Chapter 893. Crank Up 1

Choi Miyeon found an unfamiliar man standing in front of her store. He loitered around in front of the store before sticking his face against the door and looking inside. She couldn’t easily approach him. She stood at the bus stop in front of her store, pretending to wait for a bus as she watched the store. The man called someone on his phone. She felt like she was going to start sweating coldly. She thought that everything was over since it had been quiet for a while, but was it going to start all over again? Was he a detective? Or a person related to Lee Miyoon and Hong Janghae? Her lower stomach started aching. She felt like she was going to vomit if anyone tapped her slightly. She forced down her unease and anxiety and watched the man in front of her store. She was so focused that she didn’t even realize a bus had come. The driver had opened the door and stared at her. Are you not getting in? – he asked with his eyes.

“Sorry.”

The driver rubbed his nose and closed the door. The bus went off, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Miyeon took out her phone. She needed help. She checked the names in her contacts lists, but eventually, she clenched her teeth and let her hand loose. There was no one to ask for help. She had painfully realized that the police were on the side of the wealthy, and she did not want to cause her family any worry. Other than her family and the authorities, there was no one left. The friends she had made during her journalist career all distanced themselves from her while giving her glares. A thirty-five-year-old workaholic woman had only a handful of friends not made through work, and even those people all had families or children, so she did not want to inconvenience them. Above all, those people couldn’t give her any practical help.

There was one name that caught her eyes. He would come at a moment’s notice if he called him now. She found it hard to call him precisely because of that. Her finger swayed on top of the name ‘Kim Dongwook’ before she folded her finger.

Then, her phone started ringing. She shivered like she had seen a horror scene during a horror movie. The people standing at the bus stop gave her strange stares. Miyeon shrank her shoulders and left the bus stop before picking up the call.

“Hello?”

-Uhm, am I speaking to the owner of the flower shop? I’m in front of the shop, but the door is locked. It says the opening hours start at 9. Are you perhaps on holiday today?

Miyeon looked at the man in front of the store. He was on his phone. She felt her energy drain. It was just a customer who had come early.

“I’m on my way. I’m basically there.”

She hung up and started walking. The man discovered Miyeon and lowered his head.

“So you were right nearby.”

“I was just about to arrive. Let me open the door.”

She unlocked the padlock on top of the door and entered the passcode on the electronic door lock.

“Come on in.”

She felt sorry. She had doubted a customer who had come to look at flowers. The man looked around.

“There are a lot of small flowers. They look great to give as presents.”

“Yes. The vases on this shelf here are usually sold as visiting gifts. The big vases below are usually bought for verandas. If you want any specific size or shape, then you can tell me about it. I put a lot of thought into interior design at my shop.”

“Did you create all of these small vases by hand?” The man had asked as he looked at the pink aloe in the pink vase.

“Yes. Many customers look for those. Since it’s a cactus, it’s easier to look after. It’s small and cute too. The gold-tooth aloe and the short-leaf aloe next to the one you’re looking at have slightly different shapes, so you should choose what you like after considering that.”

“They’re all quite nice. What do you think about these bright colors?”

“The pastel-tone vases, you mean? Many people do prefer that.”

“We were looking for gifts, and we decided to hand out cacti this size with a small saying printed on it. Can I order in large quantities?”

Miyeon smiled and said yes.

“Can I do about a thousand?”

“A thousand? Of those mini vases?”

“Yes. I don’t need them all at once. For now, I’m thinking about two hundred per month.”

“If it’s like that, I can do it. A thousand all at once is a bit too difficult for me since I run this shop by myself.”

Imagining herself being busy making new vases, Miyeon realized that humans were so simple-minded. Just ten minutes ago, she was hyperventilating because of her anxiousness, but now she was smiling because of the stable sales. The fact that she could feel happy probably meant that she was doing a lot better.

“What kind of cacti would you like?”

“It’s fine for you to decide. It’s also fine if you just use the remaining inventory.”

“Eh?”

“Just make whatever you want. You can also switch up the vase colors, or just make them with whatever inventory you have left.”

“That’s good for me, but the company must want something specific. It might become a problem later.”

“It’s fine. I run the company. The president said something, so who would say no?”

“I see.”

Miyeon took a memo on the whiteboard she hung up on the wall. When it came to the important stuff, she would become nervous if she didn’t write it down immediately. It was something she gained because of her career.

“I’ll pay for them all in bulk.”

“It’s fine even if you pay monthly though.”

“Paying in advance will put your mind at ease, and I can forget about it too. Please tell me your bank account number.”

Miyeon told him her bank account number. The man sent her the money on the spot using a banking app on his phone.

“Tell me your corporate registration number. I’ll issue a cash receipt.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to. Just write a hand-written receipt that I can give to the finance department. My finance department is quite picky even when the president is spending, so I have to be sure about proving where I spend my money.”

“But you can only get your tax deducted if you get a proper receipt for it. It’s not a small sum of money.”

“Getting that amount deducted won’t even leave behind a mark. You can handle it however you want. Rather than that, as senior said, they seem perfect for gifts.”

Miyeon, who was hesitating in front of the terminal, stared at the man when the man mentioned the word ‘senior.’ The man’s mouth, which had been moving non-stop ever since he had come inside the store, stopped for the first time. He awkwardly rubbed his nose and switched the topic, saying that a vase looked pretty.

