PHUW 28

The reason Haeri ended up with two pairs of sneakers was that, when he hesitated between the two most popular designs, Jeong Mok said they should just get both and decide later when to wear them since it was already time to eat. The sneakers alone had cost nearly three million won.

In front of the steakhouse, Jeong Mok said he’d take all the shopping bags down to the underground parking lot first. Just as Haeri was about to offer to go with him, a notification came that a table was ready.

“We’ll lose our turn. Go in first, grab the table, and order whatever you want.”

“Ah… uh… okay.”

Flustered, Haeri headed toward the steakhouse while Jeong Mok took the escalator down.

He’d just picked the place because it was recommended, but when he saw the menu, he was at a loss. It wasn’t just steak, the cuts and sauces were all different, and the prices were high. Flipping through the menu in confusion, his phone buzzed. It was Jeong Mok.

–Order the most tender cut, enough for two grown men. If there’s any left, we’ll take it to go. Since you need a low-sodium diet, ask for it grilled medium-well with no seasoning, just unsalted butter. Have them give the herb salt on the side, and for other dishes, all sauces on the side too. If they have salad, order that. For my drink, sparkling water.

“Got it.”

With instructions, ordering became easy. Haeri asked for the most tender cut in a portion size the server recommended for two men, then repeated the rest exactly as Jeong Mok had said. He also added a barbecue platter that the place was known for.

Left alone, he became oddly conscious of his new clothes. The hoodie and pants were simple, but the sneakers had a flashy design.

“What kind of guy is hyung-nim?”

How rich was he to buy these things without a second thought? Haeri had accepted them because they were offered, but it weighed on him.

Was he a shopaholic? Or maybe one of those hopeless spendthrifts who threw money around like water? But his looks and manner were too steady and solid for that. And seeing how the bank branch manager had fawned over him, he probably really was rich.

“At least he’s not some NeoTube nouveau riche.”

If he were, he wouldn’t have spent on luxury shopping so casually. He’d even filmed a bit at home without him noticing, but nothing about him seemed like a content creator. Maybe he was in the pet business? But in those cases, people usually said they “ran a business,” not that they were “freelancers.”

“What’s the point of wondering? I can just ask.”

Even if it was one-sided, with gifts this expensive, it should be fine to at least ask what he did for a living. Just as Haeri decided to ask, Jeong Mok appeared.

“Did you order something good?”

As he sat down, a server came and set down two large plates.

“Yes, here.”

On a large wooden board sat grilled mushrooms, corn, barbecue wings, sausages, and a generous salad. After wiping his hands with a wet towel and taking a sip of his drink, a server came in carrying the steak tray balanced on one hand.

Once he received the steak, Jeong Mok silently cut it into bite-sized cubes, then swapped plates with Haeri, who was still deciding where to start. It was so natural there wasn’t even a chance to stop him.

“You didn’t have to cut it for me.”

“Then you can cut it yourself next time.”

Would he really let him next time? Probably not. Seeing the juicy steak, Haeri’s hunger took over.

“Thank you for the meal.”

He started eating in earnest, and once Jeong Mok saw him enjoying it, he began on his own portion. The way he looked at Haeri as he chewed slowly on a big piece of meat was so warm it was almost doting, like a grandmother watching her grandchild finally eat after three days of being sick. Not that it felt bad. If anything, it felt good, so good it was unsettling. After swallowing his bite, Haeri carefully spoke up.

“Hey, hyung-nim.”

Jeong Mok looked at him.

“What do you do for a living?”

“I told you, I’m a freelancer.”

He brushed it off, but this time Haeri couldn’t let it go.

“Right, but specifically, what do you do to be this rich?”

Leaning forward, Haeri pressed on seriously.

“Even if your family’s rich, why are you being so good to some orphan you barely know? You’ve already given me a huge settlement, so when the police contact me later, I’ll agree to it right away. No matter how rootless and alone I am, I’d never stab a kind person like hyung-nim in the back. So don’t be too nice to me. I’m getting confused.”

He blurted it out all at once, and Jeong Mok looked slightly baffled.

“Confused? About what?”

“Because you’re treating me so well for no reason. I mean, sure, I’m an accident victim, but no one just buys a stranger luxury clothes and a phone. When I say I’ll settle, I mean it, it’s not a lie. If you don’t believe me, you can even record it.”

“You don’t like me buying you clothes and a phone?”

“No, it’s not that, I love it. I just mean there’s no reason to spend this much money on someone like me. What if I turned out to have bad intentions and tried to scam you?”

“What kind of scam?”

Jeong Mok tilted his head slightly, as if he was genuinely curious. Haeri thought he finally had his attention, he lowered his voice and spoke firmly.

