The Unbelievers

Chapter 81

A startled Kim Dongjun froze in place.

“I heard his name was Eunseong?”

“…What? Eunseong? Is it really Eunseong?”

“Yes, they said Eunseong.”

“What’s going on outside? You can’t park there. Just because it’s an expensive car doesn’t mean you don’t have to park in the basement.”

Just then, the manager appeared and grumbled about the car they were about to go out to see.

“Manager, you’re here. Big news! You know that restaurant where we eat our meals? A regular customer there gave all the staff, including the owner, luxury bags and padded jackets as a thank you gift. All super expensive designer stuff. I think his name was Eunseong or something? Do you know him?”

“What? Eunseong?”

While the manager was looking at them in confusion, wondering what they were talking about, the side door used only by employees opened. Surprisingly, it was Eunseong who came in.

“Seo Eunseong…?”

“Huh? How are you here…?”

The eyes of those who recognized Eunseong hardened in bewilderment with a time lag. Kim Dongjun stood awkwardly, staring at Eunseong in shock, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Hello.”

As if nothing had happened, Eunseong approached calmly, bowed slightly, and then swiftly entered the room used as employee quarters. Just as Kim Dongjun was about to hurriedly follow, Eunseong came back out and approached him.

“Weren’t you arrested? How are you here…?”

“Where’s my bag?”

“What bag?”

“The bag I couldn’t take with me that day. There wasn’t anything worth taking, so you probably didn’t touch it. You didn’t throw it away, did you?”

Eunseong frowned. The flustered Kim Dongjun, stammering at Eunseong’s sharp tone, retrieved the bag thrown in a corner of the counter. As Eunseong had said, there was nothing of value in it. That’s why they had just tossed it in a corner and forgotten about it.

“Give it here.”

Eunseong roughly snatched his bag from Kim Dongjun’s hands. He quickly opened the bag, rummaged through it, took out an old photograph, and sighed in relief. After carefully putting the photo back in the bag, Eunseong turned to Kim Dongjun with a cold look.

“You really didn’t touch it since there was nothing to take. I was worried for nothing, thinking you might have thrown it away.”

“W-what’s going on? How are you here? You should be in jail!”

“Ah, that. Actually, I came to clear up that misunderstanding.”

Eunseong let out a scornful laugh, seeing Kim Dongjun’s pale face as he asked in shock, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Why would I go to jail? Only people who’ve done something wrong go to jail. Criminals. For example, people who steal other people’s money and use it to pay their school tuition. Those kinds of people.”

“…”

It’s people like you who go there, not me. Eunseong smiled as if he’d just told an amusing joke, but the quality of the joke was so low that even the other party wouldn’t want to laugh. He looked at Kim Dongjun with an expression somewhere between a smile and contempt. His expression was arrogant and more confident than ever.

It was evident in the clothes Eunseong wore and the way he carried himself. His appearance had changed so much that it was doubtful where he had been hiding such an expression. It felt as if he had become a completely different person overnight.

“Real thieves. Not me. It’s the real thieves who go to jail, hyung.”

Kim Dongjun didn’t miss the faint disgust that appeared in Eunseong’s eyes, directed at the pitiful life of someone who steals others’ money to pay for school tuition. It was saying that their worlds were starkly different, that even the effort to send Kim Dongjun to such a prison was a waste, with a sad pity for someone who could never be of the same class.

Not just Kim Dongjun, but the manager too was completely frozen, unable to move as if threatened by a gun, staring at Eunseong with an expression of shock that wouldn’t fade.

“…What happened to you?”

“Hello, Manager. How have you been?”

“Never mind the greetings, weren’t you arrested? How did you get out? Are you allowed to be here?”

Eunseong snorted at the manager’s bewildered questions and answered:

“That wanted notice? Actually, that was issued by my family to find me because I ran away from home without listening to them. I didn’t know my family would go to such lengths.”

“…What?”

By now, Director Nam had entered through the door and stood beside Eunseong. The manager became even more intimidated seeing the man who seemed to be Eunseong’s guardian. Memories of how he had mistreated Eunseong in the past flashed through his mind.

The manager’s eyes darted between Eunseong and Director Nam. While Kim Dongjun might not recognize him, the manager immediately recognized the value of Director Nam’s attire and the watch on his wrist.

