Having somewhat anticipated the situation, Yoonho quietly removed his coat and hung it on the rack as Jaehyuk suggested, then obediently sat down in the seat offered to him.
The food and drinks had already been ordered, and the glasses were all set up.
The fact that someone much busier than himself had arrived 15 minutes before their appointment time and prepared everything meant he was ready to begin the interrogation immediately.
Realizing this, Yoonho felt a chill run down his spine.
Just as he was reaffirming his decision to answer everything truthfully, an employee politely spoke.
“Today is a temporary closure day, so please speak comfortably. I’ll leave you to it now.”
Watching the employee exit the room immediately after greeting them, as if they had arranged it beforehand, Yoonho sighed.
No wonder the bar, which was famous as a hidden gem among not only whiskey enthusiasts but also beginners, seemed too quiet—it had been rented out entirely.
And that meant Jaehyuk intended to trap him and finish him off.
While Yoonho was mentally cursing Junghyun who wasn’t present, wondering how anyone could think this man was a good person, Jaehyuk put down the glass he was holding and picked up the whiskey bottle.
Then he nodded.
A gesture to pick up the glass.
As Yoonho hurriedly picked up his on-the-rocks glass in response to this communication without any proper greeting, Jaehyuk poured him a drink.
Silently filling half the ice-filled glass with liquor, Jaehyuk then put the bottle down and leaned back in his chair.
Watching this, Yoonho also put down his glass and looked at Jaehyuk, who met his gaze.
That gaze was uncomfortable.
Yoonho forced a smile under those sharp eyes that seemed to be trying to read his mind thoroughly. After a moment, Jaehyuk leisurely began the conversation.
“Is this the first time? Just the two of us?”
“Yes. We’ve mostly only seen each other at gatherings.”
The places where they had met so far were mostly beaches or surfing shops, so they were always with their respective groups.
So this was the first time they were meeting alone.
“That’s right. Back then, I never thought we’d have this kind of connection… Connections are strange, aren’t they?”
As he spoke, Jaehyuk’s expression softened, and he smiled.
With narrowed eyes and the corners of his lips turned up.
But Yoonho couldn’t bring himself to smile back at that face.
Jaehyuk was clearly smiling as if amused, but Yoonho’s skin hurt even more than before.
It felt like his skin was being scraped with a razor blade.
The pheromones weren’t being controlled. Or perhaps they weren’t being controlled on purpose.
At this point, Yoonho decided not to drag things out any longer.
“…If you have something to say, please say it.”
When Yoonho essentially said “if you’re going to kill me, do it in one shot,” Jaehyuk picked up his glass and smiled as if he liked the response.
“It seems Junghyun has done some preparatory work?”
It was just as Junghyun had said. Jaehyuk really did know everything.
If that was the case, there was no need for further probing.
A frontal assault was the only option.
“First, I would like to apologize. I’m sorry. I spread your personal stories around. That guy also surfs, and what started as casual conversation crossed a line.”
There was no malice intended, but the result wasn’t good either way.
After making the apology he needed to make, Jaehyuk asked again.
“…And?”
“And… just to be clear, I was the one who brought you up first. It was absolutely not Junghyun who prompted it. I met him when Junghyun was a freshman, and we met without knowing each other at all, and we didn’t get along at first. As you know, that guy’s mouth…”
After saying that much, Yoonho glanced at Jaehyuk, wondering if he should continue. Then he made up his mind.
Jaehyuk wasn’t someone who didn’t know Junghyun—if anything, the problem was that he knew him too well. It would just be ridiculous to try to cushion his words clumsily.
At this moment, honesty was the best policy.
“…That guy’s mouth is really wild. Now he’s become more human and much more well-behaved, but in college, he was at the level of spitting razor blades with his words, so we fought for three months straight. That’s why I deliberately tried to kick him out of the surfing club by taking him, a first-timer, to an indoor surfing place and putting him on a 2-meter wave…”
Yoonho paused there and laughed in disbelief.
