Ch 24

<24>

 

Two Months Prior to That Day (1)

 

The day after taking a practice exam, Hyunjun, feeling elated, intended to have a light drink with Jihun, but they ended up drinking until late into the night.

 

Jihun, still harboring resentment from the previous incident, brought up Eunho as he drank, venting his anger until he felt relieved. Hyunjun, like a condemned criminal, obediently listened, ending up paying for the entire bill, which he hadn’t wanted to do. They even went to a fancy cocktail bar at the end, but it was already the third round, and he was so drunk that he couldn’t remember how much he had spent.

 

Waking up with a throbbing headache, Hyunjun reached for his phone as soon as he got out of bed. He had already spent over 100,000 won in the second round the previous night, so he needed to check how much he had spent at the cocktail bar.

 

“Ah…”

 

Hyunjun’s eyes widened as he checked his messages, his hand on his forehead. 74,500 won. But the bigger problem was his credit card statement for the month. While dating Jihun, he had been spending money like water, and his card bill had already exceeded 1.4 million won.

 

Even with the living expenses he received from Eunho, he couldn’t afford to date Jihun, so he had used the money he received from his monthly rent, but even that amount was not enough. He had already maxed out his overdraft account last month. And to be caught by Eunho at this point… Hyunjun felt it was such a waste and was so disappointed to have lost his biggest sponsor.

 

Hyunjun walked to the kitchen, thinking of making ramen to soothe his hangover, but he sighed deeply as he looked at the empty cupboards. I must have been crazy, why did I spend that money? He scratched his scalp relentlessly, regretting it belatedly, but nothing changed.

 

As he was pulling up his training pants, which had a stretched-out waistband and barely hung on his hips, he felt a slight vibration on his thigh. Thinking it was a loan advertisement, he opened the screen to block it, but he swallowed hard as he saw the landlord’s name and checked the message.

 

[This month is overdue again, when are you going to deposit the money? And the contract is expiring soon, so you’ll have to move out. I’m going to find a new tenant. 8:46 AM]

 

A curse burst out of his mouth involuntarily. He fumed about the landlord acting high and mighty with such a tiny place, but the reality he faced was bleak. Being unemployed, even a common credit loan was impossible, and all he had left was a credit card loan. But the monthly interest was no joke, so he had kept it as a last resort.

 

Hyunjun cleared his throat and pressed the call button. He had to beg and plead in the most pitiful tone possible to somehow hold on.

 

“Hello, this is the tenant of Mido Villa 304.”

 

He started politely, but the other party seemed to have already made up his mind, and there was no response. Hyunjun felt that he was just listening to see what excuse he would come up with this time, and his back naturally curved.

 

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t have any money because I’m studying. Can’t you deduct it from the deposit again this month?”

 

-Young man, what are you talking about when the deposit is already insufficient? Don’t you remember taking out money little by little every year? And it’s been three months now! If you’re going to be like this, move out this month!

 

Hyunjun flinched at the thunderous scolding. The landlord had already been lenient enough and strongly pressured him, saying he wouldn’t back down any further.

 

Hyunjun was suddenly in a desperate situation. With Eunho, whom he had considered his source of funds, gone, he faced financial pressure, and his head was in a mess.

 

In fact, this wasn’t the first time he had cheated on Eunho. Eunho didn’t know, but Hyunjun had already dated someone else in early last year. Like Jihun, he was also a fellow civil service exam student, and they naturally broke up when he passed the exam before Hyunjun. At that time, he had been struggling to pay off his monthly credit card bills, so he had used up the deposit even after receiving monthly rent and living expenses from Eunho, and he had missed that he had used some of it back then. Hyunjun squeezed his voice and acted as pitiful as possible.

 

“Sir, can’t you please be considerate? If I pass the exam, I’ll deposit everything at once.”

 

-I don’t know if you’ll pass or not, but if you can’t deposit the money by this week, move out. Oh, and when are you home? The next tenant wants to see the house.

 

What is he talking about? Who would want to move into such a dump?

 

Hyunjun had found this place because it was about 10% cheaper than other villas in the city, but as he lived there, he realized that there was a reason why the rent was cheap.

