His face said, “Then I’ve succeeded.”
Jaehyuk laughed dejectedly at his confident attitude.
He couldn’t even get angry at this level of disconnect.
It’s fortunate he’s not making pathetic excuses like “it was for your own good” or “I had no choice,” but this is absurd in its own way.
Junyoung smiled at his face that openly displayed his emotions, so incredibly honest.
“You’re probably wondering why this guy is acting like this? That’s the difference between you and me right now. Personally, I don’t think Junghyun himself is harmful. No, if we had been connected through work, I would have really liked him. He’s clever, perceptive, levelheaded, and has drive. In some ways, he’s more bold and daring than either of us. Well, that’s probably because he has nothing to lose, so he fears nothing… But I’m being sincere—if he hadn’t gotten involved with you, I would have recruited him myself. As my direct assistant. But when he’s your partner, that’s a different story.”
“What does my partner have to do with you?”
“The very fact that you’re asking that question is the problem. The you from five months ago wouldn’t have even asked such a question. Honestly, I didn’t even need to step in first. The moment you discovered the truth, you would have handled it yourself. When I asked if it was okay that Junghyun might have approached you deliberately, you said that whatever his purpose was, as long as he kept the contract, it didn’t matter. You also said you would handle any problems that arose. That’s why you bought up shares in JS Holdings, the Hanyul Foundation, and even Hanyul Construction. To completely destroy them if necessary.”
Smiling brightly as he revealed the behind-the-scenes story that Junghyun didn’t know, Junyoung took another sip of coffee and then continued leisurely while leaning back in his chair.
“The Jaehyuk I know would have immediately ordered divorce papers prepared when I handed over that document. And without any notice, you would have first destroyed JS Holdings and Hanyul. Then I would have pretended to be the good guy, saying that with Jeonghoo also involved, you might feel uncomfortable going that far, and I would have persuaded you. Then you would have just wrecked JS Holdings and stopped there, and I would have kindly told Junghyun to consider himself lucky that it ended there, paid him a reasonable settlement for his trouble, and wrapped things up. That way, everyone would have had a happy ending. But you didn’t do that. You let emotions sweep you into making a decision you shouldn’t have.”
“So, what does my marriage have to do with you?”
“The marriage itself doesn’t matter. The problem is that you’ve lost control.”
At Junyoung’s statement, which was completely incomprehensible, Jaehyuk looked at Junghyun with a face that asked if he knew what this bastard was babbling about.
At that gaze, Junghyun, who was eating his lemon black tea cake, shook his head.
As if to say he doesn’t know what’s in Alpha minds—only other Alphas would know.
“The you I know would never have tolerated this fact. But now you’ve lost not only the dominance in the relationship but also self-control.”
At Junyoung’s painful observation, Jaehyuk, leaning against the chair back, glanced at Junghyun.
When Junghyun flinched and turned to him at that sharp gaze, Jaehyuk stared at him intently without saying anything for a moment, then turned his attention back to Junyoung.
Then he continued with an attitude suggesting he still didn’t understand what nonsense Junyoung was talking about.
“Maybe you’re right. But, as I’ve said several times… what does that have to do with you?”
“Right now, you’re in a state where you’ve lost your rationality, captivated by your perfect ideal type. Because of that, you can’t see what you should see, or you’re pretending not to see it even when you do. That’s why I let you know. What you should be doing now.”
At that moment, Jaehyuk laughed. Coldly.
It was a smile that said, “How dare you.”
At that arrogant attitude, Junyoung finally narrowed his eyes as if pleased and lifted the corners of his mouth.
“That’s more like Cha Jaehyuk.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense. You just admitted it yourself. That you’ve lost both dominance and control.”
To this, Jaehyuk did not respond. He just stared at Junyoung with an expressionless face.
“My method might have been a bit extreme, but the result is good. You’ll take care of Director Cha Jinwoo yourself after this incident, and whether you want it or not, you’ll end up getting divorced. You might be angry and regretful right now, but you’ll soon realize. That this is the right path. And also the fact that if you forgive deception, it’s bound to be repeated.”
As he finished speaking, Junyoung looked at Junghyun this time. Following his gaze, Jaehyuk also cast a sharp look.
At his still distrustful eyes, Junghyun glanced at him while drinking his tea, and Jaehyuk, after watching Junghyun, answered Junyoung again.
“Who said anything about forgiveness?”
“Then?”
“I’m sorry, but as you said, my personality isn’t nice enough to just let deception slide.”
“Then you should have handled it first.”
“As you said, I did hand over the dominance to this guy by my own choice. I also lost control. But that was my choice. It wasn’t something he took from me; I gave it to him.”
“That’s exactly the problem. Originally, you wouldn’t have easily handed over dominance in the first place, but even if you had lost it, you would have quickly taken it back.”
“I told you I don’t want to take it back.”
“That’s what we call self-rationalization. Or self-contradiction.”
Having pointed out that this was the biggest problem, Junyoung checked the time on his wristwatch. Then he stood up first as if he had nothing more to say.
“I have another meeting, so I’ll be going now.”
Without any lingering or guilt, as he was about to leave when his time was up, Junghyun hurriedly called out to him.
“Hyung-nim, just one more thing.”
