“Yes. ……Yes. I’m fine.”
Ray Jun answered the phone in English. It was a completely different voice from moments ago—cold and smooth.
“Mother is doing well too, right?”
At the unexpected form of address, Kang Siwon’s eyes widened. Mother! Was it okay to be embracing a naked man while talking with such a person? Of course, the person on the other end of the receiver couldn’t know this situation, but it felt like committing a serious breach of etiquette.
He hastily got up to give them privacy. However, because Ray Jun wouldn’t let him go, he was trapped between him and the sofa, awkwardly rolling only his eyes.
The surroundings were quiet, so the voice from beyond the phone came through clearly, like speakerphone mode.
―I heard two directors turned around. That person has been by Li Yong’s side even 26 years ago, so bringing over such a person was no easy feat.
It was an elegant yet cold voice. If he hadn’t known the information that it was Ray Jun’s mother, he would have thought it was a superior praising a subordinate.
“Luck was on my side.”
―It wasn’t just luck, was it? Using rumors to split the board of directors without dirtying your hands was quite a clever move.
Kang Siwon stopped breathing. He didn’t understand perfectly because it was in English, but he definitely heard something about using rumors. On top of that, the talk about splitting the board of directors seemed to be in the same context as what Li Hou had barged in and spewed earlier, so didn’t that mean the Financial Services Bureau investigation was an incident that never even happened?
―But Ray, you must not be overconfident. You know how the board of directors cornered me in the past.
“Of course. You nearly died. I almost never saw the light of day either.”
―Just thinking about that incident……. I should have been in Macau, not you. It seems I’ve pushed my work onto you.
“What are you saying? I have debts and shares too. I have to repay what’s owed, but I also have to receive what’s due.”
―Yes. Do it your way.
“That’s what I intend to do. You can wait with anticipation. Oh, but what happened with the real estate matter I asked you about before?”
Ray Jun asked while lightly stroking Kang Siwon. His attitude was calm, as if he wasn’t discussing something serious.
―I found a buyer in one day. The contract is also finished, and the funds will come in soon.
“That’s good.”
―Though it’s already done, I wonder if there was really a need to dispose of that building. It was too valuable a property to sell already.
“I couldn’t help it because something I wanted came up. I’ll gain something bigger, so let’s consider this an investment too.”
―It’s your property, so it’s your decision. I’ll send the cash through the lawyer. Is there anything else you need?
“Not right now. If I think of anything, I’ll tell you again.”
After exchanging greetings, the call ended. Ray Jun threw the phone carelessly and rubbed his face against Kang Siwon’s nape. He looked like a large dog seeking affection. It was an endearing act, but that wasn’t what was important right now.
“……About what Li Hou said earlier.”
“Siwon……. Why do you always bring up other men when it’s just the two of us? Before it was Ju Xiang, and today it’s Li Hou?”
“Don’t joke around. I’m serious.”
“Mm, what is it?”
Even though he said he was serious, Ray Jun’s attitude was like soothing a child. Somehow feeling disrespected, he felt a bit choked up, but Kang Siwon suppressed his emotions and spoke.
“You said earlier. That you’d heard rumors the Financial Services Bureau would make a move. But was that really a false rumor like Li Hou said?”
“Mm……. Why are you asking that? Did the Baeksa Faction put you up to it again?”
His chest stung as if stabbed by an awl. It was because it was true that the Baeksa Faction had pressed him for information. Still, just now he’d asked of his own pure will.
“Why are you suddenly bringing up the Baeksa Faction?”
“I thought you might be attempting pillow talk.”
“…….”
Kang Siwon pressed his lips firmly shut. The reason those words sounded so insulting was probably because they were half true.
Normally, his pride would have been hurt and he might not have asked further. But right now, he couldn’t do that. He had to identify what this foreign feeling was that had been scraping uncomfortably inside him since evening.
“Is the Financial Services Bureau really watching the internal directors at Sovereign or not? Just tell me that.”
“Mm…….”
Ray Jun caressed him as if tracing Kang Siwon’s shoulder blades. He seemed to be calculating what to do. He’d actually thought there was a high possibility he’d play dumb, but unexpectedly, he opened his mouth.
“There’s no such thing.”
“……Then why did such a false rumor spread? Why did Li Hou question you about it?”
“Well. Maybe he felt guilty?”
“…….”
Kang Siwon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
When he was young, whenever he was briefly left at Uncle Gyucheol’s place, he would occasionally watch TV. There was a detective program Kang Siwon particularly liked at the time, and he suddenly recalled something the MC used to say often.
