By Zephyria 
“Ah!”
As he drove another fist into his side, Gyu-oh let out a short moan.
“Is this guy crazy?”
“Ah! Ahaha.”
He thought Gyu-oh made the sound because it hurt, but Gyu-oh held his lower abdomen and laughed, his shoulders shaking. He laughed so hard that white breath puffed out of his mouth.
Won Gyu-oh had a habit of closing one eye particularly tight when he laughed brightly like this, and this time was no different. The action, which looked like a wink, blended quite well with his cool face.
Min-ho watched the sight, momentarily dazed. He snapped back to his senses only when the sound of tires scraping the ground echoed from a distance.
“……Stop acting like a lunatic outside.”
Then, he hurriedly turned his back. It might have looked cold, but in reality, it was closer to avoidance. He was afraid his gaze would keep being stolen by that smiling face, and he was too embarrassed to hear more things that pierced through him.
“Our Hyung is shy, isn’t he?”
“…….”
The guy who had been clutching his stomach and laughing stepped closer. Perhaps because his legs were long, he closed the distance quickly. Once again, a hand wrapped around his shoulder and a firm chest touched his forearm. From such familiar sensations, he now even felt a sense of stability.
“Hyung, if you’re curious about anything regarding Cha Min-ho now, just ask me. I know him better than you do.”
“Keep talking down to me, then.”
Beep, the idling car flashed its lights. It was funny that he was heading to the car to drop off a guy three years younger who kept calling him ‘you’ and ‘you,’ but it seemed much better than worrying about work.
“Why. Is there any wrong information in what I said?”
“…….”
“What could it be? What’s wrong? Does he hate being tied up?”
Min-ho, who had stopped in front of the driver’s seat, reached for the car door but then turned his head. Gyu-oh, who had just released his shoulder and was turning toward the passenger seat, stopped in his tracks as well.
“I don’t know about tying up, but doing it while covered was okay.”
Even after saying it, he wondered what he was talking about, but recalling the first time he did it with Gyu-oh, it wasn’t wrong. He felt that he had been more excited in those moments when they relied on a faint, blurry streak of light and focused only on each other’s breathing.
“……Crazy. Why are you only telling me that now, Hyung!”
I got into the car, leaving behind the man who was throwing a fit, screaming that he would cut off all the electricity starting today. Gyu-oh, who climbed into the passenger seat immediately, chatted incessantly about what he had done while covering his eyes until I dropped him off at the cathedral. Worried that an accident might occur and lead to a situation where someone would check the black box, I couldn’t even drive as aggressively as I usually did.
* * *
Min-ho’s tendency to rely on no one was the same when it came to work. Regardless of the task, he felt more at ease when things passed through his own hands. That way, he could respond immediately whenever problems, large or small, arose.
Being clumsy or bewildered also didn’t suit Min-ho’s temperament. Moreover, he had already felt poignantly how a wrong choice could trigger a devastating ripple effect.
Despite this, while he was resting, Cha Min-ho had entrusted everything to Won Gyu-oh. Fortunately, thanks to the kid’s meticulous handling of the work, he could breathe a sigh of relief. However, since Gyu-oh couldn’t clear out his backlog of appointments for him, Min-ho had no choice but to step up personally. Today alone, there were five meetings, and this was finally the last appointment.
“Is this a meeting or playing house…”
Min-ho trailed off, standing blankly. The company he was meeting with had suddenly changed the location. It had shifted from a Korean restaurant to an office, and since he wasn’t particularly hungry, Min-ho had turned the steering wheel without suspicion.
However, the place he arrived at was a desolate, empty first-floor commercial space. Not only was the meeting representative nowhere to be found, but there wasn’t even a proper desk in sight. In the dirty, bleak space that looked as if the previous tenants had moved out long ago, only a crude rental banner fluttered.
As Min-ho stood before the building, which was plastered with black stickers, calling the meeting representative, two men identifying themselves as employees approached him. They guided Min-ho inside.
“Pardon?”
“No. I don’t think I can spare much time. The location changed, so I’ve already set up dinner plans with my company colleagues.”
Of course, it was a lie to emphasize that he had a prior engagement. He was hinting that there was someone who would come looking for him if contact was lost.
“Ah, yes, yes. The representative will be contacting you shortly.”
As he flopped down onto a worn-out sofa with peeling fabric, a light layer of dust scattered. He quickly scanned the surroundings while covering his nose and mouth. He didn’t know what the place had originally been, but the glass walls facing the street were completely covered in black stickers, making it difficult to tell if it was day or night outside.
“The office is a bit cluttered. I assume you don’t actually work here.”
“Ah, yes. Because of the nature of our work… gangsters keep barging in. This was our initial office, so we just kept the address here, but we conduct business elsewhere. It’s not that we don’t use it at all.”
Haha. The man added an awkward laugh and scratched his eyebrow.
