Chapter 4
Early that evening, Fresh Catch Seafood, tucked away in a narrow food alley, was packed to overflowing with customers.
The company dinner had drawn such a crowd that even the outdoor tables were completely occupied, with employees everywhere clinking their glasses.
“Over here! One spicy fish stew, please!”
“Coming!”
“Auntie!”
“On my way!”
Byung-sik’s son and daughter, home for school vacation, were helping serve tables, while Hye-ran managed the kitchen.
As for Byung-sik, he’d been preparing sashimi nonstop for hours.
Even then, they were still short-handed.
People sitting closest to the refrigerator simply got up and helped themselves to beer and soft drinks.
Still, considering how suddenly the venue had been arranged, everyone seemed more than satisfied.
Even Director Oh ended up pouring Seo-ah three drinks.
“Come on, everyone! This is my way of asking you all to take good care of our Seo-ah!”
“I’m treating you!”
Byung-sik carried over a platter of butter-grilled abalone to Seo-ah’s table.
The members of Team C applauded enthusiastically.
The glossy, perfectly grilled abalone disappeared almost as soon as it touched the table.
“Wow, isn’t this place famous for being incredibly affordable?”
“You’re friends with the owner?”
“He’s my dad’s friend.”
“I got a little special treatment.”
“Seriously?”
“When Director Oh suddenly told me to book a place for the company dinner, I honestly thought the sky had fallen.”
“I got turned down by at least twenty places before I finally called my uncle for help.”
“So make sure you all come here often!”
“Definitely.”
One coworker laughed.
“We should come here more often.”
“You’ve actually got connections everywhere, don’t you, Bae Seo-ah?”
“I’ve always been pretty good at getting along with people.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Seo-ah laughed with them…
But inside, she felt utterly exhausted.
She was drinking much more slowly than usual.
And despite normally holding her liquor well, her cheeks had already turned bright red.
Just as people were beginning to get pleasantly drunk, the restaurant door opened.
The man who had organized the dinner entered.
Park Min-gu.
Executive Director of Taeha Trading—and head of the Design Center.
“Executive Director!”
“Welcome, sir!”
Waving away everyone’s attempts to stand and greet him, Park Min-gu walked to the seat of honor in the corner wearing an irritated expression.
The moment he sat down, every department director hurried over to pour him a drink.
Watching them fuss over him made the ordinary employees quietly sip their own alcohol instead.
Already in a foul mood, Park Min-gu began grumbling.
“That brat’s barely old enough to shave…”
“…Does he have a filthy rag stuffed in his mouth instead of manners?”
It was obvious he was talking about the newly appointed division director.
The employees discreetly perked up their ears.
Meanwhile, Seo-ah’s gaze drifted toward an old photograph hanging on one wall.
Among the countless pictures from Byung-sik’s firefighting days…
Her father’s appeared more than any other.
In one photograph, his soot-covered face wore a brilliant smile, only his white teeth visible beneath the black ash.
Another showed him happily playing with a stray cat that had wandered into the fire station.
Wherever Uncle Byung-sik appeared…
Her father was always beside him.
A faint smile crossed Seo-ah’s lips as she downed another shot of cold soju.
Back then…
She couldn’t even eat spicy food.
Alcohol wasn’t something she’d ever imagined drinking.
Yet somehow she’d grown into an adult before she knew it.
Time really had flown.
That’s why I didn’t want to come here…
Her father had been recognized as having died in the line of duty.
But no matter how honorable that was, her mother couldn’t raise three children alone.
So they left Seoul—a city that held nothing but painful memories—and moved to Gangwon Province, where they lived with her grandmother, who ran a small tofu stew restaurant.
Seo-ah liked to think she’d grown up well.
Strong enough.
Resilient enough.
Still…
Sometimes she missed her father terribly.
No one could ever fill the empty place he’d left in her heart.
So she decided never to replace it.
Instead…
She would leave that place empty forever.
That way she could miss him.
Remember him.
Think of him.
And smile.
