Just then, the food they’d ordered arrived. Steaming xiaolongbao, crab fried rice neatly arranged on lotus leaves, preserved egg tofu soup, and even Sichuan-style chili lobster. He’d had no appetite until just now, but faced with this feast of food he could admire as a Chinese cuisine chef, he naturally picked up his chopsticks.
In contrast, Ray Jun spoke with a serious face as if the food didn’t matter at all.
“I think we need to talk.”
Kang Siwon had also been feeling the need for a sincere conversation. They couldn’t continue living in this suffocatingly blocked state.
“Ah, eat first. And if there’s anything you want to say to me, say it all. I’ll listen to anything.”
That gently urging appearance was no different from the “roommate Ray Jun” he’d known. Nevertheless, Kang Siwon examined him suspiciously. The very act of comparing the past and present Ray Jun like this, while seeming trivial, was gradually wearing Kang Siwon down bit by bit.
“…I don’t know who you are anymore.”
“Why?”
“The you I knew was righteous, kind, a good person. Though you said you weren’t.”
“And now I’m not?”
That’s what he didn’t know, which is why he was confused. Kang Siwon continued speaking while avoiding the answer.
“I was mistaken from the start. I didn’t know anything about you, and I still don’t know now. Thinking I knew you was a mistake to begin with.”
“Mm… So the conclusion is you want to know more about me?”
He had no idea why his words would be interpreted that way. But his words, while perhaps exaggerated, weren’t unreasonable. Kang Siwon nodded slightly.
At this, Ray Jun smiled with satisfaction. Despite not having eaten anything, his expression was like a well-fed cat.
“Then should I introduce myself? Like we’re meeting for the first time.”
“What self-introduction?”
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
Before he could stop him, Ray Jun bowed his head. Kang Siwon also returned the bow in bewilderment.
“I’m Ray Morrow.”
“Ray… what?”
He was stunned after just two words. Kang Siwon asked with wide eyes.
“What’s with that foreigner-like name? Morrow? Ray Morrow?”
“Haha, you’re a foreigner too.”
“You… Ray Jun wasn’t your real name?”
No wonder he’d felt Ray Jun didn’t seem like Ray Jun. If even the identity of “Ray Jun” had been fake from the start.
However, Ray Jun shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“‘Ray Jun’ is an alias derived from my real name. You know I couldn’t use my real name while infiltrating, right? So when I joined Sovereign, I forged everything—nationality, education, career.”
“…There were two people who forged documents in one dorm room?”
“Yeah. I thought that was interesting too.”
Ray Jun chuckled. However, Kang Siwon was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even let out a hollow laugh.
“Morrow… Ray Morrow… What’s with that American-sounding name…”
“Because I really am American. From New York.”
Had Ray Jun been this shocked when he learned that Kang Siwon was Korean and that “Xie Wei” was just an alias? Knowing his personality, probably not. Kang Siwon asked with a slight frown.
“You said it was a nickname. You asked me to call you ‘Ray’ when it was just the two of us. You must have been called Ray by all sorts of people your whole life, yet you said that?”
“Sorry. Are you upset?”
“No? I’m not upset at all.”
Kang Siwon answered forcefully. But inwardly, he did feel a bit hurt. Even if it was unavoidable while staying in the Sovereign dorm, hadn’t there been countless opportunities to tell him after coming to the penthouse? Ray Jun was acting like a gambler who doesn’t reveal his own hand while trying to peek at others’ cards.
“Is there anything else you’re hiding?”
“Hiding? You’ve never asked anything until now. What else are you curious about regarding me?”
“Ha…”
Kang Siwon pressed down on his throbbing temples and asked.
“…Your age. Are you twenty-five?”
“No, still twenty-four. You guessed pretty close though?”
“I heard rumors that you’d inherit shares in the year you turn twenty-five.”
“Right. For reference, my birthday is in three weeks. I’ll be expecting a gift.”
The saying “the rich are worse”—this guy who has the wealth to stay in the Sovereign penthouse for a month is demanding a gift from someone struggling with 3 billion in debt.
Thinking that far, there was one more thing that puzzled him.
