“Let me make this clear. Your eyewitness testimony is just a one-sided claim. Without objective records like recordings or videos, such statements can’t be adopted as decisive evidence.”
“But it could work unfavorably during the investigation. Especially if coached by Li COO.”
Ha, the CEO let out a cold sneer. Whether eliciting even this reaction from her would be favorable or unfavorable for him was still unknown.
“So. What are you trying to gain by attempting such a half-baked blackmail?”
“If that’s how you felt, I apologize. However, I wasn’t trying to blackmail you—I just wanted to ask you for a deal.”
“A deal? What kind?”
“…I’d like to borrow money from you.”
His face burned from doing something so shameless. However, Kang Siwon pulled himself together. To escape from Ray Jun, he had no choice but to attach himself to Li Hou—this was the only way.
“I need 4.8 billion Korean won to settle the debt I owe Ray Jun. I won’t make empty promises about being able to repay it quickly. However, I promise to stake everything I have and repay it over my lifetime.”
“So what you’re saying is, you want to borrow a large sum from me to repay the debt you owe Ray.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Even if he borrowed the money, it would just be the mother’s money moving to her son’s pocket. The total wealth of the entire family would remain the same. Kang Siwon earnestly hoped the CEO would take this point into consideration. When such desperate feelings arose, words came out unknowingly.
“…And once the debt relationship is settled, I’ll never appear before Ray Jun again.”
“Who are you to him?”
Her retort sounded both like mockery—’What influence could someone like you even have on Ray Jun?’—and also like a simple question confirming their relationship. Kang Siwon swallowed dryly.
In fact, the CEO must already know about his relationship with her son. There was no way her secretary Gemma hadn’t reported it. And it was clear the CEO was never pleased with this relationship.
“…Whatever relationship I had with Ray Jun, I’ll settle it. Once the debt is resolved, I’ll never appear before him again.”
At that assertion, the CEO’s gaze grew even colder.
“If you’re ‘friends’ close enough to share a hotel room, you must know how important this period is for Ray right now. But if you dare create noise, Ray will lose what he’s been waiting for his entire life. Do you know how selfish your blackmail is?”
“…I know.”
It was as expected. The CEO looked like she wanted to eliminate him as a risk factor. She added another nail.
“If you know, I can take it to mean you’ll completely sever ties?”
“Yes. I’ll return to Korea and live quietly as if I’d never met Ray Jun. Of course, I won’t accept Li COO’s proposal either.”
The CEO leaned back against the backrest and stared at Kang Siwon for a long time. It was a sharp gaze as if dissecting the person named Kang Siwon.
This silence felt unusually long. Kang Siwon clenched his sweat-soaked hands into fists and hesitated whether to just kneel. If it would make him look even more desperate, and if only it could move the CEO’s heart, he could do anything.
Then, the CEO’s lips slowly opened.
“I’ll accept the deal.”
“…!”
“However, I’ll impose the condition that you keep every single term you’ve proposed yourself.”
“I’ll definitely keep them. Thank you…! Thank you so much.”
Kang Siwon nodded his head frantically. Was this what it felt like to walk endlessly through a dark tunnel and finally discover light? His breathing truly cleared for the first time in a long while.
“Miss Romano.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Prepare a loan contract. I’ll draft the certificate myself. Miss Romano, call a notary and serve as witness.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s handle this as quickly as possible.”
At the CEO’s instructions, Gemma moved. Finally, Kang Siwon realized that what he’d thought would never be possible was becoming reality.
Could this be his delusion? His stomach churned from excessive excitement. His mind was clear as if in an awakened state, yet on the other hand, it was also hazy as if drunk.
However, one thing was certain. His life had finally begun to roll in the right direction.
* * *
The traffic light turned red.
Ray Jun pressed the brake gently. While waiting for the signal to change, he glanced to the side.
In the passenger seat was a lush bouquet of roses. It was a gift he’d bought to give to Kang Siwon tonight.
What kind of reaction would Kang Siwon show when receiving the bouquet? Surely at first he’d grumble, ‘Why did you buy something so useless?’ He might glare at him, telling him not to mess around.
Did Kang Siwon know? That he himself got aroused by that sharp expression?
While there were many people in the world with pretty smiling faces, Kang Siwon would be the only one with a pretty angry face. After frowning and grumbling like that, he’d probably eventually slyly smell the rose fragrance and mutter, ‘…The scent is nice.’