Because the life her father had saved…
Surely…
…had been worth that much.
“Hm?”
She had just swallowed another bite of sashimi and another mouthful of strong liquor when Manager Choi poked her in the side.
Only then did Seo-ah notice.
At some point, everyone’s attention had become fixed on the restaurant entrance.
“Executive Director!”
Someone cried out.
Employees jumped to their feet almost simultaneously, bowing so deeply it felt as though the ceiling might collapse.
The rumored Min Seung-hyun had arrived.
Stretching her neck to see, Seo-ah caught only brief glimpses.
The crowd completely blocked her view.
All she managed to make out was the broad shoulders of a tall man and the sharp outline of his profile as he walked straight past everyone toward Executive Director Park.
The atmosphere resembled that of a celebrity making a surprise appearance.
“They sure know how to recognize premium merchandise.”
“Premium merchandise?”
“Of course.”
Manager Choi lowered her voice.
“What do you think it means that Min Seung-hyun came back and was immediately put in charge of the New Business Division?”
“When that brand launches, whose organization do you think it’ll fall under?”
“If it gets absorbed into an affiliate company, those shares will naturally belong to Executive Director Min.”
She grinned knowingly.
“It’s the Chairman’s grand plan.”
“In other words…”
“This project is basically the successor-training course.”
Seo-ah blinked.
Then gently poked Manager Choi in the side.
“Come on…”
“Isn’t that jumping to conclusions?”
“Maybe.”
Manager Choi shrugged.
At that exact moment…
The entire restaurant fell silent.
“You seem to be enjoying your drink, Executive Director Park.”
A cold voice echoed across the room.
“I heard you were caught stuffing money into Assemblyman Mo Hyung-seok’s back pocket.”
“Prosecutor Yoon contacted me.”
Sharp gasps rose from every corner.
“Executive Director Min…”
“Second offense.”
“They say wild animals with black fur never change.”
He held out his glass.
“Pour me a drink.”
Min Seung-hyun was only in his early thirties.
Executive Director Park was nearing fifty.
Yet…
The one kneeling was Park.
And the one receiving the drink was Seung-hyun.
For a moment, Seo-ah wondered if the alcohol was making her hallucinate.
She scratched her head and silently reminded herself how terrifying true privilege could be as she picked up another piece of sashimi.
“The only people here who deserve to be drinking…”
“…are those who’ve never licked Executive Director Park’s backside.”
“And anyone who can still enjoy alcohol after completely ruining last year’s TH Home Shopping UI design…”
“…is simply insane.”
Seo-ah’s jaw dropped.
Never in her life had she met someone whose mouth operated without even the slightest filter.
Compared to this…
Director Oh’s temper tantrums were practically adorable.
The room froze solid.
After calmly wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, Seung-hyun tossed it into the trash.
As his eyes swept across the room, they landed briefly on Director Oh, who stood with his head lowered.
Even those who had been loudly criticizing Seung-hyun only moments ago now remained as silent as clams, hardly daring to breathe.
“Well…”
“I won’t interrupt your dinner any longer.”
“Enjoy yourselves.”
“I’ll take care of the bill.”
The only person still completely relaxed was Seung-hyun.
He finished the drink in one smooth swallow before standing.
After delivering both the poison and the antidote, he turned to leave.
His secretary quietly followed behind him.
Only after he disappeared did the employees finally dare breathe again.
The atmosphere resembled a funeral.
“That… that little brat…!”
“Please calm down, sir.”
“Director Oh!”
“Pour me another drink!”
“Yes, sir!”
They said that when the tiger left the mountain, the fox became king.
Watching the scene unfold, Seo-ah couldn’t help thinking the saying fit perfectly.
Chewing on the king prawns that Byung-sik had secretly brought her, she made a firm decision.
She would pretend she had never considered applying for the Task Force.
A peaceful life was far more valuable.
[I’ve left your luggage by the front door. Are you sure you don’t need me to pick you up tomorrow?]
“Yes, I just saw the message.”
