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"As expected. You've got my respect. Should I say it's just like you, Hyung-nim?"
"Weren't you the one calling me frustrating?"
"I only found out today. God, how did you hold that in? For years."
Changsu was clicking his tongue in open disbelief, and I asked him quietly. It wasn't a question I could easily put to Ra-hee or Hyunji, but with Changsu I could let it slip out as if it were nothing at all.
"......Does it look sordid, doing this at my age?"
"What? What are you talking about. It's impressive. I am a little hurt you hid that you were a Multimale, though. If I'd known, I would've dragged women over one after another just to introduce them. Is that why you kept it quiet?"
"......It wasn't like that."
"Come on, there you go again. If anything, I'm sorry I never caught on. You did the right thing. Still, looks like you've made up your mind now?"
"There was no resolve to it. I just... ended up meeting good people."
"Good. You really went through hell because of that bitch, Hyung."
"Funny you mention it. I ran into her today."
"......Who? That bitch?"
"Yeah. Seems she lives around here. Looked like a kindergarten teacher. I couldn't tell if it was a care facility or a kindergarten, but there aren't any facilities nearby, so."
"......Thinking about a filthy woman like that teaching kids kills the mood. In a wealthy neighborhood like this, a kindergarten teacher's credentials wouldn't be ordinary either."
"Tell me about it. She'd sooner die than let anyone forget she went to Hansung University."
"Tsk. To think that woman's an alum. Shouldn't you be careful? What if she fixates on you again and starts stalking you."
"Even so, running into her loosened something. Guess I still had a knot left in me. It's almost completely undone now."
"......That's a real relief, at least."
To be precise, it was thanks to Ra-hee that it had come undone. I gave Changsu's shoulder a pat—he was watching me with open worry—and went on.
"I was planning to be careful anyway. I ought to get myself a car, too."
"That'd be better. I've been telling you to get one. A million times better than wandering the streets and running into her again."
"Running I can't avoid. And I have no idea how she'll come at me."
"Because she's irrational. Next time you run into her, just file a stalking complaint."
"Filing a complaint doesn't mean nothing happens. I don't want to provoke her for no reason. Nothing happening at all is best."
"Even so......"
"Anyway."
He nodded at that, and I changed the subject. I didn't want to keep thinking about Song Gayeong. All I needed to hold on to was that I had to be more careful than usual from here on. She was irrational to begin with, and now that the world had changed like this, there was no predicting how she would act.
"You can drive a van, right?"
"Yes. Up to a minibus. I've done it to death."
"Minibus later. Let's start with a passenger van. Then after the workout, want to stop by a used-car lot?"
"Ah. You don't even have a van."
"Yeah. You can think of it as starting completely from scratch."
"Hmm. Got it. Rush it and you won't find a good one, but we'll have to hurry. You're getting it wrapped, too, right?"
"Yeah. We'll need to book that in advance. If you can, look for a yellow one. Something that can double as a shuttle for the kids."
"Leave it to me. You don't need to come, Hyung-nim. I'll handle all of it. We'll need flyers and a sign, too, so I'll stop by on the way back."
"That'd be better. You know a place?"
"Yes. I've got the contact for the shop I used back when I was at the company."
"Let's get a quote first. There probably isn't much spare cash."
"I remember getting a sign done for around five thousand before."
The talk with Changsu after that at least started to take shape. He had a head for the work, so I didn't need to explain at length. It wasn't urgently pressing, but we didn't have the luxury of taking our time, either.
"Then let's eat something light and get moving. We'll need the director's permission."
"......Think she'll even listen? She didn't exactly strike me as a bright woman."
"I've already talked her around. I'll keep an eye on it, so don't worry too much."
"You're the only one stuck with the hard part, Hyung."
"Why do you think I called you?"
"......I am grateful to her for that. But Hyung-nim, you've barely been in touch lately. I was hurt."
I still couldn't quite get used to this whining side of Lee Changsu. Even so, I did owe him.
"......All right, I get it. We'll be seeing each other plenty now."
Once the two of us had worked up a decent sweat, I picked up the phone I'd set on the treadmill.
"Look at this."
"Huh? Oh."
The moment Changsu turned his head toward me, I snapped a few photos, then took a few more of his smile and of myself separately. His eyes went round as he watched me open Instagram right away.
"I thought it was strange from the moment you suddenly made an account. The online café was for promotion, too, right?"
"Yeah. I'll send you the photos. And for the local community, Karrot should be enough, right?"
"More than enough. But you're really going all in. When was it you called this a waste of a life?"
"Don't even start. Building my wife's career is killing me."
"Wife?"
"......You don't know the word?"
"There's a word like that?"
"......There is. You take good shots of today's workout, too, and use social media as much as you can. Don't forget the tags. It has to look like it isn't promo—"
Changsu cut me off with a snort, clapped my shoulder, and laughed as if I were being ridiculous. His talent for getting under my skin was as sharp as ever. I almost bristled before I knew it.
"You wouldn't know, Hyung, since you don't do social media. For a while they called me Hansung University's defibrillator. You have any idea how many shops I kept alive?"
It was the first I'd ever heard of it. So this was the level of Changsu in a world changed like this. I didn't quite believe him, not with that sly-looking smile.
"......So I'm supposed to believe you?"
"There's nothing to believe or not believe. Just wait a few days. I'm confident I can fill up at least these treadmills."
"That is reassuring."
I hoped it wasn't just Changsu talking nonsense, but reassuring it was. He fiddled with his phone, then his eyes went wide and his gaze shifted to mine. After looking over the endless pile of DMs and posts on my Instagram, he glanced at me and asked, carefully.
