ABNA Chapter 2

The only small problem was that the café didn’t exist yet as a building, and Heegyo had to work to build it. 

That’s right. It wasn’t just a café part-time job, but a café-building part-time job. As Mr. Kim said, Heegyo didn’t have to make coffee; instead, he was carrying bricks. 

‘No wonder they readily agreed to advance my pay.’ 

That was the reason he couldn’t quit, even though he wanted to at any moment. The gift was a factor, but the sudden rent increase by the landlord left him short this month. 

He received an advance because he was short on money, but he never knew it would become a shackle holding him back. 

Still, this will be over soon. Heegyo gritted his teeth, enduring by only thinking about the gift for Do-jae and Do-jae’s face when he received it. 

ღ 

And that evening, something happened that twisted Heegyo’s life. 

“Oh, shoot! My earphones!” 

While rummaging through his pockets, Heegyo realized his earphones were gone. Then he remembered he had left them at the construction site. 

During a short break that afternoon, he had sat on the dusty construction site stairs, listening to music while reflecting on the bitterness of life. 

What an idiot. How could I forget that?’

Heegyo sighed deeply and hesitated. 

I’ve already come halfway; it’s annoying to go back. Should I just look for them tomorrow? 

But Do-jae had bought them for him. He hadn’t been meeting Do-jae often lately because he was tired, and now he’s lost the earphones he gave him? 

Just thinking about it made his conscience ache.
 

Heegyo sighed heavily, like an old man at 1 AM, ordering rice soup and chugging soju straight from the bottle, then staggered back to the site. 

It was already after sunset when he returned to the site. It got dark quickly because it was winter. 

〈No entry to the site after work hours. If you enter for any reason, you’re fired on the spot. And we’re not responsible for anything that happens there. Keep that in mind.〉 

It was like some kind of urban legend; the foreman had repeatedly warned everyone. 

But, as expected, Heegyo listened with one ear and let it out the other. He, who would immediately be chosen for the role of dying in a horror movie, carefully sneaked into the site. 

“There they are!” 

As he expected, the earphones were lying lonely in a corner of the stairs, covered in dust. 

Relieved, he brushed off his chest and put them in his pocket when he heard the sound of a car in the distance. 

Later, Heegyo recalled, 

That sound wasn’t the sound of a car, but the sound of a chariot from hell. 

ღ 

Crap. I’m screwed. 

Heegyo’s face turned as white as a sheet in an instant. 

I can’t get caught. 

If the foreman finds out I was at the construction site after work hours, I’m fired on the spot. Hadn’t the foreman repeatedly warned him? 

No entry to the site after work hours, no matter the reason. 

‘I just need to hold on a little longer, and it’ll be over. It would be too unfair and a waste of all the days I’ve worked so far to get fired now. And even though it’s manual labor, there’s no other place that pays as well.‘ 

With that thought, Heegyo immediately crouched down before the car’s headlights could shine on him. Then he lay flat on the ground. The floor was dirty with construction materials and dust, but he didn’t care about any of that. 

He just couldn’t get caught. 

Fortunately, the place where Heegyo lay down was the staircase between the second and third floors, so it was a structure where he could hide well enough if he did it right. 

‘I won’t be seen like this, right?’ 

Up until this point, Heegyo thought the building owner had just stopped by for a moment. Who else would come to a construction site in the pitch-black darkness where they were building a building? It would only be the building owner. A visit to check if my building is being built well. 

However, Heegyo’s expectations were shattered into a million pieces. 

Thud. Scrape. Scraaape. 

The car door opened, and he heard the sound of something scraping. 

“Hey, you. Stand up straight. Huh? If you still have legs, you should walk with them. Why are you trying to walk on your knees already? What, are you practicing?” 

“Walk without staggering. Walk, I said. Can’t you hear me? Hey, I told you to avoid the ears when hitting. This bastard, really.” 

Huh? What’s staggering? Who’s staggering? 

