The morning Yoohan first opened his eyes in the hospital room after the accident, he was alone. The room was dark, and even the sound of medical apparatus seemed muffled. He was basking in the leftover sensation of his dream.
It was a beautiful dream where he lived peacefully with his mother and brother, in a humble house in the countryside. They had no money, had to sleep in the same room, and he had to work laboriously. But they were together, they were laughing, they were happy.
He was awoken from that beautiful dream into a perpetual nightmare of reality.
If it wasn't for the fact that Yoohan still had his attendants, that people like Yoo Ilhwan still stayed by his side, he would have already broken down the moment he read about his brother's obituary.
Lee Yoohan had never slept in a dark room after that.
He hated the memory of waking up alone in the dark, into a nightmare of his sin and the hell he lived in.
The morning when Yoohan realized he was alone in the private room, when he realized Jay wasn't there, he was frightened.
If it wasn't for the water and the hangover cure, as well as the neatly folded clothes, he would probably have gone into panic; crouching on the floor choking on the lump in his gut and throat, thinking that again, he was left alone.
If he had seen the choker laying down on the table without its wearer at that time, after such night, he would probably go into a spiraling depression.
It was fortunate that Jay decided to bring the choker with him. It was also fortunate that he was too dizzy and flustered to feel scared.
Waking up to the smell of coffee and the rustling sound of Jay's movement around the annex always gave Yoohan so much relief, much more than he dared to admit.
It was hard for him and his pride to admit he was getting dependent on the older man's presence. He knew it was already way different from the master-subordinate relationship he had in the past, and he could no longer deny it the moment he gave in to that first kiss they shared.
Even now, after his pledge to wait until his revenge was over, his eyes still tried to find the older man's trace from time to time, even though he was supposed to concentrate on the ledger in front of him.
They were back at the hotel suite they used as their base, trying to find a clue of the one ordering the group to mess with his car. It was a specific job to make him lose control of the steering wheel and the brake dysfunctioned.
Yoohan was driving alone that night, since he wanted to spend personal time with his family on his birthday. He was sure that his car was just fine when he picked his family up and drove to the restaurant. It was when they got back that the car suddenly turned strange.
Which meant, it got tampered with when they were inside the restaurant.
When he first found out his car was being tampered with, Yoohan had thought it was the work of someone with a grudge against HS. But when the evidence about tampering suddenly disappeared from the case, and it was deemed as careless driving, he knew it was an insider work. Someone who worked on the plan, hire the gangster, and told them about his movement. Someone strong enough to order an erasure of evidence in the report.
Since it was someone from the HS Group side, it was inevitable that finding clues was hard. The closer the perpetrator was, the more careful they would be in hiding their tracks.
Still, Yoohan was hoping for even the smallest crumb.
Giving away Yoohan's schedule, and places he would visit during his vacation—at least contact should be made with the informant, whether through direct meeting or other means. As long as that little trace could be found, the little bird would take care of the rest.
So now, Yoohan was flipping through the record of clients from five years ago. He had no idea whether the request was made right before his birthday or from way before.
Unfortunately, the ledger only stated the income and expenditures they made. There was also no statement about who the client was or what kind of service they did in the payment invoice. What they wrote was a series of coded numbers instead.
Fortunately, the coded numbers were referrals to encode folders in the hard drive they snatched. So all Yoohan needed to do was find out the right numbers so Jay could do his thing and decode the relevant folder containing the job details.
It was tedious and tiring. Annoying too, since he found out the job invoice older than four years was stored in a different ledger. So he had to rummage through other thick books, squinting his eyes at the row upon rows of numbers and letters. He'd been through three wrong files, and it was past midnight already.
Yoohan leaned back into the backrest and closed his eyes, sighing. The spot between his brows had started to ache, and his head pounding a little bit. It was probably better to bring the ledger and hard drive home so he could peruse over them little by little. But there was a huge risk in doing it since he didn't know when people would rummage through the annex secretly.
"Let's just stop for now, Master," Yoohan felt his glasses being taken off, and a large palm covered his tired eyes instead.
Ah, it felt warm, his eyes under that protective palm. But this kind of indulgence was exactly why Yoohan didn't want to respond to his own heart.
To the one steadily seizing his heart.
