A Bad Woman is a Bad Woman (2)
“How do you make this?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Ah…”
The female students were captivated by the sweet and wonderful aroma of the coffee, which was completely different from their bland drinks.
“Can you tell me?”
“No.”
“It seems like it would sell well.”
“Then how about this? Hire me for today. I have nothing to do anyway, for 30,000 won.”
“30,000 won… Hmm…”
That’s an expensive price. But if it becomes known properly, it seems like it would sell a lot.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“Great. Contract decided.”
‘Hehe, it’s been a while since I’ve had something nice to look at.’
After only seeing the plain older girls who came out without dressing up or washing because they were always studying, seeing the middle school girls dressed up nicely for the event made him feel reluctant to go out. After all, there was nowhere to go other than the PC room.
“Now, shall we get started?”
Noh Hyeong-jin first asked a student who wrote well to create a nice menu board to place at the entrance of the cafe. Since these were unusual coffees that didn’t exist now, it was to spark curiosity. As expected, a few girls began to come in, drawn by the unfamiliar names, and they became completely immersed in the sweet and fragrant coffee, not the bland and sugary ones from the past.
“Wow!”
The once-empty coffee shop quickly filled up, and later there were even people waiting.
“Two iced cafe mochas, please.”
As the waiting customers and takeout orders quickly filled the store, Noh Hyeong-jin thought that despite the difficulties, his eyes were being treated today. The cafe was filled with pretty girls.
The day passed in an instant, and most of the faces were satisfied.
“Thank you. I didn’t think business would go this well.”
“Don’t mention it. I also made some pocket money thanks to you.”
Noh Hyeong-jin was pleased with the 30,000 won he received.
‘Indeed, a man is energized by women.’
Having some peers around made him feel invigorated.
“What will you do now?”
“I’ll pay the remaining money.”
“Remaining money?”
“The balance.”
“Ah…”
Noh Hyeong-jin nodded at the mention of the balance. After all, they wouldn’t pay all the borrowed money in advance. But the faces of the kids settling the accounts in one corner turned pale.
“What’s wrong?”
“The money… is short.”
“Short of money? Did you get robbed or something?”
That couldn’t be. The place where the money was managed was in a public area, and there hadn’t been enough time for someone unknown to steal it. They had taken turns watching over it.
“No, it’s just that we’re far short of the money we agreed to rent this coffee shop for.”
“Far short?”
That couldn’t be. A coffee shop doesn’t usually do that well. But today, a huge number of customers had come in. So, they should have made enough money.
“How much are we short?”
“500,000 won.”
“What?”
In that moment, Noh Hyeong-jin felt as if he had been hit on the back of the head. 500,000 won?
“How much did you rent it for?”
“1,500,000 won.”
“1,500,000 won?”
He couldn’t understand that statement for a moment. Looking at the state of this coffee shop, it seemed unlikely that they would make even 300,000 won in a day, let alone 1,500,000 won.
“Let me see the settlement records for a moment.”
Noh Hyeong-jin checked that. Renting for 1,500,000 won, they had sold about 500 cups of coffee at 3,000 won each. In other words, it was exactly that amount. The problem was that there were costs involved, and after deducting those, they were short 500,000 won.
“W-what do we do? What do we do?”
“Is there anyone with money?”
“Who would have 500,000 won?”
The kids’ faces turned to expressions that looked like they were about to cry. At that moment, the door opened, and the owner came in.
“Did business go well?”
“Ah, sir…”
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re short on money.”
“Short on money?”
“Yes.”
At those words, the man’s face scrunched up.
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“If you agreed to pay the money, you should pay it! You little brats!”
As a grown man cursed and intimidated middle school students, the kids began to huddle together in fear. And as if they had been waiting, other men entered through the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, damn. These kids say they have no money now.”
“What? Have you seen these little brats?”
“Looks like these kids have some guts.”
“We only have… 1,000,000 won left…”
The kid at the front said with a quivering voice. At that moment, a hint of curiosity flickered in the man’s eyes but quickly disappeared.
“So you’re saying you’re short 500,000 won? Not 10,000 won or 20,000 won? Have you ever seen such little brats?”
“Ah, sir…”
“You kids have some guts.”
“Hey, this is annoying. Call the police.”
“Yeah, you guys should go to jail to come to your senses.”
“Sir, we’re sorry!”
