The Country Life Diary of a Gangster’s Secretary

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!

The documents were impressively titled “Product Description”. On the very first page, there was also a fancy phrase saying it was a product for young people who had returned to farming, which Hyeseong felt like he had seen somewhere before.

“You want me to sign up for this?”

“No, well. It’s not a demand, just read it over once. Hmm?”

When Hyeseong picked up the documents, Doo-sung started to look expectant. Honestly, at a glance, there didn’t seem to be much difference between a regular bank loan and this product. Except for the crazy interest rates. The important parts of the description listed the interest at a normal level, but on the next page, at the very bottom in small text, there was a clause. 

It stated that if the principal was not repaid within a certain period, the interest would jump to an absurd level. Honestly, it seemed unlikely anyone would fall for such a sloppy trick, but if, as Doo-sung said, there were young people who had enthusiastically moved to farming but had no money coming in and were struggling with daily life, it might be tempting to them.

“How about it?”  

If Hyeseong refused outright here, Doo-sung would surely annoy him by following him around. He would come to Hyeseong’s village, cause a scene, and harass the residents. So he maintained this confident attitude of telling Hyeseong to borrow money. Because he had plenty of things to threaten Hyeseong with.

This was actually a tactic sometimes used by thugs who used illegal private loans. Approaching people hesitating about whether to borrow money, or people who seemed like good targets, and forcibly making them sign up for products through threats of violence.

Moreover, Doo-sung probably didn’t have good feelings left towards Hyeseong. Because he thought the person who had ruined his organization was none other than Hyeseong.

“…Give me some time to think about it. Actually, the money I’ve saved is slowly running out.” 

Hyeseong’s gaze changed nimbly and he put down the description. 

“Sure, sure. You thought well!”

“Then can I take this description home to read?”

“That’s not allowed. It’s a product made by our Capital, so it can’t be taken outside. If you want to see it, come here to read it.”

Well, it was as expected. It was a ridiculous request, but Doo-sung clearly wanted to keep calling Hyeseong here to put psychological pressure on him. In this threatening and filthy place.

“Okay. Well. I understand.”

But that was actually good for Hyeseong too. Just then, a bald employee with tattoos carefully approached Doo-sung.

“Uh, Hyung-nim.”

The employee hesitated and began whispering in Doo-sung’s ear. Hyeseong focused all his senses on his hearing, pretending to be uninterested and drinking coffee.

“From Seohyun… came… to collect… wants to see you…”

That was all he heard. He wasn’t sure exactly, but he clearly heard the words “Seohyun” and “collect”.

“Tsk, suddenly? We weren’t found out, were we?”

“There’s no way that’s the case.”

At the employee’s words, Doo-sung looked anxious. Hyeseong maintained his uninterested appearance and put on his outer coat.

“Hey! Manager Lee!”

“Y-Yes?”  

“You’re managing that well, right?”

“Yes, o-of course.”

That?

At Doo-sung’s words, Manager Lee nodded firmly.

“Hey, Cheon Hyeseong, if you’re done, you can go. Return that document to Manager Lee. And call ahead next time you come.”

“Okay.”

Doo-sung got up from his seat with a very agitated face and went into what looked like the CEO’s office with the tattooed bald man who had reported to him. Hyeseong tore off a post-it note from the table, wrote something on it, and stuck it on the back of the document envelope.

“Ah, you can give that to me.”

Manager Lee reached out with a haggard face, barely lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Here.”

After safely handing the envelope to Manager Lee, Hyeseong turned around.

“I’ll come again next time.”

Hyeseong bowed to Manager Lee, whose eyes had dimmed as much as they could, and left the office. The day was already getting dark, and the rain had completely stopped.

* * *

After leaving the office, Hyeseong luckily caught a bus that came right away and returned straight to the village. As expected, to solve any problem, it shouldn’t be done half-heartedly. If the roots weren’t completely pulled out, they could grow back anytime later.

So it was better to finish it off so it couldn’t even think of spreading its roots again, for the sake of the future too. That was the belief Hyeseong had held since he helped with Taesung’s business. Hyeseong got off at the bus stop and was lost in thought for a moment.

While putting together the connections between what had happened today, what he had seen, and what he had heard, he heard the sound of a car horn from somewhere.

“Hyeseong-ah.”

When he turned his head to look, it was Ihyeok’s car.

“…CEO.”

“Get in.”