He reached out to tap on the hand covering his eyes, telling the owner to let go. The hand did retreat, but it didn't move from Yoohan's face. It cupped his cheek, thumb stroking his pale cheek, and fingers stroking his jaw.
"Let's go to sleep,"
It was a gentle sound, that bewitching voice that could dupe people into believing this killer was a gentleman. Even down to the soft pale eyes that gazed at Yoohan tenderly. Who would have thought that this man had massacred a group of gangsters with the same hand stroking Yoohan gently? His work was deemed so gruesome that the police thought it was caused by another organized crime group and closed the case with a 'turf war' label.
Because there was no way all of that was caused by a rich 3rd generation chaebol and his celebrity-faced bodyguard, right?
Really, this guy should probably go into acting...
Yoohan tilted his head, staring back into the pale orbs hovering above him. "You're going to sleep?" he asked with a raised brow. Yoohan had never seen Jay asleep.
He thought Jay always sleep after him and woke up before him, but Yoohan became suspicious when he woke up in the dead of the night and found Jay awake in the living room.
He began to think that Jay never slept. Or at least, the man never slept long. An hour or two every few days, just to recharge himself, and never when Yoohan was still awake.
How this man still functioned perfectly was beyond him.
Jay let out a smile, the dimples were so close that Yoohan was kind of tempted to reach out and stroke it. "If you let me," the man replied easily.
What kind of answer is that? Yoohan wanted to roll his eyes. He had no recollection of telling this man to stay awake all the time in the first place.
From the way the pale eyes glint, however, Yoohan knew the phrase meant something else.
Jay was staying awake because he needed to keep watch over Yoohan and maintain his safety. There was only one way where he could sleep whilst making sure Yoohan was safe.
"You're going to climb into my bed now?"
The smile deepened. "If you let me,"
Yoohan frowned for a bit, but did not make any stern warning, didn't sound any rejection. What was the use of that now, when everything had been laid bare just a few hours ago? When he constantly sought the other's figure, when even now, his eyes were staring at those stretched lips.
No amount of denial would work when Yoohan no longer flinched as those lips pressed into his, as the black eyes closed for a little bit while the long fingers stroked his cheek and jaw.
"Seems like you'll let me," the low and smooth voice flew with palpable mirth, sending vibration across Yoohan's lips. It was apparent that the man was in a good mood.
Yoohan, however, pushed the hand on his face away and put on his glasses again. "Just one more file," he murmured, snapping his fingers and pointing to Jay's spot, telling the man to work again.
With a chuckle, Jay walked into his station, waiting for Yoohan to write another series of numbers on the memo pad, and threw it across the table to where Jay was. But as Jay unraveled the folder's protection and opened the file, he felt that his master's tenacity sure was a virtue.
"Master, I think we find it."
Yoohan, who was in the middle of contemplating whether he should drink coffee or an energy drink, snapped and almost jumped into the laptop. Jay thought that he could put the master in his lap and the younger man would not even realize it, with how focused he was on reading the file.
The file's real name was not a person's name, but instead, a car plate number, which Yoohan still remembered clearly; it belonged to his car five years ago. The job was to temper with the car, as they already knew, but it didn't end with that.
Making sure that the route was clear, that no one should pass the bridge at the expected time of Yoohan's arrival, that no one could help them should they survive.
His curled hands on the table were almost shaking as he read the exact term of the job. They really tried to make sure that the passengers of the car all suffered greatly.
But then, Yoohan felt another hand covering his shaking fist, and his breathing stabilized. Yeah—it wasn't the time for this yet.
"Haa...bastard!" Yoohan opted for a light curse and took a deep breath.
He kept reading then, and found out that the one who ordered it was really careful about their track. There was a separate channel for the command, for the payment, and for the information regarding the car's possible route down to the predicted time.
Yoohan could see that the command came from a disposable phone, and the payment was done through a tricky method using antiques and a locker room. The information, however, seemed to come through an email address, and it gave a glimmer of hope for Yoohan.
He wrote the email address as well as the seemingly useless number, the locker room location, and the antiques used as payment, before sending it to the little bird.
"Let's find out who these people are."
* * *
Just like Yoohan's speculation, Yoon Jay rarely slept. The man himself had no idea since when he developed a habit of straining it until he couldn't take it before taking a little, one or two-hour naps.