“I could go to the hospital all the time, get expensive tests, take up a single room for a year, all without any real aftereffects. Or I could use the memory loss to dump my whole life’s responsibility on you. You never thought about that?”

“Yeah?”

“And I could even plaster your personal info all over the internet, make it public. I could twist the story, turn you into human trash, and squeeze more money out of you.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

Even Jeong Mok’s gaze became more intense.

“Think about it. I’m an orphan. If I had evil intentions, there’d be no one to stop me. You even leave me alone in your house. What if I set the place on fire?”

“Are you going to?”

“No. I’m just saying.”

“Then that’s fine. And going public online is not a bad idea. It might even help you find someone who know you.”

He was taking something serious and treating it like a joke again. Haeri was starting to get angry.

“No, hyung-nim. I’m being serious.”

“I’m serious.”

“You’re not serious at all.”

Haeri’s face crumpled. He had never met anyone this impossible to talk to. Or maybe he should say, since losing his memory, he’d never had a conversation this frustrating. Either way, it made his chest tight. He gulped down sparkling water. A shiver ran through him as he burped loudly.

“Hahaha.”

A smile spread over Jeong Mok’s sculpted face. His shoulders even shook with laughter.

“Argh… What’s so funny? You think this is funny right now?”

When Haeri snapped, Jeong Mok waved a hand, still covering his mouth.

“No. You just look so cute being serious.”

He shouldn’t have brought this up.

‘Like I’m in any position to be worrying about some rich, handsome hyung-nim. I should just eat the steak he’s buying me.’

Haeri jabbed his fork into the steak and shoved it into his mouth, chewing hard. Even his bad manners seemed to delight Jeong Mok, who looked at him with pure fondness.

“Hyung-nim, are you a pervert?”

The irritation made him blurt out something risky.

“Hm?”

“You are, aren’t you? I’m not even a woman. I’m a man. Why do you look at me like that?”

“There’s no male or female when it comes to cute things.”

He was trying to brush it off again.

“Why do you think I’m cute? Most people don’t call a twenty-four-year-old man cute.”

“I do. And it’s not because you’re a man. If you were a woman, I’d still think you were cute.”

If you were a woman, I’d still think you were cute? That sounded off. Didn’t that imply men were cuter to him in the first place? At this point, Haeri couldn’t help but ask.

“Hyung-nim, are you… you know… that way?”

“That way?”

Haeri hesitated, pretending to focus on his food.

“You know, into men.”

“Gay? No. Did I come across that way?”

Jeong Mok denied it without a hint of hesitation.

“Yes!”

“So that’s why you said you were confused.”

“Exactly! Yes!”

Saying out loud the suspicion he’d been carrying all this time was a huge relief. He felt like all the tension drained out of his body.

“It’s just that you’re so overly nice. Giving luxury stuff to someone you just met, that’s usually how you lure someone, not normal behavior.”

“You say ‘not normal’ like you’d know, when you don’t even remember anything.”

“Losing my memory doesn’t mean I’ve gotten stupid.”

When Jeong Mok teased him, Haeri pouted.

“But now I feel bad, because… I am trying to lure you.”

Clang.

The heavy fork dropped onto the plate. Heads turned from nearby tables. Jeong Mok calmly waved them off.

“You… you said you weren’t gay!”

“I’m not.”

“Then why are you trying to lure me?”

To do what? If it wasn’t romance, was it crime? Had he gotten tangled up with a dangerous man instead of just a strange one? The blood drained from his face.

“Because I want to get close to you… is that not a good enough reason?”

Even as Haeri’s emotions swung between heaven and hell, Jeong Mok stayed perfectly relaxed.

“Why do you want to get close to me?”

“Because you’re cute.”

It left Haeri speechless. If he asked where exactly he was cute, the man would probably say something even more embarrassing.

“And what will you do once we’re close?”

“Anything you want.”

Dangerous. This was dangerous.

“You said you’re not a pervert.”

“I’ve never been called one in my life.”

“Then why do you seem so much like one?”

“Do I? I’m not sure.”

He just laughed. Did he really find this funny?

“If you didn’t have money, I’d think you were an organ trafficker. Or maybe you need my name for something? Are you planning to do a villa king scam¹? Use my name for a multi-billion-won rental fraud and then have me killed, something like that?”

“For someone with no memory, you sure know a lot.”

1. Refers to the notorious 빌라왕 사기 cases in Korea. In December 2022 , major media outlets reported that hundreds of tenants were unable to recover their jeonse (rental deposit) deposits due to a handful of vicious landlords, known as “Villa Kings,” who owned thousands of empty houses. https://namu.wiki/w/2022%EB%85%84%20%EB%B9%8C%EB%9D%BC%EC%99%95%20%EC%82%AC%ED%83%9C  ↩︎