“Does it actually still ride alright.”
Standing there tapping the bicycle a couple of times, Jonghyeok made his way over to the wooden porch and sat down on a spot worn smooth with age, watching Jeongan closely. Jeongan worked at the ceiling so vigorously that his shirt rode up, revealing the sleek line of his back. He was putting so much effort into it that even his firm, lean waist, without a trace of excess on it, was on full display.
“The hot water seems to work fine. It might not in the morning, though… I’m right next door, so just let me know and I’ll heat some water for you. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Slowly pulling his gaze away, Jonghyeok crossed his long legs and sat down, putting a fresh cigarette to his lips. Jeongan’s eyes briefly drifted to the glowing red ember before moving on to Jonghyeok’s dark eyes.
“How old did you say you were.”
“Twenty two.”
“Looks about right.”
“…..”
“Thanks. For cleaning up, and for bringing us here too.”
“No, no, it’s nothing. I mean, Auntie did the cleaning, not me. And I was headed this way anyway.”
It was gratitude offered for no particular reason. Jeongan pushed down the strange feeling stirring inside him, hidden by a darkness far thicker than anything the city ever had. He tightened his grip on the long duster he was still holding.
“You should, um, speak casually with me. And… I’ll get going now. Rest well.”
Jeongan repeated his suggestion that Jonghyeok drop the formalities, then bent at the waist in a bow toward him. Thankfully, the bicycle, still in one piece and waiting for its owner, was there for him to wheel off into the darkness, walking with practiced familiarity.
A loud commotion rang out beside him.
“Oh my goodness, honestly. That old man, really. Starving these people this whole time! If he’d just said something sooner, I’d have come and cleaned this place up too.”
Yongsik was leading over a village resident who looked rather talkative. Jeongan greeted them on his way out as well. Yongsik, spotting Jeongan belatedly, returned the greeting.
“You should’ve told me sooner. The restaurant’s already closed for the night. Still, since I hear you’ll be staying a good while, I’ll throw together a meal on the house for tonight. Starting tomorrow, I could just deliver meals here, right? Three times a day?”
“She’s the owner of that restaurant near the village entrance.”
I’ll have a meal ready in no time, just wait right here! The woman, dressed casually, vanished quickly back into the darkness. Yongsik strode closer, taking in the now-clean house.
“Not bad at all, considering how quickly it got cleaned up. Pretty spacious too, isn’t it?”
“The lights work too.”
It had been a long while since Jonghyeok had come down to a work site in person. It wasn’t exactly an ordinary construction company by anyone’s standards, but ever since becoming CEO, Jonghyeok had mostly stopped coming down to sites himself. He’d drop by occasionally to check on things, but usually only once full-scale construction was already underway.
This time, though, he’d come down meaning to take care of business while getting some rest in a place with clean air and good water.
“Good thing I came down myself, or this would’ve been even more of a hassle.”
Slowly stubbing out his cigarette, Jonghyeok let out a faint, humorless laugh, thinking back over the villagers he’d seen that day. Old man Shin, who’d come charging in without a second thought the moment money was on the table. People simply delighted by the visit of outsiders. Or others who’d caught onto the real purpose behind the visit from the atmosphere alone and kept their guard up.
From the very moment he’d first shown himself, the villagers had made no secret of their curiosity. They hadn’t dared ask outright while he was talking with old man Shin, but there was no missing the way every pair of eyes from the group gathered behind them had been fixed squarely on him.
Just from the way they looked at him, their thoughts were plain enough. They were fascinated. Even as they guessed at what line of work he was in, even knowing full well these were the people about to upend the ground they’d built their entire lives on, they gave off an air of wait and see for now.
That unusual attitude from the villagers made Jonghyeok click his tongue, his expression hardening even so. From experience, people with that kind of attitude tended to cause the most trouble in the end.
Yongsik pulled out a thick blanket from the cabinet, dust rising as he did. The blankets carried the smell of mothballs, having sat in storage a long while. Jihwan, though this was hardly a new experience for him, still seemed unable to quite get used to it, spreading the blanket out and checking it over thoroughly.
“You can hear the waves all the way from here! What incredible atmosphere!”
Yongsik, feeling like the day was finally winding down, spread the thick blanket out and took a deep breath.
Whatever the people were like, this was a good village to tear down and rebuild. Just the right size for a resort, or a golf course. Mountains behind, a quiet, secluded stretch of sea all around. The island visible nearby would also make for a nice package deal. In every sense, it was prime land to work with. In truth, he’d only come today half expecting to find something worthwhile, just to survey the surrounding terrain, but…
A resort embracing the sea. This was the kind of place where money practically rolled in on its own, the moment work began.
Out of place, the smell and sound of rice cooking drifted in, mixed with the sea breeze. Jonghyeok undid a few more buttons of his shirt and lay down flat on the porch.
This village, cut off from every other by its harsh mountain, had far too many stars visible overhead. Stars that looked ready to come pouring down. But Jonghyeok covered his eyes with one hand, shutting out the natural beauty entirely. He drew in a deep lungful of the cigarette smoke Jihwan was smoking nearby.
“So, in the end, you’re saying old man Shin can’t do anything at all.”
