ACTSV chapter 36

Only then did Im Gipyo realize that Wonbeom was no ordinary person. His eyes were raw. Untamed predator’s eyes.

If he had seen those eyes before seeing him in sunglasses, he would never have made a hasty judgment.

The conclusion that followed was too obvious.

Even without Wonbeom stepping forward, Cheongoh handled it all cleanly.

Im Gipyo, trying to sneak out of the conference room alone as the men fell one by one, found the exit blocked and quickly hid in a corner.

“S-spare me!”

As Cheongoh approached, Im Gipyo instinctively dropped to his knees and begged with clasped hands. His face was pale with fear, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably.

Cheongoh took a bright red business card out of his suit pocket.

“Contact me if you can’t come up with the money by tomorrow.”

Seeing the words written in white on the red background, Im Gipyo cowered further.

“Immediate Loan Available!”

“If you mention you’re from HAM Electronics, they’ll lend you money at a good rate. Oh, and don’t even think about running away without paying. Finding one person… is nothing.”

Back at the office, as Wonbeom entered the director’s office, Secretary Yang followed him in with a file. Even after placing the file on top of the stack on the desk, he didn’t leave.

Wonbeom, who had taken off his suit and hung it on a hanger, was annoyed by Secretary Yang’s curious expression.

“How did it go? You went with Cheongoh, right?”

“News travels fast. Do you two contact each other behind my back?”

“We have to coordinate if we’re going to align our stories. Are we getting the money? If we get the 16.5 billion, you’ll give me a bonus, right?”

That seemed to be the point.

“Ask Cheongoh for that. Clean up the aftermath.”

“Yes!”

“Create a position in the company. As soon as possible.”

“A position?”

Secretary Yang, who was about to leave, turned back to ask.

“Yes. A simple job that doesn’t require much effort or brains.”

After quitting the flyer distribution job, Jingyeom’s routine remained similar.

He had sold the remaining shoes and clothes, and the money was steadily accumulating in his account. He also took walks.

The sun was strong, so he had to wear a hat. The cap was too big, so he tightened the strap at the back to the innermost setting.

It didn’t look very stylish, but Jingyeom didn’t care.

He wandered around the neighborhood and took walks in the park. Sometimes, he sat on a park bench, idly watching people pass by, and the day would fly by.

When he first heard he had a month until surgery, he was told it would be postponed for another month after collapsing from a peach allergy.

Hoonil had repeatedly stressed the importance of staying healthy, so he was walking on purpose.

After walking for a long time, the cool breeze made him feel dizzy. He sat on a shaded bench to rest.

Fortunately, the shade kept him cool. If he had stayed under the scorching sun, his seat would have been too hot to endure.

He flapped his shirt to cool off his sweat.

“When should I go home?”

Today, it wasn’t too hot, so he had come out farther than usual. Going home now seemed daunting.

Not only was he physically weak, but his skin was sensitive too. Even a brief exposure to the sun would turn it red, and a bit longer would make it sting.

The aloe soothing gel in the fridge wasn’t there for no reason.

“…I don’t feel like moving.”

Maybe because he had walked a lot, he even felt sleepy.

Jin-kyum yawned widely and, half-asleep, forced his eyes open. Suddenly, he wondered if it was okay for him to be relaxing like this.

He took his phone out of his pocket.

“A part-time job…”

Hoping to finally find a decent job this time, he scrolled down and down again.

He applied for jobs that were not too far from home and had decent hours, then headed back home.

On the way, he stopped by the market to buy something for dinner.

Since Jinwoo usually did the cooking, grocery shopping was also his responsibility. But when there was something Jingyeom really wanted to eat, he would buy it himself.

Knowing he shouldn’t eat anything too spicy, he tried to restrain himself, but he wanted it so badly that he ended up buying it.

So today’s menu was decided: tteokbokki.

With more fish cakes than rice cakes, it might be more appropriate to call it fish cake stir-fry.

Wondering how he could persuade Jinwoo, who was absolutely against anything too spicy, he dragged his barely responsive legs up the hill, carrying the grocery bags.

‘What are fish cakes made of? Rice cakes are made of rice, and fish cakes are… fish!’

He had a great idea.

‘Since fish cakes are made of fish, eating fish cake stir-fry means eating fish.’

In other words, the tteokbokki he was making was a very healthy dish.

Whether Jinwoo would buy this nonsense or not was uncertain, but Jingyeom nodded to himself in satisfaction.

“…This is hard.”

It would have been better if it were flat, but the uphill path to home made his legs even more tired.

“I definitely need to insist we move.”

