There were many people around Tae Seong-je who were looking for a way to harm his reputation, and he was constantly in danger. Even if he made a mistake as a result, the boss stated that he would give Tae Seong-je more chances, but he would never let him go.
Suddenly it felt a bit odd, but that wasn’t the point. The world Tae Seong-je lived in was no different from a trash can. Unlike the glorified gangster movies, there was no loyalty, only henchmen who would betray him for a meal to get in line. Tae Seong-je acted like a madman when it was his own people who were trying to stab him in the back. There were no exceptions, even for those who were close to the top.
Starting from the bottom, with nothing to lose and nothing in sight, Tae Seong-je was more agitated than usual when he was stabbed in the back. Therefore, using Seo Seung-won’s death and Woo Ji-min’s revenge, they succeeded in trapping Tae Seong-je by taking advantage of this. He was a smart person, and it was not easy to deceive him, but he made a mistake because his mind was preoccupied.
Even if the betrayal was trivial, it was an injustice to Tae Seong-je.
“I’m leaving.”
“Yes. Goodbye…”
Tae Seong-je left with a single word saying that there was work. When he left, the house fell silent, as if a storm had passed through. All I could hear was the second hand of the clock ticking. I stared blankly at the front door sensor, then straightened my upper body and sat properly.
Then the invisible body wrapped in the blanket appeared. While others may be embarrassed by kiss marks after having sex, I was afraid of being asked if I got beaten because of the bruises all over my body. There were mottled handprints all over the body, from the wrists and forearms to the thighs and buttocks. It’s still light, but it appears to be turning blue soon.
It seemed that I would have a limited choice of clothes for a while. Did I have a turtleneck or long-sleeved shirt? It might or might not be there…
I was dazed for some reason. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how impactful emotions were to me. Even mild sadness overwhelms me, and the headaches it causes can prevent me from thinking clearly or leave me with a bad taste in my mouth and fatigue.
Last summer, during my second year of high school away from home, there wasn’t a corner of my life that wasn’t hurting, and at some point I became irritated. I love summer, but the heat is something else, and I felt drained every day. I was annoyed by the heat and humidity, and my throbbing body was annoying, so I took medication for the first time to find relief.
The effect was good, so I took it like a vitamin without skipping a day. However, the medicine had a side effect of drowsiness enough to disrupt daily life. It really didn’t help my body. Eventually, I stopped taking it and tried to find my composure and integrity on my own. But sometimes I’m tempted to go back to it. But drugs and alcohol may be sweet, but if you keep reaching for them, they become addictive. Addiction was both an escape and a waste of time. There’s nothing worse than having your goals and mind clouded.
After taking a shower, I carefully took one step at a time with my trembling body and laid down a new blanket on the floor. It was my first time sleeping on the bare floor with a bruised body, so it was uncomfortable, but it was tolerable. My lower back hurt more than I thought, but it was bearable. I was fortunate to have a strong body. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had a good night’s sleep. I think I didn’t even have the stamina left to dream because I was pushed to the point where I collapsed from exhaustion. I wondered if I would be able to sleep with my bruised body, but thinking about it, I slept well despite being beaten so badly by my father.
I had to set a new goal. That was to make Tae Seong-je say that we should break up first. However, as the opponent was a quick-witted person, I had to be careful and cautious. It would be strange if I showed that I wanted to break up first after showing interest in him.
I firmly believe that a person’s fundamentals cannot be changed or fixed. No matter how much he showed his humanity, the jerk in part 2 was still a jerk, and the crazy guy in part 2 was still crazy. Yes, that’s right. He is a scary person. It was Tae Seong-je who doesn’t care whether Seo Seungwon was kidnapped or committed suicide.
Of course, he seemed to have some sympathy. However, I didn’t know when it would be activated. He’s the type of guy who will give you water when you’re desperately thirsty, but he threatened to kill someone he’d just started dating if they cheated on him. Of course, the latter was not a warning to protect his loved one but to maintain loyalty if they became his person.
I need to get him to get fed up and break up with me, but as I said, Tae Seong-je was a busy person. I barely could contact him after I woke up.
