Chapter 49: Find Him, Now
Dohyuk stared at Kang Sunhyuk with tight lips. Seemingly accustomed to the cold gaze, Sunhyuk continued to meet his eyes with a smiling face. This time, he seemed convinced he had the upper hand.
“Do you think that if I step down, the opportunity will go to you, Executive Director?”
“Of course. Kang Chahyuk doesn’t even have marriage on his mind yet. Without you, there’s only me left, isn’t there? There’s no other choice.”
There was no point asking if Kangsan Construction would accept this. He was determined to push through the strategic marriage with Baek Hyeri by any means necessary. Sunhyuk’s bold move surely had Chairman Kang Mansik’s tacit approval.
“Call off the strategic marriage with Baek Hyeri. If this is handled well, I’ll send the shaman to you right away.”
It was essentially a demand to choose between Baek Hyeri or the shaman. Dohyuk laughed bitterly. What was this shaman that he should let go of Kangsan Construction for him? His head coldly warned him that he should just coldly cut ties and turn away, letting Sunhyuk do as he pleased.
But his insides were churning. The cynical response that there was no comparison between the shaman and Baek Hyeri wouldn’t come out. Clearly choosing Baek Hyeri would be the right decision, but Yeon’s face kept haunting him like a spell, making his irritation rise.
“Why should I trust you?”
When Dohyuk dropped the formal speech, Sunhyuk, who had been quietly watching, burst out laughing. He thought it amusing that someone who had stubbornly stuck to formal speech according to company rank was now truly angry.
“I’m not that low. At least I keep my word.”
Sunhyuk removed the smile from his face and looked Dohyuk in the eyes with a serious expression.
“Once I confirm you’ve dropped the Baek Hyeri matter, I’ll return him to you nicely.”
Though Muryeong had set the condition that Yeon should not meet Kang Dohyuk again, what did he care? He had paid the money, and how he used Yeon afterward was up to him. He didn’t care about their rule of not meeting former clients again. If asked whether to keep his promise to Muryeong or to Kang Dohyuk, there was no need to think. Having spent a long time with Kang Dohyuk, he knew well the lines that must not be crossed.
Dohyuk, with stiff lips and cold eyes, turned sharply and left the executive director’s office without another word. He never dismissed Sunhyuk’s proposal as nonsense. That alone confirmed it: to Kang Dohyuk, that shaman was valuable enough to exchange for Baek Hyeri.
Kang Sunhyuk pressed the intercom in his office and called in Lee Seojin.
“Find a place for that shaman, Yeon or whatever, to stay.”
Before Dohyuk came, he had sent Yeon to his house. Sunhyuk’s mother, not knowing the full situation, treated Yeon as Sunhyuk’s junior or subordinate, wondering what kind of man could be so pretty while offering him hospitality.
“Aren’t you keeping him at your home?”
At Seojin’s question, Sunhyuk frowned.
“If I leave him there, would Kang Dohyuk sit still? Now that he knows he’s with me, he might come looking for him today. Don’t be fooled by his calm appearance. Sometimes he’s even more reckless than I am.”
Unlike the way he had smirked in front of Dohyuk, Sunhyuk’s tone became serious. He worried that keeping Yeon at home might involve his mother. Unlike Sunhyuk’s resentment toward Dohyuk’s mother, Cha Seonyoo, Dohyuk showed no interest in the mothers of Sunhyuk or Chahyuk. More precisely, he completely ignored them.
But this situation was different. If Dohyuk were to act aggressively to recover Yeon, his innocent mother might be harmed. He had posted bodyguards at his home, but if Dohyuk moved, the bodyguards would be useless.
“I’ll keep him with me.”
At Seojin’s answer, Sunhyuk looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
“I’m telling you, you might get caught in the crossfire?”
“It’s better than leaving him unsupervised. Besides, sometimes the obvious place is the blind spot.”
Still, he worried that Seojin might be harmed if he entrusted Yeon to him.
“I’ll be fine.”
Seojin asked him once more to leave it to him. Finally, Sunhyuk relented and gave his permission. It did seem better to entrust Yeon to his right-hand man rather than leaving him alone.
***
When Dohyuk returned to the managing director’s office, he was even colder than before. Afraid of meeting his eyes, the secretarial staff kept their heads down and didn’t move when he passed. Entering his office and sitting on his desk, Dohyuk took out a cigarette. Due to the building’s no-smoking policy, he usually didn’t smoke in the office, and generally tried to restrain himself elsewhere too, but now he needed something to control his emotions.
Kang Sunhyuk, that bastard, had proposed a negotiation to him. As much as he wanted to cut off that wagging tongue, he had to hold back. Although he didn’t shy away from rough methods at times, he wasn’t a gangster. He had been put forward as the public face of Dragon Holdings to remove the gangster image.
Phew. The hazy cigarette smoke that escaped from between his lips dispersed into the air.
It wasn’t Sunhyuk’s fault. He himself had provided the opportunity. If Yeon didn’t exist, he wouldn’t have been swayed by Sunhyuk.
