Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols-Chapter 158: Company Building Security Management

Kim Iwol returned with two bottles of soju.
“What are you going to do?”
Choi Jeho couldn’t understand what Kim Iwol was thinking at all.
“Are you gonna drink with me and charge in headfirst?”
“I’m not that thoughtless.”
Kim Iwol, however, was unfazed. Even the way he gently swirled the bottle by the neck exuded composure.
But the elegant atmosphere didn’t last long.
Kim Iwol suddenly started chugging straight from the bottle. Choi Jeho, startled, quickly grabbed his shoulder.
“Hey!”
“Puah.”
Then he spat it all out. Specifically, in a secluded corner of the alley next to the convenience store.
“Are you okay? You crazy bastard, why would you…?”
“I did it on purpose, so shut up. You’re making me look even more pathetic right now.”
Whether he spat it out wrong or not, the liquor dribbled down his chin. Kim Iwol wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
Then he poured some soju onto his palm and rubbed it on his sleeves and collar.
“Are you out of your mind? What the hell are you doing?”
“Transforming into someone people wouldn’t want to mess with.”
The remaining soju was poured onto the hem of his pants.
As if it wasn’t enough, Kim Iwol picked up a second bottle.
“Going to pour more?”
“It doesn’t reek of booze yet.”
Kim Iwol pulled down his mask, tilted his head back, and exhaled.
“Yeah, not enough yet.”
“Tell me what you’re going to do. So I can…”
…at least get myself dirty too.
Choi Jeho was taken aback by the thought that suddenly crossed his mind. He had firmly resolved never to touch alcohol in his life.
“You just stay here.”
“What?”
“He’s probably here to get money. A celebrity son is just an easy target for someone like that. It’s better if you don’t encounter him.”
Choi Jeho couldn’t argue. Leaving Choi Jeho speechless, Kim Iwol once again put the bottle to his lips. He didn’t drink it as Choi Jeho had feared. He just swished it around in his mouth and spat it out.
“So you wait here, out of sight. I’ll go see your noona.”
What makes you any different? Choi Jeho thought. Kim Iwol was just the same age as him, after all.
But before he could retort, Kim Iwol disappeared into the alley.
‘Did I tell him the exact address?’
Choi Jeho hurriedly followed after him.
* * *
‘Ugh, the smell of alcohol.’
The stench of alcohol radiated from me with every stride.
With every step I took, the stench of alcohol wafted from my entire body.
It was mixed with the stale scent of cigarettes. The effort of gargling with liquor over the pile of cigarette butts on the ground had paid off.
Spiritual Pillar Jeong Seongbin
[Hyung, as you said, I contacted Choi Jeho’s sister through his sibling and asked her to take his father to the park!]
Although my mask and hat limited my vision, checking messages wasn’t a problem.
After running a bit more, I spotted a shabby green space that barely qualified as a park.
In the deserted park, someone was arguing.
“You have a job, so why don’t you have any money, b*tch?!”
“Do you think food and lodging are free? At least I use it for living expenses. Where do you spend your money that you never have any?”
Unlike the woman, who was trying to keep her voice down despite being a bit away from the residential area, the man was busy yelling at the top of his lungs.
It was obvious. He wanted to exort what he wanted out of her by exploiting her reluctance to cause a scene at home.
I quietly caught my breath at the park entrance.
Then I untied one of my shoelaces and pulled my hat down low.
‘I can do this.’
How many drunken troublemakers had I dealt with before?
How many disorderly drunks had I cleaned up after?
Besides, Kim Iwol, you’re an elite trained in this. With real-world experience to boot.
I confirmed the target’s location once more.
Then I slowly walked towards the man, staggering as if I were about to collapse.
Choi Jeho’s father continued to berate the noona, paying no attention to me. He seemed accustomed to not caring about other people’s eyes.
I carefully approached him from behind.
And I bumped into his shoulder.
Or rather, I pretended to bump into him, making only slight contact.
“What the hel?!”
“Ouch!”
As the man turned around angrily, I dramatically collapsed to the ground, catching both of their attention.
