“So. Did you hear anything?”
“Not nothing, but I didn’t really understand what it meant.”
“What was it?”
Kang Siwon relayed every bit of the conversation Feng Tao and his group had exchanged. Even though he spoke without leaving out a single syllable, Ju Xiang’s brow remained furrowed.
“Kid.”
“……Yes.”
“You might not notice since you’re fucking clueless, but lately the atmosphere at both Sovereign and our side has gone to shit. Those Sovereign bastards must have caught on to something because security’s gotten tight, so even the surveillance team can’t get anything. Shouldn’t you be working harder at times like this?”
You’re right, Kang Siwon responded mechanically.
“Not stuff everyone already knows—dig up things they don’t know. Something substantial.”
“……Was that information everyone already knows?”
He asked cautiously, worried he’d get chewed out for talking back. From what Ray Jun said yesterday, he seemed to know something, and Ju Xiang also appeared to be in the know about those circumstances. At this point, it seemed like he should know too.
Ju Xiang glared at him, but seeming to realize he truly didn’t know and was asking, sighed and answered.
“Anyone with some rank knows. That the Sovereign CEO bastard has an illegitimate child he knocked up from fooling around when he was young.”
“Is that so?”
It wasn’t particularly surprising. Rich bastards do all kinds of outrageous shit, and compared to that, it wasn’t even an affair but just past fooling around—that’s not even a crime, is it? The existence of an illegitimate child would just be one of the many forms families take in this world.
“But the CEO bastard must have lost his mind for a moment back then, because he wrote up a contract saying he’d hand over his shares to that illegitimate child the year they turn 25. A whole 15% of them.”
“15%?”
“Yeah. So would the board of directors just sit still? They flipped out worrying the share distribution might change. The tense atmosphere lately is probably all because of that. Next year, that illegitimate bastard who’ll be twenty-five will take all those shares.”
So that’s why they talked about a ‘prince,’ Kang Siwon finally understood. At the same time, he understood why Feng Tao’s group had been sneering about a ‘bastard son’ and giggling about life and death. That board of directors didn’t seem like people who would just sit by and watch some person they’d never heard of take 15% of the shares.
“Until a few years ago, only a handful of people knew about it, but now there are probably more people who know than don’t. In other words, you went to the party, got drunk, and played around without doing any work.”
“I didn’t play around. I even played blackjack to humor Feng Tao, and almost drank wine with sleeping pills in it. I almost got hit in the head with a wine bottle by Feng Tao too.”
He hadn’t wanted to reveal such circumstances if possible, but he had no choice, worried they’d think he really did nothing but play around if he kept quiet. However, Ju Xiang’s reaction was lukewarm.
“Everything’s ‘almost.’ Doesn’t that just mean nothing happened in the end?”
“……”
“You know what I told you. I said to work on that bastard properly when he showed interest in you. That’s how you build connections and dig things up. Since you went to the party anyway, wouldn’t it have been great to get close to the guys hanging around Feng Tao too?”
“I don’t have the skills for that.”
“Skills my ass, you idiot. Seeing how you act at the casino, if you just act a little friendly, Feng Tao would fall for you, wouldn’t he? Just close your eyes and sleep with him once. If that’s difficult, should I recommend a better partner for you?”
At the insult that crossed the line, Kang Siwon’s expression hardened. As if finding his uncooperative attitude offensive, Ju Xiang hurled even harsher abuse.
“Hey, you bastard. We’re treating you well, so you keep getting cocky, but do you know what happens to other bastards who can’t repay their debts? There are more than a few guys locked up in establishments sucking dick. Do you want to end up like that too? Should I attach you to a sponsor with fetishes you didn’t even know existed in the world before you come to your senses?”
“When did I ever get cocky?”
“The fact that you’re picking and choosing where to lie down and where not to is being cocky, you bastard. Your way of speaking too, fuck, keep going like that? If you keep acting up like this, I have ideas too.”
Ju Xiang was thoroughly pissed off. Whatever that idea was, it surely wouldn’t be good for him. Suddenly his head throbbed.
“……”
Given the situation, it had become difficult to steal information while working as a cage staff member for now. So he needed to prove his usefulness in another way, but even though he went all the way to Feng Tao’s party, he’d brought back information everyone except him already knew, so there was no gain at all.
