“Mom has no right… to nitpick at every little thing I do. Does she?”
At his response — cold beyond mere defiance — Rep. Chu’s lips trembled. She was furious, but visibly forcing herself to swallow it down.
“You’re still going on about that……”
“I’ll keep going on about it until you’re sick of hearing it.”
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s your delusion. That’s a story from over ten years ago. Can’t you just let it go?”
“Is that right? Is it also my delusion that I’m not Father’s son?”
“You——!”
The words fell out smooth as water, and Rep. Chu’s face twisted in horror. She darted her eyes around to check whether anyone might have heard, then fixed Haejeong with a vicious, seething glare.
“You… watch your mouth.”
“I am watching it. I’ve been doing just fine — but you keep poking at me.”
“…You insolent little……”
“Insolent bloodline, maybe?”
“Enough!”
Rep. Chu stared at Haejeong with pale, murderous eyes. At a gaze that practically radiated killing intent, Haejeong let out a thin, unbothered smile and deflected it without missing a beat.
“So stop pretending to be close with me. And stop putting on that act of trying to get along.”
The rift between Haejeong and his own mother had torn open more than ten years ago. Past any point of return.
Rep. Chu forced down her brief flare of fury, drew a long breath, and spoke as calmly as she could manage. She composed her voice with effort, but couldn’t conceal the sharpness in her gaze.
“You. Don’t use hating me as an excuse to forget your place.”
“…….”
“Help your brother and do your part at the company properly.”
“…….”
“Do as your brother tells you, and make yourself a real asset to him — that’s what you need to do. That was the condition for you being allowed to return to Korea in the first place. You know that, don’t you?”
Rep. Chu stripped away even the surface pretense of trying to get along and got straight to the point. The eyes fixed on him were fierce, bristling with cold venom. She was telling him to give everything he had for his brother Yeon Juhyeok in the succession battle to come. But as fate would have it, Haejeong was contrary by nature.
He was the kind of person — petty and contrary at his core — who would never give anyone exactly what they wanted. Especially when that person was his own mother.
Haejeong smiled for all to see and gave a light shrug. Who knows. He threw a look at her that might as well have been a taunt, gave no answer, and walked right past her. He could feel her glare burning into his back, but he didn’t turn around once — his expression, which had been wearing that smile, hardened into something sharp as he strode away. Then, unable to keep his temper in check, he kicked a nearby vase in passing — some innocent thing that happened to be in his way. The crash it made rang loudly through the space, and the staff nearby startled and came rushing over. But Haejeong walked past as if it had nothing to do with him, cracking his stiff neck from side to side and grinding his teeth. It was a morning when he wanted nothing more than to drink himself senseless.
**
The next day, Munyeong came in for work, finished the morning briefing, and headed straight to his assigned section.
The day before, when he’d woken up in the morning, Haejeong was nowhere to be seen. He’d been someone who had no business being at Munyeong’s apartment in the first place — up until just a few days ago — so having him there one moment and gone the next left a strange feeling behind. He wasn’t sure whether it was because he’d left without saying goodbye, or because the apartment had suddenly felt hollow and empty, as if it were missing something. On top of that, he’d even said he was going house-hunting the next day and would need Munyeong with him, and then he’d vanished without a trace. No real word of any kind.
He’d wondered if maybe Haejeong was embarrassed about what had happened, but the brazen way he’d carried himself afterward didn’t suggest he was losing any sleep over it. Still, Munyeong found it odd that he was even thinking about it. Since when had doing things together, being around him, become something ordinary?
When he arrived at Haejeong’s office in the early hours, it was, for once, completely empty. Why had he assumed, as if it were obvious, that he would find him sleeping there? He let out a quiet, self-deprecating laugh at how quickly he’d grown used to something after only a few days. Munyeong set the thought aside just as quickly and got to work.
It took several hours to finish cleaning his section, and the secretaries were the first to begin arriving. He exchanged brief greetings with them, then came down to the first-floor lobby and was heading toward the basement when he sensed a ripple of murmuring run through the crowd of employees filing in for work. He was quietly trying to make his way through when the staff around him stepped aside in a hurry, whispering among themselves.
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen all three of them together.”
“Seeing them side by side — they really do all look alike.”
“Didn’t they say the Managing Director who just took the position is the youngest?”
“Something like that. People said he was good-looking — they weren’t wrong.”
