"Hongjoong you need to eat something. Or at least take a shower. You're stinking up our apartment."
"Kind of rude to insult the heartbroken guest you so kindly took in."
"I agree, be nice, Woo. He'd do the same for you if I left you on the curb."
Wooyoung turned to San who was shooting him daggers and immediately knelt on the ground before him.
"No! Please! I'll be good! I promise!" he begged dramatically until San smiled and patted his head.
"Good boy."
"I feel sick," Hongjoong faked a gag at the share of affection.
"Well you wouldn't even be here to witness it it if you got up and did something for once."
Wooyoung quickly remembered San's words and tried to recover.
"—or you could just—take all the time you need!"
San nodded in approval and Wooyoung sighed, walking out of the room. San walked over to Hongjoong's bedside and sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"He's right though. Moping is only going to feel good for so long. Maybe if you came out to brunch with us today it would make you feel better? We're eating with Yeosangie," San smiled but Hongjoong flinched at the name.
"I think I'll pass. But maybe I will take a shower."
"Are you sure? They have really good waffles," San grinned.
Hongjoong thought about it. After everything with Seonghwa, he knew he couldn't trust him to help take the bastard down. But Yeosang might be able to. Even though his allegiance was to JYP, he couldn't possibly turn down an offer to hurt their number one competitor.
Hongjoong might have to beg for a job back but if it meant he could get his revenge, it would be worth it.
"Okay, fine. You got me."
"Really!?" San jumped up excitedly.
"Don't act so surprised, it's just brunch."
"Sorry. I'm just—glad you're feeling up to it," San said, his eyes soft and endearing. Hongjoong gave him a half-hearted smile before slowly rolling out of bed and heading for the shower.
———
They waited at the table, looking around for Yeosang but they didn't see him anywhere.
"Where could he be? Do you think he got held up in traffic?" San asked.
"No, he told me he'd be here. I always warn him when there's traffic since he never checks, so he has no excuse," Wooyoung grumbled.
Hongjoong felt his knee bouncing under the table. He hoped Yeosang's tardiness was due to something normal and not anything spy-related. He hoped he wasn't in trouble or anything. When it came to JYP, he always prepared for the worst.
Just at that moment the restaurant seemed to quiet as the door flew open. There stood Yeosang. His face was soaked with tears.
Wooyoung was the first to stand, and ran right to him.
"What happened? What's wrong? Who was it?" he fretted, trying to wipe some of the tears off of his cheeks. Yeosang pushed him aside.
He turned to their table and pointed at Hongjoong.
"I need to talk to him. Now."
Wooyoung was hurt but nodded, just wanting to help in anyway he could. He walked back and told Hongjoong.
"Me??"
"Go! He's really upset."
"Okay, okay."
Hongjoong got out of his seat and followed Yeosang to the bathroom where they locked the door.
"What the hell happened?"
"JYP is a monster."
"Hadn't noticed," Hongjoong laughed but realized the situation was a bit too serious to be joking around.
"He's worse than you think."
"What are you talking about?"
"This whole time. We've been working for a monster!" Yeosang started to hyperventilate, laughing hysterically. Hongjoong was scared. He tried to calm him down but he didn't know how.
"Yeosang, talk to me. What happened?"
"This whole time!"
"Yeosang!" Hongjoong snapped, causing the younger to turn to him.
"What. Happened."
"He's been covering up his work conditions this entire time."
Hongjoong took a step back.
"No, I've seen his forms and protocols, everything is up to par."
"You're wrong. Those aren't his protocols. They were the original protocols before he paid a handsome sum of money and took over the company. He left them on official documents but this whole time—he's been faking it."
"How do you know?"
"An email was sent to me by mistake a few days ago and I almost overlooked it but it mentioned a riot at one of the Busan factories. I figured it could just be something small and meaningless but I kept thinking about it. So I went there. And I talked to the workers. And it was so much worse than I ever imagined."
Hongjoong moved towards the wall, running his hands through his hair.
"What did they tell you?"
"People have died, Hongjoong."
A tear rolled down Yeosang's cheek.
Hongjoong stared in disbelief.
"People have died while I was in a position of power. It's my fault. I could have done something. And it's been happening for years, Hongjoong! Years!" Yeosang sank to his knees and held his head in his hands.
"I'm a monster."
Hongjoong couldn't speak. He couldn't move. His world was once again turned on its side. It had to be a lie. A misunderstanding, maybe. An over-exaggeration. They knew Yeosang was someone who could do something so they made it up for their own good.
But just trying to rationalize it made Hongjoong sick. Since when did he ever take the word of a CEO over the people under his boot?
