Chapter 117
Even for someone as accomplished and flawless as he was, it’s rare to receive blind love. Moreover, who could love someone like him, carrying such a fatal problem?
After the sudden onset of sexual dysfunction, Inbeom Yoon broke up with Lydia. Afterwards, he was rejected by everyone he met, both men and women.
Contemptuous glances and sneers followed him constantly. No matter how much the mood heightened or how excited his whole body became, it wouldn’t rise. It only bent like a dehydrated eggplant. Even with that appearance, he had seen the end. It was a damn body.
While many people said all sorts of humiliating things to Inbeom Yoon, sometimes there were those who understood. Of course, that period didn’t last long. He tried to buy love with money, but in the end, he always received notice of breakup.
Among such people, only Geon-woo was different.
That guy, with a different mindset from others, was someone who could pour out his soul to the partner he chose.
If he lost Geon-woo, he felt like he would die without ever experiencing proper intimacy or love for the rest of his life.
Inbeom Yoon believed that if Geon-woo chose him, he could receive Geon-woo’s attention and affection for life. Thinking that no one but Geon-woo would accept him, he came to desire Geon-woo pathologically.
He thought Geon-woo could fill the broken sense of defeat.
But it wasn’t easy to be chosen as the object of Geon-woo’s obsession. He had failed countless times in LA, to the point where getting permission to obsess in Korea felt like a distant memory.
There was absolutely no gap visible between Geon-woo and Mitchell. Geon-woo had already confirmed Mitchell as his person.
With his will broken, Inbeom Yoon couldn’t see any way to drive out Mitchell and claim Geon-woo, so he had almost given up.
Then, thanks to Mitchell, he learned about Jeff’s existence. A sponsor who played with the Geon-woo and Junman brothers. As soon as he heard that story, he decided to use Junman to blackmail Geon-woo. Of course, it wasn’t easy to find Junman who had gone into hiding.
But as they say, what’s meant to be will be.
He finally managed to find Junman hiding in the largest Koreatown in the world.
The heavens hadn’t abandoned him.
He had people search the entire neighborhood, and Junman stood out clearly, appearing in a place with few tourists and sitting in one spot for hours. He even had a carrier and luggage bags hanging all over.
Inbeom Yoon pretended to accidentally discover Junman while passing by and brought him, who had nowhere to go, to his second house.
They knew each other’s faces as they had encountered each other in Korea because of Geon-woo.
“Thanks for the meal.”
Junman, finishing his meal, put down his spoon. While drinking his beverage, he looked around curiously.
Inbeom Yoon’s second house is near the coast, not far from his main house. The beautiful beach house was flawless.
“Hyung, I think I should leave now. Is that okay? Someone’s coming from New York, so I need to match the time… You know Saint Hotel, right? The hotel owner.”
Inbeom Yoon attempted to start a serious conversation. He asked about Jeff directly without hesitation. He thought that if he informed Junman about the relationship between the three of them, it would naturally reach Geon-woo’s ears as well. He needed to sour the relationship between Geon-woo and Jeff to escape the money issue. If that happened, Mitchell, who was tied to Geon-woo with money, would also let Geon-woo go.
Whatever happened, it was important to damage the relationship between the three of them.
“Saint Hotel? Of course I know it. You know the owner there? You’re impressive.”
“What? Ah… well.”
But Junman’s reaction was strange. Junman talked as if he didn’t know Jeff at all. If this was high-level acting, it would be admirable, but Junman really seemed not to know Jeff.
“You know Jeff Wood, right? It hasn’t been long since he inherited Saint Hotel, but he’s still a very famous person.”
“I don’t know. How would I know? But if I mention your name at Saint Hotel, do I get a discount?”
He had no interest in Jeff and made an out-of-place comment about discounts. It was hard to believe that Junman, who was cracking cheap jokes and grinning, was Jeff’s bedmate.
