Payback

Pr: TT

Lee Yoohan. There was a time when I thought that since I was called by a different name, my name might be unfamiliar to me if I heard it. But it was a useless worry. What got rid of the unfamiliar feeling was the accent and pronunciation that reminded me of my past clearly. The same voice that called my name before. 

It must have been because of that. I should have been surprised when I was caught unexpectedly, but the funny thing was that the joy came first which almost made me laugh. Even though it was a moment when I was caught off guard even before I investigated more and made a detailed plan.

“Shit. you…”

Curse words flowed from Myungshin’s mouth again. Shaking his head, he turned his head to the manager and Hansoo from me.

“What the fuck is this? Fuck, it wasn’t a coincidence that you ran into me at the art gallery, was it? That bastard Hansoo planned it on purpose…” 

At Myungshin’s words, the manager tried to get up. With a hardened expression on his face, unable to bear with it, he opened his mouth.

“Be careful of what you say. If you suddenly start swearing like that…”

Myungshin looked at the manager and tried to say something, but I stopped the manager first. I reached out my hand to prevent him from getting up and pushed away the chair.

Drrr~

As I slowly got up from my seat, Myungshin looked back at me. And his face as he looked at me contorted in an instant. Ah, sure. I guess I couldn’t stand it anymore and laughed. I asked slowly, realizing that he twisted his lips.

“My name is Lee Taemin, do you know me?”

Myungshin’s eyebrows twitched wildly at the tone of my voice that seemed to bother him.

“You’re pretending you don’t know me now…” 

“Lee Yoohan. Where have I heard that name?”

I took a step forward towards him with the same gaze.

“Ah, Song Yoohan. It’s like your name.”

His face, which had been distorted for a moment, stiffened. 

Tap, tap.

The sound of my footsteps in the noisy break room was quickly drowned out, but miraculously, Myungshin reacted to the narrowing distance with a shiver. I suppressed the laughter that wanted to rise again. No matter how great the opponent grows into, he who was infinitely small in my memory will stay that way forever. Because of that, even if the situation came when he trampled on me, I was not filled with fear. Because he was Song Myungshin to me.

“How funny. The name you use to curse is your own name.”

I stopped, leaving an arm’s distance between us, and stared at him expressionlessly. 

“So is the ‘Lee Yoohan’ you know is me? I’m asking you, Song Yoohan.”

“… You…”

“Answer my question first. I am really curious. Why your name is Song Yoohan.”

The guy with his mouth shut like a mute stared at me with bitter eyes. I looked at him and smiled impatiently. And I lowered my voice so that only he could hear. 

“I suddenly remembered something interesting. Once upon a time, some idiot whined that he wanted to be strong like me. Because of that, he even blabbered away that my name sounded cool.”

“Shit… that.”

He lowered his voice as much as I did, and muttered with a heavy breath as if suppressing his anger.

“That’s in the past.” 

“Ktfc qgbnf la.”

Qtja? Hefralbc wjgxr jqqfjgfv lc tlr fsfr oliifv klat jcufg. P abbx j tjio rafq mibrfg jcv rqja bea.

“Po sbe jgf ragbcu, yglcu la bc. P’ii yf kliilcu ab vfji klat la. Ktja kjs, P klii jirb vfofja sbe lc atlr qijmf.”

Kjq. 

Ktf rbecv bo atlr rafq atja kjrc’a wlcf kjr mifjgis jevlyif. Zs pjk aklamtfv jr Zsecurtlc, ktb rafqqfv yjmx, yla tlr mifcmtfv affat fnfc alutafg. Mbg j wbwfca, atf ues’r fsfr jcv ojmf oliifv klat rtjwf jr tf gfagfjafv. Dea atja kjr bcis obg j rtbga alwf. Cr lo kfjglcu j wjrx, j ufcaif rwlif jqqfjgfv bc tlr ilqr.

“Yeah, I guess I was mistaken. Mr. Lee Taemin. I will check more clearly and come back.”

He narrowed his eyes, calming his slightly trembling voice. And he whispered in a pleasant voice, as if he had remembered something.

“Just wait. I’ll get to you soon.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and disappeared at a quick pace. However, there was still a trembling in his voice that was still in the air. I had to laugh out loud after seeing the guy running away, but the smile had already disappeared.

