I’ll Pay Off Every Debt You Have

Kang Chaehee moved the shopping bags one by one from the cramped, cluttered entrance to his room.

The house they lived in now was a borderline semi-basement—about 18 pyeong, a multi-family dwelling with a small living room, a kitchen, and three rooms.

It hadn’t been long since they moved in, but he couldn’t remember the exact date.
In the first place, the house wasn’t in Kang Chaehee’s name or his grandmother’s.
That was why the private lenders couldn’t touch it—but probably also because the house wasn’t worth much.

Even though there were three rooms, all of them were small enough that you could barely lie down.
The living room was packed with stuff pushed out from the rooms, and the kitchen was so cluttered with household goods it was almost dizzying.

Kang Chaehee hadn’t lived in poverty his whole life.
When he entered university and then dropped out, around that time his parents divorced and both left the house.
This house was in his father’s name—a kind of inheritance left behind as a last gift.

He wasn’t dead, but since the ties were cut as if he were, Kang Chaehee told people his parents had passed away when asked.

After that, there was no financial support whatsoever.
Contact was out of the question—hoping for anything was foolish.

His father, who at least left him a house, was the better one.
His mother pretended not to know, leaving behind only debt in Kang Chaehee’s name under the guise of living expenses.

The principal borrowed initially wasn’t much.
But with endless hospital bills, his sibling, and himself—too many things to take care of—the debt gradually tightened its grip, and his income had its limits.

He often thought, ‘If only I’d graduated properly from university……’ but his connection to that university had only gone that far.

After about an hour, he finished unpacking everything and hung the clothes on empty hangers.
His room looked full now.

“…….”

Thinking the musty air in the house might soil the new clothes, he first grabbed a broom and dustpan.
Taking the opportunity, he even cleaned his grandmother’s room—she was currently in the hospital—corner to corner, then aired the place out.

Even after a thorough cleaning, the cluttered house didn’t look much different.
Sighing, Kang Chaehee put away the cleaning supplies and straightened his back with a groan.
The night air was cold and clean.

He was about to go into his room and organize his old clothes.
Then a shadow loomed outside the front door, which had a mosaic glass panel, and someone knocked softly.

Even the private lenders had never come at this hour……
Were they going to say the terms had changed again?
He glanced toward his sibling’s room, then opened the door.

“……Oh.”

Kang Chaehee’s eyes widened.
Outside stood Lee Seyeon, looking exactly as she had when they’d parted earlier.

“……Director?”

* * * *

I couldn’t hear his voice calling me ‘Director’ anymore.
The kid who had peeked out and was looking at me with wary eyes—that must be Kang Chaehee’s sibling, Kang Chaekyung.

Even knowing it was rude, I dumbly scanned Kang Chaehee’s house.

A cramped house that looked smaller than my own room, even though three people supposedly lived here.
Stuff crammed inside as if about to burst out.
Old furniture and appliances.
Faded wallpaper and murky, lifted flooring……

After staring at those things blankly, I shifted my gaze to Kang Chaehee.
He stood there with an awkward expression.

“The house is…… a bit small and messy.”

“……No. Uh. No. ……Your grandmother?”

“She’s in the hospital for a while.”

“Oh.”

A sympathetic voice escaped me.
Well then, what about this house now?
If I hadn’t seen it, that would be one thing, but now that I had, I didn’t want to leave Kang Chaehee living in a place like this.
This house, above all, looked terrible for practicing scripts.

“Can I come in first?”

I couldn’t just stand at the front door talking forever.

On the way here, Han Youngjun had subtly suggested something.
He asked if it was really alright to let Kang Chaehee keep living there.
After thinking it over at home, I decided getting him a house wasn’t a bad idea—and now I understood why Han Youngjun had said that.

“Ah, yes, yes. Please come in. I’ll get you something to drink.”

Kang Chaehee quickly stepped aside.
The entrance was small but neatly organized, the air inside was clean, and though there was a lot of stuff, not a single corner was dirty.

Even the clutter seemed like something that would be resolved if the house were a bit bigger.
He’d said he lived with his parents until he entered university……
And then they suddenly disappeared one day.

I knew that his parents didn’t live with him, but I hadn’t investigated in detail.
Only that Kang Chaehee’s debt had started while he was still living with his parents.

But after seeing this house, I thought an investigation might be necessary.
Originally, Kang Chaehee’s family had lived in a perfectly decent apartment.
What on earth had happened that they left their child and elderly mother to live like this?

The living room had no sofa—just a single folding table.
Next to it, an old cushion, and across from that, a small, old TV.
Or was it even a TV?
It looked like he was using a somewhat large computer monitor as a TV.

Next to the TV was a random pile of stuff.
I couldn’t even tell what was what.
Afraid staring too long would be even more rude, I quickly averted my eyes.

Kang Chaehee called from the kitchen.
“Director, which would you prefer—coffee or tea?”

