SMW 79

If anything, the chairman of H.S. at least maintained the facade of a father-son relationship, refusing to give up on and caring for his frail child. But the father and son of Yuseon Group were in a relationship where neither had even the will to act. I resumed the conversation that had been interrupted.

“No matter how precarious their position is, they are shareholders who own stakes in Yuseon Holdings. Therefore, why not use this incident to hold them by the throat and negotiate a share transfer? Vice Chairman, you are currently in a position where you cannot openly secure additional shares because you have to walk on eggshells around your father, the Chairman of Yuseon Group. So, wouldn’t it be a good idea to view this as an opportunity to increase your friendly shares?”

“And what if they change their minds and leak information to my father?”

“You have to make sure they can’t. I’m sure you’ve already secured enough evidence to blow this accident out of proportion, and even if you haven’t, someone like you, Vice Chairman, would know exactly how to handle it, so I don’t think I need to add anything further.”

“So, you’re saying I should blackmail them?”

At the mention of blackmail, the corners of my mouth, hidden behind the wine glass, curled up instinctively.

“I trust that you, Vice Chairman, will be able to lead them to a favorable agreement.”

Having finished my sentence, I tilted the glass. It had been a long time since I’d had such expensive wine, but I felt no particular emotion even as it slid down my throat. Instead, what came to mind was the taste of sweet makgeolli, heavily scented with the smell of a campfire. It was just as I swallowed a reflexive bitter smile along with the wine and set the glass down.

“I see you’ve finally come to your senses.”

Looking straight ahead, I saw Baek Han wearing a pleased smile, slightly revealing his white teeth.

“When I met you in the countryside to check on you, you acted like an underdeveloped brat, so I was quite worried.”

“I was out of line back then. As you said, Vice Chairman, I was still a brat, so I forgot my manners. Thanks to your concern, I’ve come to my senses.”

“Did I even do anything? Anyway, that car accident must have been quite effective. Thanks to it, not only have you returned, but a great opportunity has opened up for me as well. I’m actually contemplating whether I should give those people a reward.”

“I hope this opportunity serves as compensation for the fact that I almost failed to keep my promise.”

He seemed to quite like my words.

“It would have been nice if you, Seol, were my own biological younger brother.”

“I thought you liked me precisely because the opposite was true.”

“This is why I find those with quick wits so lovely.”

Baek Han slightly raised his wine glass as if making a toast.

“Well then, we must quickly handle the matter we promised before your inauguration ceremony. After all, it won’t be possible to keep it hidden from the press until the H.S. President’s inauguration. So, when are you planning to hold the ceremony?”

For once, my lips did not open easily. Whether he was reacting to my hesitation or something else, Baek Han gave a short click of his tongue.

“Are you still hesitating? It’s something you’ll have to do eventually anyway.”

“It’s just that the timing came much sooner than I expected. Originally, I intended to sit in that seat after turning thirty.”

“A CEO of a major corporation being in his twenties is certainly unconventional. However, the power to silence such controversy is also a form of authority. Even if there is controversy at first, your legitimacy as the successor of H.S.—that alone will make it impossible for them to easily pull you from that position. I myself ascended to the presidency at twenty-nine, and you don’t even have to look far. Your father, Chairman Baek Han-gu, became the head of the group in his mid-thirties after inheriting a thriving business from your grandfather for free. Anyway, the love for the late-born child was truly something.”

As he let out a scoff, as if the more he thought about it the more absurd it was, a flicker of emotion beyond mere displeasure appeared in his eyes. I knew exactly what that was.

“So, there’s no need to worry about your age. In fact, if people look at H.S. with a negative eye, that’s actually fine for us. A company’s misfortune will serve as a convenient excuse for us when it comes to mergers and acquisitions.”

Of the two things Baek Han hated, the other was having something of his taken away. He was the kind of person who couldn’t rest until he reclaimed what had been stolen.

“Just put your name on the title and maintain the company just enough so it doesn’t go bankrupt. Don’t show off your skills by working too hard.”

“I understand.”

Despite my compliant answer, Baek Han wore an uncomfortable expression.

“I’m worried that you’re too capable.”

“I think you are overestimating me, Vice Chairman.”

“I don’t think a guy who started a business in college and grew it into a proper listed company in just a few years should be playing humble.”

“I had to secure a way for myself to make a living.”

“As Choi Seol, that is.”

“…….”

It was a strange thing. When I heard that name from you, I could always breathe, but when others uttered it, it felt like a longing that recalled the dead. Perhaps that was why I wanted to give up even more.

The moment my expression wavered from a brief surge of emotion, a look of considerable amusement appeared on Baek Han’s face as he stared at me. I clicked my tongue inwardly. That wicked personality of his remained unchanged.

Baek Han did not particularly like people with diverse emotions. Revealing one’s [stolen content]inner self meant it was that much easier to break them. He unauthorized copyhated things Read on Read BL Novelsthat were easy to the point of loathing.

Conversely, he deeply cherished the rare emotions he occasionally discovered in people who hid their inner selves. In his eyes, those weren’t weaknesses, but rather “reverse scales”—the forbidden spots. Things that must not be touched, for the moment they are, they reveal sharp teeth and tear the opponent apart until death; things that make a person act desperately.

