When he woke up again, the game had already ended and Kyungwoo was dozing off steadily as well. Looking outside, the sun was already setting.
He sat up and woke Kyungwoo. It felt like a waste to spend their rare day off like this. Perhaps he’d only been in a light sleep, as Kyungwoo opened his eyes with a start.
“Get up. Let’s go out.”
Having slept well, Jaeha sprang up with a refreshed body. But Kyungwoo slowly lowered his legs to the sofa like a paralysis patient, rubbing his thigh that had been pinned down the whole time.
“If something goes wrong with my leg, I’m going to hold you responsible, Seo Jaeha.”
“Alright. If something goes wrong with your leg, I’ll take care of you for life.”
He felt both sorry and found it cute that Kyungwoo had endured for several hours even while his leg went numb. Jaeha grinned at Kyungwoo, who glared at him as if he’d heard insane nonsense.
“How is it? Does it seem like something’s wrong?”
“It’s fine. It’s fine, so don’t touch it.”
“Let me see. I need to examine it carefully. If it hurts, I’ll have to take care of you for life.”
“Get away. How could I live my whole life in a shack like this? That’s abuse.”
“The chaebol is hurting the common folk’s feelings again.”
“Common folk, my ass.”
Bantering back and forth, the two prepared to go out and headed down to the underground parking lot. Perhaps because it was a holiday afternoon, many cars were gone. Even the prime spots along the edges should have been empty, but those were all unusually full. There was even a car in the area behind the pillars that the apartment’s kingpin resident representative monopolized. It was a car he’d never seen before. It was a common SUV, so someone had either bought a new car or it was a new resident who didn’t know about the apartment’s strict power dynamics.
“The car?”
“Over there.”
Jaeha pressed the smart key toward his car in the middle.
Beep beep.
Kyungwoo naturally hung his suit from the hanger on the backseat safety handle and sat in the passenger seat, while Jaeha got in the driver’s seat.
“Where are we going?”
“The classic date course.”
“So where?”
“The weather’s nice today. How about chicken and beer at a nearby Han River park?”
“Hmm.”
Not seeming too opposed, Kyungwoo nodded.
“Have you ever had chicken and beer at the Han River?”
“Of course not.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Though it wasn’t embarrassing at all, the attitude of not hiding even slightly that he’d never been on a proper date was unbearably cute. Jaeha reflexively gave Kyungwoo’s lips a brief kiss.
Kyungwoo, who had reflexively closed then opened his eyes, got angry, saying, “What are you doing when this isn’t even a blind spot?”
“So what? We’re dating. Is it a crime to kiss my boyfriend?”
However, Jaeha, completely unbothered, started the engine and backed the car out. The smoothly gliding domestic sedan soon exited the parking lot.
The window of the domestic SUV occupying the prime spot behind the pillar in the corner of the underground parking lot was rolled down slightly. Between the gap, a black telephoto lens, commonly called a “cannon,” was wedged in.
Click-click. Click-click.
The characteristic continuous shooting sound effect of a digital camera rang out without pause.
As soon as Jaeha’s car left the parking lot, the camera disappeared inside and the darkly tinted window rolled up.
Vroom.
The SUV, engine started, soon followed Jaeha’s car.
After enjoying a pleasant breeze, beautiful night view, and leisurely time with chicken and beer among residents gathered in small groups, he dropped Kyungwoo off at home, then heated up and hastily overlapped their bodies again. In the end, he returned home the next afternoon and crashed again.
The weekend passed in a blur, but the mental and physical fatigue completely vanished in just those two days.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Prosecutor.”
Administrative Officer Lee had arrived first. Jaeha greeted her with a full smile on his face.
“Did you rest well over the weekend?”
“Of course. You look cheerful too, Prosecutor. Did something good happen?”
When he just smiled without saying anything in particular, Administrative Officer Lee, who had gathered materials related to the most urgent case and brought them to Jaeha, slyly asked, “Maybe a lover?”
“Well.”
Without elaborating, he just crinkled his eyes. Administrative Officer Lee let out a deep sigh as if envious.
“I met a dud at a blind date last month and had to blow off steam.”
“You never know how human connections will flow. Sometimes a tense situationship bears fruit, and sometimes a dud turns out to be a lottery win.”
“Oh my. Are you talking about yourself, Prosecutor?”
“Who knows. Let’s look at the work.”
After giving Administrative Officer Lee, who was curious, a grin, he organized the thick document files in order of importance.
Soon Section Chief Joo arrived, greetings were exchanged once more, and time flowed as usual in Prosecutor Seo Jaeha’s office.
Meanwhile, Kyungwoo, who had arrived at work in the Taeryoung Holdings executive director’s office, checked who the caller was as his mobile phone rang loudly before he could even sit down at his office desk.
[Jung Kyungrok]
‘Why this early in the morning?’
Though puzzled, Kyungwoo pressed the call button.
“Yes, it’s me.”
—Where are you right now?
“It’s work hours, so naturally I’m at the company.”
—Really? I’m on my way there. If you have any meetings or inspection schedules right now, cancel them and wait.
“What’s this about all of a sudden?”
The attitude of declaring interference regardless of how his schedule was arranged was unpleasant.