If you can’t figure out who the culprit is, think about who gained the greatest benefit from that incident.
According to that logic, it wasn’t Li Hou. Li Hou, who had seemed to have deep ties with the internal directors enough to help with tax evasion by creating double ledgers, had suffered great damage because of the rumor.
It wasn’t the Baeksa Faction either. When he’d just talked with Ju Xiang, hadn’t he also been anxious because of the rumor?
However, only Ray Jun…….
‘Anyway, let Li Hou and the likes frantically search with fire in their eyes to find out who the traitor is. They’ll never find them.’
‘Two directors have already leaned to my side, and Director Wang will soon follow.’
It seemed he was actively utilizing the adversity that befell Li Hou. He was using this opportunity to pull the internal directors to his side. Anyone could see that Ray Jun would gain the most.
“…….”
Ju Xiang had clearly said. That Ray Jun had talked on the phone mentioning the Financial Services Bureau. Because the Baeksa Faction, who wiretapped this, made a fuss prematurely, things had escalated to this extent, so in a way, all of this had started from Ray Jun’s tongue.
‘I don’t remember hearing that.’
‘Of course not. You stormed out saying you were going to the bathroom in the middle of your lovers’ quarrel!’
‘Me? When……. Ah.’
Suddenly he wanted to stop thinking. It was because of the intuition that he wouldn’t feel relieved even if he found the answer. However, the clues scattered everywhere had already been strung together on one thread.
“Ray Jun. Did you…… know what the Baeksa Faction did to my phone?”
He asked in a trembling voice. Yet inwardly he steeled himself, thinking Ray Jun might have already caught on.
If he hadn’t been completely caught yet, Ray Jun would widen his eyes and ask back, ‘That happened?’ Given his personality, even if he wouldn’t despise or reproach him, he would definitely use that fact as leverage to take control of their relationship and shake him. That’s what should happen…….
“……Why aren’t you answering?”
Kang Siwon raised his upper body. Ray Jun pulled him firmly again, but this time he didn’t yield. It wasn’t as if he’d obediently stayed in his embrace all this time just because he lacked strength.
Sitting on the sofa, Ray Jun also sat up. The two quietly faced each other. Ray Jun’s gaze, as straight as direct light, gradually revealed its inner thoughts.
“……You knew. That the Baeksa Faction was wiretapping through my phone.”
“Kang Siwon.”
“Don’t ask me why I wiretapped. You roughly noticed too, didn’t you? That’s why I don’t carry my phone around. ……Now that I think about it, asking why I didn’t bring my phone earlier—was that also you testing me?”
Ha, he let out a bitter laugh at the absurdity. He felt pathetic for not noticing all this time. How ridiculous must he have seemed to Ray Jun? He must have seen through all his actions until now.
“You leaked it deliberately. Saying one of the directors betrayed everyone to save their own skin. Then the disgustingly entangled Baeksa Faction would pressure Sovereign’s directors!”
Kang Siwon snapped sharply. Even at this point, not even a ripple appeared on Ray Jun’s expression. Rather, he looked utterly indifferent. There wasn’t even a hint of an ‘oops’ look, and that made Kang Siwon even more furious.
“Say something! Don’t I have the right to know at least this much?”
Rage surged up, making even breathing difficult. Kang Siwon’s shoulders heaved every time he exhaled and inhaled hot breaths. Only then did Ray Jun finally furrow his brows slightly.
Ray Jun unexpectedly placed his hand on Kang Siwon’s shoulder as if checking his condition. However, Kang Siwon roughly swatted his hand away.
“The Baeksa Faction and I—we were just tools to you in the end, weren’t we? Is this why you brought me here?”
“No, I said it was because I didn’t want to break up.”
“Then what about what you just did?”
“That was just killing two birds with one stone.”
“……What?”
Not understanding what he meant, he frowned sharply. In contrast, Ray Jun gently curved his lips upward and said,
“You think I knew from the start that the Baeksa Faction was wiretapping through your phone? I suspected it, but I wasn’t certain. So I just did a light experiment.”
“Are you insane? If you knew you were being wiretapped, you should have confronted me or the Baeksa Faction, or just smashed the phone. What experiment did you do!”
“Why would I do that? If there are parts I can use, it’s good to use them, right? It worked better than expected?”
As if just thinking about it was satisfying, Ray Jun chuckled. The more he did, the more Kang Siwon felt like blood was draining to his toes.