“Haha.”
At the vividly anticipated scene, Ray Jun couldn’t help but burst into laughter. So that’s why he shouldn’t have stayed silent when asked if he needed anything. He’d threatened that if he kept saying nothing like that, he’d buy whatever gift he wanted, but Kang Siwon had been stubborn and kept his mouth shut.
The signal had already changed to green. As he pressed the accelerator pleasantly, the car moved smoothly. Though it was a temporarily rented vehicle, it wasn’t bad. Like this, Ray Jun’s recent progress had been as smooth as a sports car racing down a well-paved road.
The directors of Sovereign who had been as close as sworn brothers to CEO Li Yong were turning their backs on him one by one. It seemed the instigation that ‘what can we rely on from the Li father and son who can’t even properly handle chip exchanges’ had worked splendidly.
His relationship with Kang Siwon was also going smoothly. Ray Jun recalled last night’s surprise confession.
‘I liked you quite a lot. Enough that I wondered how I could avoid breaking up with you.’
‘I’ll probably long for the dormitory we lived in together for the rest of my life. Even though I can never go back.’
It was a memory he’d revisited at least thirty times just today, so it was very vivid. By now he should be sick of it, but every time he recalled it, he only felt proud. Ray Jun rubbed his lips that were slowly spreading into a smile.
“Hah… This really.”
Did he like himself that much? Of course, he’d treated him quite well when they shared the dormitory, so it might be natural that Kang Siwon had fallen for him. However, it was surprising that his feelings were deeper than expected. And the fact that he hadn’t shown it was even astonishing.
“Anyway, so dishonest.”
For such a Kang Siwon to say so straightforwardly, ‘I liked you quite a lot,’ it was safe to say he’d now completely opened his heart to him. If he continued to be this cute, there would be nothing in the way between Kang Siwon and himself.
The new daily life that would unfold soon seemed quite interesting. Ray Jun drove in a pleasant mood.
That’s when he’d just arrived at the hotel parking lot.
Buzz—. Buzz—.
His phone vibrated as if a call was coming in. Ray Jun first finished parking, then checked the caller. It was Gemma.
“Yeah. What’s up.”
—The CEO is calling for you, young master.
“At this late hour?”
Actually, the time didn’t matter. Important issues didn’t distinguish between day and night. Surely she was calling because it was worth calling about, and knowing that well, he still didn’t feel like it just for today. It was because he was full of anticipation to quickly go up to the room and hand the bouquet to Kang Siwon.
—It’s important business.
“Of course it would be.”
He could tell just from hearing Gemma’s voice. Unlike usual, it was a stiff tone completely devoid of laughter. Ray Jun frowned slightly and asked.
“What is it? You have to give me a hint so I can prepare.”
—…I’m sorry. It seems difficult to tell you over the phone.
Ray Jun clicked his tongue. In the end, it seemed he’d have to go see his mother in person. Fortunately, the hotel where his mother was staying was close, so it wouldn’t take too long to go back and forth.
“Got it. I’ll leave right away.”
Unable to let go of his regret, glancing at the rose bouquet in the passenger seat, Ray Jun started the engine again.
* * *
What he heard after meeting his mother was a ridiculous joke.
That Kang Siwon had repaid the debt amounting to 4.8 billion won. Therefore, there was no longer any debt between him and himself, and Kang Siwon had left for Korea.
The moment he heard that he’d be at Changi Airport by now, Ray Jun couldn’t hold back any longer and turned around. However, there was a hand that grabbed his wrist.
“Where are you trying to go?”
“Let go, Mother.”
“If you’re trying to chase after him, stop. Are you going to make me defend you for stalking too? Murder charges would be better. Though that might really happen soon.”
“Why did you do something so unnecessary?”
Ray Jun spat out, suppressing his rage. Unlike him, burning like red-hot charcoal, his mother replied coldly.
“Then. Should I have just left alone someone who said they’d join hands with Li Hou if I didn’t lend them money?”
“You could have thought of plenty of other methods, Mother! No, it was something I could have resolved on my own in the first place.”
“How? By locking up your friend and monitoring them 24 hours?”
Why not? He’d been foolish to leave Kang Siwon alone even for a moment. He shouldn’t have been reassured just because he was at the hotel—he should have tied him down more thoroughly.
