Chapter 15
“What is this?”
As soon as he arrived at work, Yoonho frowned deeply as he looked at the envelope Junghyun had tossed at him like a duel challenge.
Why on earth was he giving this to him?
Junghyun answered, as unfriendly as ever.
“Can’t you read anymore?”
“No, no. Why the sudden resignation letter?”
As if asking whether he couldn’t read the large “resignation letter” written on the envelope, and explaining that his “what is this?” was actually asking about the process that led to this resignation letter, Yoonho shook the envelope with a frown. Junghyun, who had flopped down on the office sofa, gave him a look that said ‘why are you asking such a thing?’
“I told you I was going to do it.”
There had been a qualifier of “someday,” but the two had already formed a consensus about Junghyun’s resignation.
Yoonho glanced at Junghyun, who was now casually eating snacks from the table while complaining about being asked unnecessary questions, then looked back at the resignation letter, and then at Junghyun again.
He wondered if this was revenge for yesterday’s incident, but it didn’t seem like it.
“…So, you’re really resigning?”
“As opposed to fake resigning?”
“Does this mean that you’ve sorted things out with hyung?”
“No.”
“Hey, then…”
Yoonho was about to argue about what Junghyun planned to do after submitting his resignation letter and whether he’d have to take Uhwangchungsimwon again, but Junghyun cut him off.
“If you’re asking whether we had a proper conversation, the answer is no, but things have been settled.”
“What kind of talk is that? Getting divorced before even getting married? How can things be settled without a conversation?”
When Yoonho pressed him about how that made any sense, Junghyun put another snack from the table into his mouth.
“We didn’t talk. But since hyung still needs to maintain the marriage, we’ve decided to continue this situation for now. Anyway, I’m quitting in a month, so find an employee. There’s not much to hand over, but we should still do it.”
That meant that in the end, nothing had been resolved.
And it also meant that things were only “settled” in Junghyun’s mind.
If he had to guess, Junghyun was probably planning to hold out until the end and then explode something at the right time. Or just run away.
“You bastard, you really have no plan.”
Junghyun didn’t care at all about Yoonho’s contemptuous look that seemed to ask if he was even human.
He was so used to such looks that they didn’t bother him anymore.
“What’s new about that? Has it ever been any different?”
“Don’t joke around. How can someone who has their own funeral planned out in detail pretend to have no thoughts?”
“Then you don’t need to worry.”
Yoonho immediately clicked his tongue at Junghyun’s brazenness in saying he’d already designed how to handle everything.
As if life would be that easy.
“I kind of get what you’re thinking… but you’re going to get caught before that.”
“That’s my problem to deal with.”
“No, you won’t be able to deal with it. I got summoned by Jaehyuk hyung today.”
Junghyun, who had finished the snacks on the table and was now unwrapping a chocolate bar, paused and turned to look at Yoonho at this unexpected news.
“Jaehyuk hyung?”
“Yeah. He just called and asked to meet for dinner, so I said I wasn’t sure if I’d be free today, but he said he knows I’m not busy at work. He basically told me to shut up and come, then immediately set the time and place.”
Yoonho had been planning to call Junghyun about this matter when Junghyun came in first and threw the resignation letter at him.
So Yoonho was completely frazzled.
It felt like getting beaten from both sides.
“What happened to your quick thinking? You should have said you had a meeting.”
“Say something that makes sense. Who would refuse when Cha Jaehyuk asks to meet?”
“Why not? If you have a mouth, you can speak.”
“Most Alphas can’t refuse Jaehyuk hyung’s proposals. That’s the Alpha ecosystem. You wouldn’t know since you’re an Omega.”
“Then why don’t you pretend to be an Omega too?”
“Are you crazy? With my build, who would believe I’m an Omega?”
“What if they don’t believe it?”
Would they request a genetic test from a research institute? Or would they illegally access someone’s medical records?
Junghyun laughed, saying they had no way to verify anyway, so he could just stubbornly insist. Yoonho shuddered in response.
“Right. You’re a con artist by nature.”
“How can you do business without that kind of nerve?”
“I’m doing business, not running cons.”
“What’s the difference?”
“They’re completely different! Anyway, we’re meeting tonight, so hurry up and give me my coping manual.”
At Yoonho’s words about needing help since he lacked quick thinking, as Junghyun had pointed out, Junghyun took a bite of his chocolate bar and casually replied.
