By Zephyria 
Kim Seung-jun’s expression contorted fiercely. Muttering curses he couldn’t understand, just as he was about to slam the visitation window shut, a waiting correctional officer subdued Kim Seung-jun with rough hands.
“Aargh!”
With his profile shoved into the metal drawer connected to the visitation window, Kim Seung-jun, who had been wriggling his body, soon acted like a docile lamb. It seemed he had quickly learned that it was no good to displease the correctional officers.
“Neither my family nor I have any interest in your disposition.”
Several students in the lab whom Kim Seung-jun had recruited were immediately expelled as soon as the matter came to light. Furthermore, it was heard that an intensive investigation would proceed, judging that there might be another accomplice behind this incident.
“Tae-hyun, I have nothing to say. How could something like this happen within the same lab…”
“It’s alright, Professor.”
The professor apologized several times, but Tae-hyun genuinely felt nothing was wrong. In fact, he felt delighted. With the large number of research students who had seen him as a thorn in their side gone, Joo Tae-hyun was inadvertently able to focus solely on his studies again, as he had before.
“This is an unprecedented situation since liberation. It is reported that the procedures for the Crown Prince’s deposition have officially begun. From this moment on, official records and all media outlets will refer to him not as ‘His Highness the Crown Prince’ but as the ‘Deposed Crown Prince’.”
“…Meanwhile, the Deposed Crown Prince’s side maintains that they cannot admit to the majority of the charges. It is said that all incidents, from the attack at Pyongyang University to the recent mass shooting in Washington, were carried out by the eldest son of PJ Group, a Mr. Kim.”
And the Crown Prince, or rather, it would be correct to call him the Deposed Crown Prince now. In any case, whether as a final act of desperation, that man provided evidence of the deeds Kim Seung-jun had committed, scattering them here and there. He was clearly trying to cut his own tail to save himself.
That Kim Seung-jun was the main perpetrator of the attack at the Pyongyang University academic conference. That he had killed the drug dealer he had been dealing with for a long time to conceal his own drug use, and that he had widely spread rumors about Joo Tae-hyun…
More than anything.
“It has been revealed that Mr. Kim established an online viral marketing company with the purpose of slandering Seo Baek-han, Director of the Royal Hospital, and Joo Tae-hyun’s couple, and spent a considerable amount of money over a long period for its active operation. It is reported that he secured funds using cash advances and card loans from a credit card received from his mother, and regarding this, PJ Group…”
That Kim Seung-jun had stalked Joo Tae-hyun from his minor years until now, and had generated rumors for a long time.
On top of that, all sorts of shoddy deeds that Joo Tae-hyun himself didn’t even know about were surfacing day after day.
His family seemed to think it was fortunate that Kim Seung-jun’s disgusting actions were finally being revealed, but Joo Tae-hyun disagreed. Even if Kim Seung-jun’s incomprehensible evil deeds were somewhat obscured, the actions of the Deposed Crown Prince must be fully exposed to the surface.
He knew that even if public anger was directed at Kim Seung-jun, it wouldn’t prevent the Crown Prince’s deposition. He also knew that for someone whose entire identity was being the Crown Prince, there could be no greater punishment.
However, he wished that the petty schemes the Deposed Crown Prince had carried out for a time long enough for mountains to change several times would not be excused even slightly.
It wasn’t just because he had once liked Seo Baek-han and supported his dream. While giving his heart to Seo Baek-han was irresistible, pursuing the same goal was Joo Tae-hyun’s own will. Therefore, Joo Tae-hyun wanted to seize definitive evidence this time so that the Crown Prince could no longer use Kim Seung-jun as a shield.
“Whether in America or the Korean Empire, you won’t be getting out of prison anyway.”
“You show your naivety even here. Hey, you damn Young Master. Don’t you know America is a country where bail can fix everything?”
“That’s not a card anyone can play.”
“Haha. Hey, if I were truly ‘anyone,’ would I still be scraping by in this detention center? I would have gone to jail long ago. And what about extradition to Korea? I welcome it.”
“Even so, His Highness the Crown Prince, or rather, the Deposed Crown Prince—”
“Yeah, that idiot Deposed Crown Prince is trembling, wondering what I’ll spill if I catch a paparazzo in America and make them reveal everything.”
For a moment, Joo Tae-hyun’s lawyer and his secretaries exchanged brief glances. Then, one of the secretaries quietly left, seemingly to secure CCTV footage. Recording is being done separately… having video material would be icing on the cake.
“But you know, I have no intention of going back to Korea willingly either. The person who tried to kill my mom and dad… what reason do I have to trust you?”
Without needing to give any specific instructions, everything proceeded smoothly. It was almost suspicious how Kim Seung-jun was giving exactly the reactions Joo Tae-hyun wanted, as if he were now trying to side with him.
“Even if you are extradited to Korea, do you think the Deposed Crown Prince will leave you alone? Do you believe that?”
“Well, maybe not in the past, but not now. If something happens to me in this situation? That would be proof that the Deposed Crown Prince, that son of a bitch, did it, and would that be quietly buried?”
