“Let’s stop and go to sleep.”
I grabbed Hahyun’s wrist to go to bed, but he just sat there.
“Promise you don’t hate me first.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Then hug me.”
I sighed and embraced Hahyun. His heart was beating rapidly. I placed my hand on his chest and patted it gently.
“Try to calm down. How can you live when you get so sensitive over nothing? It’s suffocating.”
“Don’t say that. I feel like torturing the truth out of you so you’d tell Hajin hyung the truth.”
It seems his claim that he would understand Hajin was a lie after all. Fearing that Hahyun would cry all night if I said anything more, I silently followed him into my room.
* * *
“Haa… hyung, can’t we do it just a little more?”
Even after doing it three times, Hahyun licked his lips as if it wasn’t enough. Wrapped tightly in the blanket, I shook my head.
“Please. Just one more time and I think I’ll be able to sleep.”
“You’re just pretending to be tired, aren’t you?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You said you were exhausted from work and wanted me to pity you, but it’s all lies.”
Hahyun replied without changing his expression.
“No, I’m really tired. Please feel sorry for me.”
“You’re lying. How can someone who’s tired do it three times!”
Hahyun looked at me with an incredulous expression.
“That’s different.”
“How is it different? Normally, when you’re tired, you should collapse and sleep, not do anything else.”
Hahyun snorted.
“Then Hajin hyung must be even more tired, so he can’t do anything, right?”
I was speechless at this unexpected question. It was too hard to lie and say I hadn’t done anything when the marks all over my body were so clear. In the end, I just opened and closed my mouth, not knowing what to say.
“See? Hajin hyung did it too. So why do you think Hajin hyung deserves pity but not me? If you keep discriminating like this, I can’t take it anymore.”
It wasn’t him who couldn’t take it anymore, but me. I yelled at Hahyun.
“Hey, you crazy bastard! We’ve already done it three times. Besides, do you know what time it is?”
Looking at the clock on the wall, it was nearly 5 AM. Naturally, I was both mentally and physically exhausted after being tormented by Hahyun all this time.
Hahyun closed his mouth.
“What? Does it finally seem ridiculous to you too?”
“…How many times did you do it with Hajin hyung?”
“…”
I was so dumbfounded by his persistent questioning that I couldn’t speak.
“If you tell me how many times, I won’t beg to do it more.”
After considering for a moment, I decided to tell a white lie.
“Twice.”
“Really? So you did it more with me, right?”
“Yes. So hurry up, get under the covers and lie down. Even if we sleep now, we won’t get many hours of rest.”
“Okay.”
Hahyun lay down on the bed with a dissatisfied expression. Even with his eyes closed, he continuously made demands: “Kiss me,” “Pat me,” “Tell me you love me,” and so on.
It felt strange to be fulfilling all his requests. When I had sex with Hahyun, he seemed like a beast, but now I felt like I was raising a child.
I turned my head and stared at the finally sleeping Hahyun. He looked like an angel. He’s actually quite pretty when he keeps his mouth shut.
I swallowed the thought that naturally came to mind and closed my eyes. But I couldn’t sleep due to my worry about Hajin.
After tossing and turning continuously, I had no choice but to carefully get up and go outside without waking Hahyun. I checked my phone, but there was still no contact from Hajin.
I was about to call him, but thinking he might still be asleep, I put my phone down. Just then, as if perfectly timed, my phone rang. I checked the screen eagerly, but it wasn’t Hajin—it was Park Hyunwoo.
[Hajin sent me on an errand, so I’m in front of your house now.]
[Come in. I’ll open the door right now.]
After sending that reply, I went down to the first floor and opened the front door. Park Hyunwoo was standing there with drooping shoulders. He looked visibly exhausted.
“Why didn’t you ring the bell when you arrived?”
“Hajin told me not to ring it because it would startle you.”
Is it reasonable that someone who cares about me enough to think of such minor details hasn’t contacted me even once? My feelings of resentment must have shown on my face because Hyunwoo asked with a troubled expression.
“You’ve been worried a lot, haven’t you?”
“Is he so busy that he can’t even make one phone call to me?”
I asked without even inviting him in, feeling frustrated, but Hyunwoo naturally came inside as he replied.
“He is busy, but he also said that when he contacts you, his heart weakens, and he keeps wanting to wrap things up quickly…”
It was an incomprehensible reason, but considering Hajin’s usual pride, I could guess what he meant. He wouldn’t want to show me that he’s struggling. But even so, isn’t it too much not to contact me even once?
“I’m going to pack some of Hajin’s formal suits from the closet.”