Come to think of it, the relationship between Geon-woo and Jeff was also strange. Geon-woo, needing money because of Mitchell, got a sponsor?
Geon-woo is a person with a deeply rooted notion of being a celebrity. He would shower alone in the gym locker room because he didn’t want others to see his naked body, or cover his face when he met Asians on the street.
It didn’t make sense that such a person would get a sponsor. It’s called a sponsor, but wouldn’t they be sharing a bed? No matter how crazy Geon-woo’s mental world was, it seemed odd that he would offer his body to a man, not even a woman, to make money.
But he couldn’t be certain either. Geon-woo was a unique person who couldn’t be defined by a few words.
In this complex situation, the one thing that was certain was that Junman didn’t know Jeff. As the doubt that started from there extended to Geon-woo, Inbeom Yoon suddenly remembered that all of this story came from Mitchell’s mouth.
‘Could it be that Mitchell, that bastard…?’
A signal that something had gone wrong somewhere stirred like an instinct. Inbeom Yoon rubbed the back of his head. He felt extremely unpleasant, as if he had been hit by Mitchell.
“Would you like something more to eat?”
Inbeom Yoon, barely regaining his senses, asked Junman who was glancing at the refrigerator.
“Don’t you have something like beer?”
“…Ah.”
He looks similar to Geon-woo, and he likes alcohol too. Even the way he shamelessly asks for what he wants is exactly the same.
“I don’t live here, so I don’t have any. Should I go buy some for you?”
“……No.”
Even his refusal came after a long pause. He was clearly the type of person who would ask for it if asked just one more time.
Inbeom Yoon let out a long sigh and then brought up the story of the person who could be called the root cause of all this.
“Wouldn’t it be better to contact Geon-woo?”
On the way here, Inbeom Yoon had heard Junman’s nonsensical story.
He said he had come all the way to America to see Geon-woo, but was in a fight with Geon-woo over something trivial. Not wanting to return to Korea, he was traveling alone here and there when his wallet was stolen, leaving him standing blankly on the street – a whole novel of a story.
“Why should I contact Geon-woo? I don’t want to.”
Junman finished the remaining drink and wiped his mouth. He only thought about wanting to have a drink.
Junman hadn’t actually had his wallet stolen, but he was as penniless as if it had been stolen.
He had quickly spent the cash he had while living in America, and his credit cards were cut off because he hadn’t paid in the first place. The card bill he had to pay this time exceeded several thousand, but he only had a few million won left. Even that, he was spending freely bit by bit.
Despite being in a tight spot, he couldn’t break his habit of spending money lavishly as usual. Staying at hotels and eating expensive food eventually led to this situation.
After encountering a petty thief in a shabby motel, he refused to stay at cheap places.
And today, after paying the hotel bill, he was left with no money.
Only then did Junman come to his senses, standing blankly in a quiet park. It was Inbeom Yoon who appeared before the frustrated Junman.
He thought heaven hadn’t abandoned him.
From there, he comfortably rode in Inbeom Yoon’s expensive car to this place, and he who was about to be temporarily poor returned to being the former Bae Junman.
From now on, Junman planned to stick to Inbeom Yoon.
“I’m really sorry, but can I stay here until I sort out my money situation? I don’t want to contact Geon-woo.”
Junman’s acting was quite convincing.
“I’ll definitely repay you later.”
“What repayment? Make yourself comfortable. I barely come here once a month, so it’s empty anyway. Or you can use it while you’re in America. Rather than going somewhere else.”
“…Is it really okay? I might stay for a while.”
“Of course it is. You’re Geon-woo’s hyung after all.”
As Inbeom Yoon grinned, Junman followed suit with a smirk.
“But are you really not going to contact Geon-woo? He might be able to help you.”
“It’s fine. Not for now. I think some time needs to pass. It’ll naturally resolve itself.”
“That’s right. Time is the answer.”
