“…….”
“If you had slept with either Yeon Juhyeok or Yeon Chayeong.”
“……What?”
The words came out of nowhere. The worry that had been sitting on Munyeong’s face shifted into something harder to name.
What in the world…….
“If you had slept with either of those bastards.”
“…No, why would you even think——”
“The moment I thought about it, my head went hot. My vision went white.”
“…….”
“And when I came back to my senses, I was standing there holding a kitchen knife.”
What followed was even worse. Munyeong stared at him with an expression somewhere between dumbstruck and appalled.
“That’s why I didn’t say anything.”
“…….”
“I would have killed those bastards.”
“…….”
“But my father doesn’t have anyone worth killing.”
“…….”
“So I figured he’d end up being the one to die, and I stopped myself.”
It was an absurd line of reasoning — and yet somehow it made sense. And though it was a little unexpected to see Haejeong showing that kind of consideration for his father, it also felt entirely like him.
“…But you look like him. Like Chairman Yeon. What if he somehow figures it out…?”
Still, there was an undeniable resemblance between Haejeong and Chairman Yeon. They were bound by blood, after all — there was no avoiding the genetics. Munyeong wondered if that alone might give them away, but Haejeong just gave a listless shrug.
“He might already know.”
“…….”
“That old man acts all easygoing on the outside, but you have no idea how frightening he is underneath. You don’t become the head of a conglomerate just by being nice. That exterior hides dozens of serpents coiled inside.”
“…….”
“…But what can you do. It’s my father’s choice — that confirming it matters less to him than losing her. I don’t want to be the one to push him toward that.”
Haejeong’s face as he spoke so casually wasn’t entirely at ease. Munyeong found himself surprised by how much more mature he seemed in that moment, and a faint smile touched the corner of his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking.”
At the next words, the faint smile on Munyeong’s face gave way to confusion again.
“…About what?”
“What if I had found out that you’d been with Yeon Juhyeok or Yeon Chayeong.”
“…Again?”
Again. How many times had he turned that thought over in his head?
“If I were my father.”
Haejeong’s expression was dead serious. Even as he clearly found the imagined scenario unpleasant, he didn’t stop.
“……I think it wouldn’t have been much different.”
“…….”
“Even if you had been with my brother. Even if I had found out——”
“…….”
“…The bastard you slept with, I would have killed.”
“…….”
“……But you — I wouldn’t have laid a single finger——”
The deep crease between his brows was striking. Haejeong’s face burned with fury just from the thought, and he swallowed the rest of the words down. Unable to bring himself to finish, he forced the sentence back and knocked back the wine in his glass in one go. He drained it in a single gulp and let out a low, seething breath like an animal working off its rage.
“I’m telling you in advance.”
“…Hm?”
“I can’t forgive cheating.”
“……What?”
“Even if you develop feelings for someone else — it’s not happening. We’ve already had our arrangement notarized.”
“…….”
“It was put in writing, and recorded. All of it is legally binding, you understand?”
…To be precise, what had been legally notarized was the fact that Chairman Yeon had agreed to give his blessing — on conditions. Munyeong blinked slowly, his eyes wide at the sudden warning.
“…Why do you keep imagining things like that?”
He kept obsessing over these scenarios where Munyeong was with someone other than him. Munyeong found the absurdity of it ridiculous — and yet oddly funny. A quiet laugh slipped out, and he asked in a calm, even voice.
“I’ve never had feelings for anyone other than you——”
Munyeong stopped dead in the middle of a sentence he hadn’t meant to say. The words had slipped out so easily — because the imagined scenario was so absurd — and Haejeong, who had been in the middle of catching his breath, went still. Both of them froze, looking at each other.
“…….”
“…….”
In the sudden, heavy silence that fell between them, Munyeong felt his throat go dry and hurriedly downed the wine he’d been gripping in his hand.
“Ha.”
It was Haejeong who broke the silence first — with a laugh. Starting with a breathless, disbelieving sound, he began to shake, shoulders trembling, laughing under his breath. One moment furious, and now he couldn’t stop shaking his head and laughing.
“…What am I supposed to do with you liking me this much?”
He followed it up in a voice full of self-satisfied warmth, looking at Munyeong with eyes like a man luxuriating in something he knew he didn’t deserve. Munyeong’s face went red. He looked away, fidgeting, and reached for the bottle to pour himself more wine. His throat was burning again.
“Give it here.”
It was Haejeong who took the bottle right out of his hands just as he was about to pour, flustered. He took it smoothly and poured the deep red liquid with practiced ease. The laughter still lingered on his face, and his mood had lifted completely. Seeing him laugh lifted Munyeong’s spirits too despite himself — he let a quiet smile follow. Taking advantage of the slightly loosened atmosphere, Munyeong carefully brought up something he’d been worrying about.
“…Haejeong.”
“Yeah.”
He answered readily, pouring wine into his own glass as well.
“……Your mother.”
“…….”
“…Have you seen her? Since then?”
The smile that had been settled at the corner of his mouth went rigid.
“Would I have?”
Haejeong tossed the answer out without meeting his eyes.
“I don’t intend to see her face for a while. I don’t know what I might do if I do.”
There was something tangled and difficult in his expression. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked, Munyeong thought, pressing his lips together — and then Haejeong’s voice came again.
“…You said it.”
“…….”
“That it might not have been what it seemed.”
Haejeong kept avoiding eye contact, as if talking about his mother in front of Munyeong embarrassed him somehow.
“That my mother might not have tried to kill me.”
“…….”
“That she’d have hesitated. That it could have been a mistake.”
Those were words Munyeong had let slip in front of his company building. Not really let slip, though — they hadn’t come out of nowhere. He’d wanted to say them for a long time. If Haejeong was still hurting, he’d wanted to offer this at least once. He didn’t know if his words could be any comfort, but seeing Haejeong so matter-of-factly assume that his own mother had meant to kill him — he hadn’t been able to hold back.
“To be honest, I don’t understand you.”
“…….”
