Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: The Brother's Provocation
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Surprisingly, it was him whose lips curled up.
Clearly, the guy looked a bit pale and worn out today, like he hadn't been sleeping well. But it was like my face was slathered in some miracle tonic— the moment he spotted me, his expression lit up like magic. Made it all the more ridiculous.
Watching that bastard's face beam made my own forced smile, which I'd plastered on belatedly, tremble like it was about to shatter. My stomach was starting to ache already. This was driving me insane.
"Heh heh, puh huh... No need to force that pained smile just because I said something like that before."
Fuck!
I bit down on my lip so hard it nearly tore, holding back a torrent of curses that threatened to spill out. After a few deep breaths, I finally managed to open my mouth.
"What brings you here today? And you're casually switching to informal speech now...?"
"Yeah. I just wrapped up business in Japan and flew back today. Came straight here from the airport."
I clicked my tongue in disbelief.
What kind of lunatic is this?
The prick should've gone home after work, stretched out, and crashed. But no, he drags his ass straight from the airport to here? What the hell for?
Hell, as a chaebol swimming in cash, he could fuck any woman he wanted. With all the stress from his trip, he could've groped the asses of top-tier beauties and pounded their holes to his heart's content. Yet he comes here? Specifically here?
"If you're wondering why..."
I flinched.
It was like the bastard could read my mind.
"Maybe it's for some healing time, watching your emotions play out so plainly on your face like that?"
Oh Hanam stretched right in front of me, arms up high.
"Whew, this feels great. The guy I negotiated with in Kyoto was such a passive-aggressive asshole— I was about to lose my mind."
"This prick is at it again, subtly..."
My patience hit its limit, and informal speech nearly slipped out before I caught myself at the last second.
But Oh Hanam lit the fuse himself.
"Go ahead and drop the formalities, Hyunwoo."
"...What? Huh?"
"Honestly, I don't like it when people talk down to me. Unless it's me doing it."
"..."
"But yours? I bet it'd feel electric."
The guy was beyond imagination, leaving me dumbfounded, as he fiddled with his nails and grinned.
"How's it feel right now, Hyunwoo? Seeing the store manager you've worked with for over a year beaming with happiness every day. Watching from the sidelines, does it leave you bitter? Jealous? Uncomfortably off-balance?"
He was voicing the ugly thoughts I'd shoved into a corner, and my face twisted in a scowl.
Oh Hanam nodded.
"No need to beat yourself up as trash just for feeling those emotions. There's a saying for a reason: 'Your cousin buys land, and your spleen aches.' Even lifelong friends who've been thick as thieves for over ten years talk about wanting to kill when they're stuck in place and the other shoots ahead."
He flashed a smirk and added,
"Humans are just wired that way."
Hearing that, I felt it deep in my bones: Oh Hanam was cut from the same cloth as Han Aebom. Born into wealth, raised in a world poles apart from mine.
And that was my breaking point.
"Fuck you, you bastard."
"...!"
The moment I swore and barked at him roughly, Oh Hanam's eyes went wide.
Then his cheeks flushed, and he spun away from me in a panic. What the hell was that creepy reaction? No joke— it felt like goosebumps prickled even on my soles.
"Ahem, cough! Hack, ahem."
After a few fake coughs, he finally turned back, composing himself.
"What are you talking about?"
"What else? Lately, crowds have been swarming our store— right when I'm on shift. How many psychos in the world would pull that shit? And even fewer who could actually make it happen."
Once the informal speech barrier broke, damn, it felt way more natural.
The guy was Ilha Group's vice chairman, but I had so many grudges against him. With anyone else, I doubt it'd come this easily.
"Yeah, that was me."
Oh Hanam admitted it readily.
"Doing nothing on purpose just makes you a fool if it keeps up. You gotta hit 'em with an unexpected straight when they're off guard— that's how you land a critical blow."
"Ha..."
A dry laugh escaped me.
This prick might be top ten in the world at fucking with people, no doubt.
"Yeah, it stings. You son of a bitch."
"Right? Humans take way more damage— longer-lasting damage— from mental pain than physical. Especially since everyone clings to their own mindset and stubbornness. Even a slight clash of opinions wears you out. Like what happened to me in Kyoto."
The more we talked, the heavier my eyelids got from exhaustion, but Oh Hanam's eyes— fresh off the plane— sparkled brighter.
"One way I thought might torment you. The store's sales skyrocketing doesn't mean your paycheck multiplies, right?"
True.
That's the reality of part-time gigs.
Sometimes guys can't stomach watching the boss thrive, quit on impulse, open their own shop, and tank it.
Makes you think humans really do come pre-loaded with jealousy, like he said. And damn, what an ingenious way to mess with someone. Not outright evil, which makes it harder to call out. That's probably why it pissed me off more— no real counter I could pull.
