The Manager Is a Gangster

12 – Who Found Whom (5)

[From the moment we signed that contract with him, he explicitly said not to touch the fourth floor. Whether it’s the lady’s desire to enjoy my home undisturbed, or the consideration of my brother for me, the fourth floor remained vacant.

In my heart, I expressed gratitude to my brother and took the elevator to the fourth floor with Miss Ha-an.

Ding-

“Oh.”

As the door opened, all that was visible was a white wall and in the center, a gray iron door that remained.

The sight in front of the house, the last time I saw it seven years ago when I left home, remained unchanged after all these years.

I thought the lady would have decorated it to her liking. But nothing has really changed.

Neither my brother, nor the lady, nor this building. In the midst of everything I knew changing, I couldn’t help but be moved by the unchanged appearance of my home.

The fact that this place, managed by the lady and my brother, hasn’t changed also means that their feelings towards me haven’t changed.

Feeling somewhat moved by this fact, I raised my hand to the door lock.

The password is 0707. It was the lady’s birthday.

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

“Sis, since my house is practically your house, I set the password to my birthday. What? Of course, it’s more convenient for me to enter that way. I won’t forget it.”

“Well…”

Back then, she was really a troublemaker who messed up everything, whether it was manners or courtesy. The fact that she, who was like that, has become a star shining for the country now. It’s really overwhelming.

Feeling even sentimental about entering my house after seven years through the door lock password, I opened the door to my home after all these years.

And there unfolded the scenery inside my house, truly unchanged.

She said the lady used it like a vacation home, so I thought it might have been colored a bit by her. But really, not even a bit has changed.]

It feels like I’ve gone back seven years. I’m so grateful, what should I do?

Finally, I returned home and couldn’t help but greet an empty house.

“I’m back.”

Then, I heard a slightly awkward greeting from behind.

“…Excuse me.”

When I turned my head, I saw Haan standing behind me, extending her head slightly to look around the house.

It seemed like she thought there was someone in the house.

“Oh, it’s okay. There’s no one in the house. I live alone.”

“Huh? Then why did you greet…”

I didn’t really need to explain that I was released from prison yesterday and came home after seven years. The title of a ex-convict only brings about negative feelings.

“I haven’t been home in a really long time, so I couldn’t help myself from greeting.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. Anyway, it must be cold. Come on in. I’ll turn on the heating.”

“Oh, okay.”

Even though we exchanged pleasantries and I invited her into my house, Haan’s voice was still cold and stiff.

However, despite that, Haan walked into my house as if it were her own, taking off her coat and hanging it on the living room hanger.

It’s better this way than unnecessarily refusing the invitation. It’s even better if she feels comfortable in my house.

Since the entire fourth floor is my house, the size of this house is as wide as combining four ordinary apartments.

There are even seven big rooms.

In the past, my siblings used to come to my house if they had a fight with their spouses or if a lady ran away. Later on, there were more times when there were more people in my house than when I was alone.

Perhaps it was because entering alone felt more familiar and comfortable to me than coming in with someone else.

Today, I met her for the first time, and the fact that she didn’t open up to me is a problem.

Now, as I ponder how to seriously consider idols, I turned on the boiler.

“Since I just turned on the boiler, it should warm up in about 20 minutes. How about taking a bath during that time?”

Because your body must be cold. When I arrived in front of the company, my body was shivering. At times like that, soaking in a bathtub filled with warm water is comforting.

Of course, it wasn’t just a casual remark based on concern.

Such considerate gestures, happening as if they were natural, are sure to win favor from the person. And favor, it grows rapidly to a certain extent the moment it starts accumulating.

Purely to gain favor from Miss Ha-an and to get closer to her, I offered words of consideration.

Keeping it like that, if she catches a cold, she might feel upset, you know?

“······.”

However, the moment Miss Ha-an heard the suggestion to take a bath, her expression stiffened despite my hope that her face would soften even a little.

Well, what is it? Does she dislike taking baths?

I thought her expression was already stiff, but it became even more rigid, which was quite embarrassing.

However, that completely frozen expression lasted only for a moment. She returned to her original expression, or rather, the slightly stiffened Miss Ha-an nodded in response to my suggestion.

“······Yes. I’ll do that.”

In her rigid voice, there was a sense of disdain as if saying, ‘I knew you’d eventually suggest that,’ but why I felt that way was unclear.

