<20>
“…”
“It seems… the rumors are true after all. Seeing that you can’t say anything.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hah.”
Madam Yu let out a deep sigh that could make the earth cave in. As the wrinkles on Madam Yu’s forehead deepened, some kind of dim hope began to flicker in Han Jaekyung’s heart.
Perhaps with this opportunity… he might be able to remove Choi Eunseong from Jang Yeonhu’s side forever.
A forced engagement arranged by the family would have been better. At least then he would have had the confidence that it was Han Jaekyung himself who occupied Jang Yeonhu’s heart.
On the other hand, he was also disgusted with himself for hoping that Choi Eunseong would lose Jang Yeonhu in a way very similar to how he himself had given up Jang Yeonhu.
“So… it ended up like that after all. It ended up like that…”
Madam Yu’s calm tone had the power to make the listener’s bones even more chilled. Han Jaekyung began to feel anxious, bubbling up inside. He wanted to run away from this place forever if he could.
“Tsk. If he insists on meeting men, he should at least meet you like before. Where else could he not find someone to meet that he had to choose a young intern…”
A cold energy swirled in the eyes of Madam Yu, who had always been elegant and refined. Han Jaekyung at this point couldn’t even dream of knowing it, but this was exactly why Jang Yeonhu had bothered to stage this troublesome play.
Han Jaekyung didn’t want to steal Jang Yeonhu away from this dazzlingly gentle world. Rather, he himself wanted to be completely incorporated into Jang Yeonhu’s world and be recognized as an equal. His desire to study desperately and climb to higher positions was part of that.
After losing him due to failing to grasp Han Jaekyung’s detailed aspects, Jang Yeonhu could easily figure out what his mistake had been. So what could he do? He had no choice but to make his greedy family, who didn’t know how to give up, be the first to make desperate pleas to Han Jaekyung.
“Jaekyung, let auntie ask you one favor.”
“Yes?”
“You can do it, right?”
“…”
“Only auntie trusts Jaekyung.”
What percentage of sincerity was mixed into Madam Yu’s words wasn’t an important matter. Han Jaekyung felt like everything before his eyes was going dark. Jang Yeonhu’s love, where he wasn’t the protagonist – he had always hoped it would meet a miserable end…
“It’s not a difficult task. Just meet someone and deliver a message.”
He had never wanted to be the one to bring about that ending.
* * *
“When are you available” seems a bit stiff… “Let’s meet” – this seems too sudden.
Han Jaekyung, who had graduated from school long ago but suddenly found himself burdened with an unwanted assignment, had been groaning while holding his phone for a while. He wanted to postpone it if possible, but he had already postponed it as much as he could and couldn’t delay any further.
That day, while sipping the unbearably uncomfortable fruit tea, Madam Yu had instructed him to finish the task she’d assigned by at least the day before the Sindong Pharmaceuticals founding anniversary party in two weeks, which she had decided to attend. It was truly a one-sided notification, but Han Jaekyung, who was particularly weak to Madam Yu, couldn’t even properly say no and quietly received the envelope she gave him before leaving.
And today was the final deadline Madam Yu had set. It would be strange to say “break up with Jang Yeonhu” while handing over the money envelope too late at night. He should send the message at least before sunset. But his fingers maddeningly wouldn’t move. As if knowing its hesitant owner’s heart, his head wouldn’t work sharply either.
“Hah…”
How did things come to this point? Oh, whatever. I don’t want to think about it anymore. Han Jaekyung squeezed his eyes shut and just sent Choi Eunseong the address of a cafe about a twenty-minute walk from the company.
< [I’ll wait here. Come out secretly without Yeonhu knowing.]
Ugh, I finally sent it. The fuller the volume of the money envelope he received from Madam Yu became, the more uncomfortable Han Jaekyung’s heart felt. What would happen if Jang Yeonhu found out about this? What if he got angry saying he’d never see me again, that someone like me isn’t even a friend…
He had never been afraid of Jang Yeonhu before, but today he was the scariest thing in the world.
> [Huh? Without Yeonhu hyung knowing?]
> [That… just to be sure, you didn’t send this by mistake, did you…? You meant to send it to me, right…?]
Even through text rather than voice, Choi Eunseong’s bewilderment could be felt completely. Well, it was sudden and out of the blue even for Han Jaekyung who was sending it, so what must it have been like for Choi Eunseong who received it?
< [Yes, I sent it to you, Choi Eunseong.]
