“Should I be surprised?”
“You don’t have to, but aren’t people usually surprised? Feeling betrayed or…”
“Feel betrayed? Why?”
His hazelnut-colored eyes sparkled innocently. He seemed to truly not know, which was disconcerting.
“No, well… I’m different from the person you knew. I’ve been deceiving you all this time, but you don’t care at all?”
“Ah, that? That’s nothing. Such trivial things don’t matter at all.”
“…Trivial?”
“Yeah. Whatever country you’re from, whatever your name is, you’re still you.”
“I’m relieved you think that way, but…”
Kang Siwon couldn’t shake off his suspicious feeling. Ray Jun’s reaction was the most docile among the many cases he’d simulated. No, he hadn’t even imagined this kind of reaction in the first place.
Nevertheless, the reason he felt more uncomfortable than relieved—was it because of the place where he encountered him, or because he fit this unexpected place too well? Kang Siwon rubbed down his goosebump-covered forearm.
“Then can I ask what the hell is going on with you?”
“What is?”
Ray Jun acted shameless again. He couldn’t tell whether he was pretending not to know while actually knowing why Kang Siwon was flustered, or if he really didn’t know. Kang Siwon pointed to the luxurious penthouse interior and said.
“What do you mean what? This room. Doesn’t it cost a few thousand pataca per night? Money aside, I heard regular customers can’t even make reservations, let alone set foot above the 30th floor. And what about Ju Xiang…”
“Ask one thing at a time, one at a time.”
Ray Jun, who chuckled, replied step by step.
“Yeah. It’s hard to reserve here, that’s right. I reserved it easily thanks to blood relation though.”
“Blood relation…?”
“My older brother holds the COO position at Sovereign.”
He knew CEO, but COO was an unfamiliar job title. When Kang Siwon furrowed his brow slightly, Ray Jun kindly explained.
“Chief Operating Officer. It’s below the CEO.”
“What? No, hey, then…”
That meant he was a golden spoon among golden spoons. He’d known Ray Jun was wealthy, but he didn’t know it was to this extent. Kang Siwon was as shocked as when he encountered Ray Jun earlier, rendered speechless.
“Ah, he’s not my biological older brother though.”
“…”
“He’s my half-brother.”
At what Ray Jun added cheerfully, he truly lost words this time. The huge puzzle pieces he casually threw out fit together click by click, drawing a conclusion.
An illegitimate child born from the Sovereign CEO’s youthful fling. The person, whether prince or bastard son, who would receive 15% of the CEO’s shares when he turned 25. And Ray Jun, who was the COO’s half-brother.
Though he hoped it wasn’t so, Kang Siwon asked in a trembling voice.
“By any chance, can I ask what that half-brother’s father does…?”
“Why are you making it so complicated? You’re just asking if I’m Chairman Li Yong’s biological son.”
“…”
“Yeah, that’s right. My father is Chairman Li Yong.”
The taut tension snapped and his mind went blank. Kang Siwon was facing Ray Jun directly, but he couldn’t be sure if what he was seeing was really him.
Ace dealer Ray Jun, whose play was exceptional and who handled difficult customers well.
Ray Jun who whined about not putting cucumbers in food.
Ray Jun who fumbled whenever doing housework.
The images of him he’d seen all this time flashed before his eyes. That was the roommate he knew. Not the illegitimate son of the Sovereign chairman standing in the middle of the penthouse.
“Why…?”
“Even if you ask me that, I have nothing to say… Should I ask my father? I think I’ll be meeting him soon anyway.”
“No, I…”
When he only moved his lips without being able to continue, Ray Jun stood up from the sofa. He firmly held the shoulders of the confused Kang Siwon.
“Just as you lived as Xie Wei but are still Kang Siwon, I lived as dealer Ray Jun but am still me. Is that strange?”
He couldn’t answer. Because if he agreed it was strange, it would mean he himself was strange too. However…
“…Honestly, I don’t understand. You, why are you confessing this to me? I only heard through rumors too, but an illegit… Sorry.”
“No, I am an illegitimate child, so why are you sorry?”
He nodded as if telling him to continue. Kang Siwon carefully continued.
