Staring at the fallen leaves outside the window, of his office, Yoohan twirled the pen in his hand absentmindedly, before sighing long and deep.
"There's nothing..." he grumbled. "Why is there nothing?!"
A passerby would think he was shouting in protest about the lack of good movies to invest in, or rather, a lack of income for the company, which was in the red already.
Of course, that wasn't it. The movie that Jay chose to invest in was going smoothly and was already in the final stage of editing. There were already whispers among industry insiders that it would unexpectedly become a hit.
The one the company chose to invest in had the production in shambles because of a scandal of the male lead—but that wasn't Yoohan's comcern. It was actually good for him that this company was on the brink of bankruptcy.
What he lamented was the lack of progress in the investigation he ordered about the one behind his accident five years ago, as well as the one regarding the third wife and his uncle's affairs. Even the investigation of Seo Jungeon's background and a possible reason for his betrayal met a sturdy wall.
Did he really need to send an actual spy to look into those people's phones?
"Don't be too impatient, Master," Jay turned the swivel chair around so Yoohan faced the desk—and the bodyguard who sat on it—and stroked the furrowed brows. "Things like this happen once in a while, just a little lull."
"I know," Yoohan sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the rubbing between his eyes. "It's just that we made a lot of progress a while ago and now..."
"It's a sign that you should use it to rest and get ready for what's about to come," Jay said with a smile, rubbing his thumb in circular motions to relax his master's tired face. "And it's not like it's really nothing, right?"
"Mmh," Yoohan replied with a light sigh.
Yeah, it wasn't like there was nothing. Ingyoo had been working hard to purchase HS's shares through the investment company they made. And the fact that this media investment company was failing was also a sign that things were progressing in the direction he wanted.
"Isn't it time you bait Director Oh?" Jay asked while massaging the rest of Yoohan's face.
Without opening his eyes, Yoohan smiled deeply while answering, finally looking a bit alive again. "No, no—we have to wait for him to come to us first, or it might seem suspicious," when he opened his eyes, there was a playful glint there. "It won't be long now."
And then, as if Yoohan's words were a summoning call, someone knocked at the door.
The staff there did not usually come to Yoohan's office unless it was something really truly urgent. If something needed to be signed, they would gather all of the documents and wait for Yoon Jay to collect them. If they did need to knock, they did it softly, and carefully, afraid they would disturb the young master known for his temper.
But this time, the knocking sound was bolder than usual, and irregular—as if whoever was behind that door was anxious.
"Young Master, this is Director Oh. May I come in?" the voice that followed also sounded quite nervous.
Yoohan scoffed at the certainty of his own prediction. Also, at the way Director Oh was calling him young master instead of his proper title in the company. It showed that Yoohan was truly stationed here to fail, especially recalling that the one assigned this post to him was that Seo Jungeon.
"Sure," Yoohan answered with a smirk, and the door swung open carefully.
Director Oh, a slightly chubby man in his late forties, entered the office and froze for a bit as he saw the young master on his chair while the bodyguard sat on the edge of the desk, leaning forward to caress the young master's face without even stop to acknowledge the COO's presence.
When the Director stood still in front of the closed door, unsure about how to proceed, Yoohan swallowed his laugh and patted the bodyguard's arm. "That's enough for now,"
"Yes, Master."
With that, the bodyguard hopped off the desk and straightened his vest, before positioning himself not far from Yoohan, standing in perfect attention.
Yoohan stared at the frozen man in front of the door and pointed at the chair across his desk with his chin. "Take a seat, Director-nim."
It took Director Oh a few seconds to collect himself before he managed to walk forward and sat himself in front of the young master's desk, almost couldn't catch the slightly mocking tone in the way Yoohan called him.
He would have made a displeased face for it, but right now he was in a crisis, so Director Oh held himself back and put on a pitiful expression.
"Young Master, I want to talk about the state of this company," the man began, looking at the young master with a serious gaze.
Yoohan, on his part, only acknowledged the man with a simple hum and nod, leaning back casually into his chair and playing with his pen. "What state?" he asked with an innocent look.
Director Oh let out a sigh first—either from distress or from the frustration of facing a spoiled young master that couldn't even act properly—before speaking again.
"Young Master, you should be aware that our financial situation is not good,"
Yoohan tilted his head up, glancing at his bodyguard. "Is that true?"
