GMC 153

“Do you like cookies?”

“I do tend to like sweets. Try some. These are ones Yeon-rok-ssi quite liked in the past.”

Sure enough, the cookies suited his taste perfectly. As Yeon-rok chewed on a cookie, Yeom Cheon-ho began the conversation with soft words.

“I heard you’ve been going out suddenly quite often lately. Do you perhaps find staying at home very stifling?”

It seemed he was referring to the few times Yeon-rok had abruptly dashed out of the house to try and shake off the bodyguards. Unable to answer easily, Yeon-rok kept a cautious eye on him and chewed the cookie slowly, prompting Yeom Cheon-ho to gently soothe him.

“If you need some time alone, it would be fine for you to stay at the house you used to live in for a few days.”

“That house… still exists…?”

Surprised by the unexpected proposal, [unauthorized [stolen contentvisit our sitestyle="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]copy]Yeon-rok asked. He had naturally assumed it would have been sold off.

“Of course. It is still maintained under your name, Yeon-rok-ssi, and the loans have all been paid off.”

Since there was no way he could have paid off loans amounting to hundreds of millions in such a short time, he must have received help from Yeom Cheon-ho. Yeon-rok set the cookie down and gazed blankly at the man.

Could someone this kind and good truly have killed someone? Was he perhaps misunderstanding?

Yeon-rok recalled something he had been overlooking. The diary was strictly for stress relief, meaning that happy and joyful events were not recorded. This meant that pleasant moments with Yeom Cheon-ho, Moon Gyeon-woo, or Choi Hwan would not have been written down.

Of course, Yeon-rok knew well enough that a person’s exterior and interior could be completely different. Nevertheless, his intuition screamed that Yeom Cheon-ho was not such a vicious human being. As Yeon-rok hesitated, Yeom Cheon-ho made a suggestion with the utmost kindness.

“You seem to have many worries lately; is there anything I can do to help? No matter what happens, I will take your side. Am I not your name partner?”

At those words, Yeon-rok’s heart melted. Feeling as though the sun had stripped the traveler of his clothes, he finally opened his mouth.

“It’s not that I’m asking this out of any ill will…”

“Yes, I absolutely will not get angry, so please tell me anything. You may even swear.”

In an atmosphere of infinite generosity and tolerance, Yeon-rok threw a direct punch.

“CEO… are you a murderer?”

The reason Yeon-rok could summon the courage to ask was the belief that, surely, he wouldn’t kill me, his own name partner. However, during the few seconds he waited for Yeom Cheon-ho’s answer, he regretted it slightly. Come to think of it, since there are three name partners, wouldn’t it be fine if one of them died? And at Yeon-rok’s question, Yeom Cheon-ho paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

He laughed so heartily that Yeon-rok felt a bit embarrassed. …Could he be laughing like that because he was too angry? Yeom Cheon-ho soon stopped laughing, but the remnants of a smile still curved his eyes into rounded arcs. He began by apologizing to the tense Yeon-rok.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to mock you, Yeon-rok-ssi. Well, yes. It’s quite possible to misunderstand it as such.”

At the word ‘misunderstand,’ Yeon-rok’s face [stolen content]style="display:none;" aria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copybrightened. This meant that Yeom Cheon-ho was not a murderer.

“You are currently in a special state of having lost your memories. Because of that, there are stories I hid, fearing you might be confused.”

Yeom Cheon-ho told him about the memories Yeon-rok had lost. He explained what connection they had as children, how the four of them came to share a common name, what ill fate he had with his father and what events occurred because of it, what the relationship between the four had been, and how Yeon-rok had suffered an accident severe enough to lose his memory.

The story was as shocking as the contents of the diary, and Yeon-rok remained silent for a long time, cookie still in hand. Finally, after organizing his thoughts, he spoke.

“I’m truly relieved that you aren’t a serial killer.”

Yeom Cheon-ho laughed quietly. A cult leader was far better than a murderer. Besides, it wasn’t as if Yeom Cheon-ho had become a leader to deceive or scam people. With a heartless father who tried to kill his own son and was even a person of power, Yeom Cheon-ho likely had no other choice.

“Is that why the security was so tight?”

“That is correct. Originally, there were only two bodyguards, but I increased it to four because of the last incident. I want you to be able to rest comfortably, at least while at home. If there is anything else you are curious about, please feel free to ask.”

