Chapter Text
In Ho grunted as he shifted the box of bagged coffee beans. Working in the stockroom was exhausting but he enjoyed it. Enjoyed the quiet and the solitude. In the three months since he had returned to Seoul, he had become used to solitude.
He thought of his tiny apartment in the terrible neighborhood. Rent was due next week. In Ho ran through the mental calculations. Barring unexpected disasters, he should have just enough money to pay it.
Placing the last box of beans on the shelf, In Ho turned back toward the door and found himself looking straight into the face of Yoo Jeung.
The shock stole his breath, freezing him in place. It was like being hit by a bucket full of icy water.
Fury followed after.
Jeung studied him coldly, eyes moving down to his scruffy shoes and then back up again, like he was measuring the effect of the last five years, cataloging all the details of In Ho’s appearance like a lepidopterist with a butterfly pinned under glass.
In Ho could feel his hands tighten to fists, “This area is for employees only.” He managed to push out through clenched teeth.
Jeung raised an eyebrow, “Nothing is off limits to the owner.”
“You don’t own this coffee shop.” In Ho had actually checked. Tae Rang Group’s holdings were large and complicated but he made sure to only apply at independently owned businesses.
“That was yesterday. As of this morning, I own this shop and everything in it.”
Damn. He would have to quit. Back at the job hunt again.
Reaching up, he moved to pull his apron off when Jeung spoke again.
“I want to offer you a job.”
“I already have a job.” Or he had a job.
Jeung glanced around the store room again and then down at In Ho’s shoes, “I want to offer you a job where you don’t have to make overpriced lattes for almost nothing, in bad shoes.”
“Whatever it is, I’m not interested.” The apron was off now. In a moment he’d be out the door without even a reference to slow him down.
Jeung offered in a bored voice, “Seven million won a month.”
In Ho hesitated, his hand resting on the knob. He turned slowly, “What are you up to?”
Jeung raised one eyebrow, “I told you- try to pay attention- I want to give you a job.”
“Doing what? What could you need from me for that kind of money?! I’m not a gangster anymore. I won’t do your dirty work-”
“A bodyguard. I need a bodyguard.”
The sound of laughter echoed in the small room, “You couldn’t find one person in all of Korea who cares less about what happens to you.”
“Not for me.” His voice was sharp for the first time, “There’s a girl. I have to leave the country for a few months and I need to know she’ll be safe while I’m gone.”
That wiped away the laughter. In Ho could feel his brows lifting, “The great and calculating Yoo Jeung actually cares about another person?”
In Ho watched the other man’s face settle into stone. Ah, he thought, Jeung didn’t like that.
“I know about your debt to that gangster.”
In Ho paused. The debt. That was a problem. Seven million won a month could put a sizable dent in a problem like that. . .
His gaze landed on Jeung once more. Flat black eyes stared at him with all the expression of a spider.
In Ho could handle his own problems. He had for the last five years.
“You know,” He gave Jeung a friendly smile, “I think I’d rather die than take your money”. The smile slid off his face and he turned to go once again-
“What about In Ha?”
In Ho whirled around, “What about In Ha?” He demanded.
Studying him, Jeung gave the tiny head tilt that came before an artery strike. In Ho felt his hands go cold.
“You don’t care about your safety but what about In Ha’s? It would be so easy for someone to call that gangster and tell him that the sister of Baek In Ho lives in apartment 417, Building 6 Chilpae street, Apujeong, Seoul.”
In Ho’s vision went white. His hand tangled in Jeung’s shirt and he drew back his other fist-
“Or,” Jeung continued in the same indifferent tone, “someone could pay your debt and continue letting Baek In Ha mooch off the Yoo family for another two years. You could earn a reasonable wage instead of barely scraping by working at a coffee shop.” Again, he eyed the dingy stockroom with distaste.
In Ho’s breath was a furious wind blowing through him. He couldn’t seem to get control of it. How did Jeung always leave him half mad with fury after just a few minutes? He saw In Ha in his mind, vicious and spoiled. And his sister. The only family he had left.
In Ho forced his hand to release Jeung’s shirt, “You’re a bastard,” He said straight into Jeung’s face.
The other man smiled, “Is that a ‘yes’?”
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In Ho stirred his cup of noodles, watching the steam rise from the tangled depths with satisfaction. It would be cool enough to eat in a minute or so. His stomach rumbled quietly in anticipation. He asked, “Who is she? This girl you want me to protect?”
Across the convenience store table, Jeung frowned and glanced casually out the window at the smear of streetlights.
He doesn’t want to talk about her, In Ho thought. He shoveled some instant noodles in his mouth and made sure to slurp extra loudly.
Jeung removed his hand from where it rested on the tabletop to hide it in his lap. Probably making a fist.
In Ho smiled.
“Her name is Hong Seol.” Jeung answered finally. His voice was strange. Almost . . . unsteady? “She’s my girlfriend.”
Girlfriend?
He must have said that last part out loud, Jeung was glaring at him.
“She’s in my class at University, studying business like me.”
Ah- a chaebol heiress, perfect for a merger with Tae Rang group, probably.
In Ho added some kimchi to the bowl, “Why doesn’t her family get her a bodyguard if she needs one so badly?”
Most of the time, Jeung was like a pond on a windless day, deep and still. Nothing on the surface indicating what was happening below but now, In Ho could see ripples. They showed in the slight shift of the other man’s shoulders, the very faint downturn at the corner of his mouth. “Her family can’t afford that. They have a noodle shop.”
Not an heiress? The daughter of a noodle shop?!
In Ho could feel his mouth hanging open.
“I’ll pay you in cash,” Jeung offered abruptly.
In Ho shrugged and shut his mouth. He didn’t care how he got paid, as long as- the pieces fell into place suddenly. He breathed, “You haven’t told Mr. Yoo,” amazed at this overt act of rebellion, so unlike Jeong.
Quick as a diving bird, Jeung leaned across the table. Before he had been distant, now he was suddenly too close. The fury he masked so well burned in his dark eyes, “My father is none of your concern.” He spat out. Taking hold of himself, he sat back and smiled and there was nothing friendly about it, “Just do your job- protect Hong Seol. Or I’ll see you and your sister begging on the street.”
Under his hand, In Ho crushed the small container of kimchi into a crumpled ball. They glared at each other over the table. The image of In Ha flashed through his mind.
In Ho asked finally, “Why would the daughter of a noodle shop need protection?”
“There have been some break-ins in her neighborhood.”
“So, get her an apartment in a better neighborhood.”
A muscle worked in Jeung’s jaw, “For someone who has been offered salvation on a silver platter, you seem determined to reject it.”
“You didn’t do this for me.” In Ho answered coldly, “Stop pretending you’re doing me a favor. This is a business arrangement. You want me to protect a girl in exchange for seven million won a month, I’ll do it. But don’t expect me to fawn all over you.”
A silence stretched taut between them. Outside the fluorescent light of the convenience store sign flickered as a soft rain began to fall.
Jeung spoke finally, “I’ll send all the details to your apartment. Meet me at the University, at the business school on Wednesday, 3 p.m. Don’t be late. I expect you to begin your duties then.” He stood, staring down at In Ho coldly, “I’m putting Hong Seol’s life in your hands-
don’t fail me
.”