It’s quiet. As night fell, Soo-hyun started getting hungry. He wondered if there was a separate employee cafeteria. Though curious, there was no one around to ask. When would that manager person come? He didn’t feel right contacting Yang Ho-beom just to ask where to eat. He decided to look around and stepped outside, but as soon as he opened the door, a large figure passing by stopped and stared at him.

“Who are you? New guy?”

A gruff voice. The closely-cropped hair and intimidating appearance made him look more like a gang member than a security guard. Soo-hyun greeted him pleasantly, saying hello and that he was new. The man looked him up and down once, then went into the room next door.

Walking down the corridor, Soo-hyun noticed that most of the casino guests were foreigners. The manager had said it was a foreigners-only establishment, with Chinese and Japanese visitors being the most common. Occasionally, some people would obtain permanent residency in places like the Philippines just to come and gamble here.

Outside, Soo-hyun pulled his coat tighter as the cold wind blew, hunching his shoulders. The places where Yang Ho-beom had beaten him still throbbed. Maybe he should get some meat. Looking around, he spotted a pork belly restaurant across the street.

When the light changed, he crossed the road and was immediately hit by the smell of grilling meat. His mouth watered. Opening the door, a friendly-looking owner rose from the counter.

“Welcome!”

Soo-hyun looked around for a suitable place to sit. The window seats were all taken, and as he searched for a corner spot—huh? He spotted a familiar face. The person recognized Soo-hyun and waved first, but not wanting to deal with it, Soo-hyun pretended not to see and turned away.

“Owner, I’ll come back another time.”

But then the person shouted. New guy! Soo-hyun! Baek Soo-hyun! They called his name so loudly that other customers turned to look. The restaurant owner also gestured toward Soo-hyun with a look that said, “Aren’t they calling you?”

Sighing, Soo-hyun turned around with a forced smile. Far away at a window seat, the manager was waving and gesturing for him to come over. Damn it. So much for eating quietly. Reluctantly, he went over and found that the people who appeared to be the manager’s companions had already shifted their chairs to make room for him.

The manager, without being asked, requested an additional rice and glass from the restaurant staff. Though they’d only had a brief training session earlier, he was being quite friendly to Soo-hyun. There were two more people with him—one was a man about Soo-hyun’s age, and the other was a woman.

“I saw your light was off, so I thought you weren’t around. If you were going to eat, you should have said so, and we could have gone together.”

Soo-hyun just smiled.

“Everyone knows, right? This is Baek Soo-hyun. As of today, he’s in charge of cleaning the CEO’s room.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the male employee let out an “Oh no” with a sigh. Soo-hyun understood what that meant. They each took turns introducing themselves. One was from the security team, the same age as Soo-hyun, and as it turned out, he occupied the room next to Soo-hyun’s. The woman was a front desk employee, three years older than Soo-hyun.

“Soo-hyun, these are all good people here.”

“Yes…”

“You should introduce yourself too. Where’s your hometown? Which school did you go to?”

My hometown is Seoul, and school… well, not the one you’re thinking of… When he smiled ambiguously, the female employee’s eyes lit up as she cut in.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

The male employee next to her pouted.

“Noona, why do you want to know that?”

“Why can’t I be curious?”

“Whatever. I’m Jang Sung-hyun. Let’s get along. We’re the same age, so can I speak casually? By the way, isn’t that an expensive T-shirt? Looks like a luxury brand.”

“Yeah, it must cost at least a hundred thousand won.”

Soo-hyun looked down at the T-shirt he was wearing. He knew it was expensive, but that much? Crazy. They should have just given me the cash instead.

“Soo-hyun, there’s a rumor you’re related to the CEO. Is that true?”

Soo-hyun smiled and shook his head. No. Ah, everyone seemed slightly disappointed. He could understand why. Just then, a restaurant employee brought Soo-hyun chopsticks and a glass. The manager poured him a drink, which he accepted with both hands and drank half. The alcohol stung his empty stomach. He picked up a cucumber, dipped it in sauce, and ate it when the security team guy spoke up.

“I’ve been wondering, what happened to your face? Did you get hurt?”

Soo-hyun wiped the remaining alcohol from his lips with the back of his hand and replied casually.

“Yang Ho-beom beat me up.”

“…”

Everyone looked like they’d misheard. Soo-hyun added one more thing.

“I stole something of Yang Ho-beom’s. He’s the one who messed up my face like this. That’s also why I was brought here.”

After smirking and downing the rest of his drink, the atmosphere turned awkward. The manager laughed, “Haha,” and patted Soo-hyun on the back. The young guy knows how to joke. When Soo-hyun kept his mouth shut, the manager’s chubby cheeks twitched. The atmosphere suddenly became quiet, and the security team employee checked his watch first.

“Ah! That’s right. I had an appointment. I’ll go first. Sorry, Manager.”

Soo-hyun inwardly rejoiced. Yes, please go. I want to eat in peace. Not to be outdone, the front desk employee joined in.

“Manager, me too. I forgot I said I’d visit my mom.”