Who would have thought that guy would become his weakness?
Once he recovered him this time, he intended to lock him up somewhere no one knew about. He would manage him meticulously to ensure this kind of situation never happened again to hold him back.
Whatever happened, he had to get that damned shaman in front of him. His feelings toward him were raging out of control. It had been fine while he believed Yeon was at Muryeong. That was because he was allowing it, and he was confident he could bring him back whenever he wanted.
But hearing that Yeon was in Sunhyuk’s hands made his head hot. When Sunhyuk had mentioned renting him out to older gentlemen with refined tastes, he had almost drawn his knife to stab him. It had been a long time since a situation was not under his control. That drove Dohyuk crazy.
When he pressed the intercom, Director Choi immediately entered.
“Find out where Kang Sunhyuk is hiding Yeon. Today, right now.”
Sunhyuk had offered Yeon in exchange for Baek Hyeri, but Dohyuk had no intention of following his words. The marriage with Baek Hyeri was something he could take or leave, but following Sunhyuk’s orders itself was unpleasant.
Nor did he intend to give up Yeon. So he had to have both. He would first buy some time, and in the meantime, find Yeon even by force if necessary. To do it without Sunhyuk noticing, they needed to find him today. Without fail.
***
“Please sit down.”
Lee Seojin put down Yeon’s belongings and offered him a seat on the sofa. Yeon stood at the entrance without moving. He couldn’t understand why he had to be here.
He had been surprised when told to stay at Sunhyuk’s house with his mother. Though Sunhyuk was the client, Yeon hardly saw him. Instead, Sunhyuk’s mother was very affectionate toward Yeon. She prepared meals for him at every mealtime and frequently asked if there was anything he wanted to eat. She even pulled him to watch TV together, saying he looked bored just sitting quietly.
‘I wished I had one more son…’
She said with a regretful look at Yeon. Although he didn’t know the exact circumstances of the Kang Dohyuk brothers, many emotions crossed her eyes at that moment. He could see her feelings toward someone—a deep, intense crimson thread. There was resignation in her painfully poignant feelings. He immediately recognized that the object of her affection was Sunhyuk’s father.
She was the first person to see Yeon simply as a person, not as a shaman. Though he had met many people, no one had treated him with such unconditional warmth.
If he had had a mother, would she have felt similar? The day spent with her evoked unfamiliar yet strange emotions in Yeon.
Late in the afternoon, Lee Seojin had come to pick up Yeon. He was told to pack everything. While Yeon hadn’t thought much of it, Sunhyuk’s mother was very disappointed. She seemed to really dislike being left alone.
He was told he’d be going to Seojin’s house. Though he had come from Muryeong at Sunhyuk’s request, there was no explanation for why he suddenly had to go to Seojin’s house. As always, Yeon simply moved according to the client’s request.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
Seojin turned and asked Yeon. Yeon quietly swallowed. It didn’t really matter where he stayed. From Sunhyuk’s comment on the first day about needing him as bait, Yeon knew he had brought him not as a shaman but as leverage in his power struggle with Dohyuk. For his part, Yeon had come not to protect Sunhyuk but in the hope that staying near him might help sever the bad connection with Dohyuk, so they were even.
The problem was that he couldn’t read Seojin’s intentions. He had thought Seojin was Dohyuk’s man, but he was introduced as Sunhyuk’s office manager. Could he be a spy planted by Dohyuk? Recalling his appearance when he had visited Dohyuk, it seemed likely.
“Was it you who told Kang Sunhyuk about me, Director?”
Yeon asked while standing at the entrance. Seojin’s face, which had been calm until now, slightly twisted. From his expression alone, Yeon didn’t need to hear the answer.
Why? You’re Kang Dohyuk’s person, aren’t you?
He didn’t ask such a foolish question. The murky yellow thread extending toward him was the answer. He wanted to explain, to say it was a misunderstanding, that he and Dohyuk weren’t like that, but the words wouldn’t come out. The red thread tied to his finger prevented him from saying anything. Though they could never be destined lovers, he and Dohyuk always…
If Seojin’s fate had been intertwined with Dohyuk as potential lovers, Yeon might have tried to soothe his heart somehow. But sadly, Seojin’s feelings were one-sided and didn’t reach Dohyuk at all. So even if Yeon explained himself now, it would only deceive him.
It would have been better if he hadn’t known about his feelings. Then, being disliked wouldn’t have bothered him so much. Being able to see even the smallest emotions of others as colored threads was not happiness at all.
“Thank you for protecting the Managing Director.”
Seojin made an unexpected comment. It seemed that despite his dislike for Yeon, he was relieved that Dohyuk was safe because of him.
“I don’t know what the Executive Director will do with you… but for now, stay here.”
Seojin made a complicated expression before turning away. Only then did Yeon quietly say “Excuse me” and step inside. He never thought he would end up living with Seojin. It might have been less uncomfortable to stay with Sunhyuk. Being with someone who had an unrequited love for Dohyuk was more uncomfortable than he had expected.
