Cafe Commotion (2)

Park Jeonghye's son, Park Gisu, was flustered.

Hong Ari. Hwang Juwon. And even an officer from his own guild? Every one of them was a senior who stood immeasurably above him.

Two of them were active national team members, no less! With people like that approaching, he couldn't afford to disgrace himself.

"Loyalty! Park Gisu of Baekho!"

Park Gisu saluted with an exaggerated flourish—a greeting as rigidly disciplined as any fresh recruit's. Even mid-salute, he stole a glance at Baek Ajin.

'That insolent bitch.' Pretty face, vicious mouth.

Of course, he knew his mother had been in the wrong. If someone had tried to lowball an item worth 50 billion won—maybe even 100 billion—at a mere 10 billion, he'd have been furious too.

But still? He belonged to Baekho. Humiliating a man who wore that badge with pride was no different from humiliating Baekho itself.

Look at it! Weren't those lofty officers over there coming all this way instead of simply passing by! And why would that be?

'Because I'm Baekho.' They must have wanted to lend a hand, what with the Big Three being allies.

How about that! This was the stature of Baekho!

Park Gisu, shoulders squared with triumph even as he held his salute, was about to be rudely awakened.

"Ajin? Is something the matter?"

It was Hong Ari. That Hong Ari—guild master of Arirang herself—had asked after Baek Ajin's wellbeing first, not his. And on top of that—

'She knows her name?'

With events careening far off script, Park Gisu stiffened like a soldier who'd looked Medusa dead in the eyes.

"I noticed a bit of a commotion going on earlier."

"Ah."

Baek Ajin gave a small smile.

"That's right. I wanted to leave, but that gentleman over there wouldn't let me."

"...That gentleman?"

Hong Ari's gaze flicked to Park Gisu—icy, without a trace of emotion. The look of someone who didn't know who he was, and had no desire to find out.

"Yes."

Baek Ajin went on, still smiling.

"He tried to lowball the Rainbow Snail our CEO gave me as a gift for 10 billion won, so I told him the joke had gone too far. Then it was 'that's no way to speak' this and 'watch your mouth' that... I decided he wasn't worth another word and tried to leave, and now he's threatening me with force. Honestly—does he think I'm holding back because I'm powerless?"

"Exactly. Strength ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thrown around carelessly is just beastliness. You bore it remarkably well, though?"

"Right? If I got tangled up in it, my brother would end up taking heat for no reason."

"Oh, come on. As if anyone would fault him over something like that?"

This was Baek Jinwoo they were talking about—the nation's hero, the hope of South Korea. His recent deliverance of the country from crime had raised his standing yet another rung. To put it mildly, people had reached the point where, had he committed murder, they'd have assumed he had his reasons.

"We'll take care of things here, so go on ahead. You too, ma'am."

Hong Ari bowed her head respectfully to Hwang Myeonghui.

"Oh my, thank you, dear."

Sweet as ever, Hwang Myeonghui clasped her hands warmly in both of hers.

"Not at all! It's nothing! It's only right!"

Watching Hong Ari answer with a radiant beam, Park Gisu reeled. The Hong Ari he knew was the living definition of prickly. She had never once been caught smiling on camera. Together with Ice Face Oh Seon-young, she held top honors for freezing Arirang's guild atmosphere solid!

And that Hong Ari was all but bowing and scraping before that woman.

'What the fuck?'

Park Gisu cursed inwardly. Mom! Who the hell did you cross!

Park Jeonghye, seated beside her, was likewise frozen stiff, eyeballs darting. Her face made it plain she hadn't the faintest idea how any of this was supposed to be unfolding.

Under Hong Ari's escort, Hwang Myeonghui and Baek Ajin departed. Then a Baekho officer turned to the petrified Park Gisu and asked, with great courtesy:

"Gisu, my boy... could we have a quick word outside?"

He was smiling, but it was, well... the grin of a joker holding a knife.

"Y-yes, sir."

The Baekho Guild was a rational outfit. A rookie screwing up didn't mean you could dress him down in front of a crowd—especially not with his parents watching, no less. So the officer led him into the emergency stairwell.

The moment they arrived—

"Hey, you insane bastard."

WHAM!

A leather-shoed foot stomped down on his shin joint.

"KRAAAGH!"

Blindsided by the sudden attack, Park Gisu hopped on the spot, clutching the spot with both hands.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

"Wh-what?"

"You think you're somebody in this guild? Get it straight, you little shit. This guild runs just fine without you. Understood?"

Why was he saying this all of a sudden...? Park Gisu felt his heart drop like a stone.

He had clawed his way into Baekho. He'd ground away at it obsessively, applying again and again until he finally scraped through. It felt like only yesterday that he'd been shouting it from the rooftops and throwing a party to celebrate his life finally taking off...

"Stirring up a scene at a cafe while wearing the Baekho badge is a disciplinary offense on its own... ha, fuck. But you had to go touch the one person you should never have touched."

"I-I'm sorry!"

Who the hell had he touched to earn this! He was burning to know, but he apologized first. He was scared out of his wits.

"You even know what you're sorry for?"

WHAAAM! This time it was the other shin.

"Because of you, this guild's image nearly got shredded. You are not sliding past this. I'm convening a disciplinary committee, and I will see you cut. Am I clear?"

"...!"

Tears spun hot into Park Gisu's eyes. A Baekho officer cutting a single rookie? It was nothing. That was what officers were for.

Park Gisu felt utterly wronged.

"Wh-who even is that woman, sir?" If he had to take his lumps, he figured he should at least know who he'd crossed. It would sting less.

