Chapter 11
- Car Poor
Having lived with his days and nights reversed for several days, Taeseo, who hadn't touched coffee, took an ice cup from the freezer as Yuna had told him.
Just as Ahn Yuna had done, he shook the cup to break up the ice inside, then opened the lid and started brewing coffee when a fox-like guy who ran to the counter said.
"Pay first, then brew the coffee."
Was it pay first, then brew coffee?
He thought, what difference does the order make since he was buying it anyway, but not wanting to bother with conversation, he frowned and tossed his card onto the counter.
"I'll pay 1,500 won."
"A pack of cigarettes too. Marlboro."
Seemingly displeased by Taeseo's informal speech, the part-timer glared at Taeseo once, then took out a pack of cigarettes and scanned its barcode. Then, without saying the price, he completed the transaction.
Taeseo didn't bother to complain, took the cigarettes, and then brewed coffee into the ice cup.
As soon as the transaction was complete, the part-timer left the card on the counter and walked out of the convenience store. He looked pathetic, running towards his friends.
"That bastard is working so carelessly."
It was when Taeseo, having retrieved his card, came out of the convenience store with his coffee.
"But why is that Porsche always parked there?"
Outside the convenience store, some local loafers were glancing at Taeseo's car.
"Maybe it was abandoned."
At that one remark, the guy named Jaeseop said excitedly.
"Wow, fuck. I hope it was abandoned. Then I'm claiming it."
"Are you crazy? Would you abandon that?"
As if to show them, Taeseo pressed the remote key to unlock the car doors.
As the car's headlights flashed and the sound of the locks disengaging was heard, the loafers all turned to look at Taeseo. They seemed to be thinking, 'Someone like him owns that car?'
Regardless, Taeseo walked up confidently and opened the car door. Behind him, a remark that grated on Taeseo's nerves was heard.
"He's a car poor."
"Hahaha. Right. Clearly a car poor."
A curse slipped between Taeseo's teeth.
"Ha, fuck."
If they knew who he was, they wouldn't be spouting nonsense about him being car poor for driving a 180 million won car.
The problem was that if word got out that the second son of Namkyung Group had come down to negotiate land acquisition in this town, the negotiation targets might become arrogant and demand higher prices for their land.
Though he had lived his life carelessly, Kwon Taeseo was the second son of Namkyung, and he was in a position to at least pretend to manage the company, so he knew the basics of negotiation.
"I'll endure it, I'll endure it."
The car, left in the scorching sun for days, was as hot as a sauna. As he rolled down the heavily tinted windows, the loafers, perhaps trying to pick a fight, were looking towards Taeseo and giggling amongst themselves.
"They say there are empty-headed people who drive nice cars while living in studio apartments. That guy is exactly like that."
"He's also incredibly rude. He spoke informally while buying a pack of cigarettes."
If he hadn't been kicked out after causing trouble, he might have gone to confront them. But since he couldn't get into a brawl with guys like that, he had no choice but to avoid them.
"Do you avoid shit because you're scared, or because it's dirty?"
Taeseo pressed the accelerator harder than usual. The black Porsche roared to life and entered the road in front of the convenience store.
The car, which had been stationary for a long time, seemed excited as it sped down the country road, its RPM climbing, but Taeseo's mood plummeted in contrast.
To think I'd be called car poor in my life.
"Regarding the graves within the golf course land, if I were to convey the landowner's position."
While Taeseo was absent, Hyunwoo, who had come to the office alone to handle work, began reporting the details he had compiled.
"They say it's difficult to relocate the graves because it hasn't been a year since they were buried. If it were an old grave, there would be no hesitation in moving it, but within a year, the body would still be in a recognizable state."
The air conditioner in the construction site's container building was running non-stop. The indoor temperature was 21 degrees Celsius; unlike outside, it was cool inside, but Taeseo's face was full of displeasure.
"No, who told them to dig up the bodies? We're offering money and even arranging the relocation."
"Well, the sentiment in the countryside isn't like that. Many people still believe that carelessly disturbing ancestral graves brings misfortune to their descendants. Korea is a Confucian culture, and ancestors-"
"Don't you know that's just a ploy to get more money?"
"Ah, yes, that's certainly possible."
Taeseo's eyes confirmed the name tag attached to his work clothes. The name was Woo Hyunwoo. His position was the same as his, so he must be a manager.
For two years, he hadn't cared about whether the secretary was Woo Hyunwoo or Woo Hyangwoo, but now, confirming his name was because Woo Hyunwoo was the only one who would be responsible for his life here, in this place where he had no connections.
"Manager Woo Hyunwoo must live a very naive life. He doesn't know things that even a rich kid like me knows."