Perhaps because he used to sleep above a noisy pub, or lived in a dangerous environment, he ended up growing into an insomniac. The built-up stress and frustration from the lack of sleep were relieved through violence and sex.
Yoon Jay couldn't remember how long ago he had such a nice sleep, when he didn't wake up after an hour. Was it the sound of the soft breathing, or was it the warmth inside his embrace? Just by laying together with Lee Yoohan, hearing him safe and sound, feeling his body temperature, smelling his soft and sweet scent...
Jay nuzzled the small expanse of the nape in front of his face, pressing light kisses over the fair skin. He heard a protesting, sleepy mumbling, as Yoohan shrugged off the disturbance of his sleep and buried himself deeper into the blanket, curling like a cat.
How adorable...Jay chuckled and pressed his lips even more, kissing the younger's nape and face until Yoohan stopped protesting altogether. He could only do it before the young master woke up, so Jay capitalized on it as much as he could.
But he predicted Yoohan would wake up in an hour or two, so he regrettably needed to stop and get himself ready so he could serve his adorable little master right away.
Just as he was done showering and changing his clothes, however, he heard Yoohan's phone ringing. The words [HS headquarter] were written across the screen. It stopped ringing and Jay saw five miscalled from the same number. It seemed like Yoohan didn't hear it because the phone was on the table they used to work on last night.
When the phone rang again, Jay glanced at the sleeping man and picked up the call.
"Yes, this is Yoon Jay. The Young Master is sleeping," he answered the phone, and after a pause, heard the voice of the Chairman's chief secretary. He listened to the man while approaching the bed, smirking to himself. "Understood, I will take young master there," he climbed on the bed, the creaking sound was clear through the call—he knew, since he could hear the chief secretary pause for a bit.
Jay was usually moved like a leopard, silent and deadly. And yet, he was making a lot of loud movement now. "I don't think it'll be anytime soon, however," another creaking, and the rustling of the bedsheet and blanket. "I'll try, but..."
Jay pulled the phone off his face, staring at the screen with a deep smile, and put the phone down on the mattress, still obviously connected. He shifted to the figure bundled inside the blanket and leaned down to caress the sleeping master's cheek.
"Master, you need to wake up," it was a sultry voice that would make people shudder, whether from fright or arousal.
Yoohan, however, was used to this voice and just stirred drowsily. "Mmh..." he let out a whining sound. "Don't...want...too..." in a half-sleep voice, Yoohan turned to lie on his stomach, mumbling into the pillow. "I'm tired..."
Well, they did stay and work on the ledger until the darkest hour, only came to bed after sending the things they found to the little bird around three in the morning. With all the emotional outbursts they had before, Yoohan must have felt exhausted.
But the one on the other side of the call didn't have to know about this.
"This is why I told you we need to stop," Jay patted the blanket wrap and added in a scandalous tone. "But you insisted on doing it once more,"
What Jay meant, of course, was the time Yoohan said they'd check for one more lead before calling it quits. But again, others didn't have to know about that.
"Uhh..." Yoohan was apparently still too sleepy to catch on Jay's suspicious tone. Amazingly enough, his reply only put Jay in a deeper smile. "But it's...hard to stop after we start..."
Yeah—for hard-workers like Yoohan, not finishing the work once they started would result in itchy feelings and restless sleep. Yoohan groaned as he couldn't go back to sleep again, and flipped around, staring at Jay in annoyance.
"How could you have so much stamina after all that...?" the black eyes scrutinized the man who was already in new, clean clothes and smelling of fresh soap. The handsome face was absolutely bright and energized, much unlike Yoohan now.
With a mischievous smile, Jay answered in a mirthful voice. "So I can satisfy you, Master,"
Yoohan pressed his lips, contemplating whether he should cuss the man out loud for the cheeky answer. But he also thought cursing wouldn't be effective with the obvious heat creeping on his cheek.
At Yoohan's silence, the bodyguard let out a soft chuckle and pulled the blanket away from the pouting young master. "Come, Master, I'll draw your bath. I cleaned you up last night, but you still want to take a shower, aren't you?"