“What manual? Just tell the truth.”
“…The truth?”
“He already knows everything, so pretending otherwise would just make you look despicable. Just be honest about what he knows. Tell him that you met me through Seojun, holding hands at the surfing club, and that we hated each other because we had absolutely nothing in common, but inevitably became friends because I was the only one riding big waves, and ended up working together. And admit that you did leak a lot of information about Jaehyuk hyung, and that you knew about me being married to him, but it was awkward to bring it up when you didn’t even have each other’s contact information. And say that I knew everything.”
Yoonho was shocked not by the advice to gloss over things, but by another part of what Junghyun said as he chomped on his chocolate bar.
“…Hyung knows everything?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Probably.”
Despite Junghyun’s indifferent answer, Yoonho straightened his back with a chilling feeling while muttering “I thought so” under his breath.
He had thought Jaehyuk’s attitude was too natural when they met at the company. Even if he had some expectations, he should have shown at least a little surprise when they actually met face to face, but there was none of that, which had been bothering him. And now it was confirmed.
Jaehyuk knew everything.
Actually, he had pretty much expected this.
He just didn’t want to admit it.
Just thinking about the possibility made his heart squeeze uncomfortably.
“Damn… so that’s why he wanted to meet today. My stomach hurts.”
As Yoonho rubbed his chest, saying he suddenly felt acid reflux and might throw up, Junghyun coldly said one word.
“Bear it.”
“You crazy bastard, bear what?”
“What else can you do if you don’t bear it?”
“Is that really…”
As Yoonho was about to snap back asking if that was all he had to say, he suddenly stopped.
Something felt off during their conversation.
No, it wasn’t just something feeling off.
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
“…Wait. So, he knew all that and still let you live?”
He didn’t mean biologically dead, but Jaehyuk could certainly have made Junghyun socially dead, yet he let him walk around perfectly fine, which seemed strange. When Yoonho asked this, Junghyun clicked his tongue.
“I told you, he’s not that kind of person.”
“From what I know, he is exactly that kind of person.”
“I guess the person you know and the person I know are different.”
Of course, humans are multi-faceted creatures.
But even so, Yoonho still couldn’t understand, his face showing his confusion.
Everything felt too implausible.
“And he’s maintaining the marriage with you too?”
“I told you he needs a shield.”
“Even so, it’s very unlike him.”
“He probably doesn’t want to be the subject of gossip over a love affair. Yeonwoo hyung and Suhyuk hyung-nim also got married not too long ago.”
Even with Junghyun’s explanation that they needed to act like a happy couple for now, Yoonho still couldn’t shake his doubts.
“That hyung wouldn’t go that far just for Yeonwoo hyung… Those two are like… They’re definitely dating but… it feels more like Yeonwoo hyung’s one-sided love? That kind of atmosphere…”
Junghyun looked at Yoonho, who was tilting his head with a puzzled expression while crossing his arms, with obvious contempt.
“Not only do you lack quick thinking, you also lack perception. Don’t pretend to know things out there.”
“I’m serious. At first glance, Jaehyuk hyung seemed to accommodate Yeonwoo hyung in everything, but if you look closely, it was all his own way. Like bringing Yeonwoo hyung, who can’t swim or surf, to the ocean every time, or dressing Yeonwoo hyung from head to toe according to his own taste. He was also the type to always unilaterally decide and announce plans or cancellations. He never compromised on his own preferences or hobbies. Actually, it was always Yeonwoo hyung who accommodated him.”
Yoonho talked to himself and came to his own conclusion that this must be why he was dumped.
Junghyun vaguely remembered hearing about it.
He heard that Yeonwoo hyung had complained to him that he found those aspects of him scary and uncomfortable, and that he hated always having to be mindful of his mood.
At the time, they said it was because he was a dominant Alpha, but looking at it now, that wasn’t the only reason.
Yeonwoo hyung must have really liked that person a lot.
Now that he was in Yeonwoo hyung’s position, he understood.
After all, he was now being mindful of his mood too.
“So I guess he regrets it now.”
“No, if he truly regretted it, he would have found a way to marry Yeonwoo hyung, not complicate things by marrying you.”
Junghyun gave Yoonho a look that questioned where this perspective came from, and Yoonho leaned back arrogantly in his chair and continued his explanation.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
