PB

CHAPTER 54

"Son of a bitch. What rubbish are you spewing?"

"Rubbish? Come on, are you truly clueless, or are you just pretending not to know?"

This time, he didn't respond. It was evident that he was already cautious about Hyungseok, so he couldn't easily deceive me. I redirected my gaze to his car.

"One day, Hyungseok will be driving that car. What will you have then? Will you walk? If you lose your standing to Hyungseok, you'll be nothing."

After making an effort to control himself, Myungshin spoke in a hushed tone.

"Shut up, you jerk."

"Song Myungshin."

I called out his name, taking a step closer.

"Fuck you, who are you giving orders to?"

A sinister grin spread across my face, my teeth bared, and I didn't miss the moment when his eyes flickered with unease.

"Let's face it, you'd be nothing without Chairman Kim. So, it's just a matter of time before it all crumbles. Perhaps you should start by selling that expensive car of yours?"

After taking a quick look at the car, I added lightly. While happily staring at Myeongshin, whose hands were clenched in anger.

"I'll be keeping an eye out for when you'll have to crawl around trying to sell that shitty car."

*****

As expected, the next day, before heading to Photographer Lee's studio, I received a text message from the good-impression.

— Hyungseok got trampled by Song Yoohan.

It was a brief message, but it was the most welcome news I'd ever received from him. I must have been smiling unconsciously.

"What's so interesting?"

The manager, who was driving alongside me, glanced over and asked, but suddenly his expression turned serious.

"Don't tell me... it's that madman?"

"No," I replied, putting my phone in my pocket. He hesitated, as if unsure whether to broach the topic, but he cleared his throat first.

"Ahem, Taemin. By the way, um, are you close with that madman?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm not trying to meddle in your relationship..."

He glanced at me again. When I gave him an intense stare, silently signaling for him to continue, he cleared his throat once more.

"Ahem, wouldn't it be better to keep your distance from that madman? I mean, sure, he taught you a lot about Vilnius, but his real personality is erratic, and he even exhibits stalker tendencies! I mean, I cornered Hansoo and the road manager about it yesterday, but the road manager just broke down in tears when I mentioned Jay!"

Did that uncle cry?

"Really?"

"Absolutely! ...He didn't actually cry, but the despair on his face was as good as tears. The madman must have really been hounding and tormenting that road manager. At home, the man's wife probably nags him to go out and earn money, but outside, the madman keeps stalking him. I genuinely feel sorry for the guy."

It seemed like the manager was the one who had been emotionally affected. Regardless, I couldn't help but wonder about the relationship between the road manager and the madman. I hadn't inquired about it. I made a mental note to ask the next time we met. But while contemplating this, I recalled what he had said in the parking lot. One week. The deadline for me to ask him the truth. There were only two days remaining. So far, there had been no contact from him. Maybe he truly intended to wait the full week. And my mind naturally drifted back to Chairman Kim, who had given me another week's deadline.