Chapter 3 – The Pine Tree and the Orchid (Part 8)

“Damn it, she’s not calling.”

Hee-tae snapped irritably at Chok-sae. He had endured a whole two days without contacting Soo-yeon. Now, his anxiety had reached its peak, and he was tapping the screen with his fingertips. Despite knowing he had to wait until Soo-yeon made up her mind and came to him, his patience was wearing thin like the wick of a candle.

At first, Chok-sae thought he was waiting for contact from someone who had run off with a loan, but eventually, he realized that wasn’t the case. His boss wasn’t usually the type to be hung up on a woman, but as they say, a thief who learns late doesn’t know when dawn breaks. The man who used to click his tongue at others’ romantic affairs was now like this. To appease the lovesick and increasingly irritable Hee-tae, Chok-sae spoke up.

“She’ll come soon. Absolutely. By the way, Chairman Yoon asked if you’d like to play a round of poker…”

“Those old men surely only call when they’re bored. Do you think I’m at their beck and call right now?”

Chok-sae, having failed to divert Hee-tae’s attention, closed his mouth after receiving a scolding. With Hee-tae’s temperament worsening by the day, it was uncertain whose head would roll next.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. At Hee-tae’s indifferent “Come in,” a new waiter poked his head in. Ignoring Chok-sae’s reproachful glare, the waiter spoke up.

“I thought I should report this. Someone’s trying to stir up trouble.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s pretending to be a sucker, raising the stakes at the table, but something’s off. He’s piled up a ton of debt and looks like he’s ready to lose it all and die.”

“Whether he dies or not, do you all have to come running to me for every little thing? Handle it yourselves, damn it.”

Hee-tae waved his hand dismissively, his eyes fixed on his phone screen. There were countless idiots wasting their lives in the gambling den like flies. It wasn’t even surprising. They kept borrowing money without any means to pay it back, hoping that someone else would end their ruined lives.

“I’m sorry, but he looked really familiar, so I thought I should tell you.”

It was only then that Hee-tae looked up. Stepping out of the office, he let out a sigh when he saw the man sitting at the round table. It was Lee Minjun, Soo-yeon’s ex-boyfriend who had leeched off her.

Min-jun, with dark stubble on his face, had deep hollows under his eyes. Holding his cards, he glanced around nervously and flinched when he made eye contact with Hee-tae.

Seeing no word from Soo-yeon and this idiot showing up instead made Hee-tae’s head throb. He frowned and twisted his body as he spoke.

“Bring him over.”

The man was dragged over a moment later, bowing low like a cockroach trying to hug the floor. While some bugs were beneficial, this one was the worst of all pests. He had lived off Soo-yeon’s kindness, acting all high and mighty, and now, post-breakup, he was exactly as pathetic as expected.

Hee-tae removed his wristwatch and placed it on the table before slapping Min-jun across the face. Though it was a slap, not a punch, Min-jun’s head snapped to the side, and he collapsed to the floor. Hee-tae looked down at Min-jun, who couldn’t even scream properly, and said,

“What the hell is your problem?”

“Uuh, uh, I-I’m s-sorry…….”

“Since I’m not pressing you for your debt anymore, so now you think you can look down on me? Hee-tae never went around slapping people over a few bucks. If someone couldn’t pay up, he’d strip them of everything and be done with it. However, the wretched bastard before him was, unfortunately, Soo-yeon’s ex-boyfriend. He was the embodiment of the pity Soo-yeon couldn’t let go of, because she felt sorry for his pathetic life. It was infuriating enough that this scumbag had monopolized a woman like Chae Soo-yeon for years, and now he couldn’t even be beaten to death, making Hee-tae even more exasperated. He could barely remember the last time he had to endure anything, but he had to tolerate everything related to Soo-yeon.

“Damn it, I can’t even kill this piece of trash…”

“Th-the money……. Didn’t Soo-yeon pay it back?”

Min-jun asked, blood dripping from his mouth, possibly from being slapped.  As he glanced around nervously and uttered those idiotic words with a dazed look, Hee-tae kicked him. The sheer audacity of assuming that Soo-yeon had naturally repaid his debt even after their breakup made Hee-tae lash out first. Hee-tae’s voice, filled with a fury that felt like it was burning his brain, roared like a beast.

“Why the hell should she pay that off!”

“Ugh, please, please, spare me, please, ah!”

Min-jun whimpered as he was ruthlessly trampled under Hee-tae’s kicks. Despite knowing it was pointless to kick a moron with no capacity for learning, Hee-tae delivered a few more blows before stopping. If he killed him, Soo-yeon, overflowing with sympathy, might come running and take pity on him again. He couldn’t beat him any further. Watching Min-jun squirm on the floor like a bug sprayed with poison, Hee-tae ran his hand through his hair and looked up.

“…….”

Frozen in place, Soo-yeon stood there. Hee-tae, his mind boiling with rage, hadn’t heard the knock or the door opening, but there she was, standing in the doorway of the office. Of all times. Soo-yeon, who hadn’t sent a single message while he waited, staring at his phone for days, had come at the very moment he was acting like a thug, beating her ex-boyfriend. Perhaps she hadn’t even come to see him. Maybe she was here looking for Min-jun writhing on the floor. The thought made his throat feel tight.

“Did you come to get him?”

“Didn’t you take the money?”

Hee-tae and Soo-yeon spoke almost simultaneously, neither understanding the other’s question. Soo-yeon had come to find Hee-tae only to see this scene. She no longer cared about Min-jun or where he was. What mattered to her now was that Hee-tae hadn’t demanded repayment from Min-jun. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finally forcing out a voice.

“Why? Why didn’t you take the money from me either?”

“Do you think I need your damn money?”

Hee-tae’s voice naturally rose. He wanted to ask why that man made him look like a loan shark to Soo-yeon.The fact that Soo-yeon, who hadn’t borrowed money, was questioning him about not taking money from her irritated him. Both Min-jun, who had confidently asked if Soo-yeon had paid his debt, and Soo-yeon, who was now asking the same question, annoyed him to no end. After all they’d been through, Soo-yeon was still echoing for Min-jun, as if he still lingered in her heart.

“Jang Hee-tae, if you do this, then I…”

Soo-yeon looked at Hee-tae and squeezed out her voice. But she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. She didn’t want to say that if Hee-tae acted this way, it made her seem inadequate.

If Hee-tae acted like this, Soo-yeon became a fool who received help because of her ex-boyfriend.  She had come only because his words had lingered in her mind, making her think she might understand if she saw his face. Now, after witnessing this scene, she finally understood. Her feelings had been flowing toward this man who showed such brutal kindness. His harsh words that scratched at her had continually gotten under her skin, making her ashamed to reveal her vulnerable side. She didn’t want to show herself like this anymore.

“You go around busting your ass helping others, but I can’t do this?”

Hee-tae frowned at Soo-yeon, who was drawing a line with him. He could tell she probably had never lived asking others for help. Just recalling the high walls of her first impression, he knew she had never reached out to anyone. Soo-yeon, who had never begged or asked for help, had entered a realm filled with intimidating men without showing any fear.

At first, that was what caught his eye about her.But now, her lofty demeanor was breaking him.  He was crumbling before her stance of refusing to accept even the slightest kindness from him, as if to tell him he was nothing to her.