“What?”
To that question, Jaehyuk asks again more clearly.
“Choi Seojun. I’m asking what kind of person he is.”
“Attorney Choi?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Junyoung carefully chose his words.
“If you’re asking about Choi Seojun as a person, honestly, I don’t know him well. We haven’t worked together for long. And he’s not my junior colleague.”
Junyoung paused there, fell into thought for a moment, then continued.
“But speaking about Attorney Choi Seojun, he’s diligent. Kind. Actually, our law firm needed an attorney who would take on public interest cases that don’t make money, so that’s why we hired him. When we asked if that would be okay with him, he was actually quite enthusiastic about it. He definitely doesn’t seem like someone from this industry. Most people in the office say he’s kind. Though I don’t understand why such a nice guy would tell his partner he wants to break up while eating jajangmyeon and then take off…”
Even after seeing the investigation results, Junyoung had his doubts too.
The image was just too different.
From what he heard from Junghyun, he seemed like the type who lived carelessly like Junghyun, but Seojun was completely different from Junghyun.
“But why are you suddenly asking about Attorney Choi?”
“This guy who said he didn’t need family told me there was just one person he wanted to be family with, so I was curious what kind of person he is.”
“…Did he also talk about his ex? With his own mouth?”
“By chance.”
There’s no way that was by chance.
Junyoung was certain of that. And he believed Jaehyuk knew it too. He just didn’t want to believe it.
“Impressive, Chihuahua. He laid everything out in advance in case he got caught. You know, I think you’ve really gotten involved with the wrong person.”
“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t matter.”
“Because you can handle it?”
“…”
“I’ve believed that until now and left it alone… but now I can’t believe it anymore. You don’t plan to break up with him, do you? Not even after a year.”
For a moment, Jaehyuk’s hand paused. And Junyoung didn’t miss that moment.
“You’re not denying it?”
“…I did think it might be fun to continue living like this.”
“Just that?”
“Until now.”
“So does that mean your thoughts have changed?”
“Thanks to you.”
Junyoung frowned at Jaehyuk’s cryptic responses.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought I’d clearly be angry about something like this… but honestly, I’m not that angry. So, I’m thinking now. Once I have an answer to that, I’ll have a conclusion as well.”
At Jaehyuk’s lukewarm attitude—seemingly cold but uncharacteristically delaying a decision—Junyoung laughed in disbelief.
“The Chihuahua has successfully brainwashed you. You know what? This is the typical method of con artists. Especially those who specialize in marriage fraud.”
At some point, they lay out subtle hints mixing truth and lies so that no matter what happens, the other person won’t suspect them, and when something actually happens, they escape using those excuses.
That was the typical method of con artists.
“Any way you look at it, this is too calculated. I wonder if there’s someone behind him.”
“He’s not the type to listen to others.”
“That’s just your opinion. End it quickly. If it’s already this bad, you definitely won’t be able to break up after a year.”
“We’ll see about that.”
As Jaehyuk closed the documents he was reading, implying “we’ll see if I can break up or not,” Junyoung gave him an incredulous look.
“So, you’re saying you’ll wait another nine months?”
“Didn’t I say I have no intention of breaking up?”
“Do you think you can continue as before, knowing this?”
“There’s no reason I can’t. And no reason we have to continue exactly as before.”
“If not like before, then what? If that Chihuahua finds out you know, he’ll hand you divorce papers with a smile.”
“That’s presumptuous concern. The data?”
At Jaehyuk’s demand for the original data, not just the printed documents, Junyoung looked at him in amazement.
“You’re really going to just let this slide?”
To this repeated confirmation, Jaehyuk looked at Junyoung as if to say, “How many times do I have to tell you?”
His eyes made it clear that his mind was already made up and there would be no changing it.
At such determination, Junyoung looked dazed, as if he’d been hit on the head.
“Wow… this is impressive… Honestly, I thought there was no way you hadn’t noticed anything until now, that you were just waiting for confirmation… What did that Chihuahua do to you?”
Junyoung was astounded, wondering if this ego-filled person had been brainwashed in just three months.
“That Chihuahua, I’d like to hire him. He’d be great at sweet-talking clients.”
“The data.”