"The person you were threatening?"

"Yes..."

"Who else? Baek Ajin—Baek Jinwoo's sister, and a director of YooBaek."

"...Baek Jinwoo?"

A name he'd heard plenty of times before. His thoughts stalled for a beat—then his pupils blew wide.

"The people's hero... Baek Jinwoo?"

"That's right, you bastard. Cross the line one step further back there and you'd be a dead man. Don't you know what happened to Oh Jimyeong and Park Hoseop after they messed with Baek Ajin?"

He did. Every Player knew.

And then, all at once, every piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Why that woman had been able to receive such an expensive summon as a gift. What those hours of his mother's bragging must have felt like to Baek Ajin.

'Fuck.' He was mortified.

There were limits to preening your wrinkles in front of a grub. But inviting Baek Jinwoo's mother just to brag about her own son? He was too dumbfounded even to sigh.

"If you've got the message, then go home and lie low!"

SLAM! The officer slammed the stairwell door behind him and left.

Park Gisu stood blankly in the desolate stairwell for a long while.

Jeonghye was beside herself, ready to climb the walls. Anyone who wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a fool could see it: her son was scared stiff, while that Myeonghui woman's daughter had strolled out with all the composure in the world.

She fidgeted alone in the cafe, stamping her feet, until at last she stepped outside. The weight of everyone's stares had grown unbearable.

'What is happening?' Her hands trembled. Her son was somebody! He belonged to the famous Baekho! And none of it meant a thing to Hwang Myeonghui? What, her connections were better?

Biting her lip, Jeonghye began rifling through her phone's contact list—the police commissioner, a chief prosecutor, a three-term assemblyman—hunting for the intimidating connections she had even a thread of ties to.

That was when someone came up beside her. Her son, Park Gisu.

"Sweetie?"

"Mom."

"What happened?"

It hurt. How could it not, seeing her son's face so deflated, as though someone had given him a ferocious dressing-down?

But then—

"Mom, why would you do this to me?"

"Huh?"

"Did you set out to ruin my life?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Jeonghye shrank back. They'd butted heads before, but she had never seen that look on him.

"Do you have any idea... any idea what it took for me to get into Baekho? I told you, didn't I? I begged you to keep a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠low profile and stop bragging everywhere you went!"

"Y-you! Is that any way to speak to your mother...!"

"What would you know!" Park Gisu exploded. "I'm about to get cut from Baekho because of you!"

"What did you say?" Jeonghye's pupils dilated.

Wait—he was being cut from a major guild over one little cafe scene? Did that even make sense?

"There's a limit to bragging! What kind of idiot brags to Baek Jinwoo's mother of all people?!"

"...?" Baek Jinwoo's mother? What the hell kind of nonsense was that? Hwang Myeonghui, that dirt-poor woman...?

"Sweetie, what are you saying? Calm down and explain it so I can understand."

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down?! That family we met is Baek Jinwoo's family! And that snail you were drooling over was a gift from Daesung's Yoo Jia!"

Baek Jinwoo? Yoo Jia? She couldn't make head or tail of it. Frowning as she struggled to process the barrage, Jeonghye was soon left with no choice but to be aghast.

"...!" Something that defied every law of her world had just come to pass. Her old classmate's son... was Baek Jinwoo? That Baek Jinwoo...?

Her mind hit the floor. In a flash, everything she'd said to Myeonghui came rushing back—the 'advice' she'd offered, asking Myeonghui to look out for her son, who took such good care of his own rice bowl, and all her chattering about him being a famous Baekho rookie.

Only now did Baek Ajin's words make sense.

"The world is wide, and there are plenty of remarkable people in it. Your mother lacks humility."

Not a single word of it had been wrong. She wanted to snap back, but no rebuttal came, and she teetered on the edge of self-loathing.

"No more allowance for you, Mom."

...

"Allowance? Forget allowance—I'm about to be out on the street. If Baekho cuts me, who's going to take me in?"

At her son's bitter lament, Jeonghye squeezed her eyes shut.

A few days later, a call came in while Baek Ajin was hard at work. It was from Park Ho, guild master of Baekho.

"Hello, this is Baek Ajin."

"Oh? Ah, that."

"Oh no, no. Please, there's no need to go as far as apologizing."

Baek Ajin genuinely didn't mind. She'd forgotten all about it since that day. To her, it hadn't been worth holding a grudge over—honestly, she'd been too busy to spare it a single thought.

"Wait—no, that's really not necessary. I mean it."

He had irritated her in the moment, sure, but severing the man's meal ticket over that much was a bridge too far.

"Oh... is that so?"

Honestly. What a remarkable man, in so many ways. 'Well, if it's gone that far, it's out of my hands.'

"In any case, there's really no need to apologize."

Baek Ajin understood better than anyone why Baekho was apologizing. Park Ho, Kang Geonho, Bok Jeonghui, and Seo Sangwon were all current national team members. They met Baek Jinwoo constantly at his consulting sessions, learning at his feet. Get on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his bad side in that situation, and they figured their growth would stall.

"My brother probably doesn't even know any of this happened. And I have no intention of telling him."

As expected. The moment she said she wouldn't tell, he was all warmth.

"Yes, thank you."

Baek Ajin smiled. So this was the power of influence? She had to admit it—terrifying at times, yet so terribly convenient at others. 'And it's all thanks to my brother.' Closing her eyes for a moment, palms pressed together, she offered a silent word of thanks to Baek Jinwoo.

And so the cafe commotion drew to a close with Park Gisu's expulsion.

As an aside, Jeonghye never showed her face at a class reunion again.