Now was my moment.
“Ahjussi, watch where you’re going!”
“What?”
Fight fire with fire.
Drive out a drunkard with another drunkard.
Of course, I’ll be the trashier drunkard.
“You bumped into me, and now you’re raising your voice at me…?”
“Can’t you see I fell because of you? I think I broke my leg. How are you going to compensate me for this?”
Pulling off blatant gaslighting for the first time made my conscience sting. But I forced myself to wail dramatically, clutching my leg and rolling on the ground.
I pointed at Choi Jeho’s sister and shouted,
“Hey, you! What are you just standing there for? Call the police, call them!”
“What the hell is this little punk trying to pull?”
“What does it matter if I’m young or old; I fell because of you and broke my leg! I’m going to handle this the legal way!”
“You think I haven’t seen scammers like you before?”
“My leg is broken, does it matter whether it’s a scam or not? Do you want to go to jail, then?”
Unfortunately, our country tended to be lenient towards those who acted out. Even Choi Jeho’s father, who had been relentlessly harassing the noona, hesitated to touch me, the bigger mess.
I got up and brushed off my pants, making it obvious that I hadn’t actually broken my leg. Still, I put on a pathetic show of feigning injury, limping theatrically.
“Ahjussi, if you don’t want to eat prison food, let’s settle this for 500. Then I’ll agree to a settlement.”
“This is a total scam!”
“A scam? I’m trying to end this nicely, and you’re kicking good fortune away? Who in the world breaks their own leg to run a scam? If you don’t like it, then go to jail!”
Choi Jeho had said it himself. This man would avoid anything that would land him in jail.
As I stepped closer, the man flinched. Seeing that, I lowered my gaze and said,
“I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 20 years. I know everyone here, you know? Do you think you can just treat me like this and run away, then expect me to let it slide when we meet again?”
I reeked of alcohol, and I was taller than him. All the conditions were perfect.
“This, this son of a―”
“Stop cussing at me! If you don’t like it, let’s do this the legal way! Hey! Call the police! Hurry!”
The man’s eyes wavered. I could practically hear the gears turning in his head.
At this rate, any moment now…
“F*ck!”
As I expected, the man shoved me and ran in the opposite direction.
So much for human decency. What kind of father abandons his own daughter to deal with a supposed con artist while he runs for it?
For once, I had hoped I’d be wrong. My mouth tasted bitter.
* * *
“Hello, noonim.”
I belatedly greeted Choi Jeho’s sister. She said she wasn’t sure if it was really me, Kim Iwol, even after hearing my voice.
“You really looked like a neighborhood thug… Oh dear! What am I saying to someone I just met!”
“No, please speak comfortably!”
I hear worse things from your brother. Feel free to berate me.
Even though I hadn’t mentioned his name, Choi Jeho popped out from the alley right in front of us. I told him to wait and not to follow me. He really didn’t listen.
Choi Jeho rushed over and checked on his sister and me.
“Are you alright? I was watching, but he didn’t lay a hand on you, right?”
“He didn’t. You said your father doesn’t resort to violence.”
Despite my words, Choi Jeho’s expression remained tense.
“Why did you drag Iwol out here in the middle of the night? It’s not like it’s the first time that man has caused a scene.”
“He followed me on his own. And you know that man, if you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile. It’s the first time he’s come all the way to noona’s house…”
Choi Jeho sighed instead of finishing his sentence.
He must be feeling conflicted. I knew that feeling all too well.
His sister, watching us in silence, lightly tapped my arm.
“At least I don’t think he’ll come back for a while. Thanks to Iwol chasing him away effectively.”
“By pulling a fake injury scam?”
“Can’t you at least add the word ‘acting’ at the end of that?”
Choi Jeho took off his hat and ruffled his hair in frustration.
Then, putting his hat back on, he said,
“I was wondering why you doused yourself with alcohol like that.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his sister smacked him on the arm. The force was clearly different from when she hit me.
“I! Told! You! To! Speak! Nicely!”
“Ow, why are you hitting me?!”