"......Hyung-nim. Why aren't you checking your DMs?"
"What for. Waste of time. It's all useless talk anyway."
"Huh? Hyung. Sure, there are plenty of creeps, but ad offers come in sometimes, too. Those pay pretty well."
"Please. I probably don't even have that many followers."
"You're past seventy thousand."
"......What?"
At that I fumbled my way into my profile, and the number waiting there left me speechless.
"......Unbelievable. Five following, and seventy thousand followers? You're insanely fast, Hyung-nim."
"......Why? There's nothing even worth looking at."
Something was off. No matter how I turned it over, it didn't seem like things should have gone this far. The sense that there might be more I didn't know even left me a little uneasy. But what Changsu said next made me forget whatever I'd been about to say.
"It took me months to get to seventy thousand."
In other words, the followers were guaranteed to pile up eventually. He was only surprised by the speed.
"......How many do you have?"
"A little over a hundred and seventy thousand. I got careless once I started working and dropped off, but I've hit two hundred thousand before."
"......What are you, some kind of celebrity?"
"Mine's on the high side, but guys just start with fifty thousand as a baseline."
"Anyway, it'll work."
"Pretty soon you'll start getting crazed fans and stalkers, too, you know."
"No way."
"Hey, I'm serious. That's why I moved, remember? Mom said she was going to have a nervous breakdown."
"......For real?"
"Yes."
The way he looked at me, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, made me careful about saying anything more. Pieces I still didn't know kept surfacing. Damn. For all he looked like, Changsu was sharp. If I acted strange, he'd catch on in no time.
"......Should I just grab a used car for now, since it's urgent?"
"Just get a new one. Why be cheap about it."
"What's wrong with used? I don't want to eat the depreciation. And I heard the wait on a new car is long."
"With the men's purchase discount, most of them come out around fifteen thousand anyway, so you can pretty much get any decent domestic car. Even used, you're spending seven to fifteen thousand if you want something good. Want me to set up a consultation on the way?"
"......Fine."
"What do you prefer? Sedan? SUV?"
"SUV. I rode in one yesterday. The wide view seemed like it'd make driving easier."
"That's fair. I'll ask about whatever's in stock, or has a short wait."
"Yeah. Thinking about dropping that much money all of a sudden feels off."
"Can't be helped. Our safety comes first. Listen to you, talking like the women."
Part of it was that I had no interest in cars at all, but at Changsu's last remark I just nodded. If we needed it, buying was the right call. I scratched my cheek, tagged the gym and the neighborhood, and put up a post. Later, with a decent gap between them, I'd put up one more.
"Look at this. Reactions are already coming in."
On the screen he held out, the likes had already climbed into double digits, and comments were starting to roll in. When I looked at him again, he was humming to himself as he stared at the phone.
"This is why you do social media. Should I call it a sense of omnipotence?"
"......Sure. You're really something."
"Look at your post, too, Hyung. The comment speed is no joke. This might be faster than I expected."
I sighed at him liking my post and nodded. Mine had already reached double-digit likes as well, and the comments were landing even better than I'd thought. I was just hitting like on Changsu's post when it happened.
"Oh my. Shinwoo, you're here?"
At the bright, high voice behind me, I almost let the corner of my mouth lift. After nothing but Changsu's rough voice, a pleasant one was welcome enough to make me glad.
"Ah, yes. I heard you were getting a meal ready......"
I turned as I spoke, and my words couldn't help trailing off.
"......I told you. She looked like she'd set her mind on snaring a man. I just didn't know that man was you, Hyung-nim."
"......She'll hear you."
"Seriously, why don't women get that coming on like that just kills the mood?"
Sorry, but I couldn't agree with him. Her tank top, cut so close to a sports bra it might as well have been one, was packed every bit as full as Ra-hee's and swaying as she moved. The slight peaks at the center said she had nothing on under it but the tank itself. And still that much volume. The black leggings over her firm stomach laid the dramatic curves of her figure bare, but there was somewhere else that pulled the eye even harder.
"......Ugh. I hate that kind of thing."
What made Changsu recoil was none other than Go Yewon's thighs. Every time she stepped closer, the leggings stretched over them, briefly showing the pale skin before hiding it again. If she squatted like that...
"......Don't worry. I'll handle it."
"I'm sorry. I feel like I'm going to break out in hives. I can't look."
"Sorry for what. If anything, I'm grate— no. Then just keep working out for now."
"Yes. Let me know once it's decided."
"Yeah."
I stepped off the treadmill and walked toward Go Yewon as she came to me. In the office she had given off an innocent beauty with a touch of pretty airhead charm. Now she was all sex, and something thick and clinging. Especially those thighs showing through the stretch of the leggings.
......If it hadn't been for Ra-hee, the one in real trouble would've been me.
If I hadn't already gotten a release with Ra-hee, the little guy downstairs would have been on his feet before I knew it. Even now it was starting to stiffen, so I hurried through the times tables to put him back to sleep. Go Yewon looked at me with shining eyes, both hands gathered at the center of her chest, and spoke.
"I've got a salad ready. I'm sorry it got so late."
"It's fine. I wasn't even planning to ask you for a meal. Where's Ra-hee?"
"She's setting the table in the office right now. Please go on ahead."
"Ah, you said hello to Changsu over there, right?"
"Ah, yes, yes."
But there wasn't a trace of interest in Changsu in her voice. I felt a little bad for him, though he might actually have been glad of it. Still, I ought to at least offer. I scratched my cheek and called out to him.