ACTSV chapter 28

“Hyuk hyung doesn’t like it when I call him ahjussi.”

“Hyung. You can call him ‘Ahjussi’ if you want. Calling him ‘Hyung’ is weirder. If you don’t want to call him ‘Ahjussi,’ just call him Director Sun. It’ll be easier for both of you.”

Jinwoo spoke kindly, but somehow it sent shivers down his spine.

Jingyeom rubbed his arms, thinking the car’s air conditioning was too strong, and pulled his bag closer.

“Is that okay? I never got used to calling him ‘Hyung’ anyway.”

Jingyeom, speaking nonchalantly, looked ahead again.

Jinwoo kept his eyes on the road but also watched Jingyeom and checked on Director Tak sitting in the back through the rearview mirror.

Whenever they got in the car, Director Tak mostly looked out the window. If he had paperwork to handle, he’d do that too.

Right now, Wonbeom’s face was clearly turned toward the window, but earlier, when Jingyeom was talking, he was facing forward.

Jinwoo had to acknowledge that his internal warning sensors, which had been going off since yesterday, were accurate. Director Tak was starting to take an interest in Jingyeom.

No, he had already taken an interest.

It was at this moment Jinwoo realized he mustn’t let Jingyeom meet these two again after today.

Before entering the underground parking lot of the office complex as indicated by the navigation, Jinwoo dropped the two off.

The underground parking lot’s air was stale, so he preferred not to take Jingyeom there if possible.

However, he couldn’t just take Wonbeom down alone, so this was the chosen compromise. Reluctant as he was, he had no choice.

Jinwoo parked quickly and hurried upstairs, carrying a box of toothpaste he’d left in the trunk.

Jingyeom approached with a bright smile, but his expression soured when he saw the box Jinwoo was holding.

If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have come here again. Despite knowing it was a ridiculous thought, he felt like Wonbeom was somehow mocking him.

So, he stood next to Jinwoo without looking back.

He hadn’t told Sanghoon about coming here.

Sanghoon had asked him to come the day after tomorrow, so it wasn’t like he was barging in unannounced.

“Eighteenth floor, right?”

When Jinwoo, who had checked the floor guide in the meantime, asked, Jingyeom nodded in agreement.

The elevator carrying the three of them began ascending to the 18th floor.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Jingyeom took out a pair of sunglasses from his bag and put them on.

He then took out two more pairs. He had chosen all-black ones from the sunglasses at home.

“Why sunglasses?”

“You’re supposed to look intimidating when asking for a refund.”

What on earth had he seen to prepare sunglasses? He hadn’t said anything about it yesterday…

Jinwoo glanced at Wonbeom. He himself was willing to wear them, but there was no way Wonbeom would.

To avoid disappointing Jingyeom, who had gone to the trouble of preparing them, Jinwoo bent down.

“I don’t have hands. Put them on for me.”

When Jinwoo adjusted to a convenient height, Jingyeom put on the square sunglasses with a determined look.

Of course, anything would suit Jinwoo well, and the sunglasses looked great on him. After tidying up Jinwoo’s hair that had slipped under the sunglasses, he straightened up.

Jingyeom’s lips also curved into a beautiful arc in response to Jinwoo’s radiant smile.

“These look great on you!”

“They look great on you too, Hyung.”

“I look good in anything.”

Jingyeom shrugged, knowing how his face probably looked right now. He added Jinwoo’s sunglasses to his shopping list.

The remaining pair of sunglasses was aviators. He had brought them along thinking Wonbeom might join them, but he couldn’t bring himself to offer them.

While Jingyeom hesitated, Wonbeom approached and bent down beside Jinwoo.

“I don’t have hands either.”

“…Director?”

Jinwoo called out to him in disbelief.

Wonbeom’s hands were in his pants pockets, making his already tight suit pants even tighter.

Jinwoo couldn’t get used to this man, who hated being touched by others, acting like this.

He had expected something when Wonbeom insisted on coming along.

‘Was it deeper than I thought?’

Jinwoo had been sure of Wonbeom’s interest but had thought it was shallow. But the more he saw, the more his anxiety grew.

Jingyeom, unaware of Jinwoo’s trembling eyes behind the sunglasses, pursed his lips sweetly. He quickly put the sunglasses on Wonbeom before he stood up.

Checking their reflections in the elevator, Jingyeom deliberately raised his eyebrows.

Wearing sunglasses side by side filled him with inexplicable confidence. He lifted his chin and straightened his back.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Jingyeom, leading the way, opened the firmly shut door wide, unlike when he had followed Sanghoon yesterday.

The employees inside turned to look at them at once. With just five minutes to noon, no one was happy to see visitors before lunch.

The person in front was Director Im Gipyo, whom they had met the day before yesterday.

