CTL 17

Yoongeon crossed his arms and looked at the screen Yebin had brought up.

“The interior design is like this.”

“……”

What should I call this…. Yoongeon couldn’t answer easily and stroked his chin with his hand.

“……The interior design.”

“Yes.”

“…seems a bit too old-fashioned.”

“I knew you’d say that, oppa.”

“……”

“But I think so too. Ms. Jia and Ms. Inyoung also think so.”

Yebin let out a small sigh. Her expression showed that she understood why Yoongeon was reacting this way.

“But Mr. Seohwi said so. He said the old-fashionedness is this design’s identity.”

“……”

Of course, that might be true, but this was too far from being mainstream. It was clear that it would be extremely polarizing.

“Hmm…”

Yoongeon pondered. It was an obvious thing to say, but he wanted Seohwi’s design to be well-received in the market as well. But for that to happen, a design revision was inevitable, and with that stubborn personality of his, would he really be able to accept it?

“Oppa, look at this.”

While he was pondering, Yebin opened another tab and showed him the screen.

“We suggested that while we respect Mr. Seohwi’s opinion, how about we refine the parts that are too old-fashioned a bit. So this is the version we revised. Look here, this. What do you think?”

“Ah, this is good. This side is definitely better.”

“Right?”

On the screen she showed this time, the excessively old-fashioned and rough design had been softened a lot. No matter how much retro was the trend, a certain amount of sophisticated design needed to be incorporated, but honestly, Seohwi hadn’t been able to do that. However, when the experienced Chief Ha and Manager Kim added their touch to his design, it became much more plausible.

“I showed this to Mr. Seohwi, and thankfully he said it was fine. The truth is, Mr. Seohwi is still a bit unskilled, you know? It takes some time to handle these programs, so we just decided to take it and finish it. What do you think, oppa? Do you think it needs more changes?”

Yoongeon focused on the screen and then shook his head.

“This much seems just right. So, is Mr. Yoon Seohwi completely excluded?”

“Huh? No, he’s not excluded. He’s the owner of the design. He’ll continue to participate and give his opinions.”

“I understand.”

At Yoongeon’s words that this would be enough to not miss out on mass appeal, Yebin nodded her head as if satisfied.

“It’s a relief that Mr. Seohwi isn’t being too stubborn. You know too, right oppa? How incredibly stubborn new designers are.”

Yebin said that designers who haven’t yet tasted the bitterness of society often don’t know how to compromise, so that happens sometimes.

—Rrrrr.

“Ah, oppa, but….” It was when Yebin was about to speak. Yebin’s phone rang.

“Oh, Mom.”

Yebin, with a look of realization, hurriedly checked her watch.

[Are you not coming?]

“Ah, sorry…. I was working and didn’t see the time.”

[Hurry up and come. Mom and Dad are still waiting.]

“Uh-huh, I’ll be there soon.”

Looking at the time, it was already past six o’clock. Yoongeon let out a small sigh. What’s so special about this damn Christmas. I have so much to do.

He had been busy since this morning. He had told the people Ko Huijun had assigned to bring the lounge bar manager, and afterwards, he received a video of Ko Yoonchul deliberately losing money at Gangwon Casino and leaving with a giggle. He would probably get his hands on the scene of him getting the cash back from the person planted on this side in a few days. After blocking the route for money laundering overseas, he was now going so far as to do such troublesome things.

Recently, Ko Yoonchul had been laundering money to a dangerous extent. It seemed he was getting antsy, thinking that Yoongeon was threatening his position. As soon as he secured funds, he was endlessly spending them on entertainment and what not to win the favor of the executives, and he was even siphoning money overseas, perhaps to prepare for when things went wrong. He was so diligent, not even knowing that Yoongeon was watching his actions as clearly as the palm of his hand.

Then, from four o’clock, at Yebin’s request, he had come to the company and wrestled with the design for a long time. But now he had to buy a cake and even celebrate the birth of another country’s god. It was absurd.

A lot of time had passed, but the foundation of Yoongeon was still his time as the Taewang of Cheongwolmok. Although Cheongwolmok had disappeared long ago, to him, the only being that was a god was Cheongwolmok, so such things were just tedious and troublesome.

“Oppa, we have to go now. It’s time.”

“…Just go alone.”

“Ah. What are you saying, really! No! Mom said to bring oppa today no matter what!”

Yebin said, jumping up and down on the spot.

