TYS Ch 5

“You punk, slacking off again, huh?”

With no strength in his neck, Seungwan’s forehead slammed against the desk with a loud thud. He had been struck on the back of the head, but pain surged from both the front and back, leaving him dizzy.

Seungwan blinked sluggishly. People glanced over, then quickly turned away, as if realizing it was just another incident between him and Chief Chae. From their profiles, he could read their tired indifference. When Manager Song wasn’t around, there was no shield to block Chief Chae’s harassment, making things even more difficult.

“Breaking your word again? Hey, are you even listening? It’s like you’re asking to get hit.”

There was no stopping Chief Chae’s slaps to the back of his head after each word, so Seungwan had no choice but to silently endure it. Finally, he forced himself to respond.

“I wasn’t slacking off.”

“You punk, say, ‘I wasn’t slacking off, sir.’ What’s with that half-assed speech?”

Even answering didn’t stop the hits. With each forceful thwack, passing employees frowned—not out of contempt for Chief Chae tormenting Seungwan, but as if they believed Seungwan himself was at fault. As if they believed there must be something wrong with him to be treated this way, and because of that, he was an inconvenience to everyone else. He saw the way they turned away, their expressions saying, “Here we go again.”

With his vision unsteady from the repeated blows, Seungwan let out a quiet sigh and simply waited for it to pass. This job was the best he could get under his circumstances. For all he knew, the man might show up any day now, demanding he start paying back his debt in cash instead of labor. Giving up a steady source of income was out of the question.

Seungwan, who had graduated second in his class from the town’s comprehensive high school, hadn’t even glanced at a college application when the valedictorian went on to Korea University. Instead, he had applied directly to the agricultural cooperative. At the time, he had believed that achieving financial independence was the more profitable choice, and even now, he still thought the same. So he couldn’t afford to be bent like a mere weed in the wind. Whenever he felt wronged, he endured it by reminding himself that everyone’s life was difficult in its own way.

“You’re on loading duty today. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

At Chief Chae’s order to take over the hauling and unloading work, Seungwan simply nodded in silence. Only then did Chief Chae seem satisfied and walk away.

A former Marine, Chief Chae often harassed Seungwan for not being manly enough. As the son of the cooperative leader, whose influence could bring down even soaring birds, Chief Chae had never been pleased with Seungwan, who failed to meet his standards from the very beginning.

The older Manager Song had tried to intervene a few times, but that alone wasn’t enough to stop the young and spiteful Chief Chae. As a result, Seungwan had no choice but to endure Chief Chae’s thick palms striking him here and there. It seemed like he particularly disliked Seungwan’s delicate features.

Omegas and Alphas weren’t divided into male and female like Betas were. However, since Seungwan had registered himself as a Beta at work, Chief Chae, believing him to be just another man, had only escalated his harassment.

It was from him that Seungwan first heard the word “sissy.” He had thought it was an outdated term only old people used, and when Chief Chae said it, he had almost reflexively asked what it meant. He couldn’t understand why his appearance had to be a reason for being bullied.

Seungwan, an Omega, had yet to show any signs of secondary gender manifestation. At birth, a test had confirmed he was an Omega, but during the physical examination conducted at school during his growth years, he had been classified as a Beta. He had always heard that, just as men and women were born as they were, Omegas and Alphas had fixed genders. It seemed strange.

His middle school homeroom teacher had handed him the results and advised him to visit an Omega clinic with his parents, ending the conversation there. However, Seungwan had no guardian to take him to a hospital. Nor did he have anyone in his life who cared enough to monitor his condition closely.

When he brought the results home and left them lying around, his father caught sight of the paper and scoffed. That was the first time Seungwan wondered if being an Omega was something to be laughed at.

Fortunately or unfortunately, he had never presented since then, so he simply carried on as things were. Because of that, even Seungwan himself thought of himself more as a Beta than an Omega.