"You did?" Yoohan raised his brow, and then looked down at his body. He still wore his shirt from yesterday, but his skin felt better than when he went to bed. He couldn't feel the sweat from the hot summer night. "No wonder I don't feel sticky..."
Jay had to press his lips to hold back from laughing. Why was it that his master churned up the perfect answer every time, even when he didn't know about the still-connected call.
Getting up from the bed, Yoohan let out a yawn before pausing with narrowed eyes. "But why are you waking me up?"
It wasn't like Jay. The man knew Yoohan rarely slept well, so Jay never woke him up unless there was somewhere they needed to go. And Yoohan didn't think he had any planned schedule today.
The pale eyes curled and shifted to a place beside Yoohan, at the phone that still running on call. "The chief secretary called,"
As Yoohan blankly looked at his phone screen, Jay added with a deep smile. "The Chairman told you to come to the company."
Blinking at the screen which still showed the running call, Yoohan almost froze in place. But he quickly regained his wits and replied. "Huh? Suddenly?"
As he spoke, the connection died finally, and the room was filled with a faint beeping sound. Yoohan turned his head then, staring at the smirking bodyguard. He was still drowsy earlier, so it just hitting him now that Jay was acting flirty first thing in the morning. His mind replayed their conversation earlier, which seemed to be filled with innuendo.
"You used to hate it," Yoohan tilted his head. "When I told you to act."
So you knew I hated it—the narrowed pale eyes seemed to tell Yoohan that. But the lips below still stretched into a genuine smile, as the man came back to the bed and leaned closer to Yoohan.
"Because it's no longer an act, isn't it?" he spoke in surety, the pale eyes flashing confidence that Yoohan could not refute.
Still, the young master replied with a frown. "Don't get cocky," he said coldly.
However much he let this man peek into his heart, Yoohan couldn't let him take hold of the rein in this vague relationship.
It didn't deter Jay's advance, however. "Don't get cowered."
"Shut up!"
"Make me,"
With a scowl, Yoohan yanked the choker forward and crushed the smirking lips with his own. It was meant to be a short, harsh move, but there was no way the bodyguard would let it end too swiftly.
So Yoohan found himself being pushed into the mattress again, lips plundered and mouth stirred. The fingers he used to pull on the choker had moved to the bodyguard's uncombed hair, and the glaring eyes had fluttered shut.
The scowling brows were still there though, when their lips parted, glistening in saliva, and letting out heavy breaths. It just wasn't really clear whether it stemmed from annoyance or arousal.
Probably both.
"Will you shut up now?"
Jay smiled widely. Looking at him with glaring eyes and flushed cheeks—his master really was adorable. "Can you shut me up in the shower too?"
With a hiss, Yoohan kicked the chuckling bodyguard back and stormed into the bathroom, grumbling. "Eat soap or something!"
With a stifled laugh, Jay walked into the bathroom where the fuming young master was staring at the empty tub. He drew the bath like usual, accompanied by the scowling Yoohan, and still waited like usual. Fortunately, Yoohan wasn't in his suicidal mood this morning, so Jay didn't have to pull him up from the water. They had a quick breakfast at the hotel lobby before heading to HS as ordered.
This time, Jay didn't just wait at the guest parking lot, and accompanied Yoohan inside as his one and only attendant. They followed a waiting staff toward a different wing from where Lee Wooseok's office was, and headed into an executive conference room.
As they waited for the elevator, however, Yoohan caught some interesting tidbits from two staff who was waiting in front of them.
"Did you hear? The second son come here fuming this morning,"
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm not sure. I heard from someone that he was screaming and shouting in the eldest's office."
"What? Seri—"
"Ahem!!" the staff in charge of guiding Yoohan cleared his throat loudly, making the two staff flinch. When they looked back and caught sight of Yoohan, they stiffened and paled, immediately stepping back while bowing profusely.
Yoohan actually wanted to hear more about it, and stared at them keenly because of it, but the staff took it as Yoohan getting offended by their casual remark about the Chairman's family, and kept their waist bent ninety degrees until the elevator door opened and Yoohan stepped inside.
"Mm...too bad," Yoohan muttered as the elevator went up. "Sounds fun, isn't it?"
"Would you like me to find out more?" Jay asked with a smile, but Yoohan just shrugged.
