Chapter 7: The Goblin CEO

Most of Ahn Dae-young’s clothes were too big. He took out the smallest shirt and put it on, then fastened the belt of his pants. Surprisingly, the pants fit well enough that he didn’t need a belt.

His roughly dried hair fell messily over his forehead. He usually hated anything obstructing his vision, so he always kept his hair short or pushed back. Long hair made him look younger than his age, leading to frequent dismissals, so he habitually kept it trimmed. ……Ah, the length was annoying. Because of that, he kept lifting his eyes to glance at the ticklish bangs near his eyebrows. No gel or wax in sight, so he couldn’t slick them back.

Whatever. Was hair the issue? He set down the comb and left. His steps were confident, unlike when he wore the gown.

“Ah, Professor. Nice to meet you.”

As he pulled the door silently, a man as tall as Ahn Dae-young bowed politely.

“Cha Min-hyuk. Thirty. Call me Chief Cha.”

The other had greeted, but Ahn Dae-young introduced him. Then at least do it with some sincerity. Cha Min-hyuk extended his hand, and they ended up shaking hands. His hand was smaller than Ahn Dae-young’s.

“I had something yesterday, so I couldn’t come in to greet you. Whoa, but you’re really handsome. All the doctors I’ve seen are f*cking ugly.”

It was hard to tell if that was a compliment or an insult……. Still, he bowed his head.

“Thank you.”

“Please eat. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I prepared some simple sushi. Do you have any fish allergies?”

“No…… I eat everything well. Thank you.”

“You must feel burdened, but please eat comfortably. We’ll be outside.”

“You don’t have to……”

Before he could finish, the inner door slammed shut. Jeong Eun-gyu’s eyes blinked rapidly. That gaze fell on Ahn Dae-young.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Why would I leave?”

“Because those people left.”

“You picked a good shirt. Did you like that outfit?”

Before he could even eat the glossy salmon sushi, he almost choked. Jeong Eun-gyu coughed and opened the soy sauce lid.

“Most were too big. This shirt was the smallest.”

“You look much younger with your bangs down. Eat, I won’t bother you.”

If he really didn’t want to bother, he could just leave too. He swallowed that remark along with the salmon sushi. Unnecessary power struggles were not his taste.

“Where should I go? Give me the address, and I’ll follow.”

“Let’s move together.”

“In my car?”

Jeong Eun-gyu asked from the driver’s seat, but instead of an answer, Ahn Dae-young climbed into the passenger seat. He familiarly turned on the navigation and entered an address. As if it were his own car.

“Where’s your car, CEO?”

“I have plenty of cars. Let’s go.”

-Route guidance started.

Bewildered, Jeong Eun-gyu stared at him and was about to turn the steering wheel.

“Ah, wait.”

Ahn Dae-young rolled down the window and scanned Cha Min-hyuk and Kim Seok-ho, who were smiling brightly.

“Tell Choryang to retrieve what I left with him within two days.”

“That bastard will quibble like crazy……”

“Do I care? He does what he’s told.”

The two seemed used to his insolence. Without losing their smiles, they simultaneously made a circle with their fingers.

“Day after tomorrow, okay. Will you come in person?”

“Yeah. Order some acorn jelly. And for a while, keep phones below number 8 turned off.”

“Yes.”

“Drive safely, Professor!”

“Ah…… yes. I enjoyed the sushi.”

“Not at all. Next time, I’ll buy you something much tastier.”

Kim Seok-ho tapped the car body. A signal to go. The navigation estimated an arrival time of 1 hour 48 minutes. Similar to when they came here. Still, since it was Seoul, commuting wouldn’t be a problem…….

It was quiet throughout the drive on the empty road. Jeong Eun-gyu, considering turning on the radio, glanced at Ahn Dae-young. He just stared blankly ahead and didn’t make any snide remarks.

“Who is Choryang?”

“A goblin.”

He answered immediately. Though the answer wasn’t ordinary…… Silence fell again. Not being one of many words, Jeong Eun-gyu drove silently. Ahn Dae-young gestured with his chin.

“Change lanes.”

“Now?”

“Quickly.”

Surprised by the urgent words but calm tone, Jeong Eun-gyu moved to the second lane. In less than a minute, he saw in the rearview mirror the car behind them crash into the guardrail and get wrecked. The loud sound of metal crunching reached them.

Startled, his eyes bulging, Jeong Eun-gyu slammed on the brakes. Squeal— Stopping suddenly at high speed made his upper body, with the seatbelt on, bounce halfway and then return. As he frantically tried to unbuckle and get out, Ahn Dae-young grabbed him.

“Just keep going.”

He said it dripping with irritation. Jeong Eun-gyu tried to shake him off, but Ahn Dae-young was so strong that he ended up clinging to him.

“I need to get out and check.”

“Ignore it.”

