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#Miscalculation
Hayun’s miscalculation was believing that, despite being his grandson, he would ultimately choose blood ties and the Haedo Group, even if he resented him at first. For Hayun, blood ties were not important. He was prepared to do anything to protect Dawoon.
“Don’t you even think about Haram!”
As a last-ditch effort, he brought up Haram.
“It’s only because of Haram that I’m letting this slide this time.”
Hayun answered without hesitation again. He leaned in close to Chairman Jeong’s ear.
“If you don’t want to be removed from your position as chairman immediately due to incompetence, just keep breathing quietly. You have Haram by your side. Since you enjoy training successors, focus on that and stay quiet.”
At this low warning, Chairman Jeong felt his breath catch. He wondered if this was really the Jeong Hayun he knew. Something seemed seriously broken in him. It was clear that Jeong Dawoon had driven Hayun mad. Otherwise, he couldn’t treat him like this.
“It’s because of Jeong Dawoon. That bastard is the reason you’ve become broken when you were fine before. He’ll be punished by heaven. For deceiving and breaking family ties like this, Jeong Dawoon will never die peacefully. I won’t let him off easily. Before I die, he will never be able to set foot in Haedo.”
As he spewed curses through gritted teeth, Hayun, who had been listening quietly, replied calmly.
“Go ahead. Do whatever you want. But if even a hair on Dawoon’s head is harmed as a result, I’ll pay you back double.”
“I’ve lived long enough. Do you think your threats scare me?”
“Jeong Haram.”
At the sudden mention of the child’s name, Chairman Jeong’s face hardened.
“Since you say you’ll harm my precious person, what choice do I have? You should protect that child you cherish so much, Chairman.”
Even as he said these chilling words, a faint smile played on Hayun’s face.
He’s not in his right mind. He’s truly gone mad.
Despite being dumbfounded, he couldn’t help but recall the reason he brought Haram to the main house. When Dawoon disappeared, Hayun’s treatment of Haram changed. It seemed that if he really harmed Dawoon, Hayun might retaliate by hurting Haram.
He had been called cold and heartless on his way to this position, but Hayun was even worse. Jeong Hayun’s obsession bordered on madness, and in that madness, even blood relations were not considered.
“I hope you’ve understood clearly.”
After this cold remark, Hayun left the Chairman’s bedroom and paused at a sound. Haram was standing at the end of the corridor.
“Brother…”
“Why aren’t you sleeping? It’s late.”
Although the words sounded concerned, it wasn’t the kind tone from before. The child, instinctively sensing Hayun’s coldness, hesitated to approach.
“I heard some commotion… It sounded like your voice…”
The usually sharp child couldn’t string his words together properly and couldn’t look directly at Hayun. He seemed to have heard everything exchanged with the Chairman.
“Jeong Haram.”
When his name was called, his shoulders visibly flinched for no reason. The carefully built image of a caring older brother seemed to have shattered, but it didn’t matter.
“I found Dawoon.”
At the mention of Dawoon, he looked up at Hayun. Just the name of Jeong Dawoon brought life to the child’s eyes.
“But you can’t meet him.”
At these firm words, Haram stared at Hayun without even blinking.
“Grandfather tried to kill Dawoon.”
The fact that the child would be shocked didn’t matter to him. If necessary, he could tell him even worse things.
“I’m going to take Dawoon to England. You know why, don’t you?”
Haram nodded slowly, seemingly recalling the unspoken reason: to protect Jeong Dawoon.
“You’ll stay here. Your presence here will prevent grandfather from doing anything foolish to Dawoon. Because he cherishes you.”
It was a cruel statement. It was no different from saying that he should remain here as a hostage for Jeong Dawoon’s sake. However, since grandfather genuinely cared for Jeong Haram, nothing bad would happen to him. Rather, he would protect him even more closely, fearing Hayun might do something rash. So it wasn’t a loss for Jeong Haram either. Dawoon could leave him behind knowing that grandfather valued Haram.
Hayun felt no guilt or remorse towards Haram. He thought that since Jeong Dawoon had tried so hard to protect Jeong Haram until now, it was only natural for Haram to repay him in this way.
***
Dawoon’s eyes opened naturally as he tossed and turned. He felt wide awake, unsure of how long he had slept. When he was on the run from Hayun and away from Korea, he had never slept this long or deeply. He always woke up repeatedly. But oddly enough, after returning to Hayun’s side, he could sleep soundly again. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. When he was with Hayun, he couldn’t relax for a moment and was always in a state of tension, yet he could sleep deeply. Whether it was a habit from childhood or if he subconsciously regarded Hayun’s side as a safe place, he couldn’t tell.