"Eh—who cares,"
It didn't matter for Yoohan as long as their relationship getting worsen. That being said, it was intriguing what kind of 'punishment' Lee Wooseok gave to the second son that warranted such a reaction. But looking too curious about it might break his indifferent persona, so Yoohan refrained from it.
He also could feel the staff glancing at him, so he just crossed his arms and leaned back into the elevator wall, tilting his head to rest it on Jay's shoulder.
Might as well show off some more.
And just as he thought, the chief secretary, who welcomed him at the conference room, was looking at them with slightly narrowed eyes. There was a palpable curiosity mixed with judgment and criticism in his gaze, and Yoohan smirked at that.
"Is it just you, Mr. Park?" Yoohan leaned back into the couch, didn't even try to look respectful.
The Chief Secretary could be said to be the Chairman's right-hand man, so even the family's children acted cautiously toward him, since he had the Chairman's ear. The fact that Lee Yoohan didn't bother to show courtesy anymore showed that he truly didn't care about being the successor anymore.
"Yes, it's just me. The Chairman is on a business trip right now," Mr. Park answered while observing the young man's face clearly.
Yoohan chuckled, tapping his armchair with a smirk on his face. "I didn't ask about the Chairman," did the chief secretary thought Yoohan would sulk or something? How laughable. Yoohan could care less what his sperm donor doing right now. He was just curious as to why he was suddenly being called here. "So what is it that woke my perfectly good sleep?"
Yoohan's nonchalant, casual smile vanished right then, and the mischievous black eyes turned sharp. He was truly having a good sleep before, and the annoyance he showed right now wasn't an act.
Probably that was why the chief secretary no longer stalled or looking for his reaction. He signaled to a staff who stepped forward and put an opened suitcase in front of Yoohan. There was a stack of documents and a company stamp there.
Yoohan tilted his head, staring at the document inside the suitcase wordlessly. He didn't need to take a closer look to see the letter of appointment with his father's signature placed at the topmost document.
"A company?" he raised his brow, tapping the armchair twice. Jay took the folder bearing the appointment notice and put it in Yoohan's hand.
"Yes," Mr. Park replied dryly while taking up his teacup. "You're an adult now, Young Master, and no longer a student. It's time for you to take care of the group too."
"Hmm..." Yoohan smiled deeply, eyes scanning the paper. Well, it wasn't really a surprise. Every child in the HS group would receive a post in the group's companies once they were an adult, even someone as incompetent as Lee Wontaek.
What Yoohan didn't expect was that he would be given a whole company to manage as the CEO instead of some insignificant position in the headquarter.
Which meant this company he was in charge of was the insignificant one.
Yoohan gave the paper back to Jay and stared at the chief secretary. "Who devised this?"
"Obviously, the Chairman wants to—"
"No," Yoohan cut the old man.
He knew it was his father who wanted to give him the position. The way Lee Hwal looked at him in amusement the last time they met told Yoohan that his father considered him a new entertainment source. This was just the kind of fun the old man thought would be amusing; seeing his children dance by setting up the stage and leaving them alone.
But Yoohan didn't think his father would go as far as picking up the company too—the old man didn't care that much. "The one who picked the company," he asked. "Who is it?"
The chief secretary looked quite surprised at Yoohan's insight that it was another person who assigned the company to him. "It's Director Seo."
"Ah! it's Uncle Jungeon?" Yoohan perked up slightly and rubbed his chin in contemplation.
Seo Jungeon was the Chief Secretary for the previous Chairman, a man known as an HS loyalist who was one of Yoohan's main supporters before the car accident. He was the one who visited Yoohan the most in the hospital and arranged Yoohan's brother's funeral. He was one of the most respected figures in HS despite not coming from the family, and still stayed as executive director of the group even after the previous Chairman's unfortunate passing.
Honestly, Yoohan didn't really have any bad bones with the man. He could even say that Seo Jungeon treated him better than anyone in the whole group.
"Mm—if it's Uncle, then, he must have chosen well," Yoohan nodded and tapped his armchair again.
With impeccable efficiency, Jay tidied the suitcase and closed them, before taking it in his arm. Yoohan looked at the impassive chief secretary with a wide business smile and stood up. "Alright, I'll be going then, Mr. Park!" he waved his hand cheerfully and stormed out of the conference room.
