By Zephyria He hadn’t had a full weekend off in a while, but this was the first time he’d rested so thoroughly. Ryu Jeong was like a baby bird that had just hatched from its egg, nestled in Lee Do-hyeon’s nest and receiving the utmost care.
He once worked a day-long part-time job at a new apartment construction site. It was as hard as loading and unloading parcels, something he usually didn’t consider, but that day there were no openings at the logistics center, so he had no choice but to jump in. He didn’t have the strength for it, and it was the middle of summer, so he was bedridden for days after working just one day.
If he had to pick the most physically exhausting day of his life, he would choose that day without hesitation, as the aftereffects were tremendous. Strangely, he felt more lethargic now, even though he was much better off than he was then. Lee Do-hyeon’s house was warm enough that he didn’t have to wait for spring, and more than anything, being with Lee Do-hyeon made him feel abundant.
What brought Ryu Jeong, who felt like he was melting into the bones with lethargy in just one day, back to reality was an deposit notification on his phone, which had been silent all weekend.
Ryu Jeong was stunned to see 150,000 won deposited in the name of a company he had never seen before, but soon recalled the scholarship award ceremony he had attended with Su-bin. He had secretly been happy because it was a high-paying job compared to other part-time jobs, but he had completely forgotten about the money when he ran into Lee Do-hyeon.
At the same time, he was reminded of his days that had been running like a hamster wheel. It was an realization that the one day of rest on Sunday felt like a mirage.
“Do you really have to go?”
Ryu Jeong, who had spent another night in bed for the first time, or rather the second time, in his life, opened his lips as soon as the morning sun rose. Lee Do-hyeon, who was simply happy to see Ryu Jeong’s face as soon as he woke up, had no choice but to harden his expression as if he had never smiled.
“But I have to do what I have to do…”
Ryu Jeong fiddled with the seatbelt that crossed his chest diagonally, and glanced at Lee Do-hyeon, who was sitting askew and turning the steering wheel. He had been frowning ever since he heard Ryu Jeong say he had to go to work, as if he didn’t like it.
“President, you really don’t have to go…?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I’m the President.”
“You keep getting calls…”
“You can ignore them.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who looked at the incessantly ringing phone as if it were annoying, told him not to worry and unilaterally hung up.
Doesn’t he know that makes me even more nervous? Ryu Jeong swallowed hard and bit his lip as he saw Chief Yoon’s name appear and disappear.
“I can just go alone…”
“How can I send you alone? You’re not feeling well.”
“I’m really okay.”
“I’m not okay.”
“But…”
Ryu Jeong couldn’t shake the feeling that he was sitting on pins and needles at the repeated firm rejections. He felt bad that there was something urgent going on because of him, judging by the constant phone calls, and that it might cause a disruption.
“Speaking of which, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Ryu Jeong felt guilty for no reason and was intimidated, but Lee Do-hyeon, who had stepped on the brakes at the newly changed light, spoke first. Ryu Jeong was happy to do even that, so he changed his posture and turned to look at him.
“Your part-time job. Are you going to keep doing it?”
Lee Do-hyeon sighed briefly and suppressed his emotions before continuing. As if he were an immature child who was bad at controlling his emotions, an unpleasant question burst from his lips. He seemed to be asking for his opinion, but his inner thoughts that he wanted him to quit were clearly revealed in his tone.
“…I heard it’s hard to find people these days.”
“That’s the Shop Owner’s problem, not Ryu Jeong’s.”
“……”
Ryu Jeong pursed his lips at the rather blunt reply. It wasn’t wrong. In the case of other part-timers who had quit so far, they had happily quit and left after working until the pre-determined date of resignation, even if a replacement had not been found. But this was only possible in a common-sense store like a chicken rib restaurant or a cafe. It was difficult to quit a convenience store so easily, let alone other places.
More than anything, he would have no income if he quit. Just breathing would cause various utility bills and living expenses to leak out, and he had debts to pay off every month, so quitting his part-time job was like digging his own grave. Lee Do-hyeon had always seemed to think it was strange that he was juggling several part-time jobs, but he couldn’t honestly tell him that he was in debt.
“……”
He was scared. He was afraid that he would find the debt burdensome and leave him. It was a debt that had nothing to do with his will, and he had no intention of sharing the burden, but if Lee Do-hyeon felt differently, then the relationship would be over.
What should I say? He couldn’t leave out the story about the debt and make excuses that he had to save a lot of money, as he had done in the past. Lee Do-hyeon, who owned a house so large that it was hard to believe he lived alone, and who held the high and heavy position of ‘President’, might try to put money in his hands instead of the Shop Owners. He said he wanted to give me everything he had. He didn’t want it to be money.
He was about to try to gloss over it with a plausible excuse, but Lee Do-hyeon was much faster to speak.
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“…Yes?”
“Instead, promise me that you’ll commute in my car.”
Even as he said that, it wasn’t that he didn’t look displeased, but Lee Do-hyeon’s expression as he stepped on the accelerator and looked straight ahead was much more relaxed than when he left the house. Ryu Jeong, surprised that he didn’t ask anything, couldn’t say anything, and blinked rapidly at the following suggestion, as if he was embarrassed again.