“If you don’t want to go that much, tell her yourself. This is absurd, really.”

“……”

At his sister’s words as she glared at him, Yoongeon let out a deep sigh.

“It’s because I’m really busy.”

“Is there a time when you’re not busy, oppa? There isn’t. You were busy yesterday, you’re busy today, and you’ll be busy tomorrow. And in your busy schedule, you find time to self-harm, huh?”

“……”

As expected of Ko Yoongeon’s sister, her words were very scathing.

“So today, in your busy schedule, let’s just take a moment to eat cake. Okay? You understand, right? And Mom said so. If you don’t want to come home on Christmas, you have to have a lover. But you don’t. So you have to go.”

“Haa…”

She just doesn’t give him a chance to retort. Well, to be honest, he didn’t have anything to retort with anyway.

In the end, Yoongeon had no choice but to get up from his seat, creasing his brow in annoyance. That damn cake, that damn Christmas. He was sick of it all. It’s not like anything remains after celebrating that kind of thing anyway. It all ends when you die.

“Where are we going.”

Unable to resist Yebin’s pestering, Yoongeon got in the car and asked as he started the engine, and she mentioned a nearby department store. She said there was a famous cake shop there and that she had made a reservation a month ago. At the word ‘department store’, Yoongeon unknowingly let out a sharp breath.

“Do you have any idea how many people are there right now?”

“Where is there a place without people today. Let’s go, we’re late.”

“……”

He looked at the watch on his wrist. No matter how he thought about it, if he took the car there now, they would be late. It was better to walk.

“Are we very late?”

“Of course. It’s faster to walk.”

Moreover, at this evening hour, it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to do anything like parking. At those words, Yebin made a groaning sound, then hurriedly opened a map app to check the route.

“Ah, it says it’s a 15-minute walk. Let’s just walk.”

If they took the car to the department store now, it would take at least 30 minutes. Not only that, but they wouldn’t be able to get out of there either. Yoongeon got out of the car without a word and started walking with Yebin. He was slowly following behind Yebin, who was walking in a hurry, and the surroundings were a feast of colorful lights.

“……”

Yoongeon walked, looking at the beautifully decorated streets in celebration of Christmas with no emotion. The festival celebrating the birth of a god was the same as it was in the past, but it was particularly flashy these days. But Yoongeon’s face remained expressionless. He watched for a little while before quickly losing interest and just walked while looking at Yebin’s back. Carols echoed throughout their walk, but they were just noisy.

After a while, as they walked, the department store came into view across a traffic light. He saw Yebin stomping her feet and saw that she was shivering from the cold. Yoongeon took off his coat and draped it over his sister’s shoulders.

“Why aren’t you wearing a padded jacket, oppa? It’s cold.”

“……”

She said that since all he took off was a coat, it wasn’t warm at all. Only when Yoongeon took off his gloves and handed them to her did her complaints subside.

“Oppa, when the light changes, I’ll run and just grab the cake quickly. It’s on the B1 floor, so I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t run, walk. The road is slippery.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll go at a fast walk.”

The moment he was about to say that running and walking fast were the same thing, the light turned green. Yebin abandoned Yoongeon and walked away quickly at a speed no different from running.

Watching Yebin’s back, who was terribly disobedient, Yoongeon slowly followed behind. He thought she would be out soon, so he planned to wait at the door, but a large Christmas tree right in front of the main entrance caught his eye. Thinking that Yebin would find him quickly if he waited in front of it, he stood there and was about to take out a cigarette when he remembered. He had forgotten that his cigarettes were in his coat pocket.

“Damn it…”

The thought that he couldn’t even smoke a cigarette while waiting made his brows furrow automatically. What a shitty mood, really…. Christmas carols were ringing out and all the people passing by were smiling happily, but Yoongeon alone let out a deep sigh there. The only person not smiling there was Yoongeon. He just stared at the ground in annoyance.

A beautiful light shone down on Yoongeon, who was standing in front of the large tree and looking only at the ground. But as if the light couldn’t reach him, Yoongeon’s eyes remained sunken.

“Ko Yoongeon!”

It was then. As he was waiting for Yebin to come out, someone called Yoongeon’s name.

“……”

Yoongeon did not react at all. It was because he didn’t think it could be his name. It was understandable, as no one in his life had ever called him in such a welcoming way as they just did.

“Yoongeon! Ko Yoongeon!”

