“I’ll admit that. Uncle was more proactive about supporting me than Father was.”
― Of course I was. Do you know how much money I paid for your violent behavior?
“That’s why I only beat people up just enough to avoid going to law school.”
― You shouldn’t have chosen the path of beating people at all, not just going to law school.
“Well, you shouldn’t have taught me martial arts so thoroughly then.”
― Wow, look at this guy blaming others? You should’ve just become a prosecutor. Being a thug suits you perfectly.
“That was the original plan. I wanted to become a prosecutor, thoroughly investigate JS Holdings’ corruption, and ruin Father. But those bastards turned out to be in league with Dad. That’s why I gave up.”
― What a shame. It would’ve been your true calling.
“Indeed.”
As always, they stopped their meaningless conversation. After a brief silence, his uncle asked again.
― So, what’s going on at this hour? A heartless guy like you wouldn’t call to check on me suddenly at this time of night.
“You know me well.”
― I raised half of you, after all.
“That’s true. That’s why my personality turned out this way.”
― That’s why I’m providing after-sales service now.
“Right. So about that…”
He cut himself off, feeling shameless even to himself. But because it was absolutely necessary now, he struggled to continue.
“I need your help.”
* * *
Sitting in his study, Jaehyuk checked the report that had just arrived and set his glass down on the desk with a thud.
Then he checked the contents once more.
When he returned after briefly leaving his seat to take a call, Junghyun was gone.
At that moment, it was fine. He thought Junghyun had just stepped out to use the bathroom or make a call.
But no matter how long he waited, the guy didn’t return. And only then did he realize Junghyun’s coat was missing too, and he hurriedly went out to look for him.
But no matter how many calls or messages he sent, there was no answer.
Worried that there might have been an accident, he contacted the police station and searched the cold streets for quite some time until a message arrived.
[Someone I know had a traffic accident so I had to leave urgently. I’ll contact you later.]
For a message that took an hour to arrive, it was excessively unfriendly. Finally stopping his search, he sent a message back.
He asked which hospital, who had the accident, and said he would come pick him up right away, but there was no response.
Calls wouldn’t connect either.
So he ordered an investigation into traffic accidents that occurred during that time period, and the results had just arrived.
There were four traffic accidents during that time, and only one case where victims were urgently transported to the hospital.
He couldn’t be certain it was that accident based on the timing alone. But when he confirmed the victims’ personal information, his heart went cold.
Lee Jiwon and Choi Minjun.
There was no problem with these two people.
The problem was that Lee Jiwon’s son and Choi Minjun’s older brother was Choi Seojun.
Sitting in his study checking the documents on his tablet, Jaehyuk picked up the glass on his desk.
And nervously swirled the drink.
In a way, it was impeccable timing.
Or perhaps an impeccable bad connection.
* * *
“So, what do you think?” Junyoung asked the moment he finished checking the rather thick document.
How disgusted do I feel, is what he’s asking.
“I told you from the beginning that I was suspicious of him. Everything lined up too perfectly. Plus, he was so much your type that it felt unnatural. It’s hard to create something so perfect intentionally… Looking at this, he’s certainly smart. Stalking not just you but Yongwoo too.”
Using subscription accounts that left no personal traces, Junghyun had been following and constantly checking the social media of not only Yongwoo but also Yongwoo’s friends.
It was probably one of the hundred or so accounts that Junghyun supposedly operated.
But strangely, that wasn’t very surprising.
And the fact that Junghyun was the victim of the bar incident five years ago wasn’t very surprising either.
It was because he had already confirmed that incident himself.
The memory of what happened five years ago was already faint, but he just had that feeling.
It didn’t seem likely that there would be two Omegas who beat people up like that. There were many other overlapping circumstances, so he obtained the victim’s personal information from that incident, and honestly, he was even pleased to see the name “Lee Junghyun.”
So it really was him, he thought.
Even when he saw photos of Junghyun occasionally captured at places he had traveled to, he thought it could happen.
Surfers inevitably run into each other somewhere.
No, in fact, he wouldn’t have cared even if it was intentional.
As he had repeatedly said from the beginning, it wouldn’t have mattered even if Junghyun had deliberately approached him.
