The New Groom Chapter 6

The newlywed, once armed with lofty pride and accustomed to ordering people around with a tilt of his chin, had started to speak significantly less at some point. As the time spent cooped up in his office at the company grew longer, his arrival time back home became equally delayed. Like a houseplant wilting day by day, Lee Jeongrok began to discolor from the edges inward.

He couldn’t even confide in his wife, fearing she might ridicule him. The same went for his friends living in Seoul. Because of his unnecessary pride, he didn’t even reach out to them, let alone seek counseling for his troubles. No one noticed the changes that had gradually progressed within him.

No one, that is, except for Chief Joo.

It all started on the day Chief Joo abruptly bought him sugar-coated donuts when he was engrossed in work until late, volunteering for overtime.

“Eat while you work. Your sugar levels are dropping.”

Lee Jeongrok, who didn’t have positive feelings toward Chief Joo, didn’t even glance his way and coldly refused. Chief Joo, without showing even a hint of awkwardness, wolfed them down himself. However, the next day, instead of donuts, he brought tteokbokki.

“It’s exactly the time you’d be feeling peckish. The tteokbokki from this place is freaking delicious.”

When Lee Jeongrok refused, saying he couldn’t eat spicy food, he slurped it down himself, smacking his lips again. Complaining that his taste was annoyingly picky, he brought crème brûlée the next day. Lee Jeongrok just stared blankly at the high-end dessert that had suddenly appeared.

“I went all the way to the department store to buy this. Just try it once. They say it’s really delicious.”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you can’t eat this either? Seriously, Mister Managing Director, what on earth do you eat to stay alive? Do you live on dew?”

Lee Jeongrok was dumbfounded by Joo Seungchan, who was acting out this “three visits to the thatched cottage” like it was some Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was dumbfounded, but on the other hand, something hot welled up in his chest, forcing him to lower his head hurriedly. He cast his eyes down and tapped the hard sugar surface with his spoon. At that moment, it felt as though the hard defensive wall he had been laboring to keep up had shattered along with it.

Looking back, Chief Joo had always been consistent.

Even when he grated on his nerves by watching cheap dramas during their daily commutes, Chief Joo was the only one who made sure he ate his meals, whether lunch or dinner. Despite not being able to handle a simple coffee errand properly, he meticulously took care of snacks. Whenever Lee Jeongrok came out to get some air because he felt suffocated while attending a social gathering, Chief Joo would unfailingly offer him a cigarette.

Lee Jeongrok was a person who, by nature, lacked superficial affection, but he was helpless against Chief Joo, who charged forward like a wild boar. At the very least, he had opened his heart enough not to immediately kick him out even when Joo babbled on after hearing ridiculous, baseless rumors that he had been slapped by his father-in-law or whatever else.

“Hey, Managing Director. Lift your face a bit. Did you really get hit?”

“…”

“Did you get slapped and get so pissed off that you flipped the place over?”

“…I didn’t get hit.”

Finally raising his head, Lee Jeongrok retorted bluntly. Chief Joo, who had been sitting sprawled out opposite him, approached him instantly. Casting aside the concept of personal space, he clung close to inspect his face and scoffed.

“What do you mean ‘got hit,’ you’re perfectly fine without a single scratch. Because these people are free with nothing to do, they’re just sitting around spreading bullshit. No wonder, I thought it was strange. Even so, the President wouldn’t raise a hand against you, would he? Right?”

“…”

“You said you got scolded because of the newspaper, didn’t you? So do your work properly, man. What’s the point of just working overtime day in and day out? You get scolded to death because you screw up at the crucial moment.”

Lee Jeongrok, his anger flaring up, glared at him.

“Watch your mouth, Chief Joo. There’s a limit to how much I’ll tolerate.”

“Did I say something wrong? Why are you getting angry?”

“…”

“You’re angry because you feel guilty, aren’t you? Taking your anger out on me for no reason…”

“Then do I look like I wouldn’t be angry?!”

Lee Jeongrok, who had stood up abruptly from the sofa, shouted.

“Are you even oblivious? Why do you rub salt into the wounds of someone just sitting still? Just jabbering about useless rumors! As if it isn’t bad enough that the old man is already calling that bastard Go Yoongi on the phone, putting me in a foul mood!”