It was the first time he had called Hyunwoo by his name properly. Hyunwoo seemed surprised and looked at Taeseo before continuing his report.
"The problem is that there's farmland around the graves, and the landowner is making a fuss about harvesting peppers from that farmland. She's an elderly woman in her seventies."
"What farming is an old woman going to do?"
"We've imposed controls around the area due to the construction of the golf holes. We need to build hills and ponds, and surveying work is underway, but the grandmother is making a huge scene, claiming we're deliberately blocking her from accessing her land."
Hyunwoo clicked his tongue, looking troubled.
"Moreover, that grandmother takes the first bus to the township office these days and causes disturbances with the civil servants. Almost every day, civil servants come to the office. Since they can't resolve the complaints, they're pressuring us to resolve the land issue before proceeding with construction, and headquarters is also pressuring us through Manager Kwon to solve the problem."
Wherever he went, there were stubborn people causing trouble. Hyunwoo's eyes darkened at the thought of persuading an old woman who demanded ten times the value of surrounding land for a tiny plot, following his task of assisting Kwon Taeseo, who only thought of himself.
He thought that since it was the year of the 'Deulsamjae' (a folk belief about bad luck), his path was truly blocked. Hyunwoo handed Taeseo a report with the landowner's personal information.
"This is what I've compiled regarding the grandmother. I've already contacted her to arrange a visit by tomorrow."
"What? I've only been assigned here for less than a week, and I have to start working already. If we show we're anxious, that old woman will only become more arrogant."
"Ah, yes, yes. Manager Kwon's words are wise. Still, if they tell us to do it, we have to. What else can we do?"
"If you work like this, the roles of the client and the contractor will be reversed. We need to pressure her until the old woman is desperate and offers a lower price for the land."
"Pressure?"
"We should bring the heavy machinery that's clearing the road here and park it in front of the golf course land, and threaten to start construction regardless of whether it's 400 pyeong or not."
At this point, Hyunwoo was confused whether Kwon Taeseo knew what he was talking about, or if he was just speaking without thinking, or if he genuinely had a knack for it.
"Yes, well. If negotiations fail, we'll proceed as Manager Kwon suggested. We do have a last resort. But that's only as a last resort, and wouldn't both Manager Kwon and I need to achieve results here to return to Seoul?"
"Right, well, I'll have to dance to the old woman's tune for Kwon Taejin to think I'm working."
"That's right. It's time to start working now."
"Then schedule a meeting."
Taeseo picked up the car keys he had carelessly thrown on the table.
"If the schedule is agreed upon, I'm leaving."
"Leaving? It's only 4 o'clock."
"Do you expect me to leave at the same time as the salarymen? I'm going."
Taeseo left the office without waiting for Hyunwoo's reply. Behind him, Hyunwoo let out a long sigh, but the sound only echoed within the office.
Taeseo drove to a short rib restaurant on the outskirts of the city, devoured three servings of short ribs, and headed to his studio apartment.
The saying that you should go for meat when you're in a bad mood was true. After eating something that wasn't really food for so long, eating fatty food after a long time made his mood, which had been terrible all day, much better.
After driving for a while, he entered the town roads. At a bus stop along the road leading to Seongwoo-eup, a woman was standing.
Her posture, standing demurely, looked familiar, and Taeseo glanced at her in the rearview mirror as he passed the bus stop.
Her silhouette looked familiar, and indeed, it was a woman he knew. It was Ahn Yuna.
"She must be waiting for the bus."
Taeseo drove about 200 meters further, turned into a side road, and then turned his car around to go back to the bus stop.
Normally, he would have driven away whether Ahn Yuna was standing there or not, but today he had something to tell her. He intended to complain to Ahn Yuna about the part-timer who had spoken so rudely, calling him car poor and working so carelessly.
Taeseo pulled up next to the bus stop and honked his horn. BEEP- The long sound startled Ahn Yuna, who was standing at the stop, and she looked towards the car.
Taeseo rolled down his window and said,
"Hey. Get in."
At his words, Ahn Yuna's eyes widened.
"The person who lives on the second floor?"
"Yeah. Hurry up and get in."
"The bus will be here soon though."
"I'm going that way anyway, so get in."
"Ah. Okay."
A truck that had approached behind Taeseo's car honked twice, as if urging him to leave. Ahn Yuna quickly got into the passenger seat.
"Excuse me."
"Bullshit excuse."
"Because I'm getting into someone else's car."
As Taeseo started driving, the truck behind him, which had been honking, quietly followed his car.
Once in the car, Yuna glanced around the driver's seat and dashboard, then said.
"This kind of car is very expensive, isn't it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Still, having a car is convenient, isn't it?"
Taeseo asked, probing.
"Why? Are you planning to buy one too?"
"...Yes."
