PEN Vol 3 Ch. 25

“I was thinking, I might as well just spend money, live my life, and die. But then the Chairman appeared and told me to become a director in the organization. Damn, where else would I hear something like that?”

“So….”

Cheon Sejoo was about to agree with a “yes,” but sensing Han Jonghyun’s “look at this” gaze, he changed his words.

“…then, is that why you’re doing this? Because you want to keep hearing that title, ‘Director’?”

“…No.”

Han Jonghyun frowned and threw his cigarette to the ground. He crushed the cigarette butt rolling on the dirty floor with his shoe, then leaned back, placed his hands behind him, and continued.

“The Chairman isn’t stupid. There must be a reason why he gave me, someone like me, the position of director and treats me well. He must have seen something in me, he must have expectations for me.”

“Ah….”

“Whatever the president wants, I’m ready. But he hasn’t said anything for years, so I’m getting anxious. I’m also afraid that the reason I thought of might not be the real reason. That’s why I’m going around here and there. And even talking about this kind of stuff with you.”

Having finished his story, Han Jonghyun scratched his cheek and stood up. Perhaps the alcohol had worn off, as he seemed embarrassed about rambling on about himself to Cheon Sejoo.

Han Jonghyun checked for the smell of cigarettes on his clothes, then rummaged through his inside pocket and pulled out a small, portable perfume bottle. Then he sprayed the perfume all over himself as if dousing himself with it. 

A strong scent, seemingly the source of the strange odor he had noticed earlier, wafted over, giving Sejoo a headache. As Cheon Sejoo stepped back, Han Jonghyun clicked his tongue with a frown and said, 

“Damn it, anyway, I’m going in now.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

Cheon Sejoo bid him farewell without hesitation. However, Han Jonghyun didn’t leave immediately. He stood there, staring intently at Sejoo, then at some point turned around and disappeared without a word. After watching his back disappear into the darkness, Cheon Sejoo, who was also about to head to the parking lot, stopped as if mesmerized in front of the moss garden in the annex.

His silent gaze was directed at the moss garden, shimmering under the lights. Staring at it, Cheon Sejoo thought about the organization.

The organization, which he had been forced to join, was a place that filled Cheon Sejoo, an ordinary person, with persistent disgust and contempt. The rules of the world did not apply here, and those belonging to the organization thought and acted based solely on the logic of power.

People who were like beasts, incapable of reason and conversation. Cheon Sejoo, who had lived among intelligent people with clear purposes in life, had to become the same kind of beast to deal with them, and in the process, he had come to loathe himself.

Therefore, Cheon Sejoo had never been truly invested in the organization’s affairs. The work he did was because Shin Gyoyeon ordered it, the work he had to do as the head of the disposal team. He felt it was his duty, but he had never felt any affection for it.

However, the thought that the very work he so despised was of utmost importance to someone else left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Seok Yoonhyung had devoted himself to the organization for 50 years and was someone who would do anything for Shin Gyeongju, the head of the organization. He loved his subordinates, and his colleagues, and was always ready to lay down his life for them.

Han Jonghyun, although he had come here seemingly to escape, was the same. He was ready to do anything for Shin Gyoyeon, who would give him a sense of worth that he felt he lacked.

His voice, yearning to find his place, was filled with undeniable sincerity.

Cheon Sejoo looked down at the moss garden with a sense of bitterness. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known that what was dirty moss to someone could be a beautiful garden to another…

As he was thinking these thoughts, his jacket pocket vibrated. Cheon Sejoo calmly took out his phone and checked the newly arrived message.

Mutt
Hungry.
22:34

This was the reply to his message asking if there was anything he wanted him to bring home. It was long past dinner time, but Sejin couldn’t still be starving. He’d probably eaten but was hungry again. 

This mutt really costs me a fortune in food.

Cheon Sejoo chuckled and opened a food delivery app, ordering chicken to be delivered to his home.

22:36
Ordered chicken. Be there soon, leaving now.

Mutt

Okay, come home safe.
22:37

The reply came quickly. 

Was he hacked…? Come home safe? 

Had Kwon Sejin ever said anything like that? 

Was it an SOS signal? 

Cheon Sejoo narrowed his eyes, staring at the message. Then, recalling how unusually docile Sejin had been lately, he grabbed his phone and left his seat. He didn’t have time to dwell on pointless worries.

However, Cheon Sejoo’s plan to go straight home was thwarted. He ran into Chae Beomjun in the parking garage, having arrived less than an hour later. 

Beomjun’s car was parked with the engine off, so Sejoo didn’t think much of it. But the moment Cheon Sejoo stepped out of his car, Chae Beomjun also opened his door and got out, a suspiciously coincidental timing, as if he had been waiting.

“Manager Cheon. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other in the parking garage.”

They lived on different floors in the same apartment building and served the same woman, Shin Gyoyeon, but their spheres of activity were different, so it was rare for them to run into each other anywhere other than the gym. So, while his use of “it’s been a while” wasn’t technically wrong, Cheon Sejoo had seen that annoying face just the other day at the gym, and so he ignored the greeting and walked past him.

Chae Beomjun followed him towards the elevators. A quick glance revealed that he was dressed up like a peacock, having clearly gone out on his day off. To Sejoo’s eyes, he looked like a gigolo on his way to a marriage meeting, but in other people’s eyes, he probably looked presentable enough, which explained why he managed to snag so many dates.

“You’re actually crawling home without staying out tonight?”

Cheon Sejoo said this after calling the elevator from the 43rd floor. Chae Beomjun, standing right next to him, sniffed the air with a strange expression on his face before responding to Sejoo’s comment with a smile.

“I have a lunch appointment with the president tomorrow, so I just spent some time in my car today.”

