The cell phone that had been lost when he was kidnapped by Go Yeongbin appeared brazenly before Seungyeon’s eyes. As he examined the powered-off phone, his eyes suddenly darted around.
“Why do you have this?”
Is he really in cahoots with Go Yeongbin? As suspicion piled upon suspicion, Seungyeon’s eyes grew endlessly cold. Having brilliantly picked up on what he was thinking, Yoon Taerim waved his hands, telling him not to misunderstand.
“It’s not like that. I have no relationship with Go Yeongbin whatsoever. I may play around a bit, but I don’t play dirty like that bastard, you know?”
Yoon Taerim put on a serious face, saying that being lumped into the same category as Go Yeongbin was humiliating in itself. They did know each other, and it was true they’d hung out a few times, but there was no connection beyond that. Even as Yoon Taerim actively protested, Seungyeon couldn’t let go of his suspicion. As they say, the one who farted gets angry. Wasn’t Yoon Taerim like that too?
“I’m really innocent. First of all, I have no connection with Go Yeongbin, and my only crime is looking out for you, Seungyeon. The fact that I left my contact information also has a clear context. There was a contract condition about registering your mother as a VIP at our hospital, remember? So as soon as she was admitted to the hospital, I got a call too.”
Come to think of it, there had been something like that in the contract conditions. Recalling Yoon Taerim’s proposal that mentioned a building, a cruise trip, and hospital VIP status, Seungyeon nodded his head. He’d lived forgetting about it without a second thought until now, but it seemed Yoon Taerim hadn’t forgotten and had taken care of it. Unlike his appearance, Yoon Taerim had acted quite reliably, and his favorability rating rose ever so slightly.
“Since the call came, I contacted you to check what was going on. But Go Yeongbin answered the phone.”
Yoon Taerim slowly straightened his posture. Just like when he’d taken out Seungyeon’s phone, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small black device. Seungyeon’s eyes widened.
“Is this by any chance a dashcam?”
“Of course. I brought it along with the phone. Everything Go Yeongbin did is recorded there, so I thought you could use it as evidence.”
As if expecting praise, he paused for a beat and looked at Seungyeon. Looking back and forth between the dashcam and Yoon Taerim, Seungyeon raised his eyebrows.
“……So the hospital called, and because of that you contacted me, but Go Yeongbin had my phone? So you met with Go Yeongbin and got the phone and dashcam?”
Yoon Taerim nodded. It wasn’t a mistake—his face clearly expected praise. Seungyeon looked at him silently, then let out a sigh.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Judging from Go Yeongbin’s last furious appearance, he wouldn’t have obediently handed over the phone. Then how did Yoon Taerim get it? By fighting with Go Yeongbin? Or by persuading him with words?
No matter what scene he imagined, the pieces didn’t fit together like mismatched puzzle pieces. He was supposed to believe that Yoon Taerim went all the way to where Go Yeongbin was and had a showdown for his sake? Since when has our relationship been bound together so tightly by loyalty?
“But that’s the truth. Honestly, it was a windfall, but anyway, it’s also true that I found them. Both Go Yeongbin and your phone.”
Yoon Taerim, who had crossed his legs at some point, wiggled his toes. After pausing briefly as if gauging Seungyeon’s reaction, he suddenly asked an unexpected question.
“You were with Sanho then, right?”
“What?”
Why is his name suddenly coming up? Not knowing how to interpret Seungyeon’s dumbfounded expression, Yoon Taerim nodded as if he understood.
“I knew it. Anyway, to organize the timeline—I also went to that resort because of a family gathering, just like Sanho, and coincidentally Go Yeongbin kidnapped you there. Jung Seyeong probably provided the location.”
Jung Sanho’s older brother, Jung Seyeong’s name suddenly popped out. Yoon Taerim also naturally assumed that man was behind it. What kind of behavior did he usually display for even Yoon Taerim to show such a reaction? Go Yeongbin, who directly caused the incident, was a problem, but Jung Seyeong who helped from behind was definitely a bad bastard too. The list of ‘people not to associate with’ piled up one by one in Seungyeon’s head.
“They were together. Jung Seyeong and Go Yeongbin.”
“Don’t tell me……”
Seungyeon gulped down dry saliva.
“Is Go Yeongbin also family……? Like, half-brothers or something?”
But then why are their surnames different? At the sight of Seungyeon seriously reasoning this out, Yoon Taerim, who had let his guard down, burst out laughing. The serious atmosphere crumbled in an instant.
“I’m going crazy…… Seungyeon, you’ve really watched a lot of makjang dramas, haven’t you?”