A thudding sound accompanied each syllable as the noona’s hand made contact. It seemed she was aiming for one hit per syllable. Even while being smacked around, Choi Jeho couldn’t win a word against his sister.
“Iwol must have hard a time. Even though you guys are the same age, this guy is so immature.”
“No, Jeho has been so well-behaved lately.”
“Jeho?”
Unable to stand my affectionate nickname even for a moment of pleasantry, Choi Jeho interjected.
What do you want me to do? Call you troublemaker Choi Jeho in front of your sister?
The noona, watching our silent war of nerves, smiled enigmatically.
“Why are you smiling?”
Choi Jeho glared at his sister.
“It’s just surprising. I never thought you’d have a friend.”
“Who said he’s my friend?”
“You’re really going to talk like that to someone who came all this way for you? Do you have a death wish?”
He was severely scolded for his grumbling. Just watching it felt cathartic..
* * *
It was almost dawn by the time we finished talking to his sister.
While I was brushing the sand off my clothes, his sister pressed some money into Choi Jeho’s hand for taxi fare.
“Take a taxi, and buy yourselves something delicious tomorrow. This is all the cash I have right now.”
“You don’t have to. Do you think I can’t even afford a taxi?”
“I’m giving this to Iwol for his trouble. Don’t get any ideas.”
Choi Jeho closed his mouth at his sister’s rebuke.
It was just like my own sister and me back in the day.
‘What’s this?’
‘A hoodie. It was on sale, so I bought you one.’
‘I have plenty of clothes.’
‘Bullsh*t. You always wear the same black sweatshirt.’
I used to always grumble, asking why she bought me things.
It wasn’t just that one time either. Whenever my sister bought me something, I said ‘It’s okay’ more often than ‘Thank you’. I felt bad for making her spend money.
‘Back then, I didn’t know that was her way of caring for me.’
I realized it late, that it came from a place of concern, that she cared for me enough to think of me even when she saw something nice on the street. I only realized it after I lost the person who used to take care of me.
Watching Choi Jeho and his sister, I thought,
Next time I meet noona, I’ll ask Min Jukyung-nim for advice and bring a gift that a working professional around her age would like.
I should take her to eat her favorite food, buy her something she wants if she mentions anything, and call her a premium taxi when we part ways.
In the end, Choi Jeho couldn’t win against his sister. So we returned to the street with allowance far too generous for just taxi fare.
I opened the taxi app, and the late-night surcharge was outrageous.
‘We should take separate cabs, right?’
It was fine on the way here, but now I reeked of alcohol. The very smell Choi Jeho despised.
If we took the same taxi back to the dorm in this state, there was no telling what Choi Jeho would do in his rage. He’d probably shove me onto the floor mat, roll down all four windows, plug his nose the whole ride, and then kick me out the moment we arrived.
Fortunately, getting a taxi wasn’t difficult. I called out to him, who was needlessly loitering around.
“I just caught one. You take this.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll get another one.”
Choi Jeho asked,
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? You want to ride together?”
I grabbed the collar of my shirt and gave it a slight tug, releasing a burst of alcohol smell, like a fabric softener capsule exploding. Choi Jeho grimaced and said,
“…Just get in. Why waste money?”
“If this were just a matter of preference, I would have at least asked for your opinion.”
But family matters and trauma were different. I wanted to make him feel as comfortable as possible.
As I was entering a new address, my phone was snatched from my hand. It was Choi Jeho.
“Forget it. Let’s go together.”
“Huh?”
“I won’t die from smelling a little alcohol, so let’s just go.”
He returned my phone with the app closed. In the distance, I saw a taxi with a familiar license plate number.
As he walked toward the headlights, Choi Jeho suddenly stopped and muttered.
“I was wondering why you suddenly decided to act.”
“You mean me?”
“Maybe it suits you.”
He waved at the taxi. It was time to go back to the dorm.
Author's Thoughts
From this chapter I realized that... Min Jukyung is a woman. Min Jukyung will be referred to as she/her from now, I am sorry for the gender confusion 🙇.
In my defense, I thought boy group recruiters would naturally be male. I was foolishly short-sighted.