“…You could tell that?”
When Jaehyuk demanded he make sense, Junghyun shrugged.
“I told you he’s sharp. That’s why you need to be upfront with him. He’s unnecessarily logical but also perceptive. Sometimes it’s like he has some kind of sixth sense. But seeing your strong reaction, I guess I’m right.”
“……”
“Morgan is targeting succession issues anyway, so it doesn’t matter much now. Future problems will depend on how well you manage your relatives and how much of his shares your grandfather will pass on to you. And if we’re going to talk in the car, buy me a hamburger at least.”
Jaehyuk looked down at Junghyun as if he were pathetic for suggesting they eat first before lecturing.
His face said, “You’re thinking about food now?”
“You need to eat too, hyung. Let’s go through the drive-thru. We can park by the Han River, eat hamburgers, and have a nice view for our conversation.”
“You…”
“Let’s eat first. Come on, go go.”
As Junghyun tapped the glove compartment with his palm as if urging him to start the engine, Jaehyuk, though annoyed, finally turned the key.
He had called this guy to dispel rumors of discord, but now they couldn’t even have a proper meal and had to retreat to the car. Going somewhere else might be an option.
Though he didn’t like it one bit, they did need to eat.
So he quickly stepped on the accelerator.
This wasn’t the place to talk, and he’d at least fed jajangmyeon to the guy who was leaving him, so he thought he should feed this one before scolding him.
* * *
“So how much do you know?”
Having barely managed to park in the crowded park lot, Jaehyuk asked as soon as he’d parked.
His attitude was quite serious, but Junghyun beside him was calmly rustling through a paper bag, taking out a hamburger with a relaxed expression.
“Just what’s circulating as rumors. That your original fiancé was Yeonwoo hyung, that you two had been dating since high school, and that you were unofficially engaged. Then Yeonwoo hyung fell for Suhyuk hyung-nim, dumped you, and is now preparing to marry him.”
After neatly opening his hamburger wrapper, Junghyun held it up to Jaehyuk, as if asking if he really didn’t want to eat.
But Jaehyuk took a sip of coffee, as if he didn’t even want to look at it.
Seeing his pickier than expected reaction, Junghyun warned him not to complain about being hungry later, then took a bite of his hamburger. He had a satisfied expression.
Just one bite made him feel even hungrier, so he took another bite of the hamburger when Jaehyuk spoke, as if pressing for more answers.
“And?”
“And… that Suhyuk hyung-nim is not the biological son of your father, Director Cha Jiwon, but the biological son of your uncle, Hanju Chemical CEO Cha Jinwoo.”
After saying this and taking another bite of his hamburger, Junghyun quickly took out a tissue to wipe away some fallen lettuce. Then as he calmly drank his cola, Jaehyuk stared at his profile with clear surprise.
He had already indirectly mentioned it once, but Junghyun really did know everything.
Though people who should know did know, it was a fact that the family was trying to keep quiet as much as possible, shared only among relatives and high-ranking company officials. And while rumors were indeed circulating in the securities industry, most dismissed them as just that—rumors.
To speak with such certainty meant he had access to precise information sources.
Even among his friends, only a few knew—an extremely small number. Only Yeonwoo and Junyoung knew, and they had figured it out in college.
“…And?”
“And that it wasn’t a tearjerking story of your father raising his brother’s son, but because of a partner’s infidelity. So to be precise, you and Suhyuk hyung-nim are half-brothers from the same mother. And for reference, your eldest brother, Cha Junhyuk hyung-nim, is a half-brother. Simply put, it’s a family with a complex family tree. But in this world, it’s just slightly more dramatic than ordinary.”
Saying that other families were similar except for the entanglements between siblings, Junghyun devoured half his hamburger in an instant and drank some cola. Jaehyuk also took a sip of his slightly bitter iced Americano.
Then he slowly continued.
“So you know pretty much everything.”
“I told you I know almost everything.”
“With that level of information, it’s actually easier to talk. As you know, we’re a messy family, and to put it simply, I’m the only legitimate child. My brother Junhyuk is father’s illegitimate child, and Suhyuk is mother’s illegitimate child. But that doesn’t mean you need to be hostile to my brothers or Yeonwoo. We brothers get along well, so don’t be rude to my brothers or their partners. The same goes for my father and mother. They’re well-bred people who would be shocked by someone like you, so try to keep your temper in check.”
