Vol. 2 Chapter 60: Chapter 60
Vol. 2 Chapter 60:
Translated by Chef
Edited by Chef
“Oh. I think I have to go home.”
Kim Kangwoo, who was lying down watching TV, got up.
“Why?”
“My sister has a stomach ache, so she asked me to buy some medicine.”
Manager Cha jumped to his feet.
“Then you should go. Do you have any medicine? Where can you buy medicine at this hour?”
“There is a pharmacy near my house that opens late. I have to go before it closes.”
Kim Kangwoo picked up his clothes.
“I’ll take you to the bus stop. No, I’ll call you a taxi. Let’s go out together. Can you walk?”
“I finished drinking earlier. Brother-in-law.”
“It’s hard to get a taxi here. Ah, if I hadn’t been drinking, I’d have taken you there.”
Seeing that Manager Cha grumbled and followed him, Kim Kangwoo swallowed a laugh.
“How about reuniting with my sister?”
“Don’t say something so terrible. It’ll end people’s lives.”
The two of them sighed and took the elevator down to the front door of the apartment.
“I’ll come back to hang out later.”
When the taxi he called arrived, Kim Kangwoo waved his hand and disappeared. Manager Cha lit a cigarette.
“Because she has such a strong personality, her stomach often hurts. Uff.”
He tossed his cigarette in the trash and went into the apartment.
That’s why the damn old man dragged Kangwoo in for no reason… It’s annoying.
Manager Cha cursed CEO Kim all the way up the elevator. The moment he opened the front door, deciding to have another glass of soju before going to bed.
“Oh my god!”
Manager Cha, who saw the person sitting on the sofa, gasped in surprise.
“What are you doing there, Mr. Inseop?”
“Hello.”
Inseop looked at Manager Cha and bowed his head. Judging from the way he was doing it, it seemed that he hadn’t woken up yet.
“Sleep some more. Why are you here?”
“I tried, but I can’t sleep.”
“Would you like some water?”
Inseop nodded his head. Manager Cha brought the water and handed it to Inseop.
Even while drunk, Inseop bowed his head, politely accepting the cup with both hands.
“Thank you, Manager.”
“No need to thank me.”
Manager Cha sat next to Inseop. Then, a human moving on the TV screen caught his eye.
“No, what are you looking at his face again? Aren’t you tired?”
Inseop laughed wordlessly. Manager Cha, who saw Lee Wooyeon on the screen with a disgustingly handsome face, averted his eyes.
“I find this movie really dull and boring. It won an award.”
It was Lee Wooyeon’s debut film.
“I like it.”
Inseob looked at the screen and answered.
If one day the opportunity arises, Manager Cha has something he wants to ask Inseop.
Even seeing Lee Wooyeon’s temper, why do you want to go out with him? Is he forcing you to be by his side because of your weakness?
If it was Lee Wooyeon, he was a human being who would be like that, so that always bothered him.
“… I like this scene the best.”
Inseop’s big eyes were filled with indescribable emotions. It wasn’t just the drunkenness that made his white cheeks look flushed.
Manager Cha quickly turned his head away, feeling as if he had peeked into another person’s private feelings. It seemed as if he had heard the answer to a question he hadn’t been able to ask.
“Ha..”
Inseop let out a long breath and lowered his head.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry about?”
“I lied earlier. Actually I…”
Inseop’s fingertips holding the glass of water trembled. Manager Cha waited nervously for Inseop’s next words, wondering if he was going to reveal a secret like this.
“…it’s hard.”
Tears fell from Inseop’s hand holding the cup.
“Huh?”
“It’s not easy… it’s hard. It’s too hard. I don’t know what to do, and if I know what I’ve done wrong, I can fix it, but the manager doesn’t know, and I don’t know… eugh”
“In- Inseop, don’t cry. Wait a minute. Please don’t cry.”
Manager Cha pulled out a tissue and handed it to Inseop. However, Inseop burst into tears as he handed him the tissue.
“I’m not crying… I’m not… I’m not crying.”
Tears welled up and dripped down, drenching his cheeks. Inseop cried well enough to be used as a textbook on crying faces. He didn’t know if the expression “cries well” is correct, but when he saw the grown man crying, he didn’t get annoyed.
