I’m Not Putting Up With It Anymore
“It’s the day I get to see Jihyun.”
After putting a rough weekend behind him and welcoming the fresh new workweek, Kim Geunseok came in feeling pretty pleased with himself.
From Monday on, that bright, fresh little Jihyun would be coming in to work again.
Lately, she seemed to be avoiding him, but he wasn’t all that worried.
One time was enough.
If he got her properly drunk and completely wasted...
“After that, it’s over.”
Once that happened, she’d be his no matter what anyone said. Young girls put a lot of meaning into sleeping with someone.
And if it really came down to it, well, so what? He’d be satisfied with just one night.
He’d come into the shop while entertaining those happy little fantasies, and before long Jihyun and the part-timer showed up too, creating a strangely different atmosphere from usual.
What the hell? They definitely weren’t like this until last week.
It was subtly irritating. Why was Jihyun acting so friendly with that bastard?
While they were getting ready to open, he went into the kitchen and found the two of them chatting more familiarly than he’d expected.
Swearing came right out of his mouth.
She’d put up a wall with him like that, and yet...
She was smiling at that slave-like nobody? Of all people, it had to be Lee Doyun, who was usually so easy to push around, and that pissed him off even more.
In the end, he said it outright.
If you came to work, then work.
Even then, his anger didn’t easily settle down.
Those fucking bastards...
Even after that, whenever they caught each other’s eyes while working, they’d flash little smiles at one another. It was the kind of behavior that was hard to call out without sounding petty, and that only made him more furious.
Then, all at once, a customer’s mistake put Jihyun in an awkward spot.
I need to show her what a real man does.
He was going to step in and use the chance to make himself look good.
But before he could move, that idiot jumped in first and snapped at the customer.
Doesn’t know his place...
Only after that did he belatedly step in, force the customer into an apology, and send the pair of them into the kitchen.
Fortunately, the customer cooled down. If he’d kept that blunt attitude up toward him too, it might’ve turned into a real mess.
He finished tidying up the hall and went back inside.
Even then, there that idiot was, comforting Jihyun.
He said one thing, and now Jihyun was defending the idiot. The rage shot all the way to the top of his head until his reason started to blur.
“You filthy little slut.”
It was obvious. Before, she’d been giving her body to some guy who drove up in a Benz, and over the weekend she must’ve slept with this idiot too.
That had to be why this bastard, who used to be too scared to do anything against him, was suddenly talking back.
Look at him now.
He was cursing at Geunseok, pretending to protect that slut, even though he didn’t know his place. Before he knew it, Geunseok swung his hand.
Then he was asking whether Geunseok could take responsibility for what came next.
He was so angry he almost laughed.
Did he really think this was the first time Geunseok had dealt with some stupid punk like him while running a business all these years?
The ones who talked back always tucked their tails the moment the law got involved.
Geunseok himself wouldn’t have to worry even if he got a red mark on his record, but those green little kids weren’t in the same position.
Especially since one of his cousins was a lawyer, which made it easy to bark at people and pin them down.
Would this idiot be any different?
Suddenly, the idiot lifted his phone.
Apparently he still had enough pride to call the police.
No, that wasn’t it.
“Who is it?”
“Someone I know.”
Hah. Unbelievable.
“Hey, don’t take any more customers starting now.”
Fine. Let’s take this all the way. We’ll see who ends up on their knees.
The idiot had called someone over here.
That broke bastard who’d come up to Seoul with nothing but empty pockets must still have someone he trusted, after all.
Once the atmosphere in the shop turned strange, the customers quickly started leaving.
Soon the place was completely empty.
Not long after that, a car pulled up in front of the shop.
What the...?
If it had been an ordinary car, he would’ve assumed the idiot’s acquaintance had shown up.
But there was no way.
The car that had stopped was a Rolls-Royce, the kind that easily cost well over five hundred million won.
The person who got out was an imposing elderly man.
He wondered briefly if the car had just been parked anywhere at all, but that thought was quickly dismissed as the man walked straight into the shop.
“...Who are you?”
“I’ve come to pick up the chairman.”
“...What?”
“The gentleman standing next to you. Sorry I’m late, Chairman.”
“No, it’s fine. These things happen.”
Why was the idiot answering?
Why was that man bowing his head to the idiot?
“I trust you understand exactly what it means when someone says they’ll take responsibility.”
Something was going very, very wrong.
For a long time.
***
When the chief secretary arrived, the owner looked utterly flustered.
He was so rattled that he was blurting out nonsense with a ridiculous expression on his face.
“Is this a hidden camera prank?”
“...What are you doing?”
“Then what the hell is this situation supposed to be?”
“What situation? The owner slapped my face, and now someone has come to deal with it.”
