Chapter 44: Chapter 44

The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary - c44

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!

Hyeseong recalled the text message exchange he had with Manager Lee on the night he first attempted to contact him.

[I’m contacting you just in case after seeing the note. You wrote this yourself, right  Hyeseong? It was attached to the back of the envelope…]

Thinking he had nothing to lose,  Hyeseong had left a short note for Manager Lee without hesitation to realize the plan that came to mind on the spot. Honestly, thinking about it now, it was a dangerous thing to do, but still,  Hyeseong bet that this gamble would succeed.

And after seeing the received text,  Hyeseong got up in a hurry without even having time to digest what had happened with Ihyeok and sent a reply.

[Yes. I wrote it myself. I wanted to have a conversation with you, Team Leader Lee.]

After that,  Hyeseong anxiously waited for a response. It seemed like it was read as soon as he sent it, but there was no reply for quite a while. Naturally, it seemed they were also being cautious on the other side.

[Team Leader Lee, it may sound strange for me, who you met for the first time today, to say this, but I think I can help you a bit. You’re not going to keep working at that office, are you?]

Hyeseong sent one more message, thinking to drive the point home. Seeing the ‘1’ indicator disappear as soon as he sent it, it seemed Manager Lee was definitely receiving his contact and contemplating.  Hyeseong sent the message by combining words that were not too long-winded, but could also give a bit of a jolt.

About 5 minutes passed like that. Finally, a reply came from Manager Lee.

[I don’t really understand what you’re saying.]

[I don’t need any help or anything like that.]

[I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this.]

As if representing the traces of his contemplation, three short messages came at the same time. Seeing that,  Hyeseong’s shoulders slumped. He had expected it to some extent. Who would take the hand of someone they met for the first time today who suddenly sent a text saying they could help?

Still, it would be a lie to say he had no expectations at all.  Hyeseong turned off his phone and laid down on the bed as is.

In that case, there was no choice but to meet in person and talk. With that resolution,  Hyeseong visited Doo-sung’s office for the second time. He threw an appropriate bait to Doo-sung and deliberately left his transit card behind. Judging from the atmosphere of that office, the one who would come to deliver this in person would be Manager Lee, not Doo-sung or his underlings.

“I need your help a bit, Team Leader Lee.”

As expected,  Hyeseong’s prediction was spot on.

Realizing he had fallen for  Hyeseong’s lead, Manager Lee made a complicated expression and pointed to the alley next to him.

“This place will be visible from the windows of that office. Let’s move over there for a moment.”

Manager Lee busily moved his skinny legs that looked like they would break at any moment.  Hyeseong followed behind him. Entering the alley where garbage bags were thrown carelessly,  Hyeseong finally properly faced Manager Lee.

“Umm… I’m asking just in case, but was that ID card story a lie?”

“Yes.”

Hyeseong answered without a moment’s hesitation as if it was obvious. Then Manager Lee turned pale and quickly looked around.

“Why on earth did you tell such a lie? If the boss or someone finds out…”

Manager Lee couldn’t finish the sentence and sighed, shaking his head. From those momentary words and actions,  Hyeseong roughly grasped what kind of personality this person had.

“I don’t know why you did that, but if I may give you a piece of advice, don’t sign up for that product. That’s a private loan. The interest rate is really outrageous. It’s a hundred, a thousand times better to look into a bank loan instead. So…”

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“I lied on purpose. To buy some time.”

A lie? Time? Manager Lee’s eyes wavered in confusion. The emotion of wondering what on earth this man did was written all over his face.

“Anyway, you won’t be able to stay out long either, so I’ll ask without beating around the bush, why are you working at a place like that? Even though you know full well it’s a gangster organization that habitually engages in private loans.”

“…”

At  Hyeseong’s question, Manager Lee pressed his lips together and fell silent. He looked like he had a lot he wanted to say, but he couldn’t readily reveal it and rolled his eyes anxiously.

“Did you borrow money? From those guys?”

When  Hyeseong sharply pointed it out, Manager Lee widened his eyes and let out a deflated sound. He had guessed the most plausible reason, and it seemed to be correct. After all, what other reason would there be to work while receiving such treatment? Other than having a weakness caught, that is.

“My situation is… a bit complicated. I have no reason to tell  Hyeseong every detail. Just don’t get involved with those guys,  Hyeseong.”

“But I’m also being threatened at the moment.”

Hyeseong shrugged and briefly informed him of how Doo-sung had been approaching him. Then the way Manager Lee looked at  Hyeseong changed. He was feeling a sense of camaraderie with  Hyeseong.