“Don’t tell , heuk, Mr. Lee Wooyeon I cried, please… “
“Oh, yes yes. I’ll never tell him you cried.”
Inseop nodded his head. Tears were dripping down.
“I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time because I can’t distinguish between private and public life, and I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s human nature, and of course it’s hard. Besides, Lee Wooyeon’s personality is a bit shitty. Oh, of course it’s hard.”
Manager Cha patted Inseop on the back. He can imagine how much hesitation the introverted Inseop must have had to come to this point. At least, he was the one who knew Lee Wooyeon the best, so he must have felt like he was grabbing at straws.
“Do celebrities originally live together?”
Inseop asked, raising his tear-stained eyes. It was an out of the blue question, but Manager Cha answered appropriately.
“Yes. They live together. Everyone lives together huddled in a place.”
The tears he had barely held back ran down his round cheeks again.
“Can’t they live apart?”
“Let’s say they live apart. Yes, let’s live separately.”
Listening to Inseop’s drunkenness with his gibberish and incoherence, Manager Cha calmly soothed him.
“I have to take what Mr. Lee Wooyeon wants to. Uh, …what if my life gets harder?”
“… ”
It seems like Inseop was anxious after getting involved with Lee Wooyeon.
Manager Cha smacked his lips without saying a word.
“I’m sorry, manager. I did not want to cry, but it’s so hard…”
Tears welled up in Inseop’s big eyes and fell. Manager Cha’s heart filled? with pity.
“Inseop. I said it earlier, but if you find it difficult, just stop. There’s nothing good about holding on to it forcibly.”
Inseop did not answer. He kept repeating his apologies and thanks, and insisting that he was not crying.
It would be better if he cursed.
Manager Cha felt sorry for Inseop, who did not say a word of resentment towards Lee Wooyeon even while drunk, and silently patted him on the back.
Seeing Inseop’s face asleep on the sofa after crying, Manager Cha clicked his tongue in pity.
He didn’t know what happened between Choi Inseop and Lee Wooyeon, but it was clear that something was complicated. When Inseop went to the US after being injured by a stalker, Manager Cha thought he would never come back. He was sorry, but he figured it would be good for both of them.
“Uhh. You really are. Why would you like that guy so much that you came back to Korea?”
The sleeping face of Inseop, who looked exceptionally young, was so sad.
“Inseop, you should go to bed and sleep.”
Manager Cha shook Inseop’s shoulders to wake him up, but Inseop shrugged and showed no signs of getting up. Because of his legs, he was unable to lift and carry Inseop by himself. Manager Cha went into the room and brought a blanket to cover him. Then he turned off the TV and was about to stand up when he heard someone knocking on the door from outside.
“… ”
He checked his watch. It was past 1:00 in the morning. An ominous feeling ran down his spine. Instinctively, Manager Cha held his breath.
Thump Thump.
A heavy knock was heard again. Manager Cha sneaked up and turned on the wall pad at the entrance. Just then, the sensor light outside the front door went off, so the face of the person standing outside the door could not be seen. But he could tell who it was by that broad shoulder without looking at his face. If he stays quiet like this for a while, he’ll give up and go.
“…!”
Manager Cha almost screamed at the face suddenly filling the screen.
<Why won’t you open it? I know you’re watching.>
Lee Wooyeon smiled obliquely and pointed to the door.
It was like a horror movie. Manager Cha swallowed the damn curse and ran to the front door. He put Inseop’s shoes in his shoebox and locked the door, half-opening it.
“What’s going on at this hour?”
Manager Cha asked, putting on a sleepy expression.
“You know I didn’t come here to see the manager’s face, right?”
“Yeah, I know. Go back.”
The moment Manager Cha was about to close the door, Lee Wooyeon put his hand in it.
“Hey! If you suddenly get hurt like this, who are you going to blame!”
Manager Cha was frightened and lowered his voice to reprimand Lee Wooyeon.
“Who is inside? Why are you talking so quietly?”
“… I’m afraid to wake up the person next door.”
Lee Wooyeon’s eyes closed. Manager Cha calmed down. He was one of the few people on the planet who wouldn’t be fooled by that plausible smile.
“Inseop is there.”
