A/n: Thank you to the people reading this story!!! I hope you support this till the end! 💖
For one week, Ryota knew that it will be better for him to investigate Lee Kyung Ho's death from the very beginning again, and so, he did his best to talk to the investigators who went to the scene after news broke that Hyun Woo and his father had an accident. It was clear that they were purposely attacked and so, the police arrested the truck driver but what lead Detectives Park In Gyu and Oh Min Guk confused was that, they couldn't know the reason why the truck driver committed suicide.
"You told us that you're Lee Hyun Woo's personal investigator, correct?" Detective Park sighed as he sat back on his white chair. "There are many confusing points when I was investigating. We still don't know the man who hired the truck driver who killed his father. He may not even know that a gun had always been pointed at him."
"What are you talking about?" Ryota asked them. "Can you clarify that for me?"
Oh Min Guk sat on his office chair, too, and stared sharply at him. "We can't even keep on investigating since the truck driver killed himself even before we interrogate him. There was nothing more to investigate."
"Are you sure about this?" Ryota asked them. "I need to know the bottom of this. It's been five years."
"People say we're incompetent crooks but we're not," Min Guk handed over a small folded piece of paper secretly to him. "Keep yourself safe, sir."
Ryota wanted to look at it already but Detectives Min Guk and In Gyu stopped him even before he read it. They looked around the police station for a while and looked for any people who may overhear them. When it seemed safe to talk again after they were sure that they're the only people inside their office inside Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, they began talking with a very low voice to him.
"Look at it somewhere else," In Gyu whispered. "We can't investigate him more as we are afraid that we'll be in danger if we do."
"Thank you for giving me a clue," Ryota said to them. "It will help a lot."
"Stay safe, Mr. Watari Ryota," In Gyu told him. "The men you're going to go against are powerful men."
...
Chae Won, once again, was very much surprised to see her brother drinking too much wine and locking himself up again inside his own parlor in their mansion. Of course, seeing her own brother struggle due to his position and hopes to give their father proper justice always had hurt her. "Why do you always have to do this? You're killing yourself!"
Hyun Woo stared at her and after that, she held her right hand. He was just so drunk that even with his eyeglasses still on, he couldn't see her clearly. There was, as if, a fog obscuring his eyesight. "Killing myself? You would be doing this if dad was with you inside that car! It should have been me who's dead! Dad saved me by covering me with his own arms to protect me!"
Chae Won had her mouth open after she heard those few words as his brother rarely talked about what had happened inside the sedan. He had always been silent about it and it was clear enough that he wasn't in his right mind that time when she heard him spout it out. It hurt her but hearing him scream that their father protected him by covering him using his arms to shield him from the incoming impact was news to her and it made her legs feel jittery.
Luckily, she was able to stop herself from collapsing when she held herself up by holding on to the chair in front of her but then, once again, it alarmed her when she saw her brother faint in front of her. The bottle Hyun Woo was holding crashed to the ground and the broken pieces flew fast. Some of the broken glass cut his skin which made his arms and wrist bleed.
"Orabeoni!" cried Chae Won. "Wake up! Orabeoni!"
At the same time, Tae Jun was shocked to see Hyun Woo lying down the floor again with dried tears on his face. He was, once again, bleeding profusely. "What happened to him? Did he drink too much wine again?"
"Can't brother try to move on or maybe, stop being a gang leader and stay as the Chairman of the Board of Lee-Han Group?" Chae Won begged him while Tae Jun carried his nephew on his back after they've taken care of his cuts and wound. "You can take his place, uncle! You're second in command!"
"That position isn't mine to take. We do follow strict rules and it keeps us from fighting for that position. Our father doesn't want us to act like other conglomerates," Tae Jun reminded her. "Didn't Gi Hoon made us understand that Kyung Ho wanted Hyun Woo to replace him?"
"It was true that dad looked for my older brother who was silently living in Japan ten years ago since he didn't want me to be his replacement but...." Chae Won sighed in defeat after Tae Jun laid him down his bed in his bedroom. It was just close to his parlor, after all. "Why should it be my brother? He was a very warm man and he had only touched the piano when he arrived in South Korea! Ever since he arrived and became a Lee, instead of a piano, what he held swords or knives instead! He was fully Japanese ten years ago until—"
"He was never Japanese, Chae Won," Jane Lee interrupted them. She was smoking cigarettes at that time and was wearing a black suit and black pencil skirt. She also had her long, black hair ponytailed. "Were you forgetting that we must adhere to the Lee Tradition or we risk losing the family culture since we were nobles back in Joseon Era?"
"Says someone who looked more American than Korean. It's still a good thing that you know the reason why it has to be Hyun Woo," smirked Tae Jun. "Why are you here? We never liked you."
"I do live and stay next to him," Jane replied to them. "Was there anything wrong that both of the chairmen of the board of LH Group doesn't harbor any hatred against me? Everyone of you hated me because I am an illegitimate child, am I right?"
Tae Jun glared at her. "Our hatred against you wasn't all because you're an illegitimate child but we all know you're the reason why Hyun Woo's mother went missing!"
She placed her small, red fashion bag on the round table after that. "Why was it that Kyung Ho and Hyun Woo both trusted that I am innocent while Haru and you always believed that I was behind Kim Ji Eun's disappearance? They always knew that it was impossible that I was at fault why we don't know where she is."
"Hyun Woo and Kyung Ho are both too innocent to see your faults!" Tae Jun screamed at him. "We always knew you're flirting with Takahiko. Aren't you his girlfriend? I know you're acting as if you're his mother."
"My brother never told me that you live next to him," Chae Won told her. "Why are you here, anyway?"
"He's still my nephew!" reiterated Jane. "All of us care about him!"
Hyun Woo slowly opened his eyes at that time and when he saw his aunt and uncle arguing in front of him, he forced himself to get up. Even so, Chae Won immediately stopped him since he was still very much drunk. "Lay down, oppa! You're still too drunk to move. If you care about your employees, don't you think it's much better if you don't abuse yourself with alcohol?"
Hyun Woo sat on his bed. "They're arguing because of me."
Chae Won sighed, then, she glared at Tae Jun and Jane while she placed the black blanket on him. "Can't you see that my brother needs rest? Take your argument outside of his room!"
Jane folded her arms while Tae Jun opened the door for her. At the time both of them had left Hyun Woo's room, Chae Won froze when she felt her brother's right hand hold her hand. "Oppa? Is there something wrong?"
"Forgive me about drinking too much, Chae Won. I've only known our father for six years while you were with him more than that. Since I'm older and also, I'm male, I have to be in his place, you're having a hard time."
Chae Won smiled at him. "You just need some rest. I'll always be fine and safe. Ryota's protecting me, right?"
Hyun Woo tightened his hold on her. "Stay safe always, Chae Won."
A/n: Thank you for reading this chapter!!! Just got this done, finally!!! Hoping that you've liked this part! 💕💕💕