Fruit Flies
“...So you came to deliver lunchboxes again today?”
“...Yes...”
When A-reum answered with a smile, Old Man Song from the multi-family housing unit let out a warm, hollow chuckle.
“A-reum, your smile is always so bright and pure... I’ll enjoy the lunchbox. Is our place the last delivery today?”
“...Yes... last... delivery...”
“Then once you head back you’ll wrap things up and clock out, right?”
“...Yes...”
The community center where A-reum worked also handled lunchbox deliveries for basic livelihood recipients, child-headed households, elderly living alone, and other neighbors in need. As a center under local welfare administration, that was simply part of the job.
Delivering lunchboxes was one of A-reum’s duties. They moved in teams of four, loading prepared boxes from the contracted kitchen and delivering them on schedule. And this house was the final stop on A-reum’s route today.
“Heh heh... whenever A-reum comes by with the lunchboxes, it really lifts my spirits.”
“...I’m... happy... I can... deliver... delicious... lunchboxes... too...”
“But A-reum, your expression looks even brighter than usual today. Something good happen?”
“I... the day after... tomorrow... is my birthday...”
“Ah, is that so? The day after tomorrow is your birthday?”
“...Yes...”
“Well now... if it’s a birthday, then you ought to have some cake.”
“...We eat... cake... and... they said... they’d celebrate... with me...”
“Family and... acquaintances?”
“...Yes...”
“Of course... it’s a birthday. You should be celebrated... right, right... hang on a second. It’s A-reum’s birthday—I can’t just sit still. Wait right there.”
A-reum nodded and waited. Old Man Song disappeared inside and returned holding a bag of red ginseng candy.
“These are my favorite candies... they’re really... delicious. It’s your birthday, so take them and try some. You’ll love them.”
“...Thank you...”
“There, there...”
Watching A-reum gather both hands and bow politely, Old Man Song’s face softened with fondness. Though he lived alone as an elderly man by himself, looking at A-reum always felt like gazing at a precious granddaughter, and a smile rose unbidden.
“Go on now. The others will be waiting.”
“...Take care...”
A-reum bowed once more and withdrew. Old Man Song watched her go with that same warm expression.
Having finished the final delivery at Old Man Song’s house, A-reum hugged the gifted red ginseng candy to her chest and walked down the alley. The thought of sharing them with Min-hyeok once she got home, and then with Seong-min and Ji-ah on her birthday, filled her with quiet happiness.
She emerged from the alley and headed toward the Sorento parked along the shoulder—then stopped. The supervisor was standing by the vehicle, locked in conversation with someone.
A-reum blinked, watching for a moment, then started walking again and approached.
“Ah, there she is.”
The two men who had been arguing with the supervisor turned their heads toward A-reum. As they stepped forward, Supervisor Park Ji-su moved first and blocked their path.
“I’m going to report you to the police!”
“Hey, what exactly did we do? Report what?”
“We came to escort her politely.”
A-reum had no idea what was going on. She simply stood there blinking.
“You’re Miss Han A-reum, correct?”
One of the men asked. A-reum nodded.
“The thing is, our young master would like to treat Miss A-reum to a meal—with the best of intentions—so we’ve come to escort her courteously.”
“A-reum, don’t listen to these people.”
“Lady, stay out of it, will you?”
“We said we came politely.”
The man with the thick eyebrows scowled and raised his voice, then looked back at A-reum.
“This morning at the Happiness Fund support event hosted by Seoul City, Miss A-reum was guiding the invited guests to their seats, wasn’t she? The best-looking, most stylish man in his twenties among them was our young master. He took a liking to you and wants to share dinner, so we came to pick you up.”
Supervisor Park Ji-su could not look kindly on any of this.
These two men in black suits had been sent by Lee Do-heon. Lee Do-heon was the second son of the owner family of Yoo-seong Global, a distribution and logistics conglomerate ranked inside the top ten of the business world. He had studied abroad at the University of Chicago, returned, and supposedly taken a managing director post at the affiliate Yoo-seong Transport—but in reality he was a playboy who collected only the title and the salary.
Park Ji-su regularly attended these Seoul City and district office events, so she knew the usual faces. She also knew that Lee Do-heon, second son of Chairman Lee Do-chang of Yoo-seong Global, was of poor character.
There was a reason she knew it so well even though many people attended such events. Last year, one of the prettier teachers had been thoroughly used and discarded by Lee Do-heon—a fact that had quietly circulated among the staff. Rumors of his womanizing and complicated relationships had already spread.
And today, of all days, Lee Do-heon had attended the Happiness Fund event in place of Chairman Lee Do-chang, and the person who had guided him had been none other than A-reum.
Even his mere presence at the event had been unwelcome. There was no chance he had come with good intentions. Beyond the teacher he had discarded last year, Park had heard the ugly rumor that he kept attending these events precisely because of a twisted, perverted habit of fishing for pretty women, tasting them, and throwing them away.
So she had felt uneasy from the start. He had asked A-reum for her name as she turned away after seating him. She had hoped it was nothing—yet here these two men were, confirming her worst premonition.
“I’ll say it right here: dining with our young master is no ordinary opportunity. Look around a little and you’ll find plenty of women who’d do anything for even one meal with him. And that young master wants to have dinner with you. At a fine restaurant, no less.”
“We plan to take you in that Maybach parked over there, so you can tell how highly our young master thinks of Miss A-reum.”
Indeed, a black Mercedes-Maybach sat with its hazard lights blinking.
“You don’t need to listen to them.”
A-reum turned to look at Park Ji-su.
“A-reum, nothing good will come of going with them.”
A-reum blinked, then turned back to the two men.
“...Thank you... for the invitation... but... I... won’t go...”
Park Ji-su felt a wave of relief. The two men looked flustered.