"Yes, Master. It's been in the red for quite some time," Jay informed him immediately, although, of course, Yoohan already knew all this. Actually, this company's situation was already bad before he was even stationed here.
"Hmm...how so?" Yoohan tilted his head to another side, still maintaining a clueless face.
"The investment that the company did, unfortunately, hadn't been successful, Master. The one we chose when you were just started meet an unfortunate end due to scandal," the bodyguard explained while opening up the tablet and putting it in front of Yoohan to show the articles about the movie's cancellation.
Director Oh watched the young master raise his brow and looked at him incredulously. "Like...none is working out?"
"There's one or two that paid off, but not much. As for the other..."
"How could that be? I thought the staff here supposed to have expertise in that field?" Yoohan made a flabbergasted face and finally fixed his position in the chair. "I was certain that you looked so sure when picking out those movies back then, Director-nim."
Before the Director could even start to defend himself, however, Jay already gave Yoohan a reply. "The majority of the staff actually voted for the other one, Master. But Director Oh insisted on that one."
Yoohan scoffed at that, and looked at the Director with a raised brow. "Then...isn't it Director Oh's fault?"
The man's pitiful expression became even more miserable with the nervous eyes and cold sweat running down his temple. "That's...!"
But there was nothing he could say in front of the truth. Investment was indeed a fickle field, and it was true that the Director himself had no insight. He made a choice based on how good the movie's producer buttering him up, not the real market value of it.
And now it was biting into him.
"So?" Yoohan leaning back in his chair, observing the Director's nervous face. "What do you want me to do?"
Perhaps because he was getting battered by reality, the Director only responded dazedly. "Wha..."
"Yeah, what do you want me to do?" Yoohan repeated his question, looking visibly annoyed. "Do you want me to save this company or something? I don't even watch movies, you know," he shrugged and shook his head.
Director Oh started to fidget in his place as that pitiful face came back. "If...if there's another fund..." he looked at the floor, and then at Yoohan, and back on the floor. "An extra budget for..."
"For what?" Yoohan narrowed his eyes. Even while planning this, he didn't consider the man to be that bold. The audacity to ask for fund injection when the company hadn't profited all this while...
"You haven't made any successful investments all this time. If—and only if—there's money available," Yoohan's low voice, which was kind of lazy before, suddenly turned sharp. "What makes you sure you'll be able to succeed?"
"No, this time will be different!" the Director replied immediately, flailing his hand like someone who just got scammed on a pyramid scheme and trying to rope another person. "There's this big project that is sure to gain success! It's a movie based on a successful novel and—"
"But that never guarantees anything though," Yoohan shrugged with doubt written all over his face.
"No, I'm sure about it this time! There's a big player that takes part in this so there's no way it would fail!" the Director claimed energetically, but it only looked as if he was desperate. Perhaps he was. After saying all that with fervor, he suddenly shifted and leaned forward to the desk, fingers weaved and fidgeting over the desk. "So if you could, maybe, talk to the group about this..."
Ah, ah, ah...Even now, while pleading, the man did not change his way. His 'idea' all came from hearsay within his circles—old 'friends' that were more successful than he was. Desperate to be like them, the Director followed what those people did, not knowing how fickle those whispers were, jumping into the industry with no ability regarding the subject.
And just like how he gambled with the investment, he gambled with other things too. His money, which was poured into the company, saw no return, and the rest of his wealth was sucked into gambling. And based on Yoohan's investigation, he was straddled by a huge amount of debt.
His so-called friends, who had no intention to help him in the first place, just whispered even more misleading things, including taking a quick loan. Now he was straddled in even more debt with unforgiving interest. And rather than selling out his asset to pay for it, he would rather ask for a free ride in another gamble.
So Yoohan had no remorse when he looked straight into the Director's eyes and responded coldly. "Why would I?"
"What?"
"Why should I go through all that troubles?" Yoohan shrugged his shoulder while looking annoyed.
The Director's mouth repeatedly opened and closed for a few seconds before he managed to push out a few words. "But...this is your..."
"No, this company isn't mine exactly, is it?" Yoohan smirked. "I'm just a young master being put here, after all."
As if getting stabbed with his own words, Director Oh felt his gut churn, remembering it was he who kept calling Yoohan young master instead of his proper title in the company.
Worse still, he even told the other staff to do the same.
