My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 435 Apology
As An Rusong's figure disappeared through the doorway, the exquisitely patterned curtain door slowly closed. The two women in the room exchanged a glance, but quickly looked away after their eyes met. They could both sense the awkwardness in each other's gazes.

An Rusong just said that he wanted Min Xiujin to think carefully about why he wanted to help her. This question seems difficult to answer, but it is actually quite simple. Although the two women present are both young, they are both adults, and they certainly understand what An Rusong means.

To be honest, the relationship between Li Shiying and An Rusong was actually a transaction. They both got what they wanted from each other, so there was no question of who owed whom. Therefore, when Min Xiujin encountered trouble, An Rusong had no obligation to get involved.

Given the "transactional relationship" between Li Shiying and An Rusong, it's clear that Min Xiujin would have to give something in return after An Rusong helped her out of her troubles.

As an adult, if Min Xiujin had refused this deal, she could have chosen to leave much earlier and pretend she hadn't been there. Since she didn't leave and waited until now, it means she has accepted the deal.

Min Soo-jin understood this principle, and Lee Se-young naturally understood it as well, which was the most direct reason why the atmosphere between the two became awkward.

However, the two of them didn't have time to think about these things right now. They had just heard what An Rusong said on the phone and knew that he had found a person known as "Brother Jingsheng" and asked him to pay a huge sum of 1.3 million won to the "United New Village Faction" to completely resolve this problem.

1.3 million Korean won is equivalent to nearly 70 yuan. Min Xiujin certainly couldn't afford that amount of money. So, when An Rusong hooked her chin with his hand and forced her to tilt her head back, she had already figured it out: as a woman, and a rather attractive one at that, why should she make things difficult for herself? What Li Shiying could do, she could do as well. Relying on a young and successful man like An Rusong to make her life easier might not be a bad choice.

Now, the only question is whether the person called "Brother Jingsheng" really has that much power to help resolve the troubles caused by the "United New Village Faction".

Although An Rusong had left, the private room remained quiet. Neither of the two women spoke to the other, nor did they order anything to eat; they simply sat there awkwardly.

Time ticked by, and for the two of them, every minute seemed to drag on endlessly.

Nearly forty minutes later, just as Li Shiying felt her legs were going numb and wanted to stand up and move around, the tightly closed curtained door was suddenly knocked on.

The two women exchanged another glance, but neither moved or spoke. It wasn't until the door was knocked on a second time that Min Soo-jin bit her lip, struggled to stand up from the tatami mat, and nervously walked to the door, opening the tightly closed door a crack.

In the corridor outside the curtained door stood a man, a middle-aged man in a gray suit. He carried a black suitcase in his right hand, his left hand was slightly clenched into a fist, his half-gray head was slightly lowered, and his gaze seemed to be fixed on his own toes.

When the curtain door opened a crack, the middle-aged man slightly raised his head. When he saw Min Xiujin inside the door, he seemed to be stunned for a moment, but quickly bowed deeply—he did indeed bow deeply, and Min Xiujin, standing inside the door, could even feel the disturbance in the airflow.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Min Xiujin?" the middle-aged man asked loudly, bowing. "I am Nam Jong-hoon from the 'United New Village Faction'."

"Huh?!" Min Soo-jin was startled. Almost instinctively, she took a step back, avoiding the doorway.

For some time now, the people harassing her have been debt collectors from Dori Financial Company. She and Li Shiying had only heard the name Nan Zhongxun from the police and knew that he was a leader of the "United New Village Faction," and that Dori Financial Company was controlled by him behind the scenes.

Neither Min Soo-jin nor Lee Se-young had ever seen this man named Nam Jong-hoon before. In their imaginations, he was a thug with a floral shirt, tattoos all over his body, and a burly face. Therefore, when Min Soo-jin saw the middle-aged man at the door, she never expected him to be Nam Jong-hoon himself.

Upon hearing her exclamation, Nam Jong-hoon outside the door had already confirmed her identity. Therefore, while still bowing, he said respectfully, "I'm very sorry, Ms. Min Soo-jin, my subordinates are incompetent and have caused you trouble."

Min Xiujin's face turned pale, her lips trembled, and she wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word. During her past days of debt, the people from Duoli Financial Company had brought her not just simple trouble, but a series of unbearable nightmares.

