Dare to Use Me? (4)
"Honestly, I'm surprised."
"You actually used that?"
Choi Chul-kyu nodded. "Yeah. I thought if you were going to use it, you'd save it for someone more significant. That's why I was surprised when I saw the box just now."
That box hadn't been given to Yoon-gi; it was something Choi Chul-kyu had received from JSD.
[Use this if you ever run into any troublesome business later. I’ll help you out in a big way at least once.]
Naturally, Choi Chul-kyu had passed the contents on to Yoon-gi, and Yoon-gi had kept them stored in the box.
"Isn't the target, Seth, enough to justify it?"
"Huh? You're using it on Seth? I thought that was for Choi Jong-hyo... oh!"
Choi Chul-kyu slapped his forehead as if something had just clicked.
"Did you figure it out?"
"Yeah. If that's how you're using it, it's definitely worth it. I think I was thinking too one-dimensionally."
"Well, there is the reason that Choi Jong-hyo needs to be severely punished, too."
The crunching sound of Yoon-gi chewing a plum from the bowl was punctuated by a sharp 'crack' that pierced Choi Chul-kyu's ears. He's angry. Even though he wasn't showing his rage, Choi Chul-kyu sensed that Yoon-gi was absolutely furious.
Well, Yoon-gi doesn't even forgive betrayal from his own blood, so why would he forgive an outsider? Looking at this, it seems my second brother is still a long way from being forgiven.
Listening to the rhythmic crunching for a while, Choi Chul-kyu waited with Yoon-gi for Ryu Geun-tae to appear in the study.
Choi Jong-hyo was released four hours after being locked in the department store warehouse.
[As of this moment, you are fired. Never show your face to me again.]
Recalling the calm expression on Ryu Geun-tae's face as he spoke, Choi Jong-hyo sighed. Damn it, I got caught too early.
Shortly after becoming Ryu Geun-tae's secretary, Choi Jong-hyo had been approached by people from Seth.
[Honestly, the salary at YK isn't that high, is it? Even if the benefits are good, cash is king. How about it? If you just pass us information from time to time, we'll provide compensation to match.]
When he was first scouted by Ryu Geun-tae, Choi Jong-hyo had sworn to give his life for him, but as his circumstances improved, his greed surfaced. He accepted Seth's offer through self-rationalization about wanting a "better life." Furthermore, because Seth gave him 200,000 won in cash every month under the guise of "activity expenses," Choi Jong-hyo became even more desperate to extract information from Ryu Geun-tae.
To get information, I have to earn President Ryu's trust.
As a result, Choi Jong-hyo became Ryu Geun-tae's right-hand man, and by leaking important information to Seth, he received a lump sum exceeding two years' worth of salary. YK Department Store's policy was fundamentally high-welfare and low-base-salary. Since the company covered essential living expenses through benefits, it was effectively a high-paying job, but Choi Jong-hyo had forgotten this simple fact because he was too focused on the cash in his hand.
[Thank you. I'll contact you if I learn anything else.]
On the day the 5 million won was deposited, Choi Jong-hyo called his contact at Seth to express his gratitude and resolved to work even harder to impress Ryu Geun-tae. Of course, that resolution didn't even last three weeks.
Choi Jong-hyo felt a deep sense of regret. It wasn't that he felt sorry for Ryu Geun-tae; he was simply sad that his source of income was gone.
Well, they said they'd hire me if I got caught by Seth anyway.
He had started this job because he was told that if he were caught playing the spy, Seth would take responsibility and hire him. That was why, even after being fired by Ryu Geun-tae, he returned home filled only with regret.
"Honey, I'm home."
Opening the door to the decent house provided free of charge through YK Department Store's welfare program, Choi Jong-hyo let out a soft chuckle. Right. She said she was going to my mother's house.
Currently, Choi Jong-hyo lived apart from his mother. Because his wife was grateful for her mother-in-law's consideration for the newlyweds, she visited her quite often. Remembering that his wife was out for that reason, Choi Jong-hyo smiled contentedly and headed into the living room.
It was a reasonably spacious living room. If he hadn't received it through the company's welfare program, it would have taken at least three years of saving every penny of his Seth salary to afford such a place, but that thought didn't even cross his mind. He didn't even consider the fact that he would soon have to return the house.
Sigh, I should call Seth later.
Feeling a sudden wave of fatigue, Choi Jong-hyo lay down on the sofa before making the call. After all, the four hours of detention had accumulated quite a bit of mental exhaustion.
"Hm?"
As he lay on the sofa, his eyes caught a book he didn't recognize sitting on the coffee table. What book is this?
Choi Jong-hyo picked it up and brought it to his face, then suddenly bolted upright, gripping the book with both hands.
"Ma, Ma, Ma, Marx?"
A word that should never exist. That very word was on a book in his house.
What, what is this? Why is this in my house? Since there were hardly any books in his house to begin with, Choi Jong-hyo couldn't understand the situation at all.
Who, who bought this? No, no, no! I have to throw it away!
Choi Jong-hyo hurriedly tucked the book inside his shirt and headed for the yard.
I can just burn it in the yard. That's right, I'll just burn it!
However, his plan never came to fruition.
BANG!
Along with the sound of the front door shaking violently, a very angry voice rang out.
"Hey! Open the door!"
"Gasp!"
Choi Jong-hyo panicked and couldn't do anything. No, even if he hadn't panicked, he wouldn't have been given the time to act. Because the front door was smashed right off its hinges, and they stormed inside.
"You bastard! So you were here! You damn commie!"