"Frankly, Director-nim, you should know already that this place means nothing to me," Yoohan scoffed. "I don't care if this place goes under, to be honest. I'll just come back home and they'll put me somewhere else."
The eyes of the Director shook. Yes, of course, he failed to remember this fact. Wasn't this why he refused to call Yoohan by his title? Refused to have the spoiled son of the main group placed here to be his superior. He knew it was only child's play for these young masters. There were already examples of them.
"Right, like the second brother," Yoohan said, as if confirming Director Oh's mind. As it was, Lee Wontaek had been making a mess of the companies he was assigned to the last couple of years.
But the man received no real repercussion aside from some scolding and disappointed gaze. But why would Lee Wontaek care? He knew he would never become the heir anyway. The important thing was that he could brag about his title and use the money to his heart's content.
Samely, why would Yoohan care? He was in no different position than his second brother.
"That's..." the Director couldn't even deny Yoohan's words. "But...but what about the company? The staff..."
Pfft—Yoohan laughed inwardly. The staff? Yeah, right. Like you cared about them at all. You just needed money for your gambling.
"What about me...my shares..." the man continued to mumble, confirming Yoohan's thought. "I've...I can't go bankrupt like this..."
Yoohan smiled deeply then. Just a little push. "Then just quit before it does," he said nonchalantly.
"Yes?"
"Just quit," Yoohan shrugged. "Sell your shares to someone else and quit," he added as if it was an afterthought. "Or stay, I don't care."
"Sell...to you...Young Master?"
Yoohan frowned at the way this man's brain worked. "Are you crazy? Why would I buy a share of a company that's in a struggle? Did you not hear anything I just said?"
"Then...how?" the man looked so confused and desperate that Yoohan almost pitied him.
Almost.
"I don't know..." again, Yoohan just shrugged as if he didn't care one bit about other people's struggles. "Why don't you look around, maybe there's someone who's willing to buy your shares? A rookie investment company or something..." He twirled the pen in his fingers while adding. "Perhaps if you give them management rights, they'll want to take your shares in the illusion that they can manage it on their own..."
"Oh..."
With that, the conversation was over. Since Yoohan had finished baiting and sowing the seed, he told the Director to go back. The man stood up slowly and walked listlessly toward the door. Right when he was about to step out, Yoohan flashed a mischievous smile and called out for him.
"Anyway, Director-nim," he smiled cheerfully, like a man with no burden, and clenched his fist in the air. "Hang in there, yeah? Fighting!"
Director Oh paused for a bit, before stepping out dejectedly with a long sigh. Jay glanced at his master, who sometimes could be so heartless and cruel.
Even then, he looked adorable while doing it, making Jay want to do a lot of...adorable things with him. Perhaps tonight.
Watching the door close, Yoohan spokes with a smile on his face, oblivious to the hungry eyes observing him from above. "Alright, let's call Ingyoo."
* * *
It didn't even take a week before Yoohan met with Ingyoo in the hotel with a result. Tipping the debt collector about Director Oh's bankruptcy worked well too, since their incessant call to the Director made the man finally cave in.
All they needed to do was for Jay to secretly drop a brochure they made regarding a new investment company near Director Oh's car, and he already called Ingyoo that night.
"It's been a while since I've seen someone that desperate," Ingyoo said while opening up the takeaway food container in front of him. "I mean, I've been buying shares from the desperate ones, but this man took the cake—he's such a pushover."
"He's a pushover for those with money," Yoohan explained, twirling the chopstick in his hand while licking his lips. "That's what gets him in this situation in the first place."
Yoon Jay, meanwhile, was staring at the spread of food on the table with unimpressed eyes. Everything there was bright red and steaming, spewing out a pungent scent of chili paste and spicy flakes.
"I don't think these food are good for you, Master," the pale eyes narrowed at the spicy aroma emanating from the table. His fingers were itching to get rid of them and cooked something better for Yoohan.
"I bought them because they taste good, not because they're healthy," Yoohan smirked at the bodyguard's reaction. "It's your fault for refusing to give me spicy stuff."
Ingyoo laughed while stirring the super spicy tteokbokki in front of him. "Aah...I've missed this so much while staying on the island. Indeed, Koreans should eat spicy food!"
"You hear that?" Yoohan glanced at the bodyguard, who refused to touch anything on the table.