“Even though we’re siblings, this is problematic. If it’s a business appointment, please contact the secretarial office to set a visiting time and come then. If it’s a personal matter outside of work hours, um, I’ll contact you during lunch break.”
—No. This isn’t such a trivial matter. I need to see you right now. Jung Kyungwoo… Whew. Are you in your right mind right now?
“What is this about?”
—I can’t say over the phone. I’ll arrive soon, so let’s talk when we meet.
Kyungrok unilaterally hung up the phone. She was quite unreasonable.
Kyungrok’s voice, which never lost its composure, held anger similar to shock. Come to think of it, even if not their parents, Kyungrok wasn’t the type to suddenly visit like this. If his noona, who always maintained boundaries and courtesy, suddenly came out like this, it could be quite a serious problem.
He made an internal call and connected to the secretarial office.
“What’s my schedule for this morning? Is that so? Move the meeting to the afternoon. President Jung Kyungrok is coming here soon, so when she arrives, guide her straight to my room.”
—Understood, Executive Director.
Hanging up the phone, Kyungwoo sat down. Why was Kyungrok appearing so urgently all of a sudden?
‘Could there be a major setback in the hotel business? Or is she really angry about Assemblyman Hwang being indicted?’
The former was unlikely since Holdings hadn’t done anything to begin with, and the latter was at least possible. However, making such a fuss over something like that didn’t match the character of Jung Kyungrok that Kyungwoo had observed until now.
“I thought Noona would handle it more elegantly.”
He felt somewhat disappointed. To make such a commotion because of one decrepit, senile fox who did all sorts of dirty work behind the scenes.
“Maybe she’s lost her nerve while resting.”
Thinking that way, his disappointment also turned somewhat into regret. For Kyungrok to properly wrestle with Vice Chairman Jung Taesu’s family, who were expanding their influence, she needed to regain her original grand sense as soon as possible.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
High heel sounds came from afar and gradually approached. That irritating sound that continued without missing a single beat grew louder and didn’t stop even for a moment at the door.
Bam.
Before the secretary could fully open the door, Kyungrok entered with her floral print blouse fluttering.
Wearing heels matching her black pencil skirt, she strode forward without caring that her hairstyle boasting sophisticated styling was disheveled. A large shoulder bag that also served as a briefcase hung from her arm.
“You’ve gone completely insane.”
Toward Kyungrok, who lashed out abruptly, Kyungwoo gestured toward the sofa while signaling to the secretary, who was watching dumbfounded from behind, that it was fine.
“Should I prepare tea?”
“No. Don’t let anyone come by for the time being. Everyone leave the area near the office. Don’t come up until I contact you.”
It wasn’t Kyungwoo but Kyungrok who said that. It was extremely rude behavior. The secretary looked at Kyungwoo again, and only after Kyungwoo signaled to follow what she said did she disappear.
“Please sit.”
“Do I look like I’m going to sit?”
As she said that, she opened her bag, pulled out a nondescript document folder commonly used in offices, and hurled it onto Kyungwoo’s desk.
Thud. Swoosh.
From inside the improperly fastened folder, several large photos spilled out.
“Look. Look at them and talk.”
The moment he picked up one of them, Kyungwoo’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated. His mouth opened involuntarily. The feeling of blood draining from his brain was vivid.
A familiar parking lot. A vehicle with a license plate number he knew. A familiar back of a head sitting in the dark car. The scene continuing like movie stills ended with two heads coming together.
“What’s your relationship with Seo Jaeha?”
Kyungrok’s complexion, seething with anger, mixed shock and rage. However, unlike her flushed cheeks, Kyungwoo’s complexion gradually bleached.
Without answering, he turned through the document folder with trembling hands and checked all the photos.
The next photo was a scene taken at the Han River. The one after that was the underground parking lot of Kyungwoo’s apartment. The image of Jaeha approaching him just before the elevator doors closed was vividly captured.
Though it wasn’t in the photo, Jaeha kissed Kyungwoo right after. Of course, along with the childish and romantic act of spreading his palm toward the CCTV.
“Say something! If it’s a misunderstanding, say it’s a misunderstanding!”
Kyungrok shouted furiously. Kyungwoo, his back against the chair’s backrest, closed his eyes and exhaled deeply twice.
“Since you already know, that’s why you came all the way here, isn’t it?”
“It’s not a misunderstanding? This could just be coincidence. Right?”
Kyungrok threw down her bag and pointed with both hands at the kissing scene inside the car. It was inside a shadowy car, and the headrest and Jaeha’s arm draped over the passenger seat backrest obscured it, so the decisive scene wasn’t nakedly revealed. However, someone who’d call this coincidence would be hard to find even in kindergarten.
“We kissed. We dated at the Han River, and afterward, he slept at my place.”
The skin of the woman boasting a clear tone as if she’d leaped from a magazine died to a pale blue moment by moment. Her lips with red lipstick applied looked pale.
“In case you misunderstand, we didn’t just hold hands and sleep. We’re both adults.”
“That… is that true… ya?”
It was a question thrown not really to ask if it was true, but because she didn’t want to believe it.
“Isn’t that what lovers usually do?”
As he drove the nail in, Kyungrok staggered. Thanks to her high heels, she easily lost her balance and went to the nearby guest sofa and plopped down heavily.