“Wow, that was refreshing. But what did you say to make him run away like that?”

Hansoo, who came to the side all of a sudden, was talking excitedly, but the manager standing on the other side voiced his worries.

“Will it be okay if you meet like this?” 

“… No.”

I gave a short answer and turned around. It wasn’t very good. I didn’t like the fact that I provoked him out of anger, that he might attack violently in the future, and that I might not have enough time to prepare for it. Because things couldn’t end so soon. I couldn’t let my anger go out because I couldn’t get caught up in my mood. I had to figure it out slowly. I knew what I had done could come back like a boomerang. There was still revenge in the world. There were punks like me who weren’t afraid to do dirty things like him.

After reassuring the worried manager that I would take care of things, I headed to Alice after a long time. I had been away for over 3 weeks, almost a month, but I hadn’t forgotten the faces I see every time. However, I was blocked at the entrance. From an unknown face, not the one who was always guarding the back door.

“You can’t go in this way.” 

A guard with fierce eyes, a different atmosphere from before, blocked my way. At that point, there was a bit of anxiety. I paused silently to stare at him, and he looked at me with squinted eyes. As if accustomed to protecting something, he did not hesitate to bring out the necessary words first.

“If you are a guest, please use the front door.”

“I am not a guest.”

Then he looked at me again from bottom to top. Judging by my plain, shabby-looking attire, I didn’t seem like a person working inside. 

“Do you have an appointment with someone inside? First of all, I have never heard of it beforehand, so please let me know and I will contact the below.”

I said I was going to meet the boss even though I didn’t have any appointments, and realized the true nature of my foreboding anxiety with his next question.

“What is your name?”

“…” 

He lowered his head as he dialed below by radio and urged me who didn’t answer.

“Can you tell me your name?”

“Lee… Taemin.”

When I answered with a feeling that I had experienced this once, the security guard immediately contacted through the walkie-talkie. But when he received the answer, his expression was cold. 

“There is no such person among the boss’s acquaintances.”

“Ask the manager to ask.”

“He is busy. Make sure to contact them first and come back next time…”

“… Won.” 

“Yes?”

The security guard gave me a look that said he didn’t understand what I was saying and then I opened my mouth again. I never thought the day would come when I’d say this myself.

“… Say the person who came whose real name is Lee Baekwon.”

There was a look of disbelief on the guard’s face for a moment, but he said ‘real name Lee Baekwon’ through the radio. After putting his hand on the earphone he was wearing to hear the reply that came shortly after, he blinked his eyes in surprise, coughed and took a step back. 

“Ah, ahemm, come in. Lee… Baekwon-nim.”

I made up my mind; if the guards change again, never come here. Passing the red-faced security guard trying to suppress his laughter, I made a decision, but my anxiety did not go away strangely. As if something bigger was waiting for me.

The staff guiding me felt a bit strange because it was the first time they’d seen me. What was even weirder was that he didn’t understand my question before I went in.

“Is Director Yoon here?” 

He probably wouldn’t have come because there was an emergency at the company, but I asked just in case, and the employee tilted his head with a puzzled face.

“Director Yoon? There is no one named Director Yoon in our store. If you are looking for one of our guests…”

“No. Never mind.”

I stopped talking and closed the door of the empty boss’s office, noticing that Alice had changed quite a bit within a month. Perhaps the cause was the ‘Lee Baekwon’ that Myungshin was looking for and Chairman Kim. 

Thump.

As soon as I sat down on the sofa in the ownerless room, the previously closed door opened and the boss entered. He was on the phone with a loud voice, and as soon as he saw me with his eyes, he flashed a gesture to express his burdensome pleasure. For a moment, I wanted to just leave, so I lifted my butt, but the conversation stopped me.

“Oh yeah. Baekwon is in my room now.”

Was he talking to the madman? As soon as I started paying attention, I soon regretted it. 

“Ah, speaking of Baekwon, it looks like only half is there~ So if he puts only his head in the room, would it be called 50 won? Fuhahaha~”

The boss slapped his stomach at his own joke and laughed like crazy. I was annoyed because it was not even my real name, but I endured it with clenching fists, sympathizing with the person who actually had that name. Fortunately, the boss’s laughter quickly subsided, probably because the other side didn’t respond very well.

