Chapter 5
Episode 5. The scenery cries
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"Has the old man gone senile?" If you're going to kick your child out, you should send him somewhere decent, some godforsaken place I've never even heard of, with no hotels, no bars….”
Taeseo, who had been grumbling to himself, poked his head between the driver's and passenger's seats again, as if he had found an answer.
“Hey, am I perhaps going on a retreat? I've been drinking so much lately, maybe it's to rest and recuperate quietly-”
“No, sir.”
Hyunwoo replied with uncharacteristic firmness. If he were to go to Seongwoo-eup and live carelessly under the guise of a retreat, and that news reached Chairman Kwon Seongtae's ears, it would be a bolt from the blue.
“Then what is it?”
“From what I can see, I don't think it's a retreat…”
“Ah, this is driving me crazy. Just tell me clearly! Where am I going, where will I be staying, and what will I be doing? Don't I have the right to know that much?”
Pressed by Taeseo, Hyunwoo hesitated for dozens of times, debating whether to tell the truth of what he knew, but then, as if he had made up his mind, he opened his mouth.
“The accommodation will likely be a temporary makeshift shelter used by site supervisors next to the construction site.”
Taeseo blinked a couple of times, unable to distinguish whether what he was hearing was true or false. His pupils, lighter than most people's, disappeared and reappeared beneath his eyelids.
Just then, a container trailer driving in the third lane of the highway reflected in Taeseo's eyes.
“That… that temporary shelter you mentioned. It’s not like those containers with windows punched in and an air conditioner haphazardly installed, is it?”
Hyunwoo's gaze also shifted to the container trailer in the third lane. The temporary accommodation where Taeseo would be staying would probably look not much different from those containers.
“From what I can see, it seems to be exactly that.”
“Wow. Wow. Wow. Shit, he’s crazy. He’s lost his mind. The old man has truly gone senile, truly. Wow. Wow.”
It was a maddening situation.
“So, you’re telling me I have to live and work indefinitely in a container with guys who reek of sweat?”
“Yes. That’s what I was told.”
“No, seriously, you have to say something that makes sense.”
Kwon Taeseo, the darling of Namgyeong, who had never experienced hardship outside. He had never failed to get what he wanted, nor failed to achieve what he desired.
With just one of Kwon Taeseo's whines, the matriarch of Namgyeong would be completely swayed, and with just one of Kwon Taeseo's whines, even the formidable chairman of Namgyeong would back down.
“Hey. If you get a call from the executive office later, tell them I’m reflecting deeply and ask them to speak well to Father, okay?”
This farce was undoubtedly orchestrated by his elder brother, who worked himself to death, and his parents must have reluctantly agreed.
“……”
“You’re not answering?”
“Yes, I understand.”
After hearing his secretary's reply, Taeseo, feigning a calm expression, rested his head against the back seat.
\ \ \
The green sign for Seongwoo-eup passed overhead, and the car turned onto a dirt road kicking up dust.
Weeds as tall as an adult's waist brushed against the side of the car along the unpaved road leading to the construction site. With a rustling sound, the car, which had been gleaming black, instantly turned into a muddy mess.
After driving for a long time, they stopped at a makeshift shelter next to a road construction site where a mountain had been cut away.
Around it, the mountain had been carved out, revealing bright red loess, and dust had settled white on the dense weeds behind the makeshift shelter. It was a place filled only with the earthy smell of dirt.
“We have arrived. This is the construction site for the Seongwoo-eup Golf course access road.”
“……”
“You are scheduled to stay here for three months to proceed with the project.”
The driver who parked the car took the luggage from the trunk and placed it into one of the container units crammed together like a beehive.
A suitcase with a clear monogram pattern was left alone at the entrance of the gray makeshift shelter. Taeseo, looking dazed, grabbed Hyunwoo by the collar and whispered.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
“Tell the driver to ram me with the car.”
“What?”
Towards Hyunwoo, who widened his eyes as if asking what he meant, Taeseo spoke clearly without blinking.
“Drive the car and ram me.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. If he hits me even a little, it’ll fall apart on its own.”
“Why… would you do something like that…”
“Shit, I’ll have to be hospitalized! How can I live in a place like this!”
The world Taeseo saw, having lived only with his parents' love, was easy, and nothing was beyond his will.
He didn't even covet what his brother had. Even if he were to die and rot, the money in his hands would never run out.
He had lived such a life without a single desire, yet for drinking a bit, they were throwing him into a place like this and threatening him?
Taeseo pushed past the secretary and pulled out his suitcase, which had been placed inside the container shelter.