Baek Han loved those moments. He claimed that the thrill of breaking those reverse scales, putting on a leash, and forcing them to kneel before him always made his heart race. In short, he was a psycho pervert.

“I’ll be going now. We’re both busy, so the next time we meet will be at the inauguration.”

But there was one thing that man didn’t know. That there are desperate things that, the moment they are touched, hide their teeth even further.

“Safe travels.”

“Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to ask.”

Baek Han, who was about to leave the room, turned back toward me.

“So, do you no longer miss Yeo-reum?”

I stared at Baek Han for a moment. Then, I spoke calmly.

“I don’t miss him.”

“Is that so?”

“Because missing someone is, in the end, nothing more than the regret of one who could not possess them.”

Baek Han’s eyes widened slightly. Soon, he let out a smirk.

“True, if you want to possess them, you just have to do so; there’s no need to waste time longing for them.”

Baek Han waved, saying we’d see each other again, and stepped out into the hallway. The door closed once more.

Left alone, I approached the dining table where I had been sitting across from him. I looked at the steak, which was cooling down without having been cut once, and gripped the knife lying beside it. As I changed the angle, the blade sparkled under the light.

If you want to possess them, you just have to do so. How typical of him.

But there was one thing he was missing.

I drove the knife straight into the steak.

“If you want to possess something, you should also know how to protect it.”

If you can’t protect it, it’s better to simply long for it.

“Welcome. Did you look around the hotel well?”

As I drove into the underground parking lot of the H.S. headquarters building, Hee Won was there to greet me.

“I heard Vice Chairman Baek Han visited?”

“You’re the one who probably told him, so why ask now?”

Otherwise, no matter how influential Baek Han was, he wouldn’t have been able to figure out my unofficial schedule in advance.

Baek Seol-ha, the eldest son who had ascended to the presidency early this year. Until now, he had been a figure shrouded in mystery, other than the fact that he had finished university in the US and joined an overseas branch.

Even now, since he moved between the interior and exterior using the elevator that led directly from the underground parking lot to the president’s office, the employees normally had no occasion to meet the president alone. Consequently, just as it had been in high school, all sorts of rumors followed Choi Seol—no, Baek Seol-ha.

It was not easy for anyone other than a close aide to know the schedule of such a secretive figure.

“President. Don’t you feel there is plenty of room for misunderstanding in that statement? unauthorized copystolen contentI am merely doing as the President ordered.”

He was quite desperate in his self-defense, even though there was no one around to hear. This is why people shouldn’t live their lives committing sins.

“Who’s saying anything?”

I replied indifferently and walked toward the elevator. The executive secretary was ahead of me, pressing the button. As the doors opened, Hee Won followed me inside.

“Anyway, you’re really something. I feel like I’m suffocating just looking at Vice Chairman Baek Han’s face, yet you’re perfectly fine even after having a meal with him. I knew it before, but you really have nerves of steel.”

“Maybe it’s because I saw him for a long time in the US and got used to it. But you said you wanted to work under him; what are you going to do if you feel like you’re suffocating just by looking at his face?”

“I know, right. But maybe it’ll get better if I see him for a long time like you did?”

Fat chance. Given Baek Han’s personality, he’d be lucky not to be kicked out immediately. Of course, I didn’t have the loyalty to tell him that, so I decided to let Hee Won continue painting a hopeful future in his mind.

“And I didn’t eat with him.”

“Huh? You didn’t eat? I was told that a two-person meal was delivered to the Yuseon family’s private suite. And with veal steak flown in this morning… Ah!”

Only then did Hee Won’s gaze fall upon my casted hand.

“I should have told them to put in some porridge. Did you eat something else separately?”

“I just had a sandwich in the car.”

“You don’t even like bread. Hey, Kim Jin-seok. The President says he couldn’t even eat; you should have had the hotel prepare a simple lunch box.”

“……I am sorry.”

The executive secretary, who had suddenly been caught in the crossfire, bowed his head, not knowing what to do. I clicked my tongue briefly and diverted Hee Won’s sharpened gaze.

“How would a kid who didn’t even enter the room know the situation? Like you said, the guy who knows me well should have handled it.”

“Hey, the way you talk is always… Wa-wait a minute!”

Just then, the elevator arrived and the doors opened. Ignoring Hee Won’s words, I stepped out.

Just as I was about to enter the president’s office while receiving greetings from the secretaries working there, Hee Won, who had followed me, suddenly blocked the door.

“Wait!”

I was taken aback by his sudden action.

“What is it?”

“Uh? That… how about we go a bit further inside and talk?”

He was desperately gesturing with his eyes toward a spot further down the hallway, his voice as small as a mosquito’s. There was no way I wouldn’t notice that something was strange. Come to think of it, since the workload of the president’s secretary’s office was no joke, it was rare for Hee Won, who served as the chief, to come all the way down to the underground parking lot to greet me.

Exceptions were when an urgent business matter arose or when he needed to notify me of a troublesome guest’s visit in advance. And if there were an urgent matter, he would have contacted me before coming down.

“Did someone come?”

When I asked, keeping the possibility of a troublesome guest in mind, Hee Won’s eyes shook violently.