Lee Wooyeon’s gaze went over Manager Cha’s shoulder and scanned the front door. Thinking he did good at hiding his shoes, Manager Cha straightened his shoulders.
“No? There’s no one there.”
He knew it was useless, but Manager Cha did not want to give Inseop to Wooyeon. For at least one day, he hoped that Choi Inseop would lament his life and drink alcohol as he pleased. More than anything, he himself hated that guy terribly. He thought he would do whatever he could to feed him some lies.
“So hurry back home.”
Just take the bait. Lee Wooyeon.
Manager Cha smiled and shook his hand.
“You know, Manager.”
Lee Wooyeon leaned against the front door and began to speak softly.
“A common misconception is that people think this is a great safety barrier.”
Lee Wooyeon lifted the latch with his hand. He was ominous. It took less than 5 seconds for the ominous premonition to become reality. Lee Wooyeon laughed and pulled the door back. The clasps overlapped open with a crackling sound.
“Hey! you…”
He didn’t even have time to shout. Lee Wooyeon pulled the front door a couple more times with force, and the press latch was pulled out neatly. Lee Wooyeon passed the manger and entered the house without taking off his shoes.
“Oh my God, this crazy…!”
Lee Wooyeon, who entered someone else’s house wearing shoes, flashed his eyes fiercely like a hungry tiger looking for prey. In his field of vision, Inseop, who was sleeping curled up on the sofa, was captured.
Lee Wooyeon walked over to Inseop. The atmosphere was unusual. Manager Cha closed the front door and quickly ran to the living room.
“Lee Wooyeon!”
“Shh”
Lee Wooyeon put his finger on his lips and pretended to tell him to be quiet. Manager Cha watched Lee Wooyeon’s action with a puzzled expression. Lee Wooyeon, who walked with the momentum to catch and kill a person, knelt on one knee in front of his sofa and looked at the sleeping Inseop. Seeing his somewhat affectionate appearance, Manager Cha quickly pinched his thigh, wondering if he was still drunk.
“Who made him cry?”
Breaking the grotesque silence, Lee Wooyeon asked. Seeing that bloody expression, Manager Cha quickly shook his head.
“He didn’t cry. Mr. Inseop never cried.”
Lee Wooyeon’s head tilted at an angle.
I’m sorry. Choi Inseop.
Manager Cha had no choice but to tell the truth.
“He cried. He was drunk and cried alone. Ask Inseop, knowing his drinking habit.”
Lee Wooyeon sighed. He wiped the tears from Inseop’s eyelashes with his finger, muttering to himself self-deprecatingly, “I’m here because I know him well.” At that moment, Inseop blinked slowly, perhaps a couple of times, as if he had just woken up.
“… Lee Wooyeon”
“Hmm.”
It was a short answer. However, it was a word full of energy to show his affection for his opponent.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears ran down Inseop’s cheeks again.
“I didn’t cry, so… Please don’t tell Lee Wooyeon.”
Lee Wooyeon looked at Inseop, who sobbed and claimed that he would not cry even if he died soon, with a complicated mind.
“All right. You didn’t cry.”
Lee Wooyeon wiped away Inseop’s tears. Then Inseop smiled and rubbed his face in Lee Wooyeon’s hand. Lee Wooyeon sighed and pulled Inseop onto his shoulder.
“I’m going crazy. Really.”
Normally, Inseop doesn’t show aegyo, but when he gets drunk, Inseop acts really cute. After he cried and hung on and fell asleep anywhere, he didn’t even remember anything the next day. This was the reason he never sent Inseop out alone to a drinking party.
“Don’t go crazy, Heuk.”
Inseop grabbed the hem of Lee Wooyeon’s clothes and clung to him.
“Okay, go to sleep.”
Hugging Inseop, who was crying like a child, Wooyeon Lee began to read. Soon after, the question subsided and Inseop fell asleep in Lee Wooyeon’s arms.
“How about a bed?”
“Huh?”
“A room with a bed. If Inseop sleeps on the floor, he will have a hard time the next day.”
Oh god. He wanted to vomit looking at the sweetness.
Manager Cha quickly pointed to the master bedroom, not wanting to see more of the unseen. Wooyeon hugged Inseop while holding a blanket. Walking casually in his shoes to his hallway, he took them off in front of the bedroom.
