HPK 18

At first, Wooseung felt that the word ‘errand’ was out of place.

“Errand?”

At the question, which seemed to completely miss the context, Hyungho began to grow flustered instead. He abruptly let go of the elbow he was holding and turned away. In that moment, something Chanil had said once came to mind.

‘Anyway, I heard something…’

That there was an entertainer who had run an errand for the president and received a nine-figure sum.

“Forget it if you don’t know.”

“Are you running errands for the president?”

“Ah, shit!”

His voice was not even that loud, but Hyungho, with a pale face, made a fuss, telling him to lower his voice. Then he dragged Wooseung to a corner, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pressed him.

“You can’t go around telling people you heard about me running errands or anything. Don’t even ask.”

“……”

“If I get caught, I’m really dead. For real, for real. I’m not just saying that, I mean it. So just act like you didn’t hear anything.”

“…Alright.”

Still, his worries did not seem to subside, as he kept repeating that he was not just saying it and that it would be real trouble, all the way to the waiting room. His face, unable to hide his anxiety, looked pathetic.

“But do you get a lot of money for doing it? What kind of work is it?”

“Ah, really! I told you to act like you didn’t hear anything, why are you doing this?”

At the question he threw just before entering the waiting room, Hyungho tore at his hair and became enraged, asking if he was trying to threaten him. Wooseung roughly explained that it was not like that, but that he was also desperate for money.

“Don’t get interested. You can’t do it anyway unless the president calls you first.”

“……”

“This is for real. So please, please just let’s pretend you didn’t hear anything. Okay?”

Hyungho turned away and slapped his own lips with an irritated gesture, slap, slap. He grumbled that he had made a slip of the tongue and was now saddled with something unsettling and anxious.

“Huh? Kim Hyungho!”

As they entered the waiting room, someone who saw Hyungho shouted his name. The entertainers gradually gathered around.

“You went to Thailand? What did you do there?”

“What do you think. I played a shit ton of golf. And did this too.”

Hyungho swayed his hips back and forth and rambled on with unasked stories, “I think I screwed about ten girls?” At that moment, one of the entertainers saw the watch on Hyungho’s wrist and raised his voice.

“Hey, what’s this? Holy shit, a blue dial? Are you crazy, you bastard?”

“It’s probably a fake, you idiot.”

“Fake my ass. Have you ever seen me with a fake.”

The entertainers’ eyes shone as they asked how on earth he had managed to get something that was hard to find even if you lined up for it. Hyungho, surrounded by them, was busy showing off his watch. He did not forget the ring on his finger either. He had wondered why he did not go home after receiving a large sum of money, and it turned out he had come for this.

Wooseung lost interest and went to Hyojun’s side. Hyojun, who reeked of alcohol as if he had just come from a room, was slumped on the sofa with his eyes closed. Wooseung brought a blanket and covered him.

“Uh… Hyung? When did you get here?”

Hyojun, who had struggled to push open his heavy eyelids, soon sat up. Then he grabbed a water bottle from the table and gulped it down.

“Puha, ahem, ahem. Ah, it’s so dry…”

Hyojun, after throwing the capped water bottle into the trash can, asked abruptly.

“Hyung. I heard you went to the president’s room.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Is that true? That Choi Hoonyeong used honorifics or something… Huh, Hyungho’s here. Hyung, just a second!”

Hyojun squeezed his way through the empty space left by a few entertainers who had moved away and his jaw dropped.

“Hey, is this for real?”

He shined his eyes, as if burying his nose in the wrist. Not entirely displeased with the attention, Hyungho’s lips curled up in a smirk and he acted smug.

“Ah, I’m telling you, it’s real. How many times are you guys gonna ask, it hurts my mouth.”

“Wow, shit…”

The one who threw the question in place of Hyojun, who could not take his eyes off the watch, was Chanil. He had been watching Hyungho carefully from the beginning and asked abruptly as soon as people moved away.

“Where did you get the money to suddenly pull that shit?”

Hyungho’s face, which had been busy boasting, hardened. He roughly shook off Hyojun’s hand and fiddled with his watch. Click, a heavy sound, as weighty as the price of the watch with its string of zeros, rang out.

“Shit? You bastard. Your words are a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“No, let’s be honest. There’s no one here who hasn’t lent you money, so how the hell did you suddenly buy a Rolex?”

“Hey, well. I’ll pay it back eventually. What’s your problem, Chanil-ah.”