“Come on, Miss A-reum—our young master is from a chaebol family, you know?”
“Missing a connection like this would be a huge loss for you.”
“...Still... I... won’t go... Please... tell him... I’m sorry...”
A-reum gathered both hands, bowed politely, then turned and walked to the parked Sorento, climbing into the back seat.
“You saw that? Pass the message to your young master.”
Park Ji-su turned and hurried to the driver’s seat. Moments later the engine started and the vehicle pulled smoothly away from the shoulder.
“Damn it... all because of that middle-aged woman. What a mess.”
“She probably heard the rumors about the young master.”
“Of course. He discarded one at the same event last year. Word must have spread.”
“We’re going to catch hell from the boss when we get back.”
“Just report it for now.”
They clicked their tongues and turned away.
In truth, this had never happened before. Every woman they had gone to fetch until now had climbed in gladly. After all, a chaebol young master sending a Maybach for a dinner invitation carried a certain sense of being treated specially. In a materialistic modern age, it was only natural. They had never failed once. If anyone doubted, they could even verify it on the spot.
But not this time. Being refused left them bewildered, yet they still had to report the fact when they returned.
“A-reum, you did the right thing not going with them.”
“Exactly. Suddenly wanting to take you out for a meal is suspicious by itself.”
The other team members already in the car agreed that A-reum had been wise not to follow.
“A-reum, your younger brother said he was coming today, right?”
“...Yes...”
“Then don’t go anywhere—wait for him and ride home with him. And I’ll explain everything to your brother.”
“...To Min-hyeok...?”
“This isn’t something to brush off lightly. That man... it would be best if he just gave up, but he might not, so it’s better to be careful.”
“...Yes...”
In truth A-reum herself felt a little frightened. A complete stranger inviting her to a meal was unsettling.
They returned to the center, and A-reum waited for Min-hyeok to pick her up. After some time her phone rang with Min-hyeok’s call. Park Ji-su, who had been waiting with her, asked him to park and come over for a moment.
“Something wrong?”
“Well...”
Park Ji-su explained everything that had happened that day. Min-hyeok’s face showed clear surprise.
“For real?”
“Yes. So I’m telling you, her younger brother, in advance—just in case they try to approach again.”
“Got it... thank you for letting me know.”
“He’s genuinely bad news, so be careful.”
“Yes...”
Min-hyeok took it seriously.
“Then A-reum, have a good weekend.”
“...Yes... you too... Teacher... have a good... weekend...”
“And happy birthday.”
“...Yes... thank you...”
A-reum smiled and offered her thanks, then left with Min-hyeok.
Please, that man really shouldn’t lay a hand on A-reum...
The A-reum that Park Ji-su knew possessed a purer, warmer heart than anyone. Treating someone like her that way was the kind of thing that truly deserved divine punishment.
“Noona.”
“...Hm...?”
“From now on, if any weirdos approach you like that, never go with them, okay? From what I heard, that guy’s vibe is seriously bad.”
“...I won’t... go... I... don’t follow...”
“Good. And be careful for a while. He might not give up that easily.”
“...I will...”
Min-hyeok had been puzzled when they suddenly said they needed to talk to him. Once he heard the story, it was clearly nothing ordinary.
Once they arrived home and A-reum went into the bathroom to wash, Min-hyeok called Seong-min.
“Hyung, it’s me.”
“Yeah, you home?”
“Yes, just brought Noona home a little while ago. But Hyung, I heard something weird.”
“What is it?”
Min-hyeok relayed everything Park Ji-su had told him, exactly as he had heard it.
“Nothing actually happened so we just let it go, but I figured I should tell you in advance.”
“You did well. If anything strange happens or you get a bad feeling, contact me right away.”
“Will do.”
After hanging up, Min-hyeok furrowed his brow.
“Noona’s so pretty that every weird bastard comes crawling.”
There had been guys like that even when they were kids. Min-hyeok had been the one who covered for her and protected her every time.
Just then the doorbell rang.
“What now?”
Min-hyeok walked to the intercom and pressed the speaker.
“Who is it?”
“Is this Miss A-reum’s residence?”
“It is... who are you?”
“Ah, I’m Managing Director Heo Yun-gi, who serves Managing Director Lee Do-heon of Yoo-seong Transport. Could you open the door for a moment?”
“We’re not interested. Go back and tell him we won’t accept that invitation.”
A-reum, who had just come out of the bathroom, looked over to see what was happening.
“Please don’t be like that—just open the door for a moment. We didn’t come with bad intentions.”
“I said we’re not interested.”
“Would you happen to be Han Min-hyeok?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“I hear you do Gombang work... why don’t we talk this over nicely? We have our own reasons for coming like this.”
“Do you people dig into other people’s backgrounds? And your reasons are your problem. My noona and I aren’t interested, so don’t show up uninvited. We can report you to the police.”
“Just open the door. We could smash the front door in right now if we wanted. You think Awakeners are a joke?”
The sudden shift in tone made Min-hyeok’s chest clench. A-reum, watching, flinched as well.
“Open the door while we’re still asking nicely? We just want a quiet conversation.”
“I’m calling the police!”
“Go ahead and report us... just make sure you can handle what comes after. We’ll take the punishment if it comes to that.”
In other words, they were threatening retaliation.
What the hell are these thug bastards...?
Their attitude was pure street-gang trash.
“Open the door while we’re still being nice so we can talk this over... huh? Who the hell are you?”
Min-hyeok, already feeling the pressure, suddenly found the words coming from outside strange.
“G-get that bastard right n— kegh!”
Then a scream.
Wh-what?
Min-hyeok tensed. What was going on now?
“...Min-hyeok.”
At the voice coming through the intercom, Min-hyeok’s eyes went wide.
“Hyung!”
It was Seong-min.