“Uhm, did you come here on someone’s introduction?”

“Eh? No, not really. I just saw it on a blog somewhere that this place was good.”

“You mentioned a senior just now, didn’t you?”

“I must have made a mistake while thinking about something else.”

The man clearly seemed like he was making up lies. Miyeon asked him for his bank account number.

“Why do you need my bank account number?”

“I’ll reimburse you.”

“Please, why are you doing this?”

“I have my own circumstances. I cannot accept this money until you tell me who that senior is.”

“I’m no one suspicious. I’ll even give you my business card. How could you back down on a good business deal like this?”

Being able to handle a thousand items as she wished was certainly a good condition. The speed at which she would have to work was also suitable as she would not have to overexert herself. It was a deal that she would regret if she missed it, but she could not proceed with it now that she had heard a suspicious word.

“Okay. He told me to keep it a secret, but I guess I can’t help it. I’m acquainted with senior Dongwook. We met recently and talked about some things. It was during that talk that he asked how possible it would be for me to make a deal with this store. I told him I’d decide after seeing the items, so I came here myself. No matter how close he is to me, I can’t accept flawed items. But now that I had a look at them. They seem perfect to hand out as gifts, and the price didn’t seem so bad, so that’s why I’m trying to make a deal with you. I came here because of an introduction, so I can’t really ask for a discount for paying in cash, and I thought I should make it a good deal for you.”

The man stroked his hair with his palm, asking her not to cancel the deal now that she found out who he was.

“Honestly, this was the first time he asked me something so cautiously, so I came here because I was surprised. That man is the kind of person to ask outright, not the kind of great man who would take caution. I tried not to talk about it because I thought there were some circumstances behind it, not because of some other suspicious reason. Well, I believe I have explained myself enough, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Um.”

She tried to call out to the man who left, but the man left after asking her to take care of the items. Miyeon spat out the stuffy breath stuck in her throat and sat down.

“I made him worry.”

She felt thankful and sorry at the same time. Miyeon grabbed her phone and called Dongwook.

* * *

“Geez, why did that guy act suspicious and put me in a difficult position.”

-I just must have been too suspecting. Thank you, senior, for looking out for me.

“Nah. I only mentioned it because I remembered. It’s nothing amazing, so you don’t have to keep it to heart.”

-Thanks to you, I can make a living.

“What has gotten into the almighty Choi Miyeon? You should be a little more confident. You sold your items because they were good.”

Dongwook threw away the cigarette he took out to smoke. Hearing his junior’s voice filled with vitality made him quit thinking about smoking.

“How’s business going? Is it hard since it’s winter?”

-It’s doing a little worse than spring for sure. But I didn’t receive that much damage because I don’t just deal with flowers. These days, air plants are selling well, so it’s fine.

“That’s good. I’ll introduce people I know to your shop, so accept them without worries. If you’re so uncomfortable with it, you can pay me rebates. How about 10%? That doesn’t sound bad.”

-I’ll think about it.

He could hear a chuckle on the other side. This would be unthinkable just a few short months ago. Dongwook leaned against the car and spoke,

“You’ve become a lot better. You’re still going to the hospital, right?”

-I am. I don’t go as often, and I don’t take as much medicine either.

“Looks like you’ll cheer up soon. It’s about time you revived.”

-Even if I do revive, I’ll just be a lady at the flower shop. I can’t go back to that world.

“Don’t even think about coming. You look good there. Maybe you finally found your dream job.”

-That’s a good thing to say to someone who’s been in the media for over a decade.

“Looks like you really feel better since you’re grumbling and all. Just buy me some drinks later.”

He scratched his tire with the heel of his sneaker. They didn’t talk about anything for a while. He stared at the white cigarette that he had thrown on the ground.

-Senior, I’m asking just in case, but you aren’t still investigating that, right?

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“That? What’s that?”

-Hong Janghae, Lee Miyoon

“I told you many times already. I’m at the peak of self-preservation. Did you already forget that I rejected you several times when you asked me? I don’t want to say this, but I took my hands off it after seeing what happened to you. I don’t even want to think about it now.”

-Good. Forget about that thing. It’s better that way. They were enemies I shouldn’t have gone against. It would be great if I listened to your words before.

“There you go again, thinking about bad things. Don’t worry about that and just focus on running your shop. You should do your best if you want to keep running it. Earn a lot of money. Money is the best.”

-I’m saving up even if you didn’t tell me. I’m going to pay back the man who gave me this shop.

“Pay back? Don’t. That shop is a speck of dust compared to what you went through. Just accept it. You shouldn’t consider cleanliness when it comes to money. Even if a dirty man gives you money, it’s clean money, okay?”

Just as Dongwook spoke with a smile, someone caught his eyes.

“Alright then, good luck with your shop. I’ll visit you again.”

-Okay. Don’t ever get involved with that matter.

“There you go again. I prioritize my safety above everything else.”

After hanging up the call, Dongwook picked up the cigarette he threw on the floor and put it in his mouth. In front of his eyes, a woman with a short haircut was walking past him with a bag of groceries. Dongwook pushed the cigarette to the end of his lips and muttered,

“I hope this Mari is that Mari.”