Since the kitchen was right next to the living room, him asking from the side was practically the same as asking right next to me.
I answered ‘coffee’ and sat quietly, scanning the walls.
The wallpaper was old, and looking closely, there were dark stains beneath the surface.
No way…… Mold?
It was my first time seeing it in person.

Mold in the house where an actor, a student, and an elderly grandmother lived—that wouldn’t do.

After a moment, Kang Chaehee brought two cups of coffee in mismatched mugs.
A surprisingly good smell came from the kitchen, so I glanced over—there were signs of hand-drip brewing.

“Haha…… I learned it at a part-time job. Please try it.”

I took a sip—the coffee had a vibrant aroma and seemed to cling pleasantly to the palate.
Far better than most cafe coffee.
When I nodded and said, “It’s delicious,” Kang Chaehee’s face brightened.

“That kid who came out earlier is my sibling. His name is Kang Chaekyung and…… Chaekyung-ah.”

“Never mind.”

Kang Chaekyung, who had briefly poked his face out, had already slipped back into his room.
I had no desire to drag a kid out of his room just to have him greet me.
I didn’t like that sort of thing myself.

“But still……”

“Don’t. Have you forgotten what kind of relationship we have?”

At that, Kang Chaehee closed his mouth.
A sponsorship relationship.
Whether he’d told his sibling or not, we weren’t in a position for him to come out and greet me.

After drinking about half my coffee, I brought up the main point.
“Anyway, what I wanted to say—”

“Yes.”

For some reason, Kang Chaehee tensed up.

“Move.”

“……Excuse me?”

“Your current house. Isn’t it far from your grandmother’s hospital? And from the hotel too. So move.”

I said ‘from the hotel’ quietly.
Certainly, this neighborhood was on the outskirts of Seoul, far from the city center.
It was over an hour by subway and bus to Bomyeong Medical Center, where his grandmother was hospitalized.

Kang Chaehee showed signs of wavering.
“I’m not giving it to you for free. You can pay me back for the house later.”

For a moment, I saw him tense up.
Worried about whether he could afford to pay back the house price.
I rested my chin on my hand and spoke casually.

“Don’t worry. Within two years, you’ll be able to pay back everything I’ve given you.”

“Two years……”

“Why?”

“Director, do we have a set time limit? Is two years…… the limit?”

“Hmm.”

Well, it wouldn’t take long for Kang Chaehee to become successful.
A year and a half until he’s earning a ton of money and no longer flinches at a 2 million won hoodie.
Two years until he can buy a well-known apartment complex in his own name.
That’s what I thought.

But a two-year time limit with Kang Chaehee……
Well?
From the beginning, this wasn’t a relationship I’d started with serious intentions.
Would it really last that long?
Two years was just the timeline for Kang Chaehee to succeed.

My lower abdomen tingled.
I remembered the s*x with Kang Chaehee.

I flicked the tip of my finger against Kang Chaehee’s sullen cheek.
He looked up.

“Well, I suppose we’ll have to make the most of these two years, right?”

“……I’ll do so well that even after two years, you won’t be able to throw me away, Director.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Quite a pleasing thing to say.
I pulled out my phone.

“Find a suitable apartment in Hwaphyeong-dong for Kang Chaehee’s house. Minimum 50 pyeong.”

—Understood.

“50 pyeong?!”

“There are three of you. Plus a caregiver and housekeeper will be coming too.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t take care of your grandmother yourself anymore. Do you have any idea how busy you’re going to get? It’ll exceed your imagination.”

Kang Chaehee scratched his eyebrow with a troubled face.
But it was true.
Right now, he only had the audition schedule for one minor role.
But once the next role he’d taken on became public, Kang Chaehee was going to get insanely busy.
Our company was planning to use him as a model right away anyway.

“Anyway, about the house—just accepting it without complaint is your job. I hate it when people give me excuses and refuse things after I’ve done something for them……”

My words were drowned out by bang bang bang!—someone pounding on the door.
Kang Chaehee jumped in surprise and let out a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry, Director. I’ve never had anyone come at this hour before……”

He got up and opened the front door just a few steps away.
The moment the door opened, a flood of curses poured in.
It was a debt collector from the private lender.

“We already paid this month’s interest. And I have a guest right now, so……”

“Oh, so you have a guest. But……”

The debt collector wasn’t the violent thug type.
But he was speaking loudly on purpose, making sure I, the ‘guest,’ could hear.
Hmm. How much was Kang Chaehee’s debt again?
Probably about 80 million won by now.
I stood up.

“Director?”

“What do you do when someone causes a disturbance in front of your guest?”

The debt collector, dressed in a suit, smirked and looked at me with feigned politeness.
No matter how I looked at it, his attitude was meant to humiliate Kang Chaehee.
But I already knew about Kang Chaehee’s debt.
I took out my wallet, counted out eight 10-million-won checks, and thrust them toward him.