“…You get along well?”
Having heard such rumors and seen evidence of it, Junghyun asked for confirmation, and Jaehyuk replied leisurely.
“When the hierarchy is clear from the start, there’s no reason not to get along.”
“Because you’re the only legitimate child?”
“No, because the differences in ability are so obvious. It’s not for nothing that I was designated as the successor, skipping my father’s generation.”
Junghyun immediately understood this point.
Put that way, it certainly made sense.
Dividing people into legitimate and illegitimate children might create hierarchy issues, but if the division is strictly by strength, relationships become cleaner.
Alphas basically don’t challenge the strong.
They just maintain a strictly subordinate relationship.
In truth, the fact that his own family’s brotherly relationships were a mess was because he was guilty of insubordination.
Because he didn’t observe the hierarchy at all.
“What about Hanju Chemical CEO Cha Jinwoo?”
“Just as you’ve heard. A greedy second uncle and Suhyuk’s biological father, but he’s trash with a glossy exterior. I explained about the killer whale pack, but don’t overthink it. He’s the leader of the killer whales, so focus on taking him down. Then the other killer whales will behave.”
“But you said you get along with Suhyuk hyung-nim?”
“That’s exactly why boundaries need to be drawn. He’s someone who torments my brother endlessly. He’s the kind of person who touches not only my sister-in-law but even my nephews’ partners without guilt, so you too…”
Jaehyuk was about to say “be careful” but glanced to the side and looked Junghyun up and down as if appraising him. Then he looked forward again and said:
“No, you’ll be fine.”
“What do you mean?”
After finishing his last bit of hamburger and taking another sip of cola, Junghyun asked what that meant, and Jaehyuk immediately explained.
“You’re definitely not my uncle’s type.”
“Why not?”
“My uncle’s type is delicate, fragile Omegas. Like my mother, and Yeonwoo.”
So he meant that he would never touch someone as healthy and tough as Junghyun.
Junghyun immediately understood.
“Ah~”
Crumpling the hamburger wrapper and putting it in the paper bag, Junghyun let out an exclamation as if he understood roughly what was meant. Jaehyuk seemed annoyed by the sound and asked:
“What does that mean?”
“Just thinking that even taste seems to have DNA.”
“…I can’t deny that.”
“Brothers do seem to have similar tastes. That’s how family trees get complicated. Any other information?”
Having finished his hamburger, Junghyun now started putting chicken nuggets into his mouth. Glancing at him and thinking how well he ate, Jaehyuk moved on to the next explanation.
“That’s the most important part. Figure out the rest yourself. Fortunately, you seem terribly perceptive.”
“I guess so. If there’s anything I really can’t figure out, I’ll ask directly. By the way, your brother and his partner should hurry up with their marriage. The pregnancy is starting to show. Has the morning sickness started yet?”
For a moment, Jaehyuk’s hand holding the coffee paused.
Seeing his uncharacteristically surprised face, Junghyun shrugged while putting a nugget in his mouth, and Jaehyuk’s eyes instantly turned fierce.
“How did you know?”
To this overly defensive question, Junghyun, having put the last nugget in his mouth and swallowed it, calmly asked in return:
“I’m right, aren’t I? I had a hunch. Yeonwoo hyung’s face looked very pale, which wasn’t good.”
“Just from that?”
As Jaehyuk sharply questioned how he could have known from just that, being unusually aggressive, Junghyun rustled around organizing the nugget bag and then started taking out French fries.
“Actually, it’s something you could predict if you just think about it. Even in a complicated family, partner switching between brothers isn’t that rare, and with Omegas being in short supply compared to demand, it’s not strange if someone who dated the younger brother marries the older one. In fact, even if they were swapping partners, it wouldn’t be surprising in this field. But if you were rushing to get married, it means you had to get married before them…”
Trailing off there, Junghyun frowned slightly as he put a French fry in his mouth.
In just ten minutes, the fries had become soggy. Though he disliked the greasy feeling, he still needed to finish them, so he continued talking while putting the fries in his mouth one by one.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