It was a conversation between two young men who looked to be around the same age. Munyeong stopped the cart he was pulling and turned his head without thinking toward where their eyes were directed. Three men were walking through the path the employees were clearing for them as though it were only natural. All of similar height, all clearly sharing the same genes in the way their handsome features were cast. The three of them, in perfectly fitted suits that radiated an unmistakable air of refinement even to a stranger’s eye, walked side by side exchanging light conversation. Even as people bowed their heads to them as they passed, the three men’s attention remained entirely on whatever they were discussing among themselves. The distance between them and the ordinary employees seemed to say everything about where they stood — that they existed in an entirely different world.
“I heard his personality is something else.”
“Our team leader warned us not to get on his radar.”
“He looks young.”
“Young makes it worse. It’s a blatant parachute appointment, and on top of that he’s young and has a terrible personality.”
The whispered conversation drifted naturally into his ears. The one they were quietly talking down about was the most conspicuous of the three. He was the tallest, built well, and above all else his looks and bearing were in a class of their own — more striking than any actor. No matter how much anyone talked behind his back or disliked him, he was someone who would always be in a position to command others, someone who would reign while the people around him bowed their heads.
Seeing him like this, the fact that Haejeong had spent the weekend in his apartment didn’t feel real. The distance Munyeong was feeling now made perfect sense — it was only natural. And in that moment, as Munyeong stared blankly ahead, his gaze drifted and collided in midair with Haejeong’s, who was passing through with his usual languid look. They had clearly locked eyes — but it was Haejeong who naturally looked away and kept walking, as if it hadn’t happened. Munyeong had been about to dip his head in greeting, but Haejeong had already looked away faster than he could.
There was no hurt in it. What right did he have to feel hurt. Munyeong simply let a faint, dry smile cross his lips and moved on. Toward his place, down in the basement.
**
After finishing work, Munyeong stretched his arms out to ease his aching shoulders and did a quick, light stretch. By the time he’d sorted through the piled-up waste as well, it was time to clock out. His coworkers all looked worn out too — the fatigue from the day had settled onto their faces, heavier than it had been that morning.
Cleaning was something you should never underestimate just because it’s cleaning. Even after working through sections from early morning to early evening, there was always a pile of leftover tasks waiting. No matter how much you cleared, there was always more to clear. The harder the pay, the harder the work — it came with the territory. Still, just as he was relieved that Haejeong hadn’t called for him separately at any point during the day, a brief message arrived with impeccable timing.
[Parking lot.]
The moment he read it, Munyeong realized the workday hadn’t ended — it was starting again. He exhaled a quiet sigh and made his way calmly down to the underground parking garage. When he reached the section reserved for executives, he spotted Haejeong not far away, leaning against his car and scrolling through his phone at leisure. Munyeong quickened his pace slightly at the sight.
“…Hello.”
He offered a somewhat awkward greeting since they’d crossed paths earlier without a proper exchange, but rather than returning it warmly, Haejeong’s face remained impassive as he tossed over the car keys. There was a subtle chill in the way he then got into the back seat without a word.
Munyeong climbed into the driver’s seat feeling a little at a loss, stole a glance at Haejeong through the rearview mirror, and started the engine. He’d never been warm to begin with, but this was a cold that clearly drew a line — and Munyeong found himself wondering briefly if he’d done something wrong. He considered whether it might be discomfort over what had happened at his apartment, but the one who had been brazenly unbothered afterward was Haejeong himself. The atmosphere was subtly different from usual, but Munyeong pressed the accelerator quietly and said nothing.
Their first destination was a French restaurant in Sinsa-dong. It seemed he had an appointment — he stepped out of the car and headed inside without giving any particular instructions. While Munyeong sat there blankly wondering what to do, a message came through.
[Wait.]
A short command. Why bother sending a message when he could have just said it out loud. Was he keeping the incident from the weekend bottled up inside him? It was clear something had put him in a bad mood, but it wasn’t Munyeong’s place to get involved. His job was simply to do as he was told.
**
After waiting a good long while, he reappeared late into the night — and the person he had apparently been seated with was a middle-aged man noticeably older than Haejeong. It seemed to be a business-related meeting, but Munyeong had no way of knowing for certain, so he simply stepped out quietly and opened the rear door for him.
At that, Haejeong — who had glanced at Munyeong briefly before getting in — settled back into the rear seat with the same blank expression. Haejeong’s evening schedule that day had all been relayed to Munyeong not by Haejeong himself but by his secretary. It seemed a new secretary had been assigned to him, but that secretary only assisted with matters inside the company or external business duties — while anything involving private arrangements or Haejeong’s movements when he felt like going somewhere was handled entirely by Munyeong.
