By Zephyria Having finished his schedule, Lee Do-hyeon got into the car and took out his phone with a clearly exhausted face. He rummaged through the notification window, which was full of useless contacts from reporters from some media companies, but he couldn’t find Ryu Jeong’s name.
Since receiving a message around noon that he had almost arrived, there had been no contact from Ryu Jeong. Instead, he received a short message from the person assigned as his exclusive driver. It said that the CEO would take him home, so he was leaving work early. Ryu Jeong was probably taking a nap as usual or watching an online lecture, which was why he hadn’t contacted him.
Ryu Jeong, who was excited about being invited by the couple who owned the Dakgalbi restaurant where he used to work, had carefully chosen gifts and worried about various things. Especially when choosing wine, he asked Lee Do-hyeon for advice several times.
Were they like parents to him? He was worried about whether he should accept it, as they said they would give him severance pay even though they had never delayed his salary. Lee Do-hyeon could picture Ryu Jeong’s concerned face. As if receiving his salary on time, which shouldn’t be delayed, and receiving severance pay according to legal standards was such a big deal. He didn’t like how he acted as if it was the first time he had experienced such a thing, but after investigating for the past few days, he realized it was understandable.
Lee Do-hyeon was bothered by the guy who raised his voice at Ryu Jeong right after the meeting. He picked a fight by finding fault with something ridiculous, and the curses he hurled at Ryu Jeong were appalling even from a distance. He kept mentioning weekly allowances, night allowances, and severance pay, saying that he would only stab him in the back, which made it seem like he was guilty about those things.
Upon investigation, it was revealed that Ryu Jeong and several other naive part-timers had not been properly compensated for their legally guaranteed rights. They hadn’t properly written labor contracts, had no breaks, and had been consistently deprived of the allowances they were entitled to.
It wasn’t difficult to get all the unpaid allowances and severance pay back. However, Lee Do-hyeon didn’t want to just get the money back so easily. If he was willing to utter insulting words in front of many people, he probably wouldn’t hesitate to say even worse things in the small convenience store where he was alone with Ryu Jeong.
Therefore, simply returning the money was not enough. He needed to properly repay the inhumane treatment and verbal abuse that Ryu Jeong had suffered.
“Contact the head of the legal team. Prepare a lawsuit against the Shop Owner of the convenience store in the Wolhyeon-dong demolition area. We need to prepare to involve the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the media as well.”
“Yes.”
Chief Yoon, who was driving, nodded without complaint. Having heard the Shop Owner’s words during the meeting, Chief Yoon immediately understood what Lee Do-hyeon was thinking.
“Kim Jin-guk contacted us while you were in the meeting.”
Chief Yoon glanced at the rearview mirror and spoke cautiously.
“What did he say?”
“It seems he couldn’t find the original promissory note and ledger.”
It was quite disappointing, but Lee Do-hyeon nodded as if he had expected it. There was no way a mere loan shark could find things that were probably hidden somewhere in the main house in Pyeongchang-dong. He didn’t expect him to bring them in the first place. However.
“It seems he scraped together everything that wasn’t specifically instructed to bring, hoping for more money. He’s trying to negotiate a deal, saying he has something to deliver secretly.”
“Hmm.”
He knew there would be some crumbs attached. It remained to be seen whether they would be insignificant crumbs or useful cards.
“Then we should give him a reasonable price. Tell him to set a date soon.”
“Yes.”
With no further information to convey, Chief Yoon silently closed his mouth and focused on driving. Lee Do-hyeon also leisurely crossed his legs and simply watched the rapidly changing scenery outside the window. He sat calmly with a blank face, but his mind was busy planning what to do when he got home.
He probably hadn’t had dinner yet. He seemed to have lost his appetite lately, and even though it was a bit early, he wondered if he should buy him some Samgyetang to help him regain his strength. Since he had already gone out once during the day, it would be much better to eat at home than to go out. Lee Do-hyeon instructed Chief Yoon to pick up Samgyetang from a Korean restaurant near his house and headed home.
Before getting on the elevator, he checked his phone again, but there was still no contact from Ryu Jeong. Was he still sleeping? He felt sorry for him, as he seemed to be catching up on all the sleep he had missed, and he had been sleeping more lately. He should go in and wake him up soon. Lee Do-hyeon looked down at the heavy shopping bag with satisfaction and opened the front door with a smile.
“…….”
The moment Lee Do-hyeon opened the front door and took a step inside, the faint smile on his lips disappeared completely. Lee Do-hyeon, who had been standing still until the sensor light above his head turned off again, cursed under his breath.
“…Fucking hell.”
Not only could he not feel Ryu Jeong’s pheromone, but Lee Gyu-hyeon’s musty, moldy pheromone was vibrating in the air. It was too strong to have been picked up from somewhere, and the concentration was too high to have been unconsciously emitted. Above all, the blatant desire that was openly present grated on Lee Do-hyeon’s nerves. This clearly meant that Lee Gyu-hyeon had set foot in this house himself.