“Ha. what the…”
Manager Cha took Lee Wooyeon’s shoes and slammed them into the front door. Lee Wooyeon, who had put down Inseop and came out, sat down on the sofa without saying a word.
“How did you know?”
With an expressionless face, Lee Wooyeon took out his cell phone from his pocket and held it out. It was Kim Kangwoo’s SNS. The photo posted under the title of ‘a pleasant evening with nice people’ did not mention who and where they were drinking. There are only pictures of Inseop’s hand holding a can of beer and the living room table of the Manager. It hasn’t been long since the photo was uploaded.
Goddamn creepy bastard.
Manager Cha swallowed the curse and sat down on the sofa.
“How much did Inseop drink?”
“He didn’t drink much. A glass of wine and a couple of cans of beer?”
“He drank a lot for him.”
“Someone must have been very upset.”
Manager Cha opened the beer can left on the table.
“Is it so? He’s had a bad day.”
Lee Wooyeon opened the beer can and smiled.
“Yiu bastard. Why are you hurting him and charging him money for that car when you earn so much money? Aren’t you too much? The guy who knows better than anyone how much Inseop goes through after coming to Korea… ”
“I know.”
Lee Wooyeon cut off Manager Cha’s words.
“As the manager said, I know better than anyone else, and I want to live with him without getting a drop of water on his fingertips, fuck.”
He drank the beer Lee Wooyeon was holding. Soon after, Lee Wooyeon, who came and squashed the empty beer can, continued as if chewing and spitting it out.
“I’m really patient with it. Murder, arson, looting, rape. Ahaha. What else? Yeah, violence, confinement, just shutting up and pretending I don’t see anything
The hair all over his body stood on end. Manager Cha checked his cell phone in his pocket by touching it with his hand.It was almost 1:12..
“I do as I’mtold, and I’m waiting nicely. So…”
Lee Wooyeon buried his face in his palm. After a low sigh, he raised his head.
“Don’t interrupt.”
The sharp eyes pierced the Manager’s leg like a knife.
This demon bastard. A guy worse than a demon, a guy that even a demon would be afraid of.
Manager Cha replied, pretending to be calm, wiping his sweaty palms on his pockets.
“What did I interrupt?”
“Don’t pamper Inseop. It’ll make him spoiled.”
“Then you…”
It was Lee Wooyeon who hugged Inseop, who had been crying earlier, and patted him on the back. That figure was that of a loving father who infinitely accepted his youngest daughter’s foolishness.
“Don’t put him to sleep, and don’t let fool him. No, just don’t let Inseop into this house.”
“No, I can’t even have guests in my house? Then should I kick out the drunk kid?”
It felt like an idiot slapped both his cheeks.
“Is this on lease? This house.”
Lee Wooyeon replied calmly.
“It is, but did you pay for it?”
“We’ll do this then.”
“We?”
Manager Cha’s expression crumpled at the word ‘we’. He didn’t want to be tied to Lee Wooyeon even for a few seconds.
“As soon as the day dawns, I will call the real estate agent and contact the owner of this house. I’ll pay twice the price.”
“What are you talking about…”
“Then this house will be mine.”
“… ”
“Please obey the will of the landlord. Tenant.”
The saying that the building owner is above the creator in Korea was not for nothing. Manager Cha bit his lip and trembled at the sadness of being homeless.
“I’ll go.”
The most wonderful words he heard today came out of Lee Wooyeon’s mouth. Wanting to get rid of him before he changes his mind, Manager Cha jumped up and opened the front door. As Lee Wooyeon, who came out to the front door, put on his shoes, he suddenly remembered something and looked up.
“Tomorrow, for Mr. Inseop, please make some hangover soup.”
“I’ll boil it anyway.”
“Don’t forget to feed him and drive him out right away. Then you won’t have to worry about moving.”
Lee Wooyeon smiled gracefully and left. Manager Cha locked the front door and pounded his chest with his fist.
If his youngest brother hadn’t just gotten married a while ago, he would have been able to buy this house somehow. A belated regret came over him, but he couldn’t find a way to escape the evil prospective landlord’s clutches.