Chapter 24
***
When I woke up, Hahyun was nowhere to be seen.
Having survived the crisis of spending a night alone with Hahyun, I felt confident that nothing could be as difficult as last night.
While getting out of bed and tidying up the blankets, I heard Hajin’s voice from outside.
“Come out and eat if you’re awake.”
“Yes.”
As I was about to go outside, I suddenly remembered yesterday’s events. Hajin had slept alone in his room last night, so if he wanted to, he would’ve had plenty of time to watch the recorded footage, including me wandering around the house awkwardly.
The perceptive Hajin would surely have noticed something was off… I’d pretended to sleepwalk in front of Hahyun, but even to me, it seemed strange that someone who’d shown no symptoms until the day before would suddenly exhibit sleepwalking behavior precisely when the brothers were away from home.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Ah, yes, yes. I’m coming.”
When I opened the door, Hajin was waiting outside. His emotionless gaze swept over my face. Just that was enough to make me feel as if he’d read my thoughts, so I quickly changed the subject.
“Where’s Hahyun-ssi?”
“Why? Worried that the man you slept with left without a word?”
Before I could even feel offended by his crude joke, he stepped closer.
“Your lips are a bit swollen.”
Hajin’s long finger brushed across my lips. It was a gentle touch with no other apparent purpose. I unconsciously brought my own hand to my lips.
“They’re red. You must have enjoyed it.”
Was he curious whether we’d had sex or not? Or was he just teasing me?
Unable to discern his intentions, I avoided his gaze while pressing my cold hands against my heated cheeks.
“What? Did you really sleep with him?”
Hajin was openly displaying his curiosity. I was relieved that he wasn’t asking about the footage. I breathed an inward sigh of relief and quickly waved my hands.
“No, of course not.”
“Then why are you so embarrassed? You were the one who kissed Hahyun first, right in front of me.”
Earlier, I’d had trouble meeting Hajin’s eyes due to anxiety about the footage, but now I really couldn’t look him in the eye because I was genuinely embarrassed. Hajin knew I hadn’t kissed Hahyun because I truly wanted to, but he was trying to probe me.
“I never said I was embarrassed.”
My words came out colder than I’d intended. Hajin’s face froze in a chilly expression. Just seeing that face made my heart sink.
“If not embarrassed, then perhaps there’s something making you feel guilty?”
“…”
It felt like all the blood had drained from my body. But I pretended to be calm.
“What? What do you mean? I have nothing to feel guilty about.”
“Why are you so startled? It’s only natural to feel guilty after spending a night with another man when you have a lawful husband.”
His remark, made with an expression that could’ve been either joking or serious, definitely had a sting to it. I guessed he was referring to the recorded footage.
“N-nothing happened. Hahyun-ssi actually listened to me quite well. When I told him I wasn’t mentally prepared yet, he said he would wait.”
“Hahahahaha.”
Hajin laughed loudly.
“Our Juwon’s skill at spinning things has improved. Hahyun said he’d wait patiently? That’s amusing.”
He seemed to be speaking too harshly about his own brother.
“If Hahyun-ssi hadn’t been that way, how could I have walked out in one piece?”
Hajin stopped laughing and said playfully:
“Juwon, you must be out of touch because of your memory loss. Seo Hahyun may act prickly toward me on the surface, but he tells me everything when something happens. You told him, right? That if he forced you, you might hate him forever.”
Was it fun for him to probe people like this when he already knew everything? I sighed and nodded. A large hand was placed on top of my head. He ran his fingers through my hair and whispered in my ear.
“Good job. That’s how you handle Hahyun.”
I could understand why Hahyun complained that Hajin always acted like he was the only adult, the only one who knew everything. Until yesterday, I’d thought Hahyun’s reaction was just childish whining, but experiencing it firsthand made me feel utterly disgusted.
“Handle him? I have no intention of doing that.”
He sneered.
“Aah, so that’s why our Juwon wrote skinship in 100 stages on that ridiculous note and gave it to me… Not to handle people, but because you wanted to treat them sincerely.”
I’m not usually one to lose a war of words, but Hajin was even better at it than I was. He had a natural talent for irritating others while hiding his own emotions.