Being laughed at so openly felt really unpleasant. Yoon Taerim’s shoulders shook as he even teared up. Seungyeon glanced at him with disapproving eyes.
“Well, there’s no need to laugh that much……”
“Sorry. Ah, I didn’t expect the half-brother story to come up suddenly.”
“You said it was a family gathering. It wasn’t sudden—it was a pretty well-founded speculation.”
Yoon Taerim and Jung Sanho were cousins, so they were family. Jung Sanho and Jung Seyeong were also brothers. So it wouldn’t be strange at all to link Go Yeongbin as someone’s cousin or half-brother. The family relationships in this makjang world had long exceeded Seungyeon’s understanding.
“The half-brothers are Sanho and Jung Seyeong, and Go Yeongbin is definitely an outsider. Jung Seyeong has a group he often hangs out with, and Go Yeongbin is the core of it. Makes sense, right? How they’re connected.”
Yoon Taerim happened to find out what Go Yeongbin had done and pressured Jung Seyeong, who was covering for Go Yeongbin. When signs appeared that the situation might blow up, Jung Seyeong quickly changed his stance. He tried to cover up this matter by cutting off Go Yeongbin.
“So if you want to hold Go Yeongbin accountable through a lawsuit or whatever, go ahead. You’ll be safe.”
“What about Jung Seyeong? From what I can see, you seem to be involved with Jung Seyeong in many ways too. But it seems I shouldn’t touch Jung Seyeong?”
Seungyeon looked at Yoon Taerim with his arms crossed. The name he subtly skipped over with an ambiguous tone strangely got on his nerves.
Even though he pretended otherwise, Yoon Taerim was uncomfortable every time he mentioned Jung Seyeong. Jung Sanho was the same. Whether it was because of the special circumstance of being half-brothers, or if it was Jung Seyeong’s personality that was the problem, Seungyeon didn’t know. Either way, since both of them were keeping quiet together, his curiosity only grew.
“Do you avoid shit because you’re scared of it, or because it’s dirty?”
Yoon Taerim spat out a seemingly random question like a Zen riddle. When Seungyeon didn’t answer, he leaned forward. Yoon Taerim, who had moved closer, muttered as if warning him.
“Don’t even think about going near Jung Seyeong. Got it?”
At his serious attitude, Seungyeon reluctantly nodded. Yoon Taerim smiled and pulled back.
“Are all your questions answered now?”
“Well…… roughly.”
He answered halfheartedly and gulped down the now-lukewarm coffee. Trying hard to soothe his still-frustrated feelings, Seungyeon smacked his lips. Stirring the straw around the empty cup, he lowered his eyes.
“……Thank you. For taking care of my mom.”
Thanks to Yoon Taerim, she was able to receive treatment quickly and stay comfortably in an undeservedly nice hospital room. Yoon Taerim had done what he should have done. Seungyeon’s guilt was too great to just brush it off as being because he was caught up in the tremendous incident of kidnapping.
No matter how minor the traffic accident was, how could it make sense for him, her son, not to be by her side? Moreover, Seungyeon had decided to stay in this makjang world solely because of his mother. In a sense, his mother was his reason for existence and life goal.
“Didn’t I tell you? I like older people. Your mother is also kind of my type.”
“Crazy, what?”
Seungyeon glared at him with fierce eyes. How dare you make a pass at my mom? At his flaring reaction, Yoon Taerim burst out laughing.
“Why? Are you jealous?”
“Jeal……! No, forget it. I don’t need to react to such nonsense.”
Getting caught up in that crazy talk would only be a loss for him. It was obviously teasing, so why did he need to play along with Yoon Taerim’s tune? Seungyeon snorted softly.
“I was joking. Of course I prefer you to your mother.”
Yoon Taerim casually reached out his hand. It touched the hand holding the cup. At the touch that flicked past, Seungyeon unconsciously curled his fingers. As if enjoying that reaction, Yoon Taerim propped his chin. Under his staring gaze, Seungyeon blurted out a question he’d been holding back.
“But, I’m just asking in case…… did something bad happen while I didn’t see you? Like did you have a change of heart or something……”
Though ‘while I didn’t see you’ wasn’t even that long, there was no other way to explain it. Yoon Taerim was, how should he put it—even considering all the various circumstances, his attitude was somehow different from before.
“Something bad?”
Yoon Taerim tilted his head. Seungyeon glanced at him cautiously and broached the subject.
“No…… you’re being really clingy…… I mean, you’re kind of like an ahjussi. A really…… greasy ahjussi.”