For months, almost every day was torture. Every time her phone rang, every time someone knocked on her door, every time someone spoke behind her, she felt a chill run down her spine. For dozens of nights, she couldn't sleep at all. Every time she dreamed, she would dream of being chased by debt collectors. That feeling was truly worse than death.

The reason she chose to depend on An Rusong without hesitation was because she had had enough of that life that was worse than death. In the end, abandoning her self-respect and choosing to depend on a man was better than being forced to death, right?
“I…we also had our faults,” Li Shiying, who had been sitting behind the long table, mustered up her courage and said, just as Min Xiujin was unable to say a word. “Where is your loan agreement, Xiujin? Rusong-ge told you to bring it over.”

In fact, Lee Se-young was also extremely nervous at this moment; it was already quite an achievement for her to say those words. "Are you Ms. Lee Se-young?" The curtain door opened only a crack, and from Nam Jong-hoon's position, he couldn't see Lee Se-young at all. However, he still guessed her identity. "I've brought Ms. Min Soo-jin's loan agreement. Now... may I come in and discuss it in detail?"

Lee Se-young glanced at Min Soo-jin standing opposite her. Seeing that she didn't seem capable of handling this situation, she bit her lower lip hard and continued, "Please, please come in."

"Thank you," Nam Jong-hoon replied, then turned to the side and gently pulled open the curtain door.

When the door was opened to a meter's width, he lowered his head, stepped forward, knelt on the edge of the tatami mat, placed the box in his hand on the tatami mat, and then bowed to Li Shiying, saying, "Ms. Li Shiying, Ms. Min Xiujin, I am very sorry. It was my mistake regarding this loan. I am deeply sorry for the trouble this has caused you two ladies."

As he spoke, he moved the box in front of him, unlocked the combination lock, opened the lid, and turned the box so that it faced Li Shiying before continuing, "Here is Ms. Min Xiujin's loan agreement, as well as all the cash payments made in previous installments."

Pushing the box towards the long table, Nam Jong-hoon said finally, "Please accept this, ladies."

Li Shiying glanced across the long table and saw only stacks of banknotes in the box. On top of the banknotes was a document, which should be the loan agreement that Min Xiujin had signed.

Turning her gaze, Lee Se-young looked at Min Soo-jin, who had been standing to the side the whole time, only to find that the other woman was also looking at her.

She winked at Min Soo-jin, signaling her to check if the documents in the box were the agreement she had signed. However, Min Soo-jin shook her head in a panic and refused to go over.

Left with no other choice, Li Shiying stood up, walked around the long table, picked up the document, and handed it to Min Xiujin, who was hiding to the side.

As she picked up the documents, she glanced at the cash in the box.

The cash in the box was all in 1 won denominations, stacked high and filling the entire box. It was really hard to estimate the exact amount.

When she turned around and looked at Min Soo-jin, she saw the other woman eagerly flipping through the document. Lee Se-young patiently waited for her to turn to the last page before reaching out to grasp her wrist and gently shaking it.

At this moment, Min Xiujin's eyes welled up with tears. She clutched the document tightly in her hand, looked up at Li Shiying, paused for two or three seconds, swallowed hard, and nodded vigorously.

“Thank you, Mr. Nam Jong-hoon,” Lee Se-young said, her grip on Min Soo-jin’s wrist tightening slightly. She tried to compose herself before speaking in a trembling voice, “The items are fine…no problem. It’s just the money…”

“Since there’s no problem, I won’t bother you any longer,” Nam Jong-hoon interrupted before she could finish speaking, saying with his head bowed, “Please convey my apologies to Chairman Ahn for me. I’m truly very sorry!”

After he finished speaking, he stood up from the tatami mat, bowed to Li Shiying and the other person, and then carefully left the room with his body half-bowed.

In total, Nan Zhongxun didn't stay in the private room for more than two minutes. Throughout the entire process, he neither offered any explanation nor suggested meeting with An Rusong. It seemed that he came for only three purposes: to apologize, to return the money, and to deliver the loan agreement.

It wasn't until Nam Jong-hoon left the private room and closed the curtain that Lee Se-young realized a problem: she didn't know what to do with the money.

However, she didn't intend to call the other party back. To be honest, she had been harassed by debt collectors quite a bit over the past period of time, and she was filled with fear of these people. Right now, she just wanted to resolve this matter as soon as possible and restore peace to her life.

(End of this chapter)