"My passport says I'm an American," the blue eyes squinted in dread at the red dumpling that Yoohan took to his mouth. "And as I said, it's not good for your body..."
"Mmh!" Yoohan exclaimed at the stinging sensation in his tongue. "Hahaha—this is really a crazy dumpling!"
The words died in Jay's throat when he saw Yoohan eat the dumpling and savor the spicy taste with so much delight that he let out a low moan. The fair cheek flushed from the heat and the joy, and the sounds Yoohan made right then brought Jay to grip the couch hard.
Perhaps...making some spicy food from time to time wouldn't be bad...
"So, how'd you convince him to get the portion of shares HS owned too?" Yoohan asked after swallowing his second dumpling while opening the spicy jamppong.
"Just told him that if he got me those, I'd buy them at fixed market price and give him a commission fee," Ingyoo shrugged before taking a bite of tonkatsu glazed in deep red sauce.
"So basically...offer more money," Yoohan smirked, to which Ingyoo responded with a wink.
"But don't worry, it's still in the expected budget," Ingyoo told them, and then looked at the bodyguard that had been watching Yoohan eat only without touching anything. "Aren't you gonna eat, J?"
"I'm eating enough," the bodyguard answered, without averting his eyes from Yoohan.
"He can't eat strong-flavored food," Yoohan sneered while giving the man a side-eye. "Weak."
The pale eyes narrowed at the rare moment when Yoohan could successfully wound his pride. "I can," he replied in stubborn defiance. "I just choose not to consume things that damage my body."
Both Yoohan and Ingyoo scoffed at that. "You're a smoker, Mister. You damage your body every day."
The pale eyes narrowed even more. "Fine, so you said I'm weak?" he tilted his head and leaned closer to Yoohan's ear. "But you were already begging for mercy when I'm this weak, Master. What would become of you when I get stronger than this?"
"Hey, I'm eating here!" Ingyoo rolled his eyes in protest across the table, the bodyguard's not subtle whisper perfectly audible inside the room.
Yoohan, with twitching eyes, took a red dumpling and put it on a small plate. "Here," he calmly shoved the plate in front of the bodyguard. "If you can eat this and not drink for five minutes after, I'll let you do me even when I sleep."
"Haa...in front of my tteokbokki?" Ingyoo lamented and just decided to focus on his meal, cursing his single life.
Jay raised his brow, looked at the dumpling, and then looked at Yoohan again. "Really?" Yoohan nodded firmly, arms crossed and black eyes full of challenges. "No takes back?"
"Just eat it, weakling."
The bodyguard's lips stretched into a grin, and he reached out for the dumpling. His face faltered a bit when the pungent smell hit him though, but his dick told him to go on. So he put the dreadful thing inside his mouth, and chewed.
"Hmm? It's not so ba—cough!"
Yoohan laughed merrily at the bodyguard's red face, who was caught in a coughing fit, fingers reaching for the box of milk on the table but pausing in the air, struggling between the welfare of his throat and his dick.
"Yeah, so with this, the company is yours fully now. What do you want to do with the staff?" Ingyoo asked, ignoring the suffering man across the table.
"They're not so bad, so I'll just let them be. Let's sell the shares I own to the investment company too, so it'll look like I'm selling the company to an outsider," Yoohan, ignoring Jay all the same, tapped his lips in contemplation. "Why don't we just absorb the company to HCT since we already made investments in movies anyway, thanks to this weakling..."
Yoohan patted the bodyguard who seemed like he just seeing hell, still struggling to hold himself back from the salvation of the milk.
"So you want me to act like the header still?" Ingyoo asked. "We'll need proper office then."
"Let's do it somewhere near here. I'll ask Sol to give me a space in the building behind the club."
Ingyoo nodded in agreement, before exclaiming softly. "Ah, I nearly forget!" he snapped his fingers. "There's something that Director said yesterday."
"What?"
"He was mumbling something about 'what to do with the dream project' and that he'll get scolded by 'that' person if he fails to participate."
Yoohan, who was in the middle of taking out the mussels from their shell paused and tilted his head. "Dream Project?" he suddenly thought about the big project the Director mentioned the last time.
"Yeah, so I coaxed him to tell me about it, and it seemed like this company was actually founded to support that project—a movie, I think. There are other companies and investors involved in this, and the center of it is some big name who dabble in arms trading,"
"Arms like...firearms?" Yoohan raised his brow, and Ingyoo nodded. "Not a big name in showbiz? What about the other companies?"
