PHUW 129

“You and I are the same kind of person. There’s no such thing as a difference in level.”

“Yes?”

What kind of nonsense was that.

Hey Gom-i, do you get this? He was tall, handsome, a chaebol, with far more schooling, a chaebol vice chairman at that. And yet he said he was the same as Haeri, who was barely above average height, not ugly but not exactly handsome, an orphan who had lived in a semi-basement rental. He claimed there was no difference in level. What kind of barking nonsense was that? Gom-i, you’re the dog of this house, can you interpret?

But Gom-i had no interest in Haeri’s muttering. Instead he rolled over with his belly up, asking to be rubbed. How shameful, he was lying there exposing himself like that. He was going to ruin his chances of ever finding a mate.

Jeong Mok came closer and added words Haeri hadn’t asked for.

“If there’s a difference at all, it’s me who falls short compared to you.”

He thought he was being teased. Haeri lifted his head and stared at him. The man looked down at him, seated by Gom-i, but Haeri found no trace of mockery or playfulness in his face. Was he serious? If it were ridicule, it would be too petty.

“Are you teasing me?”

“I mean it. You saw Professor Choi earlier, right? He’d be more worried for you than opposed. And if anyone did oppose, it would be because of me, not you. So there’s nothing for you to worry about with my family.”

From an objective point of view it made no sense, but Jeong Mok spoke with complete certainty, without the slightest hesitation.

Hey Gom-i, don’t you think our master’s a little strange? Too bad the dog didn’t have some kind of Bluetooth link to understand Haeri’s inner thoughts.

It didn’t seem right to just accept his words at face value. Saying there was nothing to worry about with the family also implied that he was a person with such flaws that even a chaebol family would readily accept a male lover.

They would be living together, whether it went well or badly. If he had violent tendencies, or some extreme perversion, that would be a problem. Or maybe his personal life was so messy, with children from different mothers strung along, so that a male lover was actually more acceptable since at least there wouldn’t be any kids. Or, worst of all, if he had a history of preying on minors.

No, that was going too far. Violence seemed the most plausible. It was said he had personally beaten the kidnappers bloody, and before that he had supposedly sent someone to the ICU.

But that was just conjecture. The last time he had guessed wrong, it had ended in a dildo disassembly show. It was better to ask directly than to assume.

“Can I ask what kind of problem it is?”

“Call it an inner flaw. Come to think of it, I’ve never told you about it.”

Jeong Mok answered lightly while rubbing his chin. Since he wasn’t grave about it, Haeri felt some relief. He also got a feeling of what it meant. No one who kept a human pet could be perfectly normal. Of course there’d be an inner flaw.

“I don’t know what makes you say that. You’re better than me in looks, brains, money, and ability, so what inner flaw?”

He said that, but he was dying of curiosity about what the flaw really was. Violence? Or just a twisted sexual taste? Which one? At least give him a category hint.

But Jeong Mok dodged Haeri’s intent.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re cute, and your bright, lively personality is your charm.”

He had only scratched the surface out of formality, but Jeong Mok took it seriously. Not that it wasn’t serious.

“I’m an idiot who doesn’t even know the alphabet.”

The zero score in English had hit him harder than expected. He told himself English was unnecessary for living, but he hadn’t expected he couldn’t even write the alphabet properly. He felt more than embarrassed, almost depressed.

“You can start learning now.”

Jeong Mok reached out and ruffled Haeri’s hair affectionately.

“You graduated college, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you do anything after college?”

“I started a doctoral program in architecture but quit. I have an architect’s license though.”

“Oh. You have an architect’s license.”

Haeri had no idea what that meant, but since he mentioned it, it must have been one of those professions ending in “-sa.” Haeri knew that much, even if the “-sa” he knew wasn’t professional¹. Well, not just anyone could pull off a scam either.

What exactly was he lacking. Haeri knew the world was unfair, but if he was that great, he could at least have been short. Or bald. Or…

Haeri glanced at the man’s most private area. The perfectly fitted suit pants did nothing to hide his masculine silhouette. Or maybe couldn’t hide it. The way it subtly showed when he walked was too perfect, even excessive.

‘Wow, it’s seriously too much. That’s not even a Korean size. If you have any conscience at all, please let it be impotence or premature ejaculation.’

It was a long shot, but there was no harm in praying.

Just then the chef and housekeeper returned, along with the head of security. The head bowed ninety degrees to Jeong Mok as soon as he entered.

“I apologize. I failed to carry out the order not to let anyone in without permission.”

“No, it’s fine. The professor is an exception. But if it had been the Chairwoman or another family member, you and your team would already be looking for new jobs.”

