CH 408

Knock, knock...

“Come in.”

When Hwang Jeong-Hu's aged voice came from behind the closed doorway, Jo Gyu-Min nervously swallowed his saliva before cautiously opening the door.

“Mm, come in. Good to see you two,” Hwang Jeong-Hu smiled brightly while welcoming Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min. “It seems I showed you some unsightly things earlier.”

“No, it's fine, Chairman,” Kang Jin-Ho replied quietly.

Hwang Jeong-Hu slowly nodded. “I'm glad. I knew you'd understand. Indeed... Nothing in this world is as hard and thorny as raising children, after all. I'm sure you've experienced it, too.”

“No, Chairman. I never had kids.”

“Mm? Then, what were you doing all those years?”

“...” Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly as his thoughts of consoling this old man rapidly flew out the window.

Hwang Jeong-Hu was still Hwang Jeong-Hu; he managed to quell his rage in that short window of time and reverted back to his usual self.

“For now, why don't we take a seat first?”

“Of course.”

Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min sat on the left and right sides of Hwang Jeong-Hu in the seat of honor. Hwang Jeong-Hu ordered fresh coffee through the intercom, then offered a cigarette to Kang Jin-Ho. “Here, have one.”

“Thank you.” Kang Jin-Ho didn't stand on ceremonies and accepted the cigarette. Of course, no one complained about him acting out of turn.

Then again, everyone in this office roughly knew how long Kang Jin-Ho had 'actually' lived, so asking him to mind his manners seemed rather odd at this stage in their relationship.

This novel is available on "pawread dot com".

The two men lit their cigarettes and wordlessly smoked for a while.

Eventually, though, Hwang Jeong-Hu broke the silence. “I hear you've been using my name?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Mm. I approve.”

“...”

Hwang Jeong-Hu smiled brightly again. “My name wouldn't have another chance to get used again without you, anyway. Glad to be of some help to you, fella. Besides, These kinds of events help me repay my debt to you, too.”

“Indeed,” Kang Jin-Ho crossed his arms and nodded slightly.

“Looking at those idiot sons of mine reminds me of how much you've done for me, Jin-Ho. Just imagining those bastards doing whatever they pleased with my company is sending shivers down my spine, I tell you.”

That was when Kang Jin-Ho's brows quivered slightly. However, Jo Gyu-Min desperately signaled to Kang Jin-Ho while making sure Hwang Jeong-Hu wouldn't notice anything.

“Mm…” Kang Jin-Ho frowned again in displeasure but didn't say anything. After all, he had learned to read the room to some degree by now.

“Jin-Ho, how about you and me go fishing together soon?”

“Fishing, you say...?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “I don't know how to fish, Chairman.”

“That's not a problem, now is it? You can always learn, after all. You see, there are plenty of skilled anglers but never terrible ones.”

“...Is it fun, though?”

“Well, you'll find out once you try. Still, all those people heading to riversides and oceans every weekend must have a good reason, wouldn't you agree?”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “In that case, yes, let us.”

Hwang Jin-Hu cackled happily away. “Fufufu. How decisive you are. I like it.”

Jo Gyu-Min sighed under his breath while listening to this conversation.

'Even if we brush aside what happened for today…’

Thinking about what lay in store left Jo Gyu-Min feeling like a block of granite had filled his chest. He was worried that Hwang Jeong-Hu, incapable of compromising his opinions no matter what, would one day clash with Kang Jin-Ho, who seemed incapable of not speaking his mind.

'If that happens, that would be on the scale of a Big Bang...!'

Jo Gyu-Min silently brought his hands together above his thighs. If God really existed, He must stop these two men from colliding with each other in the future. That was all Jo Gyu-Min could do for now—praying and keeping his fingers crossed.

Of course, if God humored every man, woman and child praying to Him, the world wouldn't have become such an uncaring place.

***

“...So, that's what happened?” Choi Yeon-Ha coldly muttered.

