Don't Be Intimidated by Nobodies. I'm Here (2)
Lunchtime.
As had become their recent habit, Sihyun and Yuri sat across from each other in that shabby little restaurant that had turned into their regular haunt.
But today was different.
Yuri couldn't help but furrow her brow.
Sihyun was only half-heartedly poking at his rice with his spoon, barely eating at all.
Ordinarily she would have snapped at him on the spot to eat already. But his expression was far too sunken for that.
Min Seonye, that bitch—why the hell did she have to step out right then?
Yuri cursed Seonye under her breath. The woman who now openly clocked in for the afternoon shift just so she could see a little more of Sihyun—since he only worked mornings at the café. Of all days, why did she have to vanish and leave this mess behind…
Of course, Yuri was in no position to lecture anyone.
“Aaaaah! Boss! This is really urgent! Please don't go after Sihyun this morning and just handle the approvals!!”
Harin had clung to her so desperately, practically screaming, that Yuri had no choice but to send Sihyun off alone for the day.
I rushed over as fast as I could because I was afraid he'd end up laughing it up with that Min Seonye bitch…
At least there was one silver lining. She had stepped in before that crazy ajumma could lay a hand on him.
They seemed to know each other somehow… But seeing the state Sihyun was in, he clearly had no desire to talk about it, so she didn't force the issue.
Still, watching him refuse to eat properly slowly stoked her irritation.
“Hey.”
“…Yes.”
Seeing him so thoroughly dejected, Yuri let out a sigh of her own.
“Haa… Just eat a little, okay?”
Her voice came out softer than her usual prickly, curt, ice-cold tone. Even so, Sihyun's face remained clouded.
“…I'm sorry.”
He even apologized in a small voice. Sihyun knew it too. Showing this kind of face to Yuri—who was clearly looking out for him right now—was wrong. She always pushed through things headstrong and without restraint, yet thanks to her help, just a few days ago they had shared a luxurious dinner at the hotel restaurant that included Seojin. And thanks to the hefty contract deposit, the surgery for Seojin that he had only fretted over for so long could finally happen soon.
In the end, the frustrated Yuri couldn't hold it in any longer.
“Hey, seriously—why are you acting so unlike yourself?”
“…What's ‘like me’ supposed to mean?”
When Sihyun finally shot back with his usual bluntness, Yuri snorted a short laugh.
“Yeah. Better. Snap at me like you always do.”
“Ha… Who's snapping at anyone…”
Whether Yuri's teasing had lightened his mood even a little, Sihyun picked up his spoon again and began to eat.
After they finished the meal and stepped out of the restaurant, Sihyun started grumbling.
“Can't I just wear whatever's comfortable? Changing clothes all the time is a pain. And why do you keep telling me to put on a mask?”
“Hmph. If you hadn't gotten mixed up with Min Seonye in the first place, none of this would have happened.”
“True. Then I wouldn't have gotten mixed up with you either, Boss.”
“Ha—!”
Yuri let out a hollow laugh as if she couldn't believe her ears.
“Yeah. Seeing you talk back like this, looks like you're feeling better.”
“…There's nothing to feel better about.”
“And of course you're not planning to tell me how you're related to that ajumma, right?”
“That's…”
Sihyun was about to answer yes right away—then hesitated.
She was definitely Lee Suhyeon's mother…
From the way things looked, Yuri seemed to be hunting for the culprit who had ruined Suhyeon's face. That only made Sihyun more puzzled.
But if this woman knew who she was dealing with, she shouldn't even think of looking for her, right?
Sihyun knew exactly what kind of person Huijin was. That day she had been so cruel to him, yet she had fawned and bowed toward kids who looked like they came from money. If someone like that had known Yuri's true identity, she never would have confronted her at the café today. She wouldn't even have considered searching for her in the first place.
Lee Suhyeon must have kept quiet out of pride…
Having reached that conclusion, Sihyun let out a long, heavy sigh.
“Haa…”
At his reaction, Yuri waved a hand as if to dismiss the whole thing.
“Ah, stop sighing. I won't ask anymore.”
Sihyun shook his head.
“No. I'll tell you everything. You're involved in this too, Boss.”
“What? I'm connected to that ajumma?”
“…Yes.”
Sihyun made up his mind then and there to tell Yuri everything.
And so they arrived at Yuri's office.
Sihyun laid it all out for her.
“Ah. I thought she looked like a pain from the first second I saw her—so she was that bitch's mother?”
Hearing the story, Yuri clicked her tongue as if the absurdity of it all was too much. Listening to him calmly recount his past, there was no way she could keep her anger in check. And what grated on her most of all was the feeling Sihyun still carried for Suhyeon.
…Fuck.
Yuri cursed inwardly. He hadn't said outright that he had liked Suhyeon, but anyone hearing his story would have a hard time missing the fact that the girl had been his first love.
“Hey.”
“…Yes.”
At Yuri's call, Sihyun answered in a listless voice. He hadn't meant for any of it to happen, but because of him the incident in the alley that night—and now getting tangled up with Suhyeon's mother—had dragged Yuri into the mess.
Yuri, however, spoke in a firm voice that made it clear she didn't care in the slightest.
“Hey. Don't go feeling sorry for no reason. You didn't do a single thing wrong. Got it?”
“That's true, but…”
When Sihyun trailed off, Yuri exploded.
“Ugh—! This is so damn frustrating!”
She shouted as if she couldn't stand it another second.
“Hey! You talk right back to me without missing a beat! So why do you just sit there and take it from those nobodies?”