 

First of all, it was located at the end of a hill, so in the summer, it felt like hiking in the scorching sun, and in the winter, it was a dangerous location where you could slip on the icy road and potentially break your back. Moreover, for nearly four years, there had been no proper facility maintenance, let alone management, so he always had to be the one to ask for things. Who would want to move into a place with such a nasty landlord? Hyunjun scoffed.

 

“I’m usually home in the morning.”

 

-Then I’ll go in an hour.

 

“Yes? …Yes.”

 

It wasn’t just a threat? Hyunjun, who had thought it was just a warning, suddenly came to his senses when he heard that they would visit in an hour. Stunned as if he had been hit in the back of the head, Hyunjun hypnotized himself, saying it couldn’t be true.

 

“Damn it, who would want to come to such a run-down place, he should stop lying.”

 

No, that can’t be. It took a long time for the house next door to get rented out, there’s no way. Hyunjun scoffed and scanned the messy house. The house had been a mess since he and Jihun had spent the night last week, and they had been meeting outside since then.

 

“Whatever, why should I clean it for anyone else.”

 

Hyunjun smacked his lips, grabbed his wallet, and walked out the door. He was confident that although he had to eat cup noodles and triangle kimbap for breakfast now, this life would soon be cleanly cleared away.

 

The practice exam he had taken yesterday had far exceeded the passing cut-off. It was the first time in three years of studying for the civil service exam. He had always done poorly on practice exams, and his anxiety had been building up, but he was confident that this time would be different.

 

Just let me pass, I’ll get out of this wretched place, even if they beg me to stay. Hyunjun gritted his teeth and walked to the nearby convenience store.

 

After finishing his breakfast at the convenience store and returning home, Hyunjun opened his Administrative Law textbook and ran towards the final spurt, repeatedly highlighting it with a fluorescent pen. The goal was right in front of him. He only wanted to clear away this life as soon as possible.

 

As he was focusing on studying with great enthusiasm, the doorbell rang.

 

They really came to see the house. Fine, I’ll make them lose all interest. Hyunjun, still in his shabby clothes, shuffled to the door and opened it. As expected, the visitor was a real estate agent, and behind him stood a man with a black dragon tattoo covering his entire upper body, extending to his neck and the back of his hands. Hyunjun couldn’t close his mouth at the man’s size and intimidating appearance, and he stepped back, pressing his back against the shoe cabinet.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

A typical gangster. At first glance, he looked like a mobster, and he looked around the living room and room, saying he would take a look in a gloomy voice. Hyunjun sincerely hoped that this person would refuse.

 

The scenario he had planned while eating cup noodles and triangle kimbap at the convenience store was to hold out until the end and get moving expenses from the landlord, or to pass the civil service exam while dragging out the time with a lawsuit. A gangster moving in here as a tenant was an unexpected and worst-case variable.

 

There was no way to resist if the interest came in. His thick, large hands, which looked like they could knock him out with just one hit, were full of calluses, and his tough-looking face was full of small scars, as if it were evidence of his resilience.

 

After looking around the house, he glared at Hyunjun and twisted one corner of his mouth upwards. His appearance was so eerie that his hair stood on end and his legs trembled. He was a little relieved that the real estate agent who came with him didn’t look too happy when he left the door.

 

That’s right, how could he like this house? It looked plausible when it was vacant, but who would like a run-down villa at the end of a difficult hill that was a pigsty?

 

Hyunjun cheered and went into his room. Since he didn’t have any money, he had to give up the study room this month and study at home. He reopened his Administrative Law textbook and put his wrong answer notes next to him. As usual, he memorized the pages and drew lines with a red pen when his phone rang again.

 

[The tenant who just saw the house said he likes it, what about this month’s rent? If you can’t deposit the money by this week, move your things out right away. I’m going to sign a contract with him. 10:21 AM]

 

Ah, a sigh full of despair burst out. Even the last line of defense he was trying to hold on to with his guts was cut off by the gangster in one fell swoop. Faced with an unexpected major setback, Hyunjun frantically ruffled his hair and roared like a beast.

