I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 66
As soon as Jaewoo woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was check the bed next to him. But the place where Hyunjin had been lying was empty. As soon as he realized what that meant, he shot up. His brain still wasn’t fully awake yet, but he had to move.
The first thing he did was look for his cell phone. But even though Hyunjin had said that he’d return it, it was nowhere to be seen. After pacing around the room nervously, Jaewoo decided to return home. Maybe Hyunjin had stopped by there. He had to check, especially since they’d left the boys at home alone.
Jaewoo moved quickly. After leaving the motel, he hailed a taxi and headed straight home, arriving back at the slums in just a few minutes. He still had to climb the slope using his own two feet, but Jaewoo was used to that.
As soon as he opened the front door and went into the courtyard, he found the children sitting on the patio floor. When they saw him, they called out.
“Uncle!”
“Hyeonu?”
Hyeonu looked anxious. Somewhat more troublingly, so did Woohee. Jaewoo had a bad feeling.
Hyeonu got up with a sniffle and approached Jaewoo, clutching something in his hand. When he got closer, he handed it to Jaewoo. It was his cell phone, the one that Hyunjin had taken from him.
“My brother asked me to give this to you.”
“He did? Did he say anything else?”
At Jaewoo’s question, Hyeonu’s expression turned even sadder.
“He said that he’d be busy with work for a while, and might not be able to come home. Then he left with a man dressed all in black.”
Mujin’s subordinate. As soon as he realized that, Jaewoo turned towards the courtyard gate, ready to rush out again. But before he could, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Hyeonu and Woohee.
‘Wait, take a deep breath.’
First, he had to take care of the children. When Jaewoo looked at the clock, he saw that it was already past 9 AM. Normally the kids would have gotten themselves ready for school and left already, but instead they’d just been sitting on the floor. They’d obviously been affected so much that they hadn’t even thought about school. Jaewoo couldn’t just leave them alone when they were so troubled.
“Alright, first things first – Hyeonu, Woohee, let’s go into the house. It’s too cold out here.”
“We’re wearing sweaters.”
“Even so. Did you have breakfast?”
“No.”
“Was there nothing to eat?”
“It’s not that. We just weren’t really hungry.”
Hyeonu waggled his hand as he responded. Woohee didn’t seem to even have the energy to answer him. The two of them were staring at him with a look on their faces that made it seem as if they might burst into tears at any moment.
When he reached out to hold their hands, they were freezing cold. Jaewoo immediately pushed the children inside the house, then pulled the blanket off his unmade bed and covered them with it.
Jaewoo’s chest felt tight. Hyunjin wasn’t the sort of person who would neglect the kids like this.
“Did your brother say anything else?”
“He told us to make sure to eat all our vegetables, keep studying, and be good.”
“Then what were the two of you doing on the floor?”
“But, Uncle…”
Finally, tears rolled down Hyeonu’s cheeks.
“My brother was acting strange.”
“It’s true.”
Woohee agreed with Hyeonu’s words.
“It was just like how Mom acted, before she left.”
This time Woohee didn’t have anything to say. Woohee was so young when their mom left that he didn’t remember much.
“I promise, it’s nothing like that. I’m going to get you something to eat.”
People had to eat in order to have energy. Jaewoo went into the kitchen and checked the rice cooker. Luckily there was still some rice left. He scooped it up and poured some sesame oil into a pot with the rice. After stirring it for a while, he added water and brought it to a boil.
Jaewoo really wanted to cook a proper porridge, but he didn’t have enough time. This simple porridge took only minutes to complete. He poured it into some bowls, then added a few dry side dishes while the kids got their spoons ready.
Even though they were depressed, the kids were still hungry. They quickly finished their bowls, bringing warmth back to their frozen faces.
“Hyeonu, I need to go out for a little bit, but I’ll be back. You two will be fine at home together, right?”
“Are you going to bring my brother back?”
Jaewoo nodded his head in response to Hyeonu’s frank question.
“Yes, I’m going to bring him back.”
“Then we’ll wait here. We’ll watch the house while you’re gone.”
“It’s cold on the patio, so stay in the bedroom, okay?”
“Yes!”
Only after the two kids agreed did Jaewoo take his cell phone and go outside. The first thing he did was try to call Hyunjin. But no matter how many times he tried, the call didn’t go through.
─ Your call was unable to be connected. Please leave a message.
Jaewoo stomped his foot in frustration and tried dialing Mujin’s number this time. Unlike Hyunjin, he picked up the call after only one ring.
─ What’s going on?
“You know, don’t you?”
─ Oh, are you looking for that brat?
“Where’s Hyunjin? You’re the one that took him, aren’t you?”
─ And if that’s true?
“Please give him back.”
─ I don’t feel like it.
Jaewoo bit his lip and took a deep breath. He had to be resolute about what he needed to do next.
“I’ll pay off his debt.”
A low chuckle came across the phone. It didn’t seem like a laugh of amusement.
─ Then are you prepared to give me all of you?