'...I'm so, so sorry, Jin-Ho hyung.'

Han Jin-Seong wasn't sure why he was apologizing. However, it seemed necessary, somehow.

It felt like someone carelessly ran their mouth and caused an atomic bomb to go off.

Han Jin-Seong sorrowfully turned his head to look at his fellow orphanage kids. Unsurprisingly, they were making similar expressions as him. Having realized that they had inadvertently opened Pandora's box, the orphanage kids could only watch Choi Yeon-Ha in silence, their expressions stuck in varying degrees of awkwardness. However, they couldn't stare for long and had to look away.

After all, Choi Yeon-Ha's expression emitting bone-chilling coldness was simply too scary to behold. Anyone daring to open their piehole might end up blurting out, 'Please spare us, Your Majesty!' instead of what they actually wanted to say.

“So, Han Se-Yeon, is it?”

“...Yes, noona.”

“And what is she doing lately?”

“W-we don't know for sure…”

Choi Yeon-Ha coldly tutted. “Don't know?”

“...!”

“Why don't you know? It's your job to know, isn’t it?!”

There was no basis for her anger, never mind sound logic. However, no one could remind her of that. No one here was brave enough to retort lest they be stabbed to death with an ice pick!

“Okay, so… What was it again? Haaah…” Choi Yeon-Ha fanned her face with her hand as if hot blood was rushing to her head. She then yelled with skin-crawling venom. “Okay, so! That means Mister Jin-Ho is interested in the opposite sex, doesn't it! Because he was going out with a girl in the past!”

“Y-yes, that's correct, noona.”

“And that means he's not a eunuch, isn't it!”

...Dear Miss Choi Yeon-Ha.

You are THE actress representing South Korea's film industry.

If reporters were recording you, what you said just now would've made front-page news in every entertainment section on news websites tomorrow!

Pleeeeeeease, think about your reputation first. Please!

“Why isn't he a eunuch?!” Choi Yeon-Ha cried out in annoyance.

“N-noona, you're focusing on something weird here! Please get a hold of yourself...!”

“He should've been a eunuch! I mean, he must be since he didn't even pay one bit of attention to me! But why isn't he a eunuch?! Does that mean I'm less than this… this Han Se-Yeon or whatever her name was?!”

The way Han Jin-Seong interpreted this situation… It seemed Choi Yeon-Ha had finally lost her mind.

'Gimme a freaking break! Seriously!'

Kang Jin-Ho and Choi Yeon-Ha seemed about equal when it came to utterly wasting their incredible looks. Whether it was Kang Jin-Ho, who was being called out as a eunuch despite his handsome appearance, or Choi Yeon-Ha, who lost her marbles like an idol in the middle of a dating scandal just because Kang Jin-Ho used to date someone...!

'If you're going to waste your looks like that, give them to me instead!'

Han Jin-Seong screamed in his heart. In the not-too-distant past, he used to think these two people were polar opposites, like oil and water, and would've made a terrible couple. However, his belief was gradually getting shaken up lately. Maybe, just maybe… These two might be the perfect match for each other!

“...No, hang on? Not being a eunuch is better, right? That means I have a chance with him. Nonono, wait! Maybe it's better for him to be a eunuch? My pride will be less hurt that way. But… Which is better?!”

Han Jin-Seong sighed quietly while observing Choi Yeon-Ha's steady descent into the state of collapsing ego. The way she chomped and chewed on her nails in front of these many people was also… kind of pitiful?

'...And she's an idiot, to boot!'

Bloody hell, why are they so damn similar to each other?!

If these two 'adults' get together, they would become the ideal example of marital harmony, wouldn't they!

“Noona, let's calm down first, okay?” Han Jin-Seong cautiously piped up.

“Y-yeah, you're right.”

That was when Han Jin-Seong knew. Choi Yeon-Ha had really lost her mind.