“Where are you from… Oh?”

Im Gipyo’s gaze shifted to the box Jinwoo was holding. He slowly looked at the three men.

Two burly men and one slight man. He immediately recognized Jingyeom from their previous visit.

Guessing why they had come, Im Gipyo smirked and signaled to the staff behind him.

“Welcome. What brings you here?”

Jingyeom stepped forward, slightly lowering his sunglasses to meet Im Gipyo’s eyes.

“You know who I am, right?”

“Of course. Jingyeom. You were here the day before yesterday. Did you bring new friends today? So soon…”

“No? Actually…”

At Im Gipyo’s brazen attitude, Jingyeom raised his sunglasses back with his index finger, straightened his legs, and stood tall.

“We’re here for a refund!”

Jinwoo looked at Jingyeom with a warm gaze, as if to say, ‘That’s my boy.’ Of course, with his sunglasses on, it wasn’t visible.

Wonbeom, standing silently behind Jingyeom, provided support in a different way.

“A… refund? Let’s step inside and talk, shall we?”

The man maintained his smile, having dealt with such situations many times before.

Jinwoo quickly scanned the office. Wearing sunglasses, he could openly look around without being noticed.

It was decorated quite convincingly, making it seem like an ordinary company to the uninformed.

Moreover, on one side, there were people wearing headsets, possibly the TM team, huddled together.
He could feel their transparent stares scanning his entire body.

Upon investigating the company yesterday, Jinwoo found out it was fairly sizable. However, the business type wasn’t multi-level marketing.

Its main business was marketing, and the multi-level marketing scheme aimed at luring fresh graduates seeking easy and quick money was a separate entity.

“Please, this way.”

Im Gipyo guided the three people inside. It was the same conference room they had visited the day before.

Jingyeom walked confidently at the front. Perhaps reassured by the presence of Jinwoo and Wonbeom behind him, he walked with his shoulders squared.

As Wonbeom entered the conference room, he examined the interior. There were no windows, only one door.

Since he had seen Im Gipyo signaling towards the back earlier, something was definitely planned.

Im Gipyo stood by the door, telling them to make themselves comfortable.

“Would you like some coffee or green tea?”

“No. Let’s get straight to the point,” Jingyeom replied firmly.

Jinwoo placed a box on the table without feeling the need to step up. The toothpaste was surprisingly heavy, but he showed no sign of struggle.

Wonbeom, who had entered the room, nudged a pile of plain boxes in the corner with the tip of his shoe.

They seemed ready to collapse if disturbed, and he quickly lost interest, sitting down and crossing his legs.

Im Gipyo’s eyebrows twitched slightly upon seeing this.

‘He doesn’t seem to be a pushover.’

Having seen countless people while working here, Im Gipyo could get a rough sense of someone even after just a few conversations.

An inexperienced child.

If it hadn’t been for Sanghoon bringing him in, he would have been suspicious of how someone with that face even ended up here.

At first, he was uncertain when he saw the resume, and when he agreed to come, he thought, ‘What’s up with this guy?’

After seeing the photo, he thought, ‘If we put him on the team, he’d probably manage to lure in most people.’

Of course, since Photoshop could be used to alter appearances, he asked Sanghoon and was told the real person looked even better.

In reality, Jingyeom was more than just good-looking; he was exceptionally so. Im Gipyo couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.

Given his looks, there could be complications with having too many people around.

That’s why he decided to sell only 300,000 won worth of toothpaste rather than make a big deal out of it. He thought it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t sell it, but it sold so easily that it surprised him.

Although he had said to come over the day after tomorrow, he doubted they would actually show up. Even if he told them not to tell anyone, it was obvious what would happen.

If that were the case, the talk about multi-level marketing would naturally come up, and they would realize they had been scammed.

If they came alone without telling anyone and showed the same innocence as last time, he intended to properly deceive them this time. Though he knew the chances were slim.

Moreover, even if they realized it was multi-level marketing, it was rare for the amount to be significant enough to provoke action.

Often, it just ended with the realization of having been scammed. Since it was all in cash, there was no evidence.

In other words, if he played dumb, it would be over.

‘Why does Choi Sanghoon handle things like this?’

Even now, his appearance seemed a waste. Although he felt the danger and wanted to end things with the toothpaste, his concerns were confirmed as someone had been brought along.

‘But what’s with those sunglasses?’

The two well-built men who came with him were dressed in suits and sunglasses. They didn’t seem like random people.

Especially the man sitting in the chair. He didn’t look ordinary at all.

Im Gipyo maintained a smile while internally pondering various thoughts and said, “You mentioned a refund… what kind of refund are you referring to?”

Jingyeom opened the box containing the toothpaste.

“A refund for the toothpaste!”