Lee Do-hyeon threw the shopping bag he was holding carelessly and got back on the elevator. He took out his phone from his jacket pocket and called Chief Yoon, and he spoke in a cold voice before the voice came over the receiver.
“Come back right now. I’m going to Pyeongchang-dong right now.”
It was a peaceful evening. Chairman Lee preferred home-cooked meals to eating out, so he was practically stuck at home, but his son, who rarely came home on time, was somehow having dinner with them. Kim Mi-hee, who felt happy just looking at her son’s face, put a piece of grilled croaker on Lee Gyu-hyeon’s spoon and asked with a kind smile.
“Our son, do you have something good going on? You seem to be in a good mood today?”
Lee Gyu-hyeon had a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows due to frowning so much, even though he was in his twenties. He had been frowning even at home, but today he was smiling for some reason. Did something good happen outside? As her son’s affairs were also her own, Kim Mi-hee couldn’t help but ask again.
“Is your work going well these days?”
“Ah, well. Something good is happening.”
Lee Gyu-hyeon boasted as if he had been waiting to be asked. He added the side dish his biological mother had given him and took a spoonful of warm rice, opening his mouth before he had even swallowed what was in his mouth.
But before he could even say anything, there was a commotion near the front door. Everyone sitting around the table, as well as Secretary Yoo, who was standing behind Kim Mi-hee, turned their heads in the direction of the commotion. Chairman Lee, who was about to drink his soup, asked in a seemingly angry voice.
“What’s all the commotion outside?”
“Well, that’s…”
One of the servants couldn’t continue speaking, at a loss for what to do. Lee Gyu-hyeon, unable to contain his temper, was about to push back his chair and get up to ask what was going on when he saw the face of the person walking in from the far doorway and chuckled, sitting back down.
“Do Hwon, what’s going on that you’re here without contacting us?”
Chairman Lee’s face, which had been frowning at his second son’s sudden visit, gradually softened. He clearly looked pleased, but Lee Do-hyeon was not in the mood to play along. He roughly nodded his head in greeting and sat down in an empty seat.
Chairman Lee’s face cracked again at his unusual and rude attitude, and Kim Mi-hee also twitched her eyebrows as if she couldn’t understand his intentions.
“…Aunt. Do Hwon’s meal too…”
“It’s okay. I didn’t come here to leisurely eat a meal.”
When Kim Mi-hee called the housekeeper, who was cautiously watching, Lee Do-hyeon stepped in and refused. Even the words that came out were extremely harsh, and Chairman Lee, who was usually lenient, raised his voice in anger.
“You rascal, what’s with this sudden outburst?”
“I have something to say.”
Unlike before, when he at least pretended to be subservient, Lee Do-hyeon stubbornly raised his chin. Chairman Lee was taken aback by the murderous atmosphere he was seeing for the first time from his second son and closed his mouth. Lee Do-hyeon, who had business with someone other than Chairman Lee in the first place, turned his head towards Lee Gyu-hyeon when the mouth that was only getting in the way of his speaking became quiet.
“Why did you come to my house? Don’t even think about lying. Do you think I don’t know your pheromone?”
Lee Gyu-hyeon, who was about to speak nonchalantly, paused. Then, he grinned as if he had heard something interesting and responded.
“The security guard opened the door for me. There was no such thing as trespassing that you’re thinking of.”
“I asked why you came to my house, not whether the process was legal.”
Lee Do-hyeon sighed as if he was tired of the non sequitur from the beginning.
“Since we’re on the subject, let’s get this straight. Coming into my house without my permission is clearly trespassing.”
“Oh, my. Why are you talking about trespassing between family members?”
“Have you ever considered me family in the first place?”
Kim Mi-hee, unable to listen to Lee Do-hyeon’s words any longer, flared up and intervened. Lee Gyu-hyeon, as well as Kim Mi-hee, were talking about family, which made him want to laugh. When he changed the direction of the question with sarcasm, Kim Mi-hee’s face quickly turned red, and she couldn’t continue speaking, only muttering “Oh, my, oh, my.”
He had a lot to say to Kim Mi-hee, but Lee Gyu-hyeon was his priority right now. Lee Do-hyeon, who had barely suppressed the pheromones that were full of anger and about to explode, let out a long sigh as if he was vomiting.
“Fine. We’ll discuss whether trespassing is established later. So, where did you put what you stole from my house?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? What did I steal?”
Lee Gyu-hyeon flared up and slammed his spoon down, offended by being suddenly called a thief. Unlike how he had been acting so leisurely, his eyes were shining fiercely, which was unsettling. The bastard who was about to be thrown into the mud soon had a lot to say.
As he clicked his tongue in annoyance, Lee Gyu-hyeon’s eyes suddenly widened as an idea came to mind. He hadn’t stolen anything yet, but he seemed to vaguely know why Lee Do-hyeon had gone crazy.
“Ah, are you perhaps talking about that pretty boy?”