A Well-Laid Buffet
Seung-wan was losing her mind.
Once it was revealed that Sekki House wasn't a haunted house but a goshawk's nest, various associations and rescue teams descended upon the place.
She had barely caught her breath after the TV station calls finally stopped, only for a new hell to open.
And this time, they weren't even asking for cooperation.
"Just answering the phone makes my blood boil! Their tone is polite, but if you listen to what they're actually saying, they're treating us like criminals."
"Criminals?"
"Yes. They called us ignorant, shameless people who illegally captured a natural monument and a Class I endangered wild animal."
"Ha..."
A hollow laugh escaped Dojin's lips at Seung-wan's words.
Of course, they probably didn't use those exact words.
She was describing the nuance.
Whether it's the nuance or direct words, it's absurd either way.
Who would feel good about being treated like a criminal when they hadn't done anything?
But Seung-wan wasn't done.
"The rescue teams and the 119 emergency responders are even worse. They're demanding we cooperate immediately because they're coming to take the bird."
"Ah, I heard about that from the security team. They said people are showing up without calling ahead and demanding we open the gates?"
"Yes. At least the 119 responders follow protocol, but the self-proclaimed 'goshawk rescue teams' are completely out of control."
Seung-wan listed the outrages committed by these so-called rescue teams.
Trespassing on private property was the bare minimum.
They hurled all kinds of profanity and even tried to get violent with the security team members who blocked them.
They ignored the warnings of the police who arrived after being called, continuing their insults and threats until they were finally arrested.
Yet, instead of reflecting on their actions, these people were claiming that Sekki House was using money to buy off public authority to obstruct them.
"Sigh... Having several teams like that show up every day is driving me crazy. I finally understand why people get stress-induced hair loss."
"Should we hire a dedicated lawyer? I was already thinking about it, but hearing this, it seems we really need one."
"A dedicated lawyer? Why? Are you going to sue them?"
"Yes. I talked about this with Kkulnyang-i, and it definitely seems necessary."
A lawyer was needed not only for the arrested cyber-wreckers but also to teach the malicious commenters on their channel a lesson.
Recently, the comments had crossed the line from malicious rumors to insulting their parents.
"Kkulnyang-i said she got a lot of hate comments in the beginning too. People accused her of living an easy life by leeching off her cat."
"There are always plenty of people who envy others' success."
"Yes. She said she endured it at first, but as the abuse escalated, she eventually sued every single one of them through a lawyer."
Kkulnyang-i's words had been quite a shock to Dojin.
Most of the videos on her channel were just daily life with her cat.
It was shocking that people would leave hate comments on such content.
But what shocked him even more was the identity of the commenters she met at the police station.
"She said most of them were teenagers or in their early twenties. When asked why, they said they just did it as a joke because of the atmosphere in the comment section."
The real problem was the ones in their thirties.
They left comments because they genuinely hated Kkulnyang-i.
The reason was simple.
They hated looking at her.
She looked happy.
She seemed to be living an easy life.
Those were the sole reasons for their malice.
Since then, Kkulnyang-i had been filing lawsuits without settlement against anyone spreading rumors or leaving hate comments.
"It'll be the same for our channel. Most of them probably just hate seeing us live happily in a spacious closed school."
Hearing Kkulnyang-i's experience, Dojin made up his mind.
They hated him for no reason?
Then he would give them a real reason to hate him.
"Once they pay the fines and go through the stress, they'll either tone down their comments or lose interest. It'll be one of the two."
While he was at it, he also planned to sue the people from the "goshawk rescue teams" Seung-wan had mentioned.
Everything they did was detestable, but above all, he could not tolerate them verbally abusing and assaulting the security team.
They might not be my direct employees, but the Director sent them to protect us. I can't just let it slide if they get hurt.
They were the ones protecting Sekki House and its residents.
Therefore, Dojin had to protect them too.
Dojin and Seung-wan talked about lawyers and lawsuits for a long while before their eyes drifted to the same spot.
"..."
Their gaze landed on Dohee.
Normally, she would have been chattering away to liven up the atmosphere, but she hadn't opened her mouth once, staring blankly out the window.
Seeing Dohee act so out of character, the two whispered quietly to each other.
Did you get into a fight with Dojin?
With me? No way. Did something happen between you and Seung-wan?
We've never fought in our lives. We're best friends.
We've never fought either.
Then why is she acting like that?
If I knew, would I be asking you?
After bickering for a bit, they looked back at Dohee.
Her eyes were still fixed on the window.
Unable to hold back any longer, Seung-wan called out to her.
"Dohee, is something wrong?"
At Seung-wan's voice, the vacant look in Dohee's eyes focused.
Her head, which had been turned toward the window for dozens of minutes, turned to face them.
Her usual smile appeared on her face.
"Huh? No... nothing's—"
"Dohee."
Seung-wan cut her off.
It was her usual smile and her usual tone.
But the moment Seung-wan and Dojin saw her face, they knew it was anything but normal.
How could they not?
If the usual Dohee was a vibrant wild flower, the woman before them now was like a well-crafted artificial flower.
The appearance might be similar, but there was no life in it.