"If you quit because it's too much, you're unemployed. Worse, the store manager you like so much? She'd be screwed. Bluntly, how many people could handle her workload solo like you? Anyone at all? Point is, even if she hunts for a replacement, she'll never find one."
"You... fuck. You're a goddamn genius, aren't you?"
"Hm. I hear that too often for it to thrill me anymore. But not bad."
Blood ties or not, different wombs, whatever— he was definitely Oh Hana's brother.
"Quit mumbling half-informal like it's to yourself, asshole."
"Ah, sorry. Force of habit."
I clenched and unclenched my fist staring at his smug face a few times before speaking.
"Well played, you bastard."
"...Pardon?"
"Well played! Fuck. Yeah, it's uncomfortable sometimes. Makes me wanna kill those hordes of dickheads wrecking the place on my shift. But seeing the store manager happy like that? Not entirely bad for me either."
For the first time, Oh Hanam's expression stiffened slightly.
Now it was my turn to smirk.
"Oh, and fuck— stop with the 'store manager' this, 'store manager' that. Other convenience stores call it 'boss' when the manager and owner are the same. Ours hates that."
"Didn't know."
"Business done? Get lost, asshole. No lunch boxes left to recommend anyway. Can't you see the shelves are empty?"
"Gonna be rough for a while longer."
"What do you care? Fuck off. You're not my mom— no need to worry. Hell, cussing you out feels damn good, relieves the stress."
"Glad to hear it. No lunch boxes? I'll head out then. Oh, congrats on shoving that cigarette back in your mouth after finally kicking it. Feels good, huh?"
His words made my facial muscles twitch for real.
This was a full-on mudslinging match, neither side yielding. If anything, I was just thrashing around pretending to be tough.
"Hey!"
"Yeah?"
I called out to Oh Hanam as he turned to leave the store.
"If my face helped you de-stress, leave a tip, asshole."
"..."
Oh Hanam blinked in bewilderment, reached into his pocket, and quietly pulled out his wallet. Watching the yellow bills emerge, I let a small smile creep in.
Yeah, fuck it.
Might as well take the cash. Money's always better in abundance, they say.
Sure to come in handy someday.
Heading home after spotting the store manager with her usual ear-to-ear grin today as well. At the studio apartment entrance, there's a woman pacing back and forth like a dog desperate to poop, hands behind her back.
"Oppa, you're...! Aaaah!"
Oh Hana spots me, waves happily, then suddenly screams and charges over. She shoves her face into my body here and there, sniffing like mad.
For a split second, Han Aebom flashed in my mind before the dog— I shook my head.
I'm finally losing it.
"Nooo! Oppa, you smoked!"
"Yeah, I did. Was gonna light another before heading up anyway."
"Hah, heuk! Heuk, huuuuuk!"
At my words, Oh Hana gulps loudly over ten times in a row.
Her body shakes like there's an earthquake. I chuckle, slip a cigarette between her lips with my index and middle fingers.
"Sorry as hell, but smoke with me today."
"Huh? I don't mind... What happened?"
Her face screamed it, and with Oh Hana's ghost-like intuition, no way she missed it.
As I open my mouth, a soft, fragrant palm seals it first.
"Ah, hold up. Smoke one first, then talk. What's the rush? Tsk. Look at this."
Wondering what trick she's got now, I perk up.
Oh Hana balances the cigarette on her hand's back, flicks it sharply— and it flips right into her mouth.
"Puhahaha, puha!"
A stunt straight out of bratty kid territory. And it cracks me up every time.
"Cool as hell, right? That's style, style."
"Fuck, that genuinely killed me laughing."
"If you're laughing that hard, light it up already. Light... Whew, fuck, thinking about that cool drag after so long's got sweat beading on my forehead already."
"Alright, you rascal."
Oh Hana and I boldly press our foreheads together, cigarette in the middle, and light it up.
Not pulling away right off, taking a shared drag like that— feels damn good.
"Puh...!"
"Huuuuh..."
I'd already smoked at dawn, so I held it better, but Oh Hana— her first in ages— wore pure bliss, like she'd hit nirvana.
I got it; that's how I felt earlier.
"Euhh..."
I caught Oh Hana as her brain spun and she nearly toppled, like I'd seen it coming.
"Ha, this is killer. For real. How the hell did I quit this for months?"
"Fuck yeah. Same thought hit me today."
Sorry, Yoon Sua, but looks like Oh Hana and I are chaining smokes for the foreseeable. We duck deep into the alley to avoid bothering passersby, puffing away thick clouds.
In the midst of it, Oh Hana grabs my hand and shoves it right into her chest.
"Here, knead my tits and let's chat easy."
Already healing vibes kick in as I start to speak, but she adds urgently,
"Before that, one more for me."
"Sure."
I light another cigarette for us side by side, then slowly open my mouth. Oh Hana's eyes, laughing blissfully from the smoke, ignite with double flames.