Chapter 120 – GOY 120
#120
“Did you buy all the Korean snacks?”
“Not all of them, just the ones you like, Hyung. I’ve prepared other things too. I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
It wasn’t like this was Koreatown, nor was there a shop nearby that stocked Korean goods. It was simply that Joo Seung-hyuk’s preparations were thorough.
“You said you hired the staff from around here…?”
“Yes. I had my secretary hire them. The mansion is unnecessarily large, so I needed people to manage it. For now, I’ve sent everyone on vacation except for a minimum number of staff. I don’t want other bastards seeing you, Hyung.”
I wondered why there were so few employees compared to the size of the mansion… It was because Joo Seung-hyuk had sent them on vacation. And when he said he hired them from here, it didn’t mean they were ’natives [visit our site]of Read on Read BL Novelsthis island,’ but rather that he had hired Koreans residing abroad.
There were no lies in his words.
It was just that I had unilaterally misunderstood, combining what Joo Seung-hyuk said with various situations and the notes left by Ju Gyeong-chan.
“If other people find out that the Red Rune Flowers are blooming like this, they’ll be incredibly greedy.”
“There are plenty of people whose eyes would turn red with greed.”
Numerous pharmaceutical companies still hadn’t given up their lingering obsession with Red Rune Transformation Research. There were still many scientists claiming that Red Rune Flowers held infinite possibilities.
However, the moment a Red Rune Flower leaves the gate, it withers, and simultaneously, the mana it possesses decreases by more than 1/1000. It was difficult to achieve proper effects when making medicine using flowers whose mana had almost entirely vanished.
Ju Gyeong-chan was aware of this problem and believed that if he could bring a fresh Red Rune Flower to the laboratory, he could develop the medicine he desired. The phrase ‘fresh Red Rune Flower’ was written hundreds of times in the notes he left behind.
Other pharmaceutical companies had repeated their [unauthorized copy]research with [stolen content]similar thoughts, but no particular method had been found to this day.
But if people knew that Red Rune Flowers existed blooming on the surface, they would lose their minds, just as Joo Seung-hyuk said.
Come to think of it, in the original story, Ju Jeong-han had made a proposal to Lee Yeon-soo.
He said there was a medicine made from a peculiar Red Rune Flower, and that taking it might cause him to manifest as an Omega. After much deliberation, Lee Yeon-soo took it, but saw no effect.
Was it this?
“Then, is Seong Han Pharmaceuticals currently researching these Red Rune Flowers?”
“No. I’d rather burn them than give them to that bastard Ju Jeong-han. Well, unless that bastard sneaks in and steals them, I won’t hand them over myself.”
Joo Seung-hyuk spat out the words coldly. As expected, he is on bad terms with Ju Jeong-han.
“You said this mansion originally belonged to Ju Gyeong-chan. And that there was a Seong Han laboratory here. Then wouldn’t [stolen content]Executive Read on Read BL NovelsDirector Ju Jeong-han have some kind of ownership?”
I hesitated over whether it was okay to mention their biological father, but since everyone in South Korea knew about it anyway, I asked directly without beating around the bush.
“No. After Ju Gyeong-chan died, ownership of the mansion passed to Chairman Joo, and then I took it.”
In the original story, Chairman Joo intended to leave everything he possessed to his nephews, the brothers Ju Jeong-han and Ju Tae-han. But this time, it seems he passed it to his biological son, Joo Seung-hyuk.
“Do you like the mansion? Do you want it?”
“Ah, no! I don’t need it. It’s so wide that it’s actually burdensome.”
Knowing Joo Seung-hyuk, he might actually hand over the deed to the house, so I hurriedly shook my head.
“I understand. Then tell me later if you need it.”
“Okay.”
That day will absolutely never come.
“By the way, Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Why were you crying earlier?”
Joo Seung-hyuk’s voice settled calmly, like the sound of waves.
“That’s… the novel…”
“You weren’t crying because of a novel.”
Even I thought it was too clumsy an excuse. There was no way Joo Seung-hyuk wouldn’t know.
Moreover, the ring I obtained today seemed to have the power to see the past. If Joo Seung-hyuk confirmed the treasure’s ability, he would find out eventually anyway.
“Actually, I saw the past. It seems a special ability appeared as this ring resonated with the Linked Gate. So… the things that happened in that warehouse…”
But even though I had made up my mind, it was difficult to speak honestly about that matter. I didn’t want to touch a painful wound again.
As I hesitated and trailed off, Joo Seung-hyuk spoke casually.
“Did you see my childhood?”
“…Yes.”
“Is that why you stayed? Because you pity me.”
Instead of asking why I cried, Joo Seung-hyuk asked if that was why I stayed.
He had noticed that I kept thinking about running away…
“No, it’s not like that…”
I tried to deny it urgently. I intended to make up a story saying that wasn’t the case, that I had no intention of running away. But looking into Joo Seung-hyuk’s black eyes staring straight at me, I couldn’t bring myself to lie.