"What's wrong?" Dojin asked, his voice softer than his racing heart.
From his experiences before his regression, he knew that pressing her in this state wouldn't help.
Seung-wan seemed to know this too, as she silently squeezed Dohee's hand.
Perhaps moved by their consideration, the lifeless smile on Dohee's face slowly began to crumble.
"Actually... I got a call from work."
"Work? Why so soon?"
Seung-wan was confused, but Dojin realized what had happened.
Two months have already passed.
The unpaid leave period the company had given Dohee was three months.
But with no sign of the COVID-19 situation improving, the company had recalled the employees on unpaid leave early, after just two months.
The exact same thing had happened before his regression, so Dojin had expected this day to come.
It was just that their time together had been so enjoyable that he had temporarily forgotten the flow of time.
"They told me to report back to work starting next week."
"Ah..."
Just as Dojin expected, the words of reinstatement came from Dohee's mouth.
Hearing this, Seung-wan's face also darkened rapidly.
They had spent twenty-four hours a day together, and now they would have to be apart for half the day.
And this wasn't a simple problem.
Do we have to leave Sekki House?
The thought flashed through Seung-wan's mind.
Until now, it hadn't mattered because she was staying with Dohee, but if Dohee went back to work, it would be difficult to stay here.
Public transportation was terrible here, so Dohee would have to move back to Seoul to commute.
Since Seung-wan couldn't stay here without Dohee, she would naturally have to leave Sekki House as well.
If that happened, Dojin would be left all alone in the space the three of them had shared.
And it was the same for Dohee.
She had finally started living like a human being, only to be forced to endure alone again in that place filled with the smell of sewage.
What if we stay here and I drive her to work?
Seung-wan would be tired, but she was confident she could handle it for Dohee's sake.
But her thoughts couldn't go any further.
Dohee's next words completely froze her mind.
"And... a coworker called me. She said my eldest brother came to the office."
"What?"
"..."
Unlike Seung-wan, who shrieked in a knee-jerk reaction, Dojin calmly waited for Dohee's next words.
He knew she wouldn't make such a face just because a parasite had shown up at her office.
And indeed, her next words were even more shocking.
"He asked if I had changed jobs. He said he already knows where I moved to."
"!!"
This time, even Seung-wan couldn't say a word.
That was how shocking Dohee's words were.
It wasn't "I think she moved" or "Where did she move?"
Saying he already knew where she moved meant her eldest brother already knew about the existence of Sekki House.
Grit.
I knew those bastards would cause trouble.
Dojin ground his teeth, recalling the nuisance YouTubers who had trespassed earlier.
If not for the video they uploaded, there was no way Dohee would have been exposed.
Kkulnyang-i and Dunyang-i's videos strictly featured only Dojin.
Because Dohee's family knew of Seung-wan's existence, they had blocked Seung-wan from being exposed as well.
The same went for other broadcasts.
The only video where Dohee and Seung-wan were exposed to the outside world was that single trespass video.
As someone trying to protect Dohee from her family, Dojin couldn't help but resent those YouTubers.
Then, Seung-wan spoke up resolutely.
"Quit the company."
"Huh?"
Dohee was startled by her friend's sudden words.
It was a shocking suggestion.
But Seung-wan spoke without hesitation, as if she had thought about it for a long time.
"Your family can't come in here anyway unless Dojin allows it. The only problem is when you're at work, so you just have to quit."
"Ah..."
An exclamation escaped Dohee's lips.
She realized what her friend was getting at.
Sekki House was private property.
Moreover, there were private security guards protecting the place.
Even if her family came looking for her, they couldn't even meet her unless Dojin permitted it.
But...
"You know that won't work. Those people are the type to pitch a tent right in front of the gates. They'll probably never give up on me until the day I die."
This was the problem.
She was safe inside Sekki House.
But what about elsewhere?
Unless she planned to live locked up inside forever, it was an ill fate she would eventually have to face.
"And I need to have a social life. My salary was already low, so I don't have much money saved..."
"Hey, why are you worrying about that? Do you think Dojin would actually charge you living expenses?"
As she spoke, Seung-wan looked at Dojin.
Her eyes seemed to say, You wouldn't, right?
Dojin's head naturally shook from side to side.
It meant he had no need for living expenses.
At that sight, a brief moment of happiness flickered across Dohee's face.
"Thank you. But still, I can't live penniless forever. There will be times when I need money urgently."
"Then change jobs."
Dojin, who had been listening to their conversation, finally stepped in.
At his words, both of their gazes focused on him.
Prompted by their questioning looks, Dojin continued.
"Quit your current company and transfer to our channel."
"Ah!"
"Right, that would work! This place becomes both your workplace and your home."
If they did that, everything would be resolved.
Or rather, even if it wasn't a complete resolution, they could at least avoid any immediate, unpleasant encounters.
However, unlike Seung-wan, Dohee shook her head.
"...Oppa, thank you. But I don't want to burden you that much..."
A clear refusal.
It was the kind of response expected from someone who, despite having her life drained by a parasitic family, had lived trying not to cause trouble to those around her.
But Dojin had already expected this response from Dohee.
