My chest felt fluttery. Was that why? I suddenly wanted to be more rebellious and act more defiantly. I’d never been like this with anyone before…
I didn’t know I was such a childish and emotional person.
– I already know it’s a video without looking. After making Seo Hahyun the representative, he’ll get you out of this house, right? In exchange for reporting me to the police.
“Gasp… How did you know?”
– I’ve thoroughly examined everything in Secretary Kim’s mind. So don’t worry. I need to go now. Ah, I’ll delete the video, so don’t tell Hahyun. There’s no point in provoking him unnecessarily.
“Yes. I was planning on keeping it from him anyway.”
After hanging up the phone, my frightened heart calmed down. I quickly cleared away all traces of Secretary Kim from the table before Hahyun arrived.
The night was getting deeper. But I was alone. Even though I had just hung up, I already missed Hajin’s voice.
* * *
Unable to calm my mind at all, I spent the night wide awake and only fell asleep in the morning. That’s why I could only wake up late in the afternoon.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I looked around the room. It was my ordinary room, with no trace of anyone else.
Has no one come yet? If either of them had come, they would have been beside me. Well, it’s daytime now, and even if they had stopped by this morning, they might not have woken me since I was sleeping soundly.
They should have just woken me up, I wanted to see them.
While rubbing my eyes and muttering words I wasn’t sure who they were meant for, Hajin entered the room carrying tea.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to see him during the day…
Whether Hajin had already left work, he was wearing comfortable knitwear with cotton pants. The body wash scent filling the room felt pleasant.
I sat up abruptly out of happiness, and Hajin grinned at me.
“Do you like me so much that you’re fully awake now?”
His tone was slick.
“Hajin-ssi, yesterday…”
Secretary Kim, you see—I started rambling about what happened yesterday like a child. Even though I knew Hajin already knew everything since I’d told him during our call yesterday, I couldn’t stop myself.
Hajin focused on my story, occasionally nodding or running his hand through his hair.
Whether it was because I was still half-asleep or slightly crazy, I felt relieved after tattling on Secretary Kim’s wrongdoings to Hajin.
However, the problem came after I finished talking. Hajin wouldn’t take his eyes off me, and I was also looking at him, but it wasn’t easy to read his expression. He seemed emotionless, complicated, and also looking at me lovingly. A strange silence surrounded us while we gazed at each other.
Was it because I still hadn’t shaken off my anxiety about Secretary Kim? My heart was beating wildly.
Hajin reached out and cupped my cheek. Though it was a simple gesture, the hairs stood up along where his hand touched. Not knowing where to look, I rolled my eyes and lowered my head, only to notice that Hajin’s shirt buttons were slightly undone. I swallowed hard.
Was my racing heart not due to tension but because of, that? My goodness, it was just one day of sleeping alone…
Lost in self-loathing for a moment, I lowered Hajin’s hand. I needed to get a grip—right now, Hajin was at a crossroads of whether to step down from his position as CEO, and trying to pounce on someone in that situation would be unconscionable.
Though I tried hard not to look, it was difficult to take my eyes off his fingertips circling the rim of the teacup.
“Our Juwon has learned how to pounce with just his eyes, he’s really improved.”
“P-pounce… No, can’t I just look a bit? It’s not like looking will wear it out…”
“No.”
After saying that, Hajin lowered his head to look at his lower body. I also glanced there briefly but quickly turned away after seeing the bulging area. Hajin laughed and said:
“Showing off when you can’t handle it…”
Hajin wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward him. When our bodies touched, my temperature rose at once. While trying to think of something to say, my heart raced as I remembered getting aroused by myself earlier. To calm down, I fiddled with his hands and carefully opened my mouth.
“Hajin-ssi, if you need to feed false information to Secretary Kim, please tell me. From what I saw yesterday, he seems to trust me. Not because of actual trust but…”
“He probably thinks you’re someone who would easily betray others to achieve your own goals.”
“…Yes.”
Seeing Hajin speak so calmly made me feel even more sorry. The living room lighting cast shadows on his profile. Seeing him look so lonely, I placed my hand on his chin. His skin was so soft that the feel of it against my fingertips was pleasant. As I traced his jawline with my finger, he grabbed my wrist and grinned.
“Are you going to enchant me and then betray me again?”
“Would I even be able to enchant you?”
