#131
While Eunhong was just opening and closing his mouth in shock at the realization that this wasn’t a mistake, Jaeha nonchalantly began gathering Eunhong’s belongings.
“Any important items you need to take?”
“Huh? No?”
“Glasses, tumbler, bag, is this everything?”
“Y-yeah, that’s everything.”
People failed to respond appropriately to the appearance of the unfamiliar man in a suit, but when he approached Eunhong and spoke, they became flustered and started exchanging glances. His arrival had seemed so natural that they had assumed he was an employee from another department, but the atmosphere suggested otherwise.
“I’m done talking with your CEO. Let’s go. The car is waiting.”
“…Oh, okay.”
Jaeha picked up Eunhong’s bag and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. After giving a simple nod to the few people he recognized, he strode out of the office with Eunhong in tow. Everything happened so quickly that no one could ask how an outsider had entered, what his relationship with Eunhong was, or what was going on. Even Eunhong, being dragged out, didn’t know what to do and barely managed to say goodbye with a nod.
The people who had frozen like ice immediately burst into chatter once Jaeha and Eunhong disappeared. Shim AD quietly turned off Eunhong’s computer, comforted the dumbfounded team members, and instructed them to return to work. Then he left, making a phone call to try to manage the situation.
In the elevator, Jaeha pressed the button for the underground parking garage. There was no need to ask how he had gotten here. His expression was so severely rigid that if not for the warmth of his hand firmly holding Eunhong’s shoulder, he would have seemed like a different person. Just before the elevator doors opened at the basement level, Jaeha whispered quietly.
“Eunhong. Head up, be confident.”
The underground parking garage was also full of reporters who had followed Jaeha. They made their way through flashing cameras, entrusting themselves to the attending secretaries. The two went straight to the back seat of the car where Secretary Kim was waiting. Soon after, the engine made a nervous roar as it quickly escaped the chaotic scene.
In the jolting, swaying car, Eunhong squeezed his eyes shut. Though his mind gradually calmed thanks to Jaeha’s arm holding him close, he couldn’t think of any solution to the chaos filling his head.
***
Even in this short time, rumors continued to spread. While they hesitated to post a hasty explanatory statement without proper evidence, as it seemed unlikely to contain the situation, people began to criticize Eunhong for the delay in making a statement.
Eunhong’s SNS page, which he couldn’t even remember creating, was flooded with insults. There were many explicit slurs like “plagiarism expert,” “thief,” “con artist,” and more, along with carefully crafted mockeries where Eunhong’s artwork was cut and pasted onto funny pictures, spreading like wildfire.
The game forums of the company’s service were equally polluted, with existing users posting that they were quitting the game, and even those who didn’t play the game coming to flood the boards. Occasionally, posts defending Eunhong would appear, only to be fiercely attacked in the comments or quickly buried.
Most of the posts on the forum mocked users who had paid money for “stolen” content and expressed sympathy for the person who had been “robbed.” When someone posted that they would boycott until the “thief” was punished and proper fees paid, thousands of comments supporting the boycott appeared almost instantly.
“Haah…”
After reading dozens of articles and thousands of comments, Eunhong rubbed his bloodshot eyes and rubbed his face without water. His head was buzzing, and there was a ringing in his ears. He felt dizzy at how his life had changed overnight.
Beyond feeling aggrieved, frustrated, and resentful of people who jumped to suspicions, what upset him most was how much damage the company seemed to be taking because of him.
What upset Eunhong the most were articles about Han Jung and Lee Jaeha. Not only had all his personal information been exposed, but even his educational records had been dug up. Somehow, they had uncovered everything about how he grew up with Jaeha, and even the relationship between Jaeha’s birth mother and his own mother was put under scrutiny. On top of that, YouTube videos criticizing Eunhong’s manifestation type and hereditary traits were circulating.
The sheer volume of content that had erupted in just half a day was uncontrollable, as if someone had been preparing and waiting for this moment.
It felt like everyone was seizing the opportunity to raise issues about Han Jung’s abnormal succession structure and allegations of preferential treatment in the competition. Perhaps because competitors were rushing in at the opportunity, Han Jung had failed in its initial response. Although articles that quickly came out, primarily from less friendly media outlets, were taken down as soon as Han Jung responded, they continued to circulate as captured images.
Just as Eunhong was about to click on a YouTube video analyzing how Han Jung had raised him from childhood for the purpose of preserving the dominant alpha manifestation type, the bright monitor screen suddenly went black. Startled, he turned to see Jaeha unplugging the cord and pushing it aside.
