“Show them in.”
With that brief directive, he removed his hand from the intercom button, and immediately after a knock, the door opened.
Through the opened door, Junghyun entered wearing a flowing gray shirt with black slacks and sneakers.
Today he was even wearing glasses.
While Junyoung was staring intently at this very familiar styling, Junghyun closed the door and acknowledged him.
“Oh? Uryang-ju hyung is here too?”
“Long time… well, not really. I saw you at the wedding.”
“That doesn’t really count as seeing me.”
When Junghyun grimaced, saying he had no memory of that day, Junyoung nodded in agreement.
“It was hectic, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. That’s why I decided never to do it again.”
“That’s usually how it is. Though you should do it again.”
At those words, Junghyun, who was approaching the desk, made a surprised face.
“For a divorce attorney, that’s quite an old-fashioned thing to say?”
“It’s because I’m a divorce specialist. Just work in divorce for one year, and you’ll become disillusioned with the institution of marriage.”
“I agree with that. But since you’re here, shall we have lunch together?”
“No, I’ll pass. You two enjoy your intimate time. He seems upset, so try to appease him.”
As Junyoung tapped his left temple saying “because of this,” Jaehyuk glared at him as if he would kill him right then.
Feeling like a laptop might fly at him any moment, Junyoung looked away, and then Junghyun started grating on Jaehyuk’s nerves.
“I just got a message from Yongwoo saying there are divorce rumors circulating right after our marriage. Apparently, rumors are spreading that we fought like dogs?”
“We didn’t fight—I was one-sidedly hit.”
“Exactly. But why are rumors spreading so quickly? We’re not celebrities.”
“People must have a lot of time on their hands.”
With a look suggesting he might put them to proper use, Jaehyuk glared, but Junghyun just laughed as if it were someone else’s problem.
“If you want to be reported to the labor office as an abusive employer, do as you please. But more importantly, shall we go? It’ll get crowded soon. Shall we take the car or walk?”
“Let’s go somewhere nearby. No time to drive.”
“There are many good places around here. What would you like to eat?”
With his hands in his pockets, Junghyun asked leisurely, and Jaehyuk, picking up his phone, finally stood up.
“Anything. It’s just for show anyway, doesn’t matter.”
“Then, can I have what I want?”
“What do you want to eat?”
While putting on his jacket, Jaehyuk asked indifferently, and Junghyun answered quickly.
“Jajangmyeon.”
At the instantaneous response, both Jaehyuk and Junyoung paused simultaneously. Then they both looked at Junghyun.
Under their gaze, Junghyun blinked as if asking what was wrong.
“What?”
“…Nothing. Let’s go.”
Too tired to continue the conversation, Jaehyuk moved first, and Junghyun immediately stood beside him. As the two left the office side by side, Junyoung was about to follow them when the people walking ahead suddenly stopped in the secretarial office.
“What’s wrong?”
Unable to see ahead due to Jaehyuk’s build, Junyoung asked what was happening, and a familiar voice responded.
“Oh… Junyoung is here too?”
Surprised by the unexpected voice, Junyoung peered over Jaehyuk’s shoulder and saw a very familiar face.
“Hyung Suhyuk? What brings you here?”
“Grandfather told me to check on this guy’s face… Oh, Junghyun-ssi is here too.”
To his awkward greeting, Junghyun, who had only exchanged greetings with him once, responded.
“Yes, hello.”
“I just came to check on him briefly, but it seems you’re on your way out. Were you planning to have lunch together?”
Suhyuk looked around at the three people in the secretarial office and asked in a gentle tone, and Jaehyuk gestured toward the door they had just exited.
“There’s still time. You can come in for a moment.”
“No, just go. Grandfather only asked me to check on your face. But it’s worse than I expected. Are you okay?”
Unlike Junyoung who teased or Junghyun who found it amusing, Suhyuk’s question seemed genuinely concerned, and Jaehyuk clicked his tongue softly.
“It seems like Grandfather’s spies in our company are the most hardworking.”
“He found out after receiving a call from Director Jang.”
“Director Jang told him.”
At Jaehyuk’s caustic tone, Suhyuk smiled bitterly as if he couldn’t help it. Then he naturally turned to Junghyun.
“Junghyun-ssi, his manner of speaking is usually like this.”
As if making an excuse for Jaehyuk, Suhyuk told Junghyun to speak up if he felt uncomfortable, but Junghyun was smiling with a composed face.
“It’s fine. I’m worse.”
“This guy is worse than me.”
Hearing their almost simultaneous claims, Suhyuk looked perplexed.
“…Is that so?”
Not knowing how to respond, Suhyuk said whatever came to mind, and in that peculiar atmosphere, Junyoung explained to Suhyuk instead.
