ABNA Chapter 1

It all started with an anniversary gift.

 

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Heegyo’s lover was perfect. Not just because he was head over heels, but truly perfect even from a third-party perspective.

If Dongsu had to describe Heegyo’s boyfriend to someone, he’d probably say:

<He must’ve sold the country in a past life.>

<What?>

<No, not the country, the whole universe. That’s the only way he could have met you. Poor bastard.>

It was a bit of an exaggeration, sure, but honestly? Not far off.

Heegyo’s boyfriend was so absurdly perfect that it almost felt unfair.

Tall, handsome, young, and rich. The car he drove was something Heegyo wouldn’t be able to afford even if he went full-on car poor for the rest of his life. He wore designer brands like it was nothing.

So sometimes Heegyo would catch himself thinking, ‘A guy like this chose me… I must be incredibly charming..Has my charm finally ripened!’ 

And every time, he re-evaluated himself.

That was after they’d started dating though—after the “overconfidence virus” had taken hold. In the beginning, Heegyo had been much more grounded.

No confidence booster, no inflated ego. Just cold, hard reality.

‘What’s this guy after? My kidney? My corneas?‘

So, at first, he always carried pepper spray and avoided being alone with him. Heegyo distrusted his lover to the point of being constantly wary.

He was sure the guy had some hidden motive.

Still, he kept seeing him.

Because, let’s be honest when would someone like that ever show interest again?

In any case, Heegyo and his lover had little in common.

Heegyo wasn’t from a top university, wasn’t rich. He was just a part-timer barely scraping by. And it’s not like he was drop-dead gorgeous either just an average guy no one would look twice at.

Therefore, when this impossibly good-looking guy suddenly approached him and spoke to him:

<I don’t believe you.>

Heegyo instinctively replied,

<Scammer.>

Then the guy calmly handed him a brand-new smartphone.

<There’s still a lot left on the contract.>

Heegyo thought he was one of those sketchy phone salesmen. Apparently not.

Then what? A cult recruiter? A romance scammer?

<I’ve got nothing worth scamming,> Heegyo told him flatly.

<…Haha.>

That short laugh rubbed him the wrong way. But the man simply said,

<Then scam me instead,> and smiled.

he was sure of it.

‘This guy is a bastard.’

And that’s when Heegyo knew:

He’s got it all wrong.

<You’re not getting any free service. I’m just a part-timer. You’ll have to ask my boss.>

Working at a bar near a university, Heegyo had seen his fair share of entitled students angling for freebies.

The approach was different, but he wasn’t buying it.So the guy dropped the act.

<I’m interested in you. Can I get your number?>

Anyway, That was the start of it. A confusing, clumsy, back-and-forth kind of beginning that somehow led to them dating.

When Dongsu found out, he silently handed Heegyo a can of pepper spray.

<You don’t have any insurance in your name, right?>

<I… don’t think so?>

<Double-check. And keep checking. Forever.>

That was just something Dongsu said when he didn’t know that Heegyo’s lover was rich, but it became an opportunity for Heegyo to regularly check if there were any insurance policies in his name.

Looking back, he thought,

‘Forget insurance. I should’ve been doing a background check on Seo Do-jae instead…’

 

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Again, it all started with one stupid anniversary gift.

 

Heegyo, who had always been on the receiving end, wanted to give Do-jae something special to commemorate their first anniversary.

“Suddenly? You didn’t seem to want to give him a gift before.”

Dongsu, who was picking at sweet and sour pork, widened his eyes at Heegyo’s words. He nodded at Dongsu’s reaction and said,

“It’s not that, it’s just that there was nothing to give. He already has everything, and even if I gave him something, it wouldn’t be as good as what he has, so I didn’t think it was necessary. But I still want to give him something.”

“Then just give him something. Why are you overthinking it? It’s exhausting.”

“Would you be happy if I gave you a Princess Juju ring from Daiso as a gift?”

“Are you crazy?”

“That’s my situation right now. No matter what I give him, it’s only that much.”

“What?”

“Of course, Do-jae is nice, so he’d wear the Juju ring, but my pride won’t allow it.”