“Aha, so the President called Yoongi hyung-nim again, huh? That’s why the atmospheric pressure was low?”

“If you understand, get out. Let me think on my own.”

“Think? Think about what? What is there to think about? You’re just sulking because you got scolded by the President, skipping meals, slamming the door shut, and hiding away. You’re a grown-up Mister, not a baby—it’s a bit embarrassing. Hahaha!”

“…”

He didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore at that shameless laughter. He was that discouraged.

Lee Jeongrok had complicated feelings about Go Yoongi. It wasn’t the same inferiority complex he felt toward the lawyer, Jin Juyeong. It was closer to jealousy than inferiority. In fact, Lee Jeongrok despised Go Yoongi as a human being so much that his pride was wounded unbearably even by the fact that he felt jealous of him.

From his family background to his academic credentials, connections, and refinement, Lee Jeongrok was ahead in every way (he even boasted that he was better-looking). The only thing that made Lee Jeongrok feel small was the fact that this place was not Seoul, but Jangchang.

Jangchang was, in a sense, Go Yoongi’s home ground. In Jangchang, the education and connections Lee Jeongrok boasted of were useless. In this closed regional society, Go Yoongi’s education, connections, and his ignorant, laughable tastes were valued much higher. However, he didn’t really care about the pathetic acts of these country bumpkins flattering each other. What Lee Jeongrok was jealous of was, for instance, the ‘time.’

The fact that the family who should be closest to Lee Jeongrok was closer to Go Yoongi than to him. That fact threw him into agony. Go Yoongi was his wife’s best friend and the business partner the father-in-law trusted the most.

It was inevitable, given that the time Go Yoongi and his wife had known each other spanned decades, and the time his father-in-law had been doing business with Cheonghwa Industry was what it was. Even though he understood it with his head, he couldn’t suppress his emotions. Recalling the sight of his father-in-law calling Go Yoongi in front of him a little while ago made his stomach ache to the point of nausea. He felt his blood boil at the thought of vermin who didn’t match his level looking down on him.

“But Managing Director. Shall I tell you something?”

While he was at it, having the insensitive Chief Joo continue to pick at his insides made his rage peak. He didn’t even want to know if Joo was truly oblivious or just pretending to be. Lee Jeongrok waved his hand without replying. It meant for him to get out. Of course, Chief Joo wasn’t the type to listen obediently. Instead of leaving, he draped his heavy forearm over Lee Jeongrok’s shoulder.

“You’re sulking like a baby like this, right? Then only your reputation goes to hell.”

“…”

“Look at how baseless rumors are already spreading even though you didn’t even get slapped. It hasn’t even been an hour since you got scolded and came out, huh? Why would such rumors go around? It’s all because they look down on you, Managing Director. Is there anyone behind their backs criticizing the President even when he gets hit with eggs? They just pretend not to see it, pretend not to hear it, and bow and scrape on their own.”

“…So what, what do you want me to do? Go out and grab people one by one to show them my cheek to prove I wasn’t slapped?”

“Yes! As expected, someone who graduated from Seoul National University is different. I guess if you teach them one, they know ten.”

“…”

“In times like this, you have to hold your head up high and go out, telling those fucking bastards to screw off. Don’t eat your meals outside, go to the company cafeteria, don’t worry about what others think, have a post-meal smoke, grab a damn cup of coffee—that’s what you should be doing. If you go out and walk around clearly, who’s going to make up lies behind your back? They’d be asking for death.”

“…”

“I’m just so frustrated. What’s the point of hiding in your room alone, just throwing things and acting like a jerk? Only our cleaning lady is going to curse at you for having a foul temper. Huh?”

“…Whether they curse or not.”

“Oh, sure, is it none of my business whether they curse or not? So stop digging a hole for yourself and get out. Go out and eat without worrying about others. I’m starving to death too. You didn’t go eat, so I had to starve with you.”

Chief Joo, who cajoled him as smoothly as a snake sliding over a wall, pulled his arm. Lee Jeongrok was still unfamiliar with the unreserved physical contact of the people in this town, but it didn’t always feel unpleasant. Eventually, pretending he couldn’t win, he stood up and left the office.