By Zephyria 
“The words just come out. Because of this, Driver Lee also gets startled sometimes. But I can’t fix it. I should speak politely. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, no. Please feel free to speak as you wish. It’s just that it’s the first time I’ve heard the youngest young master speak that way, so it was unexpected…”
“I’ve been told I have a lot of unexpected charms.”
I cracked a joke and laughed, and Choi Jae-kyung’s eyes curved into a soft smile, which somehow made me feel awkward.
“I’m curious about something… can I ask one thing?”
“Yes, please ask anything I can answer.”
“Was there an attendant in charge of my second brother before you, Driver Choi?”
At my question, Choi Jae-kyung stared at me. As if gauging my intentions, he looked at me for a while before finally speaking.
“Originally, General Manager Bae was in charge of the eldest and second young masters’ commutes. Then, when the eldest young master entered university, since the university and high school were not adjacent, it seems they appointed a separate attendant due to the difficulty.”
“That was when my eldest brother was a senior in college? After four years, all of a sudden? That sounds a bit forced.”
“That is the reason given to me. That is why I moved from the secretary team to become the second young master’s attendant.”
“Then is General Manager Bae the one currently serving my eldest brother?”
“No. At that time, the current attendant was assigned to the eldest young master, and General Manager Bae is currently the head of the security team.”
What is the difference between the secretary team and the security team? I’ve never seen a ‘security team’—what is that? And where is this General Manager Bae, whose existence I didn’t even know, hiding? As I frowned in thought, I heard someone call me, “Young master.”
“No, I just don’t know what the secretary team and security team are.”
“The secretary team handles the hospital director’s activities, and the security team is operated internally within the family. You can think of General Manager Bae as the person who oversees everyone from the madam’s attendants to the attendants of each young master.”
Overseeing all attendants means that everything the family does passes through the ears of this person called General Manager Bae. It means he is the person closest to this family, and knowing that much means he possesses a great deal of power. He’s likely arrogant, and it would be difficult to approach him clumsily to ask questions or extract information.
“He’s a formidable person. I bet he knows more about our family’s affairs than I do.”
“He is someone who is always by the hospital director’s side. Have you not seen one other person besides the driver?”
Now that he mentioned it, I think I had. I hadn’t paid much attention, so it didn’t stand out in my memory. I realized that such a formidable person had been there with almost no presence.
“Maybe it’s because I’m not interested, but I didn’t even know such a person existed. I thought things went straight to my fathers.”
I made a dissatisfied humming sound and scratched my cheek with the hand I was using to prop up my chin. Choi Jae-kyung, who had been answering calmly, continued.
“You likely have more questions.”
“Huh?”
“Even before the accident, you visited once, young master. Just like now, without the second young master’s knowledge.”
“…R-really?”
“You asked the same things then. Since when you had been by the second young master’s side, and who had served the second young master fourteen years ago. Seeing as you ask the same things, it doesn’t seem like your memories have returned. What is it you are looking for?”
It seems Cha Soo-kyung had similar thoughts to mine. He must have agonized similarly and wandered, wondering where to find the connection. I felt relieved that I hadn’t been heading in the wrong direction. Though the fact that Choi Jae-kyung was looking at me with suspicious eyes was a bit of a problem.
“I’m not sure myself. …There was something in my drawer, and I didn’t know why it was there. I thought it might be something important, so I felt I should look into it.”
“What is it?”
“No. I don’t even know if it’s my secret. It’s not certain yet, so I don’t want to just tell you.”
I shut my mouth tight and shook my head like a stubborn youngest son. I didn’t know if Choi Jae-kyung would be swayed by behavior like a child throwing a tantrum, but he wasn’t the type to yell at me or force me to speak.
“What else did I ask?”
“You asked whether the second young master drives.”
“I want to hear the answer you gave then, Driver Choi.”
“He obtained his license after graduating from medical school. Until then, he had no desire to drive and even avoided it to some extent. While he occasionally drives himself these days, in the past, I almost always accompanied him. Does this answer satisfy you?”
Ah, damn. I thought I had built a good relationship, but the atmosphere turned chilly because I was suspected at the very end. I nodded gloomily with my shoulders slumped.
“Are you going to tell General Manager Bae about today?”
“How would you like me to handle it?”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t. Um, I mean… if it’s not bad for you, Driver Choi. If this makes things difficult for you, then you should tell him.”