A pause.
“…Did you happen to go inside the house?”
[No, sir. I didn’t enter.]
“I see.”
“Good work.”
[Have a good rest, Executive Director.]
Dragging his luggage into the living room, Seung-hyun looked around the apartment…
…and let out a hollow laugh.
“What is this?”
He had entrusted the apartment to Min Ji-hyun more than four years ago before leaving for America.
Giving her the key had clearly been a mistake.
“…Pink?”
The curtains were pale pink.
The sofa was pink.
Even the wallpaper shimmered with pearly pink.
The tablecloth…
Pink.
Feeling as though he’d wandered into the lair of a pink monster, Seung-hyun slowly walked through the transformed apartment.
“…What awful taste.”
He rummaged through several rabbit-shaped mugs he would never use and stacks of plates decorated with childish cartoon characters.
There were a few elegant dishes mixed in…
But most of the kitchenware was covered with cute illustrations that irritated him to no end.
Something felt wrong.
Since when was Ji-hyun’s taste like this?
Even stranger…
The underwear hanging on the drying rack was far too small to belong to Ji-hyun.
The bras.
The panties.
Tiny enough to fit in one hand.
Just how much weight has she lost?
The more he inspected the apartment…
The stranger it became.
In front of the television sat every imaginable game console.
The refrigerator was lined with bottles of banana milk.
The freezer overflowed with melon-flavored ice cream and every kind of snack imaginable.
But what caught Seung-hyun’s attention most…
…was the bookshelf filled with mysterious comics and novels.
“…BL?”
“What is this?”
“Why are there men on the cover…?”
He casually pulled one out and opened the first page.
Instantly…
His face turned pale.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
His jaw slowly dropped.
Looking as though he’d witnessed something he should never have seen…
He let the book fall from his hand.
“AAAH!”
“What the hell is this?!”
He screamed and bolted into the bathroom.
Frantically washing his hands over and over again.
No matter how hard he scrubbed…
The images he had just seen refused to leave his mind.
Eventually, he even splashed cold water over his face.
Only then did the shock begin to fade.
This is insane…!
Returning to the living room, he stared at the book lying on the floor as though doubting his own eyesight.
Damn it.
Even nudging it with the tip of his slipper made goosebumps spread across his body.
Finally, he went into the bedroom, grabbed a blanket, and threw it over the offending book.
“Min Ji-hyun…!”
“Of all things…”
“What exactly have you been collecting?”
“In my house!”
His eyes blazing with anger, Seung-hyun finally looked around the bedroom.
One wall was plastered with movie posters.
The bed he’d just pulled the blanket from exposed…
An enormous mountain of dirty laundry underneath.
“…Ha.”
For the first time in years…
He felt the accelerator of his temper slam to the floor.
Rubbing both arms to chase away the goosebumps, he checked every room in the apartment.
In the end, he chose the cleanest bedroom available and unpacked there.
The longer he thought about it…
The angrier he became.
Grinding his teeth, he called his friend Dae-woong, who owned an interior renovation company.
“Hey, Min Seung-hyun! You’re back in Korea?”
“Yeah.”
“I need a favor.”
“Send people to my apartment first thing tomorrow.”
“I’m tearing this place apart.”
“What?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“And everything that comes out of this apartment…”
“…Can you dispose of all of it?”
“…Well…”
“If that’s what the client wants.”
“All right.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“But seriously?”
“You finally call after all this time and it’s only about work?”
“I’m tired.”
“We’ll talk later.”
“Thanks.”
Click.
“What? Hey!”
Once again, Seung-hyun hung up immediately after saying what he wanted.
If he hadn’t stopped by the company dinner after work…
He wouldn’t have ended up drinking.
Nor would he have become this furious.
Damn Executive Director Park.
Pressing a hand against his forehead, Seung-hyun collapsed onto the bed.
After turning over a few times…
A faint, pleasant fragrance drifted up from the sheets.
For the first time since coming home…
He found something he actually liked.
