Part 5

"Anyway, are you okay?" the man asked plainly.

It was only then that I recognized my situation. 

My hair was a tangled mess, and her mascara was smeared from tears. 

Yeah, I looked like a drowned rat. 

Yet, strangely, I felt calm. 

It was because of Seung-rok, perhaps. 

His serene eyes showed no sign of emotional turmoil. 

His voice, steady and uninflected, helped me regain my composure bit by bit. 

Slowly, my vision began to recover.

I finally noticed Seung-rok's appearance. 

He wasn't in a suit she had seen him in yesterday. 

Today, he was dressed more comfortably. 

Instead of the perfectly tailored suit, he wore a long coat, loose-fitting pants, and a turtleneck. 

The gray tone clothes made him look softer. 

If yesterday he had the aura of an 'Armani', today he resembled a trendy luxury brand like 'Fear of God'. 

His more casual attire made him look more like KROCK, the main vocalist of the idol group THE ZERO, whom I had always seen in hip-hop fashion.

Two women, who had been hiding behind some men, peeked out and started making a fuss. 

It seemed they had just recognized KROCK's face.

"Oh my! Isn't that KROCK?" one of them exclaimed.

"Really? That K-pop star? No wonder… A young person like that couldn't possibly be the owner of this."

Their voices rose high in excitement.

"Wow! His face is so small. And he's so tall. Amazing."

Their voices were so high-pitched they sounded more like birds than people.

"Right? Usually, when you see idols in person, they just look skinny. Does not feel like a man. But KROCK, he's a real man. Broad shoulders and all."

"Exactly. KROCK in a suit looks like an ideal man."

One of the women tried to lower her voice to whisper, but she was too excited.

I could hear her clearly.

"How has someone like him never had a scandal? You'd think people wouldn't leave him alone. Is he gay or somthing?"

The word "gay" startled one of the women.

"No way! He must be secretly dating women."

"No, my oppa is the head of 'Thisnews' you know. He says KROCK has no mistress at all. He just goes home, practice room, home, practice room. That's all."

"Isn't that more like being asexual than gay? Haha."

The word 'my oppa' was a bit disgusting for me, but I naturally perked up my ears and eavesdropped on the two women's conversation. 

The topic piqued my interest. 

I had a rough idea why Seung-rok had no scandals. 

It was because he genuinely didn't meet women at all. 

He couldn't. 

Seung-rok had a child. 

Given that he had suggested he live with his own child, the child's mother was probably dead or at least estranged. 

He was likely raising the child alone. 

The grandfather might have helped a bit, but ultimately, he was a sole parent.

There was no way he had time to meet women. 

Taking care of a child and earning money would leave him with no time to spare.

Anyway.

I was the only one who knew it.

"How can an asexual person write ballads? KROCK wrote all the title songs for THE ZERO," one woman said.

"Really? He wrote all of them? Wow, amazing. I love 'Beautiful Night'! Isn't he a genius?" 

The admiration seemed to strike a chord with one of the men. 

One ajussi(middle-aged man), who had been hanging limply in the air, subdued by the bodyguard, suddenly let out a loud yell.

"You bastard! You think you can get away with anything? An idol harassing innocent citizens without fear? Do you know who this man is? He's the head of Thisnews. Even the directors of major TV networks bow to him! You're done, kid!"

The man next to him, who had wet himself, seemed to regain his courage and chimed in.

"Yeah, that's right. I'll write an article this afternoon. An idol threatening and assaulting fellow citizens at his own golf course. You're done for, K-pop boy. But, if you kneel and beg right now, I might just let you off the hook because I'm naturally a generous person."

"Come on, sir, you're too kind. We can't let him off that easily. We must report the truth with dignity, in the spirit of journalistic integrity. That's how you journalists uphold social justice, isn't it?"

As the two men continued their exaggerated tirade, Seung-rok spoke up.

"Go on, make my day."

His eyes were cold, as if daring them to try.

"You really don't know who I am, do you? If I publish this article, your K-pop career is over. Ever heard of Thisnews?"

Despite the threat, Seung-rok didn't even blink. 

Instead, he continued with a relaxed smile.

"Then I'll just go do livestream on YouTube. I'll tell everyone that Mr. Park from Thisnews was playing golf with girls twenty years younger at my golf course. Then suddenly, he dropped his pants and exposed his gigantic penis. Or maybe I'll visit your home and have a cozy chat with your wife about who you were playing golf with on a weekday afternoon?"

"Are you threatening me, kid?"

The man who had wet himself raised his voice, but it was clear his confidence was waning.

"And the gentleman next to you, I see from his business card that he works at a reputable cel-lphone company. I'll let his colleagues know what happened at the golf course today. Everyone will know by tomorrow without needing a newspaper article."

"You little…!"

"And I'll inform the families of these two ladies about these wonderful gentlemen they're seeing. Their families should know. I'll tell them where you went after this too."

"Oppa!"

"No, please! My mom is a church elder! She'll kill me if she finds out."