“You can talk to me now.”
The chief secretary moved in front of the owner.
He must have thought the man might go berserk and do something stupid.
I stood behind him, needling the bastard while I explained the situation.
“Well, the owner here cursed me out like there was no tomorrow, called Jihyun back there a slut, and then he went and slapped me across the face. Sniff, sniff.”
“You little shit! Explain it properly!”
“What you just said could absolutely count as defamation. Not to mention insult. And the same goes for assault and sexual harassment.”
“Hah... so you know the law that well? Then what are you going to do about the damage that bastard caused my shop? Hey. My cousin is a lawyer. You think you know the law better than a lawyer?”
“I don’t know it better than a lawyer.”
“Then what gives you the nerve to—”
“But I can always hand it over to one of the most prominent law firms in all of South Korea.”
“...”
“Sounds like a lie?”
It would’ve been hard to call it a lie when the chief secretary had arrived in a car like that.
If this were a lie, then that Rolls-Royce would have to be a lie too...
But it was undeniably a Rolls-Royce.
“Haa... fine, I get it. But you should understand one thing: that bastard here cussed me out first.”
“Well now... are you proposing we take this to court?”
“...”
“Are you confident? Does that cousin of yours plan to go up against the top law firm in the country for free?”
“...”
“The only way out of this for you is to get forgiveness from the chairman. That’s it. And if the chairman has no intention of forgiving you...”
The chief secretary’s tone hardened.
“...then you’ll have to take the appropriate responsibility.”
Oh, wow. So this is why people hire a chief secretary.
Not a single won of my money felt wasted.
And compared to the profits I was making now, that money was nothing but a drop in the bucket.
Chief Secretary... let’s work together a long time.
I needled the owner again just to rile him up even more.
“If you get down on your knees, slam your head to the floor, and sincerely apologize, I might consider it. Not sure whether Jihyun will forgive you, though.”
“You little—”
“Keep swearing, and the charges just get worse. Please keep that in mind and act accordingly.”
“...Haa.”
Whatever realization he’d managed to reach, all that profanity and loss of reason vanished in an instant.
Separately, his eyes still looked like they wanted to tear me apart and kill me on the spot.
Oh, how scary.
If this had been the old me, I definitely would’ve pissed myself.
After agonizing for a while, the owner finally couldn’t withstand the pressure and spoke at last, reluctantly.
“Fine. We were both in the wrong. Doyun cussed me out too, and he caused damage to the shop. I also lost my temper because my livelihood was on the line, so I cursed at him. Let’s both apologize and settle this.”
“Why should I?”
“...You really want to take this all the way to the end?”
“That’s why I called the chief secretary.”
“...I still can’t believe this situation, but one thing is certain. You were wrong too. You’re young, so maybe you still don’t understand, but if you come to work in society, you should have the proper attitude...”
So in the end, he’d switched course and decided to claim both sides were at fault.
But what was he supposed to do now?
I didn’t care if I got a red mark on my record or had to pay a fine.
I wasn’t going to work under anyone anymore.
“You missed your last chance. Let’s take this all the way.”
“...If both sides insult each other, it’s mutual.”
“What about the slap?”
“You got proof? Or are you trying to gang up on me with a little setup?”
“...So that’s what you came up with? Denying it?”
“Well, too bad. Unfortunately, the kitchen CCTV is broken. If you’ve got evidence, bring it. Not some coordinated little ambush you planned among yourselves.”
Wow.
That son of a bitch really was determined to keep making people furious to the very end.
The odds were high that he was telling the truth about the kitchen CCTV being broken.
I actually remembered hearing something about that before.
Since I didn’t know the law very well, I had no idea what I was supposed to do in a situation like this.
Then—
“Uh, boss!”
Suddenly, Jaehun hyung stepped in.
“And what the hell are you supposed to be?”
He walked right up to the owner and held his phone up in front of the man’s face.
“Ta-da.”
“...”
On the screen was footage of the owner and me arguing, and then, clear as day, there was the moment he slapped me.
“...You little bastard, after all my kindness...”
“Huh? You’re the one who cares so much about trust, but you don’t keep your word when your own lust gets the better of you? What about the promise you made to the manager?”
“...Fine. I’ll give it to you. So delete that.”
“No need. It’s too late already.”
“You little...”
Wow. The owner was trembling so hard he looked like he was vibrating.
I was starting to wonder if he might just faint on the spot.
“Um... are you okay...? You should at least get punished before you pass out.”
“You fucking...”
Ha. Serves him right.
If the owner wasn’t going to face consequences, then I’d give them to him myself.
I’d just open a store of the exact same business right next door.
With better quality and lower prices.
I wasn’t putting up with it anymore.