It was wrapping thinner than even a candy wrapper. In the end, wasn’t this asking him to commit perjury? Kang Siwon subtly frowned and asked.
“I understand this is a case where the police investigation has already concluded. Are you claiming that investigation was wrong?”
―That’s right. I’m not trying to disparage the police’s investigative capabilities, but back then he was wearing a mask, so the situation is different. ‘Ray Jun’ has no reason to kill Zhang Weiren, but if it’s ‘Ray Morrow,’ the story changes. Ray Morrow has a motive.
“What is that motive……”
―It seems too early to tell you that. It looks like you’ve reached a conclusion anyway, so why don’t you answer quickly? Will you accept it or not?
“You’re asking me to decide this quickly when it’s a proposal from someone I don’t even know who they are?”
―I am…….
“No, never mind. I’m sorry, but I can’t do it.”
Kang Siwon answered without even deliberating.
No matter how much he wanted to get rid of the debt of 4.8 billion won, this wasn’t it. Perjury was a clear crime, and if things went wrong, it could even destroy the innocent Ray Jun. Even though he had done many immoral things, he wasn’t trash enough to do something like this.
―Ha…….
A breath of disbelief could be heard from beyond the phone. Just that sound alone made Kang Siwon’s lips stiffen.
―Shall I tell you one more thing? Our side has secured fairly persuasive circumstantial evidence.
“……”
―That means even if you don’t accept the proposal, Ray Jun will become a suspect. If that happens, your future attached to Ray Jun won’t be smooth either. Is that still okay?
“What do you……”
Just then, a commotion was felt at the bathroom entrance. It seemed people trying to enter the bathroom were being blocked by Li Hou’s subordinates. No wonder there was no one except that gang—they had controlled it like this.
―Think carefully about what the wise choice would be.
And the call was abruptly cut off.
Kang Siwon, with a frown on his face, handed the phone to the man who was still standing guard in front of him. The man silently retrieved the phone and left the bathroom. When the others also left the bathroom, the surroundings became desolate.
“……Ha.”
Left alone in the bathroom, Kang Siwon let out the breath he had been holding. Suddenly, he saw his reflection in the mirror. His hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, his complexion was pale, and his clothes had dirty stains on them. He looked terribly disheveled.
* * *
When he checked the time after Li Hou’s gang left the bathroom, only 5 minutes had passed. One second had felt like 10 minutes, but only that much time had actually passed—it felt like he had been possessed by something.
Although it was a conversation where he didn’t gain anything in particular, he was fortunate just that Gemma hadn’t caught him making contact with Li Hou. After roughly washing the stain on his T-shirt at the sink, Kang Siwon left the bathroom.
Just then, he saw Gemma walking from a distance. Approaching Kang Siwon, she handed him pants with the shopping bag.
“I don’t know if the size will fit. Try them on first, Siwon.”
“Thank you.”
Kang Siwon went back into the bathroom, changed into the pants, and came out. Seeing him, Gemma nodded.
“Oh, the tracksuit looks good on you too.”
“Does it?”
“What wouldn’t look good on a handsome man?”
Having to flatter even the CEO’s son’s friend—being a secretary really seemed like an extreme profession. While he was away, Gemma had no idea what had happened and remained purely kind, making Kang Siwon’s conscience prick a little.
“If you’re done looking at the garden, would it be okay to return to the hotel now?”
“Let’s do that.”
He had talked with the person who sent the message, so this was enough. It wasn’t bad to get some air away from Ray Jun for once.
The two moved to the parking lot. As they got in the car, Gemma started the engine and said.
“The young master will also finish his schedule soon. We might arrive around the same time.”
“Ray Jun’s schedule…… you mean the meal with his mother?”
“That’s right.”
“……I heard before that Ray Jun’s mother is a lawyer.”
It wasn’t something anyone told him, but rather a fact he learned from inadvertently eavesdropping on Ray Jun’s phone calls. He didn’t know what the criteria were for hiding information, but if it was trivial information, Ray Jun would exchange it over the phone without caring that Kang Siwon was nearby. Sure enough, Gemma agreed.
“That’s right. She’s really an amazing person.”
“I see.”
A lawyer’s son.