At that, Ingyoo shook his head. "I'm not really sure about that. He just told me that someone from HS told him to make sure he'll take part investing in this project," Ingyoo paused to chew on a piece of spicy chicken and continued after swallowing in bliss. "Perhaps that's why he was acting so desperate. He can't take part anymore, though, since the debt collectors are after him."
"Someone..." Yoohan narrowed his eyes at that information. "Who is this someone?"
"I don't know, he refused to tell me and pressuring him for it would only lead to suspicion, so I didn't pursue it," Ingyoo shook his head. "You don't mind, do you?"
"No, it's okay. You're right, it'll be suspicious if an outsider takes too much interest in HS's internal matters," Yoohan tapped on the side of the container with his chopstick, musing. There was something about the Director's insistence on this project and the fact that someone from the group ordered it that bugged him. "About this project..."
"I asked him further, pretending to be interested, and he told me about an investor meeting regarding this project. Seemed like those that had been roped in would gather to hear about the project and decide on the fund," Ingyoo observed Yoohan's serious gaze before asking. "Do you want me to attend and find out more?"
Yoohan took the noodle container up and drank the spicy soup while thinking about it. "No," he said later, putting the empty container aside among another pile of boxes. "You just focus on establishing the office and absorbing the company. I'll go to the meeting myse—"
SLAM!
Before Yoohan could finish, he heard a loud slamming sound from the side, and saw Jay's clenched fist on the table. "It's...five minutes...already..."
Yoohan blinked at the bodyguard, flushing and panting, pale eyes glazed in unshed tears. "Oh...sure," he patted the miserable back, couldn't even criticize the man's desire for him anymore. "Good job, J."
* * *
[I'm meeting the Chairman]
Yoohan stared at his phone screen that showed Lee Wooyoung's message for him. Finally, the oldest daughter decided to move.
Hmm...Yoohan twirled his phone while musing. If things go as predicted, the family and the group would be shaken once more regarding the succession. But Yoohan had no idea if it would be enough for the Chairman to cancel Lee Wooseok's appointment.
After all, he had no other feasible candidate for now.
Except for Yoohan. But Yoohan had just become someone who sold his failed company to another place, so his favorability had gone down.
Also, Lee Wooseok could pretend that he didn't know about it and claimed to be a victim too. They needed to make it so that Lee Wooseok revealed he knew he wasn't the Chairman's son, somehow.
"It looks good on you," Jay suddenly broke Yoohan's musing. He brushed the black fringe and tucked the hair behind Yoohan's ear, marveling at the younger's new look.
Or rather, his original looks.
Yoohan looked pretty in blonde, prettier even, but Jay honestly preferred this appearance; Yoohan in black hair and a simple white shirt.
It was how Yoohan looked the first time they met.
"I like this one better,"
"Mm..." Yoohan muttered vaguely while putting glasses on. He only turned his hair color black to how it originally looked temporarily for the investor's meeting, but now he was kind of considering just staying in this look.
After thinking that, Yoohan frowned to himself.
Crap—did he really think about catering to Yoon Jay's preference? Yoohan pressed his lips at the realization and shook his head from the embarrassing thought that wounded his pride.
But then Jay grabbed his cheek and kissed him hard so suddenly that Yoohan was left fluttering in a daze. His body instinctually accepted the kiss and went pliant in the older's arms, moaning slightly at the passionate movement.
He blinked in a daze after Jay parted their lips, pale eyes gleaming with palpable desire and lips smacking in delight.
"...what...was that for?" Yoohan asked, still in the bodyguard's arms and confused.
"You looked like you wanted to be devoured earlier," Jay whispered, hands gripping the lean waist and pale nape. "Blushing so adorably like that."
"I...did not...!"
"Yeah, you did. Actually, you still do," the bodyguard laughed, leaning down to kiss the still-blushing cheek. "What were you thinking of, Lee Yoohan?"
"N-none of your business!"
Jay smiled deeply and in a sudden move, lifted Yoohan to the top of a nearby table. "Of course, it is," the man chuckled at the gasping sound coming out of Yoohan. "I need to know so I can make you show that face again."
"Are you crazy?!" Yoohan hit the wide shoulder caging him, glancing frantically at the door.
