“No. No. I want to come up. I, I’ll lie down.”
Yeohwi quickly crawled to the inside of the bed, afraid Dowon might change his mind. At the signs of movement rustling beside him, Dowon turned his back. They were separated by the width of the bed, maintaining a precarious distance.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Even a 5-year-old doesn’t throw tantrums like you. You should be ashamed.”
It was clearly a rebuke, but to Yeohwi’s ears it sounded more welcome than any sweet words.
He gave in. He accepted my stubbornness, my heart.
Yeohwi felt the corners of his mouth rising uncontrollably even as he sniffled.
“…Hehe.”
“Don’t laugh. It’s annoying.”
Dowon stretched out his arm and turned off the stand lamp that had been on.
The room was plunged into darkness. Only the moonlight from outside the window faintly illuminated the outlines of the two men.
Yeohwi caught his breath for a moment at this unbelievable victory, then turned to lie facing Dowon’s side. Dowon was beside him. This time they were really in the same bed.
He could see his solid shoulder extending outside the blanket. It was within reaching distance.
Yeohwi, who had been quietly watching that back, slowly moved his body. He didn’t know what he was thinking. It just felt like if not now, it would never happen, and without any other thought, his body moved first on its own.
A little closer. Just a little more.
Yeohwi, who had closed the distance on the spacious king-size bed, carefully stretched out his arm. He hugged Dowon’s waist tightly and buried his face in his solid back.
It was warm. Much hotter than what he’d felt in his dreams, with a clear substance. It was the warmth of a living person.
Dowon’s back stiffened rigidly.
“Get off. It’s hot.”
“Sniff…”
Yeohwi pretended not to hear, making sniffling sounds as he hugged him even tighter. He rubbed his face against the split back muscles and burrowed in, completely clinging.
“Dowon-ssi, you smell good…”
“This, overgrown thing, where do you think you’re…”
Dowon twisted his body, trying to remove Yeohwi’s arm. But Yeohwi stuck like a leech and wouldn’t come off. He put his weight into his limp body and completely leaned on and relied on Dowon. Each time he rubbed his head, the smell of soap and shampoo from freshly washed Seong Yeohwi wafted up.
“…Fuck.”
A low curse scattered into the darkness.
Dowon squeezed his eyes shut and opened them.
And he glared at the ceiling with eyes so furious that the whites showed.
But he ultimately didn’t push Yeohwi away.
Finally giving up, Dowon lowered his arm and relaxed his strength.
The hot, large lump stuck to his back like baggage. It was like dealing with a giant beast cub that wouldn’t listen.
***
The false honeymoon spent in Zurich passed by in a flash.
Outwardly it was a glamorous and splendid honeymoon of a chaebol family that made society buzz, but in reality underneath it was nothing but a dogfight with all sorts of struggles going back and forth.
Not only the tense nerve war between Dowon and Yeohwi, but also the meticulous financial operation the two had planned proceeded secretly and steadily.
After many twists and turns, Yeohwi succeeded in liquidizing massive funds using all his inheritance as collateral, and with those funds established an untraceable offshore fund called ‘ONE Fund’.
And just before returning home, he purchased the entire amount of bad debt from the paper company ‘Stone’ that Do Jingyu had been using for money laundering under the name of ONE Fund.
With this, he had perfectly grasped Do Jingyu’s leash.
All preparations were complete. Now it was time to wield the sharply honed blade.
Screech. The massive tires scraped the asphalt of the runway, making a loud friction sound.
After a long 12-hour flight, the KD Group private jet came to a stop at the private terminal of Incheon International Airport.
When the hatch opened, air different from what they’d tasted in Switzerland—Seoul’s acrid and dry wind—rushed in. The season had already passed mid-autumn. It was around the time when the wind piercing through collars was becoming quite sharp.
Dowon, who had descended the steps, stopped in front of the black sedan that was waiting. Yeohwi, who had been following behind him, also stopped with a tense face.
The sweet and bitter memories of the honeymoon that had gone through many twists and turns evaporated the moment the airplane door opened. Now it was time for a thorough attack. The dark gray sky that looked like it would pour rain at any moment seemed to herald the prelude to the coming war.
