CRC 10

Chapter 10

“I’m really sorry.”

Yeon-eum bowed deeply.

“Why did you call busy people like us here?”

“Do you think we came all this way just to hear an apology?”

“When are you going to pay our wages?”

The former workers were all gathered together. These were people who had been like family since Yeon-eum was young. But now their faces were full of anger.

“I’m in a hurry, so pay me first.”

“Who isn’t in a hurry? This is ridiculous!”

At first they complained to Yeon-eum one by one, but soon they began arguing with each other.

Yeon-eum didn’t try to stop them. She just kept looking at her phone.

[Transfer completed.]

She was now completely broke.

She had emptied everything—money she saved from part-time jobs during college, scholarships, savings from her company job, her severance pay, even money she earned during working holiday abroad.

Ding. Ding.

Phone notifications rang everywhere.

The workers who had been shouting suddenly stopped when they saw the deposit messages. Their angry faces changed instantly.

“My mom must have had no choice at the time. Please understand.”

Yeon-eum bowed again.

The heat in the room quickly disappeared.

“You were all ready to attack her, but now that the money’s in, you’ve changed so fast,” Seok-jung muttered beside her.

Mr. Hwang, who had worked at Jeongju the longest, laughed awkwardly.

“When did we ever attack her? Anyway, Yeon-eum, you’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing. But… would you come back to Jeongju?”

“Huh? Well…”

He looked troubled.

“We don’t have enough hands.”

“Yeon-eum, when you were just the owner’s daughter, you were cute. But you don’t know anything about running a brewery. How can we trust you? And who knows if something like this won’t happen again?”

“She worked at a big company. Don’t you all know Suseong Retail?” Seok-jung added loudly.

“Of course we know it. But didn’t she quit after only a few years?”

“Why did she quit such a good company?”

“Who knows if she quit or got fired…”

People whispered behind her back.

“I worked in the planning team. I did well. I can properly plan and develop our products. I can grow the brewery bigger than before.”

She spoke firmly, but it wasn’t enough to change minds that had already left.

Most refused.

Only two agreed to return.

One was Mr. Yoon, in his 50s, who had worked at construction sites and came back to town after getting injured. The other was Mr. Lee, in his 30s, who gave up studying for the civil service exam.

“It’s better than having complete beginners,” Seok-jung said.

Trusting him, Yeon-eum rehired them.

The next day, they started work.

They cleaned the brewery together and checked the inventory. Seok-jung decided to handle delayed orders first.

In her mother’s office, Yeon-eum reviewed the brewery’s current situation and made plans.

She needed to get a liquor sales license. She had to learn not only how to brew alcohol but also how to run the whole business.

She became so busy she had no time for useless thoughts.

For the first time in a while, Jeongju Brewery felt alive again.

* * *

Crash. Rumble. Buzz. Bang.

Loud noises shook the ground early in the morning.

Yeon-eum had just finished preparing breakfast for her grandfather and was about to walk the one minute to the brewery when the terrifying noise made her heart drop.

“What is that sound?” her grandfather Geum-ho asked sharply.

Recently he had been weaker, and sudden changes made him anxious.

The doctor had said:

“It’s not severe yet. Keep giving him his medicine and watch carefully. Living as normally as possible is important. He forgets new memories quickly, but old memories stay longer.”

So Yeon-eum tried her best to keep things normal for him.

“I’ll go check. Grandpa, don’t go anywhere.”

A dementia necklace with her contact number hung around his neck.

“Where would I go besides the brewery?” he said.

For Geum-ho, Jeongju was home, workplace, and life itself.

Yeon-eum hurried down the alley.

As she got closer to the noise—

“Hey! Watch out!”

Suddenly, a huge wooden beam and pile of dirt collapsed right in front of her.

If she had taken one more step, it would have hit her head.

A small stone brushed her cheek and fell.

“I told you to be careful. It’s dangerous here. Move aside.”

She stared in shock at the destroyed house.

Behind the water pump stood a big persimmon tree. It was Grandma Soon-i’s house.

The excavator started again.

With a loud crack, it began tearing down the house across the street.

The old traditional houses broke apart easily, dust rising into the air.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“Didn’t you hear? Demolition starts today.”

So soon?

“You’re from the brewery? We were told not to touch your place. Don’t worry.”

“Hey, move aside!”

The workers were busy.

As she turned away helplessly, she heard one of them mutter:

“It’d be easier if we could just flatten everything at once. Why does that one place keep holding out?”

Did we do something wrong?
We’ve always lived here. They’re the ones destroying everything.

Every corner of the village held her memories.

Watching it disappear felt like her childhood was being crushed.

They’re just buildings. My memories are still inside me.

Then why were tears falling?

Is this what they meant by ‘you must empty something to fill something new’?

She remembered Hwi-do speaking confidently about development.

She bit her lip.

* * *

After finishing a meeting about the traditional liquor tourism development project, Team Leader Park said casually,

“Demolition in Cheonghyang Village started today.”

It wasn’t important enough for daily reporting.

“Did you inform Jeongju?” Hwi-do asked calmly.

Park hesitated.

“Yes… I think so.”

“…Think?”

“….”

“Make sure there are no problems. Ensure safe passage. Install proper safety fences and screens. Don’t give Jeongju any reason to complain.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leaving the meeting room, Hwi-do turned his phone off silent mode.

He had 12 missed calls.

Only a few people had his private number.

Ten of the calls were from Jung Yeon-eum.

He had told her to call directly if she decided to sell the land.

So why—

He pressed her number.

“The number you have dialed is unavailable…”

No ringing. Straight to voicemail.

He tried again. Same result.

His secretary entered.

“When a call goes straight to voicemail without ringing, is that normal?” he asked.

“If it’s on airplane mode… or if you’re blocked,” the secretary answered carefully.

Blocked?

She blocked him?

A vein bulged at his temple.

“Report later. You may leave.”

After the secretary left, he called again.

Same robotic message.

She called him ten times—then blocked him?

Did something change so quickly that she no longer needed to talk?

He tapped the desk thoughtfully.

If she were going to sell the land, she wouldn’t block him.

Just then—

Ding.

A text message.

He checked it.

It was from Yeon-eum.

After phone spam. After blocking him. Now a one-sided text.

But the message was garbled:

“…What is this supposed to mean