By Zephyria 
The next day, Kim Hui-won was busy getting ready for work from early in the morning. While he was adjusting his clothes, his cell phone rang loudly.
Executive Director Kwon was calling before seven o’clock. Wondering what was going on, Hui-won answered the phone without hesitation.
“Yes, Executive Director.”
How are you feeling?
Uncharacteristically, he started by asking how Hui-won was. Hui-won, feeling awkward, slightly moistened his dry lips with his tongue.
“I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine.”
That’s good. Come by the house as soon as you’re ready.
Kwon Young-je curtly said what he had to say and hung up. This kind of thing was so common that there was nothing to be surprised about. Rather, he felt relieved by his consistent attitude. Hui-won chuckled and slipped his arms into the sleeves of his jacket. He buttoned it up neatly and hurried to get ready to leave.
It was a little past seven o’clock when Hui-won arrived at Kwon Young-je’s residence. The owner of the house was in his study, dressed in a neat suit, ready to go to work immediately.
Hui-won bowed to him and offered the coffee he had just bought. The scent of freshly brewed coffee quickly filled the study.
Kwon Young-je naturally took a sip of the hot coffee. He leaned back comfortably and raised his head. His unwavering gaze turned to Secretary Kim, who was standing in front of him in a respectful posture.
“Have you decided?”
It was a half-hearted question with half the sentence missing, but Hui-won immediately understood what he meant. He was asking about whether or not to sue Kwon Young-ho.
There was a reason why he had been called separately. It wasn’t a story that needed to be kept secret, but it wasn’t a topic that anyone would want to overhear.
Hui-won nodded. He had already thought about it many times and made a decision, so the answer came out immediately.
“I don’t want to add to the trouble.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
Kwon Young-je replied without any particular reaction. He calmly drank his coffee and added in a subdued tone.
“I heard Kwon Young-ho is leaving the country in three days.”
“That’s faster than I expected.”
“Chairman Kwon is determined to get rid of him. He’s running away to save his own skin.”
He would probably lie low for a while after running away like that. Too much energy had been spent on getting rid of one annoying guy. It would be nice if he would just disappear forever.
No matter how much he was crushed, Kwon Young-ho would eventually reveal his ambition again and crawl back to the surface, and then they might have to fight that tiresome battle all over again.
Still, he hoped for a few years of peace. Kwon Young-je, with a lighter look on his face, flipped through his phone and brought up the work he hadn’t been able to do yesterday.
“What time is the luncheon?”
“Twelve thirty.”
“I’m scheduled to meet with Chairman Kwon separately at two, so make sure the schedule doesn’t get pushed back.”
Hui-won was busy planning his afternoon schedule in his head. Considering the travel time and the usual time he spent alone with Chairman Kwon, it was a bit tight.
“There are five consecutive business reports from the Strategic Planning Division scheduled from three o’clock. I’ll tell them to delay each one by thirty minutes.”
“Do that.”
Kwon Young-je tapped the desk evenly with his index finger, as if satisfied with the smooth progress. Hui-won suddenly looked down at his hand.
“…….”
Good heavens. His thumb was completely wrecked. His other hand was fine, but his thumb was a mess, which meant that the injury wasn’t from a punch. There was no reason for a precious young master to hurt his hand. He must have done it himself.
Even though he was half out of his mind, Hui-won vaguely remembered Kwon Young-je trying to control him by putting his hand in his mouth. The injury must have occurred in that process. Hui-won felt guilty and couldn’t raise his head. But he couldn’t keep pretending not to know, so he turned around and brought back the first aid kit.
“Executive Director, let me take a look.”
As soon as he turned the chair around, Kwon Young-je’s eyebrows twitched slightly. His eyes flickered for a moment at the unexpected action, but soon returned to his usual dry expression.
Hui-won arbitrarily grabbed Kwon Young-je’s wrist and spread out his long, straight fingers one by one. The injured man was calm, but Hui-won’s expression was as serious as if the world had collapsed. It was his right hand, which he used so often. He felt even more sorry because he was the one who had caused it.
Fortunately, his skin wasn’t torn, but there was a dark purplish bruise on the fingerprint area of his thumb. It was also a little swollen, and when he touched it, he could feel a warm heat. Hui-won applied moderate pressure to his fingertip and gently pressed the area where the blood had pooled.
