# Chapter 118
Dojin began his day in a refreshing mood and quickly finished getting ready. Although there was a wound on the face that Habin adored to the point of obsession, he didn’t mind since he had transformed even that into a tool that enhanced his appearance.
After changing into neat clothes and finishing with a spritz of cologne, he picked up his phone to send Habin a message. That’s when he noticed a new message that had arrived while he was preparing.
Since it was from Habin, Dojin entered the chat without hesitation and frowned as he read the message.
“Don’t go out?”
Why? Reflexively thinking of Ji Haecheon at the warning-filled sentence, Dojin tilted his head. Normally, he would have judged it as Ji Haecheon causing trouble again.
However, Ji Wuhyun was in Korea now, and it hadn’t been long since the incident at the party, so wasn’t it time for him to be more cautious?
Above all, Dojin knew that Ji Haecheon’s family absolutely hated him fighting under the pretext of hierarchy, so he was perplexed. He wondered who else would try to mess with Habin if not him.
First, he called Habin to make sure he was okay. At this time, Habin should have gone outside to head to their meeting place, so Dojin felt he would only be reassured by hearing his voice.
“Why isn’t he answering?”
Since the call went to voicemail, Dojin called again. But all he heard was the ringtone, and the other party didn’t pick up.
Only then did Dojin intuitively sense that something had happened and began contacting several people. He even reached out to those who followed him but whom he usually paid no attention to.
Tap, tap. Unable to hide his anxiety, Dojin snapped his fingers and ran his hand through his carefully styled hair. He wished anyone would reply quickly, but no one contacted him until his patience wore thin.
Finally, as Dojin was gathering his things to at least go to Habin’s house, a cheerful ring sounded, and he picked up his phone. His expectation that a reply had finally arrived was immediately crushed. The number on the screen was one he’d never seen before.
He was about to ignore the message, but couldn’t because of its content. It contained not only Habin’s location and current situation but also why things had progressed this way.
“If it’s Kang Jinwoo—”
From what he remembered, Kang Jinwoo had a decent relationship with Habin. It wasn’t a good relationship at first, but they seemed to have built a cordial relationship without Dojin even knowing.
The veracity was questionable, but the name Kang Jinwoo tipped the scale toward truth. As far as he knew, the relationship between Kang Jinwoo and Habin was publicly hostile. So there was no reason to deceive Dojin by using Kang Jinwoo’s name and claiming to help Habin.
Though it wasn’t something he had expected, Dojin felt relieved to learn that Habin’s situation was better than he thought, thanks to Kang Jinwoo. That didn’t mean his anger had completely subsided, though.
“That bastard finally did something, huh?”
Whew, he barely calmed his emotions with deep breaths. Naturally realizing what he needed to do now, Dojin first asked Baek Han for help. There was no guarantee that more serious incidents wouldn’t occur when someone had gone as far as kidnapping.
Then he immediately called Ji Haecheon. He must have used some pathetic schemes, making sure he could back out at any time, so Dojin needed to corner him with no way out.
“Did you have fun?”
[What nonsense are you talking about, calling so suddenly.]
Unlike yesterday, the relaxed voice irritated Dojin. When he gritted his teeth, a gleeful laugh was heard through the speaker. Dojin was convinced that Ji Haecheon was behind Habin’s kidnapping, seeing as he showed no signs of being flustered.
“You find it funny seeing what you’ve done?”
[I don’t know what you’re talking about?]
There was no effort even in his pretense. It was infuriating how his body language screamed that he did it, while his words denied it.
“Habin was kidnapped, and you really don’t know?”
[What does your boyfriend getting kidnapped have to do with me?]
“Ha—”
Sensing that Ji Haecheon wouldn’t easily open up, Dojin slammed the wall with his clenched fist. His skin turned red from the irritated gesture, but more important than that was figuring out how to change Ji Haecheon’s attitude.
Should he get angry? Or should he show his anxiety? No, he shouldn’t. Considering Ji Haecheon’s personality that he had observed so far, he should instead act calmly, as if nothing was wrong.
It was right to display confidence that he could perfectly resolve whatever Ji Haecheon said or did. As if nothing Ji Haecheon did could affect him.
Seemingly arrogant, provocatively.
“Well. Your guts aren’t big enough to carry out a kidnapping.”
[What?]
“How could a dog who quickly tucks his tail between his legs, afraid of his brother, kidnap Habin? Right?”
