PHUW 121

Gom-i suddenly stood up and pressed his front paws against the inner door, then began jumping up and down. The heavy door, finished with thick metal and reinforced glass, shook violently and rang with a deafening noise.

‘Why is he that big?’

Even in photos he had thought Gom-i looked huge. But in person it was worse.

“Gom, put your paws down.”

Jeong Mok straightened Haeri and lowered his voice.

Instead of lowering the massive paw pressed to the door, Gom-i wagged his rear and tail.

“Sit.”

Standing in front of the door, Jeong Mok pointed at the floor and gave the command. Gom-i whined in a high pitch that didn’t match his size, spinning in circles like a spoiled child.

“Haeri-hyung is hurt. If you pounce on him, he’ll get hurt again. Then he’ll have to go back to the hospital. Do you want him to go back to the hospital?”

Haeri glanced sideways at Jeong Mok, who was seriously explaining this to Gom-i. Coming from someone who looked so cold and terrifying, the sight was strange.

‘Does he even understand what he’s saying? Couldn’t he just shut him in a room?’

He thought so but kept his mouth shut.

“Gom, step back. Don’t lunge at Haeri-hyung. Understand?”

Jeong Mok spoke as if he was coaxing a three-year-old and slightly opened the inner door. The moment there was space, Gom-i’s black nose pushed through despite all his words.

“Hey. Gom, back. No.”

Blocking with his leg, Jeong Mok pushed the door further open.

Before the door opened, Gom-i’s rear had been pressed to the ground, but as it opened his rump began bouncing again. Jeong Mok gripped his collar, keeping him from lunging forward, but it was frightening all the same.

“Um…”

“I’ve got him, don’t worry. Gom-i just likes you too much. He’s been attached only to you since the first time you met. So no matter what, you’re safe.”

It sounded like he meant that Gom-i would never bite him. Just like Jeong Mok himself.

They couldn’t just stand there forever, so Haeri slipped quickly past the inner door while Jeong Mok held Gom-i back. The corridor stretched long, and as he hurried down it, something like a wooden chopstick brushed the back of his thigh. No matter how he thought of it, it was Gom-i’s claw.

“Gom, sit!”

As expected, Jeong Mok shouted. The louf made even Haeri almost collapse onto the floor. His chest pounded. When he turned, bracing against the wall, Gom-i was whining, pinned between the legs of the even more massive man.

“You’re far too disobedient. Time for the leash.”

The hierarchy must have been clear, because when Jeong Mok threatened him, Gom-i sprawled flat and watched him nervously. Even so, he whined at Haeri like he was reluctant to let him go, but this was not the time for Haeri to dare take his side.

With the giant collar in his grip, Jeong Mok dragged Gom-i out past the door as if it was nothing. When he resisted, Jeong Mok only shot him another cold glare, and he slumped, ears and tail drooping, and obeyed. Soon chains clinked. Looking just in case, Haeri saw Gom-i being pulled into the vestibule, bound to a terrifying gold chain as thick as a coin.

“Wait.”

Jeong mok commanded, he shoved Gom-i into the vestibule and turned back. When the door closed, the hulking dog whimpered like an abandoned puppy.

“Is that okay?”

Haeri asked as Jeong Mok came in, thinking it seemed a bit too harsh.

“He needs to be scolded when he misbehaves. I’ll fetch him in ten minutes after you’ve changed clothes. Don’t worry. You aren’t hurt, right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You were scared, right? It’s because Gom-i likes you too much. If your leg wasn’t injured, I wouldn’t have gone that far.”

It seemed Haeri was the only one bothered by Gom-i whining like the world was ending. Pitiful as it was, it was far beyond what he could handle. All he could do was hope Gom-i would be calmer when he was brought back.

He followed Jeong Mok deeper into the house. As they moved, lights came on automatically, and suddenly the space opened wide.

‘Wow. What is this.’

His mouth hung open at the vast living room. Marble flooring, high-grade wood finishes, thick columns, walls of glass. It looked less like a home and more like the lobby of a massive building. Even half the ceiling was open. Stairs along the outer wall climbed all the way to the third floor.

‘So there really are people in Korea who live like this.’

He had seen plenty on Neostar accounts, but they felt like another world. Until now, it hadn’t felt real.

‘It’s worth being the lover of a chaebol if it means living like this.’

Beyond the huge windows spread the Han River night view that every person on TV was always raving about. He had never known it, living in a semi-basement. Sometimes, riding a late-night bus across the Han bridges, he had been captivated by the sight. But it was nothing compared to looking down from a high-rise. Living in a place like this would make life feel joyful.

