SU | Chapter 2.2

Yoohan whispered, and Ji Youngwon raised the bundle of papers and knocked on the iron door with a loud thud! thud! Yoohan flinched at the forceful knock.

“Hello! We’re from the real estate agency.”

Ji Youngwon spoke in a tone that was a bit friendlier than usual. The stark contrast made Yoohan grimace at him.

“Ugh.”

It was clear that Ji Youngwon had eyes on the sides of his head. As Ji Youngwon quietly whispered to himself while looking ahead, Yoohan quickly turned his gaze away.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Sir, are you home? We’re from the real estate agency. I brought a guest today, and we need to take a look inside.”

The lies flowed out smoothly. Yoohan was anxiously shifting his feet, glancing at Ji Youngwon. Ji Youngwon nudged Yoohan’s shoulder as if to say, “Do something.” Yoohan, rolling his eyes, opened his mouth hesitantly.

“Uh, um, Director. Didn’t you contact the homeowner?”

It was an unexpected timing and line. Ji Youngwon let out a short “Oh!” in surprise at Yoohan’s quick thinking. Gaining confidence, Yoohan raised his voice intentionally.

“If you’ve already talked to the homeowner, you can just open the door and let us in. We have to be on the move all day, so we don’t have much time, Director!”

As he spoke, he became more immersed in his role. Throwing out a blunt line, Ji Youngwon narrowed his eyes at him, as if to say, “Look at this.” Just then, a faint noise came from inside the iron door. It was definitely the sound of someone talking. Yoohan’s pupils widened as he was acting all grumpy. Director, it seems we’ve succeeded.

“Is anyone there?”

Ji Youngwon squinted and knocked on the front gate again with a loud thud! thud! Soon after, a chilling creak echoed as the old iron door opened. A well-groomed man with messy hair appeared, half-exposing himself while looking extremely wary. The eyes of Ji Youngwon, Yoohan, and the debtor Lee Seongmin met across the blue gate.

“…You said you were from the real estate agency?”

Surprisingly, the response was quite gentle. A fleeting thought crossed Yoohan’s mind that things might go smoother than expected. With a surge of unfounded confidence, he shouted again.

“Hello! We just want to take a quick look at the house, so could you please open the door?”

The man bit his lip, clearly conflicted.

“I haven’t heard anything about anyone coming to see the house today, so I haven’t cleaned up yet. Please come back another time.”

The timing was perfect. Seeing him ask for understanding, it seemed he had indeed put the room up for rent. Ji Youngwon waved his hand at the man, who was trying to retreat.

“Sir, this person only has time today. We can overlook the cleaning, so please let us in.”

The man, Lee Seongmin, flinched and looked at Ji Youngwon. He looked perfectly fine, but there was an inexplicable sense of intimidation about him.

“…There’s someone sick at home, so it’s inconvenient. If you could let me know the exact date and time for your visit next time…”

“It’s fine!”

At that moment, Yoohan urgently interjected.

“It’s fine. I have someone sick at home too. If I sign the contract for the one-room apartment you have, I need to bring my mother in. I think it would help to see if this place is suitable for her to stay…”

Ji Youngwon subtly turned his head and stared at the top of Yoohan’s head. He had thought of him as unpredictable, but he didn’t realize he was so eloquent with such tricks. Now that he thought about it, Yoohan was not only good at assessing situations but also at handling them. He had been ready to barge in if necessary, but it seemed that wouldn’t be needed after all.

The man, wearing an old short-sleeved t-shirt, lowered his gaze as if deep in thought. After a few minutes of silence, Yoohan, feeling anxious, added another line.

“My mother is waiting at home too. We don’t have time. I’ll be quick, so please.”

The man nodded, as if coming to his senses at Yoohan’s words.

“Alright. But only the person here to see the house can come in. The real estate director will stay outside. My mother gets a bit scared of big people.”

It was an unexpected proposal, but it didn’t matter. After all, the man had to come outside to open the blue gate for them. Ji Youngwon took out his phone from his pocket and pressed the number five. Not long after, the employees who had been in the car appeared.

Yoohan watched as the man in a faded black short-sleeve shirt and cropped pants slowly walked toward them. It seemed he didn’t even have slippers—his worn-out sneakers dragging along with each step.

As he got closer, a familiar scent wafted through the air. A musty, moldy odor mixed with a faint trace of medicine. The stench of dire poverty and deprivation.

Just two years before becoming an adult, Yoohan had carried the same scent as Lee Seongmin. It was a memory he couldn’t easily forget.

In a fleeting moment, Yoohan caught a glimpse of the one-room apartment’s interior beyond the iron door. A blackened yellow mat with a slightly visible blanket. And a yellow-green window that looked like iron bars.

“Han-ah. Mom doesn’t want you to end up like this…”

In an instant, Yoohan was pulled back to the fragments of his past. Even as the man’s white hand unlatched the hook inside the blue gate, Yoohan was lost in thought, scanning the inside of the house. The rusty gate creaked open cautiously. The man stepped aside, inviting them in. As Yoohan blinked in surprise, the man gestured again.

“Only the director can come in.”

“Ah…”

At that moment, Ji Youngwon forcefully pushed the open door and stepped inside. Lee Seongmin’s eyes widened in shock as he stumbled backward.

