SU | Chapter 4.6

Today, the winter sun was particularly warm. Ji Youngwon enjoyed the dazzling noon sunlight streaming through the backseat window, breathing out a languid sigh. It was a rare, leisurely day. As Ji checked his free afternoon schedule, he suddenly thought of Yoo Han’s round face and his shabby loungewear.

“Kangsan.”

“Yes, Director.”

Gu Kangsan quickly turned down the radio that was playing and glanced at Ji Youngwon, wondering if his humming had been annoying. As Ji Youngwon pushed aside his electronic pad, he asked Kangsan a question.

“Was the department store we visited last time with Chairman Jang around here?”

“Yes? Oh…”

After a moment of thought, Kangsan touched the car’s navigation system with his thick index finger.

“We can get there in 5 minutes, Director.”

“Turn the car around for a bit.”

“Do you need to pick up something? I can drop you off at the office and go buy it quickly.”

Ji Youngwon didn’t reply, seemingly too bothered to speak. Kangsan prudently continued the conversation.

“Well, then, I’ll head straight to the department store.”

As Kangsan turned the car, he glanced curiously at his boss.

“Ah, by the way, Director.”

Ji Youngwon unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and gazed out at the swiftly passing scenery.

“Why.”

“Since we’re stopping by the department store, can I use our operating funds to buy some clothes for Yoo Han?”

Ji Youngwon looked away from the window with a puzzled expression.

“Executive Director Shim from A Electronics requested it. If we’re going to sneak Yoo Han into a club, we need to at least get him some decent clothes. The ones Yoo Han has are really unfitting…”

The request Kangsan mentioned was from a regular client, Executive Director Shim of A Electronics, who had asked for help. His son had run away and was rumored to be squatting in clubs using drugs. Kangsan planned to lure Shim’s son by sending Yoo Han into the club.

“Hmm.”

Ji Youngwon breathed out blandly and nodded nonchalantly. Since he had already planned to change their destination to the department store to ditch Yoo Han’s ragged clothes, there was no issue.

Kangsan wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve as he slung shopping bags over his shoulder. They hadn’t been at the department store long, yet his hands were already full. Kangsan had to almost run to keep up with his boss’s brisk pace.

“Director. Are we going to look around more?”

“Hmm… Was there a mousey knit sweater? No, there wasn’t, right?”

“……”

Kangsan quizzically watched his boss, who was ignoring his question and personally selecting surprisingly suitable items for Yoo Han. The array of clothes seemed excessive for just a club mission. Eventually, it was unclear whether the growing collection of clothes was more to Yoo Han’s taste or Ji’s.

As Kangsan’s pace slowed, Ji Youngwon stopped at the last shoe store.

“Welcome~!”

The clerk looked curiously at the imposing Ji Youngwon and the mountainous Kangsan. Upon hearing Ji Youngwon mention shopping for his cousin’s shoes, the woman excitedly presented various items.

“This design is popular, especially the colors among young people in their 20s, sir.”

Kangsan watched with an open mouth as Ji Youngwon, who seemed genuinely interested, inquired.

“Do you know what size your cousin wears?”

“Size 265, please.”

Without hesitation, Ji Youngwon responded to the clerk’s question. On a night when Yoo Han had collapsed on his bed after sex, Ji Youngwon had already noted the size of the worn sneakers by the front door.

As the clerk went to fetch the shoes, Kangsan curiously asked Ji Youngwon.

“Director, how did you know Yoo Han’s shoe size?”

“……”

Ji Youngwon turned his head to survey the store’s offerings instead of answering. Unyielded, Kangsan added, “But there are too many items. I think we’ve bought enough for Yoo Han. If you have other things to do, I can take the shopping bags to the car.”

“No need.”

“Yes?”

“We’ll just buy these and go back.”

Before Kangsan could grasp his boss’s words, the clerk called them to the cashier with the shoe boxes ready for purchase.

“Sir, I can help you with the payment.”

Ji Youngwon ordered a couple more pairs of shoes before taking out his personal credit card for the payment. Kangsan’s eyes widened as he realized,

‘…Huh. That’s the credit card the Director uses for personal expenses…’

It dawned on him that the operational funds card in his back pocket hadn’t been used for payment at all.

‘Now that I think about it, we’ve only bought clothes for Yoo Han at the department store. Was this his real errand all along?’

Before Kangsan could further his thoughts, Ji Youngwon had swiftly moved towards the car after completing the shopping.

Ji Youngwon’s promise to buy clothes was not a lie. However, the sight of several shopping bags spread out on the sofa when Yoo Han returned from helping at the cafe was not quite what he had imagined. He couldn’t hide his disappointment, foolishly hoping for something like a date.

In the quiet office after everyone had left, Yoo Han sat on the sofa and carefully opened the shopping bags. Expensive coats, casual down jackets, sweatshirts, shirts, slacks, jeans, and even three types of shoes—none had price tags. All suited Yoo Han’s style and colors well. The realization that the miser had really spent money and that all the items were incredibly to his taste quickly dispelled his initial disappointment.

‘Did he pick them out himself? No… He must have had Manager Kang do it.’

Yoo Han shook his head. Over the past month, he had observed that Ji Youngwon was busier than anyone else and never wasted time on trivial matters.