< [I’ll wait until you come out, so drop by when it’s convenient.]
< [Absolutely don’t let Yeonhu find out.]
While typing the messages pretending to be calm, Han Jaekyung felt like a thousand emotions were crossing through him. Perhaps he was hoping that Choi Eunseong would suddenly get angry asking what this rudeness was all about. So he could use that as an excuse to report later to Madam Yu that he couldn’t deliver the message, that it would be better for her to handle it herself.
> [Yes. Understood.]
> [Yeonhu hyung has to go into a meeting later anyway, so I’ll secretly come out during that time.]
> [It’ll probably be about an hour from now! Don’t go early and wait ã… ã… I’ll come as quickly as possible too!!]
Ah, is this kid determined to make people feel uncomfortable? At the kind message attached with smiling rabbit emoticons, Han Jaekyung felt like the faint conscience he didn’t even know he still had was throbbing mercilessly.
When about half of the hour Choi Eunseong mentioned had passed, Han Jaekyung slowly got up and moved. His legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
‘Choose. Will you live kicked out like beggars with your uncle? Or will you break up with my grandson and continue enjoying everything you’re enjoying now like you are? If you just give up Yeonhu, if you just turn Yeonhu’s heart away, I promise to do anything for you during my lifetime. If you want a notarization, I’ll notarize it, and if you want a written pledge, I’ll write it even with my blood.’
With each step he took, the memories of that day came back clearly. Late at night. The kindly smiling old man who sometimes personally taught him Go had disappeared completely, and in that magnificent and solemn study, only the fierce businessman who had built an empire with his bare hands remained.
‘Chairman… I, I love Yeonhu… *sob*, *sob*… I love him. I can’t live without Yeonhu. Chairman, you cherished me. You pitied me… Just think of it as giving charity to a beggar, just once… couldn’t you look the other way just once? I’ll really live quietly without even breathing. If I can just be next to Yeonhu, that’s enough…’
Han Jaekyung had knelt on both knees and begged desperately. Ultimately, if he couldn’t break Chairman Jang’s will, if Chairman Jang wouldn’t allow it, Jang Yeonhu would have to marry someone at some point. Though he said he could abandon everything, as long as they were blood-related family, Jang Yeonhu couldn’t completely escape from them either.
If he couldn’t persuade the Chairman here, the future with Jang Yeonhu would essentially be erased. The Han Jaekyung of that time had such desperation. But for an eighteen-year-old boy to confront, the Chairman’s will was too straight and stubborn.
Madam Yu’s last words, pale as a sheet, struck the exhausted Jaekyung like a final nail.
‘Jaekyung, I… I can’t give up my son’s life. I’m sorry… So… so you give up. If Yeonhu holds on saying he can’t abandon you, you abandon him. That’s the only way my son can live happily.’
That’s when Han Jaekyung painfully realized with his whole body. At least to Jang Yeonhu’s family, I’m nothing more than a leech ruining Jang Yeonhu’s life.
Turning back that way, Han Jaekyung had to say words that absolutely wouldn’t come out to Jang Yeonhu, who was waiting in his room, counting the moments until he returned.
‘Yeonhu, I’ve been thinking, and I think we should just… stay friends.’
‘What… what did you say? Jaekyung. I think I heard wrong.’
‘You didn’t hear wrong. I’m tired of dating you. I want to stop.’
With completely honest feelings without any exaggeration, he just wanted to die right there on the spot.
So Han Jaekyung knew better than anyone. How cruel it was to forcibly separate lovers whose hearts weren’t finished, and how much it tore the person’s heart to shreds.
“Sorry! I’m a bit late, right? The meeting suddenly got delayed a little, so I had to sneak out without hyung knowing…”
“…”
“Lawyer?”
The face of Choi Eunseong, who appeared out of breath, still clearly showed youthful traces. Seeing his own childhood self somehow overlapping with that face, Han Jaekyung’s throat inexplicably tightened.
“…Sorry for calling you out suddenly.”
“Not at all. Please speak comfortably.”
Still, the assigned role had to proceed without fail. Today’s play couldn’t continue without Han Jaekyung. And for good reason – the role Han Jaekyung was assigned today was the worst villain who would finally turn the smiling protagonist’s face into a mess of tears. The path down from the stage was already completely blocked. The inside pocket of his jacket with the money envelope was unbearably heavy. So heavy it was difficult to breathe.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