As if enchanted by those words, Hyeseong got into the car. When he had gone downtown earlier, he had thought he missed Ihyeok. Had the heavens heard his thoughts?

“Where are you coming from?”

“Personal business.”

“Still the same as always.”

“What about you? Didn’t you say you had a busy schedule in Seoul?”

At those words, Ihyeok stared intently at Hyeseong. Hyeseong just tilted his head as if he didn’t know why.

“…I had to stop by the site for the Haeseong City redevelopment project. But I have to go back up soon. Construction has started on the stadium we’re building in Mapo-gu, so I need to go around the site.”

Well, this was the busiest time after all. Why did he have to boast about leading the TF team then? Hyeseong swallowed what he wanted to say and put on his seatbelt.

“But Hyeseong-ah.”

“Yes?”

It was when Hyeseong had put on his seatbelt and turned his head. Suddenly, Ihyeok greatly reduced the distance and brought his face close to Hyeseong’s neck.

“What are you…”

In an instant, Ihyeok’s scent blew strongly under his nose. Hyeseong unconsciously tightened his grip.

“Do you smoke?”

“What?”

Ihyeok’s face, which had moved away after smelling the scent, was slightly furrowed.

“You smell like cigarettes.”

The smell must have stuck from Doo-sung’s office. He had stayed there for a while, and the employees there, including Doo-sung, had been smoking constantly, so it wasn’t strange for the smell to linger. It seemed best to spray something on after going to and from Doo-sung’s office in the future.

“It’s not like that. Why would I smoke? It’s the thing I hate most in the world.”

But Ihyeok’s expression wouldn’t ease up. He had an extremely serious face, like a parent who found a cigarette pack in their student child’s bag. It seemed like there would be big trouble if Hyeseong even lied and said he smoked.

“I went downtown earlier and I think the smell stuck there.”

Then Ihyeok slowly relaxed the tension in his eyes. It didn’t seem like he had completely shed his suspicions yet, but he was nodding at the vague excuse since Hyeseong was steadfast when it came to smoking.

“But you failed at quitting smoking too, so why are you saying I can’t? Of course, I have no intention to anyway.”

It was a true attitude of hypocrisy. In a nutshell, Hyeseong himself could smoke too if he wanted. But Ihyeok shook his head firmly and lowered the side brake.

“Right. You absolutely can’t.”

“Why?”

Ihyeok began to drive smoothly.

“It’s bad for your health.”

Imagining Hyeseong holding a cigarette with those white fingers and pale face didn’t suit him at all. Of course, that sight would be strangely novel, but it was still something that should never happen. Hyeseong with a cigarette in his mouth…

“Do you think you’re the right person to say that?”

Who was the one doing things bad for his health? In reality too. As soon as he got in, the faint scent of cigarette smoke wafted in Ihyeok’s car. Hyeseong knew the smell of the cigarette brand Ihyeok often smoked.

“I’ll try.”

“To do what?”

“Quit smoking.”

“Yeah right.”

“Don’t be cheeky. Always.”

It seemed even Hyeseong’s grumbling was just cute, as Ihyeok lifted the corners of his mouth and lightly pinched Hyeseong’s cheek.

“But. CEO.”

“Yeah.”

“Where are we going now?”

From the bus stop to home was about a 6-7 minute walk. In other words, it would take less than 3 minutes by car. But even after 3 minutes passed, Ihyeok’s car showed no signs of stopping. Hyeseong could even see his house pitifully passing by outside the window.

“My house is over there.”

“Let’s go eat dinner. I haven’t eaten yet.”

Of course, it was the same for Hyeseong. He had eaten lunch early, and after taking care of business and returning, he had planned to go out and have dinner with Dohyun for the first time in a while.

“Without even asking me?”

“We haven’t eaten together in a long time. Let’s go. I’m hungry.”  

There were many things he wanted to say. Maybe if he had lied and said he already ate lunch, that would have been the end of it. But strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Seeing Ihyeok’s face after several days, the faint scent of cigarette smoke mixed with citrus in the car. And that gentle voice and hand lines. It just made his heart pound because of all these things.

He knew he would regret it anyway. After this time passed, he might reproach himself for why he couldn’t cut it off, why he couldn’t end it, despite his resolve. But it couldn’t be helped. For now, he wanted to follow his emotions rather than reason. Rationalizing that he would be greedy just for today, just for this moment, Hyeseong quietly leaned against the seat.

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!