So that’s why he was in his parked car with the engine off. He must have been cleaning it. Seriously, what a… rutting bastard… 

Cheon Sejoo grimaced and took a step away from him.

But Chae Beomjun stuck to him like a leech. Closing the distance Sejoo had created, Beomjun buried his nose in Sejoo’s shoulder and sniffed, despite his disgusted reaction. He then mumbled,

“You smell strange.”

Acting like a dog, he was a true master of pointless antics. This kind of clingy behavior was new, so Cheon Sejoo pushed him away irritably.

“The smell is probably coming from you. Get lost.”

“Ah…. Are you smelling my cum? How is it? Fragrant, right?”

There was no reasoning with the slut. Cheon Sejoo cursed inwardly and glared at him just as the elevator arrived. The mention of semen made him think he could actually smell it, so he quickly stepped inside and pressed the button for the 41st floor. Chae Beomjun, getting on the elevator a beat later, pressed the button for the 42nd floor with a grin and scanned Cheon Sejoo up and down.

“Seems like you’ve been somewhere nice.”

“Ah, yes.”

Despite his dismissive reply, Chae Beomjun chuckled and stood close to him, sniffing again. With the man, half a hand-span taller than him, standing so close, his breath tickled Cheon Sejoo’s neck. Feeling a shiver of disgust, he tried to push him away with his arm, but Chae Beomjun was relentless. He wasn’t drunk, judging by the fact that he had driven, but he acted like a madman, burying his nose in Sejoo’s right shoulder and muttering,

“Ah, I’ve definitely smelled this somewhere before….”

Is he really crazy? 

Feeling a sudden wave of fatigue, Cheon Sejoo gave up on arguing with Chae Beomjun and simply wished for the elevator to reach the 41st floor. He wanted to go inside, shower, and collapse into bed. But as the elevator doors opened with a cheerful chime and he stepped into the hallway, Chae Beomjun suddenly reached out.

A slender hand firmly grasped Cheon Sejoo’s forearm. Annoyed by the sudden contact, he shrugged his shoulder to shake him off, but Chae Beomjun was persistent. Finally, Cheon Sejoo turned around with a cold expression.

“Cut it out.”

“…Were you with Director Han?”

But Chae Beomjun’s expression was unusual. Seeing the furrowed brows and the blunt question, Cheon Sejoo closed his mouth. He didn’t know why Beomjun was making that face, but he didn’t need to report every detail of his whereabouts to him.

The place he had visited today was Ehwagak, after all. If Chae Beomjun wanted to find out, he could easily learn that Sejoo had met with Seok Yoonhyung.

When Cheon Sejoo didn’t answer, Chae Beomjun’s expression turned serious as he stretched his lips into a smile. His cheeks puffed out, and his mouth twitched as if he had something to say.

Only then did Cheon Sejoo narrow his eyes in confusion. From the moment they met, he had never seen Chae Beomjun hold back his words. So, his current behavior was enough to make Sejoo suspicious.

“Why are you asking?”

Finally, unable to hold back, Cheon Sejoo asked. Chae Beomjun seemed to interpret his question as a confirmation. He hardened his expression and opened his mouth.

“Don’t get close to Director Han.”

It was a curt warning. Chae Beomjun’s expressionless face was visible. That, too, was the same. Cheon Sejoo had never seen him make such an expression.

Only then did a sense of alarm wash over him.

What’s the reason for Han Jonghyun, a man with no discernible abilities, to maintain his director position? 

Why did Shin Gyoyeon keep him in that position, turning a blind eye to his meddling?

Why is Han Jonghyun the only exception to the rules Shin Gyoyeon set? 

All these questions should have been directed at Shin Gyoyeon, but there was another person who knew the answer. The only person who knew all of Shin Gyoyeon’s thoughts.

“Why?”

Fully turning around, Cheon Sejoo faced Chae Beomjun head-on. Chae Beomjun must know the reason.

“Why did the president bring Director Han into the organization?”

As Han Jonghyun had suggested, it was possible that Shin Gyoyeon saw some potential in him. Perhaps, as he thought, Shin Gyoyeon had accepted Han Jonghyun for some specific role only he could fulfill.

But even with that thought, his uneasiness wouldn’t go away. It felt like there was a truth hidden beneath the surface, something that grated on his nerves. Chae Beomjun didn’t answer the question. He simply stared at Cheon Sejoo, then suddenly smiled, the tense atmosphere softening.

Reaching for the elevator panel, Chae Beomjun said,

“I clearly warned you, Manager Cheon.”

“Chae Beomjun.”

Even when his name was called, he didn’t stop. With a soft whoosh, the elevator doors closed silently, and Chae Beomjun disappeared from sight. Cheon Sejoo couldn’t move right away, standing for a long time in front of the elevator doors that reflected his own face.

Judging by Chae Beomjun’s tone, even if he chased after him and demanded an explanation, he wouldn’t say anything. A warning – that was all Chae Beomjun could offer. It meant that Shin Gyoyeon was controlling Han Jonghyun for some reason.

What could it be? 

No matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to mind. He head throbbed. With a lingering sense of unease, Cheon Sejoo couldn’t go straight home and smoked a cigarette in the lobby. Then, he took the delivered chicken and finally went inside his apartment.

“You’re back?”

Sejin was standing by the inner door. Startled by the sudden opening of the door and Cheon Sejoo’s entrance, Sejin accepted the chicken and greeted him. Sejin had clearly come to the door to receive the chicken, but it wasn’t a bad feeling to have someone greet him at the door. Feeling his headache subside, Sejoo smiled.

“Daddy’s home.”

Seeing Sejin’s disgusted grimace at his casual joke made him feel even better. 

It felt like he was truly home.