After I brought warm citron tea and placed it in front of each of us, Hyunwoo slowly began to speak.
“The CEO, no, Hajin sent me because he heard you didn’t come to work while he was at the police station.”
Hahyun twisted his expression and snorted.
“Anyway, he just can’t stand the sight of us two being alone.”
Though Hahyun was being sarcastic, my ears perked up at finally hearing news about Hajin.
“How is Mr. Hajin doing?”
“Ah… he’s fine, I guess.”
“Didn’t he have any message for me?”
“Not particularly… He just told me to bring Hahyun to work.”
It felt like my already low energy was draining even further. If Hajin had a plan, he could have at least said a word to tell me not to worry…
“Then when will Mr. Hajin be released? Surely he won’t be detained like this?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure right now, but since he has a lawyer, I don’t think he’ll be detained.”
“Haah…”
When I sighed, Hahyun put his citron tea down with a clatter and changed the subject.
“Hyung, you said you came to get me. Let’s go.”
Hyunwoo looked back and forth between me and Hahyun before standing up.
“Yes, let’s go. Get ready and come out. You need to wear a suit.”
Hahyun, who was about to turn away, stared at me and then pulled on Hyunwoo’s sleeve.
“Hyung, please help me choose. I don’t know much about suits.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
As I watched Hyunwoo being dragged away awkwardly, I clicked my tongue. Would Hahyun even care about such things when Hajin had been taken to the police station?
I grumbled while clearing away the citron tea, but nothing changed because of it.
* * *
“Mr. Hyunwoo, please let me know what’s happening when you get in touch with Mr. Hajin. This is my phone number. And please make sure to tell him I’m worried.”
“Why are you giving him your number? Juwon, don’t contact my brother, contact me instead. And delete his number.”
As Hyunwoo left the entrance and headed to the garage, Juwon followed, expressing concern about Hajin, while Hahyun continuously tried to block him.
“There won’t be any major problems, so don’t worry too much.”
Though Hyunwoo answered, he felt like he was going to suffocate.
From revealing the evidence of embezzlement, to stepping down from the CEO position, and even the arrest situation—all of it had been planned by Hajin.
Hyunwoo knew all of this, but because of Hajin’s order not to tell Juwon and Hahyun anything, he couldn’t say a single word.
He had never found it difficult to keep secrets before, but it was overwhelming to not be able to say anything to Juwon, who was clearly so worried.
As Hyunwoo started the car, he asked Hahyun, who was sitting in the back.
“Hey, Hahyun. Is that Yoon Juwon at home really Yoon Juwon?”
“Why are you suddenly curious about that?”
“Well… if someone seems very different, one might wonder, right?”
“I don’t like other men showing interest in my brother, so stop caring. I’ll handle my brother myself.”
Seeing Hahyun bristle at even a simple curiosity, Hyunwoo thought that it was inevitable for Yoon Juwon to have lost his memory. To survive among these crazy people, he would have had to go crazy himself.
Hyunwoo shook his head and pressed the accelerator. When they arrived at the company as quickly as possible, there were reporters gathered at the main entrance.
Hyunwoo contacted the security team to prevent the reporters from following them to the parking lot, then parked in the underground garage.
“You can go up like this. Hajin will soon be back in his position, so don’t worry too much.”
“Oh, please… don’t act in front of me. I’ve caught on to what Hajin is doing. It’s really irritating, you know? You must be just as annoyed as I am.”
“…Whatever.”
In reality, Hyunwoo, who had to handle all sorts of cleanup, was in a much more difficult position, but he didn’t show it. After confirming that Hahyun had gone up, Hyunwoo left the underground parking garage.
“Seo Hahyun, you’ve developed quite a sense of perception.”
Hyunwoo muttered this as he turned his car toward the police station.
“Fuck, if I’m ever reborn, I’m never meeting Seo Hajin again.”
In many ways, Hyunwoo was the only one suffering in this situation.
* * *
“CEO.”
Hajin, who had been lost in thought, belatedly turned at Hyunwoo’s voice. After the intense police interrogation yesterday, when Hyunwoo suggested going home, Hajin had insisted on getting a separate hotel room instead.
Hyunwoo really couldn’t understand Hajin.
For someone who held the upper hand in a strange triangular relationship, the effort to maintain a balanced influence seemed excessive.
Hyunwoo cautiously opened his mouth.
“Yoon Juwon is very worried. I think you could stay at home while you’re under investigation by the prosecution…”
At those words, Hajin lowered his gaze and smiled slightly.
“That’s why I’m doing this, so he’ll worry.”
“You crazy bastard.”
“And there are other things I need to resolve simultaneously.”
The matter to be resolved must refer to making a deal with the prosecutor.
