Chapter 162 – GOY 162

#162

And ​if ​my ​thinking ​is ​correct, ​there should be ​evidence ​in ​this ​room.

Ju ​Jeong-han secretly developed a ​new ​drug using Special ​Red Rune Flower. ​He ​did ​so ​in ​the ​original story, and ​he ​is ​doing so now.

When ​I asked if Seong ​Han Pharmaceuticals ​was researching ​Special Red ​Rune Flower, ​Joo ​Seung-hyuk ​had answered like ​this:

‘No. I’d ​rather burn it than ​give it to that ​bastard Ju Jeong-han. Well, ​unless that ​bastard ​came and stole it in secret, ​I wouldn’t hand it ​over ​myself.’

These ​words ​didn’t ​mean that he ​hadn’t handed ​over ​the Special Red ​Rune ​Flower at all; rather, they ​implied that ​he ​had lured Ju ​Jeong-han ​into ​stealing ​it.

And ​Ju Jeong-han ​had ​established a ​secret laboratory in Texas to develop a ​new drug using ​the stolen Special ​Red Rune Flower.

After the ​previous Red ​Rune incident, the ​World ​Health Organization and ​the World Ability ​User Association ​designated ​the ‘Red ​Rune ​Flower’ as ​a ​dangerous plant ​and ​even ​banned the collection ​of ​it from ​gates.

Because ​of ​this, ​most countries either banned the Red Rune Flower entirely or barely allowed research for medical or academic purposes. Even when research was conducted, it had to pass through procedures and regulations far more complex than in the past. Therefore, there was a need to conduct experiments covertly to ensure freedom of experimentation.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

The moment the Special Red Rune Flower became known to the world, people would [Read on Read BL Novels]come hunting for it. Pharmaceutical companies, drug [Read on Read BL Novels]dealers, and ability users, not to mention nations or the World Ability User Association, might demand the Special Red Rune Flower for the public good.

So, he would have wanted to keep it a secret until he achieved results.

Additionally, he likely intended to use it as a secret weapon to oppose Joo Seung-hyuk.

Furthermore, this was the plot of the original story. In the current reality, since he was experimenting by secretly stealing Joo Seung-hyuk’s property, he would have been even more unable to reveal it.

Developing a new drug requires astronomical amounts of money. If it were an official project, corporate funds would be invested, but since it was a secret project conducted without the company’s knowledge, Ju Jeong-han would have had to resolve it with his own personal funds.

Even as a third-generation chaebol, it would have been difficult to pour in infinite funds.

Driven into a corner, Ju Jeong-han decided to use the ‘Necklace of Nemesild.’

He disguised one of the treasures he possessed as the ‘Necklace of Nemesild’ and proposed a deal to the Chairman of Lexington Pharmaceuticals, with whom Joo Seung-hyuk was discussing an arranged marriage.

The Lexington Chairman likely intended to borrow the remaining funds from Seong Han after arranging his daughter’s marriage, and Ju Jeong-han would have encouraged this.

However, that plan failed.

In the original story, it was likely because of the change in Kim Joon’s heart. He came to genuinely like Joo Seung-hyuk and stopped the marriage, even to the point of defying Ju Jeong-han’s orders.

And this time, Joo Seung-hyuk refused it himself. He said he wouldn’t marry anyone other than me…

In any case, once the arranged marriage with Seong Han was called off, Lexington gave up on [visit our site]visit our sitepurchasing the Nemeshield.

However, Ju Jeong-han did not give up here and put the Necklace of Nemesild up for auction at Achilles.

As expected, it was won for an astronomical sum, but the moment the treasure was used, the fact that it was a fake would have been exposed.

Before that happened, Ju Jeong-han murdered the winner, Do Hyuk-jin, and swapped the fake. He then smoothly pocketed the auction payment.

But unlike the original story, David won the treasure in reality.

He was the worst possible winner for Ju Jeong-han. Since David was followed by cameras 24 hours a day, there would have been no chance to swap the fake treasure, let alone harm him.

Joo Seung-hyuk probably realized Ju Jeong-han’s plan the moment I subtly mentioned the events of the original story. And to screw him over, he induced David to win the treasure. Because of this, not only Ju Jeong-han but also David ended up in a difficult situation, but this too might have been intentional…

Then, Joo Seung-hyuk leaked information about the real culprit to the enraged David. This must have pushed Ju Jeong-han further into a corner.

Moreover, without letting up, Joo Seung-hyuk collected information regarding Ju Jeong-han’s illegal Red Rune drugs along with Do Hyuk-jin. In that process, he probably also rescued Kim Joon, who was nearly kidnapped.

The person who instigated Park Geon-woo’s drunk driving accident was likely Ju Jeong-han as well.

At the time, Park Geon-woo suspected the results of the matching rate test between me and Joo Seung-hyuk and was investigating the possibility that Red Rune Flower had been used. In that process, an investigation into Seong Han’s Red Rune research would have taken place, and Ju Jeong-han, fearing their experiments would be discovered, tried to kill Park Geon-woo by disguising it as a traffic accident.

