Oh Myeong Se kept his word. He said it was just the beginning and to wait and see, and he really started causing trouble.

A few days after visiting her maternal relatives, Ga Eul received a phone call while sitting at her desk preparing to return to school after dinner.

“Noona, something terrible has happened. Someone is destroying the boss’s office. It seems like multiple people came. I called the boss but he’s not answering.”

As soon as she answered the call, the urgent voice of the evening part-time worker at the convenience store across from the office flowed out.

“Did you report it, did you call the police?”

Ga Eul sprang up from her chair. It was all too obvious who was doing such a thing.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the boss who had gone out during the day didn’t seem to have returned to the office yet.

“Okay. Keep trying to call the boss. I’ll go there now.”

“Noona, by yourself? It could be dangerous. Shouldn’t we call some people?”

“By the time people arrive, it will all be over. The guys will have already run away.”

“Should I go out and take a look? If they know someone’s watching, wouldn’t they do less?”

“No, it’s too dangerous. They’re not the type to be scared off by onlookers. Don’t leave the convenience store. If it seems dangerous, lock the door and stay inside.”

After hanging up, Ga Eul hurriedly left the house. She only told her grandmother, who asked where she was going at this hour, that there seemed to be a problem at the office.

Outside, she tried to catch a taxi but couldn’t see any empty ones. Ga Eul started running like crazy. Though her head was spinning and her lungs felt like they were tearing apart, she didn’t stop running.

More than anything, she felt sorry for the boss. This was her business. The boss was going to suffer damage because of her. How much would the damages be? Everything went dark before her eyes.

While Ga Eul was running towards the office, Dae Un had already arrived at the office.

Dae Un received a warning message on his cell phone while in a meeting at his secret hideout, a private room in a nightclub in Gangnam. It said there were intruders in the office. The security system installed in the building had been activated.

Dae Un opened his phone and checked the video being transmitted by the CCTV cameras installed in the office.

Oh Myeong Se and two other guys were causing a ruckus. The guys were breaking things and shouting as if they were out of their minds. One was even urinating on a table. He wondered if they had come after taking drugs.

Anger boiled up inside him. The place they were destroying was his only space where he could rest.

It was also where he had spent a year bickering with Han Ga Eul. Why did humans who take away and destroy what others hold dear exist in this world? He was sick and tired of such humans now.

Now it was time to pay them back. When he was young, he was victimized because he lacked power, but now he had the power to do so.

Dae Un immediately ended the meeting and got in his car. Even if he went back now, the guys would be gone, but he wanted to clean up as quickly as possible. Before Ga Eul saw it.

Dae Un stopped Se Hyun and other subordinates from following. His identity shouldn’t be revealed yet. There was no need to escalate the situation either. It seemed ridiculous to use full force to deal with someone like Oh Myeong Se.

When he returned, the office looked as if it had been bombed. They had destroyed it so thoroughly that not a single item was intact. Red spray paint was sprayed on the walls. English curse words written in large letters were also visible.

Dae Un blamed himself as he looked at the scene. He had underestimated Oh Myeong Se’s ability to act.

He thought Oh Myeong Se would launch his attack next week when he was out of Korea. He had dropped hints several times during dinner that he was going to India next week.

But Oh Myeong Se didn’t wait until he went to India. He took him for a fool. Oh Myeong Se taking Ki Dae Un for a fool. Pfft, Dae Un gave a twisted smile.

The police arrived even later than Dae Un. They looked around the office halfheartedly, received the CCTV footage, and left.

I’ll have to call a cleaning company tomorrow. Dae Un thought he should tell Ga Eul not to come to the office tomorrow as he trudged up the stairs.

It seemed like there was nothing he could do right now. He couldn’t even lock the office since the door was broken, but that was okay. There was nothing left to take anyway since everything was smashed.

At that moment, people entered the office. It was Young Min’s dad and Young Min’s mom. They were holding brooms and buckets.

“What kind of bastards would do this to an office.”

Young Min’s father, who just bowed his head deeply to finish greeting, and Young Min’s mother, who clicked her tongue looking at the state of the office instead of bowing. After greeting in their own way, the two put on rubber gloves from the bucket and started cleaning.

