By Zephyria 
“Let’s go inside quickly. Oh, Mom is resting in her room. She was a little surprised, but it’s nothing serious, so don’t worry.”
“Aigoo, Father. You should have at least put on your shoes.”
“Look at my mind. I was just too eager… Let’s go in quickly, darling. Guk-won, you’ve worked hard too. Aren’t you hungry? Knowing your personality, you must have been starving all this time.”
“I’m not hungry, but please be careful. Stop forgetting that you’re not just an uncle anymore, you’re a grandfather now. What if you slip and fall?”
“What, you punk?”
“I’m still not interested in the Chairman position. I don’t want to work.”
Chairman Joo and Joo Guk-won continued their trivial bickering, leading Joo Tae-hyun inside. Perhaps his extra effort to be affectionate paid off, as the corners of the youngest’s lips twitched slightly from side to side, hinting at a smile.
Chairman Joo’s face also broke into a relieved smile as he took in Joo Tae-hyun’s appearance.
Thankfully, he seemed to have the energy to smile, so it was alright. That was enough.
He hoped that the youngest, who must be exhausted both physically and mentally, could at least rest comfortably at home. He hoped he wouldn’t feel guilty or blame himself. He really hoped he wouldn’t feel even a sliver of regret towards his family.
Chairman Joo gently stroked the hair of his youngest, who had grown so much. It felt like just yesterday that he was smaller than his arm, but now he was so tall. It was a problem that the guy, who had grown up so handsomely, still looked like a newborn puppy.
“Let’s sit down first. I’ll get some water.”
No sooner had he carefully seated Joo Tae-hyun on the living room sofa than Joo Kyung-han and Joo Yun-woo, who had been on a call with the PR team in a quiet place, darted out.
“Welcome home, our baby. You must be tired from the long trip. Hyung must be tired too.”
“That’s right. Did Hyung eat? I don’t think you stopped at the rest stop.”
Joo Yun-woo, who would normally have embraced Joo Tae-hyun with a bizarre shout, was relatively calm. Joo Kyung-han, whose favorite pastime was to bite the youngest’s cheek, also patted Joo Tae-hyun’s shoulder and stepped back.
It couldn’t be helped. Their youngest, who was only twenty-six, was said to be pregnant.
It would be worrying even if a Beta or Omega were pregnant, but Joo Tae-hyun was a male Alpha.
It might be a lie to cover up the incident, but the truth didn’t matter much to Chairman Joo and his family. The fact that their young youngest had been driven into a corner to the point where he had to mention pregnancy at an official event was what pained them all.
“By the way, where’s Sang-woo?”
“He said he’s still at the office. I don’t think he’ll be able to come home today?”
“Tsk. Father, you should think about the next personnel changes. I’m against inefficient overtime.”
“These days, the economy is tough, so it’s good for the higher-ups to set an example.”
Joo Yun-woo waved her thumb downwards, teasing Chairman Joo for being old-fashioned.
Chairman Joo clicked his tongue, but he thought this was good enough. Since a not-so-heavy atmosphere had been created, he thought they could continue to handle things flexibly like this in the future.
“I’m sorry.”
However, Chairman Joo’s relief didn’t last long.
“I have nothing to say, I’m sorry.”
The harmonious atmosphere instantly froze at the youngest’s sudden apology.
A look of grief settled on the faces of Chairman Joo and his family. As if they had never been making silly jokes, everyone’s lips were tightly shut.
Ah, we desperately pretended not to know because we didn’t want our baby to have this look on his face, to speak in this voice, to say these words…
“Makdoongie, you promised Hyung. You wouldn’t say you’re sorry.”
Joo Tae-hyun shook his head vigorously and clenched his fists tightly. It was a desperate struggle to hide his trembling.
“…What happened when I was sick as a child. I know how much that hurt Dad and Mom, Hyungs and Noona, but I mentioned it and used it like that today… I’m really sorry.”
While Chairman Joo was flustered and only moving his lips, Joo Tae-hyun poured out words of apology as if he had been preparing them all along.
“It was a marriage I pushed for, but I couldn’t handle myself properly, and I’m trying to fix the accident that happened, so I’m bringing up painful memories for everyone in the family like this…”
“Tae-hyun.”
Before he could finish speaking, Joo Yun-woo ruffled Joo Tae-hyun’s hair wildly. Her younger brother, who had grown so tall that she could barely touch his hair even when she stood on tiptoe and stretched out her hand as much as possible, was still like a small child.
“I know what you want to say. I really know everything, so it’s okay. Our Maknae, you worked so hard today.”
