Absinthe novel Chapter 64

The man literally froze when he realized that I recognized him. And when he seemed to recover from the shock, he took a few steps back.

"Development Bank of Asia?" Minsu-hyung asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I got recommended for a position there, but that man rejected me on account of my sexuality."

"No way!" Minsu-hyung said exaggeratedly. "Isn't that considered discrimination?"

"We don't really have anti-discrimination laws in the country," I replied.

"I see," Minsu-hyung responded, still exaggerating based on how loud and how song-like his tone was. "I bet you have laws against hypocrisy. You know, people who pretend straight and discriminate against gay guys but are actually indecent pigs instead..."

Minsu-hyung was taking it a bit far. I was angry at the guy for what he did to me during the interviews but frankly speaking, I'm kind of over it already.

"It's okay, hyung." I said. "He's not worth it."

"You're mistaken!" the man said through gritted teeth. "You're mistaking me for someone else."

"Oh?" Minsu-hyung taunted. "From what Jaeyi said, it looks like it's a match. A pig at work, a pig outside work."

The man opened his mouth to speak but Minsu-hyung cut him short.

"Don't worry, though." Minsu-hyung sneered. "It's easy to verify your identity with our connections to that bank."

"What do you want?" the man screamed.

"Apologize, you fucking idiot!" Minsu-hyung shouted back. "For what you did back then, and for what you did just now!"

The man was shaking, whether from anger or from fear, I wasn't really sure. And from the look on his face I was sure he was having some sort of internal struggle. Probably whether to apologize or not because apologizing would mean that he's conceding.

"Let's just go, hyung." I took Minsu-hyung's hand and led him out of the shower room.

We towelled ourselves dry and dressed up. Minsu-hyung asked if I wanted to join him for breakfast and I agreed. We then went past the lobby to the elevators and headed for the top floor where the rooftop restaurant was located. Inside the elevator, Minsu-hyung was busy with his phone. I figured he was probably telling Mr. Lee, the vice-chairman, his whereabouts.

An elegantly dressed woman in her late twenties greeted us and escorted us to our seat. It was at the edge of the building that offered great view of the gardens and the golf course beyond. We were also protected from direct sunlight with this ceiling-like contraption made from interwoven, dried coconut tree leaves.

I asked Minsu-hyung to just order anything but when the food came, it was like he ordered for four people instead of two.

"What's with all these?" I asked.

"Gunho's joining us,"Minsu-hyung said. "Look, he's coming."

True enough, freshly showered Gunho-hyung wearing a floral print shirt, white, tattered shorts, and a pair of aviator sunglasses, came strutting towards our table.

"The fuck's he wearing?" I asked, chuckling.

Minsu-hyung chuckled back. "You know that idiot loves to show off."

The moment Gunho-hyung reached our table, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek.

"I miss you Jaeyi!" he shouted loudly that people from nearby tables started glancing at our direction. "What did Minsu do to finally convince you to spend time with us?"

"You're being unfair, hyung." I said. "You know I would have hung out with you guys if it weren't for this issue with your boss."

"Good point," he said, releasing me from his hug and taking the seat next to mine. "I wish we could have met here in your home country under better circumstances."

I nodded. "When's your next vacation? I'm sure I can free up my sched and tour with you guys."

"Does that mean you really have no plans of coming back to Samsong?" Minsu-hyung asked.

I could see that Gunho-hyung was equally interested in how I was going to answer.

I shook my head in response. "I don't think so."

"Even if Mr. Lee gives you what you demanded for?"

I nodded this time around. "I was just bluffing when I said that! You guys know there's no way I can solve that for you."

Minsu-hyung and Gunho-hyung exchanged looks.

"Mr. Lee already asked me to do simulations on what he can do with his current assets to match what you asked for." Gunho-hyung said.

"And he asked me review other possible investments here in South East Asia that will allow him to recover that much value." Minsu-hyung added.

"Fuck, are you serious?"