“What are you planning to leverage for the deal? Just proving that the evidence of embezzlement belongs to Secretary Kim won’t help with the stock manipulation charges against you. In fact, you did manipulate the stock to some extent. We need to come up with a countermeasure.”
Hyunwoo spilled out everything he had been holding back, but he still couldn’t figure out what Hajin was thinking.
“At least call and tell him not to worry. Hahyun is driving me crazy.”
Hajin’s eyebrows twisted greatly.
“What about Hahyun?”
“Yoon Juwon sent me a text asking about you. But when Hahyun found out, he called me and screamed at me. And that’s not all. Yoon Juwon is so worried about you that he’s not eating or sleeping, and he’s getting irritated about everything. On top of that, he keeps pestering me about what we talked about… it’s maddening.”
Hajin laughed audibly as he scanned through documents with his eyes. The image of Juwon’s face, the last time he had seen him, was vividly painted in his mind. He already missed the feeling of holding Juwon, who looked bewildered as if he didn’t recognize his own emotions.
Just then, his phone rang. The screen displayed an unfamiliar number. Hajin, thinking that what he had been waiting for had finally arrived, answered the phone.
“This is Seo Hajin.”
– This is Prosecutor Lee Woohyun. You’re not suspecting voice phishing at this point, are you?
Hearing the voice on the other end, Hajin stood up and slowly walked toward the window. He was holding coffee instead of documents in his hand.
“You’re an interesting person. I heard you were someone without blood or tears, so I didn’t expect you to contact me personally like this.”
– Haha, indeed. I didn’t expect to contact you this way either. The phone can’t be traced, so don’t worry about that.
“You must have a reason for calling me.”
Hajin quickly pressed the record button.
– Well, it’s a personal matter.
“If it’s a personal matter, you should either make an appointment through Secretary Park, or formally request my appearance.”
– I was thinking we could talk about Chairman Seo’s murder case, would that be alright with you?
Hajin’s face contorted terribly.
He knew he would be making a deal with the prosecutor, but he hadn’t expected him to use Chairman Seo’s death as leverage rather than stock manipulation or embezzlement.
* * *
It was 2 AM in the parking lot behind a building owned by Hajin. After checking the time, Hajin loosened his tie and leaned back against the seat.
“Look, he’s coming.”
At Hyunwoo’s words, Hajin looked ahead and saw a man getting out of a black sedan and approaching them. It was Prosecutor Lee Woohyun. The document bag in his hand looked quite bulky.
“I’ll wait outside.”
As soon as Hyunwoo got out of the driver’s seat, Woohyun opened the back door. Then he immediately thrust out his ID.
“Proof that this isn’t voice phishing.”
Hajin checked the ID that read Prosecutor Lee Woohyun with an indifferent gaze and then nodded. Woohyun climbed into the seat next to Hajin. He placed a large document bag between them and took out a tablet.
“By the way, you’re much more handsome in person. So much that you shine even at night.”
Hajin twisted his lips.
“You’re not gay, so there’s no correlation between my excellent appearance and our meeting today. Let’s get to the point.”
“You’re cold. Well, that’s true.”
He tapped the power button of the innocent tablet hard and then ran his hand through his hair.
“Ah… this is what it’s like being a prosecutor. I can’t even use a good tablet, so I have to endure this sluggish loading.”
While he was grumbling, the tablet turned on. The screen displayed files on Chairman Seo’s case. Woohyun showed the tablet to Hajin and said:
“Since it’s not my case, it’s a bit messy, but please bear with it. The initial investigation was a mess. Everyone thought that Yoon Juwon and CEO Seo Hajin were enemies, but it turns out they’re from the same orphanage.”
Though his tone was light, there was a hidden blade in his words.
“And you both worked as models at the same company.”
Woohyun added, rifling through other documents. Hajin listened to what he was saying without any change in expression.
“But isn’t it strange? Yoon Juwon disappearing right after Chairman Seo’s death. Haha… is this some kind of twist of fate?”
“That’s the police’s negligence, isn’t it? They can’t even find one person.”
“Are you going to deny it this way? Then, could you show us your house?”
“If you request a warrant, it’s a simple matter.”
“If that’s what you want, it’s not difficult. Well, I was trying to handle this quietly out of consideration for social appearances, but it seems that won’t work. I’ll have to dance with knives noisily.”
Hajin maintained an expressionless face while staring at the man before him.
Looking at the heavy document bag and tablet the man had brought, Hajin worried if any videos had been leaked, but it didn’t seem so.
‘If he had evidence, he would have summoned me to the prosecution without this tiresome meeting.’
He’s trying to poke at my side without evidence, make me confess, and then inflate the charges beyond the evidence he actually has.
Having made his assessment, Hajin leaned back against the seat with a relaxed attitude. Woohyun’s face instantly crumpled.
“I’ll be looking forward to the knife dance.”