“Just in case, don’t tell Geon-woo that I’m here.”
“Understood.”
The two were thinking different things.
“I’ll be going now. You can use this key. There’s no food here, but everything else you need is available. You shouldn’t have any difficulties living here.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Junman also stood up as Inbeom Yoon did. As Inbeom Yoon was about to leave, Junman spoke quickly with an awkward smile.
“Inbeom. I’m really sorry, but can you lend me some money? As you know, I don’t have any. Haha. I’ll transfer it back when I get to Korea. I have money in my account but no way to use it.”
Inbeom Yoon wasn’t surprised by Junman’s request.
“Ah, just a moment.”
Smiling, he took out a card from his wallet. He was itching to ask if Junman didn’t have a banking app on his phone, but his hand moved faster than his hasty words.
“Here. Use this. I use other cards.”
“A card? You could give me cash. A card? Ah, thanks. Geon-woo has such a good friend. I’ll use it well and return it. I’ll definitely pay back the money too.”
“Yes. Use it comfortably.”
Inbeom Yoon exchanged goodbyes with the excited Junman and left the place.
He had obtained quite valuable information from Junman, so now he needed to meet Mitchell.
No, should he meet Geon-woo and spill all this information?
“…Fuck it. Never mind.”
Even if he told Geon-woo, it didn’t seem like there would be a significant twist.
Geon-woo is the type of person who, once fixated, can’t extract himself. Unless Mitchell rejects him, Geon-woo won’t distance himself from Mitchell first.
In the end, it seemed he would have to confront Mitchell.
***
Mitchell, who had closed his eyes tightly and then opened them, gripped his phone again. He responded while forcibly suppressing his excitement at the story coming from the phone.
“So you’re saying it was all Inbeom Yoon’s doing?”
The caller was Ollie, who had gone to Korea long ago. Ollie, a former detective, was Brandon’s man but occasionally helped Mitchell as well. This time too, he had formed a team and gone to Korea at Mitchell’s request, and was now thoroughly uncovering all information related to Geon-woo.
Initially, he had gone to Korea to verify Junman’s story. To investigate the truth of the incident where Geon-woo allegedly stole money from his landlord’s grandfather.
However, a different story came first.
“Yeah. Based on the circumstances, it seems so. There’s a high possibility that all the unfair incidents Geon-woo experienced in Korea were orchestrated by Inbeom Yoon. No, in my opinion, this bastard definitely did it.”
Ollie had met Geon-woo’s former manager. He was the person who had run away with Geon-woo’s bank account.
He was eventually caught, albeit late, as Geon-woo had reported it to the police, but by then Geon-woo had already flown to America and disappeared. Anyway, records remained, and Ollie succeeded in contacting him.
When he pressed the so-called manager with a bit of money, he mentioned Inbeom Yoon. Subsequently, Inbeom Yoon’s name came up in the same way in other incidents Geon-woo had been involved in.
The conclusion reached after months of investigation and a considerable amount of money was that Inbeom Yoon was behind all the incidents.
And such a person was following Geon-woo around.
“……”
After hanging up, Mitchell tapped the desk quietly for a while. When his fingers stopped, his eyes were frozen cold.
He wanted to overturn the desk and express his emotions as they were, but Geon-woo was sleeping in the next room. Remembering this fact, the violent impulse quickly disappeared.
He realized that when anger settles to the bottom, one becomes rather calm.
By the time he thought he had calmed down somewhat, it was dawn and the sun was rising. Mitchell had stayed up all night sitting at the desk in the study.
Bleary eyes and a clouded mind followed, like the result of long deliberation.
He made a phone call. Although it was early, he believed the other person would understand. Or maybe they were already awake.
“Hey. Mitchell.”
“Brandon.”
Mitchell forcibly raised his sunken voice.
“We need to catch him now.”
Even without a proper explanation, Brandon immediately understood.
“Okay.”
This much patience was enough.