Even at my words, Choi Jae-kyung gave no definitive answer. He didn’t look particularly conflicted; he just gazed at me blankly.
“Driver Choi, are you angry?”
“Is there a reason to be angry?”
“Just… never mind. Actually, it’s true that I came to see you to ask these things, but my thank-you was also sincere. I wasn’t trying to coax you into something. You can leave now. I have nothing left to ask.”
“I do not misunderstand.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.”
Why not? If it were me, I would have misunderstood a hundred times, wondering why this kid was approaching me so sweetly just to dig for information. I would have been angry, and I would have been annoyed. I might have even run to that General Manager Bae guy and spilled everything that happened today just to screw me over.
“Your expressions are too honest, young master. To someone with a keen eye, your inner thoughts can be read plainly, so you should practice hiding your expressions.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Where on my face are my thoughts showing? Is my inner mind appearing and disappearing on my forehead like an electronic billboard?
As I flustered, not knowing whether to cover my cheeks or my forehead, Choi Jae-kyung laughed softly and downed the cold tea.
“Actually, I’m not sure about my expressions, but my mouth is quite honest.”
“I think you should also learn how to speak politely and indirectly.”
“I like this. Everyone around me only pretends to be polite, so when I speak bluntly like this, they’re all flabbergasted. But they can’t exactly swear back, so they just go crazy from frustration.”
I love seeing those faces. The face where the words they want to say are piled up inside, but the words are choked off at the tip of the throat and cannot come out.
Just because someone speaks with a smile, does that make it a good or polite thing to say? How is that different from slapping someone while smiling? I don’t know why I should be polite to such people, and since exchanging venomous words while smiling isn’t my taste, I just pour out blunt words openly.
“Didn’t Driver Choi hear that? Even when I went to Grandfather’s place, I completely turned things upside down with my silver tongue. Though I did get beaten until my nose bled. Come to think of it, there was no mention of visiting Grandfather’s house this month.”
“It was originally scheduled for this week, but I heard it was pushed back by one week due to the Chairman’s schedule.”
Then it’s next week. Why didn’t I know? Were they really planning to go without me? They probably think I’ll cause a scene, but that only makes a person want to live up to expectations. Even if I have to squeeze out some time in my busy schedule, I should go and throw a fit right in front of the Chairman of Hosan Hospital’s house.
“Chief Bae… even if you visit him, Young Master, he will not give you the answer you want.”
“And how do you know what I’m going to ask?”
“No matter what you ask. That man has been by the Hospital Director’s side for too long.”
So, unless it’s the word of my Alpha father, nothing will work? Is his loyalty so high that he won’t leak a single word to anyone else? Or has he become so arrogant that he’ll look down on someone like me?
I tilted my head, unable to fully grasp the words he offered as advice.
“I should be going now. The second Young Master’s schedule is sometimes faster than expected, so I need to be on standby a bit early.”
Choi Jae-kyung glanced at the time and spoke as he stood up. A faster-than-expected schedule probably meant an early clock-out. He spoke vaguely, but it wasn’t hard to guess the meaning.
“Thank you, Driver Choi.”
“It was my duty. I’ve received enough gratitude, so please, no more.”
“No. I mean for answering my questions today. You said it was the second time I’d asked, though I don’t remember. Thank you for answering again.”
At my words, Choi Jae-kyung smiled with a serene expression. He always had a stoic face, but when he smiled like that, a hidden kindness became visible. Starved for affection, I often felt a strange sense of emotion whenever I discovered kindness in the people around me.
“Here… please wear this.”
“It’s alright, Young Master.”
“If it’s alright, then please wear it. If you leave it behind, I’ll think it’s not alright.”
I picked up the shopping bag sitting lonely on the table and held it out to Choi Jae-kyung. After looking down at my hand for a moment, Choi Jae-kyung reluctantly took the bag.
“…Thank you.”
“You must show me your new clothes later.”
“Yes, I will. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
I watched Choi Jae-kyung politely bow and leave the room, then slumped powerlessly into my seat.
「Chief Bae… even if you visit him, Young Master, he will not give you the answer you want.」
If anyone knows about the incident, Chief Bae is the most likely candidate. If I ask my Alpha father, it’s a family disgrace, so he won’t tell me; if I ask the little brat, I feel like a fist will fly at me first.
Where should I attack?
I tried to guess who Cha Soo-kyung had visited after Choi Jae-kyung, but no faces came to mind.