# Chapter 176
“So, what exactly about this makes it trustworthy?”
Taesung asked with a stiff tone, as if conscious of being in front of others. Lee Hwan glanced at Kang Dongha’s annoying face and lightly touched Taesung’s hand under the table.
“You already knew what kind of guy he was.”
“What kind of guy? That’s a bit harsh.”
When Kang Dongha protested, the tension in Taesung’s brow slightly eased. While Taesung turned his head to pour tea, Lee Hwan made a fierce face at Kang Dongha and silently mouthed words.
‘If you don’t want to die, behave yourself.’
Knowing he wouldn’t even get his original investment back if he pushed further, Kang Dongha finally stopped his smart remarks.
But that didn’t mean his attitude had improved. The smile gradually disappeared from his face. Like ink dropping, his expression froze coldly, starting from his mouth and spreading across his entire face.
“It’s not like I particularly want to talk with some random stone that rolled in. I agreed to cooperate with the pleasant-looking Joo Lee Hwan-ssi, but after joining, I find this toxic dead stock attached to him.”
His words, spoken while looking directly at Taesung, were quite harsh. Although different in texture from before, this too was essentially an invitation to fight.
Lee Hwan didn’t stop him because it seemed he had more legitimate things to say afterward.
Taesung’s eyebrow twitched, but the feared showdown didn’t materialize.
“You seem to misunderstand something, but it’s not you but your lover who decides whether to trust or not. If you’re upset, turn your head and say you can’t go along with it because your judgment is too poor.”
Strangely, that remark seemed to work quite well on Taesung. He had looked like he might leave at any moment, but now he calmed down with a coldly settled face. Though his glare seemed like it might crack Kang Dongha’s skull, this was still relatively docile for him.
Tap, this time Taesung touched Lee Hwan’s hand. Lee Hwan exhaled a long sigh, gulped down the rest of his tea, and roughly summarized the situation.
“Fine, I don’t care who you follow as long as you do what you’re told. Like it or not, remember that we’re a team now.”
“The three of us?”
“No, there’s one more. Jade.”
As if he knew exactly who that was, Kang Dongha immediately frowned. Though he didn’t spew any curses about him, it didn’t seem like a positive reaction either.
“So, what exactly am I supposed to do with that chimera?”
What an extremely unpleasant way of speaking. When Lee Hwan turned his head, he saw Taesung with quiet anger in his dark eyes.
Lee Hwan quickly pushed a slice of chocolate cake in front of Taesung and tapped his leg under the table.
The raised eyebrow settled down again. Only then did Lee Hwan cut a piece of his own cake with a tired expression, taste it, and then shift his gaze back to Kang Dongha.
“You two won’t have overlapping spheres of activity. Jade will stay in his position, and you’ll stay in yours.”
“I’d like to know what my position is.”
“You know without asking. Between Kang Dongying, the Vice Chairman, and the Chairman.”
“Why is the old man involved in this?”
Kang Dongha made a disgusted expression. Though the title sounded familiar, Lee Hwan knew that the Chairman wasn’t an affectionate character to all his grandchildren.
He had pushed all kinds of blameworthy matters onto his subordinates and only touched businesses in the public eye, so he probably hadn’t even mentioned the Anti-Awakening Project.
Only a few people knew about the Chairman’s intensely sizzling obsession with wealth and position, and his unwillingness to die as things stood.
“You can speak.”
At Lee Hwan’s call, Taesung, who had been glaring at Kang Dongha the whole time, opened his mouth.
“The Anti-Awakening Project originated from the Revival Project previously conducted at Naru Hospital targeting terminal patients. Considerable costs were incurred as they dared to conduct human experiments combining monster DNA with human DNA.”
“Such records don’t remain…”
“Of course not. The initial experiments were mostly covered by the Chairman’s personal slush fund and support from his kind. In the public eye, not even the researchers’ meal costs were recorded.”
Kang Dongha, who had been listening blankly, suddenly looked around. Lee Hwan smiled and showed him his subtly glowing eyes.
“I’ve already blocked any sounds. It won’t last long though.”
Kang Dongha looked at Lee Hwan with an unreadable expression, sighed, and then stared back at Taesung. Taesung continued without blinking.
“The heir will be determined based on the achievements from that project. It’ll be a task you can’t ignore, even if you dislike it.”
“You might not know because you’ve been wandering outside, but my father holds most of the affiliates. Relatives don’t have the qualifications to covet them.”
“Did I say the Vice Chairman’s competitor was a relative?”
Kang Dongha, who had been domineering until now, hesitated with a questioning look on his face. He tapped the table with his index finger for a while, and then suddenly seemed to realize something.
Kang Dongha clicked his tongue.