“Then give me the money!”
“But… the money…”
“Isn’t that money? It’s clearly 1,500,000 won!”
“But… the money that went in…”
“Damn! If you’re going to run a business, you should be prepared!”
The three men began to intimidate the dozen or so middle school girls, and the girls started to burst into tears. Watching this, Noh Hyeong-jin was appalled.
‘They’ve been had.’
Looking at the location and interior of this coffee shop, it would be fortunate to make 300,000 won in a day. But to contract it for 1,500,000 won?
‘They tricked them.’
They probably deceived the unsuspecting middle school girls into signing the contract. The excited kids likely thought they could make a lot of money right away and agreed to it. However, generally, daily coffee shops don’t make that much money. If he hadn’t come to help, it was highly likely they wouldn’t have even reached the average of 300,000 won, let alone 1,000,000 won. And those kids weren’t unaware of that.
‘Timing and time. They were aiming for it.’
The fact that they came right at closing time and that the other two came in as if they had been waiting made it obvious that they had tricked the kids.
‘Ah, I shouldn’t have come out. The eye candy is too cheap for the labor cost.’
However, leaving the girls who were crying was a matter of conscience.
“Hey, should we just sell them to a brothel?”
“Well, selling one of them would cover that money. Who wants to be sold?”
The three men were intimidating them. Noh Hyeong-jin stepped in between them and the girls.
“Stop it. That’s extortion.”
“What? Who are you?”
“Me? I’m just a part-time worker.”
“What? Do you have a girlfriend? Which girl is your girlfriend? I won’t let her go since you have the guts to stand up.”
Noh Hyeong-jin sighed. They didn’t look like gangsters at all; they just seemed like local punks. It was obvious that a rich kid was just bored and opened a coffee shop.
“First of all, I don’t have a girlfriend. As I said earlier, I’m just a part-timer.”
“Really? Then anyone can be sold.”
“Ah!”
As he approached, the kids were pushed into a corner. Noh Hyeong-jin raised both hands to block them.
“Hey? You think you’re a man?”
“I’m not saying I’m a man; I’m saying this is extortion.”
“Ha! Look at this cheeky kid!”
The man raised his fist. But Noh Hyeong-jin didn’t back down.
“According to Article 284 of the Criminal Code, if you show the power of a group or a crowd or carry a dangerous object to commit extortion, it becomes a special extortion crime, punishable by up to 7 years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won.”
The man froze for a moment.
“Since there are three of you, it’s established as a crowd.”
“You…”
As they were about to charge at him, they had no choice but to stop at the legal citation that came out.
“Moreover, the victims are me and fifteen other middle school girls.”
“This kid is going to die.”
“Are you going to hit me? That would be assault. Oh, there are plenty of witnesses here, so if you want to hit me, go ahead.”
At those words, the three men instinctively flinched and stepped back. They were indeed just punks.
“Well, these kids didn’t know what they were doing, so let’s stop talking about this.”
“You little brat!”
“Or you can take it to the end.”
“Damn, just give me the money!”
Seeing that Noh Hyeong-jin didn’t look easy to deal with, they ultimately tried to resolve it with money. Of course, Noh Hyeong-jin wouldn’t give in to that. The kids had been taken advantage of, but it was these men who had deliberately tried to deceive them.
“Well, I should at least give what was promised. But let’s see the contract.”
“Contract?”
“Yes, since you made a contract, there should be a contract, right?”
At those words, a sneer appeared on the man’s face. He thought they were trying to run away if there was none.
“Here it is. It clearly states 1,500,000 won, right?”
“That’s correct. But what about the consent form?”
“Consent form?”
“Don’t you know what a consent form is? The oldest girl among these kids is sixteen years old. She’s legally a minor.”
“So?”
“Oh, you’re saying something serious. For a legal minor to engage in legal acts, they need a consent form from a legal representative, meaning their parents’ consent must be obtained to be legal. If a contract is made without such consent, it is a clear reason for cancellation.”
“Uh…”
The three of them momentarily didn’t understand. After all, they were the ones who had set up a business with their parents’ money.
“In simple terms, if it’s something done without an adult’s permission, then if you don’t pay, that’s it.”
“That doesn’t exist!”
“Where doesn’t it exist? That’s how the law works.”
“You little brats!”
“If you hit me, it’s assault. Seriously, why are you acting like this when you should know better?”
