Bad Relationship 130

“Just because it’s your uncle’s number doesn’t mean it can’t be blocked.”

When Junghyun suggested that if he could block his own father, he could certainly block an uncle he’d barely seen, there was a brief, suffocating silence.

Then that word he’d heard and seen about fifty-seven times today came out again.

— This crazy bastard…

He might as well go to court tomorrow and legally change his name to “This Crazy Bastard.”

Thinking that his surname was already Lee, so it would work perfectly, he lazily pulled up his blanket.

Lying down made him sleepy again.

They say that by this point, sleep time usually returns to what it was before pregnancy, but was he always this sleepy? Or was his body just unusual?

While wondering if he should visit the hospital, Yoonho finally broke the silence.

— Do you even know what kind of person he is? No, never mind. You’ve always been fearlessly reckless. Your default mode is quirky and fearless… But still, if you have a brain, you should use it. He’s known for his nasty, eccentric personality. You should be keeping a low profile, so why provoke him?

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t provoke him. I’m just not engaging with him because Jaehyuk hyung told me not to. If he’s upset, that’s his problem.”

— You call that an explanation? When hyung told you not to engage, he meant in normal situations. In circumstances like these, you should handle it appropriately. At this level, you’re deliberately provoking him. What are you going to do about this? Hasn’t Jaehyuk hyung contacted you yet?

“It’s still quiet. But I’ve been blocking every call from unknown numbers, so I don’t know if he’s trying to contact me and can’t, or if I’m just not receiving it. Plus, my phone is on silent, so I might have missed some messages.”

Even now, there was a flood of messages and calls coming in, but he was ignoring them all.

As always.

— You really should change your name. You truly are a crazy bastard.

“Who was it that said there are no eternal secrets? And honestly, how many people do you think actually believed we got married out of genuine love?”

His father and Lee Jeonghoo, who didn’t know him well, might believe it, but most people who knew him or Jaehyuk hyung well responded to the marriage announcement with skepticism. They demanded to know what the real scheme was, insisting on the truth.

Until now, everyone had pretended not to know because there was no evidence, but Junghyun was certain that the moment they saw that article, everyone’s reaction would be “I knew it,” “So that’s it,” or “That’s just like you two.”

— …Well, that’s certainly true… But still, how can you block everyone at a time like this?

“Jaehyuk hyung will handle it. So don’t worry about it, just send me any new photos or articles that come up.”

— If you’re letting Jaehyuk hyung handle it, why do you want those?

“I still need to know what’s going on. In situations like this, it’s better to observe from a distance rather than getting caught up in it.”

As Junghyun was criticizing the viral marketing company CEO, asking if they still didn’t understand after doing all that work, he suddenly sat up in bed.

He heard someone’s presence.

“I have to go. I think hyung is here.”

— Jaehyuk hyung?

“Yeah.”

— …Are things okay between you two?

“We live in the same house, so we can’t exactly not talk to each other.”

As long as they had to see each other’s faces and share a bed, they had to maintain conversation and pretend things were fine, even if it meant being shameless.

Things might get better or worse, but that’s what family is like.

Back in high school, when Seojun had a big fight with Minjun and less than an hour later asked if he wanted chicken, Junghyun had asked why he was feeding him chicken when it seemed like they’d never speak again. Seojun had replied:

That’s what family is.

“Ah…”

As a certain sensation flashed through him instantly, he let out a short sigh, causing Yoonho hyung to raise his voice anxiously.

— What? What is it now?

“…Nothing, it’s nothing. Hang up. If anything else comes up, send it to hyung or me… Actually, I’ll give you my new phone number. I won’t be checking this phone for a while, so for urgent matters contact me there, and send any materials by email.”

After rattling off these instructions, Junghyun ended the call unilaterally and sent Yoonho his new number via message. Then he placed his phone face down on the table just as he heard the door opening.

At the sound, he reflexively looked in that direction and saw Jaehyuk entering.

The moment he saw his face, a strange feeling came over him.

Similar to the discomfort he felt earlier, this feeling was a messy mixture of shyness, overwhelming emotion, gladness, and embarrassment.

He suddenly realized that he already thought of him as family.

As soon as he became conscious of this, he felt somewhat shy and scratched his neck. Then he casually said something obvious.

“You’re later than I expected. Was the traffic bad?”

“There was an accident.”

“An accident?”

“Seeing the police cars and ambulances that arrived, it must have been serious.”

“That’s unusual. Typically, major accidents don’t happen during the evening commute.”