“You must have had trouble finding someone to replace me when I suddenly quit. I came to compensate you for that, and you’re here, fortunately. Director.”

Eunseong called out to Director Nam as if asking him to resolve this situation after calmly addressing the manager.

The man, who looked like a successful lawyer in his neat suit, took out a thin leather wallet from his jacket’s inner pocket that seemed to barely fit a few cards and banknotes. The wallet was as expensive a brand as his clothes.

The new part-timer watched Director Nam intently, expecting that something like a black card, which he had never seen before, might emerge.

Director Nam asked Eunseong as if he was going to pay right there:

“How much?”

“Three days at twelve hours each, at minimum wage.”

Director Nam’s brow furrowed fiercely at Eunseong’s words. He asked again in disbelief, glaring at the manager. He closed his wallet and put it back inside his jacket.

“You worked twelve hours a day? Here?”

“Some days I worked over twenty hours.”

“Then we should be receiving money, not giving it.”

“Ah, then please calculate everything for the eighteen days I worked, minus compensation for my unexcused absence. I came to get paid for the work I did.”

“We should calculate that accurately.”

Director Nam approached the counter and asked for a pen and paper. While he was calculating the wages, including dates and holiday pay, Eunseong spoke to the dumbfounded Kim Dongjun:

“I’m glad you solved your tuition problem. If you don’t want to steal from someone else again next year, study hard and get a scholarship. Then you won’t need to steal other people’s money.”

“…”

“I didn’t want to say all this, but I’ll tell you. Actually, I ran away because my family wanted me to study abroad, and I didn’t want to. I wanted to try living on my own.”

“…”

“But I really regretted it after leaving home. It’s not easy to live diligently like you, hyung. I think it’s true that people should live according to their circumstances. Right, hyung?”

Eunseong spoke as if he was a chaebol heir who had rebelled against the path set by his prominent family. At first, Eunseong had thought of Kim Dongjun as a diligent person and even admired how he earned money for his tuition and living expenses. But after seeing the unexpected dark side of this person, he was now tired of even dealing with him.

He spoke to Kim Dongjun, who stood frozen:

“At first, you were nice to me because I seemed unhappy, right? Because I seemed much worse off than you.”

“…”

“I’m sorry, but what should I do? I’m not unhappy. Oh, please tell the restaurant owner that I’ve told the department store manager they can exchange sizes if they don’t fit. They can also change the bag if they don’t like it.”

“…”

“I won’t do this kind of thing again, even out of curiosity. Like running away. But thanks to this, I learned a lot.”

Eunseong looked around the motel corridor he had walked countless times with eyes full of regret, then smiled at Kim Dongjun.

“I calculated the hourly wage at 1.5 times for night shifts and double for overtime. Including holiday pay and subtracting compensation for unexcused absence, the amount you need to pay Eunseong is 3,672,510 won. Please check if the calculation is correct, and send the money to this account. If there’s any problem, you can contact this number.”

Director Nam also placed his business card down. He handed the paper with the amount written on it to the dazed manager who took it reflexively. Then he turned to Eunseong.

“We should go now.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be misunderstood as a criminal for life. I needed to clear everything up before leaving cleanly.”

Director Nam turned to the cowed manager.

“We acted too extremely in trying to find Eunseong, causing trouble for your business. As you can see, it has nothing to do with a real wanted notice. It’s just a method we sometimes use to find people.”

“Ah, yes… it’s okay, I mean, yes, I see.”

“I hope you won’t make such unfounded assumptions about him being a wanted criminal. Also, it would be best if you don’t exploit young students by not following labor regulations in the future. Of course, I understand it’s difficult for the government to manage every small business in detail, but still. Take care. Let’s go.”

Eunseong left the motel with Director Nam. The wind was sharp, cutting at their necks.

A waiting security guard opened the back door of the car. As soon as they got into the back seat, the cold that had been making their backs shiver instantly disappeared. The car interior maintained a warm temperature, waiting for Eunseong.

Director Nam, who got in beside him, said:

“That’s all, right? We need to return quickly. The CEO will be shocked if he finds out Eunseong has gone outside.”

“Yes, it’s all done. I found what I needed too…”