However, Joo Seung-hyuk didn’t get angry.
“If I had known, I would have told you sooner.”
Instead, he wore a faint smile.
“I was very, very pitiful. I didn’t even know Hangeul properly until I was thirteen.”
He used his finger to draw emoticons like ‘ㅠ_ㅠ, >_<‘ in the sand.
“Letters like these appeared in books, but I couldn’t understand them at all. I thought they were some kind of special Hangeul. I had no idea they were made to mimic facial expressions. Stupid, right?”
“No.”
I shook my head slightly.
“I always ate the leftovers others threw away. Sometimes, if someone threw me a cup noodle that was past its expiration date, I was grateful. Though I felt self-conscious when boiling the water. There were many other things too.”
“…….”
I bit my lip and strained my eyes. Otherwise, I felt like tears would spill out again. Joo Seung-hyuk gripped my hand tightly.
“So please, even if it’s just pity. Even if it’s only pity, please stay by my side.”
“Seung-hyuk-ah…”
“Don’t leave pitiful me.”
He pleaded like a child. He tried to hold onto me even by revealing his past, which had been filled with pain, in exhaustive detail.
“I’m not going.”
The words came out impulsively, but I had no intention of correcting them.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I kissed him. Our lips touched and then slowly parted.
Joo Seung-hyuk stared at me with a dazed expression and then hugged me tightly.
“Shall we go back?”
“Yeah.”
“Today was hard, so let’s go back and get some deep rest.”
“Let’s do that.”
Life at the mansion begins again. As I tried to take in the panoramic view of the sea one last time, he added:
“And we leave tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“We’re leaving early in the morning.”
I hadn’t misheard. We were truly leaving this island.
The moment I gave up on escaping from him, I found my freedom.
I had perfectly passed Joo Seung-hyuk’s test.
Chapter 8
I found my freedom. But another trial arrived immediately.
The next day, Joo Seung-hyuk and I went up to the rooftop of the mansion.
A helicopter was stationed there. The moment I saw the helicopter’s propellers spinning with a roar, my blood ran cold and the strength vanished from my legs. Then, Joo Seung-hyuk held onto me.
“Hyung, be careful.”
“S-Seung-hyuk-ah. Are we… are we riding that?”
“Yes.”
Joo Seung-hyuk smiled brightly.
But unlike the good-looking Joo Seung-hyuk, I was in a state of complete panic.
“Shall we go?”
“W-wait a second!”
I urgently grabbed the hand of Joo Seung-hyuk as he walked toward the helicopter. At that, the corners of Joo Seung-hyuk’s eyes crinkled softly.
“I like it when Hyung holds my hand tightly.”
What do you mean you like it, you damn brat!
“Seung-hyuk-ah, can’t you just knock me out? Just hit me once, really hard.”
“How could I hit you, Hyung. Don’t even say such things as a joke.”
It was a line that didn’t suit an obsessive yandere whose daily life was assault and whose hobby was confinement.
“Just knock me out, that’s all.”
“I can’t. How could I do that?”
Joo Seung-hyuk caressed my face. His touch was careful, as if he were touching a precious treasure.
Well, it’s true that no matter how angry he got, he had never laid a hand on me. If he couldn’t knock me out, I had to use the next method.
“Then sleeping pills! Put me to sleep like you did when I first came here!”
I had boarded the helicopter in a sleeping state after taking sleeping pills. I could use the same method this time.
However, Joo Seung-hyuk shook his head firmly.
“Hyung, you shouldn’t abuse sleeping pills. It’s bad for your health. You should only eat things that are good for your body.”
You brat, an obsessive madman shouldn’t care about health! That’s not the basic attitude of a madman!
“B-but…”
Forget looking at the helicopter; just hearing the sound of the propellers spinning made my hands turn cold. I was scared of airplanes, so there was no way I could ride a helicopter. I thought it would be better if my fear transcended its limits and I just fainted on the spot, but Joo Seung-hyuk hugged me tightly.
“Are you that scared?”
“Yes… Seung-hyuk-ah, can’t I just take sleeping pills this one time?”
“Come here.”
He took my hand and led me back down from the rooftop.
“Seung-hyuk-ah, why? Are you going to find the sleeping pills?”
“No. We’re going to take a boat.”
“A boat?”
“Yes. I prepared a boat too, in case you’d be scared.”
As we left the mansion and walked toward the shore, a snow-white yacht came into view.
“Seung-hyuk-ah…”
“You don’t get seasick, right?”
“Nope!”
I nodded quickly. Joo Seung-hyuk chuckled and rubbed my cheek.
We boarded the yacht together. With a spray of water, the yacht departed.
The great white mansion gradually receded from view.
Thinking of Joo Seung-hyuk’s childhood, a surge of emotion rose in my chest once again. I gripped Joo Seung-hyuk’s hand firmly. He held my hand back.
A bright smile was blooming on Joo Seung-hyuk’s face.
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