“Oh, bullshit. What about your wallet? Does it allow that?”

“…Anyway, and, I think we’re going to last a while.”

Heegyo  squirmed and grinned like an idiot. Dongsu frowned but nodded.

“Yeah… sure.”

“I thought we’d break up soon. But who knew it would turn out like this.”

“Yeah. I thought you’d date for a month and get dumped.”

“Right? I was going to date him for about a month and dump him? But the more I see him, the better he is.”

“Huh?oh…sure.”

Suddenly, Dongsu’s expression became awkward, but Heegyo, who was excited didn’t notice.

“Seriously, he treats me so well. Takes me to amazing restaurants, always feeds me, even packs food for me—oh! What was that country Porsche is from?”

“Germany?”

“No, four letters.”

“Portugal?”

“Yes!”

It sounded ridiculous, but it was true. Once again impressed by Heegyo’s cluelessness, Dongsu glanced at his head.

‘Is his memory small because his head is small…?’

“He even bought me egg tarts from there! It was amazing. It was so delicious.”

“…Oh, yeah.”

“Anyway, he treats me so well, I should take care of him at least once.”

Beggar Cha Heegyo. Officially declaring a transition from poor life to ultra-poor life…

Anyway, looking for a high-paying part-time job, Heegyo decided to work at a cafe through a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-cousin’s neighbor’s brother’s friend, Kim Ji-hyuk.

That was one of the beginnings of this crazy, chaotic mess.

“Hey, Kim!”

“Yes!”

Heegyo stopped what he was doing and shouted.

he wasn’t a Kim, but a Cha, but he had been working for 14 days.

That Kim was calling him.

Choi Sung-min next to him was also a Kim, and Yoo Min-gyu over there was also a Kim, but that Kim was his Kim.

The foreman was practicing equality for all and unified all the new recruits as Kim, which was difficult to get used to at first.

Sweat streamed down his face in the hot sun. Heegyo roughly wiped the sweat flowing down his face and ran to Foreman Kim.

“You have to do it quickly. Huh? How can I give you work when you’re so slow?”

“Y-yes…”

Heegyo pretended to listen, letting it flow in one ear and out the other, and stared intently at the ants passing by his feet.

Hardworking worker ants… Working hard even in the scorching sun…

‘Damn it. How did I end up like this?’

Suddenly, he felt a surge of anger. Kim Ji-hyuk, a neighbor of a cousin of a senior of a younger sibling Dongsu knew, the perpetrator Mr. Kim, approached him, offering to introduce him to a high-paying cafe part-time job.

<I don’t even know how to make coffee?>

<Ah, come on! You don’t need to know. No one knows from the start.>

Though no one knows from the start, from the second time on, they do—and those are the ones getting hired these days.

Slightly impressed by the cafe’s backward vision, Heegyo’s ears perked up.

<I wasn’t gonna say this, but actually… the cafe owner is my acquaintance’s acquaintance.>

Every scam starts like that.

<That hyung is super rich. Owns buildings, always golfing, runs multiple businesses… and he’s generous when it comes to spending on people. Why? Because he’s overflowing with money, and that… nobless oblige? That’s ingrained in him. Now he’s running a cafe, and he wants to give opportunities to people he knows first. So, like… I… uh… Dong… Dong…>

<Dongsu?>

<Yeah! Since you’re his friend, I’m telling you.>

They were more like strangers than acquaintances, but Heegyo didn’t notice.

<Anyway, it’s a good opportunity, so why wouldn’t you believe me? It’s just a cafe part-time job, what would I scam you for?>

Well, that was true. And Kim Ji-hyuk added one more word to put the finishing touch.

<You trust me, right?>

10 minutes since they met. Despite the very short time, he forcibly sold Heegyo trust, and Heegyo, whose ears fluttered like paper, bought that unfounded trust.

<And you don’t have to make coffee or anything.>

That’s how the scammer Mr. Kim left, leaving behind this one word.

In a way, what the scammer Mr. Kim said was true. The place he introduced him to really didn’t require him to make coffee.