“Well… I’ve already been enchanted once, so I don’t know what would happen if I fell under your spell again.”
His hand, which had been on my thigh, gradually crept up toward my waist. I tried to move to the side by twisting my waist, but it wasn’t easy.
“So, about the information…”
“Forget it. You don’t have to do anything. Even without that, someone like Secretary Kim is easily…”
The spot where his hand touched tingled. My area was also changing to become similar to his.
Before Hajin’s skinship could get more intimate, I quickly blurted out whatever came to mind.
“You said you might step down from your position as CEO, right? You’re not really thinking you can play around carelessly like Hahyun thinks, are you?”
His eyes curved playfully. Even though I thought, since it’s Hajin, there’s no way that could be true, seeing his recent behavior, which made it seem like he had already handed over management rights, made me anxious.
The hand that had been fiddling with my thigh moved away. He buried his face in his hands and lowered his head as if in distress.
Was it an unavoidable situation, and I made him suffer by needlessly bringing it up?
After a moment, Hajin slowly opened his mouth.
“Even if I fall and die, I’ll save you before dying, so don’t worry. And…”
His eyes, which had been looking elsewhere, shifted to me.
“I won’t need to use you, so don’t even think about contacting that bastard Secretary Kim separately.”
The hope that I might be able to help Hajin vanished instantly.
What should I do? If Hahyun really becomes the representative after this board meeting… Secretary Kim plans to use me as bait to report Hajin!
Damn… I have to prevent that from happening!
I became anxious.
* * *
For several days, I waited for Secretary Kim to contact me, but there was no communication from him.
Hajin and Hahyun started having more days where they would stay out all night, come back just to shower, and leave again, and the news was constantly talking about the generational shift in Fashion Group H.
I spent time scanning through provocative internet article titles on the portal such as “The Battle of the H Group Brothers,” “Unknown Facts about the Seo Hajin and Seo Hahyun Brothers,” “Is Corporate Inheritance Really Okay as It Is?” and so on.
Even just watching their situation without doing anything made me feel tense, as if I were in the middle of a battlefield.
Then, Hajin’s name appeared on my phone screen. Since it hadn’t been long since he left, I answered with curiosity.
– Hahyun has disappeared.
The brief news Hajin delivered made my heart drop to my feet. With the feeling of blood draining from my entire body, I couldn’t open my mouth.
After a moment of silence, Hajin sighed and called out to me.
– Juwon?
I barely pulled myself together and continued.
“Maybe he just went somewhere briefly because he didn’t want to work? Have you tried contacting him? He was going to work fine just this morning…”
– For now, it’s hard to explain everything in detail… But if Hahyun disappears now, it would be a big problem, so your role is important.
Not being able to speak specifically meant something had happened. I had hoped he just temporarily left his workplace, but the thought that it might not be the case made my hands tremble.
Did Secretary Kim kidnap him? Or like before, did he lose consciousness while having strange delusions? Anxious thoughts flooded my mind in a short time.
“What do you mean? If Hahyun is missing, we should find him first, but I can’t even leave the house. Shouldn’t you be doing something instead of talking on the phone right now?”
Even though it wasn’t Hajin’s fault, I was hurt by his calm attitude despite his brother’s disappearance, so my words came out a bit sharp.
– Juwon, just calm down first.
Surrounding noise mixed in with the end of Hajin’s words. Usually, when Hajin called me, he would go to a quiet place, but today he seemed to not even have time for that. So, is he actually a bit worried?
– Even if Hahyun were to run away, he wouldn’t leave without you. Don’t you know that he’s the type of person who would choose to die by your side even in a life-or-death situation?
“Ah…”
– He will definitely come home, so try to persuade him well.
If he comes home looking for me as Hajin said, that would be fortunate, but what if that’s not the case?
“What if he doesn’t come home? What if he’s been kidnapped?”
– You tend to see Hahyun as too weak. Think about his size, do you think someone with that build would be easily dragged away by anyone?
“Still, you never know.”
– It’s not like that, so don’t worry. Whether Hahyun gets his head straight depends on you.
Hajin spoke firmly. I didn’t know what had happened, but if Hajin was this confident, there was a high chance Hahyun would come home. But could I persuade Hahyun? Even if I tried to persuade him, would he kindly listen to what I say?