He was the desperate one at the time.
Whether Junghyun had stalked him for years, deliberately taken up the same hobby, stalked his fiancé, and perfectly customized himself to match his preferences—it didn’t matter.
Even if their meeting at the whiskey bar that day wasn’t coincidence but inevitable, that was fine.
As long as it produced good results, it didn’t matter.
What bothered him was…
“Choi Seojun is at your law firm?”
“Yes. Our new hire. I thought his reaction was strange when I first gave him my business card, but that’s why. Furthermore, Choi Seojun is one of Jeonghoo’s current heat partners.”
“…”
“You said it yourself, right? In the elevator. You said even your family couldn’t be free from brothers getting entangled. That was about Jeonghoo.”
“…”
“I thought something felt off every time I saw him… He’s really smart, isn’t he? To have laid out so many hints and planted so much foreshadowing.”
Saying that he had thought Junghyun was extraordinary but he was even more so, Junyoung carefully observed Jaehyuk’s expression.
But Jaehyuk remained expressionless.
It was a face that revealed nothing of his inner thoughts.
“I told you from the start, didn’t I? That he’s not ordinary. If you look there, you’ll see that his relationship with Surf-cation CEO Seo Yoonho isn’t just that of seniors and juniors, but something more special. At this point, it’s clear. This is obviously intentional.”
“…”
“What are you going to do?”
In response to Junyoung’s urging for an answer on how to proceed, he asked:
“Who knows about this now?”
“You and me, plus two investigators.”
That’s just fine. The investigators are people who work for money anyway, and if Junyoung uses them, they must be trustworthy.
Then the answer is simple.
“Cover it up.”
“…What?”
“Give me all the files containing the data. And delete them from your folder. Same with the investigators’ folders.”
Faced with Jaehyuk’s cold decision to act as if none of this had happened, Junyoung looked incredulous.
“You’re going to cover this up? Without even knowing what he’s thinking?”
“I told you from the beginning, didn’t I? That I don’t care about anything.”
“You might not have cared initially, but you can’t not care now. He deceived you from beginning to end. Honestly, I can’t even believe he’s infertile anymore. He might have approached you with the goal of getting pregnant from the start.”
Junyoung’s speculation was that Junghyun might have used his position as a friend’s brother to recruit people around Jaehyuk over a long period to gather information, and approached at a decisive moment.
The opinion that even meeting at the bar on the day Jaehyuk was rejected might have been intentional on Junghyun’s part was somewhat reasonable.
Jaehyuk thought so too.
Everything matched up to an unnatural degree.
That level of coincidence couldn’t exist.
It was too well-crafted coincidence.
Or perhaps inevitability.
But…
“That’s not it.”
In response to Jaehyuk’s confident answer, Junyoung frowned in displeasure.
“Aren’t you trusting that Chihuahua too much?”
“He definitely took birth control pills. Even before I could remind him.”
“Are you sure he actually took them? I can’t trust him anymore.”
“…”
“He might have just created that impression. He’s more cunning and shrewd than you think.”
Jaehyuk didn’t deny the assertion that Junghyun would have noticed that Jaehyuk trusted him.
“Even if that’s the case, the judgment, decision, and handling are mine. So don’t touch this anymore. And make sure this information doesn’t leak elsewhere. If this story somehow gets out, I’ll assume it was your intention.”
“…So you’re saying you’re just going to let this go?”
“Exactly.”
“Why?”
“Because I still have no intention of breaking up with him.”
“You’ve already held the ceremony with Yongwoo and your brother, so it might be better to wrap things up now. Or another option would be to send him abroad for a while and then end it.”
“I said I’ll handle it myself, didn’t I?”
“But why? There are too many suspicious elements. His ex is a lawyer at our firm, he’s friends with the owner of your regular restaurant, they were seniors and juniors, they work at the same company, and on top of that, his brother is your friend. You couldn’t plan this even if you tried. You need to find out why he approached you to this extent.”
“…”
“…Cha Jaehyuk?”
After continued silence, Junyoung called his name, and Jaehyuk changed the subject.
“What kind of person is he?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
