Cinderella lost her parents at a young age, and she got hit on the head by her stepmother and stepsisters. F*ck, f*ck, oh f*ck. How much she must have cried. F*ck, f*ck, oh fuuuuck!

“Oh f*ck, seriously!”

Soo-hyun threw the hose he was holding onto the floor. He was cleaning the swimming pool with a long brush, but it was so vast that his shoulders felt ready to break. It looked clean enough already, so why was he being forced to scrub it? Sighing, he sat in the corner and rummaged through his pocket, finding cigarettes.

He put one in his mouth and lit it. After taking a deep drag of cigarette smoke and blowing it into the air, he looked around. Lying on the bed m*sturbating had been nice, but actually cleaning seemed endless no matter how much he did. According to the manager, since they never knew when Yang Ho-beom might decide to swim here, the pool always had to be kept filled with water.

What kind of nonsense is this in a country with water shortages? Ah, so annoying. Maybe he shouldn’t have come. It was almost evening, but there was no end in sight to the cleaning, and his arms were killing him. As he exhaled smoke into the air with a sigh, someone suddenly entered his field of vision.

He almost swallowed his cigarette. Yang Ho-beom stood there, looking down at him from above. His face resembled the grim reaper. With that same expression from the night he was about to strangle him. Soo-hyun hurriedly put out his cigarette and hid the butt behind his back.

“You’re… early?”

Ho-beom took a deep breath. Whether he was heated or inhaling the cigarette smoke dispersing in the air, Soo-hyun couldn’t tell, but he briefly saw an intense craving for smoking on the man’s face. Soo-hyun took out the cigarettes from his pocket.

“Want one?”

Looking at them, Ho-beom clenched his teeth and smiled.

“I told you. I’m f*cking quitting smoking.”

He unwrapped a piece of gum and put it in his mouth, chewing vigorously. It was just gum, but he looked like a tiger tearing into its prey. Belatedly, Soo-hyun remembered the manager saying that because of Yang Ho-beom, all the other employees were also participating in quitting smoking.

Soo-hyun quietly put the cigarettes back in his pocket and also slipped the butt in there. He resumed scrubbing the floor with the brush, but Yang Ho-beom still stood in the same position, looking down at him.

Feeling guilty, Soo-hyun scrubbed the floor even more vigorously. At least he was fortunate. He had changed the bedding before coming here. If Ho-beom knew that someone had lain on his bed, m*sturbated, and even smeared s*men all over it, with his temperament, he might bite Soo-hyun’s head off.

When he still hadn’t left after some time and continued standing in the same spot, Soo-hyun looked up and smiled as sweetly as possible. Sure, he’d been beaten up, but it wouldn’t hurt to stay on his good side. No matter how young he was, he was still Soo-hyun’s boss.

“Is there something you need me to…”

Ho-beom abruptly walked away. Soo-hyun let out a sigh of relief. He quickly finished cleaning and turned on the water, which gushed out from a pipe as thick as his forearm. It would fill up quickly. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he came out of the pool area to find Yang Ho-beom, who he thought had left, sitting on the sofa.

When Ho-beom beckoned him with a finger, Soo-hyun approached with slight tension. He stood quietly in front of him, and Ho-beom placed a shopping bag on the table. Anyone could see it contained a phone.

“Use this for now.”

Ah. An unexpected gift. He opened the bag and took out the box—it was the latest model. While Soo-hyun was taking out the phone to check it, Ho-beom went to the bar, took out a bottle, and poured it into a glass. Then he held the glass up to the fluorescent light to inspect it.

Tsk, he clicked his tongue, suggesting that Soo-hyun hadn’t cleaned the glass properly earlier. As Ho-beom took out another glass, Soo-hyun quickly went over to collect the stained one. Ho-beom filled the glass with ice, poured in the liquor, and looked at Soo-hyun. The ice clinked as he swirled the glass.

“I’ve had clothes and necessities delivered to your quarters. Since I dragged you here with nothing, I should at least do that much.”

The sudden change in attitude left him dumbfounded. Not that he was asking to be beaten up, but still.

“Give your number to whoever you need to. I don’t mind.”

This was also unexpected.

He’d thought that being confined here meant there was no way he could call anyone…

“Can I contact people I know?”

“As you wish.”

His ready agreement made Soo-hyun a bit happy. It was a relief, as he’d been worried about leaving his rooftop room empty. He had several close friends, including Lee Dong-seok, who might be looking for him, concerned that he’d been kidnapped and had his remaining kidney stolen.

Soo-hyun bowed his head slightly.

“Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. I’m just doing this to find your father anyway.”

Though he was smiling, something cold emanated from it. Soo-hyun understood. There seemed to be no benefit in continuing the conversation. Since he’d more or less finished cleaning, he cautiously asked if he could leave now.