Hyojun, who was engrossed in looking at the watch, tried to stop Chanil, but the atmosphere in the waiting room was already slowly changing. The sound of whispering among the entertainers grew louder.

“Hey, right. Pay back the money first.”

The entertainer who had just confidently said it was probably a fake, opened the floodgates. Then, from here and there, voices demanding their money back started to pop out one by one. To someone’s words that waiting a month was enough, another retorted that for him it had been three months.

“Hey, you fuckers, I came to the waiting room today to pay you back. These bastards are giving me shit even when I say I’ll pay them back, for real.”

Hyungho, who had hesitated for a moment as if flustered, took out an envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket. It was a familiar envelope to Wooseung.

“Hey, hey. Come here. I’ll give it to you, I’ll give it to you. I’m giving it to you because you’re so dirty and cheap.”

“He’s so fucking shameless for someone who borrowed the money.”

“Ah, I said I’ll give it to you. You idiot.”

When he was in need, he would beg with all sorts of pitiful words, but when it came time to pay it back, he was a ruffian like no other. He took out a wad of bills from the envelope and handed them out to the entertainers, plop, plop.

Everyone took the money, albeit with doubtful faces. Even after more than ten people received their money, the puffed-up belly of the envelope showed no signs of shrinking. A few asked what all that money was, but Hyungho did not answer and was busy counting the money.

Wooseung also stealthily got up from his seat and approached him.

“What do you want now, hyung.”

Hyungho’s face instantly scrunched up.

“…You borrowed ten thousand won.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You borrowed it back then to charge your cash…”

Hyungho narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Wooseung. It was a look of suspicion, as if he was wondering if he was trying to threaten him in this way using the words he had just heard. But when Wooseung met his gaze squarely, he reluctantly took out ten thousand won from his wallet and handed it over. It seemed it was because the envelope only contained 50,000 won bills.

“Hyungho. I’ll believe you now~.”

“Yeah, our Hyungho has become rich. I admit it, I admit it.”

Hyungho raised his middle finger at the entertainers who were deliberately waving the bills. He shoved the slightly thinner envelope back into the inner pocket of his jacket.

“Hey, Kim Hyungho, let’s talk.”

“Ah, what now.”

When the situation seemed to have settled down to some extent, Chanil approached Hyungho. Even though he was annoyed, Chanil did not give up and gestured with his head to go outside.

“I really paid everything back.”

“Ah, I know, so let’s just talk, you bastard.”

Hyungho stared intently at Chanil with a suspicious face before reluctantly following him outside. When the door closed, the chaotic atmosphere temporarily subsided.

Wooseung put the precious ten thousand won into his wallet and asked Hyojun. Unlike when he was engrossed in looking at the watch, Hyojun had a somewhat deflated look on his face.

“You didn’t lend him any money?”

“Me? Of course I didn’t.”

He was a little surprised by the unexpected answer. He had thought he would have lent him at least ten thousand won.

“Why?”

“I’m the type who believes you shouldn’t get involved with money, even with family. I’m pretty strict about this stuff.”

Hyojun smiled proudly. Although it had been close to being forced, he felt inwardly pathetic for having lent him ten thousand won because he could not refuse his crying pleas.

“Um, Hyojun-ah.”

Wooseung scooted over and sat closer to him.

“That time we were in a room together.”

“When? Ah, those drunk pests?”

“Yeah, yeah. Do you happen to remember that day?”

Hyojun’s eyes widened in surprise as he threw a question back at Wooseung.

“Hyung, don’t tell me you still haven’t gotten paid?”

“Huh? Ah, no. I got paid.”

Hyojun let out a sigh of relief. “I was surprised because I thought you didn’t get paid,” he added, his voice filled with genuine concern.

“I heard Kim Jeong-oh gave you a hard time. I’m really sorry. I don’t remember either…”

Wooseung smiled faintly at his downturned eyebrows.

“I don’t remember either, so what.”

“I remember you drinking my alcohol for me, and also… Ah, was it before or after that? Anyway, I only remember up to the point where the pig was feeding you fruit.”

Fruit?

It was something he had no memory of at all. Wooseung, bewildered, asked.

“Fruit? Me?”

“Yes. The pig kept feeding you because he liked you. Ah, shit. Forget it, whatever. It’s a good thing he left without causing more trouble.”

The pig kept feeding him because he liked him…

Wooseung’s face turned pale. Even as he listened to Hyojun’s words, not a single scene came to mind. No matter how much he searched through his memory, it was as dark as a turned-off TV screen.