“Don’t worry, hyung. Their tendencies and temperaments are similar. Their hobbies are similar too. That’s why they had a drink together once and got married.”
“Uh… is that so?”
“That’s right. The most useless worry in the world is worrying about Cha Jaehyuk, so don’t mind him, worry about yourself.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So let’s get going now.”
Junyoung urged them to leave quickly, saying the large bodies were making the secretarial office cramped. Suhyuk glanced at Jaehyuk and opened the door, gesturing for Junghyun to go out first.
Unlike Jaehyuk, Suhyuk had a gentle impression and good manners, and Junghyun looked at him with curiosity.
Despite being brothers, they were very different. Unlike Jaehyuk, whose excessively sculptured appearance gave an almost inhuman impression, Suhyuk had a striking appearance but with a soft, sweet look, and his attitude, manner of speaking, and voice were gentle.
Even during their brief greeting at the wedding, Junghyun had felt that Suhyuk was raised gently. Not just gently raised to the point of being naive about the world, but as if he didn’t live in reality at all.
He was the typical rich son who lived elegantly in a dream without getting involved in human affairs.
Completely different from his father.
That’s actually why Junghyun understood it.
This is why Jaehyuk became the successor, he thought. If someone like Suhyuk became the successor, both the people around him and himself would suffer.
From his brief greeting with the eldest brother, Junghyun had felt that he wasn’t a particularly forceful person either. Like a typical dominant Alpha, he had a good appearance but seemed generally affable and good-natured.
Come to think of it, the people in that family didn’t seem like Alphas at all.
Perhaps only this person was different, Junghyun thought as he glanced at Jaehyuk, then turned his gaze back to Suhyuk and spoke out of courtesy.
“Since you came all the way here to see hyung Jaehyuk, would you like to join us for lunch?”
At this sudden invitation, Suhyuk exchanged glances with Jaehyuk awkwardly, then looked at Junyoung before replying in an uncomfortable tone.
“…Thank you, but… I have a prior engagement.”
“We can do it another time then.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Though he spoke casually and was clearly smiling, Suhyuk seemed uncomfortable, constantly glancing at Jaehyuk while rolling his eyes. In contrast, Jaehyuk appeared completely unconcerned.
In that peculiar atmosphere, Junghyun glanced between Suhyuk and Jaehyuk, then naturally addressed Jaehyuk without pretending to know what was going on.
“It doesn’t seem to be swelling, but does it hurt?”
“It’s fine.”
“Still, just in case there’s pain, you can take acetaminophen-based painkillers. And from tomorrow, you should apply warm compresses.”
“You know a lot about this?”
Jaehyuk responded somewhat sharply, omitting “unnecessarily so,” but Junghyun replied calmly.
“I told you I’ve done a lot of sparring.”
“Just sparring?”
To Jaehyuk’s suspicious question about whether it was really, only, because of sparring, Junghyun strangely dragged out his words and avoided a direct answer.
“…I don’t have a criminal record.”
“Not yet, you mean.”
“You never know what might happen in life.”
“Normal people don’t worry about criminal records.”
“I do.”
“I bet you do. It’s surprising you don’t have one yet.”
“There’s a reason I went to law school.”
At that moment, Jaehyuk let out a genuine sound of admiration.
He had wondered why someone who seemed to have no respect for the law would study law, but now he understood.
In that instant, the entire series of events made sense. He even understood why Junghyun hadn’t gone to law school.
“You’re thorough.”
“I’m somewhat methodical.”
As they exchanged their usual strange back-and-forth conversation, Suhyuk looked at the two with curiosity. For a third party, it was impossible to understand what they were talking about, yet the two were communicating perfectly.
Finding this interesting, he was staring at them when Junyoung nudged Jaehyuk’s side.
At that signal, which seemed to warn him to watch his words, Jaehyuk looked down at Junyoung, acted nonchalantly, and turned his gaze back.
Then he continued their conversation.
“Let’s have Korean food instead of Chinese for lunch.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think I can keep from laughing watching you eat jajangmyeon.”
“Wow, your character. Laughing at someone’s painful memory.”
At those words, Jaehyuk looked at Junghyun as if telling him not to be funny.
As if he had completely figured him out.
“Lunch at the nearby Korean restaurant…”
As Jaehyuk was about to suggest going to the Korean restaurant for braised short ribs, he paused just as they approached the elevator.
Junyoung, who was watching him, followed his gaze and stopped in surprise. Then he quickly glanced at Junghyun before addressing Yeonwoo, who was looking at his phone in front of the elevator.
“Yeonwoo, you’re out too? Date?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