“Ray Jun, can I ask why you’re specifically staying at Sovereign? You said it’s dangerous here.”
This was Ray Jun who didn’t even order room service, saying he didn’t know what those who wanted to eliminate him might do. Yet in other ways, he wasn’t that thorough. Looking closely, he wandered around alone without bodyguards, and even now he was calmly sitting in a restaurant inside Sovereign. He had no idea what standard Ray Jun used to measure danger.
“If Sovereign is so dangerous, you could go somewhere else. Leave Macau entirely. The place where you originally lived…”
“New York.”
“Right, New York. You could go back there.”
“Why should I?”
Ray Jun replied indifferently. A bit flustered by that sudden shift in atmosphere, Kang Siwon saw him jerk his chin toward the food.
“Talk while eating. The food’s getting cold.”
“…Yeah.”
Only then did Kang Siwon pick up a piece of lobster to eat. Yet Ray Jun still didn’t even glance at the food and muttered indifferently.
“Why should I leave? This is a resort where I clearly have shares too.”
“……”
“I have no intention of leaving until I get back my rightful share.”
Kang Siwon swallowed the lobster meat. So Ray Jun staying at Sovereign Resort wasn’t simply for convenience, but seemed to be a matter of pride.
“Even if you have to take risks, you can’t give up the position where you rightfully should be?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you’ll stay at Sovereign until you get what you want?”
“For now, you should assume I’ll be staying at Sovereign for a while. If Chairman Li Yong doesn’t keep the contract, it could drag on for years.”
“What about me?”
Kang Siwon didn’t miss Ray Jun’s gaze turning subtly cold. Nevertheless, he met those hazelnut-colored eyes and added.
“You said you brought me to Sovereign because you were reluctant to part with me. But you know now that I have somewhere to return to, right? If you plan to keep staying at Sovereign, we’ll have to part ways eventually anyway.”
“…You’re talking as if you’d live with me as long as I don’t stay at Sovereign, Siwon?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Kang Siwon brazenly deflected. It was a cunning manner of speaking he’d learned from Ray Jun.
“You said Sovereign is dangerous. That’s why you didn’t let me go out freely, wasn’t it?”
It wasn’t as if Kang Siwon had spent the week meekly complying. Two days ago, his chest had suddenly become unbearably stuffy in the middle of the night, and he’d confronted Ray Jun asking why he’d locked him up. At that time, Ray Jun had patted Kang Siwon’s back and coaxed him affectionately.
‘I’m sorry. From your position, it might feel like you’re locked up. But I’m really not trying to lock you up. It’s just too dangerous outside. I’m worried that the people targeting me might put you in danger too.’
‘……’
‘I don’t care if I get hurt, but what if something happens to you.’
Separate from how sick and tired he was of this situation, it wasn’t entirely absurd. It was true that the Sovereign personnel literally wanted to “kill” Ray Jun.
But whether it was a competition for shares or internal power struggles, Sovereign’s family feud had nothing to do with Kang Siwon. Nevertheless, the reason he couldn’t voice the thought ‘Why not just let me go so I don’t get dragged into this’ was purely because he’d committed many sins.
Right. He might somehow be able to endure until the month was up. But if even after the promised period passed, Ray Jun made various excuses like now and didn’t let him go… then even the good memories with him seemed like they’d become tainted.
“How can you keep living in such a dangerous place? Even if you have unavoidable reasons, I don’t.”
“…Ha.”
Now Ray Jun didn’t even hide his twisted mood and openly displayed displeasure with that pretty face. Despite the lavish feast laid out, this meal was as good as over.
“I didn’t realize you wanted to return to the Baeksa Faction so badly. Did you develop feelings for them while doing spy work?”
“No, it’s not that I want to return to the Baeksa Faction, I’m doing this because I hate being locked up. There’s also the visa issue.”
“Yeah. I understand your point well. You’re saying to prepare for after a month? Thanks for letting me know, Siwon.”
He had no idea why Ray Jun was throwing a tantrum like that again. Far from understanding his point well, it seemed only strange misunderstandings had piled up. Kang Siwon frowned and opened his mouth, but couldn’t correct Ray Jun’s words.
Drrrrrk—
Because the door opened without warning.
