Chapter Text
Lost and Found
Kim Hwan tended to remember accounts rather than faces. The account that was full of overdraft charges, the account with constant foreign transaction alerts-- and of course that one account with large, erratic deposits and withdrawls.
This one, right here.
He sighed and recounted a couple million won for the third time, eyes watching each bill as they slid through his fingers. Once he was done he looked up at the young man standing demurely across the counter from him, head down, eyes forward. Hadn’t he just come in with this much last week? Where was it all going? Clearly he wasn’t spending it on himself, Hwan mused, taking in his well-worn grey jacket and cracked, rough hands.
“I need to get a signature on this,” he said, annoyed. Really-- Byeon had promised him he’d raise his limits ages ago. Having him check every cash transaction he did over 2 million was getting old.
“Okay,” the man replied, so softly Hwan almost didn’t hear it. Hwan nodded and stalked around the copier towards his supervisor’s desk.
“Here.”
He dropped the cash and deposit slip onto Team Leader Byeon Sangwoo’s desk. The older man put down his pen and started recounting the transaction.
“You know if you just--”
“Later, Hwan.”
“But you said-- ”
Byeon stopped counting, and looked up.
“LATER, Hwan.”
Hwan scowled, but complied. It was never a good idea to argue with the man when he was in one of these moods. Finally, Byeon finished, initialed the deposit slip, and handed the transaction back to Hwan’s waiting hands, waving him off as he left. Shoulders down, Hwan headed back towards his station just as a small commotion broke out in front of him.
“Aren’t you done yet?! What’s taking so long--?”
He looked up to see a face that he did recognize, for all the wrong reasons, trying to shove past the quiet customer he was already helping. The older man grabbed the younger’s grey jacket at the elbow, trying to move him out of the way, but he twisted immediately, frantically, as he jerked his whole body backwards into Hwan’s teller counter. The smile pile of documents he’d carefully stacked in front of him came spilling down into Hwan’s station.
“Hey--” Hwan protested, scrambling forward to pick up the documents spilling across his keyboard. “Take a number and get in line. ”
By the time he lifted his head again, security had already descended upon the aggressor, firmly escorting him back towards the door. Hwan rolled his eyes and finished gathering up his customer’s documents, haphazardly placing them back on the counter. The old man was nice enough sober, but a mean drunk, and if not for his sizeable account surely would have been permanently banned from the premise years ago.
“I’m sorry about that, sir, we'll take care of--”
He stopped, taken aback by the expression on his original customer's face. His eyes were wide, shifting back and forth while he quickly shoved the documents back into the folder he’d brought them in. His hands were shaking.
Unsure of what to say, Hwan sat down and finished his deposit. As he handed the man his receipt he all but ripped it from his fingers and turned, mumbling a brief ‘thanks,' making a beeline for the front door.
It wasn’t until after his shift was over, searching for the currency exchange report he’d borrowed from Jonghoo, that Hwan noticed the small bank ledger wedged alongside his computer monitor. Frowning, he pried it loose and looked down at the name engraved on the front.
Hanul Children’s Center .
* * *
“Why do I have to return it?”
Byeon Sangwoo ignored Hwan, busy stirring sweetener into his morning coffee.
“Isn’t Joohyuk going out for a consultation today? Can’t he--?”
“Joohyuk doesn’t have time,” Byeon interrupted, pushing past Hwan on his way out of the break room. Hwan followed, dogging at his heels.
“But neither do I, you asked me to check those accounts this mor--”
“Do it after your shift then.”
“What if they’re already closed? Can’t we just mail--”
Byeon turned around and took the bank ledger from Hwan’s hand, holding it up in front of his face.
“Hwan. This is personal account information . We can’t ‘just mail it.’ Besides, Hanul just took out a mortgage loan with us,” he sighed, then paused, taking in Hwan’s pitiful expression.
“Fine. I’ll let you clock out early this afternoon-- but deliver it in person , understood?”
Hwan’s face brightened and he nodded, taking back the ledger and heading to his station with an extra bounce in his step.
* * *
The rest of the day passed quickly, and before long Hwan had closed out, escaped an unexpected afternoon rush, and was standing in front of a large red complex. He double checked the blue letters above the building’s main entrance, and headed up front steps. Just as he opened the door a pair of ten year olds bumped into him, rushing eagerly outside. He stumbled back out of the way and frowned, clutching his messenger bag’s leather strap closer to his chest.
Right. This was a children’s center.
Making his way inside, he winced at the sudden din of children shouting, playing, and general chaos surrounding him. Wandering forward, it wasn’t long before he found himself standing in the middle of a huge playroom, kids of all ages swarming around him.
