Dowon flipped through the screen to display other family photos.
“Second grand-uncle’s family. My grand-uncle’s ass-wipers. Those bastards are the same kind of trash too.”
He added indifferently.
“I crushed them in a political fight and sent them to the American branch, so there’s no chance of running into them for a while.”
“Do, did Dowon-ssi do that?”
“Yeah.”
“I see. That’s amazing. So cool……!”
No wonder Do Jingyu was throwing a fit. It must be because Dowon completely smashed the second grand-uncle’s family, so he was getting anxious. Next he must have been worried his own head might fly off.
“No, I mean. I’ve wanted to say this before, but you know Dowon-ssi is really damn cool, right? Your charisma is overflowing so much I need to quickly scoop it up, you know? You’re like a crazy person.”
Yeohwi, whose mouth of truth had opened, got a bit exaggerated. Dowon had no reaction. He just ignored him as if he couldn’t hear his words and flipped through the photos.
And the next photo was, of all things.
“……I’ll skip my parents.”
A pair of man and woman standing side by side.
Unlike the previous high-quality photos that seemed recently taken, this photo had low quality and felt old. Crucially, in the photo there was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes photographed together with them.
The mouth that had been fawning closed again.
Yeohwi hesitated and hesitated again, then carefully asked.
“By any chance, that baby……”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Dowon answered nonchalantly.
“Both of them…… have passed away, right……?”
He raised his head and stared intently at Yeohwi.
“You seem to know.”
On their first night together. Dowon had harshly criticized Yeohwi for being an orphan with no one to rely on, but in fact those words applied equally to Dowon himself.
Dowon turned his gaze back to the screen as if he had no intention of continuing this topic further.
“Back to the main point.”
He brought up the photo of Do Jingyu’s son, Do Jinsang, again.
“That bastard will 100% pick a fight with you. With my grand-uncle backing him up.”
Dowon was staring at the screen, but Yeohwi was still looking at him.
Those lifeless black eyes. Those pitch-black eyes, dry and parched, not allowing light.
“I understand. What should I do?”
Yeohwi steeled his resolve.
“When that person called Do Jinsang picks a fight, I too……”
“You do nothing.”
Dowon cut off his words.
“What?”
“Your role is simple.”
Dowon moved away from the desk and took a step closer to Yeohwi.
The standoff situation from this morning naturally came to mind, but now an intimidating pressure flowed that was incomparably more spine-chilling than then. Yeohwi felt like he had truly become an intern employee facing the Director.
“On the day, in the morning, a stylist will come. Wear whatever they dress you in.”
“Yes……”
“And at the party venue, stick by my side, shut your mouth, and just smile prettily.”
His cold fingers swept down the hem of Yeohwi’s wrinkled t-shirt. It was the part where he’d spilled milk in the morning.
“Whatever you try to do, in the eyes of the directors and investors, you’re nothing more or less than a stupid and beautiful trophy 12 years younger than me. Got it?”
……Trophy.
It was a word that made his heart turn chillingly cold.
He wavered for a moment, but Yeohwi endured forcefully.
There was something he’d realized since the day Do Jingyu barged in. He couldn’t reach Dowon just by recklessly putting emotions and desires first. He wasn’t that kind of person, and this was the first and last opportunity Yeohwi couldn’t miss.
He said he’d do whatever he was told.
So Seong Yeohwi, instead of showing a hurt expression, smiled brightly instead.
As if standing in the middle of a fresh grassy field looking up at the sky.
“A trophy? That’s fine.”
“……What?”
Dowon’s eyes twitched slightly.
In fact, this was a kind of test. He thought Yeohwi would be intimidated or resist if he said this. If he showed even the slightest sign of that, he planned to mercilessly separate him and attend the party venue alone.
But to think he’d accept so boldly like that. He was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Honestly, I’m confident. I should show you properly. How brilliantly your spouse and trophy husband shines.”
“……Your words.”
Dowon clicked his tongue as if dumbfounded.
Now there was no way out. He had to take that young husband, Seong Yeohwi, to the founding party.
“But, Dowon-ssi.”