“Mr. Choi. Didn’t I tell you half of this is my doing? If I say the word, the villagers will fall in line. Except.”
“…..”
“Half that land belongs to that old woman… right, that’s the thing.”
Clack. Jonghyeok set down his coffee cup with a sharp sound. The heavy cup struck the glass laid over the table, producing an unpleasantly harsh noise.
He tilted his head slowly, his scarred brow creasing deeply. As his pupils shifted slightly upward, the fierce, upturned whites of his eyes showed through plainly.
“What you’re telling me now is quite different from what you said over the phone. This puts us in a difficult spot, doesn’t it.”
“No, now, no need to put it like that. You don’t need to meet with the other villagers at all. Just… Mr. Choi, go meet with that old woman.”
Old man Shin had been the one Jonghyeok had first been in contact with regarding this matter. He’d discussed the redevelopment deal while subtly implying he was a man of standing in the village, something like a village elder in his own right.
But once Jonghyeok actually looked into it, the reality proved different. The man was the village head and its most senior figure, true, but he clearly didn’t hold the kind of sway over the village he’d claimed to.
Even from their very first contact, Jonghyeok hadn’t taken old man Shin for a reliable point of contact to begin with. He’d only moved forward after surveying the village’s location and surrounding terrain and judging it genuinely worth developing. If anything, Jonghyeok himself was the one who’d taken a project others had abandoned early on and pushed it all the way up the ladder. Old man Shin, naturally, had never factored into that calculation at all.
Still, it left a thoroughly foul taste in his mouth… Having held back his temper out of some consideration for the man’s age, Jonghyeok finally pulled out a cigarette.
“So the bottom line is you want me to go meet this Mrs. Oh.”
“…I’ll take responsibility for everything else.”
“Then moving forward the way we discussed before is going to be difficult. At minimum, half of the deposit we agreed on before is coming off the table too.”
“H, half of it?”
“Sir. Think about it carefully. What exactly have you done so far. This is all work my people have to handle anyway… you’re not exactly in shape to go around collecting signatures yourself, are you.”
Jonghyeok didn’t raise his voice. If anything, his tone dropped even lower as he faced old man Shin head on.
Ahem, old man Shin, his face flushed red, let out a sigh and turned his head away. The calmer Jonghyeok’s voice became, the harder it was to face him. That lowering voice carried an intimidating weight that felt almost impossible to push back against.
“S, still, while you’re staying in the village, I’ll cover your meals and lodging.”
“It’s a real problem that you still haven’t grasped the situation.”
Stubbing his cigarette out pointedly on the contract he was holding, Jonghyeok let out a short laugh and leaned forward slowly.
A thin trail of smoke curled faintly upward.
“How should I explain this so you actually understand the loss I’m taking here. Should I walk you through the money we’d have made by now if the project had gone ahead instead of sitting around like this, or should I calculate the cost of me personally coming all the way down here to deal with this mess and lay that out for you instead.”
Jonghyeok still didn’t raise his voice. His expression didn’t shift in the slightest either. And yet, at the sharp glint in his eyes, old man Shin clenched his withered hands into fists. Without doing that, he could hardly manage to sit there properly. Sweat gathered in his palms at the strange, mounting pressure radiating off the man. Every time that gaze, somehow capable of cowing anyone it landed on, touched him, his insides twisted tighter and tighter.
“I’ll let you off here, out of respect for your age, sir, so let’s leave it at that.”
“Then what happens to the deal…!”
“I’ll handle the deal myself. Be grateful you’re even getting half, and take it. And don’t go running your mouth about this anywhere. You’d better understand that much, at least.”
Half, sure. There were countless ways to shave down the agreed deposit before the deal was fully wrapped up anyway. Breaking the old man’s spirit outright from the start would only invite more trouble, so the plan was to whittle things down gradually, one excuse at a time.
That was one matter, and this was another.
Leaving old man Shin behind, red-faced and fuming, Jonghyeok stepped out of the village hall.
“Mind if I come in?”
“Suit yourself.”
“Hurry up and go check if the old man’s alright!”
Once again today, the villagers had gathered outside the hall. Men Jonghyeok hadn’t seen the day before. Yesterday’s crowd had mostly shown a fair bit of goodwill, but the ones blocking the road now clearly knew exactly what kind of man had come to sell off their village, their eyes openly blazing. A gaze thick with hostility.
Even with several of them gathered together, Jonghyeok gave a casual nod of his head. His face, plainly marked with irritation, only seemed to unsettle the villagers further, if anything.
“Come to sell off the village, did you?”
“Why don’t you go ask the old man that.”
“Just what did you tell him to sweet talk him into this?”
“Seems there’s some misunderstanding. I’m not the one who did the sweet talking here, the old man did.”
One of the younger men in the group snapped, picking a fight, breathing hard with anger. Jonghyeok’s expression stayed blank all the same.
“Fuck, this piece of trash…”
Unable to hold back his temper any longer, the enraged village man finally lunged forward. Rising up on his toes, he grabbed Jonghyeok by the collar with all his strength, but Jonghyeok merely raked a hand back through his dark hair.