“What, what is this?”

“What do you mean, sir? We came to collect the money.”

With that, Gu Kangsan and the employees, who had been leaning against the wall, sequentially stepped over the threshold. Yoohan, pushed aside, widened his eyes in astonishment at the sudden turn of events.

“Let go! Let go! You bastards!!”

The sturdy men quickly restrained Lee Seongmin’s arms and legs. As he struggled, Ji Youngwon stuffed a black handkerchief from his back pocket into the man’s mouth.

“Mmm! Mmm!!”

The man, shaking his head in defiance, was becoming a nuisance. The merciless director lightly gripped the man’s head with his remaining hand. Tears quickly welled up in the man’s eyes as he shot Ji Youngwon a resentful glare.

“It’s always like this, they mess up and then act like this.”

“…Mmm!”

“Let’s keep it quiet. If you keep struggling, your wrist will hurt.”

At the softly murmured warning, Lee Seongmin’s breath grew even more ragged. Yoohan watched helplessly as the man was dragged away. The handkerchief that had been stuffed into the man’s mouth was passed to Manager Ji Youngwon. Ji Youngwon brushed his palm off as if shaking off a bug.

“Damn, spit.”

The resistance was stronger than expected. Normally, people would be scared and keep their mouths shut, but this man, Lee Seongmin, was fighting back as if he were the victim. After a while of wiping his face, Ji Youngwon turned his head toward the unusually quiet Yoohan.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Yoohan.”

As his name was called, Yoohan, who had been standing in front of the half-open door, quickly turned his head. Ji Youngwon clicked his teeth and made a strange sound. It was as if he was calling a puppy, and his neck bobbed.

“Uh… Director, just a moment.”

Yoohan asked for permission and hurriedly dashed into the house. Ji Youngwon, with his hands in his pockets, watched Yoohan’s back as he moved. The sight of him acting on his own before receiving permission made Ji Youngwon’s neck tense up.

Yoohan fully opened the door that hadn’t been completely shut. The man, reminiscent of Kim Minjae, was guilty. No matter how much of a perpetrator he was, he had a sick mother to take care of. He didn’t want her to be put in a difficult situation because her son had suddenly disappeared.

He intended to at least explain the situation and lock the door. He knew better than anyone that he was the worst for pretending to be virtuous after doing what he had to do. He was aware that his actions were a mix of guilt and meddling, but Yoohan stepped inside the house for the sake of minimal decency.

“Excuse me… uh…?”

The musty smell that came from the man named Lee Seongmin filled the house as he entered. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find the family that should have been there. There was no way there could be another room; the only things in the house were a bathroom and a living room that doubled as a bedroom.

“…What is this?”

Only a worn-out pink blanket, deeply sunken, lay spread out. There was no one lying on it. Yoohan felt goosebumps rising and slowly backed away toward the shoe rack.

“You, I…”

“Ah!”

Before he knew it, Ji Youngwon had approached from behind and roughly grabbed Yoohan by the nape of his neck. Yoohan’s cardigan was lifted up, and in an instant, it felt like his throat was being choked.

“I told you to ask for permission before moving. You keep doing things on your own before I can answer.”

Ji Youngwon shook the long cardigan carelessly and then roughly tossed it aside.

“Ugh!”

Yoohan’s knee collided with the edge where the shoe rack met the floor.

Thud!

It was a strong enough impact to make a sound. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his mouth moved like a fish out of water.

Damn, this is annoying. Ji Youngwon kicked Yoohan’s side with the top of his foot, as if shoving aside a delivery box, showing no respect for even the slightest dignity. From Ji Youngwon’s perspective, he was barely managing to keep his temper in check, but Yoohan, who had no idea what was going on inside him, felt a wave of unjust sorrow wash over him.

Yoohan rubbed his knee hard with his hand and let out a groan.

As Ji Youngwon fully stepped onto the floor, Gu Kangsan followed him in. He had just managed to shove the struggling Lee Seongmin into the car and tie him up.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

They were planning to search the house after catching Lee Seongmin anyway. Yoohan, who had played the role of the lookout, just needed to wait quietly in the car, but for some reason, he found himself face down on the floor.

“Kangsan.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Teach this little punk a lesson. Just because you tell him he’s pretty, he thinks… I might just beat him to a pulp.”

Regaining his senses, Yoohan managed to lift his body. As he wiped the tears that had formed from his physical pain with the back of his hand, a surge of unfairness welled up inside him. When did he ever say he was pretty? And calling him a little punk? He could handle being called a rat, but that vulgar pronunciation was somehow hard to listen to. He had a lot to say, but once again, Yoohan chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Director. I heard this guy lives with his mom, but there’s no one home.”

Ji Youngwon nodded as if he already knew. The frown etched on his forehead showed no signs of fading.

“Looks like she’s dead. There’s an urn over there.”

Yoohan was startled to discover a white urn sitting in the corner like a jar of honey. The memo provided by the client clearly stated that he was living with his sick mother… Ji Youngwon glanced back at the frozen Yoohan and said, “When clients rush things, the information is often limited. The info they provide is frequently wrong. It’s hard to predict what variables might arise.”