Yeohwi tapped his finger on the frame of Dowon’s still-on monitor.
“This cousin called Do Jinsang, you said he has a bad head and is violent, right?”
“So?”
“He seems to have a severe inferiority complex too, and looking at his eyes, his pride seems strong. People like that usually……”
Grin. Yeohwi smiled with his eyes curved.
That smile was no longer that of a bright puppy. A sharp and persistent corner could be glimpsed, like a beast’s cub, the same as when he’d blocked the entrance this morning.
“If you bite first, they don’t stay still.”
“……”
The study became quiet.
In the silence, Dowon thought that little brat was more dangerous and wild than he thought, and perhaps……
Maybe, just a little bit useful.
His lips drew a fine arc, whether a sneer or interest, he didn’t know.
“Don’t think useless thoughts.”
“Hm? What thoughts am I having?”
“You said you’d only do what I tell you.”
“Of course. Naturally.”
Yeohwi deliberately showed bright sparkling eyes and smiled cutely.
“I’ll be Dowon-ssi’s faithful puppy! Woof woof!”
He even made two fists and brought them next to his face. His youthful face was pale and pretty, but his fist size was large, so it didn’t look like a puppy as intended. Kind of…… a lion cub?
Dowon pushed Yeohwi’s shoulder and sent him out of the study.
“Acting cute. I hate dog fur. Get out.”
Yeohwi resisted with his shoulder to avoid being pushed out easily and asked.
“Really? What kind of animal do you like?”
“We’re done talking.”
“No, wait a moment. Don’t send me away like this. Just a bit.”
“Even the barking is noisy. Get out.”
“Ah, Dowon-ssi. Am I sleeping alone again today?”
He tried to hold onto the doorframe and endure until the end, but Dowon didn’t give in at all. Just the business briefly. The meaning was clear: the instructions had been delivered, so get lost.
“It would be nice if we slept together even for just one day, no, ah……! I get it, I get it! Then it’s fine if we use separate rooms, so at least check my texts. Please?”
His foot stepping on the carpet slipped and slid out into the corridor. The heavy mahogany door closed. Yeohwi, unable to give up, stood in front of it and whined while knocking on the door.
“Texts! You didn’t block me, right? I won’t send many! I’ll only send ten a day!”
Silent response.
“Okay. Exactly five a day!”
Silent response.
“Three!”
Silent response.
“O…… one!”
Bang!
A hammer-like sound came from the door. He must have struck it with his fist.
He was startled, but Yeohwi didn’t back down and shouted assertively.
“Yes! Then I’ll take it as you’ve allowed one!”
An undeniable smile spread across his face as he turned toward the bedroom.
His heart pounded like it would burst. More intensely than someone who’d completed a full-course marathon.
Finally, he’d gotten to participate in the first gateway called the founding party, and moreover as Dowon’s partner.
***
For several days after the briefing in the study, Seong Yeohwi kept his promise to Dowon like clockwork.
Exactly once a day. One message.
Good morning. Today’s weather is amazing. The sun is bright but there are some clouds, so it’s not too hot. The sky is also bright blue. What kind of weather do you like, Dowon-ssi? I’m curious. Of course I like clear days!
09:07
Please eat your meals. I’ve been eating every meal really well since coming here. Today I made chive pancakes with Mrs. Park. I’ve been eating so much of this and that that I think I’ve gained 5kg? Mrs. Park said it’s all muscle, but I don’t know. What do you think, Dowon-ssi? Am I chubby?ㅠ
19:25
I went for a walk today. I really can’t do this anymore, so I’m trying to exercise. After running 20km, I feel like my lungs are going to burst and I’ll die. Did I overdo it a bit? I’ll practice steadily and get stronger. Because I’m going to become a cool man. What kind of exercise do you usually enjoy, Dowon-ssi? Is it the gym, as expected?
16:58
He sent almost essay-like texts each time.
Of course, the number ‘1’ next to all those messages had never once disappeared. Dowon still perfectly ignored Seong Yeohwi’s personal contacts.
But Yeohwi wasn’t anxious. Anyway, the real conversation would begin tonight, at the party venue.