“……?”

But at the sound of his name being called repeatedly, Yoongeon eventually had to raise his head, and upon seeing the face of the person he met, he couldn’t say a word.

“……”

The person standing before him was someone he had never thought he would see here.

“It really is Ko Yoongeon? Wow! It’s been so long!”

It was Baek Cheongha. The spiritual being who made a deal with Yoongeon in his first life in exchange for saving Seohwi.

“……”

It was a face he could never forget. It was the only divine being he had seen in his life. Such a being was now in human form, coming up to him and greeting him.

“Nice to see you— What, are you not happy to see me?”

Yoongeon looked down at Baek Cheongha with a stiff gaze, then slowly raised his eyes. A little distance away, he saw Seohwi looking at him with a bewildered expression.

“Do you… know me?”

With his eyes fixed on Seohwi, Yoongeon barely managed to part his lips to ask. His gaze shook with anxiety.

“Of course I know, Taewang Yoongeon of Cheongwolmok.”

“……”

“The one born with the vessel of an emperor. You dared to sweep me into your fate, didn’t you? And you will this time too.”

Baek Cheongha grinned and stroked Yoongeon’s cheek with his hand. Only then did Yoongeon’s gaze turn to Baek Cheongha.

“Why are you so stiff? Loosen up your expression, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”

“You…”

“You’re lucky, aren’t you? I didn’t think we’d meet like this.”

Baek Cheongha wrapped his arm around his neck. At the sight that looked just like lovers, Seohwi’s brow, who was far away, furrowed for a moment, but Yoongeon’s gaze did not leave Baek Cheongha, so he failed to notice.

“Do you remember that time?”

“Why are you asking something so foolish. What’s the reason for deliberately asking again what you already know?”

“……”

“I didn’t know you’d be born too in Seoryoung’s last life? Ah, you know Seoryoung, right? There, she’s next to Seohwi. And the dazed kid next to her is Seoryoung’s husband, Beomseon. Moon Beomseon, what do you think? Do you recognize him? Ah, by the way, you remember that you killed Seoryoung, right? That’s why Beomseon committed suicide too. Do you remember?”

His words, spoken with great delight, clawed at Yoongeon’s heart haphazardly.

“Hmm— I wonder if you can’t remember because you saw them so briefly? But since he looks just like Seohwi, you’d know just by looking, right?”

Baek Cheongha chattered on with a very excited face, but Yoongeon’s face was only cold.

“Ah, don’t worry. They don’t remember you. Isn’t that great? Isn’t it a relief to see that even though you killed them, they were born well and are living happily like this?”

There was not a single ounce of malice in his words. But at those words without malice, Yoongeon froze. He bit his lip hard to endure the rising discomfort, but it was no use. Yoongeon’s eyes, which had turned black and dead, were fragile, as if they would break at any moment.

“…You, what are you. You’re not… human.”

The moment Yoongeon said those words, Baek Cheongha’s pupils momentarily constricted and then returned to normal. The moment he saw Baek Cheongha’s bizarre eyes, he felt a chill run down his spine, and then suddenly his heart became severely anxious.

“No? I am human? You took my karma instead, so I became human too! Did you forget that already?”

Baek Cheongha bounced on the spot and then raised his head as if to show off. Even though he was acting endlessly light, Yoongeon’s heart grew heavier and heavier. His stomach was turning and he felt like he was going to vomit. The life began to drain from his eyes.

“How is it? Don’t I look pretty good? Hey, this world right now. It’s so fucking exciting! It’s so much fun!”

“Honestly, in the old days, there was nothing to do and no fun, so I just slept all the time!” Baek Cheongha said, snickering and laughing.

“Aah— It’s a bit of a shame to die after living just this one life, but it’s okay because I’ll be with Seoryoung. Look, Yoongeon. How do I look? I’m so fucking awesome, right.”

“Baek Cheongha! This person is flustered! You don’t know this person, do you?”

It was when Yoongeon was sweating coldly, unable to do this or that at Baek Cheongha’s words. Seoryoung and Seohwi, who were far away, came closer. Seoryoung pulled Baek Cheongha off and then bowed her head to Yoongeon.

“Uh, I’m sorry. I heard you’re my oppa’s company’s Executive Director… I’m really sorry. This friend is usually a bit ill-mannered. But he’s not a bad kid at heart.”