“I said I wanted to take skinship slowly, and I meant it sincerely. Why do you keep trying to twist my words?”
Hajin said, “Right, you’re completely correct,” and turned away from me. I could only stand there silently, listening to his laughter.
***
Even during breakfast, Hajin didn’t mention a word about the recorded footage. He just put food that I liked on my spoon as usual.
I ate the food he gave me like a bird, waiting for Hahyun. Given that Hahyun wasn’t present even during mealtime, it seemed he’d gone to school. It appeared that Hahyun, who’d been reluctant to leave my side even for a moment, had gone to school to avoid Secretary Kim’s suspicion.
Hajin looked at my rice bowl and asked:
“You’re done eating. Do you want more?”
“No, I’m full. Since I don’t move around much, it’s hard to digest if I eat too much.”
I tried to gain his sympathy by pretending to be pitiful as usual. When I said such things, Hajin usually looked at me with sympathy. But somehow, today there was no change in his expression.
“If you’re done, come with me for a moment. I have something to tell you.”
My heart began to race wildly.
***
Today, Hahyun didn’t go to school to attend classes. He was already in his fourth year, and since he’d already submitted employment verification documents to his department proving he’d been hired by Hajin’s company, he didn’t really need to attend. The reason he went out anyway was to avoid Secretary Kim’s watchful eye.
Yesterday, Hajin had said this to Hahyun:
<“Hahyun, Secretary Kim isn’t suspicious of us out of loyalty.”
“Then?”
“He’s using his suspicion as a weapon to try to put you in my position.”
Hahyun nodded as if he finally understood.
“Since I know nothing about that industry, he wants to place me in the CEO position and do whatever he wants?”
“That’s right. You’re so smart, just like whose brother you are.”
“Stop talking nonsense. So what do you plan to do? Honestly, I don’t care what happens as long as Juwon hyung isn’t touched.”
“You’ve submitted your employment papers, so you don’t need to go to school every day. Just show your face at the company once a week or so. Then Secretary Kim won’t be able to say anything. Ah, but I knew this would happen—that’s why I told you to submit employment papers for a different company, but you insisted on using our company…”
“I didn’t think much about it… Alright. I’ll do that for now.”>
Although Hahyun thought it was annoying how Hajin always acted like he was the only adult, ironically, he also believed that Hajin was the only person in the world he could trust.
Chairman Seo’s violence began when Hahyun was five years old, after his mother passed away. At that young age, Hahyun had to endure the Chairman’s abuse without even knowing what he’d done wrong. Then, a year later, he met Hajin, and after that, the Chairman’s violence was directed at Hajin instead of Hahyun.
Hahyun was convinced that without Hajin, he wouldn’t have survived until now.
Even on his way to school, Hahyun deliberately drove slowly so that Secretary Kim could follow him easily. Upon arrival, Hahyun conspicuously parked his car in the parking lot and went into the building. Fortunately, Secretary Kim didn’t follow him into the building.
Hahyun spent time joking with juniors he hadn’t seen in a while before heading to the parking lot.
Secretary Kim’s car was ostentatiously parked right next to Hahyun’s.
‘If you’re going to be this obvious, why bother following me at all?’
Hahyun went to Secretary Kim’s car and knocked on the window.
“Do you have nothing better to do? Does my brother think money grows on trees, paying you to follow me around?”
“Oh my, young master. Are you upset?”
“I told you not to call me that. If you’re going to call me that, you should call Hajin hyung that too. Why are you being so transparent?”
“I can’t do that. He’s an adopted son without a drop of shared blood.”
“Can I tell my brother exactly what you just said?”
“Oh, please be understanding. You know I regard you as special, don’t you?”
Secretary Kim got out of the car, speaking smoothly. Hahyun stepped back, not wanting to engage with him even briefly.
“Let’s not be so cold to each other.”
“Just leave us alone, please. If you were so concerned about us, why didn’t you help when we were younger? You ignored us then, but now that Father’s passed away, suddenly you care about us?”
Hahyun lashed out, not even attempting to hide his emotions.