The women's faces turned pale. 

The men's faces, too, were flushed red like radishes.

Seung-rok maintained his expressionless face as he finished speaking.

"So, forget everything and leave us alone. Okay?"

Silence hung in the air.

Finally, one of the men grumbled, "Let's go! Damn it. I'll let you off this time."

The men left, looking defeated.

"Oppa, wait for me!" one of the women called out.

"Walk separately from me at the entrance. We might get caught," he replied.

Once they left, Seung-rok, in a warmer tone, instructed the bodyguard to leave, saying he would handle the situation by himself. 

The tall bodyguard bowed respectfully to Seung-rok before disappearing somewhere.

Now, it was just the two of them. 

I broke the silence first.

"How did you come at the right time?"

"Because they are people to watch out for."

"Me?" 

I asked, puzzled.

Seung-rok shook his head.

"Those men. They were blacklisted at other golf courses, so we were keeping an eye on them from the start. It seems it was justified. We won't be accepting that team again…. Anyway, I didn't expect you to be working as a caddy, Mina."

While I sighed in relief, Seung-rok continued speaking.

"I was planning to give you enough money to quit other jobs, so why did you take up caddying and postpone the lessons?"

"I had my reasons. But it won't happen again…." 

I had nothing more to say.

I thought, I wouldn't be harassed by debt collectors anymore. 

I was going to start high-paying golf lessons every weekday.

After a brief silence, Seung-rok spoke again.

"Anyway, I'm glad you came. From now on, come here by 9 AM on weekdays. This is my golf course, and naturally, the lessons will be held here."

Hearing this, I finally realized the extent of Seung-rok's wealth. 

Owning a golf course. 

Conducting daily golf lessons was nothing for him. 

But being that rich, there was no need to own a golf course. 

It's a property that's incredibly difficult to manage.

"Why did you buy a hotel with golf courses? You don't seem to like golf that much."

Without changing his expression, he answered.

"It's convenient to have."

"Do you buy hotel just because it's convenient?"

"I can afford it."

It sounded arrogant, but there was no hint of boastfulness in his tone. 

It was simply the truth. 

His words exuded the confidence of the world's top composer.

"My point is, that you don't need to go through this kind of hardship again. Don't take this kind of job again."

"I got it."

Seung-rok didn't press her further. 

He seemed to sense there was more to her story. 

He stepped into the cart and looked at her.

"Let's go."

***

In the cart, the man naturally brought up a question about work.

"By the way, what are you going to do about accommodation? You haven't answered."

"...Do I really have to live at the house? It feels a bit burdensome."

"I'm not insisting on it. I'm just saying we can provide accommodation. I thought it might be burdensome to ask you to give lessons in Jeju every day without it."

I shook my head.

"It's not that. It's just that living in the same house with a man I've only met once feels a bit uncomfortable."

From a woman's perspective, living with a man I do nott know at all didn't feel particularly good. 

Especially since he wasn't just any man.

"You're not just any man, you're a popular K-pop star. If it ever got out that I was living in the same house as KROCK, it would cause a scandal."

"That won't happen. I promise. The house is big, and no one knows I live there."

"Not even the company?"

Seung-rok shook his head.

"No one knows except my family."

That was also a problem. 

If it was such a secretive place, it meant Seung-rok could do as he pleased there. 

What if he assault me after I moved in? 

From the way he handled troublesome customers, he didn't seem to have a particularly gentle personality. 

...Honestly, he did look a bit cool just now. 

But who knew when that power be directed at me, the live-in tutor.

Even that wasn't the entirety of my worries.

There was also the child to consider. 

Whether she was his sister or daughter, Mina wasn't sure yet. 

But one thing was clear: this child's home environment was anything but ordinary. 

She was a child without a mother. 

I thought it would be emotionally unsettling for a child to suddenly have an unfamiliar adult move in.

This thought stemmed from my own experiences. 

My mother, who ran a café, had once brought in a live-in helper because she was too busy. 

The helper wasn't a bad person, but it was exhausting. 

Eventually, Mina chose to golf professionaly because she preferred to be with her mother. 

Living with an unfamiliar golf coach seemed too burdensome. 

For the child's sake, it seemed better to take time and get to know each other slowly. 

I decided to broach the subject indirectly.

"...No matter what, living in a stranger's house is uncomfortable. We should eat together, have coffee, and talk. Building trust first."

Seung-rok nodded.

"Let's do that."

Good. 

I was impressed with my own eloquence. 

Although my mother's house had already been sold, there were plenty of nice guesthouses and hostels in Jeju. 

I could stay in one of those and gradually get to know the family. 

After about a year, once I had become closer to the child and the grandfather, I could figure things out.

Mina Choi, quite wise indeed.

While I was admiring myself, Seung-rok, who had been driving the golf cart and deep in thought, suddenly spoke up.

"Then let's go have a meal together. Before you move in today."

"Today? Before moving in?"

My eyes trembled as I looked at Seung-rok. 

This guy.

He wants me to move in his house tonight!