* * *
After leaving Sovereign Resort, Ray Jun hailed a taxi instead of heading to the dormitory.
“Where to, sir?”
“Hac Sa Beach.”
True to Macau’s nature where nothing takes too long to reach, they arrived at their destination in 15 minutes. However, despite the short distance traveled, the scenery had changed dramatically. Before Ray Jun’s eyes as he stepped out of the taxi, instead of a luxury resort, the night sea stretched out.
Ray Jun sat on a bench overlooking the sea. In truth, the sea wasn’t his objective. He needed to make an important call but had no suitable location. Until now, he’d made calls inside and outside the dormitory, but this was a time when he needed to be cautious about everything.
When he called Gemma, the connection was made immediately.
“Good morning.”
—Isn’t it nighttime in Macau?
“It’s morning in New York, isn’t it? Anyway, did you look into it?”
—Yes. As you instructed, I sent the equity trust implementation request today. There’s been no response from CEO Li Yong’s side, but even if they’ve confirmed it, they probably won’t react right away.
“No, not that. Xie Wei.”
—Ah, you mean the young master’s roommate…
Ray Jun sensed hesitation from Gemma. He furrowed his brow slightly and asked again.
“You didn’t look into it?”
—No, I did. It’s just that there’s no meaningful information. I checked through local contacts, and they say there are no special characteristics.
“What do you mean?”
—He was born in Macau, moved to Canada at age four where he grew up, then returned to Macau last year. But we couldn’t find any records of his activities in Canada.
“What about his activities in Macau? Don’t you know why he went to Canada either?”
—…Yes.
Ray Jun stared at the darkly rippling night sea. The information Gemma just mentioned was something he already knew. Whether it was real was another matter.
—Ah, I did confirm for certain that he’s affiliated with the Baeksa Faction. We got witness reports that Xie Wei frequently met with Ju Xiang in the parking lot of the Sovereign employee dormitory. They seem to have mainly conversed inside the car, but we couldn’t confirm the content.
“Ha…”
Ray Jun exhaled a cold breath.
Imagining Xie Wei sitting helplessly in Ju Xiang’s car, irritation somehow welled up in him. Obviously it wouldn’t have been that guy’s true intention. That guy’s rather sensitive, so he must have been under quite a bit of stress all this time.
“Is that all you found out?”
—…Yes.
“It’s not that you judged it a relatively unimportant matter and glossed over it, is it?”
—No. It hasn’t been long since we became aware of the organization called the Baeksa Faction, so we didn’t really have a route to obtain information.
There was a sense of grievance in Gemma’s voice. In fact, investigating this much in just a few days while being swamped with the equity dispute these days was already excellent work. But Ray Jun wasn’t satisfied.
“Keep monitoring from now on. Especially if there are any signs of that guy trying to leave Macau, report it immediately.”
—Understood.
“You’ve worked hard.”
—Isn’t that praise a bit too bland?
Gemma said playfully. Ray Jun chuckled and replied.
“Is the bonus your mother gives you not enough?”
—It’s not that. Thanks to it, I was able to change my car.
“If we meet soon, I’ll praise you properly.”
—I didn’t say it to put pressure on you, but I can’t ignore the young master’s sincerity.
A faint smile spread across Ray Jun’s lips. It would be difficult to find a secretary this competent and with such a sense of humor. She was indeed a secretary chosen by his mother, who had excellent judgment of people.
—You’ll be celebrating your twenty-fifth birthday soon, young master.
“Right.”
—This time I’ll make sure to give you a good gift too. Have a good night.
Ray Jun ended the call.
Hac Sa Beach was still atmospheric, but Ray Jun stood up from the bench. It was time to go to Xie Wei’s side.
* * *
Kang Siwon stirred the wok.
Sea cucumber, abalone, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and even chicken. The ingredients he’d prepared one by one were coming together and boiling.
After tasting the thickened sauce, Kang Siwon nodded and turned off the gas. The cooking that had taken two hours was finished, so all that was left was plating.
But the person who was supposed to eat it hadn’t returned, so he didn’t know what to do. There had been no mention of other plans today, and when he’d called just in case, the line had been busy.
In fact, when he started cooking, Kang Siwon had been anxious that he might not finish in time for Ray Jun’s return from work. He hadn’t anticipated that Ray Jun would actually be late.
“Where is he and what is he doing?”
He muttered while looking back at the wall clock. Earlier he’d seemed to be on good terms with the cage staff, and he wondered if Ray Jun was lounging around somewhere like when he’d handed those digestive pills to Senior Xiaoshu.