The thuggish Choi Yeon-Ha, who snarkily retorted to every word Han Jin-Seong said, was nowhere to be found, replaced by this stupefied, slack-jawed Choi Yeon-Ha dazedly nodding away.

Choi Yeon-Ha rubbed her temples. “Hey, Jin-Seong...?”

“Yes, noona?”

“Objectively speaking… Do you think I’m worse than… Han Se-Yeon?”

“Objectively?”

“...You can mix in a bit of subjective opinion, too. You know how much this noona loves you, right?”

Han Jin-Seong wiped away the rapidly-welling moisture near his eyes. Just who… Who was responsible for this woman's current state?! And she used to be so proud and confident, with nothing in this world capable of fazing her!

“This is definitely Jin-Ho hyung's fault, you know?”

Han Jin-Seong's inquiry was promptly answered by the culprit of this situation, Lee Jong-Seok. If there was an Olympic category for being a tactless, clueless idiot with zero ability to read the room, Lee Jong-Seok would've trampled on the silver medallist to claim his gold medal. And, like the gold medallist that he was, Lee Jong-Seok was doing his schtick again while tutting loudly. “I mean, seriously! Yeon-Ha noona is doing so much for him, so how could Jin-Ho hyung be so clueless and stuff! What does that make Yeon-Ha noona, then?”

“H-hey, Jong-Seok...!”

“Holy cow! If it was me, my pride would've been shattered to bits by now, you know? It's a literal TKO, isn't it! Even if your first love, your first crush, is supposed to get branded into your soul! With how Jin-Ho hyung is behaving now, does he still think Se-Yeon noona is…”

“Uwaaaaaaaaah! Just shut your stupid trap, you dipsh*t!” Han Jin-Seong urgently grabbed a nearby pillow and smacked Lee Jong-Seok's face with it.

“Argh?! What are you doing, hyung?!” Lee Jong-Seok cried out in confusion, but that only opened the floodgate of criticism from the other kids.

“Just go kill yourself, will ya! Go jump off a cliff or something!”

“Did your brain stop working, or were you just born stupid?!”

“You, keep your mouth shut from now on! You'll just piss people off if you don't!”

Even if Lee Jong-Seok lacked the discernment to read the room, he still could tell only death awaited if he carelessly ran his mouth off again in this situation. While dripping cold sweat, Lee Jong-Seok carefully retreated into the background. Once the troublemaker was out of their hair, the rest of the kids veeeery slowly turned their heads toward Choi Yeon-Ha next.

Stagger...

Choi Yeon-Ha staggered back to her feet. “I… I just remembered. I have an errand to run…”

An errand? At this late hour? Besides, she came here to play because she had nothing better to do, so what errand was she talking about?

“N-noona…” Han Jin-Seong tried to reach out to Choi Yeon-Ha.

“I, uhm… Tomorrow… Yes, I'll be back tomorrow, okay? G-good night…”

“Wait, noona!”

“L-later.” Choi Yeon-Ha waved her hand while rushing outside. Han Jin-Seong thought he spotted something wet dangling near the edges of her face, though.

When Choi Yeon-Ha, clearly angry and aggrieved, noisily stomped her way out of the orphanage, every girl in the living room suddenly began glaring at Han Jin-Seong.

“What are you gonna do about this, oppa!”

“Can't you see how sad unnie was because of you!”

“W-what...?” Han Jin-Seong nearly tripped on his feet. He was obviously aggrieved about this, too! “Why are you blaming me?! I haven't done anything wrong, you know!”

“This is all because you led the conversation in a weird direction!”

“Huh? In that case, blame Jong-Seok, not me!”

“You know words can't get through to that idiot! You should've stopped him by hitting him or something!”

Those words… were correct. Even Han Jin-Seong had to concede on this one.

“...My sincerest apologies.”

Han Jin-Seong should've come down like the hammer of the gods before that idiot with zero discernment could trigger a catastrophe. Failing to do so would become one of Han Jin-Seong's worst failures in life!

