He accessed a portal site and began meaningless web surfing. Kang Siwon scrolled absentmindedly through various articles about what desserts were trending these days, which celebrities were on the verge of divorce, and so on. Just then, a headline he couldn’t simply pass by caught his eye.
[Sovereign Charity Foundation ‘Subsidy Leak’ Scandal Spreads… Director Feng Suspended from All Duties]
“……Ah.”
It was a follow-up article on the previous subsidy leak incident. Kang Siwon immediately clicked on the article.
Ten days after suspicions of a subsidy leak worth hundreds of millions of patacas emerged from a charitable organization under Sovereign Resort, the key figure, Director Feng, has been suspended from duty.
Sovereign Resort announced on the 9th, “Director Feng will be excluded from all duties within the foundation and the board of directors until the audit process is completed.”
During the audit process, it was reported that in addition to the funds designated for Hwanghojeop Addiction Treatment Center, additional money flows into Director Feng’s personal account were discovered. Sovereign is reportedly reviewing a temporary freeze on that account together with the relevant financial institutions.
An industry insider said, “Suspension from duty and review of account freezing essentially means no recovery is possible,” adding, “It’s only a matter of time before final dismissal.”
The sentence ‘essentially means no recovery is possible’ particularly stuck in his mind.
Even by his own judgment, not being well-versed in such social issues, Feng Tao’s family’s downfall seemed like a predetermined procedure. Feng Tao, who had strutted around with his parents’ wealth, would never be able to put on airs again. It was gratifying news for once.
“Oh, the battery……”
He had only been web surfing for a moment, but the battery had noticeably decreased. Kang Siwon got up from his seat to look for a charger. Just then, Ray Jun entered the bedroom.
“Where are you trying to go?”
He slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked Kang Siwon over. The gaze revealed between his long eyelashes was sharp. Displeased by the surveillance-like gaze, Kang Siwon answered curtly.
“I’m trying to charge my phone. Why?”
“I was worried you were trying to go out.”
Ray Jun quickly changed his expression and smiled gently with his eyes. It was ridiculous how he tried to soothe him, knowing his mood was unpleasant.
“If I was going out, I would have told you. What, am I not allowed to use electricity either?”
“Of course not. Use as much as you want. Just don’t go out.”
Ray Jun even went somewhere to get a charger and plugged it into the cord himself. Kang Siwon confirmed the charging indicator was blinking and put down his phone.
“Siwon, did you eat lunch?”
“……No.”
The name ‘Siwon’ coming from his mouth sounded unfamiliar to his ears. Perhaps it was because he had been called Xie Wei for nearly nine months.
“You should have said so earlier. It’s already dinner time, you must be hungry. What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
“No need.”
“Let’s have tomato egg fried rice. You ate it well before.”
Even though he said no, Ray Jun grabbed Kang Siwon’s wrist and left the bedroom like an excited child whose friend had come over to play. The guest room was so spacious that it took quite a while just to get to the kitchen.
“Actually, the only thing I can make anyway is tomato egg fried rice. You know I’m not good at cooking. I can boil instant noodles or soup, though.”
“I said you don’t need to make it. I’m not in the mood to eat.”
“Siwon…… Is it because my cooking isn’t tasty? If you want, I could order room service, but that’s a bit dangerous……”
He was getting irritated because Ray Jun wouldn’t listen to him at all. Before that, there was something he couldn’t ignore.
“What do you mean room service is dangerous?”
“Who knows what they might do to the food.”
“Who on earth would?”
“There are too many. Whether it’s Father, hyung, or the directors.”
“……”
“If something goes wrong with me, there would be a line of people raising a toast saying they got their chance, so of course I have to be careful.”
He said while taking out ingredients from the refrigerator. Glancing inside, he could see that besides tomatoes and eggs, basic ingredients were fairly well-stocked.
Ray Jun, who had washed the tomatoes, began cutting them. Due to his clumsy knife work, tomato juice spurted out. Perhaps because of the bursting red color, it looked like drops of blood. Kang Siwon frowned and mulled over Ray Jun’s words.
