“Siwon, why are you getting so worked up?”
“Ha…… Are you seriously asking because you really don’t know?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t make sense logically. Look, I’m telling you this because you seem confused and mistaken about something—I’m the one who got wiretapped. You’re the one who did the wiretapping.”
“That’s……!”
“You’re going to blame the Baeksa Faction? If we trace back the cause, sure. But Siwon, you knew there was something wrong with the phone those bastards gave you, didn’t you? And yet you didn’t tell me.”
The gentle reproach struck Kang Siwon like a whip. This was the very issue that had been scraping at Kang Siwon’s guilt all along, and it was also the reason he had no choice but to keep losing to Ray Jun.
“……I, I didn’t know at first either.”
“Siwon, you’re so pale right now I’m scared you might collapse, you know? I’m not trying to blame you, so calm down. When have I ever said anything about you cooperating with the Baeksa Faction?”
“……”
“You leaked information from Sovereign? Not my problem. It’s not like you caused me any harm, so what does it matter. I’m being so understanding here, so you should understand me too.”
Never had Ray Jun been so incomprehensible as in this moment. While his arguments seemed logically correct, they were somehow twisted.
“Is it such a big deal that I spread some rumors using your phone? It’s not like I put you in danger, right?”
“……Either way, you used me.”
A voice cracked to pieces spilled out. Anger and betrayal surged up uncontrollably, mixed together.
“Like I’m a piece on your game board……”
Just being used like a tool by the Baeksa Faction had been suffocating enough. If there was one person who understood him in that situation, it was Ray Jun. He remembered how Ray Jun had caressed his wounds on the day he’d been assaulted by Ju Xiang, as if he himself was more upset about it.
That same person had used him. Just like the Baeksa Faction.
“Why are you taking such a leap again? Even if it wasn’t part of the plan, it’s good to use what you can use, isn’t it? Ah, or are you upset that I didn’t tell you beforehand?”
If that’s it, then I was wrong, Ray Jun added in a playful tone. But his eyes weren’t smiling. A sneer seemed to flash by, as if saying, ‘And yet you kept secrets too.’
“You crazy bastard, if you hadn’t brought me to the penthouse in the first place, the Baeksa Faction wouldn’t have wiretapped my phone!”
“Ah, so you’re saying it’s all my fault?”
The subtle mockery dwelling in Ray Jun’s expression deepened. His attitude seemed to dismiss Kang Siwon’s indignation as nothing more than childish whining.
“I’m not trying to assign blame—why do you keep doing things your own way! Without even asking what I want!”
After pouring it all out, his strength drained away. Kang Siwon muttered helplessly.
“Fine. You’re right that I did spy work because the Baeksa Faction blackmailed me. And it’s true I hid it from you. ……But I did my best to respect you. You must have roughly noticed that I’d been hiding my phone most of the time since I moved into this penthouse, didn’t you?”
“Mm-hmm, of course.”
“But what about you? Without saying a word to me, you used the wiretapping in reverse and induced the Baeksa Faction to provoke the board of directors. On top of that, you even made a deal with the Baeksa Faction to keep me locked up in the penthouse!”
“Ha…… Why would you hold it against me when I brought you here to protect you?”
“I just can’t understand using the misfortune of someone you claim to like as an opportunity. It’s not normal.”
“Really?”
As if even Ray Jun could no longer maintain his relaxed attitude, a look of displeasure crossed his face. It was a sharp viciousness completely different from his composure until now.
In an instant, he firmly gripped Kang Siwon’s chin. Kang Siwon tried to shake him off, but this time he couldn’t escape from that grasp.
“Kang Siwon. If it weren’t for me, you would’ve been treated even worse by the Baeksa Faction. Is that what you want? Are you some kind of masochist?”
Kang Siwon finally realized it completely. Ray Jun was originally this kind of person. His anger, his appeals to somehow clarify the problem and mend their relationship—all of it seemed to be nothing but noise to him.
“Yeah. Being controlled by you might actually be worse than being held by the Baeksa Faction.”
He spat it out in anger. But it wasn’t entirely untrue either. Rather than feeling humiliated being treated like a tool by someone he liked, it would be better to be used by those he hated.
“Ah…… Do you really think that?”
Ray Jun’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. His shadowed pupils glinted coldly. The moment a sense of danger struck—that something was dangerous—he roughly released Kang Siwon’s chin.
“Fine, I got it.”
Rising to his feet, he picked up the phone he’d thrown on the floor earlier. Feeling ominous, Kang Siwon urgently grabbed his wrist.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’m going to call the Baeksa Faction that you so desperately miss. I’m dying of jealousy here.”
“What? Hey, wait!”
Despite Kang Siwon’s frantic attempts to stop him, Ray Jun called Ju Xiang.
Ring, ring…… Listening to the faint ringing tone, Kang Siwon bit his lower lip. If Ray Jun wanted to, contacting the Baeksa Faction would be easy anyway. It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by him trying to stop it in the first place.