“Uh, well······. If you go down the corridor, the bathroom will be right at the end. I’ll provide separate clothes, so you can wear those.”

“Clothes too······ are available.”

Since there are multiple rooms and the person coming is already determined, there is, of course, a room for the lady who considers this place her own house.

She has many clothes that she bought but doesn’t wear. Borrowing those should be fine. Seeing her come here to relax every day off, it’s likely that her belongings are still here.

Just in case, I went to the room of the lady with the sign ‘Star’ to check, and as expected, there were various clothes neatly arranged.

This should be enough for a clothing store.

Anyway, since I confirmed that there were enough clothes to wear, I smiled warmly and delivered the good news to Miss hahahahan.

“Yes, feel free to wear any clothes. I’ll provide comfortable ones, so relax and warm yourself up while taking a bath.”

“······Yes.”

Thud.

Contrary to the response indicating understanding, an inappropriate sound echoed in the situation.

While the listener couldn’t help but find the sound puzzling, Miss hahahahan silently entered the bathroom.

“What was that?”

The sound I just heard is usually made when someone is genuinely angry or filled with disillusionment. Why did such a sound occur now?

“I must have misheard.”

Since there was no need to bother, I picked loose pajamas and underwear from the clothes hole under the bathroom door and placed them inside.

Considering that Miss didn’t bring clothes to change into after entering, it’s easier to just create a hole for handing over clothes. That’s precisely what this clothes hole is for.

It’s really convenient, this clothes hole.

Despite having created it a long time ago, the usefulness of the clothes hole still pleased me as I smiled contentedly and headed to the kitchen.

“Well, shall I make some warming food.”

※※※

“······As expected, it’s all the same.”

Entering the bathroom, Choi hahahahan tightly closed the door, suppressing feelings of contempt.

Naturally, the object of her contempt was Kang Jinhyuk, the owner of this house.

Before discussing the problem, he had noticed it in advance and immediately allowed her to escape. When he asked if she could consider trying out being an idol in return, he had only regarded it as something strange to some extent.

Since the moment he slightly twisted his face at the compliment of being pretty and refrained from saying it again, he thought it was okay.

However, when he suddenly asked for her to stay overnight, asked for her name out of the blue, and made a call somewhere, then took her to a building with a sign that read ‘Right Path Entertainment,’ she could no longer consider it okay.

Of course, the request to stay overnight was at the bottom line, and Kang Jinhoon just granted that request.

Choi Haan knew this very well, so even though she had some doubts, she followed Kang Jinhoon into the building.

And when Choi Haan arrived on the 4th floor after taking the elevator, the scene that unfolded before her eyes was more than enough to completely shatter the perception she had of Kang Jinhoon.

“Anyone can see that this isn’t an ordinary place. Here.”

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary small planning agency building, but when Choi Haan descended from the 4th floor, she saw it.

Undoubtedly abnormal pure white walls and a gray iron door left as if the inside of the wall was a house.

When Kang Jinhoon opened the door and she followed him inside, Choi Haan’s suspicion became almost certain.

“Does it make sense that there’s a house like this on the 4th floor of a decent planning agency building? And this spacious, too?”

There were even seven rooms. Excluding the bathroom, seven. It wasn’t difficult to deduce what that meant.

“Besides, I was told to take a bath as soon as I took off my coat. Did you bring me into a house just to catch a fully caught fish?”

*Euddeuk.*

Choi Haan gritted her teeth so strongly that a grinding sound echoed.

But even so, her two pupils, which had lost any trace of light, still did not show a sense of giving up.

Compared to the crises Choi Haan had faced until now, escaping from such a shabby place was like a walk in the park.

“Sure, let’s just go in and suck everything in. We’ll deal with it when we boldly enter.”

Despite being in their early twenties, Choi Haan’s life was hardcore, and that’s why she had the ability to find a way out of any crisis.

Her senses, sharpened like a sharp blade, allowed her to feel any sign even with her eyes closed. As Kang Jinhoon said, it was clear that there was only Kang Jinhoon in this house.

Therefore, even though Choi Ha-an was convinced that this place and situation were all dangerous right now, she could still take a bath.

“Because handling one adult man is… easy.”

For the current Choi Ha-an, who had endured the years of hardship and was now complete, dealing with one adult man was too easy.

“Sigh…”

Immersing herself in the hot water, Choi Ha-an began to contemplate how to bring Kang Jin-hyuk down when he attempted something, just as she had done so far. Very naturally.