"We're going to get married anyway."
"..."
With just one sentence, Dohee was left speechless.
To her, marriage with Dojin was the most anticipated and eagerly awaited turning point of her life.
Dojin did not miss this opportunity and pressed on.
"Are you going to work somewhere else even after we get married? There's so much to take care of in this huge place. Aren't you going to help Seung-wan and me?"
"...Well, that's..."
"Don't think of it as something strange. You're not causing us trouble; you're working with us legitimately."
"Exactly. It's already hard enough just filming and uploading videos. If I have to handle everything else too, I'll collapse from overwork."
"..."
As Seung-wan chimed in after Dojin, conflict showed on Dohee's face.
Dojin had spent countless moments in the past thinking of her after she passed away.
And the conclusion he reached each time was that Dohee needed acknowledgment, not sympathy.
Perhaps because she had been exploited her entire life, she was pathologically averse to causing harm to others.
And this was even worse when it came to the people she cherished.
To someone like her, saying "I'll handle it because I love you" was actually poison.
Instead, giving her a role—telling her "There is something only you can do"—swayed her much more powerfully.
For a full thirty minutes, Dojin and Seung-wan appealed to her necessity.
As a result...
"...Okay. Thank you. I'll be in your care from now on."
Her smile was faint.
But seeing that genuine smile, Seung-wan and Dojin cheered.
They had succeeded in persuading her.
At their reaction, Dohee's smile grew a bit deeper.
"I look forward to working with you."
"Yeah, we look forward to working with you too."
"I'm going to work you to the bone, girl. Be prepared!"
"Hehe."
While the three of them were hugging in the office, a group of people was confronting the security guards at the main gate of Sekki House.
"No, I mean, why can't we go in?"
"Yeah. Who do you guys think you are?"
"A brother came to see his sister. By what authority are you blocking us?"
Wearing black Under Armour t-shirts and neon board shorts,
they growled at the security guards, trying to look tough with various cheap necklaces and bracelets.
Despite their thuggish appearance, complete with crude tattoos, not a single guard backed down.
In fact, to the guards, the punks in front of them were no threat at all.
They were confident that just one of them could easily sweep all four of them, plus the one smirking in the back.
"Man, do these bastards know who we are?"
"Do you know who I am? Which crew do you belong to?"
"Don't you know Brother Mudskipper, who runs the Jwacheon Three-way Intersection? I'm his right-hand man. Move if you don't want to die."
"Yeah, the girl living here is our boss's real sister! Move it right now!"
Perhaps sensing the confidence of the security guards,
the bloated, tattooed thugs didn't dare step closer despite their harsh words.
Watching them from behind with an absurd expression, another tattooed thug, Na Seok-uk, yelled out.
"Hey! Forget it. Let's go!"
"Huh? Boss. You said your sister is in there. Can't we just go in?"
"Just wait a bit, we'll clear the path. I'm Sang-min from Gwangyang. If I call the boys, it'll be over in ten minutes."
At Seok-uk's words, the four tattooed thugs who had been trying to act tough rushed over to stop him.
But Seok-uk only sneered at them.
Their words were grand, but none of them actually stepped forward again.
The fact that they had run over to him the moment he spoke, after being stopped by the security team, showed just how scared they were.
How can I get anything done relying on these idiots?
But the words that came out of Seok-uk's mouth were different.
"Forget it. I don't know what they're hiding, but let's go instead of making a scene. We can teach them a lesson next time."
"Ah, of course. It'd be troublesome if the police showed up because of a scene."
"True, you just got out of prison, boss, so you need to keep a low profile. I was being short-sighted."
"No, the boss was looking out for me. I just got out of the holding cell yesterday."
As if competing to see who could flatter him more, they were busy marveling at Seok-uk's words.
After leaving Sekki House, the group immediately huddled together to plan their next move.
"Tonight, me and two of you will climb the wall. The other three will cause a distraction at the front gate like earlier."
"Oh! A diversionary attack! As expected of Brother Na Seok-uk!"
"A diversionary what? What's that?"
"You idiot, read a book. How are you going to serve Brother Seok-uk like this? The boss must be so frustrated."
"Ah, come on! I knew it, I just forgot for a second. I couldn't sleep well in the holding cell yesterday. Anyway, what does it mean?"
"What do you think? It's a strategy where you draw attention over here while charging in from over there. Memorize it if you don't know it, you punk."
"Man, look at you showing off just because you went to a community college. Shut up, dude."
"Enough. We do it at 1:00 AM tonight. You three, take a sip of soju and splash some on your clothes. If there's trouble, make it look like a drunken mistake."
Silencing the underlings with a single word, Seok-uk began to slowly explain the plan he had formulated.
It was a plan he had worked out while his underlings were making a useless scene.
His eyes turned back toward Sekki House.
The vast property, too large to fit in a single glance, looked like a well-laid buffet.
"Hehehe. Dohee, you bitch. Did you think you could enjoy all this sweet stuff by yourself? If you had something this good, you should have offered it to your eldest brother first. Ungrateful bitch."
Licking his lips with his tongue, Seok-uk's eyes gleamed with greed.