He decided that once his debt was paid off, he would find a proper job and make money after his surgery.

When Jinwoo returned from work, he was startled by the wide-open front door and hurried inside.

Lingering smoke, which hadn’t fully dissipated, greeted him. The sharp, acrid smell made Jinwoo wrinkle his nose.

“What is that smell… Hyung?”

Usually, Jingyeom would have noticed Jinwoo’s arrival by the sound of the metal stairs, but he was too focused on doing the dishes to hear anything until Jinwoo spoke.

“Oh, you’re back?”

“Yeah. What’s with all this smoke… what are you doing?”

“What do you think? I’m doing the dishes. Are you hungry? How about we order something tonight?”

“We agreed to eat home-cooked meals for a while.”

Jinwoo’s tone was firm, as always.

Jinwoo’s gaze swept around the house as he stepped inside.

He first noticed the pot Jingyeom was cleaning and then the trash can beside it.

In the trash can, lined with a black plastic bag, there was an unidentifiable black lump. Beneath it, partially visible, was a used bandage wrapper.

Jinwoo squatted in front of the trash can, moving the black lump aside to reveal more bandage wrappers.

Without caring about the black residue on his fingers, Jinwoo stood up and grabbed Jingyeom’s arm.

“Did you get hurt?”

“Oh? Oh… not much, just a little.”

“Where did you get hurt?”

Jinwoo’s eyes quickly scanned Jingyeom. There were no bandages on any visible parts.

The amount of bandage wrappers in the trash suggested that “a little” was a lie.

“My finger. It’s really not that bad.”

“Why your finger? Stop doing the dishes and take off the rubber gloves.”

Jinwoo turned off the sink faucet and removed the rubber gloves himself.

“…This is ‘a little’?”

Jingyeom’s hands were covered in bandages, especially his left index finger and thumb.

Feeling embarrassed, Jingyeom wiggled his hand. It stung when he moved, but it wasn’t unbearable.

Jinwoo spread Jingyeom’s fingers out on his palm. Some bandages had red stains from bleeding.

Before losing his memory, Jingyeom had never cared about house chores. He’d just leave dirty dishes in the sink.

The only cutting he’d ever done was with a box cutter as a student.

Having the motivation to do anything was a positive sign. But he didn’t want Jingyeom to hurt himself doing it.

That’s why Jinwoo had stopped him from helping with dinner…

He was upset. What if those little hands ended up with scars?

Jinwoo’s eyes, still staring at Jingyeom’s hands, slowly moved up.

“…Does it hurt?”

“No. It doesn’t hurt. Not at all!”

Jingyeom answered quickly, not wanting to upset Jinwoo further.

“…”

“Really. I’m not in pain. Hey? Jinwoo. I’m really not in pain, okay?”

“…Alright.”

Jinwoo’s head tilted back slightly as Jingyeom leaned in close to speak. Seeing Jinwoo’s expression soften a bit, Jingyeom smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling.

Jinwoo sighed softly and gently stroked the bandages.

“Don’t cook anymore. If there’s something you want to eat, tell me. I’ll make it. But that…”

Jinwoo glanced at the trash can.

“What were you trying to make?”

“…”

“I can smell something spicy…”

“Tteokbokki.”

His voice was so small it could dig a hole in the ground. His head turned in the opposite direction, clearly not wanting to look at the trash can.

“Oh…”

Jinwoo was at a loss for words seeing the unrecognizable black lump that was supposed to be tteokbokki.

Tteokbokki isn’t an easy dish. If you don’t stir it well while cooking, the rice cakes can stick to the pot.

Given how blackened the contents were, the pot might already be beyond saving. Especially with Jingyeom’s hands, it was evident he couldn’t have salvaged it.

Standing in front of the sink, Jinwoo saw bubbles everywhere, indicating how much dish soap Jingyeom had used.

Black water mixed with bubbles revealed the death of the pot.

Jingyeom, awkwardly laughing, tried to block Jinwoo’s view, but Jinwoo had already seen it.

“Are there any tteokbokki ingredients left?”

“A little…?”

“You worked hard cooking, so take a break. It’ll take a while for the smell to go away… Do you want to stay outside where it’s cooler?”

Usually, Jinwoo would have told him to rest in his room, but he couldn’t let him stay in a house filled with smoke and the pungent smell.

Understanding the situation he had caused, Jingyeom nodded without argument.

As Jingyeom stepped outside, Jinwoo started cleaning up in earnest.

First, he checked all the windows in the house to ventilate it, noticing that Jingyeom had even opened the small bathroom window. It was evidence that he had tried his best to clean up.