Imagining that scene made his mood sink for no reason. Just because he himself had been gloomy lately didn’t mean Ray Jun had to be gloomy too. Though it wasn’t that he was jealous of him having fun…
“…”
Kang Siwon shook his head, brushing away the imagination of Ray Jun hanging out with Senior Xiaoshu. Rather than this, it seemed better to finish setting the table.
He took out a wide dish and put the yusanseul in it. The material and design of the dish weren’t particularly to his liking, but it was the best option in this dormitory.
After adjusting the shape of the yusanseul one last time, he dropped finely chopped green onions and a few drops of sesame oil on it.
Right then, with good timing, he heard the sound of the front door opening.
“I’m back.”
A welcome voice was heard, and shortly after, Ray Jun came into the kitchen. He peered at Kang Siwon’s side and asked.
“There’s a delicious smell from the entrance? What’s this?”
“Yusanseul.”
Yusanseul was the dish Kang Siwon was most confident about when he worked at the restaurant. However, it was also a dish he rarely made outside the restaurant because it required so much work.
He would be leaving the dormitory soon, but before that, he really wanted to show Ray Jun the taste of his yusanseul.
“Wow, isn’t this hard to make?”
“Not really.”
It was bravado. In fact, yusanseul wasn’t a dish that could be made easily because the preparation of ingredients and heat control were tricky.
“Can I really eat this?”
“If you don’t eat it, how am I supposed to eat all this by myself? Go wash your hands quickly.”
“Mm.”
While Ray Jun went to the bathroom, Kang Siwon set the table. When he returned, all the preparations were perfectly complete.
“It looks delicious! I’ll enjoy this, Xie Wei.”
“Yeah.”
Ray Jun’s eyes sparkled as he picked up a piece of chicken and ate it.
Come to think of it, it took a bit too long just to wash his hands, so he must have taken out his contact lenses. Kang Siwon thought while secretly admiring Ray Jun’s face. Definitely, he looked even more like Ray Jun with his bare face than when wearing colored contact lenses.
“It’s delicious! This is the best yusanseul I’ve ever had!”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m not saying this out of politeness, but truly.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Since he was eating it so well, the cooking had been worthwhile. Kang Siwon worked his chopsticks contentedly.
“You’ll make it again next time, right?”
He didn’t answer that. Even though it seemed like a passing comment, he realized it wasn’t.
More than that, it was strange that Ray Jun wasn’t asking about what happened at the casino today. He’d naturally expected him to interrogate him about the Tian Feifei matter as he always had until now, but he was just enjoying the yusanseul as if nothing had happened. For Kang Siwon, who had even prepared an excuse, he was becoming needlessly anxious. Kang Siwon observed Ray Jun’s movements while pretending to use his chopsticks.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been glancing at me since earlier.”
“When did I…”
He was caught immediately. Anyway, he was a perceptive guy. Kang Siwon buried his head down as if sticking his nose into his plate.
“You’re looking at me because Ray is pretty, right? If that’s the case, you can keep looking.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then I’ll have to look at Xie Wei a lot instead. Because Xie Wei is pretty.”
In his life, he’d heard compliments about being handsome, but this was the first time hearing he was pretty. When a beauty like Ray Jun said so, it felt like he was being teased. Kang Siwon replied gruffly.
“Just eat. Don’t say nonsense.”
“I’ve almost finished. By any chance, is there dessert?”
“Dessert?”
This wasn’t the kind of guy who would boldly demand such things, so what was going on?
When Kang Siwon looked puzzled, Ray Jun tilted his head slightly and blinked his eyes. His long eyelashes fluttered, and his mischievous eyes sparkled. It was such blatant flirtation that even Kang Siwon, who was dense about these things, couldn’t help but notice.
His face instantly heated up and he got angry.
“Give me your rice bowl. If you’re going to mess around after eating yusanseul, you might as well starve!”
“I haven’t done anything yet… Fine.”
The way he pouted his lips was unnecessarily cute, which made the impulse surge even more. If it was deliberate aegyo, it was successful. Feeling like he’d be drawn in if he stayed here any longer, Kang Siwon abruptly stood up.
“I’m leaving first.”
“Xie Wei.”
“There’s more yusanseul in the wok, so if it’s not enough, get more.”
Ray Jun opened his mouth as if to say something, but Kang Siwon didn’t listen anymore and left the table.
Come to think of it, instead of preparing an excuse, he should have practiced not being swayed by Ray Jun’s shamelessness first.
Yusanseul (유산슬) [a type of Chinese dish with multiple ingredients including sea cucumber, abalone, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken]