* * *
"You didn't act like a trash today, Master," was what Jay first said as they drove toward the new company.
"Heh—we already acted like that through the call this morning," Yoohan shrugged, and then added with a smirk. "I was acting disrespectful enough to him anyway."
He recalled the displeased expression on the chief secretary's face as Yoohan talked in a casual tone, and the twitch in his eyes when Yoohan acted like he was sitting at his home; leaning back and slumping down.
"Also, acting like trash is different than acting like an idiot," Yoohan continued. "It's enough if they think I have no ambition anymore."
It would be weird anyway if Yoohan suddenly become stupid. It wasn't as if he regressed into a child or anything. Personality change is something that might happen to people with a traumatic experience, not to mention if it was happening on the cusp of adulthood. But it would be too absurd if Yoohan went from the top of his class to someone who knew nothing of the world. Also...
"Being looked at as incompetent like Lee Wontaek and Lee Sungmin would hurt my pride too much," he gritted his teeth, shuddering at the thought of being lumped together with those two.
Jay glanced at the young master who pursed his lips in annoyance. He smiled and asked casually; "But not by acting like you're my slut?"
"That only hurt my dignity—" Yoohan replied unconsciously before stopping. He turned his head and glared at the smirking driver. "Did you just call me a slut, you bastard?"
"No," the pale eyes curled and added in a mirthful tone. "I called you 'my slut' Master,"
"Fucker!"
Jay chuckled at his master's raised fist and spoke quickly. "Hurting the driver will hurt the whole car, Master."
The raised hand flipped him instead, along with another murderous glare that made Jay laugh softly. Yoohan was completely pissed with how annoying the laugh was, and how his heart skipped a beat at that annoying sound.
So he chose to focus on this new company of his instead. He held himself back from reading about the details of the company earlier, to make a show of indifference. But now that he read about it, he couldn't help but tilted his head in confusion.
"Hmm...this..." he stared at the company description. "HS had this kind of subsidiary?"
Calling it a subsidiary also felt excessive to be honest. The company wasn't even integrated into the group, just that HS Jewelry had a quarter of the share in the company. It was an LLC with 49% of the shares belonging to Yoohan, and the rest belonged to the company's COO. It meant Yoohan as the CEO was the major partner, but he also had no complete reign.
It was like a forgotten branch family in some countryside who sometimes received a stipend from the main family.
What made Yoohan confused was the business itself. It was an investment company for entertainment ventures like movies and dramas. In itself, entering the entertainment business was a trend for conglomerate groups nowadays, with how much Korean entertainment going global recently. It was just like how everyone dipped into electronics and IT back in the day.
The thing was, HS didn't dabble in the entertainment industry. Hwayoung owned the media, and Hanshin reigned in showbiz—and both had a neutral relationship with HS, so competing with them just for a trend in possibility would be pointless and icky.
So Yoohan was confused as to why, how, and when was this company built. And why, of all things, it was given to him. If HS truly wanted to enter the entertainment industry, it would make more sense to give it to Lee Wooyoung or the third wife.
"But the fact that it's not integrated is good too," Yoohan tapped the document on his lips, smiling.
Just like the anecdote he thought earlier, the company truly felt like it was shoved in the countryside. It was located in an obscure part of the commercial district, as if it was an afterthought. Rather than facing the bustling street that was filled with inspiration, they had to come through a lonely alley.
The company, HEImedia, occupied a floor in a five-story building, which the lowest floor operated as a cafe. Yoohan was greeted by a chubby man in late forties, which seemed to have a wide grin plastered permanently on his face. That man was the other partner of the company, the COO. Other than that, there were five other people who were still quite young. Yoohan was still the youngest, however, and it was apparent from their gaze that they were dubious of him. They might have thought that Yoohan was being exiled here.
Yoohan couldn't care less about what they thought of him. Just looking at the mediocre office and the obscure location already told him what the company situation was. And hearing the explanation from the COO only strengthen his conjecture.
In summary, this company hadn't made any real income so far. They were hovering above the red solely from HS's support and a few, successful small investments. But whenever they tried for the big break, they always lose.
Pfft...Yoohan laughed the moment they were left alone in Yoohan's new office. "What do you think, J?"