“I’ll give you everything.”
─ Aren’t you talking about this a bit too easily?
‘A bit too easily?’ Not a chance. If Mujin knew how much agony Jaewoo had gone through before making this decision, he’d never be able to say something like that.
─ You should take better care of yourself.
Jaewoo took excellent care of himself, as long as Mujin wasn’t around. As he was about to let out a retort, the call suddenly ended.
‘What?’
Had it been a mistake? Jaewoo called Mujin back, but this time, the call was deliberately declined.
‘Why?’
When he’d finally agreed to be Mujin’s, uttering such shameful words, why would Mujin suddenly stop speaking to him? If this was how it was, there was only one course left to him.
Jaewoo quickly descended the hill and caught a taxi once more, rushing towards Mujin’s apartment.
Jaewoo had been in and out of Mujin’s apartment so many times while he was working there that the security guard was familiar with him. Thanks to that, it was easy for him to get inside.
As soon as he arrived at the apartment, he entered the code and opened the front door.
“That was quick.”
As soon as the door opened, Jaewoo heard Mujin’s voice.
“Where’s Hyunjin?”
“Are those really the first words you want to say to me?”
Mujin was sitting on the sofa in the living room, leisurely flipping through documents. Even though this was one of the worst days of Jaewoo’s life, Mujin didn’t seem to care.
“Where’s Hyunjin?”
Jaewoo asked again.
“Why don’t you come in first?”
Jaewoo followed his instructions, taking his shoes off and entering further. As soon as he was inside, he dropped to his knees in front of Mujin. Finally, Mujin looked up at him.
“Please. Please let Hyunjin go. I’ll repay his debt somehow.”
For a moment there was silence between them, before Mujin finally spoke again. His face was no longer expressionless; instead, it was contorted in anger.
“You know, I’ve been curious about this for a while now.”
Mujin put down his documents and tapped his finger on the coffee table.
“I’ve seen a lot of bastards in my line of work. Very few of them would be willing to pay off someone else’s debts – but there were a few.”
What was he trying to say? Jaewoo waited silently for Mujin’s next words.
“When someone offers to pay for someone else, why do you think they do it? I’m curious: what do you think?”
“It must be because they care for them.”
“That’s right. To be precise, it’s because they love them.”
“Why did you ask?”
Mujin looked Jaewoo straight in the eyes, his dark, fierce gaze appearing to see inside of him.
“Are you in love with that brat?”
Jaewoo knew he needed to say no, but despite that, he found himself unable to speak.
“Tell me.”
Mujin pressed him for an answer.
“Don’t lie to me. I told you it’s disgusting.”
The atmosphere became even more tense. Jaewoo couldn’t afford to lie this time, but he hated having to admit this to Mujin.
“…You’re right.”
In the end, all Jaewoo could do was spit out the truth.
“I love him.”
“It didn’t seem that way back when we first met.”
“Because I didn’t feel like this back then.”
What was going to happen now that he’d told Mujin the truth? Jaewoo squeezed his eyes closed tightly for a moment before opening them again.
“Usually, I love situations like this.”
For Mujin, destroying someone who had struggled all his life to maintain his decency, like Hyunjin, or someone who was a genuinely good person, like Jaewoo, was entertainment. But at some point he’d stopped finding this situation amusing.
To be precise, he’d stopped enjoying it ever since his heart was touched. Mujin had fallen in love with Jaewoo, who kept going out of his way to try to pay off Hyunjin’s debt. All because of love, that damn love.
That feeling that he’d once scoffed at was now the one holding him back. That was the reason why he hadn’t been able to destroy Jaewoo like he had so many others. Just the idea of it made him feel ill. And yet, he also wanted it. His emotions were conflicting wildly.
“But it’s different when it’s you.”
Mujin smiled softly and gestured for Jaewoo to come closer. Jaewoo slowly got up from the floor and approached him.
“Closer.”
Jaewoo walked around the coffee table, standing right in front of Mujin. A large hand reached out, wrapping itself around Jaewoo’s wrist. His arms broke out in goosebumps, but he managed to stay quiet.
“That brat had a condition.”
Jaewoo swallowed hard as he waited for Mujin to finish speaking.
“He told me not to touch you.”
Even in that situation, Hyunjin had been worried about Jaewoo.
“So, what should I do? Should I honor his terms?”
Mujin was offering him one final chance to return to his normal life.
“You said that you like me.”
At Jaewoo’s immediate response, the smile returned to Mujin’s face.
“Amazing. Yeah, I like you. But hasn’t the situation changed?”
Before, he’d enticed Jaewoo with the idea of completely eliminating Hyunjin’s debt. But now, the terms were likely to be far worse, since Hyunjin was already in his power. They both knew that.
“Why don’t you try to persuade me a bit.”
Jaewoo hesitated. How on earth was he supposed to convince someone like Mujin?
“Tell me why I should buy you.”
Jaewoo had bitten his lip so hard that he’d drawn blood, but he was unable to stop himself.