“It’ll be noisy for a while. Go home and wait.”
Dowon gave Yeohwi a brief command. His touch adjusting his necktie was somehow resolute. His eyes had already sunk as if heading to a battlefield.
“Don’t move until the pig bastard screams caught in a trap.”
“…I understand.”
Yeohwi nodded calmly. Everything he could do was finished. Now it was Dowon’s turn to go wield his weapon.
“Don’t overdo it.”
Yeohwi added quietly. Then hesitantly fiddled with the end of his trench coat sleeve.
“Um, Dowon-ssi.”
Yeohwi, who had been contemplating, raised his wrist. The Patek Philippe watch they’d gotten at the airport under the honeymoon pretext gleamed softly.
“I have a favor, can I… not take this off?”
“……”
“It’s expensive, right? It seems wasteful to wear it just once. I think I’d feel less anxious and better if I stayed connected like this while apart from you, Dowon-ssi… Can’t I?”
As Yeohwi wheedled while reading the mood, the space between Dowon’s brows narrowed conspicuously. He wasn’t someone who showed emotions like this before, but lately Dowon was blatantly showing his feelings. At this rate, wrinkles might form on his forehead.
“Why do you want so many things?”
Dowon spoke as if rebuking, and without even giving an answer, pushed Yeohwi’s back telling him to just go.
“Go. No more talk.”
“I’m not taking it off. I’ll look at the watch and think of you, Dowon-ssi.”
Yeohwi said stubbornly. Dowon didn’t respond and turned his body to approach the waiting vehicle. Toward that cold-hearted-looking back, Yeohwi cupped his hands and shouted.
“You know what? I’ll even kiss the watch. Every time I think of you, Dowon-ssi, I’ll do that, okay?”
“……”
“Anyway, I’ll wait for you! I’ll text you, so reply. Contact me, definitely!”
Dowon didn’t look back and coldly got into the vehicle headed to headquarters with his attendants. Yeohwi got into a separately arrived car and headed to the mansion.
The two cars separated at the fork in the road without lingering attachment, moving away toward their respective battlefields.
***
KD Group headquarters, 30th floor, main conference room.
When Dowon opened the conference room door and entered, the corporate dispute specialist lawyers under the legal team and key financial team personnel who had been waiting in advance all stood up in unison.
“Please sit.”
Dowon sat at the head seat and took off his jacket, hanging it on the chair. His secretary immediately set up the tablet and approval documents in front of him.
Dowon rolled up his shirt sleeves and scanned the attendees with sharp eyes.
“Let’s begin. Starting with the Taesung Logistics matter.”
The head of the legal team brought up the screen and began reporting.
“Yes. As you instructed, Director, this morning we simultaneously filed with the Seoul Central District Court a provisional disposition application for inspection and copying of accounting books for Taesung Logistics and a provisional disposition application prohibiting dividend payments.”
“Press response?”
“We coordinated with the PR team to lift the embargo. Articles will appear on portal main pages by tomorrow. The keywords are private gain extraction by the owner family and dividend feast of unlisted affiliates.”
Dowon nodded. Strength entered each joint of his fingers rolling the fountain pen.
“However, Director, there is a concern.”
The senior lawyer of the legal team cautiously spoke up. The air in the conference room grew heavy.
“If we expose internal corruption on such a large scale, damage to KD Group’s overall external credibility will be inevitable. Not only will there be a sharp stock price drop due to owner risk, but we may also face public backlash.”
He paused for a moment before adding.
“Above all, while the Chairman is ill, if the management dispute turns into a mudslinging fight, the entire group could shake. Won’t it become a case of burning down the thatched cottage to catch a bedbug?”
Thunk. Dowon closed the cap of the fountain pen he was holding and lightly placed it on the table.
It wasn’t a loud sound, but it was enough to instantly silence the noise in the conference room.
Dowon leaned back comfortably against the backrest and gazed at the lawyer over his clasped hands.
“Counselor, the market fears uncertainty more than bad news.”
His eyes were calm but eerily sharp.