[11:12] What are you doing?
Working [11:47]
[11:47] Are you busy?
A little [13:09]
[13:09] When will we meet again?
I’ll call you later [14:25]
I don’t know why my already sore body hurt more with each half-hearted reply, but I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to put that huge thing inside me for a while. To be honest, it hurt a lot. I was feeling great before that… I remembered Tae Seong-je’s soft lips and gentle touch, which I couldn’t easily forget, and I covered my face with my arms in embarrassment as my face heated up, despite the fact that no one was around.
***
When it was the weekend, we decided to gather for group assignments and prepare to go out. I was walking blankly down the street to go to the cafe I had an appointment with, and suddenly someone waved and called me to stop. It was Kim Young-ji. While saying hello, I looked at the cafe sign and tilted my head.
“Did we change the location? I don’t think this is where we were supposed to meet.”
“No, I was hoping to meet someone…”
Since she was talking while looking inside the cafe, my eyes also followed inside. There, I saw the student rep talking to an employee who looked good with bobbed hair. As if to tell me something, he turned and walked over to us. When our eyes met, the expression of the student rep suddenly brightened like a flower in full bloom.
“Hey, Seung-won, what’s up? Did Kim Young-ji call you?”
“Hey, be quiet.”
“Wow, Kim Young-ji, you said you wouldn’t help me…”
“I said I didn’t? Jin Do-kyung, can’t you be quiet for a moment?”
I opened my eyes wide after looking at the student representative, who resembled a dog wagging his tail, and Kim Young-ji, who covered her eyes as if she was in trouble.
“… Are you two dating?”
“What? No?! Am I crazy? There’s no way I will date Jin Do-kyung!”
“That’s right! No, wait. Your words are too harsh!
Kim Young-ji screamed in disgust, and hearing her high-pitched voice burned my ears and hurt my head. Without realizing it, I let out a sigh, and the two of them covered their mouths and looked at me.
“Oh, sorry. I’m a little tired…”
Feeling apologetic, I took out my wallet to buy something to drink, but they waved me off, saying it was fine. Young-ji was standing still, but the student rep was fussing all by himself. He seemed to be losing something. It’s good to know that it’s a good idea to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.
I kept feeling his gaze while ordering, so I turned my head and our gazes met. The student representative smiled again, attempting to remove the awkwardness. Nonetheless, it was clear that he was trying to hide it.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s embarrassing.”
“No, I’m just… sorry. I just thought you were handsome.”
The atmosphere immediately became awkward. I was at a loss for words because I hadn’t expected to hear this while ordering coffee. The student representative sweated profusely and smiled awkwardly as if he realized he had said something stupid. Fortunately, a staff member intervened before I could become any more uncomfortable. The employee with rosy cheeks smiled sweetly at me.
“Here are your three iced Americanos.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you need? You don’t want any syrup?”
“No, thank you.”
“Straws are available over here, and, uh, I was wondering if…”
The student rep suddenly grabbed my forearm and made a hasty gesture toward the outside as the kind employee looked at me with brightening eyes.
“Seung-won! I guess you’re late?”
I nodded hesitantly. Kim Young-ji, who was sitting leisurely outside, followed me with a surprised face as the student rep grabbed me and moved quickly. When I arrived at the meeting place, I checked the time while catching my breath.
“Oh… Ah, there’s still time, right?”
“What? Huh. What were you running for?”
“No, because the student rep thought we were late… ”
“Hey, guys. S-sorry I, haa, must have looked at the wrong time…”
The student representative apologized but was eventually hit in the back of the head by the angry Kim Young-ji. The two of them appeared to be very close friends.
“Come on. Let’s just go in.”
The student representative and I awkwardly nodded and smiled as Kim Young-ji led the way. I felt bad about buying coffee from a private cafe and entering the franchise, but it was too late to do anything about it. I had intended to sit for a while, but I had not anticipated arriving so quickly.
We were supposed to meet on the second floor, but the supervisor stood in front of me and cleared his throat.
“Seung-won, um…after this, do you want to have dinner with us?”
“Dinner? Um…sure.”