“They’re definitely hurt. I need to give first aid. In a car accident, every second counts.”

“Snap out of it!”

It was a fierce shout that pierced his ears. Jeong Eun-gyu stiffened and glared at Ahn Dae-young. Ahn Dae-young, with one hand restraining him, tapped the rearview mirror with the other.

“I’m telling you to keep going because they’re not people. Who do you take me for, a psycho?”

Jeong Eun-gyu looked at the rearview mirror and saw four family members grinning around the wrecked car. Instantly, his strength drained, and he buried his forehead in the steering wheel. The driver’s seat of the accident was empty.

“f*ck, this is so fucked up.”

Cursing, Ahn Dae-young flung open the passenger door and got out. The locked car interior turned cold. Still slumped over the steering wheel, catching his breath, Jeong Eun-gyu flinched at a knock on the car body.

“Get out.”

Ahn Dae-young stood outside. Was he a ghost pretending to tell him to open the door? With a pale face, he just stared frozen, so Ahn Dae-young kicked the tire.

“I said get out. I’ll drive.”

“Outside……”

“There’s nothing.”

Unable to believe him, Jeong Eun-gyu checked the rearview mirror again. It was true. The accident scene had vanished without a trace. He felt absurd, yet his heart pounded rapidly.

Scary. Yes, this was fear.

As he slowly opened the driver’s door and stumbled out, Ahn Dae-young caught him and clicked his tongue.

“Professor. If you get scared by something like this, what will you do in the future?”

“……Why did those ghosts appear?”

“Because they died here. I dealt with them, so they won’t appear again.”

He almost carried Jeong Eun-gyu to the passenger seat, then walked around the hood, sat in the driver’s seat, adjusted the seat height, and grabbed the wheel. Jeong Eun-gyu then saw the speedometer hit 160 for the first time since he bought the car. Unlike the whizzing scenery, it oddly wasn’t scary.

“CEO…… what exactly is your job?”

“I gave you my business card.”

“Father Peter said you wouldn’t know the basics of administration.”

“Aha, is that so?”

He mimicked Jeong Eun-gyu’s tone. As they exited the junction, a highway Jeong Eun-gyu knew well appeared. Only then did he feel relieved.

“An exorcist? A shaman? Which one?”

“Do you only know those two professions?”

He snorted and turned on the radio as he pleased. Jeong Eun-gyu let him be.

“Trash disposal. That’s what I do. But I don’t do it for free, so I charge a shitload.”

“…….”

“I’m a very expensive person. Just know that your debt is only increasing, Professor.”

How many times had he saved him since the hospital? Not wrong, he touched his chapped lips. He’d need to buy lip balm once they got to Seoul.

“How much should I pay you?”

“Forget the money.”

Ahn Dae-young smoothly changed lanes and leaned his elbow on the window. His fingers tapped the steering wheel.

“Let’s sleep together.”

Jeong Eun-gyu’s brow instantly furrowed. The finishing blow followed.

“I said let’s sleep. I want to sleep with you.”

Neither his voice nor expression was seductive or lustful. It was that same indifferent face he had seen all day yesterday and today.

Jeong Eun-gyu’s senior by a year, Kim Hyunsoo, was quite superstitious despite his profession. When January came, he would line up early at a fortune-telling place rumored to be accurate to see the new year’s fortune and divination, and if a major surgery was scheduled, he would quietly finger the rosary on his wrist and have what he called ‘meditation time.’

Once, when he bought a new car, he held a big ritual in the hospital parking lot and got scolded. He was the type to check a fortune app every morning and memorize the lucky colors and things to be careful of for a smooth day. Even the nurses were dumbfounded by this devotee of superstition.

But Jeong Eun-gyu, raised as a shaman’s son, had zero interest in superstition. If he saw something, he saw it, and while it was damn annoying, he considered it a matter of bloodline. Whether ghosts or people, as long as they didn’t interfere with his own affairs, he didn’t care. Everything within common sense. That was also Jeong Eun-gyu’s creed.

And now, that was breaking.

Sitting across from Ahn Dae-young, picking at his food, Jeong Eun-gyu stared at him. This was the person who, as soon as they got home, ordered delivery because he was hungry. Since they had eaten salmon sushi before coming, it didn’t go down well.

“Don’t act like this is your house. Fold the laundry when it piles up, clean, and so on.”

Unlike the flashy office, Ahn Dae-young’s house was average in size and ordinary. Two rooms, a spacious living room, a kitchen with an island table. It was moderately clean and seemed lived-in.

“Should I use the small room?”

“Professor. Now that we’re roommates, how about we change our speech? No more formalities from now on. We live in the same house, so it feels distant.”

He almost yelled in frustration, telling him to drop that half-honorific nonsense. Shamelessly, Ahn Dae-young scooped half of Jeong Eun-gyu’s rice onto his own plate.

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