They were, after all, in a saloon's changing room, not their own chamber.
"What is it, then?" Jay tilted his head, the smile still playing widely on his lips.
"It's...it's nothing!"
"Liar," the smile grew even deeper at the frantic avoidance. "I bet I can make you tell me if I take you right now."
Fuck—this pervert! Yoohan gritted his teeth, but could say nothing because he knew himself that it was true. He felt like he got weaker with this man's seduction every day. Knowing that Jay was also serious with his words made it even worse.
So it was between being honest and forced to be honest whilst potentially getting arrested for public indecency.
"Just...wondering if I should just...keeping my hair like this..."
Yoohan bit his lips and readied himself for a torrent of teasing remarks, but even after waiting for a while, Jay said nothing. He looked up cautiously then, but before he could see anything, Jay already leaning down to kiss him again.
Only, this time, it was soft and sweet, a kiss so gentle that it got Yoohan's heart flutter.
"Truly," Jay pulled back after a few seconds, and Yoohan was stunned at the tinge of red on the older's cheek. "You have such a cute way of saying you like me, Master."
Yoohan parted his lips for a few seconds, before shoving the bodyguard off him with a glare. "Screw you!"
With a laugh, Jay put the glasses back on Yoohan's face—when did he even take them off?
Yoohan pursed his lips and jumped down the table, fixing his plain shirt with a grumble. But he still let Jay put a suit jacket on him, while stealing a glance at the bodyguard through the mirror.
This time, Yoohan had permitted the man to take off the choker, since they wouldn't go as a young master and his bodyguard. They would attend the investor's meeting as the proxy owner of HCT Investment; a pair of rookies in the financial field, or something like that.
But not seeing that proof of ownership still gave Yoohan quite a bit of anxiety—although he would never tell Jay that.
"There, you look like a nerd now," Jay whispered, and Yoohan slapped him away. It also annoyed him that while they wore the same outfit and glasses, Jay could look like an elite executive while he looked like a nerdy office worker—a handsome one, but still...
It was needed, however, so people wouldn't recognize him. It was good making such startling images of a spoiled young master that looked like a celebrity and his loyal dog. Even people who had seen them from afar before wouldn't think of this needy-looking office worker and dashing executive as them.
"Right, you shouldn't call me by my name or—"
"I got it, Taemin-ah," there was no reason for Jay to say it with an alluring whisper, but he did. Yoohan glared at him through the mirror, and the bodyguard chuckled while correcting his word. "I mean, Taemin-ssi."
"This is the only time I'll let you speak to me casually," Yoohan, whose pride had been beaten left and right today, frowned deeply.
"Are you sure? You always let me do that in bed, though?"
Yoohan, who realized his own foolishness, just stomped out of the room with Jay's soft laugh in the background. Fortunately, the man didn't tease him any further, and they could act like a co-worker of an investment company with ease, entering the hotel's conference room as Lee Taemin and Han Jae.
"Why 'Han'?" Yoohan asked curiously as they took a seat at the far end of the conference table, which was reserved for those who hadn't decided on their participation yet.
"It's my mother's ex-husband's name," Jay answered casually with a smile.
Yoohan didn't ask anything further then, including why he didn't just say 'father'. After all, Yoohan also preferred to call his father with 'Chairman'. But also, because a group of people near them started to talk among themselves and Yoohan was secretly eavesdropping.
"Why are you here? Didn't you say you're not interested in the showbiz project?"
"I didn't, but then I heard that person will be the big sponsor, so I thought why not?"
"You mean Chairman Kim?"
Yoohan bowed his face and pretended to be busy looking at a document, while listening quietly.
"Yeah. If someone big like him participates, there's no way it'll flop, right? At least, he'll do everything to make it a success."
"True, and we don't even need to worry about it being disturbed, since gangsters bowed down to him anyway."
"Right. I heard some companies that participate here actually from that side, you know? Construction company and such..."
"Hey...do you think they actually used this project to...you know, laundering or something?"
"Sush—don't talk about it. As long as it brings profit, I don't care. We just need to follow that man and he'll take care of even the legal side of things."
"You mean bribing the authority?"
Yoohan narrowed his eyes and glanced at Jay, who smiled subtly while crossing his arms. The pale eyes were staring at the podium like he didn't care about anything else, but Yoohan knew the man had better hearing and focus than him.