There were many people around Tae Seong-je who were looking for a way to harm his reputation, and he was constantly in danger. Even if he made a mistake as a result, the boss stated that he would give Tae Seong-je more chances, but he would never let him go.
Suddenly it felt a bit odd, but that wasn’t the point. The world Tae Seong-je lived in was no different from a trash can. Unlike the glorified gangster movies, there was no loyalty, only henchmen who would betray him for a meal to get in line. Tae Seong-je acted like a madman when it was his own people who were trying to stab him in the back. There were no exceptions, even for those who were close to the top.
Starting from the bottom, with nothing to lose and nothing in sight, Tae Seong-je was more agitated than usual when he was stabbed in the back. Therefore, using Seo Seung-won’s death and Woo Ji-min’s revenge, they succeeded in trapping Tae Seong-je by taking advantage of this. He was a smart person, and it was not easy to deceive him, but he made a mistake because his mind was preoccupied.
Even if the betrayal was trivial, it was an injustice to Tae Seong-je.
“I’m leaving.”
“Yes. Goodbye…”
Tae Seong-je left with a single word saying that there was work. When he left, the house fell silent, as if a storm had passed through. All I could hear was the second hand of the clock ticking. I stared blankly at the front door sensor, then straightened my upper body and sat properly.
Then the invisible body wrapped in the blanket appeared. While others may be embarrassed by kiss marks after having sex, I was afraid of being asked if I got beaten because of the bruises all over my body. There were mottled handprints all over the body, from the wrists and forearms to the thighs and buttocks. It’s still light, but it appears to be turning blue soon.
It seemed that I would have a limited choice of clothes for a while. Did I have a turtleneck or long-sleeved shirt? It might or might not be there…
I was dazed for some reason. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how impactful emotions were to me. Even mild sadness overwhelms me, and the headaches it causes can prevent me from thinking clearly or leave me with a bad taste in my mouth and fatigue.
Last summer, during my second year of high school away from home, there wasn’t a corner of my life that wasn’t hurting, and at some point I became irritated. I love summer, but the heat is something else, and I felt drained every day. I was annoyed by the heat and humidity, and my throbbing body was annoying, so I took medication for the first time to find relief.
The effect was good, so I took it like a vitamin without skipping a day. However, the medicine had a side effect of drowsiness enough to disrupt daily life. It really didn’t help my body. Eventually, I stopped taking it and tried to find my composure and integrity on my own. But sometimes I’m tempted to go back to it. But drugs and alcohol may be sweet, but if you keep reaching for them, they become addictive. Addiction was both an escape and a waste of time. There’s nothing worse than having your goals and mind clouded.
After taking a shower, I carefully took one step at a time with my trembling body and laid down a new blanket on the floor. It was my first time sleeping on the bare floor with a bruised body, so it was uncomfortable, but it was tolerable. My lower back hurt more than I thought, but it was bearable. I was fortunate to have a strong body. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had a good night’s sleep. I think I didn’t even have the stamina left to dream because I was pushed to the point where I collapsed from exhaustion. I wondered if I would be able to sleep with my bruised body, but thinking about it, I slept well despite being beaten so badly by my father.
I had to set a new goal. That was to make Tae Seong-je say that we should break up first. However, as the opponent was a quick-witted person, I had to be careful and cautious. It would be strange if I showed that I wanted to break up first after showing interest in him.
I firmly believe that a person’s fundamentals cannot be changed or fixed. No matter how much he showed his humanity, the jerk in part 2 was still a jerk, and the crazy guy in part 2 was still crazy. Yes, that’s right. He is a scary person. It was Tae Seong-je who doesn’t care whether Seo Seungwon was kidnapped or committed suicide.
Of course, he seemed to have some sympathy. However, I didn’t know when it would be activated. He’s the type of guy who will give you water when you’re desperately thirsty, but he threatened to kill someone he’d just started dating if they cheated on him. Of course, the latter was not a warning to protect his loved one but to maintain loyalty if they became his person.
I need to get him to get fed up and break up with me, but as I said, Tae Seong-je was a busy person. I barely could contact him after I woke up.