He only poked his head into the container accommodation, but the heat that hadn't dissipated even with the air conditioner running brushed against his forehead.
The narrow room was one thing, but the state of someone else's belongings being unpacked, as if it had been used before, was utterly chaotic.
“Do they think I’m a beggar, to be in a place like this…”
Taeseo, picking up his suitcase, snatched the car keys from the driver and opened the trunk.
He threw his suitcase into the car's trunk and closed the lid, then extended his hand towards the secretary.
“Bring me something to wet my throat, I’m so pissed off.”
“Would you like bottled water?”
“Coffee. Do you have anything like iced Americano?”
In fact, he needed a stimulant, not an iced Americano. He needed to gather his thoughts and find a way to overcome this situation.
“We don’t have anything like iced Americano, but if you go into the construction office over there, there’s instant coffee mix—”
“Instant coffee mix, ha, shit. Are they trying to provoke me?”
Taeseo pushed the secretary's shoulder and got into the car. The flustered secretary and driver rushed to the car, but Taeseo locked the doors.
Bang, bang, bang, the two men pounded on the car window. Taeseo, without looking out the window, scanned the area around the construction site beyond the windshield.
Beyond the dusty construction site, a convenience store sign caught his eye. The only trace of civilization in the developing town was a franchise convenience store.
He turned on the engine and pressed the accelerator pedal, and white dust rose beneath the tires.
- Manager! Manager!
Taeseo shot a cold smile at those pounding on the car window, trying to stop him, and headed straight for the convenience store.
\ \ \
After driving barely a kilometer, Taeseo stopped the car in front of the convenience store and looked back the way he came.
In the distance, the secretary and the driver were running towards him, out of breath, under the scorching sun.
Taeseo raised his middle finger once and turned away.
The convenience store stood on a newly paved road in a place that lacked distinct colors, despite being rural, with only rice paddies visible all around.
The entire first floor of the two-story building was occupied by the convenience store. In front of the store, under a parasol, local loafers were gathered, smoking cigarettes.
They, exhaling smoke, widened their eyes when they saw the car Taeseo had arrived in.
“Wow, look at that car.”
The car Taeseo had arrived in was a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a high-end sedan worth 600 million won. It was his work car, obtained by pestering his father because he wouldn't commute unless it was a stylish car, and it was Taeseo's pride.
“That’s worth hundreds of millions, right?”
“They say if you touch that bird on it, you disappear, right?”
“Disappear? It’s anti-theft, idiot. There are so many people who steal that bird.”
The envious gazes were familiar to Taeseo. He straightened his shoulders and brushed down the lapels of his suit jacket. The suit, costing 15 million won, shimmered under the summer sun.
“But who’s that guy?”
As he stepped forward triumphantly, he overheard an absurd remark.
“They said they were building a golf course over there, maybe he’s an employee?”
“Can’t you tell? He’s the driver.”
Driver, my ass! He cursed inwardly at their misunderstanding, but thinking it wouldn't do any good to get involved with the local loafers, he glanced at them once and entered the convenience store.
The wind chime attached to the convenience store door swayed.
Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling. Along with the sound that tickled his ears, cool air, different from the outside temperature in midsummer, touched his cheek.
“Welcome.”
Taeseo's gaze turned to the counter where the voice had come from.
A woman wearing a uniform printed with the convenience store logo was looking at Taeseo. Upon seeing her face, Taeseo's eyes widened for a moment.
The woman didn't fit this rural setting, where everything seemed faded. Her makeup-free skin was exceptionally pale, and her black pupils, unmixed with other colors, were transparently clear.
This town, where an 18-hole golf course resort called Seongwoo-eup was to be built, had mountains and roads cut as if sliced with a knife.
He never imagined he would see such a striking woman in this unsightly town.
The sight of the woman smiling, revealing her white teeth, was jarringly clear in his mind. He swore she was the woman who most closely matched his ideal type among all the people he had ever seen.
“Excuse me, sir?”
The woman blinked a couple of times while maintaining eye contact with Taeseo.
Regaining his composure, Taeseo went to the counter and took out his wallet. He pulled out a card and presented it to the woman.
“Coffee.”
“Yes?”
He knew that convenience stores operated on a system where you select items and then pay, but unfortunately, he had never bought coffee at a place like this.
“Iced Americano.”
The words ‘Iced Americano’ were written on the convenience store's glass door, so asking for coffee at the counter was perfectly logical in his world.
However, it seemed that from the woman's perspective, it was not.