As the man said, such cases did happen occasionally. Though usually, people gathered in places like this when plotting something shady. He thought it might have been better to just eat a meal while exchanging boring jokes.
Although the situation was unsettling, the one saving grace was that the two men standing there as employees were shorter and smaller than him. No matter what happened, it seemed he could easily overpower them. Furthermore, he had informed his company of the changed destination address, so if an unexpected situation occurred and he lost contact, they would be able to find him immediately.
“Do you usually hold contract meetings here?”
“If there’s important talk, we occasionally set appointments here. There’s no better place when you need to avoid prying eyes.”
The man, appearing intentionally tense, shrugged and took a seat in the corner. Then, the dark-skinned employee who had been standing silently by the door strode forward and slightly extended his hand.
“I’m sorry, but could you please turn off your phone for a moment?”
“Why the phone?”
“For security reasons, I was told to have that set up before the formal discussion begins. I’m just following orders.”
There were occasionally people who were overly fastidious, but that usually happened during important meetings with many attendees. It wasn’t exactly the kind of behavior one expects after being summoned to an empty commercial space that looked like a place where ghosts would appear… Still, Min-ho obediently took out his phone.
Since Gyu-oh was the only one who came to mind, he sent a short message saying not to worry as he was turning off his device for a bit, and then powered it down. It wasn’t as if they were confiscating the phone, so he could at least do this. Once he showed the blackened screen, the man bowed his head.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Min-ho quietly stared at the back of the man as he walked away. For an ordinary employee, his silhouette suggested someone who knew how to use his body.
“…”
After sitting awkwardly in the strange space for a while, checking the briefcase he had placed at his feet, the man sitting at the old desk in the corner answered a call.
“Yes. Yes, I understand.”
Answering in a disciplined voice, he slid closer to Min-ho. Then, he held the phone toward him. A familiar voice buzzed through the speakerphone.
—Oh, Director Cha. You’ve been well, right?
The Executive Director? Min-ho’s eyebrows twitched at the unexpected voice. The company that had summoned him here had no relation to T Corporation. Min-ho remained silent, staring at the screen. Perhaps because a persistent toothache had finally been pulled, the Executive Director’s voice was much softer than usual. It wasn’t that gravelly tone that usually felt like it would blow out his eardrums.
—It’s a bit cold there, isn’t it?
“…What brings the Executive Director here?”
—Mmm, I suddenly had some business with Director Cha, but it was quite difficult to set up an appointment.
It would have been even harder with Won Gyu-oh interfering. Setting aside the phone calls, Gyu-oh had violently opposed them meeting in person. He insisted that if they were to meet, he had to be included, and coordinating time with a guy busy stamping his attendance at the cathedral was no easy feat.
—So, I used some connections. Since you’re already there, I’d appreciate it if you could stay for a few days.
“What?”
A few days? Min-ho’s eyebrows twitched as he glared fiercely. The man holding the phone turned his head toward the glass wall covered in black stickers, averting his gaze.
—That bastard Son Min-young… ah, you know Son Pro, right? That guy is in prison now. Thanks to Director Cha and Woo-won.
“…”
—But that guy said Director Cha knows everything? You should have told me such important information sooner!
It seemed Woo-won had blabbed everything like a chatterbox in the meantime. He didn’t want to be the only one left out in the cold. However, since their actions had ultimately helped the Executive Director rather than harmed him, Min-ho thought it wouldn’t be a big deal.
—I’m in the middle of cutting off everyone entangled with Son Min-young, but man, it puts me in a difficult position. Still, I can’t heartlessly cast aside a benefactor who dirtied his hands on my behalf.
“…”
As the preamble grew longer, an ominous feeling naturally followed.
—I’ll wrap up the story about you and Son Min-young nicely, so just bear with it for a few days. Let’s get things settled properly and make a clean start, the three of us.
“Was my relationship with Son Pro one that required ‘wrapping up’? How exactly are you going to wrap it?”
—Just that the two of you intentionally tried to screw me over, that’s all. We’ll settle this matter here, and if there’s another project in the future, let’s meet then. I’ll definitely take care of you then, how about it?
So, the story would be that Son Pro, who had harassed the Executive Director by claiming to be his biological child, and Woo-won, who used Son Pro to clear obstacles to defeat competitors, had conspired to deceive the Executive Director? It was a ridiculous piece of forced logic where the old man would position himself purely as the victim.
“Does that make any sense? Our side gained nothing from it.”
It would be different if they had secured a contract. Since that was still unclear, he couldn’t understand why he was being tied into this.
—Exactly! Because nothing fell into your hands, the two of you had a falling out, and Son Min-young betrayed you. And that’s how Director Cha got hurt. Right?
“Sigh.”
It was a pathetic plot that wouldn’t even work in a third-rate movie. However, to people who knew nothing, it might sound plausible. After all, it was common for shady people to aim for each other’s backs and betray one another.