Younger Man at Work (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12

Everything around was pitch black. Whether he looked down at his feet, up at the sky, or even tried to look at his own legs, nothing was visible at all.

He didn’t even know where he was or who he himself was. All he felt was cold, lonely, frightened—and an overwhelming pain as if his entire body were about to shatter into pieces.

[Mom, Mom.]

Unable to endure it any longer, he began sobbing quietly—until someone gently took his hand.

[It’s okay. I’m right here.]

It felt like a lifeline dropped from the heavens. Without even knowing who this person was, Seung Joo instinctively clung to them.

That person held Seung Joo’s hand firmly with icy fingers—and somehow, the darkness no longer felt scary.

Only after waking up to the morning sunlight did he finally realize who it had been.

The woman had fallen asleep leaning against the wall, still holding Seung Joo’s hand—she’d stayed by his side all night.

Seung Joo quietly sat up. His body, which had felt as heavy as a soaked cotton ball just yesterday, now felt noticeably lighter.

“…….”

He stared silently at the sleeping woman, holding his breath.

Truthfully, he didn’t even know her age—or even her name. All he knew was that she was a tenant in this house and an employee at the company where he was CEO.

One thing was certain, though—she was incredibly kind. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let a complete stranger like him stay in her home. True, she didn’t seem particularly fond of him, but that was probably because his former self had behaved terribly toward her.

Though he had stubbornly demanded to stay at her place, Seung Joo knew deep down that it was irrational.

“…….”

Seung Joo looked down at his own body—an unfamiliar, large frame that felt strange even to himself.

He wasn’t a cute child, not even a teenager anymore. How burdensome must it be for a young, unmarried woman to live with someone like him—especially since he didn’t have a single penny to his name?

It was true he wanted to keep waiting for his mom in this house, but he also knew deep down how hopeless that really was. After all, what were the chances someone missing for sixteen years was still alive?

It was just that this house was the only thing he recognized in this world, and he had nowhere else to go. He’d simply used “waiting for Mom” as an excuse to push his way in.

[Don’t you ever consider my situation even a little?]

Remembering how angry she’d been yesterday, Seung Joo suddenly felt ashamed. He’d noticed she was uncomfortable with him, but he hadn’t realized just how burdensome his presence truly was to her.

And yet, despite all that anger, she’d stayed by his side all night because he was sick, nursing him—holding his hand tightly, gently stroking his forehead with her cool hand, and making sure he took his medicine.

Seung Joo sincerely didn’t want to cause any more trouble for such a genuinely kind person.

For the first time, he closely observed her sleeping face for a long while—and realized just how tiny she was. Her height was nowhere near his, her shoulders narrow, her wrists so slender they looked as if they might snap with the slightest touch. It was no wonder; he’d never once seen her eat a proper meal.

[How am I supposed to sit across from you, CEO, and eat?]

Could that, too, be because of him? Seung Joo felt his heart ache.

Morning sunlight crept gently through the window, slowly illuminating her small, delicate face. She looked exhausted—and even more pitiful knowing it was all because of him.

After staring at her sleeping face for a long time, Seung Joo made up his mind. He gently let go of her hand and quietly stood up.

‘Thank you, Nuna.’

After all, he didn’t even have any belongings to take with him. As he tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake her, he thought, *I hope my memories return soon.*

Once his memories came back, he wanted to repay this kind Nuna properly.

More than anything, he wanted to know her name.

*

Eun Seo, who’d dozed off for a moment, opened her eyes to the morning sun. Kwon Seung Joo, who had clearly been lying beside her holding her hand, was nowhere to be seen—only a neatly folded blanket remained in his place, just as it had been on the day they first met two years ago.

A foreboding feeling washed over her.

“CEO?”

Eun Seo quickly got up and rushed out of the room. The house was deathly quiet.

“CEO? Where are you?”

No answer came. He wasn’t in the bathroom, the kitchen, or even the backyard.

The moment she confirmed he wasn’t in the house, panic seized her. Where on earth could he have gone?

He had no money, so he couldn’t have taken a bus or taxi. He wouldn’t have gone to his father’s place, and he had no friends he could contact…

Where could someone with absolutely nowhere to go have disappeared to? Barefoot and barely slipping on her slippers, Eun Seo dashed out of the house in a daze.

“CEO? Where are you?”

She frantically called out down every alley, growing more anxious with each unanswered shout. Where could he possibly be? He was huge in size but completely naive about the world—and didn’t have a single won…

Before she realized it, she was shouting his name.

“Kwon Seung Joo! Seung Joo! Where are you?”

Then, suddenly, a strange sense of déjà vu struck her.

[Eun Ho! Eun Ho! Where are you?]