Scratching his arms and neck as if suffering withdrawal symptoms, Kim Seung-jun grinned. The scab on his lip split open, bleeding black blood profusely, but he seemed unfazed.
“Anyway, he’s so scared that he’s still sending people to the detention center. He’s saying, ‘I’ll cover for you somehow, you know this is all a setup between Lee Hwang-ja, Seo Baek-han, and Joo Tae-hyun, and he’ll save me and PJ by emptying all his slush funds’…”
Kim Seung-jun clicked his tongue, muttering that his antics were truly excessive. He couldn’t even perform that simple action properly, his mouth smeared with saliva.
“…Is the medicine that good?”
“What? Medicine? What medicine.”
“I was just curious if you even knew what a mess you’re in right now.”
It was surprisingly novel.
It was precisely because this incident occurred when Seo Baek-han was on a long business trip to America that the Lee Hwang-ja faction was able to act swiftly and decisively to resolve matters, more so than any other ministry. It was like driving the final nail into a victory that was almost secured.
Things were going so well it felt like it shouldn’t be happening.
It could have escalated into a larger diplomatic dispute, potentially involving the Deposed Crown Prince, but since the people Kim Seung-jun had involved in the party were scions of prestigious families in America, they also refrained from mentioning the Korean Empire’s royal family. It was a gesture to move on quietly without assigning blame.
However, if they had simply tried to hush it up, this side wouldn’t have stayed silent either. The ‘White House’ showed great interest in the ‘switch’ improvement project that Seo Baek-han and the Royal Hospital were researching immediately after the incident. This morning, they praised Crown Prince Lee’s morphology policy and even expressed a desire for deep exchange between the two countries.
“Since the White House has shown great interest in the Royal Hospital’s ‘switch’ improvement initiative, various organizations are raising their voices, stating that public perception also needs to be elevated.”
Perhaps thanks to the praise from overseas media. From the perspective of Tae-hyun, a shifter, the most encouraging outcome was likely the gradual change in public perception of the ‘switch’ domestically. The public opinion was slowly growing that ‘dirty switch’ and ‘drugs’ were distinctly different, and that Korea’s participation in the improvement of the ‘switch’ was an opportunity to maintain its lead in the global market.
“Well, fine. Think about that issue however you like. In any case, Kim Seung-jun, thanks to you, it seems many policies related to shifters in the Korean Empire will be able to change, so I came to say thank you.”
…What is fate?
Lee Hwang-ja had endured the Deposed Crown Prince’s tyranny for over 20 years, no, for his entire life, until this day arrived.
Because he had absolutely no interest in being the Crown Prince or the next Emperor, he poured all his energy into public policy and volunteer work, but in the end, he was chosen as the next owner of the imperial seal.
And what about Seo Baek-han? At a time when the foundation for shifter policies in the Korean Empire was beginning to take shape, he was born an Alpha by chance. He harbored a dream of walking a different path from his father and dedicated himself solely to morphology research.
When he faced various attacks, both internal and external, due to the ‘switch’ improvement project, he was a man with a clear goal, even going so far as to force a marriage with a man of the same Alpha gender.
Setting aside the hurt he had inflicted, it was impossible to deny how brilliant ‘Seo Baek-han, Director of the Royal Hospital’ and ‘Seo Baek-han, founding member of the Guardian Lions’ were. Joo Tae-hyun was also one of the young followers inspired by the roar of that conviction.
Yes, he liked Seo Baek-han so much that he forced the marriage, even lying that he had taken the switch. And Kim Seung-jun, blinded by jealousy at seeing him like that, had secretly committed these acts. For a very long time, he had ardently liked only Seo Baek-han.
Thus, these independently occurring incidents became intertwined, forming a great torrent and becoming the foundation for opening a new era.
Nothing that had happened now could be dismissed as mere ‘coincidence.’
Therefore, Joo Tae-hyun found himself pondering philosophical questions about what life is, what a person is, and what fate is. It seemed like a stroke of luck, as if a cow stumbled backward and caught a mouse, but he was amazed by how the world worked, which was entirely unlike that.
When his thoughts wandered far, Joo Tae-hyun felt a little more at ease.
The past days of agonizing over his feelings for Seo Baek-han, and the time he suffered to the point of his insides rotting away, were things he could not control by his own will.
Realizing that it was fate, something beyond human power, he felt he might be able to let it all go.
“However, what I’m curious about is, you did this because you liked Baek-han hyung, right?”
He no longer wanted to talk to Kim Seung-jun. What did he care about that guy’s true intentions? He wanted to continue his current peaceful contemplation, as if submerged in water. However, the secretary who had left earlier had not yet returned, so he needed to buy time.
“But why did you target me?”
“What kind of bullshit is this now, fuck.”
Kim Seung-jun, who had acquired a unsightly bruise on his cheekbone after being beaten by the correctional officer, glared at Joo Tae-hyun with swollen eyes.
“It’s not like that, Baek-han hyung has consistently dated women. He wasn’t interested in men, let alone another Alpha. So why have you held a grudge against me since way back then?”
“You son of a bitch… Hey, Joo Tae-hyun. Are you really asking because you don’t know?”