“…Does it hurt?”
“Not really.”
“Should I make a hospital appointment? I think it would be good to get it checked out.”
“No, don’t make a fuss.”
Just when he thought he was bearing it well, Kwon Young-je, as usual, showed signs of annoyance. He tried to pull his hand away, but Hui-won firmly said no and pulled his wrist closer to him.
“I’ll just do a simple treatment.”
Then, he quickly took out various medicines from the first aid kit. He soaked a cotton pad with disinfectant and gently wiped the area, then spread bruise ointment on it. He even blew on it to help the thick ointment absorb into the skin.
Kwon Young-je had been looking displeased the whole time, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Hui-won quickly finished taping it up, not knowing when he would get an infection again.
Looking closely, there was also a faint scratch under Kwon Young-je’s chin, besides his finger. He must have scratched him there too. He had struggled so much that it was likely.
“Excuse me.”
Hui-won bent down and spread medicine on the wound under Kwon Young-je’s chin as well. He was being extremely careful with his ring finger so as not to damage his smooth skin.
“…….”
Kwon Young-je stared intently at Kim Hui-won. His sharp gaze lingered on his swollen lips for a long time before slowly moving down his neckline.
Meanwhile, Hui-won checked that there were no more injuries and finally straightened his bent back. Whew, he couldn’t help but sigh.
As he closed the ointment lid and wiped his wet fingers with a white gauze, he paused when he saw Kwon Young-je, who had been sitting in his chair, get up without hesitation.
An impatient hand grabbed Hui-won’s shoulder and pushed him back. He inadvertently sat down on the desk, but even when he tried to get up again, he couldn’t move because Kwon Young-je was standing so close in front of him.
“Executive Director, why are you doing this…”
As he stammered out the words in a flustered state, Kwon Young-je suddenly reached out and loosened Hui-won’s tie knot and unbuttoned his collar. His hand, rummaging through the opening, was so cold that Hui-won’s shoulders flinched.
A clear, dark handprint remained vividly below his exposed neck. The mere bruise was nothing compared to this. He frowned fiercely at the sight of the traces of sadistic violence.
Kwon Young-je stared at the strangulation marks and snorted in disbelief.
“And you’re still not suing?”
At the repeated question, Hui-won touched his bare neck. He had already seen the bruise on his neck while showering. He thought it would be okay because it was cleverly hidden by his shirt collar, but he couldn’t escape Executive Director Kwon’s keen eye.
“It’s already been decided. Well… it’ll fade eventually.”
He said awkwardly, but Kwon Young-je’s murderous expression didn’t ease. He picked up the phone he had placed on the desk and used his remaining hand to hold Hui-won’s chin in place. Hui-won frowned when the phone was pointed at his face for no apparent reason.
“What are you doing? You’re not going to take a picture, are you?”
“Just in case, I’ll keep it as evidence.”
“There’s no need to go that far…”
Hui-won shut his mouth tightly when he met his oppressive gaze.
He should just let him do what he wants, what power did he have? He rested his hands on the edge of the desk and obediently tilted his head back.
Kwon Young-je had already opened the camera app and used his free hand to open his shirt collar even wider. He held the open shirt in place with his hand and stared intently at his neck.
The longer the wait, the more anxious Hui-won became. He had nowhere to look, so he wandered around and just stared at the camera. He looked at it with half-sunken eyes and moistened his dry lips.
“Executive Director.”
“…….”
Kwon Young-je stared at the screen for a long time without pressing the shutter. With a small “fuck,” the button was finally pressed.
Click, click, the sound of continuous shooting made Hui-won straighten his tilted head. He was sure he had heard him swear. Kwon Young-je’s expression as he checked the photos was so dark that he couldn’t help but hold back his words.
“Are you done?”
“…You.”
He shoved his phone into his pants pocket and immediately glared at him with fierce eyes.
“Button up your clothes and walk around.”
“Yes.”
I was planning to do that anyway. Hui-won got off the desk, buttoned up his open buttons, and carefully retied his tie. Wasn’t being meticulous about his appearance his specialty?
His shirt collar began to tighten around his neck. That feeling was rather comfortable. It was better than being disheveled in front of Executive Director Kwon.
That was… too weird.