[Who tucked their tail—!]
“Seeing you get riled up like that, you must feel guilty?”
Dojin put on a mocking expression as if Ji Haecheon were right in front of him. He had no choice but to pretend as much as possible, feeling that his true feelings might burst out at any moment.
[…Does acting like that help you? You have no idea what I might do to Lee Habin.]
He asked.
Finally getting the answer he wanted, the corners of Dojin’s mouth naturally curved upward. But he didn’t show it and continued his act.
“Didn’t you say it wasn’t your doing?”
[What if I did do it?]
“Well, wouldn’t you know better?”
Dragging out his words, Dojin tapped his fingers together. Hearing the sound through the receiver, Ji Haecheon showed a satisfied look. Because he knew it was a kind of habit that emerged when Kwon Dojin was anxious.
[Putting up a front won’t help. You should know better, right? That it’s meaningless to just make claims without evidence.]
“Ji Haecheon.”
[You should have minded your own business. It’s your fault Lee Habin is suffering because you were showing off.]
As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Ji Haecheon provoked Dojin with a thoroughly delighted tone. Ji Haecheon, who had been teasing his opponent by dragging out his words, tapped on his phone screen when the silence stretched on.
“So, you’re admitting that you did it?”
[Yes. What are you going to do about it?]
Having obtained Ji Haecheon’s confident answer, Dojin removed the phone from his ear and pressed a button with a much lighter gesture.
“This is why you’re hopeless, Ji Haecheon. If you were going to be clever, you should have done it properly.”
Having gotten what he wanted, Dojin flipped his attitude as easily as turning his palm. Hearing a voice full of composure and mockery rather than one trembling with anger, Ji Haecheon realized something had gone wrong.
“Feeling proud because you think you were clever? Happy because you think you’ve got me good this time? But you know what, it looks like you’ll have to leave Korea soon.”
[…What are you talking about.]
“You don’t make progress because you act like a ruffian without checking the family atmosphere. Don’t you know your company is facing an important contract these days?”
Leaning his back against the wall, Dojin rested the back of his head against it and raised the corners of his mouth. It was truly too enjoyable to drag someone down into the mud who thought he had the upper hand and was showing off.
Even without that, he couldn’t just stand by and watch someone act so cheerfully after messing with Habin. By any means necessary, he needed to ruin Ji Haecheon, or at least pull him down, to feel even slightly better.
[How did you—]
“How could I not know? The rumors are everywhere.”
Lowering his gaze, he brushed back his hair that had fallen to the side. Judging by Ji Haecheon’s increasingly rough breathing, he seemed to be getting agitated. Dojin inwardly clicked his tongue at the reaction that didn’t deviate from expectations.
“I wonder what you’ll do, since you probably don’t know any foreign languages—”
[Do you think just talking prettily without evidence will work?]
“You gave it to me, the evidence.”
Despite trying to appear calm, the trembling at the end of his words made it futile. Dojin’s satisfaction doubled thanks to Ji Haecheon, who was confused with anxiety, suspicion, and impatience mixed together.
“How does it feel to have spilled everything in detail without even thinking it might be recorded?”
[…Fuck you, Kwon Dojin!]
“Are you coming to your senses now?”
Blowing away his bangs that had fallen into his view, Dojin slightly tilted his head. After a rather long silence, Ji Haecheon, who had finally calmed down, pretended to be composed.
[Lee Habin is still in my hands. Threatening me like this—]
“Ah, you still haven’t come to your senses?”
Dojin let out a short exclamation. He couldn’t help but laugh at Ji Haecheon’s actions, still struggling without grasping the situation.
“Can you lower your position any further? Isn’t it precarious enough already?”
How much more did he want to ruin with his own hands? Since it seemed difficult for him to maintain his rationality, Dojin decided to kindly remind him of his situation.
“If you want to stay in Korea even a little longer, don’t touch Habin anymore. I mean, don’t act like a dog that can’t tell front from back.”
[Who are you to spout such words.]
“Who am I?”
Dojin laughed lowly at Ji Haecheon’s actions, full of obstinacy and unable to face reality until the end. Though it wouldn’t hurt him if Ji Haecheon acted foolishly, Dojin decided to help him recognize his place again, considering the bond they’d shared since childhood.
“I’m the one holding your leash.”
With a voice tinged with faint amusement, Dojin ended the conversation lightly, almost singing, and hung up. The tide had completely turned.
Well damn