By Zephyria 
“Read it slowly and thoroughly.”
“Hmm.”
Leaning back on the sofa, Min-ho scanned the papers carefully. As his eyes moved down, his expression grew increasingly distorted; it seemed to be full of nonsense. Still, he read thoroughly until the end, flipping to the last page before handing it over to Gyu-oh.
Only then did Gyu-oh examine the contents. The pages were packed with “agreement items,” but the gist was simple. It was essentially a pledge stating that the construction projects T Corporation was undertaking would be handed over to U-won, and in exchange, they would not make a big deal out of the Executive Director’s private life.
“Executive Director, you’re surprisingly cool for someone who’s already had a falling out with us.”
Gyu-oh curled his lips into a crooked smirk. As if agreeing, Min-ho shook his head. The two of them hadn’t come all this way just for the sake of a contract acquisition. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have bothered setting an appointment through lawyers and visiting in person.
“But we’re not really on that wavelength.”
Gyu-oh ripped the paper he was holding right down the middle.
“Uh—.”
The lawyer, who had been cleaning his glasses, reached out to stop him, but the document was already in two pieces. Simultaneously, the Executive Director’s face turned pale again. Staring intently at that sight, Gyu-oh continued to rip the paper. He shredded it into pieces as if trying to turn it into powder and scattered them across the table.
“What… what are you doing? Didn’t you come here to find a compromise?”
“Good.”
Min-ho’s short voice was clearer than the Executive Director’s shout as he acted brazenly, raising his voice. Gyu-oh thought Min-ho might hit him on the back, asking why he ripped it all instead of just refusing. Instead, Min-ho gave a small clap and even gave him a thumbs-up.
And here I thought he called me a blockhead, yet we’re so in sync. Hyung isn’t normal either. This is why we’re a match made in heaven. Gyu-oh didn’t even look at the fuming Executive Director, only blinking one eye at Min-ho.
“Then, what, did you come here to blackmail me? Huh? In front of these lawyers?”
“…….”
“Director Cha. I, I made a mistake, but it was settled quickly, wasn’t it? There was no damage.”
Perhaps trying to target the one who seemed softer, the Executive Director positioned himself right in front of Min-ho. Perching on the low table, the Executive Director reached out. The moment Gyu-oh sensed the attempt to grab Min-ho’s hand, he stepped in. He reached out his long arm and wrapped it around Min-ho’s knee, ensuring not even a fingertip could touch. Then, he naturally pulled the conversation toward himself.
“You’re talking nonsense. The damage on our end was fucking immense.”
“What damage?”
“There are only a few days left, and you wasted too much of our time. It’s annoying.”
The words he added while clicking his tongue were sounds only the two of them could understand. Knowing the gaze shifting toward him, Gyu-oh deliberately didn’t meet it.
“No, U-won deceived me first! There’s a limit to playing with people!”
Since the man was already loud and now shouting on purpose, it felt like Gyu-oh’s eardrums were tearing. Gyu-oh quickly reached out with both hands and covered Min-ho’s ears with his palms. Though the effect was likely minimal given how loud the man was.
“Hold on, you can’t get this angry already.”
“Do I look like I’m in a position to calm down right now?”
I didn’t tell you to calm down, why are you overinterpreting and making a fuss? Clicking his tongue, Gyu-oh stealthily checked the time. If things had proceeded without a hitch, there was less than a minute left. Considering the time it takes for things to spread, it seemed better to stall for another five minutes.
“Mister. Isn’t there something more important than getting angry?”
“What’s important? You’re trying to manipulate things to your liking in a subtle way, aren’t you?”
The Executive Director jumped up from his seat, dusted off his pants, and moved to the head of the room. Just a moment ago, he had been screaming until his face turned bright red, and now he was pretending to be cold and composed.
Gyu-oh leaned close to Min-ho, covering his mouth with his palm as if whispering.
“His mood swings are insane.”
“He’s always like that, always.”
Of course, the problem was that it was loud enough for the Executive Director to hear. Seeing the man’s nape turn bright red, Gyu-oh checked the time once more.
It should be unfolding now.
Bzzz, at that moment, the sensation of a vibration echoed from a distance. The vibration continued, refusing to stop. It seemed the Executive Director’s secret had finally been posted on a site where everyone at T Corporation could see it. The Executive Director stirred as if to go get his phone. Gyu-oh blocked that movement.
“You should apologize.”
“……Apologize?”
“You entangled your son with our Director. How do you entangle them like that? Can’t we sue for defamation?”
He directed the question to the lawyers opposite them, but there was no satisfying answer. Of course, it was much better than an article saying he was in a ‘certain kind of relationship’ with an old Executive Director, but it was still fucking annoying. Why were those crazy rich people so desperate to pair him up with Hyung? It’s not like they’re matchmakers.
“It’s not as if nothing happened. Director Cha was going in and out of the hotel where Son Min-young stayed—”
“It was only once, and I was the one who brought him out that day.”
Since it was the first day he spent with Hyung, he could never forget it. As he cut the man off firmly, the Executive Director rolled his eyes toward the lawyers.
“……And you two moved to a separate location even after the gathering ended.”