“What are you doing right now?”

When Dae Un asked guardedly, Young Min’s mom, who had been examining the broken furniture, raised her head.

“We can’t leave it like this. If we do, Ga Eul will have to clean it all up tomorrow.”

There are cleaning companies for this, you know. Dae Un muttered inwardly.

Dae Un started to ponder. Should he go up to the second floor regardless of whether the two cleaned or not? There was nothing to feel guilty about.

He didn’t ask them to, they were voluntarily cleaning. Or should he pretend to help the two clean? This was too bothersome. Ki Dae Un had never cleaned an office in his life.

While he was unable to decide, Yoo Sung Mok and his mother Hong Su Jin came in. These two had also come prepared to clean.

“Looks like word has spread in the neighborhood.”

Dae Un, dumbfounded, spoke first.

“They seemed to have caused quite a commotion. Word was bound to spread in the neighborhood. Thank you for withdrawing the lawsuit. We wanted to show our gratitude somehow.”

Hong Su Jin replied without being able to meet Dae Un’s eyes. She looked very cowed.

“This has nothing to do with the lawsuit. This is to help Gyeo Ul and Ga Eul noona.”

Yoo Sung Mok was more confident than his mother. They both seemed to feel sorry for Ga Eul and Gyeo Ul all the same.

With things turning out like this, Dae Un had no choice but to come down the stairs.

A few more people Dae Un didn’t know came. They all said they came to lighten Ga Eul’s burden. He even started to wonder if there was some kind of emergency contact network in the neighborhood for people to gather so quickly.

“Where should the boss go? You’ll just get in the way if you stay here.”

“Yeah, do that. You don’t look like you can do this work. Never done this kind of thing before, right?”

Pushed aside by people finding their own tasks to do, Dae Un ended up standing on the stairs again. From there, Dae Un watched people working as if entranced.

They were all people who had gathered for Ga Eul. He could see Young Min’s father tearing out the broken sink. Seeing that reminded him of how Ga Eul had insisted she couldn’t make Young Min’s father pay the hospital bill when she hit her head after being pushed by him.

He regretted criticizing Ga Eul for being nosy without knowing her place. Now he felt like he could understand Ga Eul’s heart a little.

Just then, Ga Eul came running into the office. She must have been running the whole way, as Ga Eul was drenched in sweat. Ga Eul who came in stood stock-still at the entrance, looking at the people filling the office. Her face showed she didn’t understand what was going on.

“What did you come here for? You’ll just feel worse seeing this. You go up those stairs too. There’s no need for you to pitch in.”

Ga Eul was pushed up the stairs before she could even start. Ga Eul looked at Dae Un with her sweat-soaked face and whispered.

“What’s going on here?”

“That’s what I want to ask. All these people came saying they want to help you.”

Dae Un whispered back. He wanted to reach out and wipe the sweat from Ga Eul’s face.

Then suddenly Dae Un’s expression hardened as he stared blankly at the empty space behind Ga Eul. A sudden realization came to him.

This is where Ga Eul belongs. Ga Eul is a person who has to live among these people.

Ga Eul’s fresh vitality comes from here, so why on earth did he push Ga Eul into Chairman Oh Kyu Baek’s house? To that place where there are people like Oh Myeong Se. And to use Ga Eul at that.

What on earth had he done to Ga Eul……. His chest tightened as if a cold hand had gripped his heart.

“I’m sorry. Because of me……”

Ga Eul was at a loss, feeling sorry.

“Oh Myeong Se, that despicable bastard. If he wanted revenge, he should have come at me. Why to the boss who has nothing to do with this……”

No, I’m the one who should apologize. I’m the one who pushed you into that house and made you meet Oh Myeong Se.

“I shouldn’t have provoked Oh Myeong Se like that. It’s my fault.”

Ga Eul buried her face in her hands. Dae Un wanted to remove those hands and look into Ga Eul’s eyes and say. That everything was his fault. That he was a selfish bastard for trying to use her under the pretext of revenge for his father.

“Why you? What did you do wrong?”