“What kind of bullshit are you going to spout now……!”
“Curious? You’ll find out soon.”
“Ray Jun!”
The call finally connected. Ray Jun even graciously showed Kang Siwon the screen displaying the recipient’s name ‘Ju Xiang,’ then brought the phone back to his ear and opened his mouth.
“How much debt does Kang Siwon have left?”
—Wait, I’m busy right now…… Fold! I said fold, you bastards!
A shout came from the other end of the line. The sound was garbled and hard to make out, but it seemed like some kind of urgent situation.
After a brief commotion, the surroundings became quiet. Ju Xiang spoke while breathing roughly.
—What’s this about? Did that dimwit cause some kind of accident……
“Nothing like that. I just want to buy the debt of that ‘dimwit.'”
—What?
“What?”
Ju Xiang and Kang Siwon exclaimed simultaneously. For the benefit of the two who doubted their ears, Ray Jun kindly repeated himself.
“I’m going to have Kang Siwon, so hand over the debt.”
—……Are you saying this in your right mind?
“Why do you keep making me say it multiple times? Do you not understand what I mean? I’m saying I’ll pay off Kang Siwon’s debt.”
Kang Siwon didn’t know what to say and just gaped his mouth, finally managing to mouth the question ‘Why?’ Though there was no way Ray Jun couldn’t have read it, he only cast a cold gaze that permitted no objections.
It seemed Ju Xiang was equally baffled. After a brief silence, he let out a breath.
—Ha…… You know how much Kang Siwon’s debt is, right?
“I’m asking because I don’t know. In the last report, I heard it was 3 billion won in Korean currency—is that accurate?”
—If you calculate the interest that’s accumulated, it’s 4.8 billion. You’re saying you’ll pay that? You?
Kang Siwon’s eyes widened. This was different from his own calculations. Unable to just listen quietly, he snatched Ray Jun’s phone and raised his voice.
“Wait a moment. Sunbae Ju, why is my debt 4.8 billion? When I signed the contract with Manager Park, the only condition was that if I did the work properly for three years, you’d forgive the debt. There was no talk of interest, was there?”
—That’s only if our contract had proceeded normally! Since it broke down in the middle, you have to pay the original interest.
“But, but…… Then what about the salary I’ve been receiving all this time, or the work I did for the Baeksa Faction?”
—That’s why it’s 4.8 billion after deducting all that. Hey, don’t you know you have to pay a penalty if you cancel a phone plan in the middle? Even telecom companies do that—do you think money lending is any different?
It felt like the ground was falling out from under him. He felt utterly lost in an instant, completely deflated. Ray Jun snatched the phone back from such a Kang Siwon and said,
“So. Are you going to hand over the debt or not?”
—Well…… As long as the money comes in, I don’t care who pays it.
Kang Siwon anxiously swallowed dry saliva. The Baeksa Faction wouldn’t hand over his debt anyway. For the past nine months or so, he had been holding the Baeksa Faction’s dirty hand. There was no way they would let him go outside without the weakness of debt, knowing their internal affairs as he did.
However, Ju Xiang’s answer was unexpected.
—Fine. ……But it has to be in cash. As soon as possible.
“That’s what I want too. Have the documents properly prepared. Don’t think about saying something different later.”
—……Let’s talk about the details again tomorrow. I’m a bit busy right now.
And the call ended.
Despite the conversation being unilaterally terminated, Ray Jun wasn’t displeased. He tossed the phone onto the sofa and grinned at Kang Siwon.
“Now we’re good, right?”
“……Good, my ass!”
“Hm? Your problem and my problem were solved simultaneously. You don’t have to worry about paying off your debt, and I can continue to be with you from now on.”
As expected, Ray Jun’s way of thinking was clearly very different from that of ordinary people. It was so absurd and ridiculous that Kang Siwon felt his whole body trembling.
“Wh-what gives you the right to buy my debt? When did I ever ask you to pay off my debt?”
“Don’t be mistaken. I didn’t pay it off for you. I bought it for myself.”
“……”
“You don’t need to feel so hurt in your pride. I didn’t do this as charity either. You’re going to repay 4.8 billion to me now.”
Ray Jun slowly traced Kang Siwon’s neckline. His face looked satisfied, like someone confirming the beast they’d hunted.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You’ll have to crawl for me as much as you crawled for the Baeksa Faction, Kang Siwon.”
His vision blurred hazily as if smoke had risen before his eyes. It seemed he only learned today that tears inevitably come when you get angry to your limit. But he couldn’t bear to show himself crying in front of Ray Jun, so he widened his eyes.
Despite such efforts, Ray Jun gently traced Kang Siwon’s eyes with his thumb. The tears that had formed were smeared entirely onto his fingers.
“Let’s get along well from now on. Whether you like it or not, we have to be together until you pay back 4.8 billion, you and I.”
It was a sentence as distant and desperate as when he’d been dragged away by the Baeksa Faction.