“Then… what about you, President?”
“What about me?”
“I have to go to the restaurant and then the cafe… and then the convenience store at night…”
He didn’t work steadily in one place for a long time, but worked busily for a short time and then went to another place to work. He could understand the restaurant and cafe that were scheduled in a row, but the problem was the convenience store. After his part-time job at the cafe was over, there were three hours before he had to go to work at the convenience store, so it was a waste of time and money to go back and forth to Lee Do-hyeon’s house each time. Moreover, if Lee Do-hyeon volunteered to do such a troublesome thing, his daily life would be shaken because of him.
Even if it was a favor that he offered first, Ryu Jeong couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt. Even now, he was ignoring all the calls from his secretary and taking him there, wasn’t he? Ryu Jeong frowned and fidgeted with his fingers.
“You must be busy, but because of me…”
“It’s because I don’t want to be apart from you.”
He was worried that I would be tired from driving, even though he had his own problems to worry about. Lee Do-hyeon, frustrated, opened his mouth firmly and finally swallowed a sigh.
Yesterday and today. Ryu Jeong seemed to believe that he had gone to the gym. It was a miscalculation to think that he would be sleeping, as he had not only stuck to him until he fainted, but also sucked on his body, which had just regained consciousness. If the blood that had pooled on the floor hadn’t splattered on his clothes, and if he hadn’t vaguely thought that he should go home and wash, such a poor excuse wouldn’t have worked.
At first, he was just going to see the face of the damn bastard. It was inevitable that the debt of his biological father was inherited by his son, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch him suck his blood by creating double books.
Although he didn’t exceed the maximum legal interest rate, he suspected that what he was doing behind the scenes was also just for show. He would work legally and on paper so that there would be no problems, and then drive the debtors to their deaths. To confirm whether this was true, he had to get his hands on the double books first, but as if he had foreseen this situation, the guy behind the scenes had been meticulously managing the documents. In the unlikely event that something went wrong, he was going to pay off the debt for him, but there was one unexpected gain.
“……”
Ziiing. Lee Do-hyeon, who glanced at Chief Yoon’s name that appeared with a long vibration, hung up the phone again. He guessed that the call wasn’t just about his absence. It was probably the result of the car registration inquiry.
As far as urgency was concerned, this side was more important than that side, so Lee Do-hyeon turned off the power of the phone itself.
“I brought you here by force, so I have to do this much.”
Ryu Jeong had never mentioned the debt directly, and he had secretly looked into it without saying a word to him, so Ryu Jeong would have no idea that he knew about the debt. Of course, Lee Do-hyeon was going to keep quiet for the time being. Money was a strange thing that could make people happy, but also miserable.
“Of course, it would be nice if I could take you there every time, but there will be times when I can’t. In that case, I’ll send Chief Yoon instead, so I hope you don’t feel too burdened.”
“Chief Yoon…?”
“Yes. My secretary… you ran into him briefly at the hotel, do you remember?”
“Ah… yes. The person you took the elevator with…”
“That’s right. If it doesn’t seem like it’s going to work out, I’ll tell Chief Yoon… um, come to think of it, that won’t work. That guy is also an Alpha.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who was looking at his innocent eyes and became serious on his own, thought that he should hire a full-time driver. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Chief Yoon, but Lee Do-hyeon’s standard was that he had to eliminate any elements that bothered him, even a little bit.
“I need to hire someone as soon as possible. With a no-accident record. It would be better if they were Beta or Omega, right? What kind of car do you like? I should have looked around the parking lot when I came out. Let’s look around together later.”
“Car, car?”
“Yes. I have a few more besides this one, so pick the one you like and drive it around. Or we can get a new one.”
“Ah, no. I’m okay with any car.”
Ryu Jeong didn’t know what to do with Lee Do-hyeon’s attitude of talking so lightly as if he were talking about toy cars that children play with. It might not be a big deal to Lee Do-hyeon, but it was a suggestion that was so burdensome that it took his breath away.
“How can I let you drive just any car? Are you just anyone?”
Ryu Jeong turned his gaze out the window for no reason at the indifferent and natural tone. He felt like his heart had been stirred up once again.
He tried to pretend that he was okay, but his constantly fidgeting fingers couldn’t lie. Lee Do-hyeon glanced at Ryu Jeong, who didn’t know what to do, and pretended not to see anything, and drove the wedge in once again as he looked straight ahead.
“I’ll pick out a car for you, so for the time being, take the car that Chief Yoon drives.”
“Yes……”
Ryu Jeong reluctantly nodded. He felt uncomfortable that he had put work on someone named Chief Yoon for no reason, but his heart softened a little when he saw his expression soften at his obedient answer.
Whether it was Lee Do-hyeon or Chief Yoon, it was a foregone conclusion that someone would help him commute. He had a feeling that he would never back down. So Ryu Jeong decided to accept his consideration, but with one condition.