Instead, Dae Un barely squeezed out those words.

“We have enough hands, so let’s finish the painting today too. I’ll go to the store and bring back the necessary supplies.”

Young Min’s father shouted to Dae Un. At that sound, Dae Un, who had momentarily set aside his guilt, opened his mouth to answer.

“Yes, please do that. I’ll be counting on you. Please bill me for the costs. This happened because of me.”

Ga Eul answered a step ahead, in a spirited manner.

“Don’t even think about paying. How could we take money from you? You didn’t even take treatment costs.”

Young Min’s dad waved his hand dismissively and went out of the office.

“Young Min’s dad runs a construction equipment business. When people in this neighborhood have problems with their houses, they call Young Min’s dad. Even though it’s called a construction equipment business, he does all kinds of work like sewers, boilers, painting.”

Ga Eul said proudly. She seemed pleased that the neighborhood people had come to help her. Seeing that only increased Dae Un’s sense of guilt.

Ga Eul’s grandmother and Gyeo Ul arrived last. They seemed to have heard the news too. The office was already full of people cleaning, so there was no space for them to enter.

“What did Ga Eul’s grandmother come here for? Your back isn’t good.”

“Gyeo Ul and Sung Mok should go study too. The college entrance exam is right around the corner. There’s no need for you to help. There are so many people working already.”

The people who were called out weren’t about to just go back. So they went up the stairs too. The stairs became crowded as well.

“You all gathered late at night like this to help our Ga Eul. Thank you.”

Ga Eul’s grandmother greeted the people gathered on the stairs.

Dae Un chuckled at that. He was the owner of this office and Ga Eul was just his subordinate, so if anyone should be greeting them, it should be him. But that’s laughable too. These people all came to help Ga Eul, not the owner of this office.

Dae Un, whose presence had vanished, fell into serious contemplation on the stairs. Playing the role of owner wasn’t easy. He had been treated as an outsider from the start. Still, he should express gratitude to the people who came to help, but the method was the problem.

Just then, someone poked their head into the office. It was Ga Eul’s aunt.

“Thank you for helping Ga Eul. You’ve worked hard, so don’t just go home, come to our restaurant and wet your throats. Ga Eul’s uncle feels too sorry to come. This is all our job to do, but we couldn’t even look in because of the evening business. Mother, I’ll go first, so bring these people with you.”

Ga Eul’s aunt said just that and disappeared, pulling her head back.

With that, Dae Un’s last chance to announce himself as the owner also disappeared. He was even robbed of the means to express gratitude as the owner to the people who helped clean the office.

But Ki Dae Un didn’t give up. He’s not a person who gives up easily. Ki Dae Un, who didn’t give up on acting as the owner until the end, shouted boldly.

“Thank you for your help. You can’t just go back after helping like this. Please all go to the restaurant and eat as much as you want. It’s my treat as a token of gratitude.”

Dae Un especially emphasized ‘my’.

The gathered people happily went to Ga Eul’s uncle’s restaurant to eat and drink.

It was only when Dae Un went to the counter to pay that he felt things were going strangely.

“Ga Eul, we ate well. Thanks to you, we greased our stomachs today.”

That was the words that stuck in Dae Un’s ears as he held out his card. Only then did Dae Un look around coldly, like a person who had come to their senses.

Everyone was telling Ga Eul they ate well. Ga Eul and Ga Eul’s grandmother were also the ones saying thank you for helping.

Then what am I? Just someone who pays the bill?

The guilt of making Ga Eul meet Oh Myeong Se, the anger at the destruction of the space that was just for him and Ga Eul, all flew far away. Dae Un’s mind was filled only with the thought of why he was being sidelined when he was the owner.

It felt like he had fallen into a conspiracy. Or maybe he had been scammed. It felt like he had been taken advantage of because he didn’t know.

He didn’t know that Ga Eul’s uncle ran a charcoal-grilled Korean beef restaurant, and he didn’t know that people could eat such an enormous amount of meat even at this late hour.

Above all, he didn’t know that after spending much more money than calling a cleaning company, Ga Eul would receive all the thanks.