Midday Guest Chapter 59

“How are you going to save my name?”

“Baby.”

“…Ah, that’s a bit much. Just save it as my name.”

“I can’t. It’ll become hard to distinguish you from all the grim bastards who call this phone.”

Yiwon decided to just accept the title. In any case, even hearing the “baby” talk now didn’t make his skin crawl; it felt like nothing. Rather, he felt like he might even be starting to look forward to it a little.

“How did you save mine?”

“Director.”

“Suddenly I’m wondering if it would be better to save it as my name.”

“Thinking about it, I think this is easier for me to distinguish you from my friends, too.”

Then he said he would change it depending on how the man behaved. Cha Seokjoo shook his head lightly and laughed. He thought to himself that the kid was someone who truly refused to lose a single word.

“Think slowly about how you’ll change it later.”

“…….”

“Do you want to stay longer?”

“No. I think we can go now.”

“Right. Let’s get going. You’ll catch a cold.”

Cha Seokjoo reached out his hand from a step away. Toward Yiwon, who was lingering, unable to leave Haeundang easily.

“Yes.”

The moment Yiwon took Cha Seokjoo’s hand, the white snowflakes rose upward, riding the wind. He moved his steps carefully, listening to the crunching sound that followed every footfall.

Footprints were engraved side by side on the snowy path covering the yard.

It was a new start.

It took a full six hours to arrive at Cha Seokjoo’s house from Yonggung-ri. Because the heavy snow continued until sunset, the highway conditions had been poor.

It was even difficult to use the rest areas. People who had flocked to take a break were lined up in long queues, and by the time they passed the third rest area, everyone reached the conclusion that it would be better to just arrive quickly.

Yiwon dozed off. He woke up from a nap and they were in Anseong; he slept and woke up again, and they were still in Anseong.

The car moved like a sluggard, but it did move occasionally. How long were they trapped like that? Finally, they exited the IC and began driving along the Olympic Expressway; only then did they start to gain speed.

Looking at the night view of the city where the lights never went out, Yiwon realized, Ah, it’s Seoul. The car moved smoothly toward the direction of Seokchon Lake.

“We will arrive shortly, Director.”

Hearing Ma Haeyoung’s voice, Yiwon sat up and looked out the window. He saw roads where snow removal was finished, people walking under trees blooming with snow flowers, and above them, a building soaring infinitely high.

Don’t tell me Cha Seokjoo lives here.

While he was blinking, Ma Haeyoung drove the car into the parking lot. Downward, into another section. He observed the underground parking lot with the feeling of entering a high-tech fortress. It was the first time in his life he had stared at a parking lot so absentmindedly.

“Phew, I thought my body was going to break apart.”

Oh Taesik opened the door wide and got out, thumping his lower back. After pounding his body so hard he looked like he might break something, he twisted his waist—making crack, crack sounds—and opened the rear door.

“Director, you worked hard. Little boss, you went through a lot of trouble too.”

“Thank you. You all worked hard.”

Ma Haeyoung nodded with a dark, exhausted face and replied, “Yes, you too, Mr. Yiwon.” It seemed he didn’t even have the energy to speak.

It was only natural, since he had been stuck with the burden of driving for six hours straight. Cha Seokjoo was exempt, and Yiwon didn’t have a license—of course, no one even asked—and they said Oh Taesik had bad driving habits that Cha Seokjoo didn’t prefer.

Cha Seokjoo took the bags from the trunk and moved off. Yiwon approached his side to try and take the bags, but he was brushed aside by a shoulder. After that, he just followed quietly behind.

Everywhere was marble. Luxurious lighting hung overhead, and furniture was lined up in spaces that seemed like no one would ever use them.

Even to an untrained eye, everything looked expensive. He thought to himself that it might have felt like this when he lived in Hannam-dong with his parents, but it was such an old memory that it didn’t come to mind easily.

They passed through several communal entrances. It was a place where doors only opened after facial recognition to pass the middle gates. While he stood with his mouth agape, Yiwon also registered his face at Oh Taesik’s suggestion.

“Look straight ahead.”

“…Like this?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Wow, little boss, maybe it’s because your face is the size of a fist even when you wake up from drooling… you take a good camera shot.”

“I didn’t drool…”

“Stand still.”