His low voice, forgiving yet warning, was so even it was all the more chilling and frightening.

“These days finding trustworthy people is the biggest nuisance in the world. So please be careful, so I don’t have to go through that trouble.”

It wasn’t that it was difficult, but that it was troublesome. If they really tried, they could find someone, but since it was troublesome, they should just handle it well on their own.

‘So that’s how you can threaten to fire someone after one mistake and make it sound so terrifying.’

Haeri, who was usually closer to the side that got fired rather than firing, found himself sympathizing with the head of security and watching Jeong Mok’s expression nervously.

That evening, Jeong Mok had the household staff start preparing the study diet and passed on Teacher Kim’s instructions for the study room renovation, telling them to change whatever could be changed immediately, then went back to the company.

The dinner menu, according to the study meal plan, was braised pollack with mushroom tangsuyuk. For a moment, Haeri thought it was school lunch. Breakfast would be simple soup and rice, lunch a hearty school-lunch style meal, dinner also in the style of a school lunch but with smaller portions. For snacks, there would be nuts, yogurt, and various staple crops. Fruit could be added at the chef’s discretion.

While they ate dinner, the housekeepers turned Haeri’s room upside down. They installed an air purifier and a humidifier, carefully hung blackout curtains, and in exchange cleared away the TV, tablet, and laptop to the study. The meaning was clear: when in bed, only sleep.

“We’ll bring the study clothes tomorrow morning.”

A housekeeper said this just before leaving for the day.

“Study clothes? What study clothes?”

“It’s written here in the preparation notes. Loose and comfortable training clothes, recommended colors gray or navy, socks required, indoor shoes up to preference. But no flashy colors, and no Crocs.”

“Let me see.”

It was the first time Haeri saw the document Jeong Mok had received from Teacher Kim, since he had only taken photos and sent them.

“I’ll forward it to you, Haeri-nim.”

The housekeeper sent it to him. Haeri read it carefully as soon as it arrived. No wearing expensive luxury watches during class, phones must be turned off or set to silent and stored in a locker.

“A locker too?”

He was definitely living in a chaebol’s penthouse, so why did it feel like some cram school with iron bars? The old refrain about wearing prison uniforms called school uniforms came to mind. Locked in a prison called the classroom. Haeri flopped onto the sofa.

“This is driving me crazy.”

How could they tell him not to wear any of the luxury clothes overflowing in his dressing room! Even if he stayed home, there were still the chef, the housekeepers, the security guards, and whenever he took Gom-i out to the courtyard park, there were always faces he ran into. Coordinating luxury clothes was a small daily joy, even a hobby. And now he couldn’t.

“Then what’s the point of being a chaebol’s human pet.”

His fate was truly cruel. It never once allowed an easy break. Damned life.

The weekend passed too quickly, and Monday at 10 a.m. arrived in a flash.

Teacher Kim arrived five minutes before class. After a light greeting, she went straight to the study room. Haeri trudged after her. Gom-i ran upstairs as soon as Teacher Kim arrived. Traitor—no, traitor dog.

The Korean class consisted of reading a short essay and a poem, then sharing impressions and answering questions about the content. Expressions and words Haeri didn’t know were set aside. Teacher Kim caught perfectly what he didn’t know and what he was confused about, explained naturally without even being asked. Because of that, there was no reason to feel especially intimidated or embarrassed.

‘This is really easy to understand.’

He might not have the ability to judge a teacher’s skill, but it was obvious Teacher Kim was a professional.

Class time went by more smoothly and quickly than he expected. The homework was to read the passage for the next class and prepare his impressions in advance.

“How was it? Manageable, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You focus well and understand quickly, so I think we can finish this textbook within the week. Since you did well today, I’ll give you one praise sticker. If you do your homework well, you’ll get another.”

The teacher pulled out a printed sticker sheet and stuck one on. Haeri hadn’t gotten anything like that since elementary school. He received another one in math class. When he called Jeong Mok during lunch, he told him about the stickers.

–Haha, that’s cute. You got two?

“Yes. I’ll get more in social studies and English later.”

–Good. Keep it up.

Just as he promised, Haeri got one sticker each in social studies and English. The sheet had a total of thirty slots. Four a day. With weekends included, it could be filled in about ten days. Haeri took it as a new challenge.

Back in elementary school, he had never once filled the sheet. So he had never gotten the reward. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to. He just never kept up with the supplies or did his homework properly. If he had been more diligent himself, it would have been fine, but without nagging parents, it had simply turned out that way.

1. –사 (sa) is attached to certain job titles and means something like specialist/professional. But 사짜 in slang also means scammer or fraud. ↩︎