Notorious ⊷ Haechan

12 ⊷ Scared

While Haechan and Chenle followed his suggestion right away, Ji-yoon took the liberty to roam around the room a little longer. 

"So, what can I do for you?" 

"I am sure you have already heard about the situation regarding LTM and JYP," Chenle began vaguely, curious to see how much Kang actually knew about the matter. 

"Yes, it is tragic really. Such bright people brutally murdered." 

Empty. 

Empty words, void of any meaning. No care nor sympathy. Just something he said as an easy response to a precarious situation.

He was indeed a politician. 

Ji-yoon exhaled flatly. If he was only going to pretend, he shouldn't have tried to seem like he cared at all. 

She stood behind the mayor when she glared at him. Although he didn't see her, Haechan did. And his gaze quickly caught her attention. 

He didn't know her well yet. He wasn't going to pretend like her polite, innocent persona wasn't obviously at least partly fake. 

But something he was absolutely certain about was that she genuinely cared for the people around her. 

So after their eyes met, it quickly became evident that his gaze wasn't warning but rather warm and urging for caution. 

Ji-yoon nodded, looked away, turned around. 

"As you know, there is some controversy surrounding JYP and the project as a whole. Since you support them, I am sure you are interested in solving this issue quickly," Chenle pointed out. 

Kang agreed right away. "Of course." 

"Then may I ask why you chose to go with JYP for this project?"

"They seemed the most promising," Kang replied. "They have good ideas." 

"We heard that JYP lacked a lot in comparison to LTM up until a week before you chose them," Chenle pointed out, tone still only oozing curiosity rather than sounding accusative. 

"Well, you see," he began slowly. "I am personally not very good with technology, so I can't judge the process. For me, it's the result that matters." 

Nodding, Chenle just went along with what the man said. 

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the murders or the theft?" 

Kang thought about it for a second but eventually just shook his head. 
"I am afraid I don't know a lot of details myself," he replied. 

A reply that made it obvious that he was lying about something. 

"So you knew about the alleged theft?" Haechan inquired, not hesitant to point out the man's mistake. 

He seemed confused. "Sorry?" 

"How did you know about it?" 

"Oh," Kang said through an awkward laugh. "The police informed me about it." 

"Really?" Haechan wondered, truly impressed. "How exactly did that work, given that the police dismissed the allegations without even investigating them? The case was never made public." 

Haechan seemed to enjoy himself, whereas Kang struggled to reply. 

"May I ask," Haechan interrupted and hesitated a bit. Just a bit to get Kang curious about what he was going to say. "The rumours that you are planning to run for president - are they true?"