If he wasn’t careful, he might have ended up wandering around outside, unable to even get back into the house. After finishing the access registration, he even did a thorough test before stepping inside.

Entering the area with the elevators, it felt exactly like a hotel. The console placed across from the elevator was filled with fresh flowers. It was the very breed he had looked into planting in the front yard back in Yonggung-ri but gave up on because it was too expensive.

A soft notification sound that put the mind at ease rang out, and the elevator arrived. Oh Taesik pressed exactly two buttons. The 123rd floor and the 122nd floor. Then, without even the sensation of moving, the elevator rose at an incredible speed and arrived at the 122nd floor.

As his ears felt muffled and he was pressing near them, Oh Taesik patted his back and gave a demonstration.

“Do it like this. Open your mouth wide and go, Ah! Aaah!”

He understood what the man meant and appreciated the caring heart, but it was too burdensome. Oh Taesik has three gold teeth. The distance was close enough to know that. When Yiwon flinched and stepped back, Cha Seokjoo stepped forward and pushed the backs of Oh Taesik and Ma Haeyoung.

“Go.”

As if he didn’t mind the cold gesture, Oh Taesik stood holding the elevator door and continued the conversation. Short questions flowed, such as what to do with the guys left in Yonggung-ri and the need for a meeting. Cha Seokjoo ended it all simply by saying, “Let’s do it tomorrow.”

“Yes, Representative. Then, please rest well. Little boss, you worked hard too, so get some good rest. Call me if something comes up that you don’t know.”

“Yes, thank you. You two rest well, too.”

“Right then.”

The elevator doors closed. The numbers on the screen changed along with the calm music playing. 122, 123. Yiwon was seeing a person who lived on the 123rd floor for the first time. Trying his best to suppress his startled heart, he followed Cha Seokjoo inside, and his jaw dropped.

It was a place where the Seoul city center could be seen at a glance through the full-length windows surrounding the living room walls. Boasting a living room as wide as the Haeundang yard and an incredible ceiling height, this appeared to be a penthouse he had only heard of through rumors.

Since he was frozen in place to the point of let out an audible gasp, Cha Seokjoo moved into the living room. He didn’t even turn on a light, but the lighting came on automatically as if it knew exactly what to do.

Cha Seokjoo wordlessly set Yiwon’s bags down next to the sofa. A worn-out hiking bag and a suitcase. He had bought them at a second-hand market. Yiwon stared at his luggage, which looked like oil unable to mix with water in this space, and then looked around with his mouth wide open.

There were three sofas, each long enough for three people to lie down and roll around on, and a marble sofa table that was equally wide sat there. And far behind that was the kitchen, and an even longer hallway extending beyond that. It was a place worlds apart from Haeundang, where everything was accessible within a few steps.

“Is this… your house, Director?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you live in such a large place alone?”

“I live alone, that’s why I brought you here.”

While he was letting out a pathetic sound of realization, Cha Seokjoo stared quietly into Yiwon’s eyes. In the quiet, intertwined gaze, Yiwon pointlessly slung his bag over his shoulder.

“Make yourself at home.”

Make yourself at home. Everywhere was filled only with things that looked like they shouldn’t be touched. After answering “Yes” with a tight voice and lifting his head, a faint smile was lingering at the corners of Cha Seokjoo’s mouth.

“Open things up here and there when I’m not around. So you can at least roughly know where everything is.”

According to Cha Seokjoo’s words, he would have to spend about a week just wandering around the house. Yiwon nodded, thinking he should go find Oh Taesik and ask if he had questions or needed anything.

“Dinner?”

Cha Seokjoo asked in a light tone. After thinking it over, Yiwon shook his head. He was a man who even avoided cooking for himself back at Haeundang, and this was his own house. Yiwon wasn’t so lacking in tact as to open and close the refrigerator while asking, “Ah, then do you want to eat dinner?” And above all, since he had been in the car for so long, he didn’t have the slightest appetite and just wanted to rest.

“I’m not hungry. What about you, Director?”

“Same here. Let’s go up, then.”

Cha Seokjoo took Yiwon to the upper floor. Passing through a place where he realized there were stairs this wide inside a house, he reached the upper floor, where another space unfolded.

The small living room was decorated with a rug and leather sofas, giving it a cozy feel, and in the LED fireplace turned on for the winter, flames were flickering.