Yeom Cheon-ho gave a generous smile and opened both hands loosely. Now that the suspicions unauthorized copyhad vanished, the void was filled stolen contentstyle="opacity:0;font-size:0;">unauthorized copywith trust and affection for the man. Without touching the cookies any further, Yeon-rok hesitated before asking.

“What happened to the people who attacked me?”

“Aside from the civilian who caused the scooter accident, I am managing all of them separately. I know it is illegal confinement. However, in a situation like this, handing them over to the police would be useless. The moment they are released, they will become useful tools for Yeom Cheon-ryul again. Using people around others to attack is that man’s specialty.”

Yeon-rok nodded. Listening to Yeom Cheon-ho’s story, that certainly seemed to be the case. Even looking at the attack incident—Choi Hwan’s parents, Moon Gyeon-woo’s ex-lover, and even Yeom Cheon-ho’s followers.

If one hires a hitman, financial transaction records remain as evidence; instead, he deliberately incites and uses acquaintances to cause great psychological shock. He was truly a cunning and despicable human being. As he listened quietly, Yeon-rok suddenly thought of someone.

“Actually…”

After hesitating, Yeon-rok confessed honestly.

“I was contacted by my biological father, asking to meet.”

“Was that so? You must have been very surprised by such a sudden contact.”

Without any sign of surprise, Yeom Cheon-ho first comforted Yeon-rok kindly and tenderly. After taking a breath, Yeon-rok asked.

“You knew all along, didn’t you?”

“As you know now, Yeon-rok-ssi, we are in a situation where we must always be cautious of the approach of suspicious people. I am sorry.”

Yeon-rok shook his head, saying it was fine. Even if he were Yeom Cheon-ho, he would have had no choice given the continuous occurrence of unsettling incidents.

“When I looked up the license plate number provided by the bodyguards, the owner was a staff member for politician Assemblyman Yoo Young-taek. Therefore… your biological father is likely Assemblyman Yoo Young-taek.”

Yoo Young-taek! It was the name of his biological father, which he learned thanks to Yeom Cheon-ho. Now that he knew the man was a politician, he understood why he had covered his face so thoroughly and why he hadn’t given a single name. It was clear that, to his biological father, he was an existence that must not be revealed to the world.

“What kind of person is he? Did he come looking for me because of Yeom Cheon-ryul too?”

“That possibility is not nonexistent. Above all…”

“I’m fine, so please tell me everything.”

Yeon-rok requested in a calm manner as Yeom Cheon-ho trailed off. In truth, he had no great expectations for his biological father, so he wasn’t particularly angry. He was simply very disappointed. At the very least, the illusion of a family—something that had once been poignant just to imagine—was now gone.

“There is a local election next year. I suspect his purpose is to manage risks in advance.”

Yeon-rok quietly took out his phone and searched for Yoo Young-taek on the internet. He was the head of a harmonious household with three sons and a daughter, all graduates of prestigious universities. As he read the information about the half-siblings, he noticed something strange.

“They are all older than me?”

This meant that Yeon-rok was a child born of an affair. Now, Yeon-rok even doubted whether his mother had truly abandoned him. After hesitating, Yeon-rok asked Yeom Cheon-ho.

“Then… by any chance, do you know about my mother?”

Without a word, Yeom Cheon-ho opened a drawer and handed him a document. When Yeon-rok read it, it was [visit our site]a death certificate for a young woman. Her name was Lee [visit our site]Hye-yeon, and the content stated that she died shortly after giving birth at a hospital due to postpartum complications.

“It is said that a guardian claiming to be the biological father took the child afterward.”

So, he wasn’t a child abandoned by his mother. He felt hollow and angry. As Yeon-rok bit his lip painfully, a warm sensation stopped him. Gently cupping his cheek and pressing Yeon-rok’s lip with a thumb, Yeom Cheon-ho softly called his name.

“Yeon-rok-ssi.”

It was just that, yet somehow it was comforting. Yeom Cheon-ho then quietly held Yeon-rok’s hand. After a moment, once Yeon-rok had calmed down, he made a tentative suggestion.

“If you’re okay with it, how about letting the other two know the situation as well?”

“Choi Hwan and Gyeon-woo Hyung?”

It wasn’t that he particularly disliked telling them, but Yeon-rok tilted his head, wondering if it was necessary to let them know.

“Of course, your will is the most important, Yeon-rok-ssi. However, those two sincerely like [visit our site]you and care for you. [Read on Read BL Novels]They will be a great source of strength for you. Didn’t you say they were family?”