I fall short — what he was actually saying, unwound into plain language, amounted to: I’ll handle things my way, so stay out of it. An arrogant address, through and through. It was a far cry from the speech content his brother Yeon Juhyeok had handed him earlier.
Even so, a few people in the crowd were clearly entertained, their quiet laughter surfacing here and there. Others pulled faces as though they found his attitude insufferable. Among them were his uncle Chu Daehyeong, his son, and his mother, Rep. Chu.
Truly an unpredictable man. Munyeong was exhausted, but he dutifully took pictures just as Haejeong had demanded — from a wide variety of angles, enough that he hoped Haejeong would be satisfied.
**
He let out a heavy breath, exhaling sharply, and glanced at Haejeong in the rearview mirror — slouched in the back seat, thoroughly drunk.
The man hadn’t let go of a drink the entire evening, enough to make one wonder if he had a drinking problem. Even as the inauguration ceremony wound to a close, the champagne glass had never left his hand. In the end, it had been Munyeong who steadied him and half-carried him to the car. Fortunately, he wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t walk, so it hadn’t been too difficult — but the way he kept swaying made it impossible not to step in. Haejeong had looked down at Munyeong calmly as Munyeong reached out to support him.
Oh, really.
The look said it all — who do you think you are, touching me — but it was still better than watching him fall.
…You looked like you were about to fall.
Do I look that pathetic to you?
Even as he snapped back sharply, his body listed to one side.
…No, that’s not it… The Executive Director told me.
I told you what.
That today… I’m here to assist you.
…….
Munyeong was mid-explanation — implying he had no choice — when Haejeong snapped his mouth shut on whatever biting remark he’d been about to make. A moment later, he gave a small nod and quietly leaned his weight against Munyeong.
And now here they were. Munyeong wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and carefully asked, glancing at Haejeong in the mirror as the man exhaled one long breath after another.
“Shall I take you home…?”
It seemed like all the scheduled events were over, so he’d asked — and Haejeong suddenly lifted his head and met his eyes.
“…I don’t have a home.”
“Pardon?”
“I said I don’t have a place.”
For a moment, the conversation from that morning with Haejeong’s brother came back to him — his brother asking why he hadn’t come home, and Haejeong saying that place wasn’t his home. Remembering also the sight of him asleep in the office, Munyeong made a troubled expression.
“Ah… then, where should I……”
Haejeong didn’t answer. He just stared at Munyeong with an unreadable gaze — one that seemed to mean nothing at all, and yet refused to let go. Munyeong felt a wave of discomfort and quietly looked away.
“……Shall I take you to a hotel?”
“I don’t go to those places alone.”
“…Pardon?”
“I bring someone to sleep with.”
At the blunt reply, Munyeong parted his lips with an embarrassed expression, not knowing what he was supposed to say to that. He sat there, unable to even start the car, at a complete loss.
A brief silence settled between them. Munyeong had nothing to say, and Haejeong watched him from the back seat without a word. Then, out of nowhere, Haejeong spoke.
“Why did you only finish middle school?”
“…What?”
“There must be a reason you only graduated middle school.”
It was a completely out-of-nowhere question. The topic had been dropped long ago, and it was a question that ventured into personal territory. With no way of reading the intention behind it, Munyeong hesitated over his answer and looked back at Haejeong with careful eyes. He felt like he needed to see his face to understand what he was thinking. But Haejeong’s expression was the same as always — indifferent, unremarkable. Whether he was curious or merely amused, Munyeong couldn’t tell. He couldn’t bring himself to mention in front of this man that he’d been expelled from high school, so he deflected, struggling to find words.
“…Why do you ask…”
“Why, do you have a problem with it?”
“No, it’s not that… it just doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d be interested in.”
Munyeong kept his voice measured.
“…You’re right.”
And once again, the answer was unexpected. Haejeong conceded immediately, and the ease of it left Munyeong blinking at him blankly — at which point it was Haejeong who looked away this time.
“I’m not the least bit curious.”
“…Pardon?”
“Like you said, it’s not the kind of thing I’d find interesting.”
He murmured it as if turning the words over to himself alone. His odd manner left Munyeong standing there, bewildered, unable to do anything — and then Haejeong followed it up.
“Drive.”
Munyeong was about to ask again, since he had no destination — but Haejeong cut in first.
“Go to the office.”
**
It was past eleven at night, but there were still lit windows throughout the building — which meant quite a few teams were working overtime. Whenever Munyeong pulled a night shift, he would occasionally run into employees working late. Their faces were haggard with exhaustion, and they’d linger in the smoking area, dragging on cigarettes and grumbling about their supervisors and how worn out they were. Munyeong would clean up the cigarette butts while listening to those conversations, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of envy. On top of that, Baekil Group prided itself above all else on employee welfare — so much so that for the benefit of those worn down by overtime, there was even a dedicated sleep room. There were blankets for lying down, and massage chairs set up for those who needed to decompress. It was his job to clean those rooms too, so he knew them well.
Haejeong was capable of walking on his own, but worried he might sway again, Munyeong followed him all the way up to the Executive Director’s office. Haejeong didn’t bother to snap at him about why he was tagging along. He simply leaned against the wall with that tired look of his, and Munyeong kept checking on him at intervals while staring straight ahead at the elevator’s floor indicator.
A soft ding sounded and the doors opened. Haejeong went directly to the executive office. Munyeong watched him flop down onto the sofa there as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and stood there fidgeting, as though he had something to say. Haejeong, who had more or less shrugged off his coat before lying down, furrowed his brow at Munyeong’s behavior.
“What. What is it.”
He asked in an irritable tone at Munyeong’s oddly restless manner, and Munyeong carefully opened his mouth.
“…Are you really going to sleep here?”
As much as anything, sleeping on a sofa with no blanket and nothing over him didn’t seem right.
“Then what, should I sleep on the bare floor out there?”
“No, it’s just… there’s a sleep room on another floor…”
“If someone like me were sleeping in there, what do you think the regular employees would think?”
…That was also a fair point. If they dragged themselves in there to rest only to find an executive lying around, it would undoubtedly make them deeply uncomfortable.
