“What?”
“A few more pages.”
“Which part?”
“They opened up to the page with the clause about transferring JS Holdings shares in case of divorce, but they only applied white-out to the top.”
Junghyun showed Jaehyuk his phone with the photos, saying this was practically like shouting through a megaphone that it was Cha Jaehyuk and Lee Junghyun’s doing.
After visually confirming the additional pages of the contract, Jaehyuk returned to his meal with an unfazed expression after a brief moment.
“I need to hurry things up.”
“You have shares in Hanju Chemical and leverage on them, right? Like slush funds, illegal transactions, window dressing, paper companies, and so on?”
“That’s not something to discuss at the dinner table. Eat first.”
“Yes. But since we’re on the topic, I have one more request.”
“What is it?”
“Please arrange for me to meet Junyoung hyung-nim at the cafe where we first met.”
Jaehyuk silently stared at Junghyun at the sudden mention of that name.
Since Junyoung was the cause of this whole mess, he needs to see him.
And Junghyun, being involved, has the right to interrogate him.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Does it have to be there?”
“Yes.”
As Junghyun took a sip of refreshing water kimchi, suggesting they have some tea there since the weather is nice these days, Jaehyuk immediately nodded.
“I was planning to meet him tonight, but that should be fine too.”
Thinking he should eat before Junghyun devastated the table, Jaehyuk placed three pieces of ribs on Junghyun’s plate, and Junghyun began eating the seasoned blood clams as if competing.
But that didn’t last long. Soon, Junghyun had finished two bowls of rice and looked at the table with slight regret before stopping.
Seeing this, Director Jang quickly asked:
“Would you like some more?”
“No. I’ll eat moderately today.”
At Junghyun’s outrageous statement as he calmly drank water, Jaehyuk was so taken aback that he blurted out his thoughts.
“You don’t have a stomach problem, do you?”
“No. No parasites either. What’s for dessert?”
“I’ve prepared strawberries and blueberries. Is there anything else you’d like?”
“That’s fine. Well, I’ll excuse myself first.”
As Junghyun left the dining room with quick steps as if he had urgent business, Jaehyuk immediately stared at Director Jang.
She smiled at his questioning gaze that seemed to ask if she had something to tell him.
Jaehyuk slightly frowned at her ambiguous smile.
“Director Jang, you seem to be too sparing with words lately.”
“Being reserved with words never leads to loss.”
“Is there really no loss at all?”
At those words, she gave another enigmatic smile before starting to move her chopsticks again.
Then she said decisively:
“Just eat. And don’t throw up again.”
* * *
“Did you contact Junyoung hyung-nim?”
Right after seeing Director Jang off as she left work, Junghyun urgently asked that question.
Jaehyuk clicked his tongue softly at Junghyun’s uncharacteristically impatient attitude.
“…I understand what you’re thinking, but that doesn’t seem to be the most important thing right now.”
“It should be important. Your phone has been on fire since earlier.”
As Junghyun turned around and started walking first, saying the battery might be dead by now, Jaehyuk also began walking with a look that suggested the mouse was worrying about the cat.
“If my phone is on fire, yours must have had a bomb go off on it?”
“It can’t explode. I turned it off.”
This was so predictable that Jaehyuk wasn’t surprised at all.
He just felt, “Ah, of course.”
No, he was even somewhat pleased.
With that indifference and boldness.
“Right. That’s so like Lee Junghyun.”
“There’s no point in answering all those calls. What we see now is just the phenomenon, but the cause is elsewhere, and we need to find the cause to solve it. This kind of thing will be forgotten in three days, not even a month. By next week, everyone will be asking if it ever happened.”
“That is, if no one keeps adding fuel to the fire.”
“That’s why we need to check tomorrow. Or have you already talked to him?”
As Junghyun entered the bedroom with leisurely steps and returned to the main point, Jaehyuk nodded.
“I talked to him before coming in. He was on the rooftop of the building where his office is and said he came to work on the weekend and didn’t expect anyone to be there. He probably let his guard down since lawyers don’t usually have to worry about paparazzi.”
“People can make mistakes, but it’s strange for a lawyer to take a laptop without privacy film out in public.”
“He said he doesn’t use it when working with multiple people because it’s inconvenient.”
“And a person who looks like he never eats sweets had a marron cake next to him?”
Jaehyuk hesitated at the suspicion Junghyun cast as he entered the room and turned on the lights.
His tone was dubious.
That bothered him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what you heard.”
“…I get what you’re thinking, but that guy loves sugar. Quite a lot. He probably had a marron latte too.”
Junghyun paused at this unexpected answer.
“He likes sweet things?”
“He’s a dessert fanatic.”
