Friday, which had been one tense reversal after another, finally passed, and the weekend flowed by peacefully as if none of it had ever happened. Seojin slept in with Euni, ate with her, spent time playing in the dirt at the playground, and even let her float toys in the bathtub while they splashed around in the water.
‘This is what happiness is.’
After a weekend spent fully enjoying the peace that came from an uneventful everyday life, the newly begun week also passed without incident.
Most of the time, only Seojin and Manager Kim were in the office. Occasionally, Yoon Haegang would appear, sit on the sofa as though he had come just to look around, then disappear again, but the suffocating pressure Seojin had felt before had eased considerably.
Seojin guessed that the change had probably started after Friday night, when he had sat across from Yoon Haegang and eaten a late-night snack with him. It had been a strangely peculiar time. They had merely emptied a can of beer each in silence with a pot of ramen between them, yet somehow Seojin had felt more at ease than he ever did in the office.
Or perhaps it was simply because, despite barging in so suddenly that it had been troublesome, Yoon Haegang had left without saying much.
“Seojin, if you’re not busy, want to head home?”
Seojin, who had been staring blankly at his monitor, came back to his senses at Manager Kim’s welcome words. When he checked the clock, it was, as always, four thirty.
“Should I?”
Now that Seojin knew Manager Kim was saying it out of consideration for the fact that he had a child, he no longer refused and immediately began tidying up his desk.
“Yeah. I’m just going to look through this a little more before I leave. You go on ahead, Seojin.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“No, no. Someone asked us to dig into another person’s background, so I have to do it myself.”
That certainly was not something Seojin could help with. It was only possible because Manager Kim had once worked as a police officer.
“Okay, I’ll head out first. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, bye, Seojin! Have a nice evening with Euni.”
In any case, thanks to Manager Kim making accommodations for him like that, Seojin called the daycare and went to pick Euni up, then stopped by the neighborhood playground while they were already out.
“Dad, can Euni play on the slide?”
“Yeah. Just be careful coming down.”
“Okaaay!”
Seojin sat down on a bench while watching Euni scamper over to join the two or three children already running excitedly around the play structure.
Perhaps because the weather was beginning to warm up, the cool evening breeze brushing through his hair felt quite pleasant.
“Um, hello.”
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him. Seojin turned his head, and there stood Shin Seyoung, wearing nothing more than a white shirt and faded jeans, yet still somehow giving off a pure, delicate air.
“Ah… hello.”
Seojin smiled awkwardly as he looked at Shin Seyoung’s visibly pleased face. Their homes were not far apart, so it was only natural that they might occasionally run into each other, but to be honest, Seojin was not particularly happy about it.
‘Why do I keep running into him like this?’
He wanted to keep his distance from these people somehow.
“My class just ended. I stopped by home for a bit and was on my way back out when I saw you sitting here. I thought I should at least say hello…….”
And since he spoke to him so warmly, Seojin could hardly refuse to have a conversation. It was simply unfortunate that Shin Seyoung happened to be such a kind and sweet character.
“Ah, I see. Are you feeling all right? You seemed to have a pretty bad flu that day, so I was worried.”
Seojin asked after him first, referring to it as the flu. Shin Seyoung blinked in confusion, then belatedly understood what he meant and nodded.
“Yes. Thanks to you, I rested properly at home and gradually got better. Thank you for that day. If you hadn’t helped me, something really bad might have happened.”
“I’m glad you got some rest.”
Seojin intended to end the conversation there and part ways with Shin Seyoung. They only knew each other’s faces, and he had helped him briefly, so surely this much was enough. Shin Seyoung seemed to have nothing more to say either and gave him a light nod before starting to move away, when a cheerful ringtone sounded from his pocket.
Shin Seyoung hurriedly pulled out his phone, checked the incoming number, tilted his head, and answered.
“Yes, hello. What? My father hurt someone? What do you mean……. H-how badly was the other person hurt?”
A shadow instantly fell across Shin Seyoung’s face.
