The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary - c58

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!

It was unexpected when Hyeseong, who was eating breakfast and running the vacuum cleaner, caught sight of Dohyun’s  laptop screen. These days, Dohyun had been visiting various job search websites, saying he would look for a new job. Although he didn’t seem to have any immediate plans for employment, it seemed he was habitually looking at them.

 

Thanks to Dohyun, who left his  laptop on for a while and went to the bathroom, that screen caught Hyeseong’s eyes as well.

 

[Taesung Construction Secretarial Office Personnel Recruitment]

 

Perhaps because of his good eyesight, or because the word Taesung now entered his eyes so naturally, the title was very clearly visible.

 

“…”

 

Hyeseong turned off the vacuum cleaner and stared intently at the screen. There was a habit he had done for several days after quitting his job. It was checking the job postings on Taesung’s website.

 

Since he had left, the representative’s secretarial office now only had Secretary Han alone. Thinking they would naturally hire new personnel, he expected a notice to be posted, but the notice board remained quiet for a while.

 

It was an action that added more weight to the possibility that Ihyeok’s persistent pursuit of him was to put him back in the secretary position. Although he didn’t feel too good about it, he also felt relieved at times, feeling a contradiction in himself. So he hadn’t checked for a while, but…

 

Hyeseong suddenly recalled the last conversation he had with Ihyeok.

 

“Yeah. You’re right. You were always smart and brought me the right answers. Everything you say must be right. I guess it’s a bad thing to keep doing this to someone who’s showing discomfort with their whole body.”

 

That also meant he would follow Hyeseong’s words. Ihyeok was also starting to take the normal steps to return to his original position.

 

It turned out the way he wanted, but somehow, he felt strange.

 

“Hyeseong, what are you doing?”

 

Dohyun, who came out of the bathroom, approached Hyeseong, who was standing blankly in the living room.

 

“Running the vacuum. But are you going to get a job right away?”

 

Hyeseong gathered his expression as if nothing was wrong and naturally changed the subject.

 

“Actually, I was going to rest a bit more, but I’m slowly starting to look. Do you know how much nagging I heard from my family when I met them this time? If you don’t have a job, when will you save money, when will you get married then? I thought my ears were bleeding. Me.”

 

Dohyun shook his head and shuddered. Hyeseong chuckled and moved the vacuum cleaner.

 

“Hyeseong, are you not going to seek employment in the future?”

 

After finishing vacuuming, Dohyun, who was lying down valiantly in front of the  laptop, turned his head and asked.

 

“I don’t know. I won’t say never, but I have no plans at the moment.”

 

At least until he could completely shake off his thoughts about Taesung, he wanted to rest a bit.

 

“Right. We’re still young, so we can rest when we rest and work when we work. Hyeseong, you worked following that representative since you were a college student… Ah, sorry.”

 

Surprised that he had talked about Ihyeok without realizing it, Dohyun gave an awkward smile. Even though Hyeseong had told him not to be so careful, he was still like that.

 

“I told you to be comfortable.”

 

Hyeseong didn’t tell Dohyun about his last meeting with Ihyeok recently. It wasn’t a pleasant story after all.

 

But Dohyun must have also vaguely noticed that Ihyeok wasn’t coming into the house.

 

Leaving behind Dohyun’s words that he would try, Hyeseong entered the kitchen. He put water on the stove with the intention of brewing coffee and waited, when a text came from Pilhyun.

 

[Hyeseong! I passed the first round of the company I submitted my documents to! It’s all thanks to you. As I mentioned before, I’d like to treat you to a meal, so when would you be available?]

 

Even after that incident ended, Pilhyun had been contacting Hyeseong from time to time. Hyeseong also didn’t mind seeing him change, so they exchanged messages occasionally, and before he knew it, he was even providing job search mentoring to Pilhyun.

 

Last time, he had reviewed his personal statement through text, and fortunately, it seemed to have yielded good results. Thinking it would be impolite to keep refusing, Hyeseong made an appointment with Pilhyun in the near future.

 

Right. To shake off thoughts of Ihyeok as soon as possible, he needed to meet people and move around busily.

 

That night, after eating a late dinner, Hyeseong took Boksil for a walk with Dohyun. They walked side by side, passing by the now-familiar house next door with the lights off.

 

Chatting with Dohyun, Hyeseong suddenly looked back.

 

“Why?”

 

Dohyun looked at Hyeseong, who had abruptly stopped, with puzzlement.

 

“No, it’s just that these days, I keep feeling like someone’s gaze is on me from somewhere.”