“Wow… that’s unexpected. Judging by his appearance, I would have thought he was the chairman of the Glucose Extermination Committee.”
“That’s why he’s struggled with weight management since childhood.”
Jaehyuk looked Junghyun up and down, thinking that the other side would probably find it fascinating how Junghyun doesn’t gain weight despite eating so much.
He doesn’t look like someone who just devoured at least 5 servings of ribs and two bowls of rice.
Moreover, he’s not muscular considering his level of physical activity, making his body quite remarkable in many ways.
“Indeed, humans are surprising animals. I can’t stand sugar, so I find people who like it fascinating.”
Jaehyuk silently stared at Junghyun after his absurd statement.
His face said, ‘You?’
Having seen him eat jajangmyeon like a possessed person even in yesterday’s awkward and uncomfortable situation, Jaehyuk’s expression questioned how that could be true, and Junghyun quickly corrected the information.
“Jajangmyeon is an exception. When I was young, my mom and I would always go eat jajangmyeon when something good happened. She said her mother did the same for her when she was young. Thanks to that, I was conditioned to recall good memories when eating jajangmyeon. So when situations or moods are bad, I instinctively end up eating jajangmyeon.”
Jaehyuk stared down at Junghyun after this curious story.
In response to his gaze that asked what that meant, Junghyun answered honestly.
“I was pretty nervous yesterday too.”
“…You were?”
At the thought he unwittingly verbalized, Junghyun smiled awkwardly.
“I might not say things, but I don’t lie. I was surprised when I saw you yesterday. I felt sorry too. It just doesn’t show on my face.”
Though embarrassed, Junghyun revealed his honest feelings.
Expressing thoughts is easy, but expressing emotions is unfamiliar and awkward, yet he wanted to say that.
That he feels very sorry toward him.
As he unconsciously scratched his neck, wanting Jaehyuk to know at least that much, Jaehyuk’s expression softened.
When Junghyun had been shameless, Jaehyuk wanted to hit him, but seeing him fidget so uncharacteristically made him feel a little less resentful.
And thinking about that, he felt irritated again.
Feeling displeased that he seemed too easy, Jaehyuk looked at Junghyun with a dissatisfied face and slowly lowered his head.
Then he kissed Junghyun’s lips.
As Jaehyuk sucked on his lips and gently parted them with his tongue, Junghyun slightly opened his lips. Then, as he closed his eyes and entwined his tongue with Jaehyuk’s, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and let out a silent scream.
His tongue had been bitten.
And very hard at that.
Pushing him away with the force of being deliberately bitten with malice, Junghyun opened his lips to check his tongue.
It was bleeding.
“Ugh…”
“Now I feel a bit better.”
Jaehyuk smiled refreshingly, as if the dark emotion that had been coiled up inside him had instantly transformed into a butterfly and flown away.
Junghyun shuddered at that smile, which looked like the happiest in the world.
“Do you have cannibalistic tendencies?”
“No, but even if I did, don’t worry. You’d probably taste bad, being pickled in delivery food and alcohol.”
“So you’ve checked my liver?”
At that question, Jaehyuk displayed a strange smile. Then he immediately turned around and headed for the dressing room.
Watching his back, which seemed as light as if he could fly, Junghyun shook his head in disgust and immediately found tissues to spit out the blood pooling in his mouth.
He understood that Jaehyuk had been angry for a month, but suddenly attacking like this wasn’t right… but he stopped his thought there.
No, it was understandable.
Jaehyuk is emotionally unstable right now. Some might call it separation anxiety or anger management issues…
Anyway, since his own fault in this matter was too great, he decided to endure it.
At least for the next three times.
“Ah…”
Although he’d hurt his lips and tongue in fights before, this was the first time he’d been injured during a kiss. After roughly wiping away the blood, he sat on the bed bench and placed his laptop on his knees.
Then he turned on the laptop and checked the email he had been reviewing.
The main content of the email included the email address of the journalist who wrote the follow-up article, their recent activities, and the upload time of the article.
But there wasn’t much to it.
This newspaper published its first article today, and this was also the first article written by this journalist.
It’s clearly a planned operation, which isn’t surprising.
It’s obvious who’s behind it.
However, what bothered him was…
After carefully examining the photos, Junghyun searched through his email address book for a familiar name.
Feeling that he needed an expert opinion, he sent a brief email to a stylist he had worked with a few times before, then lazily climbed back onto the bed.
He lay down with his head on the pillow without even covering himself with the blanket.
He didn’t intend to sleep.
Of course, that wasn’t entirely up to him, but since he had already taken a nap, he thought he’d just rest for a while.
Just until the reply email arrived.
But once again, he couldn’t defeat the god of sleep today.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