He seemed to think that Sovereign personnel were trying to harm him. Well, recalling what he heard at Feng Tao’s penthouse, it wasn’t exactly a wild guess. They had spoken as if it was remarkable he was still alive. However, there was one strange point.
“Didn’t you say earlier that you reserved this place thanks to your hyung?”
“That’s right.”
“If you have a bad relationship, why would he grant such a request?”
“It wasn’t a request, it was blackmail.”
“……”
“I didn’t become a dealer for nothing.”
Ray Jun said while picking up a piece of finely chopped tomato and putting it in his mouth.
“You’ve read ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you remember the group called ‘Baker Street Irregulars’ that appears in it?”
“Those poor children?”
“Right.”
They were London’s lower class, making a living doing odd jobs and begging. Sherlock Holmes employed them as informants. It was because the children were faster than the police, less noticeable, and knew the back alleys inside out. In fact, in the story, they often found important clues and helped Holmes greatly.
“Like how those kinds of groups appear in martial arts novels too. The beggar’s sect is specialized in information gathering. Originally, in any society, if you’re at the bottom, you surprisingly learn a lot. The view looking down from above is good, but the scenery looking up from below is also unique.”
“So you disguised yourself as a dealer? To get information? Does that really help?”
“Yeah. Why are you asking like it’s someone else’s business? You’re the same, ‘Xie Wei.'”
“……”
“You should know better than anyone that Sovereign Resort is a treasure trove of information.”
Kang Siwon bit his lip tightly. He didn’t appreciate the remark exposing his own disgrace. Because he had been pushed into it due to debt, even if not quite guilt, he felt ashamed of himself for committing such acts. Ray Jun remained nonchalant despite doing similar things.
“Definitely, thanks to my experience working as a dealer, I communicated well with hyung. In the end, it helped.”
Ray Jun said brazenly and placed a pan on the induction cooktop. After pouring oil and tossing in the finely chopped tomatoes, they rolled around and sautéed in the hot heat. Meanwhile, Kang Siwon recalled a conversation he once had with Ray Jun.
‘It’s a bit embarrassing to call it justice. It might be roughly right, though. I can’t just stand by and watch my customers get hurt.’
‘A casino dealer’s professional ethics?’
‘Just universal ethics. Not being able to leave someone shedding bloody tears alone.’
‘Then what are you going to do? Both you and I are just employees, are you going to start a social movement or something? Or leak it to the press?’
‘No, not that. But at least I’m not going to look away. For now, doing what I can in my position is the best I can do.’
At the time, he thought Ray Jun was admirable. He was impressed by how upright he was, and secretly felt pathetic about himself for not being able to act like that.
But judging from what he just heard, it seemed Ray Jun had dug up such information not for justice or ethics but for his own benefit. Considering his position, it wasn’t incomprehensible, but somehow he felt bitter.
“……”
Usually, the more you converse with someone, the more you understand them, but somehow the more he talked with Ray Jun, the harder it became to know what was inside him. They had known each other for almost nine months now, yet he felt more distant than when they first met.
“Kang Siwon, what are you thinking about?”
Ray Jun, who had an uncanny knack for noticing when he was lost in other thoughts, asked subtly. Kang Siwon answered while cracking an egg.
“I don’t know.”
“Must be thoughts that are hard to tell even me? I wonder what you’re thinking……”
“No, I really don’t know. What’s even in my head.”
He didn’t know what he was thinking about, or even what he should be thinking about. This was the first time he felt this confused since learning about the corruption happening within Sovereign Casino.
“Hmm……”
Ray Jun let out a meaningful smile. There was blatant suspicion, but he didn’t pry further. In the awkward silence, the tomato egg fried rice was completed.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
Ray Jun took out two plates. He still had no appetite, but it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t eat. Kang Siwon silently scooped out the fried rice. Who would have known that just until yesterday he had made what he thought would be his last meal for Ray Jun with a rather solemn heart, yet not even a day had passed before he was serving rice like this again.
The two headed to the dining table with their plates. The penthouse’s dining table was excessively long, so even sitting face to face felt distant. Even though they were clearly at the same table, it didn’t feel like they were sharing a meal. Kang Siwon suddenly missed the modest dining table at the employee dormitory.