The ones who kicked in the door were Superintendent Seo In-pyo and his aggressive plainclothes officers. Dark skin and three stripes on their shoulders. But unlike when they stood before Ryu Geun-tae, their expressions were venomous.
"You bastard! How dare you praise communism? You're a dead man now!"
If nothing else, Choi Jong-hyo realized he was being framed as a "commie" and shook his head frantically.
"N-no! No! I'm not a commie!"
"What do you mean, no!"
As Seo In-pyo grabbed Choi Jong-hyo by the collar and shook him back and forth, the book hidden in his shirt fell to the floor with a thud.
"What's that? What fell out of your shirt?"
"No, don't!"
Seo In-pyo let go of his collar and bent down to pick up the book, and Choi Jong-hyo's face turned ashen.
"Marx? You bastard, you're a hardcore commie!"
"T-this isn't mine!"
"What do you mean it's not yours! How precious could it be if you were hiding it inside your shirt?"
Seo In-pyo slapped Choi Jong-hyo across the face.
SLAP!
With the sound of tearing leather, the capillaries in Choi Jong-hyo's mouth burst instantly, and blood began to flow from his lips. But Choi Jong-hyo didn't even have the presence of mind to feel the pain.
"N-no. It's really not mine. When I came home, it was just sitting on the living room table..."
Choi Jong-hyo's excuse didn't reach the end.
"Chief! We found this here!"
"Chief! We found this here too!"
The items found by the other officers Seo In-pyo had brought. It was the North Korean flag, a photo of Kim Il-sung, and other pamphlets.
"Gasp!"
The last thing that entered Choi Jong-hyo's vision as he screamed was Seo In-pyo's fist flying toward his face.
Watching Yoon-gi enjoy plums these days, Choi Deok-bae asked, looking intrigued.
"It's actually pretty good once you eat it. Back in my day, the only plum I knew was plum juice."
"Buying it was possible, sure. Well, I never intended to buy it in the first place. The fruits I used to eat were all in such bad condition... Sigh."
Yoon-gi recalled his past self. The only opportunities he had to eat fruit were the occasional watermelon, apple, or tangerine at the construction site cafeteria. And even those were low-grade, spoiled goods, so he barely touched them. The apples were just mealy and not sweet, the tangerines were mushy and sour, and the watermelon felt like chewing on Styrofoam, so there was no reason to touch them. Even after regaining his life, Yoon-gi hadn't been interested in fruit. Every time he saw one, he was reminded of the old taste.
But after eating fruit several times, Yoon-gi began to enjoy high-quality produce. The fruit he was obsessed with this spring was none other than plums.
"Honestly, the more I live this life, the more I realize that the 'I know poverty too' line used by the old gold spoons is all bullshit. Just think about apples—the apples they experienced and the apples I experienced were completely different things. How could they dare claim to know poverty when they had a completely different experience with the exact same object?"
As Yoon-gi shook his head, Choi Deok-bae also chuckled and gave a bitter smile.
"Is, is this... is it okay for a subject to use such expressions?"
Ryu Geun-tae had reported to Yoon-gi as soon as he received the call from Superintendent Seo, and after receiving the report, Yoon-gi had asked Choi Deok-bae to check the basement of the Jongno Police Station. Since then, Choi Deok-bae had been subtly talking to Yoon-gi, and now he was finally unable to hold back and was about to reveal his inner thoughts.
"They'll probably go through quite a bit of hardship. Even if they're 'fake' pro-North sympathizers, since they've created a case, they won't be getting out easily. It'll probably be a big lesson for others, too."
Yoon-gi felt curious about Choi Deok-bae's attitude, as he seemed eager to meddle in such a fiery way for once.
"Is that so?"
"Even though Joseon has fallen, it seems you still remember being a subject of Joseon."
Choi Deok-bae nodded. "I think I understand that feeling. Then, is there something you want me to do for you?"
Choi Deok-bae shook his head.
"What is it?"
Choi Deok-bae began to speak to Yoon-gi with a subtle expression.
Because Superintendent Seo knew that Choi Jong-hyo was a "manufactured pro-North sympathizer," he was treating him to a level of hospitality that, if compared to an electric fan, would be the "Low" setting. But from the perspective of Choi Jong-hyo, who was on the receiving end, he couldn't tell if it was Low, Medium, or High. Because of that, Choi Jong-hyo really felt like he was going to die.
They wouldn't let him sleep more than three hours a day, they barely gave him a sip of water whenever he asked, and they only fed him a lump of barley rice with kimchi inside. On top of that, they beat the soles of his feet with a thick ruler or whipped his chest, calves, and back with a switch—he was quite literally on the verge of going insane.
"So, start talking. Who told you to be a pro-North sympathizer?"
During lunchtime, as a police officer was shoveling down bean paste soup, Choi Jong-hyo shouted in response.
"I'm telling you, I'm not a pro-North sympathizer! I really don't know anything about this!"
Having received the "Low" treatment, Choi Jong-hyo still had some energy left even today, on his third day.
"Look at this bastard? He's still got energy? You cheeky bastard!"
One of the officers stood up from his seat with a spoon in his hand and struck Choi Jong-hyo on the forehead.
Ha, I want to punch him with my fist. But since the order came down that he's not a real pro-North sympathizer, well...
Completely unaware of the officer's thoughts, Choi Jong-hyo's eyes turned murderous, his pride deeply wounded.
"You sons of bitches, I'm telling you it's not me... Fine! Long live communism! You sons of bitches!"