However, when the Nemeshield Necklace scam and Kim Joon’s kidnapping both ended in failure and he was driven to a dead end, Ju Jeong-han decided to flip the script and frame Joo Seung-hyuk for his own deeds, leaking false information to Park Geon-woo.

I gripped the doorknob.

Joo Seung-hyuk knew of Ju Jeong-han’s crimes and must have collected evidence.

And the only place in this house where he would have left evidence was this room.

The moment I tried to open the door, a flicker of fear rose in my heart.

What if what’s in this room isn’t evidence…? I might discover a secret that Joo Seung-hyuk was desperately trying to hide, rather than evidence.

I might face a truth that would have been better left unknown.

The strength in my hand slipped away. But I gripped it again.

I trust Joo Seung-hyuk. I will not run away anymore. Even if he has another side to him that I don’t know, I will not avoid it.

Without hesitating further, I opened the door. And the moment I saw the large room, my breath stopped.

The appearance of the ‘secret room’ that Joo Seung-hyuk had tried so hard to hide was completely different from my expectations.

Perhaps because it resembled its owner, Joo Seung-hyuk’s house was perfect. The overall black tone and clean, sophisticated interior that tolerated no clutter stood out.

But this room was different.

In the center of the room, a large piece of paper was pasted with [No Beggars!] written on it. It looked like it had Read on Read BL Novelsbeen an effort [Read on Read BL Novels]to write as straight as possible, but it was still crooked—unmistakably a child’s handwriting. [visit our site]Moreover, the thick paper had turned slightly yellow, as if it were old.

And next to it, a piece of paper saying [No Losers] was pasted. The handwriting was fluid, incomparable to the writing next to it, and the paper was stark white. It had been put up not long ago.

I know the owner of this handwriting. Joo Seung-hyuk wrote this. He probably wrote and pasted this after I mentioned the ‘loser’ thing to him.

Come to think of it, he had never called me a loser once after that.

Then, did he write ‘No Beggars’ seven years ago when I rejected the exclusive contract? I looked at the crooked writing again.

After the contract was terminated, he had never used the word ‘beggar’ toward me or looked down on me for financial reasons.

Could he have thought that I didn’t sign the contract because of the phrase ‘beggar bastard’? Is that why he wrote this and even pasted it on the wall…?

Did he reflect while looking at this and worry about what to say to me the next time we met? And did I just blindly avoid him whenever I saw a child like that…?

Lee Yeon-soo, what on earth have you done…

Besides the writing, several drawings were hanging on the wall. They were all portraits of me.

Some were drawn from photos in magazines, and some were drawn from life.

Judging by the clothes I was wearing in the drawings or the furniture in the background, the one of me studying was drawn in the dormitory, and the one of me sleeping was after the Rut.

I wondered what he was doing quietly behind me while I studied; he must have been drawing.

Whenever he had time, he drew in a notebook, and if he liked it, he tore it out and pasted it on the wall… He had this side to him.

I thought he would never hang anything on the wall unless it was a painting by a famous artist. I thought that even if he hung his own work, he would only treat perfect paintings done on an easel.

‘Our Seung-hyeok is good at drawing, too.’

He said he hated it unless he was drawing me, and those words were true.

Next to the drawings were photos. They were photos of the food I had made and photos of me wearing an apron. He must have printed them after taking the photos that day.

Seeing them as photos made them look even more pathetic. Compared to Joo Seung-hyuk’s cooking, it was almost embarrassing.

No, everything else aside, why on earth did he paste a photo of Coni chicken nuggets? That’s not even cooking…

The embarrassment didn’t end there. On one wall, there was a decorative cabinet as beautiful as a work of art. And inside were grapefruit juice, Ev* bottled water, and handmade candies. They were all things I had given to Joo Seung-hyuk.

Embarrassment and apology rushed in simultaneously. This was all I had ever done for Jun-hyeok.

It was infinitely meager compared to the gifts he had given me. Yet, far from being dissatisfied, he had cherished them.

What is this, even…

I looked at the cabinet and then turned my head. Now was not the time to be lost in sentiment.

I had to find the evidence quickly. I opened the notebook on the desk.

Contrary to my expectation that it might contain data on Ju Jeong-han’s crimes, a child’s handwriting appeared. It was the same handwriting as the [No Beggars] sign on the wall.

I met my Guide today. ^-^

His name is Lee Yeon-soo. He is much prettier than in the photos, and his voice is pretty too.

He told me to eat hamburgers together.

When Lee Yeon-soo held my hand, it tingled, and it felt a bit strange.

Lee Yeon-soo said he has never eaten a hamburger. I should buy him a lot.

I will become a great Esper and earn a lot of money.

Lee Yeon-soo is my Guide. I am so happy that Lee Yeon-soo is my Guide.

This was Joo Seung-hyuk’s diary. On the first page of the diary, which he said he only wrote in when he was in a good mood, stories about me were written.

He didn’t hate me… Even though he got so angry and grumbled, inside, he had been thinking of me as his Guide…