 

“Is that a cat? When I walked around this neighborhood, I noticed there are a lot of stray cats because it’s the countryside!”

 

Is that so, Hyeseong pondered for a moment and dismissed it as insignificant. As Dohyun said, stray cats could be hiding and waiting for them to pass by. Hyeseong had felt such gazes quite often when going out at night lately, but since nothing happened, he decided to ignore it.

 

* * * 

 

A few days later, Hyeseong met Pilhyun at a meat restaurant in the city. It was the first time since they had met at the cafe last time.

 

“Hyeseong! Have you been well?”

 

“Yes. How about you, Manager Lee?”

 

“Me too.”

 

Pilhyun smiled brightly. It was evident that his expression and complexion had improved from last time. His voice had become more confident, and his back, which used to be hunched over in dejection, was now straightened. Hyeseong felt proud of the positive changes.

 

“I barely stopped my younger brother from coming along. I was worried you might feel burdened, Hyeseong.”

 

“I didn’t help you without any compensation, so you don’t have to be like that.”

 

Eating the golden-brown grilled pork belly, the two engaged in a relatively comfortable conversation. Hyeseong newly learned that Pilhyun was 3 years older than him and that his younger brother’s university turned out to be the same as Hyeseong’s.

 

Along with personal stories, Hyeseong also recommended several important points to Pilhyun when going to interviews and some ideal answers.

 

Perhaps because he had passed the document screening thanks to the personal statement Hyeseong had reviewed, Pilhyun had infinite trust in his words and even wrote them down in a notebook.

 

Conversation flowed unexpectedly well with Pilhyun. Their personalities matched well, and because he was a calm person, it was comfortable and enjoyable even though they hadn’t known each other for long. Although they became acquainted because of Kim Doo-sung, Hyeseong thought he wanted to maintain this relationship for a long time.

 

“I’ll pay next time.”

 

By the time the night had darkened, the two slowly left the restaurant. They both didn’t enjoy drinking alcohol, so they had chatted until this late hour.

 

“No! When I get a job, I’ll treat you to something even fancier.”

 

“Then let’s meet with your younger brother next time.”

 

“Really? That would be great. My brother will be thrilled too.”

 

Pilhyun smiled brightly. Hyeseong also laughed along and parted ways after a simple goodbye. They had to split up in front of the restaurant because their homes were in opposite directions.

 

Perhaps because it was late at night, Hyeseong waited quite a long time for the bus back home. He considered taking a taxi, but just then, the bus arrived, so Hyeseong got on right away. There weren’t many people, probably because it was late.

 

Hyeseong left a text message to Dohyun, who was whining about when he would come back, saying he had taken the bus and would arrive home in about 20 minutes, then leaned his head against the window.

 

That’s when it happened. Hyeseong, who was sitting in the front, turned his head at the familiar gaze again.

 

“…”

 

But the bus was just quiet. There were only people sleeping, using their phones, or doing their own things.

 

“Have I been overworking myself lately?”

 

Hyeseong rubbed the back of his neck. He had been on edge, planning to take down Kim Doo-sung and running around here and there. He thought he should sleep without any thoughts for a while, and Hyeseong got off the bus.

 

The country road at night was quite dark. There weren’t many street lamps, and since the residents were mostly older and fell asleep or didn’t come out of their homes if it was a bit late, the surroundings were very quiet. Dohyun sometimes said it was a road that seemed like it would appear in a horror or crime movie.

 

Hyeseong wasn’t the type to feel scared of such things, so he walked diligently towards his house.

 

As he left the bus stop and walked along the field beside him, a sudden sense of unease arose. Hyeseong frowned and turned his head. But as expected, only the dark scenery greeted him.

 

Hyeseong instinctively quickened his pace. But it wasn’t long before it happened. Someone’s shadow loomed behind him.

 

When Hyeseong tried to quickly turn his head…

 

Thud!

 

With a dull sound, a scream escaped Hyeseong’s mouth. Along with tremendous pain, he felt something damp flowing.

 

I am being attacked by someone right now.

 

“Haa…”

 

But by the time he realized it, it was too late. He lost strength in his body from being hit on the head.

 

His vision spun dizzily and moved rapidly in circles. It was difficult to put strength in his legs. In the end, Hyeseong, who lost his balance, collapsed on the spot.

 

He felt the cold sensation of the asphalt on his face. Feeling the figure approaching him, Hyeseong tried to muster strength in his body somehow, but it was insufficient.

 

As someone’s hands lifted him up, Hyeseong’s consciousness also completely faded away.

This chapter is paid for by Nemuru!