Everyone Has a Plan Before Dying Like a Dog
"You're meeting that girl this weekend?"
"Yeah, so just handle the driving for me."
Park Secretary was literally my personal secretary. But why would a mere student need one? Up until now, I'd figured Yujin saw him as nothing more than a watchdog stationed inside the house to keep an eye on things.
Rich families do this to make sure the kid doesn't cause any trouble.
Drugs, violence, depraved sex lives. Rebellious heirs screwing up was straight out of every drama out there. Otherwise, why assign such an intimidating guy to watch their son?
Honestly, he's still kinda scary.
Look at those eyes sunk deep in thought right now. They screamed "I could bury a body without breaking a sweat." He was probably worrying even now if I was about to do something shady.
Of course, I'm totally innocent!
Crime? Shady dealings? Those had nothing to do with Yujin. In a highly advanced shut-in like me, you couldn't tell the difference between pacifism and isolation. If a stranger talked to me, I'd bow and beg them to leave me alone.
Come to think of it, doesn't that mean Park Secretary actually likes me a ton?
The young master he's supposed to serve isn't causing any incidents. That meant no work for Park Secretary! Bluntly put, aside from driving me to school, what else did he even have to do? From his perspective, this had to be the dream job.
Now that I think about it, he's been sucking on the sweet honey all this time. Kinda makes me jealous.
Well, whatever. We'd known each other for a while now. Even if I'd never actually seen his face under those sunglasses. Anyway, Yujin decided to sprinkle in a bit more kindness.
"You can just drop me off and head out if you want."
A few minutes of driving and done! Clock out early. No job like that anywhere. Yujin felt a swell of pride at his own generosity.
But Park Secretary shook his head firmly.
"I can't do that. Serving you is my role."
Hmm, so he couldn't skip surveillance duty, huh. Even good kids like me get watched. No helping it if that's his job.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to a movie with Younghee."
"Oh, a movie, huh."
Movies were a shut-in's golden choice. No need to talk the whole time, and afterward, you naturally had stuff to chat about. Kill time and get conversation topics—one stone, two birds. Bluntly, I couldn't think of anything else to do.
I picked a safe romance flick. That should tide me over without screwing up.
"That's the plan, anyway."
I laid out my date blueprint for Park Secretary. It wasn't much of a plan. Movie, food, cafe chat, done. I'd loosely picked the movie but left food open—didn't know what Younghee might crave. I'd scoped out nearby spots, though, so Japanese, Western, Korean—whatever, we were covered. And I'd practiced my cafe order to avoid messing up: "iced Americano with an extra shot."
Heh, pretty solid plan if I do say so myself.
Park Secretary listened, then nodded slowly.
"I see. Understood. I'll handle the preparations on my end."
Eh? Preparations? Like scouting the area ahead of time? No need to go that far.
Ha, what a diligent guy. Can't judge a book by its cover. Another lesson learned today!
"The movie theater will be the key hurdle, if you ask me."
"You think?"
True, suggesting the movie was all me. What if Younghee hated them? The whole plan would derail from the start.
"What if she turns it down?"
"She won't refuse."
His tone brimmed with certainty. Ooh, adult with experience! He'd probably done this a bunch by now. Gotta listen closely.
"Anyone you invite first will end up going along with it eventually."
"Of course, in a normal situation, she might push back at first. If it's not her taste, I'll prepare alternatives."
"Prepare?"
"Create a situation that's easy to accept. Movie theater's perfect for it. Sure, you could force it, but if that's what you wanted, you'd have done it ages ago."
What the...? All that for a movie? Seemed overkill. But hey, insider advice from a social pro? I was clueless about this world, so better heed it.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Park Secretary. Handle the rest."
"Got it. I'll stake my honor on making it airtight."
Hmm, I'd meant to give him the day off, but somehow it snowballed. Oh well, he offered—turning him down flat would be rude!
"By the way, young master."
"Yeah?"
"Did I mess up somehow?"
?
Yujin blinked. What was this out of nowhere?
"You're suddenly using formal speech."
Wait, had he always been casual with me? Even with an adult? Sure, I didn't know this world's norms...
Come to think of it, teachers and everyone else always used formal with me.
Formal must be the default here. So casual shouldn't be weird for me either, right? A clueless shut-in goes with the flow and lands in the middle somewhere.
"I think I should use formal with you, Park Secretary."
You're the adult, I'm the kid. And you're working for me, but still—casual feels off.
For some reason, Park Secretary looked moved.
"Ah, thank you. I never dreamed you'd think of me that way."
Huh? No need to make it a big deal.
"I've been with the organization over ten years now, and this is the first time I've felt truly acknowledged."
"..."
I decided to just shut up. If he was that happy, who cared if it was a misunderstanding? Good vibes all around.
"But you really shouldn't use formal. There's this thing called Heukcheon. People will laugh if you don't."
Eh? Like that?
That explained the suspiciously lavish house. Guess we were modern-day nobility or something.
Looks like a society still hung up on noble etiquette and pointless traditions.
Annoyingly rigid. My 21st-century common sense hated that crap. Screw noble authority.
But ignoring it would just make me a total outcast again.
Park Secretary rarely suggested anything. He always hung back, observing. For him to push this hard meant it was a big deal.
Better play along.
Fine, whatever.
"Yes, that suits Heukcheon's heir better."
Honestly, forcing casual felt awkward. Like cramming into ill-fitting clothes. Or wearing shoes two sizes too big? And I had to keep it up? Karma for being born rich, huh.
Thanks a ton, though, parents. Keep raking it in.
"Use casual with everyone from now on. Heukcheon's master deserves no less."
Ugh, hate it. But those eyes made refusing impossible.
Guess I'll just talk less from now on.
Yujin nodded, thinking that.
…*
"Hoo."
Younghee steadied her trembling heart as she stood at the meeting spot. The one waiting for was her childhood friend's sworn enemy—Yujin.
Cheolsu was dead set on crushing Yujin somehow, but she saw things differently. He was an unbreakable wall. Someone you didn't fight.
Even if you toppled him, Heukcheon loomed behind. No one survived antagonizing them.
So, if I just sacrifice myself, it'll be fine.
She knew Yujin was into her. But not pure like Cheolsu—more like base male lust. The greedy stares at her chest and hips. The lewd taunts tossed like jokes. He saw her as a woman. That's why he kept closing in, tormenting Cheolsu.
Put another way: become his girl, and it all ends.
But I still hate that.
Like Cheolsu, she liked him too. This feeling couldn't be hidden or buried. She'd vowed her first time to Cheolsu. The thought of anyone else tainting her body made her shudder in horror.
But she hated seeing Cheolsu hurt even more. Keep refusing, and Yujin would hound him forever.
Take the ogre incident. Class training gone wrong—officially an accident, but obviously deliberate. Why else would a high-grade monster like that show up out of nowhere? Only someone with the pull and background to control it. Obvious who.
And the academy's investigation? Buried under sheer power.
This is Yujin's warning.
She could threaten his life anytime, even at school. Without him, Cheolsu would've died for real.
How could she stand by after seeing that?
One last time—really the last—I'll beg him.
Like at the hospital, plead again. He'd promised not to touch Cheolsu then. Maybe this time he'd back off for real.
What he'd demand in return? She could guess.
But somehow, she had to dodge that. It'd betray Cheolsu, who trusted her.
Beg for mercy on that one point. Who knows—maybe Yujin would lose interest and dump her.
As she steeled herself, the problem guy appeared.
"Hey."
Younghee forced a smile onto her weary face. Today, she'd butter him up max while pleading. Praying he still had a shred of humanity left.