“Bunhong, I told you to wash up and have a snack, but you’ve been holed up in here looking at this stuff?”
Jaeha’s voice was infinitely gentle, but Eunhong couldn’t smile. With drooping shoulders and a sulky pout, Jaeha clicked his tongue.
“You haven’t done anything wrong, so why are you like this? I told you to be confident.”
Eunhong looked up at Jaeha while seated. While he had been told to wash up and rest, Jaeha hadn’t even changed his clothes and was still in his suit jacket, apparently managing the crisis since who knew when he had returned home.
Judging by the commotion outside, it seemed like all the secretaries who had come with them were now leaving. Eunhong just rolled his eyes, unable to lift his sagging shoulders. At this point, he didn’t even have the face to see them off.
Jaeha approached the dejected Eunhong. As Eunhong rested his face against the smooth suit fabric, a warm hand caressed his cheek. Eunhong pulled on the tips of Jaeha’s long fingers and unfastened the neatly fitted cufflinks.
“Secretary Kim says not to worry. He says it’s perfectly resolvable.”
“Secretary Kim does?”
“Since you clearly don’t believe me, I’m telling you to rely on Secretary Kim at least.”
The unexpected joke made Eunhong laugh, as if deflating.
“You’re laughing? I’m serious. No… with me here, why are you so gloomy?”
Jaeha cupped Eunhong’s cheeks with both hands and lifted his face. He quietly looked into the bloodshot eyes, then suddenly applied pressure, squishing the plump cheeks. Though it would have been reasonable to get angry at being turned into a duck face, Eunhong obediently offered his face and mumbled.
“Everyone knows you’ll fix it. But feeling upset is still feeling upset. I feel powerless and irritated.”
“Looking at Bunhong’s face now makes me upset too. Irritated.”
Eunhong’s eyes rolled to the side, avoiding Jaeha’s gaze. His voice came out lacking confidence.
“Maybe I should have been nicer when he called…”
“We agreed not to dig tunnels. Why are you making excuses for that bastard? It’s not your fault.”
Jaeha put his hands under Eunhong’s armpits, lifted him up, and patted his buttocks, saying he had brought some sweet desserts. At the cute urging, Eunhong had no choice but to put on a better face and leave his burrow. Despite the chaos outside, Jaeha’s carefree expression and behavior were subtly reassuring.
The meaning of “fixing it” was surely that Jaeha would present sufficient evidence to restore Eunhong’s reputation to people’s satisfaction. However, that absolutely did not mean returning to how things were before the incident. Like a broken vessel showing cracks even after being glued back together, no matter what evidence was presented, there would always be those who wouldn’t believe it, and the gossip would forever follow like a tail.
Perhaps this time he really would lose his job. Even the competition grand prize that had been put under scrutiny might be canceled, and he might have to change his profession entirely. Eunhong tried hard to hide his gloomy feelings and change his expression. Despite his efforts, regret kept raising its head. An Woohyun’s voice cursing and telling him not to do anything he would regret echoed in his ears.
“Ah, open, ah.”
When he reluctantly opened his mouth, a financier with tart lemon icing pushed its way in. Eunhong’s expression kept changing, unable to settle—frowning but disarmed by the sweetness, blushing at the thought that Jaeha was teasing him but quickly turning glum from upset, then unknowingly softening again as he chewed the sweet treat.
Jaeha tapped the bulging cheek filled with bread with his fingertip.
“You must be pretty indeed.”
“…What?”
As Eunhong furrowed his brow at the random remark, Jaeha added one more comment without backing down.
“Seeing how they’re coming at you with eyes blinded by jealousy, not knowing how scary it is.”
For a moment, Jaeha’s eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement, making Eunhong frown even more.
***
The next afternoon, Jaeha was scheduled to issue a public apology at Han Jung Group’s main headquarters’ conference room. At that time, Eunhong was at home, biting into a cushion.
The large TV in the living room was fixed on a news channel broadcasting live from Han Jung’s conference room. Even before Jaeha appeared on screen, the news panelists were already discussing, dissecting, and enjoying unconfirmed “allegations.” They seemed unconcerned that these statements, even with disclaimers that they were just allegations, would be perceived and amplified as facts the moment they were uttered.
Eunhong found it extremely unfair that Jaeha had to apologize, but he had no grounds to object since numerous Han Jung experts had advised it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