This whole time. He'd been trying to avenge his mother. And yet he was working for someone who was doing the same fucking thing.
He was sick of all the lies.
Why couldn't anyone just be honest with him?
He fell to the ground in tears, not thinking about the thousands of germs on the floor beneath him. He let out his disgust in flowing streams down his cheeks until he was basically heaving.
Days of crying had worn most of his tears out of him.
He looked up to see Yeosang sitting in the corner across the room. He saw how broken he looked. How betrayed he felt. How sick he was with himself.
"What do I do now?" he whispered to himself.
Hongjoong watched him. He wanted to be mad at him for everything he'd put Seonghwa through—how much he'd done for and against Hongjoong without ever telling him. But he looked so fragile. He was just a boy.
He shouldn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He might break.
"It's not your fault."
Hongjoong knew it wasn't going to convince him but one ray of hope might keep him from beating himself up.
Yeosang looked at him, his eyes like those of a young puppy. He looked lost. He needed direction.
"I know. But I could have done something and knowing that makes it so much worse."
"I could've done something too you know."
"You weren't a member of the corporate team. It's not the same. You weren't figuring out ways to scam people into granting our company billions on the daily. But I was. I worked right by his side. And did nothing."
"But you didn't know. It's easy to beat yourself up in hindsight. You didn't know."
Yeosang stood and moved to the mirror, attempting to clear up his tear-streaked face. Hongjoong watched from the ground.
"I just thought you deserved to know."
"Thank you for telling me."
Hongjoong suddenly realized why he'd even wanted to come here in the first place. He wanted to work with Yeosang to take KQ down. Clearly that wouldn't be a priority anymore.
He laughed to himself, despite the horrid situation.
Yeosang turned.
"What?"
"I was going to ask you to help me with something."
"That involved JYP?"
"Yeah."
Yeosang laughed a bit too.
"I assume that means things didn't go to well with Seonghwa?"
Hongjoong flinched at the name. He still didn't know how he felt about him. He wanted to hurt him. He knew that.
But he didn't hate him. And maybe even still loved him. But he couldn't trust him. He wasn't on his side.
"You know about what happened to my mom?"
Yeosang nodded slowly.
"Yeah. That was why I thought you deserved the truth about JYP."
"I told Seonghwa and he was ready to help me take down his own father. But I made him confront the guy and he turned on me. I should have seen it coming. It's a lot to ask, to change your loyalties. Especially when he's basically his father's lapdog."
"Hongjoong, you realize—JYP has done so much worse than KQ. Though it was horrific, your mother's death is the only causality to their name."
"That we know of."
Yeosang shook his head.
"I've worked there undercover for years. Their slate is clean. My job was to find out any dirty secrets to take them down. Yet they trusted me and gave me everything. She is the only one who's suffered at their hands. And it was an honest mistake."
Hongjoong stood, marching towards Yeosang.
"A mistake?"
"They had actual protocols in place. If it hadn't been for the poor management of her firm, she would have been safe. It was her manager's fault, and no one else. He was only hired after his father basically gave him the job. Seonghwa's dad isn't really a bad guy."
"If you thought that then why did you dedicate your life to taking him down? Doesn't that make you just as much of a monster as JYP?"
Yeosang flinched, looking down at the ground.
"I thought he was a good person."
"So clearly your judge of character is questionable."
"He took me in when no one else would, same as you. He made us think we were important to him. He manipulated us."
"And so did Seonghwa's dad it seems."
"No! He never lied to his employees. All of the upper staff knew about your mom. He didn't want to cover it up. The guy's father threatened to shut him down if he let it out because he was worried about his son's reputation. So the compromise was to let them leave quietly."
"My mom deserved justice, not a fucking compromise! He lost his job, my mom lost her life!"
"And that's awful, I know. I'm just saying, you shouldn't blame him."
Hongjoong angrily wiped a tear from his cheek, upset that the waterworks somehow found their way back. It felt like everyone was against him. That he was alone.
Did no one care?
Was he the only decent human being?
But an annoying voice in his head told him that Yeosang was probably right. And so was Seonghwa.
It was out of his control.
He didn't do this to her. As much as Hongjoong wanted to put a face to his anger. But it wasn't fair. She was dead and he was filthy rich.
How was that right?
He slammed his hand against the sink, making Yeosang jump back.
"Fuck!"
He waited for his breathing to calm before raising his head to meet his own eyes in the mirror. He'd spent his whole life trying to make her life mean something. And now he just had to—what, let it go?? Because a different asshole was behind it?
It wasn't fair.
It just wasn't.
But he knew Yeosang was telling the truth.
And he knew, Seonghwa deserved an apology.