Junghyun was recalling statistics—since vehicles can’t reach high speeds during rush hour, accidents are usually minor fender benders—when he immediately noticed Jaehyuk’s somewhat flushed face.

He had heard the news too.

So Junghyun quickly changed the subject.

“Let’s eat first.”

## Chapter 21

“I’ve been genuinely curious about this since yesterday…”

“Go ahead and ask.”

“How exactly is your mental state wired?”

Looking at the abundant food spread across the large dining table, Jaehyuk asked with the most sincerity he’d ever felt in his life.

Junghyun, who was just putting a piece of galbi in his mouth, responded to Jaehyuk’s somewhat bewildered expression and question.

“Why?”

Jaehyuk answered with his eyes.

How can you eat galbi in this situation?

“We need to eat to live.”

In response to Junghyun’s answer suggesting it was the most natural thing, Director Jang immediately added:

“As I always say, if you sleep well, eat well, and rest well, there aren’t many major problems in the world. Unless a plane is crashing or a building is collapsing, you still need to eat when it’s time.”

At Director Jang’s urging, who was having dinner with them because she had worked late, Jaehyuk pressed his lips tightly together.

It seemed like she was saying it for Jaehyuk to hear.

Throughout the past month, whenever Jaehyuk couldn’t eat properly, she would tell him the same thing.

People need to eat and regain their strength to have the power to endure.

Feeling embarrassed that he couldn’t do that and couldn’t eat the entire time, Jaehyuk finally picked up his spoon, and Director Jang smiled with satisfaction.

Then she began speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

“And to address what I think you’re worried about, I should tell you that the Honorary Chairman hasn’t contacted us yet. He probably anticipated this. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should feel relieved. It means he’s waiting to see how you handle this situation. And you will have to get divorced. Now that the contract details have been revealed, the Chairman has no reason to allow this marriage to continue.”

Jaehyuk smiled bitterly at Director Jang’s realistic and sharp advice, knowing that she understood his grandfather well.

If they got divorced now, it would be like voluntarily admitting that they were the subjects of that contract, but his grandfather would do exactly that.

Even though everyone would forget about it in a month, he wasn’t the type to allow a marriage to continue for such a reason.

The reason he hadn’t called demanding an immediate divorce was, as Director Jang said, to observe how Jaehyuk would handle his uncle. It also meant he was watching how the situation would unfold.

In fact, this was more complicated.

“…First, I’ll need to handle it like my uncle would.”

“You’ll have to. As for what comes after, you two will have to figure it out yourselves.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Director Jang picked up the largest piece of galbi and placed it on Junghyun’s plate, giving him a meaningful look.

It was a look that said, you know what I mean.

Under her subtle pressure, Junghyun bowed his head and obediently accepted the galbi.

Witnessing the strange exchange of glances between them, Jaehyuk looked back and forth between the two with puzzlement.

What was that just now? As he scrutinized them, Junghyun quickly changed the subject.

“Director Jang, may I have more galbi?”

“There’s plenty. I’ll get it for you.”

“I’ll serve myself.”

Junghyun, holding the large plate that was already showing its bottom, went to the kitchen and loaded all the remaining galbi onto the plate. Then he returned to the dining room and set down the heaping plate of braised short ribs.

Seeing the enormous quantity, Jaehyuk wondered if he should be more concerned about this guy’s stomach rather than his mental state, but then decided against saying anything.

At the dining table, one doesn’t discuss unpleasant topics.

No matter how positively he tried to frame it, his grandfather was certainly not a pleasant person. Far from it—he was rather terrible. His uncle was a carbon copy of all his grandfather’s worst traits.

But there was one thing about his grandfather that Jaehyuk respected, and that was his philosophy about meals.

Nagging and scolding in the study, praise and encouragement at the dining table, and meals always enjoyed pleasantly.

That was his grandfather’s dining philosophy.

Thanks to this, everyone was tense when called to the study, but at least during mealtimes, everyone could eat with peace of mind. Though everyone would flee right after the meal.

“Let’s eat first and talk after.”

No sooner had those words left his mouth than a small notification sound came from Junghyun’s pocket.

As Director Jang and Jaehyuk’s gazes turned to Junghyun, he fumbled to take out the phone from his hoodie pocket, checked the message, and put it back in his pocket.

“Who was that?”

“Yoonho hyung. I asked him to let me know if any other articles break or photos appear.”

“And?”

“Looks like another one just broke.”