Memories of that day came rushing back—when she’d wandered desperately all over the neighborhood searching for her younger brother, overwhelmed by that same helpless anxiety. Her vision blurred with tears. It felt as if she’d lost her brother all over again.

Eun Seo had replayed the reason Eun Ho never came back thousands of times in her head. Among those thoughts was the possibility that he’d lost his memory.

If someone had treated Eun Ho—who’d lost his memory—the same way she had, how would she have felt? And why had she been so cruel to that sweet, gentle child, who’d done nothing wrong?

Eun Seo rushed frantically through every corner of the neighborhood.

“Seung Joo! Where are you? Answer me!”

Passersby stared at the woman running around barefoot in just slippers, without even a proper jacket, shouting at the top of her lungs—as if she’d lost her mind.

She circled the entire neighborhood, yet Seung Joo was nowhere to be found. Just as panic threatened to drown her in tears, she suddenly noticed a group of high school students in uniform marching together toward school.

Recognizing their uniforms as belonging to the school near her house, something clicked in her mind.

“Excuse me, sorry! Let me through just for a second!”

She pushed her way recklessly through the tightly packed line of students blocking the narrow street.

Near the school gate, beneath the wall, someone sat hunched over. Even from afar, his large frame stood out—but to Eun Seo, strangely, he looked just like a small child.

Relief hit her so strongly her legs nearly gave out beneath her.

*

The morning air was cold. Every gust of sharp wind pierced mercilessly through his thin sweater. Feeling his fever, which had just subsided, rising again, Seung Joo buried his forehead deeper into his knees and curled his large body tighter.

He had nowhere to go and no one to rely on—exactly like in his dream.

Suddenly, he sensed someone stopping right in front of him. Raising his head slightly, he saw small, bare white feet and oversized slippers that looked hastily slipped on.

The same slippers he’d seen that morning—he instantly knew who it was.

Ashamed of his pitiful state, he wanted nothing more than to vanish. Too embarrassed to look her in the eye, Seung Joo kept his head down and muttered,

“The security guard at the gate chased me away. He said outsiders aren’t allowed in.”

“…….”

“The school building’s exactly the same, and even the students’ uniforms haven’t changed… but no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t find any of my friends.”

As the guard pushed him away from the school gates, Seung Joo felt it again—this world had no place for him.

“I think… I’ll go see my father now. He’s only got one child, after all—he’ll help me out.”

He forced a smile, holding back tears. He was glad she’d come looking for him—especially seeing how frantically she’d run out in just her slippers.

“So… honestly, if I just asked you to help me regain my memories…”

He didn’t want to burden this kind Nuna any further.

“Let’s go.”

The sudden informal speech startled Seung Joo.

“Nun—”

He almost called her “Nuna,” but quickly snapped his mouth shut, remembering her sharp words from yesterday: *“Can you please stop calling me ‘Nuna’?”*

“My name’s Yoon Eun Seo.”

Instead of getting angry, she spoke softly.

“So call me Eun Seo Nuna. And I’ll call you Seung Joo.”

Eun Seo crouched down to meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry for acting so harshly. I was just… really confused in my head.”

“…….”

“It’s been so long since I’ve lived with anyone, that’s all.”

“…….”

“But thinking about it… maybe living together wouldn’t be so bad. It wouldn’t be lonely.”

A small, pale hand reached out before him.

“So let’s go home.”

In that instant, his held-back tears spilled over uncontrollably.

When he hesitated, unable to take her hand, Eun Seo finally reached out herself and pulled him to his feet.

“You’re eighteen years old—stop crying like a baby. Can’t you hold it in?”

Even her scolding voice sounded warm, making his tears flow even harder.

“…Yeah.”

Seung Joo wiped his tears with the back of his hand and nodded.

No matter how much he wiped, the tears kept falling.

He was happy—because now he had a place to go.

And relieved—because he wasn’t alone anymore.

Students arriving for school stared in shock at the sight of a tall man walking down the street, crying while holding the hand of a much smaller woman.

*

Upon receiving a report that Kwon Seung Joo, the eldest son, had submitted sick leave to the secretarial office and hadn’t been reachable for a full week, Chairman Kwon finally lost his temper.

“That arrogant brat—how dare he, as CEO, go completely off the grid on a whim?”

His secretary asked cautiously,

“Chairman, shall we hire someone to look for him?”

“Why bother hiring people to look for someone who vanished of his own accord? Leave him be!”

But as he ranted, Chairman Kwon suddenly froze.

‘Wait a minute… could this kid have…?’

He’d never liked the boy anyway—perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to replace him. If so, he’d better investigate more thoroughly.

In the end, Chairman Kwon issued an order.

“Find out what that brat’s up to and where he’s hiding.”