“Will Yeon-Ha noona… come back?”

When a boy suddenly asked that, everyone's hearts tumbled to the pits of their stomachs.

“S-she said she'll come back tomorrow, right?”

“But… Didn't she look shell-shocked just now? And she'll start feeling embarrassed later, right? Then… Will she really come? If it was me, I don't think I could.”

The elementary school-aged girls immediately grew worried by that opinion and asked Han Jin-Seong.

“I-is Yeon-Ha unnie not coming here anymore?”

“...N-no, that's not true. It's just that…”

“She's not coming?”

Han Jin-Seong freaked out when large teardrops began pooling on the edges of all the little girls' eyes. He hurriedly shot up to his feet. “D-don't cry, okay? Don't! I promise you, Yeon-Ha unnie will come back! If she doesn't, I'm gonna drag her here somehow! So, don't cry! If one of you starts crying, we're gonna have a big problem on our hands!”

The girls did their best to hold their tears back. Unfortunately, this problem was worse than Han Jin-Seong initially feared.

The elementary school kids' reaction was more or less under control now. However, the expressions of the high school girls—and obviously the middle schoolers, too—were noticeably gloomy, their attitudes ‘deeply concerning.’ The older the girl, the easier it was to notice that her sorrow was being overtaken by rage instead.

“What are you gonna do about this, Jin-Seong oppa! If Yeon-Ha unnie never comes back, we're gonna curse you for the rest of your life!”

“Yeah! We will!”

Han Jin-Seong wanted to cry. This was so bloody unfair! Even if he was branded as a traitor to humanity for a crime he didn't commit, and three generations of his family were slaughtered as punishment, he still wouldn't be this aggrieved!

“Yeon-Ha unnie is a really good person, you know! She has been so kind to us, too!”

“Yeah, she's right!”

Han Jin-Seong narrowed his eyes. “Oh? And it's not because she's rich?”

The girls glared at him with enough venom to kill an elephant.

“You think we can't even differentiate between some rich as*hole who gives away money to make themselves feel better and an unnie who genuinely wants to hang out with us? We've been riding this rodeo for ten years now, okay! We can tell who's what with a person's expression alone!”

They were right. Abilities like that would naturally develop in an environment like an orphanage. In that case…

What is wrong with Jong-Seok, then? I'm sure he's not an ET, so why?!

“It was so much fun when Yeon-Ha unnie was doing my hair…”

“Right. When she was teaching us how to massage shoulders, too…”

“Yeah. And when she was buying us clothes…”

“And when she bought us expensive food…”

'...Wow. You girls were… having the time of your lives, weren't you?'

Even though the boys were going through Hell!

“Jin-Seong oppa, do something about this! How can we accept an unnie as kind as Yeon-Ha unnie never coming back here?!”

“W-wait… Even if it's me, how am I…” Han Jin-Seong frowned deeply, unable to think of anything positive to say.

That was when Lee Jong-Seok suddenly raised his hand. “Uhm , everyone… I have an idea.”

“You, stop thinking!”

“Right! You're brainless, remember!”

“It's fine, Jong-Seok. You can shut up now. We ain't gonna listen.”

Lee Jong-Seok pouted unhappily while lowering his head. “What the… But my idea is great, you know…”

“Is that right?” Han Jin-Seong groaned. “Okay, fine! Out with it, then. Let's hear it now so we don't have to deal with it later.”

Lee Jong-Seok's face brightened after a chance finally landed on his lap, and he unhesitantly spoke up. “This whole mess started because Jin-Ho hyung isn't paying attention to Yeon-Ha noona, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“In that case, can't we fix it by helping Yeon-Ha noona hook up with Jin-Ho hyung? Then, won't Yeon-Ha noona come by more often?”

“What the hell? Who knew you were a…” Han Jin-Seong muttered earnestly. “...Genius?”

…Even if Lee Jong-Seok still couldn’t read the room to save himself!!