“…Noona.”
“You look like a real adult now, when I see you on screen. Oh, of course, you look much better in person.”
They hugged Joo Tae-hyun from all sides, layer upon layer. They were vying to be a very soft and warm, but absolutely unbreakable cradle, wrapping up the youngest who had fought hard and returned home today.
Chairman Joo, who had been quietly watching the scene, also opened his arms wide.
“Let’s talk… Let’s talk tomorrow, darling.”
Chairman Joo whispered as he hugged the children, who had grown so big that he couldn’t even cram them into his arms, with all his might.
He now realized how lax he had been in trying to just gloss over things.
He always wanted to keep them by his side. He wanted to help them avoid difficult and challenging things. Our youngest, who still seemed like a baby… Just like the other children had suddenly grown up at some point, Makdoongie seemed to be becoming a real adult too.
“Dad was short-sighted. Even after seeing our Tae-hyun bravely handle the press conference all by himself, I kept treating him like a child.”
Joo Tae-hyun’s head, which had been shaking weakly, gradually gained strength. He seemed to be holding back something that was surging inside him.
Chairman Joo just gently patted his young son. He even swallowed the words of comfort, such as “You did well,” “You worked hard,” or “Cry if you want to.”
* * *
“Wow, Kim Seung-jun is a real crazy bastard.”
Choi Yeon-jun clicked his tongue as he looked at the printouts neatly laid out on the table.
“He was the one who was high on drugs, but he was giving Joo Tae-hyun such a hard time?”
It wasn’t difficult to find the origin of the posts that had led Joo Tae-hyun to hold a press conference. It was what Kim Seung-jun had done, as expected. It was a bit surprising that that bastard had also contacted the DH Group’s collateral line.
“Secretary Nam. It doesn’t make sense that such a sloppy guy who left all sorts of traces behind would have gotten his hands on Joo Tae-hyun’s data from his early days of studying abroad. It’s also strange that the person Kim Seung-jun found can’t be traced now.”
Seo Baek-han casually glanced at the photos of Kim Seung-jun wandering around the eastern United States.
“Then… should we try contacting the drug dealers Kim Seung-jun has been meeting with?”
“DH Group and the congressmen’s office will probably be the first to investigate that, so we can just follow their lead. Let’s look into something else without wasting time.”
Secretary Nam’s brow furrowed deeply. It was because he couldn’t quite guess what his boss had already decided on.
“The drug dealer who first contacted Joo Tae-hyun even did business through a delivery app. It shouldn’t be difficult to identify him.”
“Yes… That’s right.”
He would have received the settlement money from the platform, so if we dig into that route, we’ll find a clue. Even if he’s gone through identity laundering, it won’t be difficult to catch him since the starting point is clear.
“So DH should get rid of the other guys and catch Thomas? They need to catch this drug dealer first. We need to shut him up before he says any more nonsense. But strangely, it seems like finding Thomas isn’t making much progress. They should be able to think of what I’m thinking.”
“Aish, hey! So what do you want us to do!”
Unable to bear his frustration, Choi Yeon-jun blurted out. Secretary Nam also looked blank, unable to grasp the situation.
Ha. Seo Baek-han swallowed his rising annoyance. If it had been Joo Tae-hyun, he would have already understood what I was trying to say.
“It seems like the Crown Prince wants to cover this up.”
“Huh? Crown Prince? Why are you suddenly jumping to that conclusion?”
“DH, whose top priority is protecting Joo Tae-hyun, is approaching this too cautiously. Father… must have stepped back because there’s something he can’t touch now that he’s a congressman. There’s no way progress would be this slow unless the royal family intervened.”
“So… is it because Kim Seung-jun is known to be close to the Crown Prince? Then what do we do now?”
“What do you mean, what do we do? That’s why I’m saying I’m going to dig into it.”
Choi Yeon-jun blinked slowly, as if he didn’t understand.
“Hey, Seo Baek-han.”
“DH is too big to move secretly. But I don’t want to leave any aftermath of this mess, and neither do I. So-“
“No, I understand what you’re trying to do with this. What I’m wondering is.”
Secretary Nam, feeling that the conversation was turning somewhat personal, got up from his seat, fiddling with his phone for no reason.
Seo Baek-han’s eyes narrowed. He had to go to Seoul the day after tomorrow, no, since it was past midnight, tomorrow. He didn’t want to waste time loitering around like this.
“We’re in a hurry, so ask questions later-“
“Seo Baek-han. Do you perhaps like Joo Tae-hyun?”