At Junghyun’s calm call, Junyoung, who was just picking up his bag, looked down at him curiously. Then he muttered, tilting his head as if he couldn’t understand at all.
“You really do have a nice personality.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“That was sarcasm.”
“That’s not my concern, but I’ll just check one more thing.”
“What?”
“How much of our contract did you leak to Uncle?”
At the sudden question, Junyoung glanced at Junghyun’s phone.
And after a moment, with a face that seemed to understand what Junghyun was thinking, he asked:
“Why? Are you going to get a confession?”
“Yes. I’m planning to report you to the Bar Ethics Committee. I’m recording this too.”
As if to prove his statement, Junghyun held up his phone, showing that a recording app was running.
As if this too was expected, Junyoung laughed derisively.
“The committee members are all relatives of mine. And I haven’t confessed to anything.”
Junyoung was confident that it wouldn’t count as evidence since he had spoken in very roundabout terms.
He had anticipated this level of conversation, but Junghyun’s thinking was slightly different.
“Why do you think I would just quietly submit the material to the committee?”
“…Then?”
“Since things have come to this, there’s nothing stopping me from uploading this file to the internet. Exposing everything would at most get me a fine. But it would cause you a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it? Not only would it be difficult to maintain your license, but even if you did, you’d be on bad terms with Hanju from now on. Would that be okay?”
When Junghyun asked which side had more risk, Junyoung made a face that genuinely showed regret.
“You should have just become a lawyer.”
“There are too many control freaks like you in that world.”
“From my perspective, you seem worse.”
“I just don’t like being controlled; I don’t control others. So, your answer?”
When Junghyun asked him to just say how much he had leaked, Junyoung still didn’t fall for it easily.
“I’m sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t leak anything. Why would I do something so stupid?”
He meant that directly handing over documents would not only be evidence but would also be giving the other side a weapon to hold against him, so why would he do that?
Junghyun understood immediately.
“That’s what I thought. Well, take care on your way.”
As if to say that since their business was done, he should leave quickly, Junghyun lowered his gaze again and turned off the recording app.
At this, Junyoung laughed in disbelief.
“You really do have a nice personality.”
Openly mocking him, Junyoung grabbed his bag and turned to leave the table.
Watching him, Junghyun sipped his remaining tea and looked over his retreating figure.
He had thought Junyoung had a more outgoing and straightforward personality compared to Jaehyuk, but an Alpha is still an Alpha.
And he was the most troublesome type of Alpha at that.
No wonder it seemed strange that someone with such good credentials and a decent personality hadn’t married at that age—there was a reason for it.
“Alphas are scary.”
At that sudden comment, Jaehyuk quietly turned to look at Junghyun.
It was the most surprising thing he had heard recently.
“…Are you serious?”
“He’s trying to control even his friend. I thought this hyung-nim had a somewhat weaker Alpha tendency, but I was wrong.”
Thinking about it, Junghyun wondered if perhaps Seojin or Seojin’s uncle might also have such aspects hidden within them, but he quickly shuddered and shook off that thought.
That part was not his concern.
As he had felt when hearing from Yoonho hyung, it’s better for one’s mental health not to delve too deeply into the world of Alphas.
“So what are you going to do now?”
“I need to deal with Uncle. It was a confrontation that would have happened sooner or later anyway.”
“Then handle it.”
“Yes. Let’s talk after I resolve that issue first… about our problem.”
“Yeees…”
The end of his word is drawn out.
It’s unlike Junghyun to be unclear, and that unusually elongated vowel made Jaehyuk look at him with a suspicious face. Despite that face, Junghyun pretended not to notice and fiddled with his phone.
“You…”
Just as Jaehyuk was about to ask what he was plotting now, his phone began to light up.
Well, it had been lighting up continuously. Jaehyuk just hadn’t been answering.
“Go. You need to get to work.”
Now that the situation was clear, Jaehyuk no longer had time to think.
“I’ll go first. Move with Director Jang.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jaehyuk gestured with his head toward the inside of the cafe.
Looking in that direction, Junghyun saw a familiar face who had already settled at an inside table, and he gave a slight bow.
The other person also lightly nodded back in acknowledgment.
As he received the greeting from someone who wasn’t completely comfortable but not uncomfortable either—just moderately familiar—Junghyun asked in a small, mutter-like voice:
“By the way, there’s something I’ve been curious about since yesterday. When you investigated me, was there nothing about this?”
“About what?”
“That during my seventh arranged marriage meeting, I was apprehended by five bodyguards, kicked them all, and escaped on a motorcycle.”
“There was.”
“And yet you’re fine leaving me with just one secretary?”
“That’s precisely why I’m leaving you with her.”
With a tone suggesting “you wouldn’t kick a woman,” Junghyun was genuinely impressed.
“You’re smart.”
“By now, I can read your mind fairly well too. Finish eating and go inside. Contact me immediately if anything happens.”
“Yes.”
It seemed more likely that Jaehyuk would be the one needing to make contact, but Junghyun agreed and focused again on his phone screen.
As Jaehyuk watched him, he lightly tapped Junghyun’s head with his fingertip just as he was about to stand up.
“I’m going.”
“Go ahead.”
After the final farewell, having confirmed that Jaehyuk had left the store, Junghyun found a number he hadn’t contacted in a while and sent a message.
[There’s something interesting here. Want to work on it?]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