“I heard the rumor that your identity is a secret no one knows… Shouldn’t you not tell me that?”
“Why would I hide such things between you and me?”
“…”
“Well, the time has come too.”
He didn’t have the energy to ask what that ‘time’ meant. Kang Siwon slowly removed Ray Jun’s hand gripping his shoulder. Ray Jun raised one eyebrow, but he didn’t care.
“…I got it. I’m a bit surprised but… you must have your circumstances too. Who doesn’t have circumstances to this extent in this day and age?”
Even to himself, it sounded like bullshit. How many people in the world had circumstances to this extent?
“Then why did you bring me here? Did you make some kind of deal with Ju Xiang?”
“Rather than a deal, we reached an agreement. Because I want to keep being with you.”
Ray Jun tucked Kang Siwon’s hair behind his ear. Even though the hair was short and fell back down, as if caressing his jawline was the purpose.
“I want to be with you, and you want to be with me too, so it’s a shame to part.”
The thoughts he himself had last night flowed intact from Ray Jun’s mouth. Surprised, Kang Siwon widened his eyes.
“Let’s stay together, at least while I’m staying here. How about it?”
He couldn’t answer readily. Because he couldn’t understand Ray Jun’s true intentions at all.
What he was thinking, what kind of plan he had… Ray Jun originally had secretive aspects, but now he couldn’t read him even more.
However, one thing was certain. Although he said it was an agreement, in the end he’d made a deal with Ju Xiang. Ju Xiang’s voice saying he’d have to stay here for a month made the back of his head ache.
“…Do I even have a choice?”
“I wonder?”
As if hearing an unexpected answer, Ray Jun blinked.
“Probably not?”
“…”
“Don’t make that face. It wasn’t me who sent you here, it was Ju Xiang.”
It wouldn’t have been Ju Xiang’s sole decision, yet his attitude of calmly shifting responsibility was absurd. Kang Siwon pressed his lips together firmly.
“Unpack first. I’ll show you to the bedroom.”
Ray Jun, who tapped Kang Siwon’s shoulders as if telling him to relax, turned around briskly. He pulled the suitcase left at the entrance and headed somewhere.
Was this what he’d packed for? Remembering yesterday’s self, who gloomily packed without knowing there might have been some kind of deal between Ray Jun and Ju Xiang, his mood sank further. Kang Siwon moved his steps with his lips pressed firmly together.
* * *
Sovereign’s penthouse was more magnificent than the first impression. Just the size of each room was comparable to an entire regular guest room, and custom-made furniture was arranged without gaps. The lighting that glowed softly along the molding, the sofa without a single fingerprint, even the sculptures decorating the walls—everything achieved an exquisite balance. The thought naturally arose that it didn’t need to be this spacious and splendid when only one person, or two including himself, would be staying.
“…Ha.”
Having finished surveying the place, Kang Siwon roughly tousled his hair and sat on the edge of the bed.
Earlier he was very surprised by the fact that Ray Jun was the illegitimate son of Sovereign’s CEO, but thinking about it carefully, there weren’t no clues.
From before, he had shown unusual interest in the underbelly of Sovereign Resort. Sensitive issues that an ordinary employee wouldn’t bother digging into, such as tax evasion using chips or information about brokers who disappeared after illegal transactions. At the time his motive was puzzling, but if it was because he had shares to inherit, it made some sense.
“…Then shouldn’t he be even more wary of me?”
To put it bluntly, the Baeksa Faction was no different from a parasite living off Sovereign. Though unintentional, he himself had also been doing spy work as one of its members. If Ray Jun could be considered a Sovereign insider, he should naturally distance himself from someone like him.
However, he instead got excessively close to him. He willingly performed inefficient actions like telling him affectionate words and receiving his venting. Why on earth did he do that? Wasn’t it quite attentive to be just simple killing time?
His head throbbed. Feeling the need to force his thoughts elsewhere, Kang Siwon took out his phone.
“…Hm?”
But the phone was strangely warm. Having left it in his pocket for a long time, his body heat must have transferred. Kang Siwon stroked the device with his palm and turned on the screen.