“You’re tall !!” a small voice shouted behind him. Hwan turned around.
“What’s your name?”
He hissed, trying to shoo the young girl away, but a remote-controlled fire truck bumped into his heels and before long he was surrounded.
“What’s in your bag--?”
“Why is your hair so curly--?”
“How old are you? I’m seven !!”
Hwan tried to turn again and stepped backwards, but bumped into a pair of twins behind him. As they both fell to the floor there was one, long, agonizing moment of silence before-- simultaneously--
They both started bawling.
Hwan paled. Oh-- oh no.
He looked around, panicking, when thankfully, seeming out of nowhere two strong arms reached forward, picking the boys up and steadying them once more on their feet. Hwan recognized immediately his quiet customer from the bank. He watched as the man brushed the tears from their cheeks, shushing them gently and readjusting their small, matching blue jackets. Then, after they’d settled down, he pulled two small candies from his own jacket pocket and pressed one into each of their hands. Smiling, he pushed them back towards the rest of the play area, and slowly the crowd around Hwan dispersed.
Hwan opened his mouth, but said nothing-- somewhat embarrassed. As the man stood to face him, his eyes spotted the KCU ID still hanging around his neck. His smile faded and his eyes snapped upwards.
“You’re from the bank.”
Hwan nodded slowly, confused again by his sudden change in attitude.
“Is… is there a problem with the account?” he continued in a soft voice, still as a statue.
“No, I'm Kim Hwan. I just came to return something you left when, ah... “
“Oh,” the man relaxed. Then, he seemed to register Hwan’s meaning. “The ledger. Come with me.”
Following behind him as he led them both out of the playroom and through the center’s back hallways towards what he assumed was the Director’s office, Hwan was surprised when instead he was led into a small security office. A CCTV monitoring station was set up in one corner, while another was filled with various tools, lightbulbs, and cleaning supplies.
“Lee Eunho,” he read aloud the name written upon a security checklist hanging by the door, and his guide looked up.
“Lee Eunho?” Hwan said again, this time turning around. The man nodded. Hwan smiled, glad to finally have his name.
“You handle the Director’s finances from here ?”
Eunho headed over to the security desk and began rifling through a stack of papers next to his second monitor.
“I’ve known Director Song a long time. I help him out with many of his personal matters.”
“Personal? Oh-- I thought--”
“Yes, it’s a personal account,” Eunho spoke quickly over him, turning back around with a folded piece of paper in his hands. “Here.”
Hwan looked at the piece of paper and then back at Eunho.
“What?”
“I think you accidentally mixed this in with my other.. documents,” he said, bowing his head. “I’m sorry.”
Hwan took the piece of paper and unfolded it. Oh-- the currency exchange report. That’s where it had gone? He rolled his eyes and unbuckled his messenger bag, stuffing the paper inside.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s useless now,” he sighed.
Eunho nodded once, but stood still in the middle of the small room, hands clasped together in front of him. Hwan blinked, staring back at him for a moment before he remembered--
“Oh, your ledger,” he said, opening his bag again and digging the small pocket-sized checkbook out. Eunho bowed again as he accepted it, gripping the pad tightly in his hands.
“Thank you.”
Hwan shrugged, and started to turn towards the office door, but paused. He hadn’t planned on saying anything, but...
“Listen. That guy the other day is a jerk,” he complained, unsure if strictly to Eunho, himself, or both. “I don’t even know why we still let him in the building.”
Eunho looked up.
“He always ends up at my station too. And I shouldn’t even have to get these types of transactions signed off on by now if Byeon would just get over it . It was one time …”
He continued whining for a few more moments, until he noticed the small smile at the corner of Eunho’s lips. Then, embarrassed once again, he rose his chin and straightened his shoulders.
“Anyway, it was his fault, not yours.”
Eunho tilted is head, expression unreadable.
“It’s okay. Do you need help finding your way out?”
Hwan frowned at the short reply, but simmered down and thought for a moment. In the end, he decided not to chance ending up in the children’s playroom again.
Walking behind the man as they backtracked towards the center’s entrance, he watched Eunho’s calm, precise steps. They seemed heavy in a way he couldn’t quite explain; a contrast with the light smile that spread across his face as they passed a group of children on their way to a classroom. When Eunho gave him a final bow in farewell just outside of the building’s glass doors, he nodded politely in return but looked back over his shoulder as he left.
Normally, Hwan had to admit, he found most people boring. Normally, he'd simply go home, sink into his couch and forget this ever happened. But there was something about Lee Eunho that kept him on his mind until well into the night.
.