I nodded and followed behind Hyunwoo. Judging by the fact that he sent Hyunwoo instead, Hajin must be so busy that he doesn’t even have time to change clothes.
Suddenly, I remembered what Hahyun had said yesterday. Didn’t he mention that he might soon be summoned by the prosecution? Was Secretary Kim conspiring with a prosecutor to frame Hajin? This is serious…
As I stood in the hallway worrying about Hajin, Hyunwoo came out shortly after with Hajin’s clothes.
“Did he leave any message for me?”
Hyunwoo avoided my gaze.
“Not particularly…”
“Come on, at least give me a hint.”
Hyunwoo, who had been evasively answering, finally opened his mouth as if he had no choice due to my persistence.
“To tell you the truth, today the prosecutor will send a summons. Hajin heard this news in advance and is preparing… I don’t know much else. He’s not the type to share his inner thoughts, you know?”
The moment I heard those words, I felt like all the blood drained from my body.
If the prosecution is sending a summons, doesn’t that mean something serious has happened? Perhaps deep down, I wanted to believe Hahyun’s claim that everything was just Hajin’s scheme. If it were true that Hajin wasn’t really in trouble but was just pretending to be pitiful to gain my sympathy, I could forgive him for deceiving me…
But from Hyunwoo’s serious attitude, it didn’t seem to be a lie. That made me even more anxious.
“Juwon… I can’t tell you much right now, but one thing is clear.”
Having not slept at all and now hearing such shocking news, my legs were trembling. I didn’t even know how to meet Hyunwoo’s eyes as he looked at me with pity. Hyunwoo approached and supported me as he continued.
“He’s assembled the best team of lawyers. I know how anxious you must be right now, but it’s not as serious as you think, so don’t worry too much.”
“Just one more thing, please.”
“Yes?”
“If they send the summons today, when will he have to appear?”
“Probably they won’t give him much time? About a week, I think.”
“That soon?”
“The longer this kind of thing drags on, the worse it gets. I wish there was more time…”
“Won’t he have even a moment of free time?”
“I don’t think so. There will be a lot to prepare.”
Saying he doesn’t have time meant he wouldn’t have time to come see me before appearing at the prosecution. I gripped the stair railing tightly to avoid collapsing from dizziness.
“I’ll be late if I don’t go now. I’ll go ahead, so make sure you eat breakfast…”
Hyunwoo went down the stairs, leaving me standing there. I called out after him.
“I know you’ll be busy, but please update me from time to time. I’m begging you.”
“I’ll try.”
My heart was pounding like it would burst, but Hyunwoo seemed so calm. How many more ominous thoughts would I have to endure while unable to contact Hajin? I wanted to hold Hyunwoo back and ask for more information, but he went down the stairs without looking back. My head was spinning so much that my vision blurred, preventing me from seeing Hyunwoo off.
Please, I hope nothing serious happens…
* * *
A week later, Hajin headed to the prosecutor’s office with Hyunwoo.
Hajin, who was reviewing documents in the back seat, casually asked Hyunwoo.
“How did he look?”
Hyunwoo knew why Hajin asked that question. Since Hyunwoo had been handling all the tasks requiring visits to the house while Hajin stayed at a hotel, he was probably asking about Juwon’s well-being. Annoyed by Hajin’s audacity to ask without even contacting Juwon himself, Hyunwoo pretended not to understand.
“Whose face?”
“Yoon Juwon’s, who else?”
“You already know. He’s on the verge of death. His face looked really bad.”
At Hyunwoo’s words, Hajin closed his mouth, thinking he shouldn’t have asked, and searched for news articles. Almost all media outlets were buzzing about Hajin’s prosecution investigation.
Deliberately asking this prosecutor to send a summons despite knowing the stock price would fall, and then timing the news release, was all to get help from Chairman Choi Taesung, who had agreed to share his stock holdings.
Hajin called Chairman Choi Taesung. He answered almost before the ring tone could sound.
“This is Seo Hajin.”
“I was just about to call you… How are things progressing?”
“You get straight to the point as always. The situation isn’t as difficult as you might think. May I just ask one favor?”
“As long as it’s legal, by all means.”
“You just need to make one phone call. This prosecutor is quite demanding, but he’s full of ambition. No need for special requests, just give my regards to the chief prosecutor.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Yes, then I’ll treat you to a nice drink next time.”
After hanging up, the corners of Hajin’s mouth turned upward. He had made sufficient plans that could work even without Chairman Choi Taesung’s help, but having double or triple backup was never a bad thing. Having prepared for numerous scenarios, from now on it was just a matter of negotiating well.
