PHUW 125

It was none other than Jeong Mok’s family.

“Hello.”

Haeri bowed his head and waist at the same time in greeting. Even so, he was bewildered because he had no idea why the man had come.

“Sorry to come without notice. I must have startled you?”

“No, haha.”

Even if he was startled, he couldn’t just admit it outright.

He had worked part-time long enough to know. When the boss’s family visited, sometimes you had to bow even lower than to the boss himself to keep a comfortable work environment. Since Haeri’s current “job” was being raised as Jeong Mok’s pet human, he had to show the proper social grace for that role.

“Would you like to come this way?”

Part-time worker mode kicked in. Haeri politely indicated the sofa set with both hands.

The man gently smiled and walked over to the sofa. Meanwhile, Haeri quickly signaled to the chef. The quick-witted chef was already pulling out coffee capsules and jars of tea leaves.

“Would you prefer coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, please. Light and hot.”

Before Haeri even relayed the request, the coffee machine was already pulling a shot. Haeri asked the chef to prepare an iced coffee for himself.

If possible, Haeri would have liked to carry the tray of coffee himself. But with his leg still in a cast, he waddled when he walked, so it was better to let the chef handle the serving. Still feeling uncomfortable, he loitered near the counter until the uncle gestured for him.

“Come sit over here.”

“Yes.”

He hurried over to sit down.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

The phone he had left on the table buzzed. A housekeeper brought it over. It was Jeong Mok.

“Is that Vice Chairman Jeong?”

“Yes.”

“Answer it.”

After an awkward bow, Haeri picked up the call.

–I hear there’s a guest at the house?

Jeong Mok went straight to the point without even a greeting.

“Yes, your uncle came by.”

–Really? What brings him by without notice? He’s not someone scary, so you can relax around him. But if anything happens, call me right away.

“Yes, I understand. Don’t worry.”

The call ended quickly.

Even without Jeong Mok’s worry, Haeri intended to do well. No employer disliked seeing their family treated kindly, and besides, Haeri wanted to look good in front of Jeong Mok’s family, his only source of support.

“Vice Chairman Jeong worries a lot.”

“Yes, haha.”

“Does he usually treat you well?”

“Of course. He treats me incredibly well.”

The tone was a little exaggerated, but the answer itself was sincere. The man slowly nodded with a kind smile.

Jeong Mok had said he could be at ease, but that was because it was Jeong Mok. Despite his gentle impression, the aura that radiated from this man made it impossible to truly feel relaxed. If he had been Haeri’s peer, he could have said anything, but as an elder, Haeri didn’t know what to say or how to say it, so he only returned an awkward smile.

It was the same for the other man. He only smiled and kept observing Haeri. It was almost as if he had come specifically to see him. No, it was certain. He clearly knew Jeong Mok wasn’t home when he came.

At the dining table, the bodyguard sitting with the chef looked grim. He would probably be scolded by Jeong Mok for letting someone in without permission. Haeri had never seen Jeong Mok angry, but if he ever was, Haeri was certain it would be terrifying. The bodyguard knew it too, that was why he looked so serious.

It wasn’t only because the order hadn’t been properly carried out. The very fact that Haeri was meeting family could be enough to make Jeong Mok angry.

He might call himself a pet human meant only to be cute, but to anyone else, he was obviously a hidden male lover. And wasn’t the thing chaebol families hated most the hidden lovers of young heirs? Especially if that lover was a man, it would be all the more outrageous. That was the point of posting the bodyguard. If a family elder came right past him, this visit was bound to be the beginning of some storm.

So this was the start of a chaebol makjang drama?

Haeri gulped, then he cautiously opened his mouth. If he just kept smiling awkwardly, he felt like he would die of nerves.

“Um…”

He had meant to ask if the man had eaten.

“Call me Professor. Jeong Mok calls me that too.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“The reason I came today without an appointment is because…”

Thankfully, the man began explaining first.

“I wanted to talk with you, Ahn Haeri-ssi.”

Of course. He must have come to see what kind of person Jeong Mok’s hidden male lover was.

Even so, Haeri wasn’t in a position to act like a drama protagonist and bristle with pride or hostility. It was just uncomfortable and awkward.

His mouth moved on its own.

“But just in case you might misunderstand, I want to say beforehand… we’re not in that kind of relationship.”

“Hmm? Not that kind of relationship?”

“I mean, with… Vice Chairman Jeong.”

Struggling to pick a proper title, he copied what the professor had just used. That made the man’s expression shift slightly.

“Did Vice Chairman Jeong tell you to call him that?”

“What?”

And if he really was Jeong Mok’s uncle, that would make him the husband of Hyeonsan’s Chairwoman.

“So that’s why I called him Vice Chairman.”