He was busy apologizing with a troubled face, perhaps worried that some disadvantage would befall his oppa.

“That’s not true? I’m friends with this guy?!”

“Hey, Baek Cheongha! Be quiet!”

At those words, Baek Cheongha shouted as if it was absurd. At the words that he was friends with Yoongeon, Seoryoung was startled and hit his forearm, then dragged him away.

“Yoongeon—! See you again next time!”

He waved his hand enthusiastically even as he was being dragged away. Seohwi, who was watching that, put his hand to his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Executive Director, I’m sorry. ……Executive Director?”

“……”

“Executive Director, are you alright?”

Yoongeon couldn’t say anything and stood frozen on the spot, then covered his mouth with his fist.

What is this. Why am I like this.

In that moment, his stomach completely turned, and cold sweat ran down his temples. On a cold day, seeing Yoongeon, who was thinly dressed, sweating, Seohwi’s face immediately hardened.

“Executive Director. Why…”

Seohwi reached out his hand to him as if worried, but Yoongeon turned his back without a word. And ignoring Seohwi who was calling him, he slowly started to go back the way he came. With each step he took, it felt like he was walking on the blades of sharply honed knives. It was a pain like his solar plexus was being torn out. In the excessively precarious atmosphere, he faintly heard the sound of Seohwi trying to follow him but being caught and dragged away by Baek Cheongha.

Yoongeon walked slowly and stood in front of the traffic light, thinking it was a relief. He didn’t want to see Seohwi right now. He was with the people he loved so much, and he couldn’t dare to wish for him to abandon those people and come to him.

The people around him glanced at him, his face pale and constantly sweating, when he heard the sound of someone running from behind, and then he heard Yebin’s grumbling voice.

“Ah, why did you go first? I told you to wait… Huh? Oppa, what’s wrong?”

“……”

Ah, Yebin. Only then did Yoongeon, who remembered Yebin, open his mouth, suppressing the rising nausea.

“Sorry… but take a taxi.”

“Oppa? No, wait. Your complexion is too bad, how can I go. No, let’s not do this and go to the hospital. I’ll call Mom… Oppa, oppa, wait a minute!”

Yebin said, taking off the coat she was wearing and giving it back to Yoongeon as if she was worried. But Yoongeon didn’t have the leisure to listen to his sister’s words. As soon as the light changed, Yoongeon grabbed his sister’s hand and went to the taxi stand.

“No, why are you doing this!”

He recklessly opened the door of the taxi at the very front and pushed his sister in, then gave the driver whatever money came to hand and called out an address. The driver said they had to take them in the order of the line, but at Yoongeon’s words that he could keep the change, he kept his mouth shut and stepped on the accelerator.

“Excuse me! Can’t you see the line here?!”

Because of that, the people who had been waiting in line began to complain with victimized faces, but he didn’t have the leisure to answer each of those complaints right now. Even in the short time it took to return to the company, it was so hard that Yoongeon had to bite his lip several times.

✧ ✧ ✧

Yoongeon, who got out of the car with a pale face, passed by the security guard who came running with a surprised look and hurriedly went up to his home. Without even the mental capacity to say not to let anyone in, as soon as he arrived home, he rushed to the bathroom, grabbed the toilet, and threw up everything inside him.

“Heok… Uuuk…!”

In the pain of his stomach being squeezed and his insides being crushed, Yoongeon retched until the veins on his forehead stood out. But he hadn’t eaten much, so nothing came out. Yoongeon, who had been holding onto the toilet for a long time, couldn’t overcome the exhaustion and collapsed sideways. But that too was not for long. He staggered up, cleaned up the messy surroundings, stood in front of the sink, and turned on the faucet.

“Heok…. ……Haa…”

In the mirror, a man was panting for breath, looking like he could drop dead at any moment and it wouldn’t be strange at all. Yoongeon felt dizzy and stumbled, but he washed his face with cold water and cleaned his dirty mouth. Then, clutching his head in splitting pain, he headed for the study. To be honest, he didn’t even know if he walked properly or if he crawled.

“Medicine…. The medicine… it was here somewhere…”

He felt like there was a black fog in his head. Not only that, but his stomach was being torn apart, and he felt as if someone was repeatedly smashing his head with a large iron hammer. Unable to get a grip due to the pain, Yoongeon opened a desk drawer with a trembling hand. Fortunately, the headache medicine and sleeping pills he always took were neatly placed there.