Joo Yun-woo, forgetting his long-overdue urge to overturn his desk, could only blink blankly. The eldest son of Poongjin Enterprise? No way.

“…Kim Seung-jun?”

“Tsk, tsk. How dare you call someone else’s precious eldest grandson’s name like you’re calling a mongrel? That’s why you haven’t gotten married yet… Yes, I met with Kim before the article broke.”

Struggling to twist his tire-like, plump legs that wouldn’t easily coil, Kang Bu-nam stiffened his neck. I knew it all along, but you guys were completely in the dark? He seemed to be boasting.

“Don’t even bother bringing up that the damn drug is legal in those foreign countries. I’m saying, apart from us being family, I, as a shareholder of DH Group, find this situation extremely regrettable. So, what was it… Yes! I can say that I came to protest legitimately to prevent a future crisis.”

Haa. While Kang Bu-nam’s shitty medley continued, Joo Yun-woo closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

He had wondered why that bastard from Poongjin Enterprise suddenly spread rumors that no one would believe… He was aiming for the situation to escalate like this.

Even if you scraped together all the shares of the holding company owned by Kang Bu-nam and other distant relatives, it would only amount to a negligible amount. He remembered that it was less than 2% when he last checked. The headquarters was also periodically managing them to prevent those small fries from banding together and doing stupid things.

However, if external forces who resented DH Group, like Kim Seung-jun or the Crown Prince behind him, gathered one by one… Then the story would be different.

And if you started considering the large and small interests that his older siblings had formed through marriage alliances, there would be even more variables.

Well, even so, unless a slush fund problem of astronomical proportions erupted, a company with an already solid governance structure wouldn’t collapse from such a commotion. It was just frustrating and annoying that his workload had increased because of those stupid bastards who didn’t even realize they were cutting off their own limbs.

It would be fortunate if only the already busy people became busier, but the problem was that people would get hurt.

Demanding that Joo Tae-hyun, a shareholder and heir, undergo a comprehensive health checkup, including drug reaction tests and psychiatric evaluations, because he was suspected of taking narcotic drugs? And publicly? Furthermore, the Switch wasn’t even a real drug. Only a very small portion of the drugs used by Shifters for smooth sexual relations showed reactions similar to narcotics.

There were already so many people who looked at Shifters with prejudiced eyes. What kind of gossip would the media spread about this? His youngest brother, who was only twenty-six years old, would have to live with small and large humiliations for the rest of his life.

‘Baby, do you really have to go through with this marriage? I don’t want to keep raining on your parade… I’m just so upset.’

‘Haha, did you see some comments or something? I told you not to look at those.’

‘No, why are people in Pyeongyang like that? Even though a guy who’s seven years older is taking a young kid to live with him, why are they so eager to take Seo Baek-han’s side?’

No amount of money could fill a heart that had already been cracked. Although his younger brother denied it every time, Joo Yun-woo had often caught glimpses of an irretrievably sinking depression in Joo Tae-hyun’s eyes. As an older sister, she couldn’t comfort him, let alone inflict more pain on him.

“Anyway, don’t even think about glossing over this. I’ll contact Assemblyman Seo Hong-gyu as well, so keep that in mind.”

Kang Bu-nam, perhaps believing that he had succeeded in overpowering Joo Yun-woo with his brilliant eloquence, cleared his throat loudly and stood up. His voice, still complaining about not even being offered a cup of coffee, was full of joy.

“Secretary Choi. Call the legal team. Not our affiliates, but the holding company.”

“Excuse me, but if it’s a personal matter, perhaps-“

“No, this is company business. It’s right to see it as an official matter.”

Joo Yun-woo threw down everything he had packed to leave work and swept back his hair. It was true that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he hadn’t gotten to this position by just coasting. He might as well take this opportunity to clearly show those senile old men why he was firmly in control of the construction, leisure, and distribution sectors, which even the men couldn’t handle and gave up on.

“Haa… Review how much it would cost to sue that bastard Kang Bu-nam for blackmail, including the recording of today’s conversation, and how many reporters we can pull in.”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

“By the way, it doesn’t matter whether the recording file is admissible as evidence or not. The important thing is to make sure that those bastards who call themselves distant relatives or family members never dare to show their faces again in front of me, or in front of our family, and to make them eat shit. And…”

Joo Yun-woo, about to nervously click on a folder on his personal laptop, gestured to Secretary Choi. His eyes, fixed on the monitor, were slightly raised, making him look a little fierce.

“Summon Director Seo Baek-han to Seoul immediately… No, next week or the week after. Absolutely without Tae-hyun knowing.”

* * *

“Young Master, are you really going to be alright?”

“Alrigh, hmm, I’m alright.”

Even if he told them not to worry while putting an ice pack on his swollen eyes, no one would believe him.

“I’ll go with this outfit. And for the shoes… I think the ones you wore to the Royal Hospital year-end party would be better.”

“But… No, I understand.”

The servant, who was helping him change, trailed off and left the room.

Joo Tae-hyun knew it too. Those shoes that tightly squeezed his feet looked good, but they weren’t comfortable at all. He could feel his feet swelling even during the short car ride. He should avoid them even more in his current condition.

However, today’s academic event at Pyeongyang University was large in scale, with famous figures from the area, as well as Prince Lee and his wife, in attendance.

To make up for the disgraceful behavior he had shown at the Lotus Flower Palace banquet last time, he had to look more perfect and wonderful than ever today. Both as Director Seo Baek-han’s spouse and as the youngest Young Master of DH Group.

“Cough, where’s Hyung…?”

“Ah, he said he left work early today. He said he’s on his way here.”

“…What for. Tell him to go straight to Pyeongyang University. The research center is, hmm, right in front of the school.”

Joo Tae-hyun needlessly covered his mouth and mumbled weakly, even turning his head. The servants were all Betas, so there wouldn’t be any problems, but he felt embarrassed because Seo Baek-han’s scent was lingering in every breath.

He had been in bed with Seo Baek-han from Friday night last week until dawn today. Since it was Tuesday morning now… He had been tormented by him for almost four days straight.

By Zephyria

Hello, I'm Zephyria, an avid BL reader^^ I post AI/Machine assisted translation. Mostly BL. Check my Ko-fi for more HSA chapters~

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