“Ah. So he didn’t tell you to, you just…”

It wasn’t as if Haeri was some Hong Gil-dong¹ who couldn’t call Jeong Mok by his name. If told to, he could have easily called him hyung. In fact, Jeong Mok himself referred to himself as hyung. But Haeri’s feelings hadn’t reached that point yet. That was why he rarely used any title at all. Since they spent most of their time alone together, it hadn’t been uncomfortable.

“It seems your relationship is a little different from what I thought.”

The professor suddenly cut straight to the point. Whatever he thought their relationship was, Haeri had to deny it. Not only for the professor, but also for the others in the household, like the chef and the bodyguard across the room pretending not to listen but on edge, and the housekeepers who had been bustling upstairs and had gone quiet. This was a chance to declare to everyone that it wasn’t that kind of relationship.

“We’re absolutely not like that.”

Haeri waved both hands.

“Not like that?”

“Yes, absolutely not. If you misunderstood, I’d feel terrible toward Vice Chairman Jeong. He’s just… well, right. He treats me just like Gom-i.”

At those words, Gom-i, who had been lying quietly on the far side of the living room, stood and trotted over to Haeri. Even while eyeing the guest, he wagged his tail.

“He treats this dog like a baby too. In the same way, he treats me like a cute younger brother. He even jokes that I don’t have to do anything as long as I’m just cute. Haha. Odd taste, right?”

“He said you don’t have to do anything, just be cute?”

“Yes. I have to go with him everywhere. He calls all the time to check if I’ve eaten. He worries I might get into trouble if I try doing anything besides staring at my phone at home. Well, I did end up in this state after going out, but… it’s overprotective. Haha.”

He hadn’t meant to badmouth him. He had crossed the line while joking around.

“But I actually like it. Being unemployed suits me perfectly.”

He quickly tried to smooth it over. But the professor’s face only grew darker.

“Staying home just looking at your phone?”

Fuck. He had forgotten how elders hated laziness.

“I also feed and walk Gom-i. It’s just that with my leg like this, going out is hard. I go out on weekends, but on weekdays it’s difficult. I’m still scared to go out alone. Once I get better, I’ll do the house cleaning myself.”

Cleaning? He had never even thought of that, but he added the excuse on the spot.

In reality, his days were filled with eating the delicious food the chef made, watching whatever movie or drama he wanted, playing games, and spending time with Gom-i. Then Jeong Mok would come home from work, and Haeri would chat with him, watch more movies, play more games. Sometimes the three of them, Jeong Mok, Haeri, and Gom-i, went to the park together. It was a simple routine, but Haeri had not the slightest complaint. His greatest wish now was to keep living this comfortably and then die without pain.

“Studies?”

“…Sorry?”

“Ahn Haeri-ssi. You only graduated middle school, correct? I’m sorry if this offends you, but I checked. Forgive me.”

“I’m not offended at all. That’s right. I dropped out of high school.”

So he had done a background check? Of course he had. In this world, that was basic. Haeri was a little surprised, but he could accept it.

“You barely completed compulsory education. You’re still young. Do you think that’s enough?”

“Sorry?”

He was supposed to be a professor, but why was he suddenly bringing this up?

“Most people your age finish high school, unless there are very special circumstances. The majority even graduate university.”

Haeri knew that well enough. He just didn’t understand why the man was scolding him about it.

“And you’re saying he lets you stay home, doing nothing but looking at your phone?”

Ah. So he really was a teacher. More than that, he was pure vice-principal material.

“He says I only need to be cute by his side? Haha.”

Haeri tried to pass off the truth as a joke. But it only backfired. The professor’s expression grew even graver.

“Even if you’ve completed compulsory education, at your age society still sees you as dependent, a time to be focused on your studies. And yet he keeps you shut inside the house, without even assigning you a tutor. Unless it’s because he lacks the means, which is clearly not the case.”

“He doesn’t keep me locked up…”

Haeri’s weak attempt at a defense was cut off by the professor’s sharp gaze.

“I assumed he was attentive enough, always having you by his side. If I had known it was like this, I would have come sooner.”

Was this really something to get so angry about? Haeri was just eating well, playing well, living well.

“Do you know what this is called in education?”

A delinquent dropout bum? Haeri answered only in his head, biting his lip.

“It’s called gentle abuse. Intentionally keeping someone incompetent so they remain dependent. Preventing them from becoming independent. It’s extremely serious emotional abuse. I never imagined Jeong Mok would do something like this.”

The professor’s face twisted in real anger. But for Haeri, the unexpected word “abuse” left him stunned, his mouth hanging open.

Dependent incompetence, sure. But abuse? That’s what this was?

1. Hong Gil-dong jeon” (The Tale of Hong Gil-dong), written during the Joseon Dynasty, most likely in the late 17th or early 18th century. The story is considered one of Korea’s first novels. Hong Gil-dong is the illegitimate son of a nobleman. Because his mother was a concubine, he cannot legally call his father “father” or his older brother “brother,” due to rigid class rules. ↩︎