If this state continued, Ju Xiang might really push him into an establishment. Ju Xiang, and furthermore the Baeksa Faction, were people who would do that and more.
“……Wait a moment.”
In a split second, Kang Siwon’s mind worked and he spoke up.
“There’s a rumor I heard.”
“What is it?”
“You know there’s a junket broker deeply connected to Sovereign, right? You had a phone call in Hong Kong before about that broker.”
“Well, well, I told you to dig up information at Sovereign, and you’re digging up my information. So?”
Perhaps because it was a story he already knew, Ju Xiang’s reaction was half-hearted. Kang Siwon swallowed dry saliva and continued.
“That broker has been preparing to move to Singapore for a few years now.”
“……”
“I heard he’s already set up a paper company, and while preparing for permanent residency, he falsified income verification too. He fabricated his address and occupation as well.”
“Hmm…… Really?”
Ju Xiang rubbed his chin. Since he was in a position to do business with that broker, Kang Siwon thought he’d want to know what the broker wanted, but judging from his reaction, he couldn’t tell at all whether he was satisfied or not.
While waiting for his next words, Kang Siwon was tormented by guilt. If there was commercial morality even in espionage, this would have been crossing the line. Ray Jun had spoken to him in trust, but he had divulged that story to someone else.
‘Are you…… still planning to look for that broker?’
‘Well. I don’t want to admit it, but even if I find him, making a deal seems beyond my capabilities. Unless I had connections in Singapore.’
But Ray Jun had also said it would be difficult to use the information, so passing this information to Ju Xiang wouldn’t interfere. Kang Siwon desperately rationalized his actions that way.
“Did you pick that up at the party too?”
“……Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I’m sorry. I thought that other information was more important……”
When he apologized without excuses, Ju Xiang didn’t press further. He seemed already busy scheming about something else.
Eyes planning how to exploit the newly obtained information. An expression anticipating stripping someone bare. It was a face he’d seen many times before.
For some reason feeling suffocated, Kang Siwon quietly requested.
“It’s almost time for my shift, may I go in first?”
“Go. Keep bringing even trivial information, and if there’s anything unusual, report it promptly. If you get caught deliberately hiding something, I’ll kill you.”
“Understood.”
After bowing silently to Ju Xiang, Kang Siwon got out of the car.
Even after leaving the enclosed space, he still felt suffocated. Maybe it was because outside the car was still an underground parking lot with stuffy air. Kang Siwon exhaled a stifling breath and started walking.
* * *
His mind was troubled throughout his entire shift.
Last night, didn’t he almost drink wine with sleeping pills, swallow Viagra instead and receive fellatio from Ray Jun, get threatened by Ju Xiang and end up passing along information Ray Jun had told him…… All of this happened within just 24 hours, and it would be a feat to maintain his sanity.
Things that would each be overwhelming on their own piled up all at once, and Kang Siwon’s head was saturated with worries. He’d resolved to ‘prioritize my survival,’ but he wasn’t even certain whether he’d made choices befitting that.
Setting aside such macroscopic problems, his immediate worry was that Feng Tao might come after him. That bastard who knew no shame would be more than capable of yelling in the middle of the high-limit betting zone, ‘Why did you just leave yesterday without my permission?’ He already had a history of causing such scenes, didn’t he?
Kang Siwon kept his nerves on edge as he guarded the exchange counter. However, Feng Tao didn’t show even a strand of hair until shift change time approached. Well, no matter how shameless, it would be difficult to show his face the day after attempting rape.
‘No, he’s not that kind of person.’
Kang Siwon immediately canceled the hypothesis he’d established. It was probably just due to a hangover. Or maybe his physical condition wasn’t good from the aftermath of mixing it with sleeping pills. Either way, he was fortunate to avoid seeing that disgusting face.
“Everyone worked hard. I’ll be leaving first.”
“Get home safely, Xie Wei.”
He left the cage room feeling much lighter than when he’d arrived for work. His circumstances of considering even this much as good fortune felt a bit pitiful, but still, good was good. He tried not to think about how it might be on his next shift day, or that he might run into Feng Tao again in the staff-only corridor.
Taking this opportunity to stop by a mart would definitely improve his mood. Kang Siwon headed toward the locker room while composing a shopping list in his head. But wasn’t there a slick, handsome man he’d seen somewhere before standing next to the locker room door?
“Hello, Xie Wei. Fancy meeting you here?”