It felt somewhat ironic. Ray Jun didn’t seem like the type to value the law highly. Though he wasn’t in a position to criticize, Ray Jun had also joined Sovereign by deceiving them about his identity. And…….
‘Shall I tell you one more thing? Our side has secured fairly persuasive circumstantial evidence.’
Li Hou’s confident assertion echoed in his ears. Unless he was a fool, even if Ray Jun was a thorn in his side, he wasn’t someone who would spread completely baseless rumors. This meant Ray Jun had done at least something ‘that could be used against him.’
Of course, Kang Siwon didn’t think Ray Jun had killed Zhang Weiren. That was the same when they were roommates, when he found out his identity, and now.
At the same time, Kang Siwon knew Ray Jun’s true nature to some extent. If it were him, even if he wouldn’t directly stab someone with a knife, it seemed likely he would cleverly guide them to the edge of a cliff.
“We’ve arrived.”
While lost in thought, they had arrived at the hotel. Kang Siwon got out of the car with Gemma.
While going to take the elevator, Kang Siwon asked her.
“Gemma, could I get your business card?”
“My business card?”
“Yes.”
“Here you go.”
Though she seemed a bit puzzled, Gemma readily handed over a business card. Kang Siwon took it and checked it.
M&W
Gemma Romano
Personal Assistant
At the bottom of the card were contact information and an email address. In fact, he had requested it on the intuition that he might need to contact Gemma—or more precisely, Ray Jun’s mother who was a lawyer—but there was an unexpected gain.
He clearly learned that the law firm where Ray Jun’s mother held the position of CEO was none other than ‘M&W.’
Although Kang Siwon had no connections or knowledge related to the legal world, he had heard that name before.
‘It was belatedly confirmed that CEO Li Yong barely avoided criminal prosecution in the major tax evasion case that nearly drove Sovereign Resort to the brink of closure.’
‘The prosecution considered indicting the CEO, but the situation reversed when the global law firm M&W took on the role of legal representative for Sovereign Resort. The defense team argued there were procedural problems and challenged the validity of key evidence, and ultimately the case was concluded with a fine payment and administrative measures.’
It was an article he had accidentally read while searching about Sovereign sometime ago. It seemed that one of the lawyers who saved Sovereign from crisis at that time was Ray Jun’s mother. In a way, Ray Jun had been entangled with Sovereign’s darkness even before he was born.
Even so, could this really be a motive to harm Zhang Weiren?
Or was it just a separate story?
As thoughts continued in succession, they had already reached the elevator. Kang Siwon went up to the guest room with Gemma.
* * *
“Siwon, I heard you spilled watermelon juice?”
That was Ray Jun’s first words upon entering the guest room.
Kang Siwon turned to him and replied bluntly.
“Yeah. So what?”
“Is that why you’re wearing training pants? I dressed you in pretty clothes and you’ve already changed into black clothes. There’s no reward for buying you clothes.”
“These are more comfortable than what you bought.”
“Ha…… You said nothing would happen, but what on earth happened in that short time?”
Ray Jun narrowed his eyes and looked down at Kang Siwon sitting on the sofa. It seemed like a hint of disdain passed through his gaze. It might have been a misperception due to his own inferiority complex. Or perhaps it was because Ray Jun, unlike him, was in a perfect suit, making him feel unnecessarily intimidated.
“I just stumbled for a moment, okay? Have you never done that?”
“I haven’t.”
“How perfect of you, really.”
“What about the watermelon juice?”
“What about the watermelon juice?”
“You said you wanted to drink it. Did you buy another one and drink it after spilling it?”
How on earth did he know even such trivial things? Gemma must have reported it to him. In any case, the type of juice was just an excuse to shake off Gemma.
“No. I didn’t drink it.”
“Oh my…… That must have been disappointing.”
Ray Jun made a regretful expression. At times like this, he really did seem to empathize well. He couldn’t understand what was going on inside him at all.
But right now, what was important to Kang Siwon was a different matter.
What exactly was the motive that ‘Ray Morrow’ supposedly had, and what was the decisive evidence?
Somehow, as time passed, his doubts grew. Since thinking alone wouldn’t give him an answer, in the end it was a matter he would have to ask Ray Jun directly.