“You moved to live quietly, but if they used the villagers as hostages… It must be hard for you too,  Hyeseong. Is that why you said earlier that you needed my help? I’m sorry, but I don’t have the power to stop the boss or anything like that.”

“No. The help I want from you is not that kind of help.”

“Then what on earth…”

Manager Lee seemed to be a kind-hearted person who worried about someone he had only known for a short time falling into the pit of private loans and even gave advice, but he seemed to be a bit lacking in perceptiveness.

“The help needed to get rid of that Kim Doo-sung, and further, that office.”

“What?!”

Surprised, Manager Lee blurted out loudly. As if startled by the sound he made himself, Manager Lee quickly covered his mouth.

“I have no intention of living in fear while being threatened by Kim Doo-sung for the rest of my life, nor do I intend to act as he wants. To do that, I have to strike first. Surprise attacks are one of the quite good strategies, after all.”

Such bold words coming from that gentle-looking face. Manager Lee gulped. Anyone could see that  Hyeseong was not being pushed around or intimidated by Doo-sung, who looked like a gangster thug, and was having a confident conversation, and he had felt that  Hyeseong was not an ordinary person.

Manager Lee’s hand clenched involuntarily.

“Do you remember the text I sent you a few days ago?”

“…Yes.”

“I said then that I thought I could help you. Think about it. If that office disappears as I said, your life will also change greatly, Team Leader Lee.”

That’s when it happened. Manager Lee’s right pocket started vibrating. Based on the situation, it seemed Doo-sung was looking for him.

“Please think carefully about what I said and contact me at the number I gave you then. Ah, and when you go in, stop by the convenience store and buy a few coffees.”

“Huh? Why coffee…”

Manager Lee asked back with a puzzled face.

“Because if Kim Doo-sung asks you why you’re so late, you can make an excuse saying you were buying coffee at the convenience store.”

“Ah…”

Manager Lee couldn’t help but admire the unexpected foresight. It was an excuse he could never have thought of with his own head.

“Then I’ll wait for your contact. Even if you have no intention of cooperating with me, that’s fine, so please contact me.”

” Hyeseong!”

Manager Lee called out to  Hyeseong, who was trying to leave the alley.

“If… I say I can’t help you, what will you do then?”

“I’ll still bring it down somehow. There will be plenty of other ways, after all.”

Leaving a simple and clear answer,  Hyeseong gradually disappeared from Manager Lee’s sight. With his elegant and quiet-looking appearance and slender physique, when Manager Lee first saw  Hyeseong, he had vaguely thought, another innocent person is going to die.

But it was not like that at all. In his eyes,  Hyeseong’s back walking away indifferently began to look different.

* * *

After talking with Manager Lee,  Hyeseong slowly came out to the downtown area. He walked to the bus stop, hoping that Manager Lee would not get scolded by Kim Doo-sung for being late and that he made a good excuse as  Hyeseong had told him.@@novelbin@@

By the way, he felt bad that he couldn’t properly explain to Dohyun because he had left in a hurry. Since Dohyun was perceptive in strange places, it seemed good to think of words to gloss over when he returned home.

“Should I suggest going out to eat for dinner?”

Hyeseong sat at the quiet bus stop, thinking of various ways to appease Dohyun. Looking at the bus timetable, the bus he had to take had just left, and the remaining time was a whopping 20 minutes.

Well, there wasn’t much to do even if he went home anyway. When he was working, waiting for public transportation for even 10 minutes didn’t feel that long.

Hyeseong leaned comfortably on the bench at the bus stop and took in the surrounding scenery. Perhaps because there was a market nearby, there were unusually many elderly people carrying luggage. Seeing the daily necessities stores, small clinics and hair salons, jewelry stores, and global snack discount stores visible here and there, it was fun to see a different landscape from Seoul.

The road was also quiet, perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon. A few cars stopped in front of  Hyeseong, caught at the traffic light. And behind them, a sedan slid in and stopped in front of the light.

That car had the window down, perhaps to ventilate or get some air, and thanks to that, the side view of the driver inside caught  Hyeseong’s eye.

“…”

Hyeseong blinked blankly after confirming it was Ihyeok. Ihyeok also turned his head and looked at  Hyeseong as if he felt his gaze.

The gazes of Ihyeok in the car and  Hyeseong sitting at the bus stop intersected exactly in midair. However, the eye contact did not last long. Because Ihyeok, who averted his gaze first, started the car as soon as the light turned green.

Hyeseong did not bother to look at the departing car. He just looked around to see when the bus would come. While tightly gripping the hem of his clothes.

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!