He suddenly wondered if the person who ordered Director Oh to participate in this do it to launder some money too. But then, his ears caught something else.
"Anyway, it's never good to probe about Chairman Kim. You know how scary he is."
"Uhh, yeah, especially with those gangster-looking people following him. They looked more like bouncers than bodyguards."
"Hey, hey, have you heard about his hobby?"
"...oh, that..."
"What? What hobby?"
"You didn't know? He liked to go to this private club with pretty boys and—"
"Let's not talk about it here, it gives me goosebumps."
"Eeh...but I want to hear it..."
"You're sick, you know that?"
Yoohan tapped on his lips while they were busy arguing about morals. He didn't really care about this movie, although Jay told him it was quite promising. But he was intrigued by this Chairman Kim they talked about. Especially because he felt like the man had something to do with the person from HS, and there was an itch inside his mind that told him it might be important. Gut feelings, so to say.
Just then, suddenly the whispering of the group died down, as well as the rest of the room. Yoohan lifted his gaze, and saw the door open to a group of people; some executive-looking person, some big, burly men that reminded him of gangsters, and the center of it all, was a man.
It was an old man with a cruel look that could make one's blood run cold. Yoohan saw the calculative eyes as the old man swept the room with his gaze, and he felt an indescribable dread flow through his body. When their eyes accidentally met, Yoohan felt like his blood was sucked dry, as if he was trapped in a rotten bog that devoured him slowly—
"Taemin-ah, what should we have for lunch?"
Suddenly, his vision was filled with a handsome face and beautiful blue eyes staring at him, as Jay leaned forward and blocked his sight, covering him from the old man's eyes. A large hand held into Yoohan's cold one, rubbing until he felt warmth in his blood again.
"Ah..." Yoohan realized he was frozen in fright, and blinked then, focusing on Jay's smile. "Ramyeon?"
"Another unhealthy thing..." the bodyguard grumbled, still in his position to block Yoohan from any gaze.
"I want something comforting..." Yoohan murmured quietly.
"...fine, just this once."
Jay did not let go of Yoohan's hand after, despite the old men being seated at the front and never looking back. Yoohan too, found himself didn't want to lose the warmth of that big hand on his. He couldn't even concentrate on the content of the meeting, still trying to get rid of the disgusting feeling creeping down his spine.
It was only after the old man left the room that he could think calmly.
It felt so weird—he had never felt this much dread with anyone, even his father. He was sure he never saw that old man before, but he felt like his life would end up worse than hell if he caught in that person's grip.
"J," Yoohan gripped the bodyguard's sleeve, brows furrowed deep as he struggled with himself. "Find out where that man usually goes. T-that club..."
"Taemin-ah..."
Yoohan frowned even more, and looked hard at the older man. "Hurry!"
He had no idea why he was filled with so much dread and disgust. But he knew that the old man was the one called Chairman Kim. And while he didn't want to ever meet the old man again, the feeling only told him it was why he needed to see that old man. At least observed him.
When Jay was back with the information, he told the bodyguard they needed to go there. Jay, while being understanding of Yoohan's intention, told the younger man he would go there himself, but Yoohan insisted on coming along. He looked like he was so anxious about it too, so Jay couldn't help but relent.
It seemed like they were in luck, because they saw the old man and his entourage entering the club just as they pulled into the parking lot. The club was a private one, but there was nothing money couldn't solve in this kind of place, so they easily entered the place.
Their luck wasn't ended then, as they caught the group walking down the hallway, now with additional young men among them; pretty and looking like celebrities. One of them clung intimately to the old man's arm, even.
Immediately after seeing that, Jay ruffled Yoohan's black hair to make the young man look messy while still following the group secretly. Yoohan would have grumbled in protest usually, but his mind was focusing on something else right now.
At the far end of the corridor, a big double door opened and a man walked out to greet Chairman Kim while smiling brightly.
It was Seo Jungeon.
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🎶 The Living End - Raise The Alarm
Would you like Yoohan to stay with black hair or back to blonde? Please vote folks
The parallel is here finally, with the entrance of Chairman Kim and possibly Myeongshin in the future
⚠️ A warning in advance:
There will be quite familiarly disturbing events from now on, just like in the novel
...so, I finally bought the second volume pf payback physical, but there's no Jay photocard anymore, so sad... 😔