 

“Ah, damn it, why did he have to come at that time and create this mess.”

 

Hyunjun blamed Eunho to the end. He had to. If he didn’t, the anxiety that was eating away at him from his feet would devour him.

 

***

 

Eunho, who was compiling the ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) list received from the Passive Investment Team, raised his head at the dark hand that invaded the partition.

 

“Secretary Yoo, Executive Director calls for you. Wait in the underground parking lot.”

 

Director Yoon, who had come out of the director-level meeting with Yoonjae, smiled contentedly, telling him to go down quickly. Eunho checked Yoonjae’s afternoon schedule, not knowing what was going on, but there was nothing special. When he raised his head again to ask what was going on, he was already walking far away to his desk. Eunho finished what he was doing and took his briefcase and laptop.

 

‘Does this mean it’s okay to drive now?’

 

Eunho, who had taken the wheel in three weeks, checked Yoonjae’s afternoon schedule again on his phone, but there were no additional external meetings. He wondered if the input was incomplete and looked for Secretary Han in the call list.

 

“Secretary Han, Executive Director doesn’t have an afternoon schedule, does he?”

 

-Uh, no, he doesn’t?

 

“Yes, I understand.”

 

Is it a personal appointment? Eunho rubbed his eyebrows with his fingertips and pressed the start button when he saw Yoonjae passing through the entrance.

 

“Where should I go?”

 

Yoonjae, who usually sat in the back seat during external meetings, sat in the passenger seat, and the feeling was strange. It was as if they were running away to do something else during work hours.

 

“What is this?”

 

His hunch was too accurate. He held the phone screen close to his face. It was a movie ticket for a movie that had just been released in Korea two days ago. So why this? He pointed to his face with his finger, implying, ‘Are we going to see a movie together now?’ and the lukewarm smile on his face traced the showtime with his fingernail.

 

“It starts in 35 minutes, we have to hurry.”

 

As he said, there were only 35 minutes left until the showtime. It was 10 minutes away from the company, but it would be tight to include the time to park the car in the parking tower, go up to the movie theater, and buy snacks before entering.

 

“It might be a little late if the traffic is bad, is that okay?”

 

“If it’s bad, we’ll just watch the next one.”

 

It was a truancy during work hours, and he wanted to ask if this was okay, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it and chose another question.

 

“Why a movie all of a sudden?”

 

“I’m trying to do everything that other people do.”

 

Yoonjae, who loosened the tie that was strangling his neck and threw it in the back seat, unbuttoned one of his shirt buttons and spread it to the side, said in an indifferent tone, but he couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his face. Eunho turned his head forward and smiled softly.

 

“Then, I’ll buy the popcorn and drinks.”

 

Fortunately, the traffic wasn’t bad, so they arrived at the movie theater with plenty of time. However, it was a complex mall structure with several buildings connected, so they had to fumble around because they couldn’t find the way to the movie theater properly.

 

The two, who barely arrived at the movie theater, ordered popcorn and drinks at the snack corner near the ticket vending machine. They glanced at each other, feeling each other out because of the common ground of being away from work during work hours, and chuckled.

 

“You like action, right?”

 

“I didn’t know what Eunho-ssi liked, so I chose the most ordinary one.”

 

Eunho was an omnivorous person who accepted everything well, but he didn’t bother to pay money to watch bloody horror movies. He frowned whenever he saw blood, even in war movies.

 

“It’s my favorite genre.”

 

A warm heart permeates Yoonjae, who is trying to do something together.

 

“There’s nothing like action to relieve stress.”

 

When Eunho gave a thumbs up, he covered his lower face with his hand and laughed, took the drink carrier from Eunho’s hand, and handed him light popcorn instead. Eunho just smiled shyly even when he treated him like a child.

 

How long has it been since I came to the movie theater? Even the last memory of coming with the team for a company dinner was two years ago, so everything was blurry. He had been diligently visiting all the popular movies for the first two or three months after starting to date Hyunjun.

 

Eunho traced back the memories of the past in the middle of the movie, then shook his head and looked up at Yoonjae next to him. He had been immersed in the screen, but he turned his head as if he felt the gaze. He tilted his head to the side at Eunho’s gaze and asked if there was anything he wanted to say. Eunho shook his head from side to side instead of answering.