The harsh tone and scolding voice. The lines didn’t match his expectations at all, so Heegyo, who had become one with the floor, momentarily raised his head and looked around. 

There’s nothing to stagger, did I hear wrong? 

“Are you doing this on purpose because you want to get hit more?” 

……Huh? Get hit with what? Am I watching a movie? Is that a movie line? 

Which movie are these actors from that they’re acting so realistically that it’s creepy? 

Whack! 

And Heegyo’s body flinched at the sound of something cracked . Only then did his frozen mind start to catch up.
 

What is it? What is it? 

Heegyo widened his eyes and belatedly began to grasp the situation. 

He couldn’t stay still with the ominous sounds coming from below. 

‘What… what is this?’ 

Heart racing, Heegyo crawled to the edge of the floor and peeked down. 

‘Is this seriously a movie shoot?’
 

For a second, he genuinely wondered if he’d walked onto a set. But the thought passed just as quickly. 

‘This is real. This is really happening.’

 

He blinked hard and backed away. 

The scene was something straight out of a noir film. He couldn’t see everything, but there were at least three black cars with their headlights aimed at one spot. There, several men in suits were surrounding someone And that man was……. 

Did I see that right? 

Heegyo crawled back, then peeked again. 

……Gasp! 

Then he retreated again. Once he was far enough away, he turned his body towards the ceiling and placed his hand on his uncontrollably beating heart. 

‘Did I get possessed or something?’ 

Like the main characters in the fantasy novels he enjoys reading these days, did he suddenly get possessed? This doesn’t seem like the reality he live in. 

Then came another sickening crack, snapping him back to reality. 

As he expected, the person who came to the construction site was the building owner. Heegyo had seen the building owner a few times, so he could guarantee it. 

But his appearance was…… quite different from what Heegyo had expected. 

Why is the building owner getting beaten up at the construction site of his own building? 

Right now, it seemed more important for the building owner to stand on his own two feet than for his building to be built well. 

Fear gripped Heegyo’s whole body. 

‘If they find me, it’s not just my job on the line my life might be, too.’ 

‘No. Worse. If I’m caught, I won’t just get beaten. They’ll throw me in a barrel and sink me in the sea. I’ll disappear without a trace.’
 

Thwack! 

“You keep shaking your body. Stay still. Huh? Ah, damn it. That’s what you get for touching other people’s things. The young master is already in a bad mood, why are you making more trouble? Tsk. Stand up straight, I said. Your legs aren’t broken, are they? Should I just break them for you while I’m at it?” 

The man poked the building owner’s legs. The building owner shook his head, groaning, but he didn’t have the strength to do so, and his movements were weak. 

Another man, smoking nearby, said, “Tch,” then turned to the others. 

“Hey, why’s the young master in such a crap mood lately? Anyone know?” 

“Hell if I know. You think I’d be here if I did?” 

“I heard it’s because of the madam. He can’t reach him.” 

“What? Come on. You think he’d get this pissed just ’cause of that?”
 

Hearing the men’s harsh bickering, Heegyo patted his chest to calm himself down. 

‘This is ASMR. This is ASMR. If I lie here like this, no one will know I’m here. This is ASMR…….’ 

But his heart had other plans, pounding louder than ever.
 

Slap, thwack. Ugh. 

The sound of a slap. The sound of a punch. And the moaning sound that encompasses them all. 

That was no longer ASMR level. As the hypnosis failed, Heegyo’s lips trembled. 

‘How did I, how did I end up at this crime scene…….’ 

Regret washed over him. It was all because of those damn earphones. 

If not for them, he wouldn’t be here. Wouldn’t be witnessing this. 

‘Hic. Do-jae. Why did you give me earphones as a gift and put me in this life-or-death situation…….’ 

Naturally, Heegyo refused to blame himself for leaving them behind. That would hurt his pride. Instead, he blamed Do-jae. Not because he was actually responsible, but because he had a 0.00000001% connection to this situation. 

An influence so tiny that if it were poison, he’d barely even get a stomachache.