“I really just threw him in after basic lessons, but this bastard was too good at it. I knew he was good at sports, but that level was innate talent, so I got a bit curious, and after that, we ran into each other here and there…”
Those “here and there” places included places where illegal drugs were sold, but that was definitely something he shouldn’t mention, so Yoonho glossed over it.
“Somehow we ended up knowing each other’s weaknesses and became friends, and then he said he wanted to learn to ride big waves, so I talked a bit about you…”
At this point, Yoonho checked Jaehyuk’s expression again.
The next part was important, so he tried to figure out what Jaehyuk was thinking, but he couldn’t tell at all.
Jaehyuk still had a strange smile on his face, but it wasn’t because he found it amusing. To be precise, it was a smile that said he found it ridiculous.
So Yoonho decided to give up on reading his thoughts.
If the other person had that much data, the only option was to be straightforward.
“So… when he was looking for good places to ride big waves, I introduced him to Pipeline and mentioned that you often go there too. It was right after you said you were heading there. Then he said he knew you. That you were his half-brother’s friend. He said he’d heard about you so much that it was sickening, and he’d memorized it.”
So it was absolutely not Junghyun’s intention, Yoonho desperately explained on his behalf.
Up to that point, it was truly coincidental.
At that time, Junghyun wasn’t hovering around him. Rather…
“That bastard hates bothersome things, so he probably didn’t even explain himself to you. But it really wasn’t intentional. If I had to say, he disliked you.”
At that moment, Jaehyuk’s hand, which was lifting his glass, paused.
Seeing his first sign of agitation, Yoonho carefully continued.
“The only reason that guy became interested in you was because you were the person Lee Jeonghoo liked. And since you were someone his disliked brother liked, he disliked you too. Then last year, after being rejected by Seojun and getting angry, he seems to have gotten closer to you…”
Pausing once, Yoonho lifted his glass and took a sip of alcohol, as if his throat was a bit dry. Then he carefully spoke again.
“He said he was only going to go that far. He just wanted to show Jeonghoo how far he could go as an example. He said it was just a warning, and he had no intention of getting any closer, and if he met you again, he was just planning to greet you naturally.”
Yoonho hadn’t believed that at first either, but thinking about it, Junghyun wouldn’t escalate the situation with his personality.
He basically hates troublesome things and absolutely doesn’t touch what he can’t handle.
And above all, this marriage was Jaehyuk’s will.
As he pleaded not to misunderstand that part at least, Jaehyuk suddenly asked.
“What does Jeonghoo have to do with me?”
“Because Jeonghoo likes you. And Seojun, whom that guy likes, likes Jeonghoo. So he just wanted to make Jeonghoo suffer.”
“…That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“That’s all I can tell you for now. For the rest, it would be better to talk with Junghyun. He’s a bit… he overthinks things, but he’s not a bad guy. It’s just that the kid has… not the best personality…”
Wait, is having a bad personality the worst thing? But it’s really so bad that I can’t sugarcoat it, Yoonho thought as he gave up, and at that moment, Jaehyuk, who was swirling his glass, suddenly asked.
“You seem to know him well?”
“Yes… I’ve known him for a long time, and we also work together…”
“How is he at the company?”
“…At the company? Well, he’s not exactly diligent, but he does a good job. He throws tantrums sometimes, but he gets along well with people. A sociable Chihuahua.”
“How does he look health-wise?”
Faced with this sudden question, Yoonho looked perplexed.
He was conflicted about whether to talk about the pregnancy or pretend not to know until the end, but somehow it felt like something he shouldn’t discuss.
That was for Junghyun to do.
“…He’s been looking a bit unwell lately, but he seemed okay today. He had a lot of work last month and struggled a bit, but now that it’s wrapped up, he should get better with some rest. He’s really physically robust, at least.”
“That’s good to hear. He’ll be resigning soon anyway, but until he leaves, take care of him. Make sure he eats lunch too.”
“…Meals?”
“If left alone, he’ll just grab something quick from a convenience store, so make sure he eats lunch properly. And if anything happens at the company or if he looks unwell, contact me immediately.”
Yoonho was already doing that much, but the flow of the conversation was strange.
Jaehyuk’s tone made it sound like he was asking Yoonho to take care of Junghyun.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