They placed their share of the meal cost on the table and disappeared almost fleeing. Oh my. Why are they acting like that? The manager also stood up, and Soo-hyun thought he would just leave too. He rather hoped he would. So he could eat comfortably by himself. But the manager moved to the seat across from Soo-hyun. He placed more meat that the staff had brought on the grill. The sizzling sound of grilling meat was pleasant.

“Usually the younger person should do this, but since it’s your first day, I’ll be generous. I’ll grill it for you.”

Despite saying he’d grill it, he was burning all the meat. Soo-hyun sighed and took the tongs and scissors from him.

“Manager, why are you still here?”

“I haven’t finished eating. By the way, can I speak casually when we’re not at work?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Giving up on getting rid of him, Soo-hyun skillfully placed meat and kimchi on the grill. After grilling it expertly, the manager expressed admiration.

“Oh, you’re pretty good at grilling meat!”

Then he filled Soo-hyun’s empty glass. When asked if he could drink with his injured face, Soo-hyun said it was fine. This was mild compared to the days when he got beaten up daily for money. Back then, he rarely had a day when he wasn’t injured.

“Those friends from earlier aren’t bad people. Our boss is nice when he’s in a good mood, but when he gets angry, he’s really scary. So they generally don’t want to get on his bad side.”

Honestly, Soo-hyun didn’t care whether they stayed or left. He just wanted to eat in peace.

“What about you, Manager? Aren’t you scared?”

Soo-hyun took a sip of alcohol and picked up some meat.

“Of course I’m scared. Why wouldn’t I be? I told you earlier. There was an unpleasant incident before.”

Though he had acted earlier like he would never talk about it, he took a drink and began to speak.

“Back then, gangsters actually forced their way in.”

“Gangsters?”

“Yeah. A pretty big organization in this area.”

He said he was there that day. Dozens of gang members had rushed in with tools before the hotel even opened for business, and the unprepared staff were helpless. But then Yang Ho-beom appeared and, with just a knife, subdued them all in an instant.

Soo-hyun laughed in disbelief.

“You’re lying.”

“It’s true. He cut off all their arms and legs right in front of me.”

“Why not say he flew on a leaf while you’re at it?”

“You don’t believe me. Well, I hardly believed it myself even though I saw it. He was really like a tiger.”

Soo-hyun laughed in disbelief. Yang Ho-beom must be about 190cm tall. Imagining that build flying around was scary. Like an eight-foot ghost. The manager continued glorifying Yang Ho-beom. At the rate he was going, he might er*ect a statue in front of the hotel, so Soo-hyun cut him off and refilled his empty glass. After emptying five bottles of soju between them, the manager collapsed face-down on the table and fell asleep.

“Wow, hey, you’re really good at…”

He was mumbling something unintelligible. Soo-hyun’s face was also flushed from alcohol, and he kept rubbing it. After paying for the meal, he stepped outside to find it was already past 11 o’clock. Supporting the manager, he headed back to the hotel, but the passing people and trees seemed to curve, and even the ground appeared to be moving.

When they finally reached the hotel, there was a black car parked in front of the main entrance with three or four people in black suits waiting. Perhaps an important guest had arrived? Just then, Yang Ho-beom emerged through the revolving door. There was no trace of the thug-like appearance from when Soo-hyun first met him.

Perfectly dressed in a suit and standing among people, he looked every bit the hotel CEO. Soo-hyun felt intimidated and tried to pretend not to see him, but Ho-beom spotted him first and greeted him. As he approached, several gazes followed him.

Soo-hyun looked at Ho-beom while trying to hold up the slipping manager.

“Where are you coming from?”

“We went to eat.”

“Looks like you’ve already become friends with the manager.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you being so formal?”

“There are a lot of people around.”

Ho-beom smirked. Soo-hyun was struggling to support the manager, but Ho-beom just stood there without leaving. Wondering why, Soo-hyun looked up to find Ho-beom’s gaze fixed on the clothes he was wearing.

“The clothes…”

Soo-hyun was secretly pleased. I know, I know. They suit me well, right? I was impressed when I looked in the mirror too. Ho-beom reached out and touched the collar of Soo-hyun’s shirt. When his fingers touched Soo-hyun’s neck, he tensed automatically, afraid Ho-beom might choke him again.

“It’s rather…”

“Rather what?”

Ho-beom clicked his tongue.

“It doesn’t capture your beauty.”

Huh? Soo-hyun, who had been listening seriously, frowned. Ho-beom’s hand fell away, and he turned and disappeared into a black Rolls-Royce. As his car departed, two other black cars followed behind. Soo-hyun glared at the retreating cars with a dumbfounded expression.

What did that bastard just say to me…? Was that a compliment? Or an insult? Too drunk to tell the difference, he was startled when the manager beside him raised his head like a zombie, going “Ugh…”

Soo-hyun flinched at the contorted face. Was he going to throw up?

“Soo-hyun… are you…”

“The boss’s lover?”

What is this person talking about?

As Soo-hyun stared in disbelief, the manager’s head dropped down again with a thud.