“How is it, do you like it?”

Like it? It was astonishing enough to raise his trust score in Jeong Mok. But he had no intention of showing all his feelings outright. So what if he had money. It wasn’t even earned by himself, just something he’d lucked into from being born to the right parents.

“It’s spacious and nice.”

“The refrigerator is over there.”

Jeong Mok, who had taken off his jacket and hung it on the sofa, pointed toward what seemed to be the kitchen. But so what if the refrigerator was over there? Ah, did he mean to tell him to take out water if he wanted to drink.

For now Haeri nodded to show he understood. Maybe that wasn’t the reaction Jeong Mok had wanted, because he gave him a slightly uncertain look.

“Why, did I do something wrong?”

“That’s not it. I just thought there was a difference.”

He was talking about the time when Haeri had lost his memory. Since he wasn’t curious, Haeri didn’t ask further.

“This is your room.”

He pointed to the door near the entry corridor, inside, it was the size of a living room in an ordinary home.

On one side there was a bed so large that no matter how much he thrashed it would be hard to roll off, and on the other side was a sliding door. There were also a vanity, a dressing room, and a bathroom.

“This is the main bedroom on the first floor. You used it because of the wheelchair, but if you don’t like it you can switch to another room.”

It was three times the size of his entire old place. There was no way he wouldn’t like it.

“It’s fine.”

“Your old clothes are in this dressing room. I bought some new ones too. Everything inside is yours, so pick whatever you like and change. My room is over there. Let’s meet after you’ve changed.”

After Jeong Mok went out, Haeri first checked the mattress. It was soft yet firm, it reeked of money. At the foot of the bed sat a fabric sofa that could seat three if they squeezed, along with a table. On top of the table was a remote, but no TV was visible.

Where a TV should have been, on the empty wall beneath it sat a square wooden box. Strangely enough, the logo of a famous electronics brand was engraved on it. Just in case, he pressed the power button on the remote. Then a small signal lit on the edge of the wooden box, and a black screen slid up. It wasn’t that there was no TV, it was that it was the kind of cutting-edge model worth tens of millions of won, which he hadn’t recognized.

“People really use this?”

And not even in the living room, but in the bedroom. Meanwhile, he had once laid his bedding down in front of an outlet, leeching off someone else’s Wi-Fi, because his old phone’s battery had been too weak. The gap between them was too wide, and his interest in the TV dropped.

He decided to change clothes first and headed toward the dressing room. The space in front of the dressing room and bathroom alone was the size of a master bedroom in most homes. The vanity lit up automatically as he approached. It was more luxurious than any beauty salon he had ever been to.

Cosmetics sets labeled in both English and French were lined up. Brands he had never seen before. He opened a lid and sniffed. The fragrance was subtle and nice.

In the drawers was a full set of that hair dryer that was blowing up across every beauty account regardless of gender. His curly hair had always stressed him out when he tried to manage it, so he had long wanted one. But it was too expensive, so he had only ever left it in his cart.

“Oh.”

Haeri was smiling before he knew it. He wondered what else was in the closet. Excited, he dragged his cast along and flung open the dressing room doors.

“Oh oh!”

It was like a celebrity’s closet, wooden wardrobes lined the walls. Except for one section, the upper parts were all empty. From the middle down to the floor, though, shopping bags stamped with brand logos stuffed the space. On one side, sneaker boxes from luxury collaborations that had skyrocketed in resale price were stacked up. Beside them were layers of products with fruit logos, up to the latest models.

That wasn’t all. In the center was an accessory case, and on it sat not one or two but six luxury shopping bags, the very kind guys he had worked with at bars had flaunted to show off. From brand R, the one every pretentious bastard wore, to brand P, famous for being carried by an entertainment agency CEO. In terms of money, the value of ten high-end foreign cars was now in his dressing room.

His cheeks were on the verge of splitting from his smile. More than that, he was so giddy he barely managed to hold back his scream.

“Ha. Calm down. Calm down.”

As he rubbed his chest with trembling hands, he saw behind those six foreign cars disguised as watches a plain delivery box. It was the size of a shoebox, it stood out as shabby among the dazzling shopping bags and brand boxes.

He looked at the label stuck on top. For contents it said [daily necessities] in Korean. The receiving address was this house, and the shipping date was just before the kidnapping.

The recipient was Ahn Haeri, with the same phone number he was using now. Had he ordered it during the time he couldn’t remember?

“What is this?”

The box was a bit heavy. When he shook it, several small items clattered together inside.