 

The moment he turned his head forward, following him turning his eyes to the screen, a black shadow approached. Hot heat was transmitted through the gap that was getting closer. The moist lips that landed on his cheek made a soft sound as they stuck and fell off. Eunho’s pupils trembled as he looked at the screen. When he slowly turned his head, his smiling face was dyed in soft colors.

 

He expected that they would go out for a light dinner after the movie theater, but he didn’t know that there would be a proviso that it would be ‘in a place with a good view where you can see the heart of Seoul at a glance.’

 

“I thought this was a place to come for a proposal.”

 

The couple sitting at the table across from them was in the middle of a proposal, as Eunho said. It was a somewhat cliché atmosphere where a man opened a small jewelry box on a table full of fresh flowers and put a ring on the woman’s finger. The distance between each table was wide, so the conversation was not heard at all, but she was responding to the man’s words and shedding tears of emotion.

 

“Are you envious?”

 

Yoonjae snapped his fingers to draw attention when Eunho was unknowingly staring blankly. Eunho, who reacted to the sound, turned his head, and Yoonjae was laughing heartily.

 

“Am I envious? I don’t know.”

 

Eunho shook his head from side to side and ate the soup for the appetizer that had just come out.

 

“The view is really good.”

 

At one time, he was happy to imagine his future self in the image of such a lover, but now he realized that those things were meaningless. He felt a sense of skepticism towards himself, who had turned the happiness circuit by painting the distant future that had not yet come in rosy colors.

 

Eunho was cautious. Even Hyunjun, who was in a similar situation to him, became indifferent in a few months, and even his heart changed, so how long would this person’s affection last? Eunho fully accepted the affection he was pouring out, but he took a crooked line from moment to moment. In fact, he was afraid. He was afraid of getting hurt again. So he couldn’t fully open his heart and hesitated.

 

Yoonjae understood Eunho’s heart. There was a time when he was annoyed and reluctant to approach everyone after breaking up with Junseo. Of course, that period was not that long, but he needed time to sort out his feelings. Eunho was going through that time, so it was only natural that he was confused.

 

Yoonjae, who was cutting the steak and putting it in his mouth, adjusted his schedule in a calm voice.

 

“I have a lot of dinner meetings next week, so I’ll move alone, you’ll have to go home first.”

 

“Are you checking on investment destinations?”

 

“There are related meetings, and I think I’ll have to meet a lot of people to check the surrounding situation.”

 

Before time turned back, Yoonjae was not close to the political world, so he had a hard time with the missed issues regarding the policy bills that would be implemented in the future. The Investment Management Division and the Stock Management Division received the government’s policy direction in advance, but the gap with the policy announcement was very close, so he had to find someone who could look ahead at least a month or more.

 

He was recently introduced to two key members of the legislature through the governor while proceeding with the Jeju Island casino investment. Since he was older, there was a high probability that the drinking party would be long, so it was burdensome to take Eunho with him.

 

Eunho, who was cutting the asparagus into small pieces and chewing it like meat, pursed his lips as if something came to mind.

 

“Studio G sent an unified stock certificate email saying they’re combining preferred and common stock.”

 

“They’re considering a backdoor listing in Korea after proceeding with the NASDAQ listing first.”

 

“You said you met the CEO of Studio G, right?”

 

He nodded. His eyebrows, which were lowered to cut the steak, were long and thick. Unlike ordinary employees, organizational managers had a wide range of things to take care of. Like a computer that doesn’t turn off, even if it reboots. Eunho looked at his drooping eyes and whispered softly as if he were talking to himself.

 

“You must be very tired.”

 

Yoonjae raised his eyebrows at Eunho’s words, which he had thought would be drowned out by the sound of the knife scraping against the ceramic plate and the background piano music.

 

“Just let me breathe like this sometimes.”

 

“…Next time, I’ll prepare it, so just let me know when.”

 

Yoonjae quirked an eyebrow. He put down the knife he was holding and clasped his hands together, exuding a rather serious atmosphere.