It was a significant difference. He had no confidence in his ability to protect himself as an Omega. He had almost been sold off simply because his father had mentioned his son was an Omega while borrowing money from loan sharks. For Seungwan, being mistaken for a Beta was like a shabby raft barely keeping him afloat in this rough life. And even that raft was already rotting, on the verge of springing a leak.

“Seungwan-ssi, are you heading out for loading duty?”

One of the employees, who hadn’t so much as glanced his way when Chief Chae had been striking the back of his head with hands as big as pot lids, now approached with a smile.

Park Jungseok, who had previously worked as a civil servant in another province before taking the entrance exam to join the agricultural cooperative, spoke in a Seoul dialect, unlike the others. Perhaps because Seungwan also didn’t use a regional accent, Park Jungseok seemed to feel a sense of camaraderie and only spoke to him when Chief Chae wasn’t around.

“Yes. I should head over now.”

Seungwan replied quietly, his eyelashes trembling slightly. It felt like the spot where he had been hit hurt, but at the same time, it didn’t. As he sighed and answered, Park Jungseok, who had been staring at him as if entranced, cleared his throat and spoke.

“I’ll go with you. I’ll help.”

Seungwan glanced at him before giving a small nod. Loading sacks of fertilizer onto the truck was certainly a difficult task to do alone, but for some reason, Park Jungseok’s kindness felt a little off-putting. Perhaps it was simply because he had never received such consideration before. With that thought, Seungwan turned away and headed toward the unloading area.

At the company, people naturally formed groups based on age and got along well, so perhaps Seungwan was the one being overly selective about whom he interacted with. As Park Jungseok followed him, he struck up a conversation.

“What do you do after work, Seungwan-ssi?”

In the past, he would have simply answered, “Nothing.” But lately, having spent two full seasons indebted to someone who hadn’t even come home once, Seungwan had plenty of things he could say.

Since the weeds in the front yard had just started growing, he needed to start pulling them out now before the stems got too tough. So tonight, he planned to spend all his time outside. On the weekend, he would need to do a thorough cleaning. And he also had to take the scooter the man had given him and go to the market to buy groceries for the upcoming week.

Even with so much to do, Seungwan didn’t bother responding to Park Jungseok’s question.

“How about some chicken and beer if you’re free this evening?”

Despite Seungwan’s silence, Park Jungseok smiled and spoke as if undeterred.

“You must be feeling down, Seungwan-ssi…”

“……”

It sounded like he was referring to what had just happened. Seungwan paused mid-step and turned slightly to look at him. Sensing the gaze, Park Jungseok hesitated for a moment before curving his lips into a smile. When he smiled, his neat features took on a pleasant impression. Seungwan stared at Park Jungseok’s clean-cut smile for a moment before finally speaking.

“I’m fine. I’m not upset or anything.”

He really wasn’t. Chief Chae’s harassment was because Seungwan had an unmanly appearance and a weak physique—things he couldn’t do anything about.

Whenever something beyond his control tormented him, Seungwan endured it by telling himself that everyone’s lives were just as difficult and shitty. That way, the unpleasant feelings would dull, and he wouldn’t even think about getting angry. After all, no one curses, “You fucking bastard,” at the sky just because lightning strikes.

That said, whenever there was physical violence or insulting remarks, he made sure to record and save everything. Whether he would ever have a use for it, he didn’t know.

Chief Chae was the cooperative leader’s son, which meant that even if his family’s dog died, the branch manager would have to rush over barefoot to offer condolences and hand over a generous envelope. Handling trivial tasks like serving skate sashimi and ladling out beef stew at the dog’s funeral would likely fall to Seungwan.

Even if the enemy’s pet died, Seungwan was in a position where he had to run errands. So even if he saved it, he doubted there would ever be a use for it.

“But still. What’s really up with Chief Chae?”

Park Jungseok let out a slightly exaggerated sigh as he spoke. Seungwan didn’t even bother with the usual response of “I know, right?” and simply kept walking until he reached the unloading area.

Perhaps feeling ignored, Park Jungseok awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck before walking off, saying he was going for a smoke. Since Seungwan had never expected him to help in the first place, his early departure didn’t bother him in the least.