He was surprised by how much he slept on the first day in Goseong, Gangwon-do, and today was the same. Checking the clock, he saw it was already past lunchtime. He sighed lightly as he tried to calculate how many hours he had slept. He wondered what was the point of counting time. There was nothing to do even if he was awake anyway.
At this rate, I might get used to being unemployed. His expression soured as he felt he was becoming accustomed to the pattern of doing nothing and living off others. He was in no position to criticize Jeong Hayun for wanting to quit the company. He felt like he might become a useless idiot at this rate. He wondered what he was doing after graduating from university properly.
The space next to him seemed to have been empty for a while, with no warmth left, but he didn’t mind. If Jeong Hayun had been lying next to him until this hour, that would have been a problem in itself. He had said there were still headquarters issues to resolve, so he was probably busy.
As he sat up, he noticed he was neatly dressed in pajamas. His memory cut off after sex, so Hayun must have cleaned him up and dressed him. Thinking he should at least shower, he got out of bed and as soon as his feet touched the floor, he felt a tingling sensation at the base of his tailbone.
He must have really gone at it.
Recalling last night, he didn’t even sigh. It was true that Hayun had relentlessly pushed him as if releasing pent-up feelings, but he didn’t entirely dislike it. He felt the same way. It had only been two months apart, but the moment Hayun filled him, he felt like he was being compensated for all that time. So there was nothing to blame Jeong Hayun for.
Entering the bathroom adjoining the bedroom, he unbuttoned his pajamas and turned around, his eyes stopping at his reflection in the mirror. There was a kiss mark on his chest. It wasn’t like before when his entire body was covered in marks. There was just one clear kiss mark right above his heart.
Unconsciously, he raised his hand and traced the mark Hayun had left. It didn’t hurt, but the spot where his fingertips touched, or more precisely, just beneath it, seemed to burn.
It’s like a brand stamped on my heart. Like the brand they used to put on criminals.
A bitter smile escaped at his own thought. Jeong Hayun was deeply embedded in him, in his heart, like an indelible brand. He would probably have to live with this relationship with him like a brand until he died.
After a quick shower, he came out to the living room to find Hayun and Director Park poring over a stack of documents spread out.
“You’re up? Aren’t you hungry? What do you want to eat?”
Hayun asked, looking up from his work. Glancing around, Dawoon noticed half-eaten sandwiches and coffee on one side of the table. It seemed Hayun and Director Park hadn’t had a proper lunch either.
“Don’t tell me you and Director haven’t had lunch yet?”
At Dawoon’s question, Hayun’s gaze naturally drifted to the sandwiches.
“We’ve been busy working.”
He made the excuse of work, but Dawoon knew he had actually been waiting for him to wake up.
“Is it urgent?”
He asked, gesturing towards the documents, but Hayun shook his head. Director Park was already tactfully gathering the documents he had been looking at and putting them into an envelope.
“Please contact me after you’ve had your meal at your leisure.”
“Director, please join us.”
Dawoon tried to stop him, but he politely declined. He also made a skillful excuse about having another appointment. As Dawoon watched Director Park’s retreating back after he had bowed respectfully to him as well, it suddenly occurred to him that being Jeong Hayun’s secretary wasn’t a job just anyone could do.
“Why are you looking so wistfully?”
Hayun had approached from behind at some point and asked as he wrapped his arms around Dawoon’s shoulders.
“Who’s being wistful?”
He unwrapped Hayun’s arms and turned to face him. Hayun’s eyes curved gently as if it had been a joke. It was too radiant a smile to see first thing in the morning, or rather, upon waking up.
“Shall we go out? Let’s eat something delicious.”
For some reason, he seemed to be in a good mood. Until yesterday, even though he had been treating Dawoon kindly after nearly being hit by a car, there was a sense that his nerves were on edge, but today that thorny feeling seemed to have disappeared.
“Did something happen overnight?”
Suspecting there might have been something he didn’t know about, Dawoon asked, but Hayun didn’t seem inclined to answer, only smiling more beautifully. Somehow, it looked like a smile full of hidden intentions, making Dawoon not want to ask further. Sometimes, it was better not to know. Especially when it came to matters related to Jeong Hayun.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