“… What? It’s not funny?”

As if shocked, he glanced at me and turned around to persuade the other person on the phone. 

“What do you mean, do you know how many ways you can make the joke? For example, instead of expressing that I want to go inside you, if I say I will make you 400 won, you can create a pleasant atmosphere and…”

The boss’s offer was quickly rejected. How did I know?

“Hello? Huh? Hello!”

The madman hung up the phone. The bewildered boss yelled at the phone and looked back at me as if it was unfair. 

“Isn’t it funny? Plus, it’s romantic! ‘I’m going to make you 400 won’!”

“…”

“Hm? Why do you have such a dissatisfied expression… ah!”

The boss, noticing that he had noticed something in my gaze, nodded his head. 

“Right, it’s not 400 won, 300 won is the correct expression! You’re only going to swallow the important thingy, so 300 won was enough. Whoops, it was my mistake.”

I wanted to throw my phone at the apologizing boss. It was the first time I was so envious of the madman who could hang up the phone, so I just gripped the phone tightly in my hand. Of course, the boss completely trusted his reasoning that would solve his misunderstanding and called the madman again.

“Haha, Jay is meticulous by nature, so he can’t stand it when he sees something wrong… Ah, jay. It’s me. So I mean 300… What? You’re busy, so if I’m going to talk nonsense, please stop? No, gosh!… Hmmm, huu~”

As it was, the boss was angry and I internally hoped that the madman would say something harsher, but he forgave the boss in one breath. 

“Someone is near you? Yes, I understand. Such a shameful thing to say… Ah, I got it. So what I’m trying to say is to let you know that I’ve found it.”

The boss sat across from me and smiled leisurely. He didn’t say what he found, but whether it was important to him, the boss’s slow tone continued without interruption.

“It was more useful than I thought. There is only one person of the age you are looking for, and that person is also very suitable with that personal life and personality… Yes. Okay. It’s already been written by hand. It will probably collapse in a month. When that time comes, you will be able to put it to good use.”

Along with the words, the boss let out an eerie smile with no smile in his eyes. 

“I’ve crammed my store like this, so I have to pay the right price.”

He let out a cold breath and met my eyes, then returned to his original expression.

“Then I’ll call you again.”

He hung up the phone, sat comfortably on the sofa and asked me. 

“Are you curious?”

When I answered yes honestly, he smiled admiringly.

“Yes. I’ll explain.”

I was curious about the proper price the boss said or the person who could use it a month later, so I bowed my upper body forward. It was just a feeling, but I felt that it had something to do with Chairman Kim, so I paid attention to the boss’s open mouth. 

“So listen.”

I nodded.

“There are many gags that can be used under your name other than 300 won. For example, every time you take off your clothes, you can cut them in tens of won so you can use them to burn Jay’s heart.”

“…” 

Fuck, are you kidding me… For a moment, I frowned and the boss looked at my face and burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha~ It’s a joke, a joke. Wow~ why am I so funny today? Huh? From three hundred won to ten won nude show! Hahaha~ What should I do, it’s so funny!”

He crawled on his stomach, rolled over on the sofa, and began to choke. I got up from my seat, thinking that it would be good if he could suffocate like that.

“Kukkeuk~ Huh? Haha, wh-where are you going?” 

With tears in his eyes, he beckoned me to sit down.

“Okay. I won’t make fun of you with your name now, so don’t be shy and sit down. Instead, I’ll raise it to two thousand won and call you… Fuhahaha~ Promoted to two thousand won~”

Slam, slam, and the sofa were punched because of the boss who was obsessed with his own gag, and I walked to the door without any regrets. He hurriedly opened his mouth to see me off.

“Oh, wait. Because of Chairman Kim, Jay doesn’t come often these days, but I’ll call you right away when he comes.” 

The boss wiped the tears with his hands and barely spoke.

“And Song Yoohan is well monitored by me. I know the schedule of him going abroad soon too… Ah, come to think of it, when Lee Baekwon goes abroad, you can say your name is 2 dollars… Fuhaha~ Ah, look at me, 2 dollars! The foreign name is 2 dollars! Uhahaha~”

Bang!

The door closed with a loud sound, but the boss’s laughter didn’t stop until I walked up the stairs. 

I’m never coming again.