"It's interesting," the bodyguard, who was in the middle of tidying the new place, replied with a deep smile.
"Why?"
"I can't decide whether they want to test you or just want you to stay put,"
If the place was picked by someone from the wives' side, Yoohan might think they wanted to exile him. But since it was Seo Jungeon...he might think of sending Yoohan to a company that seemed to be failing—to satisfy the wives—but still had hope too. It also wouldn't affect Yoohan or HS too much if this one obscure company failed anyway.
Yoohan laughed louder, swiveling his chair until he faced the window, which showed him the view of a dull grey wall. "It's definitely fated to fail, huh?"
Jay didn't reply, just continued to redecorate the office, drawing out a mental list of what he should buy and bring here so his master would feel comfortable. But since there was nothing to tidy up anyway, he finished quickly and came to stand beside Yoohan's chair.
"What are you going to do, Master?"
"Hmm..." Yoohan opened his eyes and smiled. "I'm good at doing what people wanted me to do."
When Jay tilted his head in puzzlement, he added. "Let's fail," the black eyes curled, even as the pretty lips spat out depressing thoughts. "And sell this company."
"To who?"
Those lips stretched out into a mischievous smile. "To me."
* * *
Yoohan spent the next two days learning about his new company, including all of the information on the previous investments that the company made. Yoon Jay, on the other hand, was having fun redecorating the office, making it into their second 'base' for Yoohan's comfort.
It was during that kind of peaceful afternoon when Yoohan's phone was ringing. Rather than a name, a single bird emoticon flashed on the screen, and Yoohan had never snatched his phone that fast before.
"Already?" Yoohan got up from the couch and snapped his fingers at Jay, who was already fetching his jacket. "I'll be there,"
He stormed out of the office, to the other's bewilderment, without even saying anything. He had been so focused on this hunt, that the twenty-minute ride of Jay's wild driving felt like hours as he kept fidgeting.
When he arrived at the club, he ignored the dejected Sol altogether and went straight to the private room, breathing heavily both from the expectation and the brisk movement he took to reach the room.
"What did you find?" without even offering a little greeting, Yoohan asked the hooded figure.
The little bird flinched a bit from Yoohan's excited tone, as well as the tall, imposing figure of Yoon Jay trailing behind. "Umm, I h-haven't find out about th-the antique an-and the phone number, b-but..."
"The email address," Yoohan caught up with the intent. He stared at the little bird and waited for the piece of paper as usual, but the little bird only fidgetted in his seat, eyes darted here and there as if he felt perplexed about something.
Yoohan frowned and pursued with an impatient tone, without even realizing that he spoke rather harshly. "Why? What is it?"
"Umm...I...I don't k-know how...how you'll ta-take this, but..."
With a shaky hand, the little bird fetched a piece of paper from his hoodie. It was rather wrinkled, as if it had been crumpled before being opened and flattened again. Still fidgeting nervously, the hooded figure shoved the paper far down the table, and Yoohan immediately snatched it.
And he froze.
He stopped moving, finger clutching the paper tightly. Jay looked at the paper over Yoohan's shoulder with a curious frown, and even the pale eyes widened slightly before hardening in coldness after they caught the letters written there.
"M-mister Diamond, it's s-still not definite!" the little bird, sensing the eerieness permeating the little private sanctuary, flailed in fluster. "It c-could be that some-someone else uses th-the email address or..."
But Yoohan couldn't hear anything at this point. The black eyes stared blankly at the paper containing the trail of the email address, to an account on some shopping website, to an old phone number, and finally, a name.
The name that was printed there at the bottom was so familiar. So much that it felt like he was getting stabbed with thousand needles. That his already fragile world was crumbling down.
[Yoo Ilhwan]
_______________________________
🎶 Alter Bridge - Broken Wings
Yoohan in glasses 🤌 season two is really 😍
As much as I want to see the 'make me cry' scene, I also want to see how fujoking draws the roof acting scene,
That 'you-do-it-while-smiling' jump scene
(also, we're close to this universe mandatory 'make me cry' scene)
Also, as I stated before, I know nothing about commerce (my extent of knowledge about the economy was about how the economic crisis came to be) and I'll probably go bankrupt if I ever do some trading
So don't take the company bits seriously, hehe 🤪