[11:12] What are you doing?
Working [11:47]
[11:47] Are you busy?
A little [13:09]
[13:09] When will we meet again?
I’ll call you later [14:25]
I don’t know why my already sore body hurt more with each half-hearted reply, but I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to put that huge thing inside me for a while. To be honest, it hurt a lot. I was feeling great before that… I remembered Tae Seong-je’s soft lips and gentle touch, which I couldn’t easily forget, and I covered my face with my arms in embarrassment as my face heated up, despite the fact that no one was around.
***
When it was the weekend, we decided to gather for group assignments and prepare to go out. I was walking blankly down the street to go to the cafe I had an appointment with, and suddenly someone waved and called me to stop. It was Kim Young-ji. While saying hello, I looked at the cafe sign and tilted my head.
“Did we change the location? I don’t think this is where we were supposed to meet.”
“No, I was hoping to meet someone…”
Since she was talking while looking inside the cafe, my eyes also followed inside. There, I saw the student rep talking to an employee who looked good with bobbed hair. As if to tell me something, he turned and walked over to us. When our eyes met, the expression of the student rep suddenly brightened like a flower in full bloom.
“Hey, Seung-won, what’s up? Did Kim Young-ji call you?”
“Hey, be quiet.”
“Wow, Kim Young-ji, you said you wouldn’t help me…”
“I said I didn’t? Jin Do-kyung, can’t you be quiet for a moment?”
I opened my eyes wide after looking at the student representative, who resembled a dog wagging his tail, and Kim Young-ji, who covered her eyes as if she was in trouble.
“… Are you two dating?”
“What? No?! Am I crazy? There’s no way I will date Jin Do-kyung!”
“That’s right! No, wait. Your words are too harsh!
Kim Young-ji screamed in disgust, and hearing her high-pitched voice burned my ears and hurt my head. Without realizing it, I let out a sigh, and the two of them covered their mouths and looked at me.
“Oh, sorry. I’m a little tired…”
Feeling apologetic, I took out my wallet to buy something to drink, but they waved me off, saying it was fine. Young-ji was standing still, but the student rep was fussing all by himself. He seemed to be losing something. It’s good to know that it’s a good idea to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.
I kept feeling his gaze while ordering, so I turned my head and our gazes met. The student representative smiled again, attempting to remove the awkwardness. Nonetheless, it was clear that he was trying to hide it.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s embarrassing.”
“No, I’m just… sorry. I just thought you were handsome.”
The atmosphere immediately became awkward. I was at a loss for words because I hadn’t expected to hear this while ordering coffee. The student representative sweated profusely and smiled awkwardly as if he realized he had said something stupid. Fortunately, a staff member intervened before I could become any more uncomfortable. The employee with rosy cheeks smiled sweetly at me.
“Here are your three iced Americanos.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you need? You don’t want any syrup?”
“No, thank you.”
“Straws are available over here, and, uh, I was wondering if…”
The student rep suddenly grabbed my forearm and made a hasty gesture toward the outside as the kind employee looked at me with brightening eyes.
“Seung-won! I guess you’re late?”
I nodded hesitantly. Kim Young-ji, who was sitting leisurely outside, followed me with a surprised face as the student rep grabbed me and moved quickly. When I arrived at the meeting place, I checked the time while catching my breath.
“Oh… Ah, there’s still time, right?”
“What? Huh. What were you running for?”
“No, because the student rep thought we were late… ”
“Hey, guys. S-sorry I, haa, must have looked at the wrong time…”
The student representative apologized but was eventually hit in the back of the head by the angry Kim Young-ji. The two of them appeared to be very close friends.
“Come on. Let’s just go in.”
The student representative and I awkwardly nodded and smiled as Kim Young-ji led the way. I felt bad about buying coffee from a private cafe and entering the franchise, but it was too late to do anything about it. I had intended to sit for a while, but I had not anticipated arriving so quickly.
We were supposed to meet on the second floor, but the supervisor stood in front of me and cleared his throat.
“Seung-won, um…after this, do you want to have dinner with us?”
“Dinner? Um…sure.”
