27. At The Elevator

"Doyun a, you can't hide anything from me, you know that right? I know when something is occupying your mind.

Even though you absorbed yourself in whatever that is going on around you, I can tell when you're worried about something.

Remember when you called me yesterday?" Hee-Jin said as she wears her earrings.

Doyun nodded, quite overwhelmed at her kindness. Not that he didn't know that part of her, but this one was a bit too much for much.

"I could tell from your voice that something is wrong, and it sounded serious. You've already told me about those loan sharks, which I had to force you before you did.

You won't let me know the amount so I could help you settle them. I thought they might be the ones troubling, hence why I brought this check to you.

Don't worry, this is from my own secret account, so neither my husband nor my in-laws will know of it, even if they pried.

"Th...thank you, noona. Thank you...I really appreciate this." Doyun stuttered as he got off the bed to help her finish dressing up first.

She turned to sit beside him on the bed and took his left hand in hers.

"See, I don't know what the problem is but all I can do to assist is just my money, so do tell me if you're ever in need okay?"

Doyun nodded several times like a lizard in water.

"I want you to have a sound mind so you can focus on your trainee, once the program starts." She got up to fix her hair while looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"Oh, and that reminds me, have you received any message about the program? Did you pass?" Kim Hee-Jin asked her young lover.

"Oh, about that, I forgot to thank you. Thanks noona, I got the message yesterday. They said to come to the office on Monday. Thank you for making me get a spot."

The woman nodded, "Mhm. But I didn't do much. I just recommended you to the team and gave them your viseos and details.

They wouldn't have accepted you if you didn't meet their standards. So how prepared are you?

Have you been practicing hard? You won't want people thinking that you were picked for just your looks right?

Hope you make my efforts worth it, otherwise, no one will take me seriously if I were to recommend someone for another program, next time.

Doyun hasn't been practicing, he's been so distracted by so many things that he hasn't been able to even prepare for Monday.

"Don't worry, noona. I won't disappoint you." He said as he placed her pearl necklace on her.

"Prove it first. I hate empty promises. Send me a text after you leave the company." She took her handbag and made for the door.

"Okay, noona." Doyun said and gave her a light goodbye kiss on the cheek, before he opened the door for her to leave.

He can choose to stay till the next day or leave the hotel room now if he wants.

He chose to leave, as he usually does, so he too got dressed and left. His head, feeling a little lightheaded.

***

Kim Byeongho is on his third glass of wine, sitting on a settee in one of the VIP sections of the Wangjo club, which belongs to one his close friends, Choi Yong Woo.

He had come to meet him here because they both promised to spend their Saturdays together, to release some of the stress from work.

Yong Woo has excused himself to go and talk to his staff, hence why he was drinking alone now.

He was already tipsy but continued to pour glass after glass of the wine, till he emptied the bottle and requested for another.

He looked super sober but the truth is, he was already drunk, just not completely.

"Mann, what woman did that to you? She must be crazily wild." Choi Yong Woo asked his friend about the bite marks, when he returned to their table.

Byeongho took that as a rhetoric question and continued drinking in silence, as he watches the other clubbers, from where he sat.

Choi Yongwoo joined him about an hour later. He was almost done with the second bottle.

"Hey, man. I think you're drinking too much right now." Yongwoo grabbed his hand and took the glass of wine from him.

"Let me be." Byeongho said lazily as his head falls on Yongwoo's arm, his calm and composed demeanour from earlier, completely gone.

Yongwoo became concerned. There's a problem with the club that he still hasn't resolved with his staff yet, so he cannot just leave right now.

"Mann, I'll take you to a room at the hotel, so you can rest there while I sort out the problem here. I'll come for you afterwards."

Yongwoo supported his friend to stand up and leave the club to the hotel room.

***

Doyun was very shocked when he came face to face, with the guy that he had been trying to reach all throughout the day.

He and anolder guy, almost around similar age and size were now about to enter the elevator and joined them.

Luckily, someone was also getting off at the first floor, so Doyun didn't punch in his floor number but made the other guy to punch in theirs, and stayed in the elevator with the two guys, back up.

Byeongho seemed drunk, and he was staggering and swaying as they walked in.

So when the elevator reached their floor, the other guy put Byeongho's hand across his neck and held his waist as they made their way out of the elevator.

Doyun felt a rush of adrenaline as eyes lingered on the hand that was on Byeongho's waist. He wanted to chop it off, if that was possible.

"Let me help you." Doyun said to the other guy and took Byeongho's other free hand to help get him to where he was going.