“When did I ever talk back to you, Boss…”
Sihyun grumbled as if he were the wronged party. Yuri shrieked in pure disbelief.
“See! You're talking back right now!”
“…”
This time, for once, Sihyun—who had never lost a verbal sparring match—was left without a single comeback. The sight of him looking exactly like a sulky cat was so cute that Yuri almost laughed out loud without meaning to. She forced herself to pull it together and pressed on.
“Hey. Who am I?”
“Huh?”
Sihyun looked completely lost at the sudden question. Yuri pressed him harder.
“I said, who am I.”
She rose from her seat and pointed a finger straight at herself. Left with no other choice, Sihyun answered reluctantly.
“B-Boss…”
Yuri nodded and stepped closer.
“Yeah. I'm your boss. Right?”
“So what about it…?”
When she tried to lean her face in, Sihyun pulled back and asked again.
“What do you mean ‘so what’! Just trust me and do whatever the hell you want!”
“Huh?”
Sihyun only grew more bewildered by the utterly absurd statement. Yuri drove the point home, grabbing the collar of the retreating Sihyun and yanking his face even closer.
At those words, Sihyun's eyes flew wide open of their own accord. Yuri locked her gaze dead-on with his and drove the stake home with a shout.
“Hell, you can even kill people! I'll take care of everything! Got it?”
At such outrageous words, Sihyun recoiled and shot up from his seat, putting real distance between them.
“Ah, don't go overboard! Kill people? What are you even talking about! You're really going way too far.”
Sihyun grumbled as if the whole thing were beyond belief. Yet inside, his heart felt noticeably lighter. Thanks to Yuri's ridiculous declaration, a weight seemed to have lifted from his chest.
Watching him, Yuri snorted.
“Hmph. Not overboard.”
“Anyway, so she's that bitch's mother? If she shows her face again, I'll mess her up the exact same way I did that girl, so don't worry.”
“…Please don't. I'll handle it properly.”
Sihyun wore a troubled expression. Yuri looked at him with clear dissatisfaction.
“Fine for now. But if it looks like you're getting taken for a sucker again, I'm stepping in right away. Got it?”
“…Yes. I got it, so stop worrying now.”
“Hmph!”
With the conversation more or less settled for the moment, Yuri stood and issued a command.
“Then get ready to leave.”
“Huh? You're already clocking out?”
Sihyun asked in confusion.
“Yeah. I'm off. But you already know, right?”
“Haa…”
At Yuri's meaningful tone, Sihyun could only sigh as if the floor might swallow him whole. Because she wasn't heading home—she was planning to drag him around all over the place again.
She paid his reaction zero mind.
“We've got places to stop by today too, so hurry up and follow me.”
“No—don't you feel even a little sorry for Harin-noona? Stop playing around and do some actual work…”
The moment another woman's name left Sihyun's mouth, Yuri's brow twitched.
“Hmph. I'm the boss! Shut up and follow me!”
With that, she strode out of the office ahead of him. Sihyun shook his head from side to side, let out another long sigh, and slowly trailed after her.
Meanwhile, at a club run by the Daeho Clan.
Hyeonsik glared at Taesu as if he were about to grab him by the collar.
“You bastard, Baek Taesu! Have you completely lost your mind?!”
“Ha, but Hyeonsik-hyungnim! The commission fee is huge. Look at this. Just the advance alone is this much. Hehe!”
Taesu smiled in a greasy, servile way and pulled a thick envelope from inside his jacket, holding it out. Taking it, Hyeonsik couldn't help but swallow hard.
“Ah… that bastard really has gone off the deep end… Yeah, it's a lot, all right…”
The envelope was packed solid with bundles of fifty-thousand-won bills. Counted out, the total came to a full fifty million won. According to Taesu, once the success fee was added in, the whole commission climbed past three hundred million.
With war against the Biryong Clan on the horizon, the funds the organization demanded weren't small. Taking this job would be an enormous help… but still.
“Attah! Go return it right this second! Don't you see the look on Dongchul-hyungnim's face?”
Hyeonsik jerked a finger toward Dongchul and barked at Taesu.
“Ha, but hyungnim…”
Taesu still couldn't let go of the chance. It was a perfect opportunity to rack up results for the organization—and more than that…
This time I've got to kill that son of a bitch Kim Sihyun for real!
It was also the perfect chance for revenge.
“Watta… This punk really won't listen. Why the hell did you ever take a guy like this on, Shin Hyeonsik?”
Unable to watch any longer, Dongchul clicked his tongue and rose from his seat.
That was when a new voice cut in, polite and measured.
“You should take that commission, Dongchul-hyungnim.”
The man who stepped forward was Cha Mujin—secretary to the boss of the Daeho Clan, and an executive who stood on equal footing with Dongchul inside the organization.
At his sudden appearance, Dongchul's brow furrowed.
“Watta… Cha Mujin? What brings you here?”
“I've come because the boss has instructions regarding the matter you mentioned last time.”
“Yeah, yeah. But why are you telling us to take that commission now? You heard the report to the boss right alongside me, didn't you? That the guy's close to Cheonryong's daughter. Huh? Have you gone crazy?”
Dongchul asked back as if the whole idea were absurd. Mujin answered without so much as a flicker of expression.
“Heh heh… Not at all. Rather, that is precisely why I am telling you to accept it.”
Dongchul's brow tightened further.
“What?”
“Heh heh…”
Mujin wore a meaningful smile and slowly opened his mouth.
“Because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to forge a connection with Cheonryong… heh heh…”
In a place completely unknown to Sihyun and Yuri, a dark conspiracy was already beginning to take shape.