Faced with an unexpected situation, they were at a loss for what to do.
‘I knew it would be like this.’
Those who preyed on young middle school students couldn’t have lived a wise life.
“Just give me 1,000,000 won!”
In the end, the three men had no choice but to back away while growling. However, Noh Hyeong-jin didn’t want to give them a single penny.
“Before that, let’s see the sales records.”
“Sales records?”
“We need to see the general sales of this place.”
“General sales?”
“Even if it’s a daily cafe, it’s obvious that it wouldn’t make much compared to the general sales of this place, and knowing that, demanding an outrageous price of 1,500,000 won means you deceived these students into signing a contract, which constitutes the elements of fraud.”
“Fraud?”
“Yes.”
“Why is that fraud?”
“If you deceive or fail to disclose important information that could affect a contract for monetary gain, it constitutes fraud. So let’s see the sales slip.”
“……”
The three of them were speechless.
“If you can’t show it?”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do.”
At that moment of relief, Noh Hyeong-jin picked up his phone.
“I’ll report the extortion and fraud to the police. Then the police will investigate it for you. Oh, and if there’s a big discrepancy, it will go to the tax office as well. You should prepare for a tax audit.”
Seeing Noh Hyeong-jin casually trying to call the police, the three men looked completely stunned.
“Thank you!”
“Don’t mention it.”
“If it weren’t for you, we would have been in big trouble.”
“People need to be careful.”
In the end, they had no choice but to show the sales slip, and as a result, it turned out they only made 200,000 won in a day. Noh Hyeong-jin stepped in to negotiate, and they ended the contract by agreeing to pay 300,000 won, adding an extra 100,000 won as additional income.
“But in the end, it’s a loss.”
The remaining money was 700,000 won. Dividing that among fifteen people meant it was hardly even pocket money.
“No, it’s just a memory we started.”
‘That memory almost turned out to be the worst.’
Noh Hyeong-jin had seen many adults deceive kids like this. It’s absurd for adults to not set a good example and then say, ‘The kids have gone bad; they have no manners.’
“By the way, which school do you go to? I just realized I didn’t ask that.”
“I don’t go to school.”
“You don’t go to school? But why are you so smart?”
“Oh, just because I don’t go to school doesn’t mean I don’t study. I finished my schooling through self-study and am preparing for a university degree.”
The kids were filled with surprise at that statement.
“You’re really smart.”
“Well, it’s basic.”
“Let’s do this again later.”
“Ah, I hope we can avoid those kinds of guys next time.”
“Can you help a bit?”
“If it’s occasionally.”
Noh Hyeong-jin thought that spending a day like this with peers while clearing his head wasn’t bad.
“If you need help, contact me.”
Noh Hyeong-jin said that, but he didn’t expect it would lead to an unexpected situation.
“Hey, Casanova.”
“I’m not!”
“Not? How did you get fifteen female students’ phone numbers in just one day? Casanova would cry.”
Noh Hyeong-jin, who didn’t know how intense the girls’ texting was, was overwhelmed by the constant messages. Messages were flying in without a break.
“I need to be careful. They’re not trying to seduce me, are they?”
“Hyo-rin unnie!”
“Oh my, oh my, look at that charisma. I think I’m falling for him.”
“Ugh, seriously.”
At Hyo-rin’s words, Noh Hyeong-jin shook his head.
‘How is it that what he’s doing is so similar to what my real sister does?’
Seeing the similarities between what his real sister Hyun-a does and what he was witnessing, Noh Hyeong-jin couldn’t help but shake his head.
“By the way, you can still study, right?”
“I do, I do. Don’t worry.”
No matter how many texts he sent, he still had to attend classes, so Noh Hyeong-jin focused on his studies. Fortunately, most of the messages didn’t require urgent responses, so he could catch up later.
“Ugh.”
After class ended and he entered his dormitory, Noh Hyeong-jin replied to the flood of messages he had accumulated throughout the day. While he was in the middle of replying, he suddenly paused at the last message he was about to respond to.
-Hyung-jin, please help me, I beg you. I’m in big trouble. Contact me as soon as you receive this.
It was a message filled with urgency. How urgent it was became clear as more messages and calls continued to come in afterward.
“Ugh, this seems like it’s going to be a headache.”
He licked his lips and picked up the phone.
“Hey, it’s me. What’s going on?”