“What the… Well, if the Anti-Awakening Project succeeds and passes the stabilization phase… that old man would definitely take it.”
If that happened, until Kang Dongying grew enough to covet and devour the Vice Chairman’s position, the Chairman would live disgustingly long to protect his position.
“Then from my father’s perspective, wouldn’t it be enough to just overturn the project? The earlier the old man goes, the more secure his position would be.”
“That’s probably why Joo Lee Hwan specifically mentioned that the Chairman is involved in that power struggle. Do you think the Vice Chairman would dare to interfere with or sabotage the project under his surveillance?”
The age gap between the eldest and second sons was too great, and their ability levels were clearly different. None of the siblings could threaten the Vice Chairman’s position.
Having a secure successor is indeed a blessing, but without a sense of crisis, he wouldn’t be willing to get his hands dirty with dangerous matters. Even if it was the way to save his own father.
So the Chairman paired his grandson against his son instead of his brother. The existence of the Anti-Awakening Project made that possible.
“No wonder my usually strict father was ambiguously involved, while Kang Dongying was in charge of the project instead.”
Troublesome and senile old man. Kang Dongha seemed to be cursing him with his eyes. Only then did Taesung stop talking and pick up the fork Lee Hwan had pushed over with the plate.
When a large piece of sticky chocolate cake was cut onto the fork, instead of eating it himself, he brought it to Lee Hwan’s mouth. Lee Hwan hastily ate it and then glanced at Kang Dongha with an expression that said “oops.”
Kang Dongha’s mouth twisted as he watched Lee Hwan chewing.
“You guys are really something else.”
Though annoyed, it seemed true, so Lee Hwan didn’t bother to refute.
“Um… anyway, you’ll go between them and be in charge of sabotage. Extracting information without being noticed, spreading false rumors.”
As soon as Lee Hwan mentioned the role, Kang Dongha found a gap in his words.
“If I’m going to die by getting involved in that business in the future, wouldn’t I be safe if I just stayed away from it completely?”
He was suggesting that if he didn’t go anywhere near the project, wouldn’t he avoid death?
“I think it would be safer if I just killed you.”
When Taesung made this ominous statement with a nod, Lee Hwan again placed his hand on his knee to calm him. Then, with slightly raised corners of his mouth, he stared intently at Kang Dongha.
“Well, would that be possible? I can’t tell you the details, but you’re inevitably entangled with the Anti-Awakening project. Even if you just run errands with a document or two, later you’ll end up becoming the mastermind of the Anti-Awakening Project. What if you run away? You’d become a person who fled because of crimes committed.”
The big data accumulated through regression clearly foretold his downfall. Even without Taesung interfering, he would have died or been ruined while causing harm to Lee Hwan anyway.
Kang Dongha stared into Lee Hwan’s eyes for a while, as if trying to determine the truth of his words. Finally, he exhaled an irritated sigh and crossed his arms.
“Sabotage or whatever, I can’t do anything noticeable. Avoiding the tiger only to meet the wolf still results in death either way.”
Correct. Lee Hwan also had no desire to work with someone who couldn’t make even that level of judgment.
At his uncooperative acceptance, Lee Hwan quickly searched the bag he had brought and pulled out some documents.
“Read it, sign it, stamp it, and put your thumbprint on it too.”
“So thorough… Wait, am I the subordinate party here?”
“Your life is hanging by a thread, and you’re worried about titles?”
At this rebuke, Kang Dongha made a sound like “hmm, fair point” and diligently read through the contract.
“The recording shall be kept by Party A, what’s this?”
“I’m recording right now.”
“We’re not some married couple running a scam…”
Since earlier, with mentions of “lover” and “married couple,” Kang Dongha seemed determined to refer to the two that way. Already feeling embarrassed to death by last night’s events, Lee Hwan couldn’t take it anymore.
“Stop talking nonsense and just sign it.”
When he cut him off firmly and ordered him, something about that action must have appealed to Kang Dongha. He examined Lee Hwan’s face carefully for a moment before picking up the pen. Beside them, Taesung let out a small sigh.
Scratch, scratch—the sound of the pen scraping. When one copy of the contract, now stamped, was returned, Lee Hwan finally smiled with relief.
“Congratulations on joining our team. Believe it or not, it’s kind of a dream team.”
When he extended his hand for a handshake, Taesung unexpectedly grabbed it and shook it. Lee Hwan, now somewhat immune to his strange behavior, didn’t mind and stretched out his left arm as well.
Kang Dongha watched them with a peculiar expression before taking his hand. And so, starting with this bizarre double handshake, the team to prevent the apocalypse was fully formed.
“I just hope that dream doesn’t turn into a nightmare.”
Kang Dongha’s wordplay was so funny that Lee Hwan couldn’t even be annoyed and let out a hollow laugh.