Rising from his spot, Yoo Han looked at the clothes scattered across the table as if preparing for a fashion show. He glanced at the closed door, then playfully threw off his clothes.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

He had pushed the heater far away, lest the clothes catch fire, and the air turned quite chilly. Yoo Han hurriedly put on a sweatshirt and jeans.

“Phew. Wow, damn… this is great.”

It was a typical exclamation for someone his age. The materials were distinctly different from the cheap clothes he had previously bought by the thousands on the streets. After frantically stroking the clothes with his hands for a while, Yoo Han then tried on a coat. Unbelievable to some, Yoo Han had never worn a coat before, always opting for down jackets or jumpers.

Feeling out of his depth, Yoo Han fiddled with the coat’s sleeves. Enjoying the smooth fabric, he suddenly became curious about his appearance. Rising from his spot, Yoo Han set his phone on the opposite sofa and set the timer.

“Hmm.”

Yoo Han lightly pushed the table with his calf and stood still as he took several photos. When the timer ended, he changed into a down jacket, then a shirt… He wrapped up his private fashion show and then carefully folded the clothes back into the shopping bags. He couldn’t carelessly wear and sleep in them, for fear of wrinkling the clothes he had been gifted.

Changing back into a long-sleeved tee with a stretched neck and sweatpants, Yoo Han settled back on the sofa. Flicking through his phone’s photo album, a smile bloomed on his face. The poses were awkward and silly, but the clothes suited him better than he had expected.

Contemplating, Yoo Han searched through his phonebook and pressed on Ji Youngwon’s number. Since the Director wasn’t on commonly used messengers, Yoo Han had to go directly into the message app.

[Director Ji, it’s Yoo Han. I received the clothes well. Thank you.]

“…No, no. This is too stiff… and it’s hard to continue the conversation like this…”

Reconsidering, Yoo Han typed again.

[It’s Yoo Han. The clothes are all so pretty. ㅎ Did you pick them out yourself?]

“Is this too flirty?”

Suddenly, Yoo Han remembered the weeks he had spent rehearsing lines aloud just to get the Director’s number. He had never imagined he would receive such gifts from him, let alone have sex… Ah. What am I thinking now? Yoo Han lay back on the sofa, wildly kicking his feet in the air.

Director Ji, I can’t bring myself to wear these clothes. They’re too precious.

This message seemed to suit the Director’s straightforward character, likely to elicit some frank scolding about throwing them away or being wasteful. Satisfied, Yoo Han braced himself and hit send. He didn’t expect a reply, so after sending the message, he left his phone on the table.

Yoo Han tucked the neatly packed shopping bags into a corner and returned to his spot, sneaking a peek at his phone screen. To his surprise, a green notification popped up.

Director Ji Youngwon.

“Huh!”

Yoo Han quickly grabbed his phone as he covered his mouth, his heart pounding so loudly that the beats echoed in his ears.

“Whew, whew.”

After taking a deep breath, Yoo Han’s cheeks flushed as he opened his text messages. However, upon checking the messages, he threw his phone onto the sofa and let out another short scream.

He used to say he couldn’t wear those clothes because it was a waste, yet he always managed to look good at fashion shows.

[Why don’t you send pictures?]

Where are you watching from? Yoo Han, holding his cheeks with both hands, scanned his surroundings frantically. Soon after, a foolish exclamation burst out. Ah, could it be… Slowly raising his head, Yoo Han discovered two surveillance cameras installed in the corner of the ceiling.

“Was it this?”

How had he failed to notice the blinking red lights of the CCTV for over a month? For the first time, he could understand the disdainful look Ji Youngwon often gave him. Realizing that Ji probably checked the cameras often to monitor the second-floor office, Yoo Han’s ears heated up in embarrassment.

“Ah, really…”

Pacing back and forth in distress, Yoo Han suddenly waved at the camera.

“Can you hear me too?”

He waved his arms in a cheer and timidly called out, “Director.” After performing all kinds of greetings to the camera, Yoo Han walked back to his phone thrown on the sofa.

[I’ll show you how it looks when I wear it next time. Thank you.]

He sent a belated reply, but unfortunately, there was no response.

Yoo Han spent a few days doing cafe work, office errands, and cleaning, as there were no new assignments. Whether it was Ji Youngwon’s directive or not, that was all there was to his daily routine. Having fully recovered, Yoo Han visited Emo’s restaurant again this morning with Gu Kangsan. He casually asked Gu Kangsan about the assignment for the day.

“Ah, actually, I was planning to take you with me today.”

“What’s the job?”

“Nothing much, just a father asking us to find his runaway son and drop him off in front of their house.”

“Do you get requests like this too?”

“It’s a request from an executive managed by Seong Planning. If they’re asking us, it means the kid’s been doing something embarrassing. We had a similar request last year.”

His son must be homeless or something… Yoo Han seriously began to ponder what ‘embarrassing thing’ it could be. Are adults running away from home still considered ‘runaways’? As he thought about this absurd question, Gu Kangsan tapped his rice bowl.

“You have that outfit Director Ji bought for you, right? Let’s wear that and go.”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“How else, man? I even asked him to pick something out. Thought you might need to take the kid to a club or something.”