“Haah… Five million as a settlement fee? How am I supposed to get that right away…… No, a report… Just a moment.”
Seojin, who could hear the conversation beside him, twitched his eyebrows.
Anyone listening could tell it was a textbook voice-phishing script.
A sudden need for emergency cash, a family member becoming an offender, a bank account supposedly being stolen—there were all sorts of variations, and they especially worked well on children who lived apart from their parents.
“J-just a moment. Haah… I only have three million right now. Even that much… Yes, yes.”
Because Shin Seyoung did not live with his father either, he had fallen for the lie and was about to send the money immediately.
“Wait……. Hold on!”
Seojin shot to his feet and urgently grabbed Shin Seyoung by the arm. Startled, Shin Seyoung’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
“Hang up right now.”
At Seojin’s firm words, confusion shook Shin Seyoung’s gaze.
“That’s a scam. So hang up first.”
“B-but they said my father caused an accident… They even know his name. And it wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened…….”
As though he wanted to trust Seojin, who had spoken so decisively, Shin Seyoung hurriedly explained his father’s name and just how troublesome a person he was.
Well, if he was always being pushed around like this, it made sense that the sub yandere top had found room to interfere.
“It really is voice phishing.”
Seojin emphasized it once more.
The reason he was so certain was obvious. This was the very incident that happened right after Shin Seyoung’s heat cycle.
In the original story, it had been something the secretary arranged.
But this time, Seojin had not done anything.
Then who was moving now?
‘Yoon Haegang’s orders?’
Or was someone else interfering?
His thoughts were cut off when Shin Seyoung’s phone vibrated again.
“W-what do I do? It’s the same call from earlier.”
Shin Seyoung looked at Seojin helplessly.
“Answer it for now. We need to confirm whether your father is actually in trouble or whether it’s a scam.”
“How… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Ask them one thing at a time and see if even the smallest detail changes from what they said earlier. What exactly did your father do? Where are they right now? If they dodge the questions or their story changes, there’s a high chance they’re lying.”
When Seojin calmly instructed him, Shin Seyoung swallowed hard and nodded.
“H-hello. Yes… But what exactly did my father do? H-how much? Where? What? Um…….”
As Shin Seyoung pressed them with several detailed questions, his expression changed. Suspicion entered the eyes that had been filled with fear, and his gaze gradually hardened.
Just as Seojin had advised, something about the other person’s story did not add up.
“All right. I’m hanging up now.”
Shin Seyoung said it quite firmly and ended the call. Seojin also let out a relieved breath. Now that they knew Shin Seyoung had caught on, they probably would not try anything else.
But that relief lasted only a moment before Shin Seyoung’s phone rang again. Seeing him simply glare at the screen, Seojin realized it was the same number calling.
“W-what should I do about this?”
Shin Seyoung looked at Seojin with pleading eyes.
“We’ll need to figure out whether this is just a simple scam or if there’s something else going on. First, we need to find out who the caller is, but we don’t have any clues right now, so don’t answer.”
When Seojin spoke calmly, Shin Seyoung nodded as though reassured.
“Should I block the number?”
“If you do, they might just call from another phone, so I think it would be better to simply not answer. More importantly, try contacting your father. Find out whether an accident really happened.”
Only then did Shin Seyoung seem to think of that possibility, and he hurriedly made another call.
“What do I do? He’s not answering…. Haah, he’s always hard to get in touch with.”
Of course he was. Who was Shin Seyoung’s father, after all? He was the stereotypical troublemaker whose role was to plunge the main bottom into hardship.
And precisely because he was that kind of person, he was also very good at disappearing without a word and making his child sick with worry.
“Um… Would you perhaps be able to find out who this phone number belongs to? I-I’m not asking you to do it for free. I’ll pay an investigation fee.”
“Ah, ahh…….”
At Shin Seyoung’s cautious request, Seojin realized one thing.
‘No matter what happens, I can’t pull myself out of this.’
No matter how much he struggled, he could not escape the role of an extra who existed for the protagonist.