“I went to pick him up then.”
He was probably talking about the day he went there pretending to be a designated driver. There were no other situations where they had remained alone.
“Anyway, Son Min-young didn’t just mention Director Cha once or twice. Are you sure there was nothing? Huh? Really, the two of you plotted together—”
“Mister. Your son isn’t that great. To have something… ha, I can’t even say it’s fucking disgusting in front of the bloodline. Anyway, it’s a no. Yes?”
Objectively speaking, he was greasy, but he was on the handsome side and definitely had a great body. Annoyingly. But overall, he was very, very subpar. Seeing Min-ho nodding in agreement with his arms crossed, Gyu-oh felt somewhat relieved.
“And I told you to apologize, so why is there so much irrelevant chatter?”
“…….”
During the brief silence, the vibration sound continued to ring. Looking at the Executive Director’s face, he seemed like the type who wouldn’t apologize even if a knife were at his throat, but he also seemed too distracted by the constant vibration to think straight.
“You don’t want to? Then we’ll just hang around here until you do.”
“Sounds good. Doesn’t this feel even better than Won-jae Hyung-nim’s room?”
Min-ho chimed in nonchalantly. As expected, Hyung isn’t normal either. Perhaps Cha Min-ho is the only person on Earth who could so calmly accept his nonsense.
“I guess we really have no eye for these things. It’s quite humbling.”
“I’ll pour in my entire fortune and get you a sexy room.”
Gyu-oh kept bursting into laughter at the calm voice responding to him. He was now confused whether Min-ho was just playing along or being sincere. Laughing with his shoulders shaking, Gyu-oh checked the minute hand. Naturally stalling for time was, as expected, a piece of cake. The Executive Director, who had been watching the situation while huffing, suddenly lowered his voice.
“I didn’t want to go this far. Wouldn’t it be better for both of us to let this pass quietly? Why do you think I hired so many lawyers? Even a speck of dust can become a crime if I catch it. Don’t you understand?”
“Hmm.”
“Your only sibling is suffering in a foreign country. How heartbroken would they be to hear that their brother has hit rock bottom?”
He probably couldn’t find information about Gyu-oh, so he was using Ji-ho to threaten him. Having experienced this many times while working in this field, Min-ho seemed unfazed.
“Are you in contact with my sibling?”
“……What?”
“I asked for some investment, and then the contact just cut off.”
Responding indifferently, Min-ho dusted off his knees. Since they had barely interacted due to the excuse of being busy—more accurately, because Min-ho prioritized work—it wasn’t hard to pretend to be estranged siblings. The man wouldn’t have had the diligence to check the list of parcels exchanged between siblings.
“Director Cha should wake up and act like a brother. Instead of blocking your sibling’s path.”
“Why would I act like a brother? It’s hard enough to take care of my own path.”
Still the same emotionless, indifferent face and tone. It was a reaction that completely drained a person’s energy. Gyu-oh had felt hurt when he was on the receiving end, but seeing Min-ho do it even more severely to someone else made him feel strangely proud.
Even as the pseudo-blackmail continued, the vibration kept ringing. Gyu-oh stealthily took out his phone and checked the screen. It was a message from Mu-gyeong from three minutes ago, consisting of nothing but a single thumbs-up emoji. Since it seemed things were proceeding well, he was now curious about the Executive Director’s reaction.
“That vibration is fucking loud. Just answer it.”
“How vulgar your way of speaking is……”
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Clicking his tongue, the Executive Director bolted upright. Perhaps because he had a pack of lawyers behind him, he seemed somewhat emboldened. But what to do? Now, his win rate had dropped to not even one percent.
“…….”
The Executive Director froze in the same posture as he checked the screen. His bowed head and the arm holding the phone seemed to tremble slightly. Since it was clearly visible even from a distance, his expression must be quite a sight. Gyu-oh turned on his phone camera and held it high. The screen captured the frozen image of the Executive Director.
Bzzz, bzzz. The vibration did not stop. By now, the story of the Executive Director and his son must have spread throughout T Corporation.
The content was that he had kept an outside party by his side, used him as a broker to receive backdoor money, and had kidnapped and threatened a construction company director who wouldn’t comply, even causing physical injury.
Releasing just that much was enough to make the Executive Director stagger. Since he was a man with so much to possess and protect.
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“Did Son Min-young break out of prison or something?”
He can’t even crawl up with a broken leg. Even with the added spiteful comment, the man remained motionless. A crooked smile hung on the lips of Min-ho and Gyu-oh.
“……You fucking brats, what did you do!”
The screaming Executive Director’s face turned bright red, and the veins in his neck looked as if they would burst at any moment. Trembling violently, he finally turned his bloodshot eyes toward Gyu-oh and Min-ho.
“What’s the matter?”
His eyes were full of rage and betrayal. Come to think of it, shouldn’t those be the emotions felt by this side? Anyway, it seems being loud is everything.
“You leaked that? That?! You pieces of shit!”
Click, the agitated state of the Executive Director was faithfully captured on the phone. However, as if he didn’t care that he was being recorded, the Executive Director only violently tore at his tie.