Woo Jaeyoung. Thirty-two years old.
The youngest head of the Seoul Northern Branch of Taehan Financial Capital, one of the subsidiaries under Taegang Group.
Of course, “branch head” and “financial capital” sounded nice…
Put simply, it was loan sharking.
“The vice chairman took him in about ten years ago, I think.
There were rumors he was an illegitimate son born from some accident at a young age, but that wasn’t it.”
On top of that, he had been in this world of fists and violence for over a decade—
Among them, he was both seasoned and highly respected.
“At first, he was just learning the ropes.
But our boss isn’t the type to trail behind others, right?
He picked out one informant, split Seoul in half, and built a whole branch—that’s how it started.
It was meant to catch the Gong family… but, well.
That’s not something our kid here needs to know.”
Gamja spoke in an oddly careful, overly proper tone, clearly trying to suppress his dialect.
It felt like he was coaxing a child, and I couldn’t help but smile.
It was pretty much what I expected.
A man with nowhere to go, dragged into a harsh world—
For Woo Jaeyoung, grabbing hold of something more effective than the law itself was probably both inevitable and instinct for survival.
I couldn’t imagine it.
I couldn’t even throw a punch.
Getting beaten up would leave me bedridden for days.
Compared to him, I was probably somewhere near the bottom of the food chain.
It really hit me again—
Our worlds were completely incompatible.
Like oil and water.
Then—
“In that case, Gamja hyung. How did Jaeyoung hyung and I meet?”
“Huh?”
Gamja blinked, trying to process my question.
“You came looking for our boss, so you met him.”
“That doesn’t sound like someone who meets just anyone who wants to see him…….”
“Well, that’s true.”
Given his line of work, Woo Jaeyoung wouldn’t easily get involved with outsiders.
He was unusually lenient with me now, but that clearly wasn’t his default personality.
“Don’t tell me…….”
My expression suddenly turned serious.
“Did I take out a loan?!”
Gamja exploded.
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
The shout made my heart jump.
If it wasn’t true, he could’ve just said so—why yell like that?!
And wasn’t he supposed to be avoiding dialect?
It kept slipping out!
While I tried to calm my racing heart, gripping the wheelchair handles, he fumed in indignation.
“Sowon, you.
Even if you lost all your memories, what do you take us for, huh?
Sure, we deal with money and all that, but we don’t prey on clueless kids!
Good grief, honestly!”
He flailed his large arms as he explained.
Even for people who walked the line between legal and illegal, they had their own rules.
One of them—
Never take money from kids who don’t know how the world works.
They didn’t lend to minors under any circumstances.
Even adults weren’t given loans if they had been dragged in or deceived.
“If some brat gets caught up in gambling, if he’s still green, we let him off once.
That’s our boss.”
“That’s… kind of nice.”
Taking out a loan like that could ruin someone’s life.
From Jaeyoung’s perspective, it was giving them a chance.
‘So he’s not entirely a bad guy.’
Then how did we get involved?
It couldn’t be love at first sight with someone nine years younger.
“But you insisted on borrowing money.”
“……Me?”
“Yeah.
Our reckless little rat.
Nineteen-year-old Yoo Sowon with no fear.
You barged into the office demanding to know why they wouldn’t lend to kids.
Turns out, you were wearing the uniform from Moyoung’s school.”
‘Moyoung.’
I quickly stored the name.
“When boss heard your situation, he asked what you’d even use a million won for.
And you said… paint and sketchbooks.
You wanted to go to art school, but supplies cost a fortune.”
Art school… expensive.
I remembered my own poor background.
Seems Sowon’s past wasn’t much different.
My nose stung a little.
“So boss tossed you a card and told you to stop chirping, go buy what you need, and return it the next day.”
“And then?”
I leaned forward, fists clenched.
“Did I max it out? Destroy his finances?”
“Seriously?”
Gamja clicked his tongue.
“21,300 won.”
“…What?”
“That’s all you spent.”
Less than 30,000 won.
Everyone had been speechless.
Gamja too, since he’d just joined the branch back then.
“That’s how it started.
Been about four years now.
Even during military leave, you’d come see him.
Once, you got drunk at your college entrance thing—boss carried you home.”
Gamja spoke with clear fondness.
This wasn’t just a past story.
It was memories.
Memories he had—
And I didn’t.
For a moment, I felt a little jealous.
“Boss paid for everything you needed.
Tuition too.
You said you wouldn’t accept it for free, so he had you run errands instead.
Then fed you with the leftover money.”
“What is that? Hahaha.”
Bought me things.
Paid tuition.
Fed me.
Found me when I ran away.
Paid hospital bills.
And yet—
We weren’t even dating?
No wonder things got confusing.
“He sounds like a sugar daddy.”
Gamja laughed awkwardly.
The answer came from behind him.
A shadow fell over us.
“Don’t talk nonsense. You think that guy raised a kid just to eat him up later?”
Classic literature’s kind gentleman sponsor—
Instantly ruined.
“You’re back, boss.”
Woo Jaeyoung looked down at us, clearly displeased.
“You’re out here? What if you get sick again?”
“I checked his temperature before coming up.
37.2.”
“That’s still a fever.”
“This is basically normal, isn’t it?”
“Do you think he’s built like you idiots?”
I quickly stepped in.
“I asked them. It was my idea.”
“Hyung? Why are they ‘hyung’? With that age gap, they’re uncles.”
“Then you—”
“I’m nine years older, so I’m hyung.”
“Nine or ten, same difference.”
“And I’m handsome.”
“How is that related……”
“So you agree?”
I pouted.
“I have eyes.”
He smirked.
“Then call me what you used to.”
I tilted my head.
“What did I call you?”
“Darling.”
Yeah.
Even without memory—
That was bullshit.
“Stop lying, Woo Jaeyoung.”
He clicked his tongue and sent Gamja away.
Soon, it was just the two of us.
He knelt in front of my wheelchair.
Checked my temperature with his hand.
Then my neck.
Something like faint disappointment lingered.
“Doctor said you can eat normal food now.
I’ll be free tonight. Let’s eat together.”
“Can we eat out?”
“No. I’ll bring it.”
I hesitated.
I hadn’t had much appetite.
Even plain rice porridge was fine.
“Not ‘anything.’ Pick something.”
“Rice porridge is fine.”
“You’ve been eating that for days.”
After thinking—
A lightbulb.
“Fried tofu pouches.”
“……What?”
“I want fried tofu pouches.”
He stared at me like I’d lost it.
Then called someone.
“Go get tofu pouches. Now.”
“I don’t care.”
Click.
Then—
He lifted me into his arms.
“Stay in your room until dinner.”
Threatening his subordinates. Buying art supplies for a kid. Carrying a patient gently.
All the same person.
“What are you thinking about?”
I rested my head on his shoulder.
“You’re a really strange person.”
He chuckled.
“Do you hate that?”
I buried my face in his chest—
And didn’t answer.
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