“If there’s nothing else you need, can I clock out—”

Before he could finish, Yang Ho-beom made a dismissive gesture with the hand holding his drink. Soo-hyun gathered his phone, bowed once more, and walked out. As he let out a long sigh, a passing employee gave him a puzzled look. He rolled down his pants that he’d hiked up and straightened his shirt before heading to the elevator.

Finding his room in the basement, as the manager had instructed, wasn’t difficult. His name was already written at the entrance. Knock knock, he opened the door to find no one there. The room was clean and spacious enough for two people.

Soo-hyun plugged in his phone to charge and was about to change out of his cleaning-soiled clothes when he paused. He checked the clothes that had been left for him and found expensive shirts and pants neatly folded with crisp creases. Opening the closet on a hunch, he found not just one or two outfits. There were no price tags, but most were recognizable luxury brands.

His mouth hung open.

“Why such expensive clothes…”

Could they be fake? He turned them inside out and felt them, but couldn’t tell. With each passing situation, his curiosity about what his father had stolen only grew. Setting aside these thoughts for now, Soo-hyun went to the bathroom, showered, and changed into a robe.

After washing up, he held the new clothes against his body, and perhaps because of his handsome face, they looked even better. Suddenly, Kim Chang-nam came to mind. With his personality, he might be going around beating up Soo-hyun’s acquaintances in his place. After all, that’s how Soo-hyun had first been dealt with by him. After some deliberation, Soo-hyun dialed Kim Chang-nam’s number on his phone. The call went through, and after a while, Kim Chang-nam’s voice came on the line.

[Hello?]

Soo-hyun’s mouth opened and closed. Now that he’d made the call, the words wouldn’t come out.

[Who the f*ck calls and doesn’t speak!]

“Boss, it’s me.”

Silence. Soo-hyun frowned with a groan. Why is this bastard so quiet? By now, he should be throwing a fit, which would be normal.

“I’m sorry about what happened. But I really didn’t know anything about it. I definitely didn’t try to do that on purpose. You believe me, right? When I get out of here, I’ll pay you back. So please don’t go hassling my friends—”

[Hey, Baek Soo-hyun.]

“What?”

[Don’t call me again.]

Soo-hyun raised his head and stared at the wall opposite him. What is he saying? Blinking in confusion, Kim Chang-nam added one more thing.

[Your debt’s all paid off, so stop contacting me, you bastard.]

Thinking he’d misheard, Soo-hyun asked again, and Kim Chang-nam shuddered in disgust.

[F*ck! Anyway, don’t contact me. That guy paid off all your money! Got it?]

Click, the call ended. That guy? Who? Soo-hyun stared at the disconnected call in bewilderment, then thought of Yang Ho-beom’s face. No way, it couldn’t be… Why would he pay off my debt…? But no matter how hard he tried to think of someone else, there was no one around him with that kind of financial capability.

Alternatively, Kim Chang-nam could be lying, but what would he gain from such a lie? He was the type to collect even a thousand-won bill relentlessly. Soo-hyun checked his phone to see if there were any other saved numbers. He’d thought it unlikely, but there was exactly one. The name “Yang Ho-beom” looked unfamiliar.

He stared at it for a moment, then pressed the call button.

The call went through.

And after a moment, a voice came on.

[What.]

The response was curt. His breathing was rough. F*ck. Cursing and a woman’s moans could also be heard. Soo-hyun checked the time. Going at it hot and heavy since evening. F*ck, after he cleaned everything so thoroughly.

“Looks like you’re busy, I’ll call later.”

After hanging up, he stared at the phone. So that statement about not being interested in men must be true. And immediately after, a call came back.

[What is it?]

His voice was calm as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry for interrupting.”

[Just tell me what you want.]

“Did you pay off my debt by any chance?”

When there was no answer, he thought he was wrong, but then:

[I lent you the money. I don’t like flies buzzing around.]

“Ah…”

[Pay me back later. When you get that billion won from my grandfather.]

If he really received a billion won, he’d have quite a lot left even after paying everything off. Just imagining it felt good. Of course, he couldn’t be 100% sure the old man would actually give him that money. If they caught Baek Gwang-mu, things might change. They could bundle father and son together and bury them in the ground.

But then Yang Ho-beom said something unexpected.

[If it were me, I’d have asked for 10 billion.]

Soo-hyun snorted in disbelief, and Ho-beom added:

[Seriously, renegotiate with the old man. If you want, I’ll help you.]

“No thanks. Get too greedy and your stomach bursts.”

A soft laugh could be heard. Wise choice. After a brief conversation, the call ended. It felt strange to be laughing and talking with someone who had beaten him mercilessly just the day before. He hugged the new clothes and collapsed onto the bed. Though everything was still confusing, he didn’t feel entirely bad about the situation.