When Jaehyuk extended his hand, telling him to cut the useless talk and hand over the data, Junyoung finally took a memory stick from his bag and placed it in Jaehyuk’s palm.
“This is all the data. Since I requested it personally, I didn’t leave any traces online.”
“What about the investigator?”
“Already erased. That aside… let me ask you just one thing. What do you really plan to do with him?”
The answer about divorce had been given. But there was still no answer about Junghyun.
But Jaehyuk still seemed unwilling to answer that question, maintaining his silence.
“Cha Jaehyuk?”
To the repeated questioning, Jaehyuk changed the subject.
“You can go now.”
Recognizing that this rejection was stronger than any words, Junyoung realized it was useless to say anything more.
Judging by that response, Jaehyuk hadn’t yet found an answer either.
“I’ll go since you asked… but this is just my concern—be careful. Whatever his purpose is, his thinking is very different from yours. And that difference will eventually become a big problem.”
“Go.”
Just as Junyoung was about to stand up at Jaehyuk’s dismissive response, not even looking his way, a message notification sounded on a phone.
Reflexively checking his phone at the sound, Jaehyuk saw a message.
[I forgot my phone in my coat. I arrived safely. Contact me when you leave work.]
Relief washed over Jaehyuk’s face the moment he saw that message.
Though he wasn’t sure where that relief came from, he was at ease knowing he could contact that person.
“…Is that the Chihuahua?”
At Junyoung’s question, a cold glare shot back as if to say, “You’re still here?”
At that look, which clearly said “you’re annoying, get out,” Junyoung raised both hands in surrender. Then he quickly gathered his coat and bag and left the office. Jaehyuk found Junghyun’s number and pressed the call button.
For some reason, he felt like he needed to.
He was anxious, feeling like that guy might disappear at any moment.
***
Jaehyuk slowly swirled his glass filled with a transparent amber liquid, then set it down on the desk.
He still couldn’t identify the source of that anxiety.
But the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar.
He had felt strangely uneasy when Junghyun disappeared during dinner. That’s why he ran out in the cold and spent an hour searching the streets for him.
That was absolutely unlike him.
Junghyun was an adult and physically quite strong. He could handle himself in any situation, and if something had happened, he would have contacted Jaehyuk immediately. Wandering the streets aimlessly searching for Junghyun in that situation was a foolish thing to do.
In such cases, it’s more efficient to wait in one place. If contact still couldn’t be made, he could use people to help search.
There was no reason for him to move personally.
Anyway, if that guy disappeared, there weren’t many places he could go.
His family home, a friend’s house, or the apartment where he used to live alone…
Something bothered him again at that point.
Something had been irritating him for a while.
With that uncomfortable feeling, he turned his attention back to the tablet to check the next page.
‘Choi Seojun’
Nothing special, nothing lacking—just an ordinary Alpha, neither more nor less than a very common existence.
If he joined Dongha Law Firm last summer, they must have met at least once.
In fact, he remembered being introduced to three new attorneys when he visited their office in the fall.
But if asked whether someone like him was among those three, he couldn’t remember. Neither the face nor the name came to mind.
And that meant he was someone not even worth remembering.
An utterly ordinary human being, someone so obviously unlikely to cross paths with him again that he wasn’t worth the effort to remember.
Just like Lee Junghyun was in the past…
At this resurfaced memory, Jaehyuk irritably ran his hand through his hair.
How could he not have remembered despite countless encounters?
That was actually rather strange.
Faces are a matter of preference, but above all, someone who was that good at surfing would have definitely caught his attention.
If only they had met a little earlier…
As he sighed in frustration at the ironic past, a text message arrived on his phone.
[Confirmed Lee Jiwon and Choi Minjun are hospitalized in Baekun Hospital Room 812. Surgery will be decided after orthopedic diagnosis tomorrow.]
With the continuous reports coming in, Jaehyuk immediately replied with his phone in hand.
[Move them to the VIP ward in the morning and please arrange for Director Baek Wonjun to personally examine them.]
After giving this simple instruction, he checked his phone again, but there was still no response from Junghyun.
Being perceptive, he probably realized by now that Jaehyuk knew something.
So he was likely buying time.
But unfortunately, Jaehyuk didn’t have that luxury right now.
He just felt anxious.
It was a strange feeling, like a cold flame burning inside his chest.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
