By Zephyria 
To Seo Baek-han, jet lag was nothing more than a bonus that allowed him to adjust his working hours. But the thought that this mere bonus had allowed him to return to the day before, side-by-side with Joo Tae-hyun, was enough to put him in a rather good mood.
“You crazy bastard…”
Ah, and catching Kim Seung-jun in one go as he loitered around the Bronx trying to score drugs also played a part.
“Hey, I’m an American citizen. Unlike you, I’m a person who can receive legal protection in this country!”
So untie this right now before this becomes a bigger problem, Kim Seung-jun demanded, frantically shaking his hands, which were bound with a cable tie.
This was the first time Seo Baek-han had ever captured and confined someone, and he hadn’t expected to hear such a classic villain’s line straight out of a movie. Who would listen to someone who, instead of showing any intention to negotiate, was just making a scene and demanding to be released? So stupid, anyway.
“Ah, Secretary Nam. Backing up the data is important, but you also need to send it to Chief Eunuch Jeong right away. And to me as well, of course.”
“Yes, Director.”
Secretary Nam and the other secretaries’ hands were busy as they examined Kim Seung-jun’s phone. They were meticulously checking messages, cross-referencing them with the list of contacts from the Crown Prince’s faction they had secured, and taking multiple pictures, so it seemed there was quite a bit of useful information.
“Director, I think you should check the screenshot I just sent you right away. It’s related to Young Master Joo Tae-hyun.”
“I will.”
“Fuck, these bastards, really!”
Even as he thrashed about, Kim Seung-jun kept scratching his shins and the back of his hands as if they were itchy. It was a classic withdrawal symptom of a drug addict.
“That’s why I told you to just give me the password. I said I’d let you go immediately if you told me.”
The Crown Prince was finished anyway. He and Kim Seung-jun had only opened the floodgates; the complaints against him that had piled up over the years were now bursting forth every second, with no way to stop them.
It was just as Prince Lee had said, from now on, it was his own affair. The countless suspicions surrounding the Crown Prince had become too big for even the eldest son of a special assemblyman and the Director of the Royal Hospital to handle. As early as tomorrow, Korean time, the person who would hold the next royal seal would change.
Of course, even if Prince Lee officially advised the Crown Prince to step down, dethronement wasn’t something that could be accomplished as easily as said. The sluggish battle would likely continue for several more years.
Therefore, they had to pull him out by the very roots so that the Crown Prince, stripped of his title, couldn’t go around pulling petty tricks on shifters from behind the scenes, so that he could never rise again.
That was why, even with everything already proceeding smoothly, they were painstakingly combing through Kim Seung-jun’s messages and emails.
The enormous slush funds and various acts of corruption would certainly incite public outrage, but what could shake public opinion more effectively than the fact that the Crown Prince of a nation had stooped to such a petty level against an ordinary citizen?
“Go ahead and search all day, you sons of bitches. The really useful stuff can only be opened by me.”
Fortunately, Kim Seung-jun was capable of some thought, so he had backed up crude audio recordings and message screenshots here and there as collateral to save himself. But just as he said, the most significant-looking folder was inaccessible to others.
It wouldn’t be difficult if they brought in an expert, but Seo Baek-han wanted to resolve things as quietly and quickly as possible.
And it would happen that way.
For now, Kim Seung-jun was blustering, “You think I’m crazy enough to just tell you?” but if there was one thing he had overlooked, it was that Seo Baek-han wasn’t particularly averse to acting like a classic villain himself.
“I was wondering why you bothered to crawl all the way to New York… Were you planning to blackmail Tae-hyun?”
Seo Baek-han let out a dry laugh as he checked the picture Secretary Nam had sent.
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with a low-life bastard like this.”
“You, you, you bastard! I’m going to sue you!”
Although he had dragged Kim Seung-jun here and tied him up, he hadn’t used violence even once. Yet, just from Seo Baek-han’s low muttering, he was completely intimidated and trembling.
“It’s true that Joo Tae-hyun messed with a dirty switch! And despite that, in front of the whole nation, he, he said he never did drugs, huh? And what, what else did he say, right! He even lied about being pregnant—”
“It’s true.”
“What?”
“Tae-hyun is carrying my child.”
It would be more accurate to say he was carrying it, but there was no need to tell a bastard like Kim Seung-jun that much.
“So cut me some slack. If Tae-hyun finds out I’ve been away for so long, I’ll be in big trouble.”
To Kim Seung-jun, who didn’t know the circumstances, it would sound like a display of affection from a loving couple, but Seo Baek-han was genuinely concerned about it.
It hadn’t even been 24 hours since he’d thought he needed to give Joo Tae-hyun his own time. If they ran into each other again in the middle of New York, this time Joo Tae-hyun might really cut him off for good.
“You’ll just end up being the Crown Prince’s punching bag later anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to serve time in either the US or Korea and be protected by taxpayer money?”
“Bullshit. If you were me, would you just meekly say, ‘Oh, okay. What should I do?’”
“Hmm. You’ll have to, even if you don’t want to. If you want to save your father.”
“…What?”
Seo Baek-han waved the documents he had prepared in front of Kim Seung-jun’s eyes.
“I just got this news on the plane a little while ago, but it seems the Crown Prince had a courtier deliver a potent poison to your father. For your information, I don’t know the exact type of drug.”
“Wh-what does that mean… No, why my father… why!”
“How fortunate would it be for the Crown Prince if he could downplay this incident as an unforeseen tragedy. Even if he’s dethroned for now, as long as his lackeys are intact, he can always turn things around. That must be what he’s aiming for.”
He had heard that in the past, when the Second Prince Consort was staying at the Lotus Flower Palace in hiding, the Crown Prince had colluded with a pharmaceutical company to send him a vile drug.
Given his track record, he’d thought the Crown Prince might try a similar trick someday, so he’d kept him under surveillance, and sure enough. If he hadn’t been watching the Crown Prince’s courtiers, he would have missed it this time too.
“So why don’t you tell me the password before that happens?”
“…”
“If you leak what you have first, the Crown Prince won’t be able to touch your father. No, it would be more accurate to say the reason to touch him would disappear. You’re the source of the data that can seal the deal on this case, and then the CEO of Poongjin Industries takes his own life? By using a drug that’s hard for ordinary people to obtain? This is the perfect situation for the Crown Prince to face a backlash.”
“Ha, haha…”
Kim Seung-jun glared with bloodshot eyes, then suddenly started cackling. Seeing his mouth stretched wide and drool trickling down, he seemed to be hallucinating.
“Ah, I’m so fucking jealous of Joo Tae-hyun’s life. He’s just a pervert who likes other Alphas, but even when he does nothing, his chaebol family and husband step up and take care of all the dirty work for him.”
What is this bastard saying now? Seo Baek-han’s face contorted as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have. It was true that Kim Seung-jun had been humiliated by him long ago. He had thought that was why Kim Seung-jun, out of a desire for revenge against him, had decided to completely leech off the Crown Prince… But did he still have feelings for him, to the point of clinging so tenaciously to Joo Tae-hyun?
“This is fucked up, really. Can a commoner who wasn’t born with a gold, no, a diamond spoon in his mouth even survive this injustice?”
Well… whatever that bastard’s true feelings were, it was none of his business.
Unable to comprehend Kim Seung-jun’s lament, Seo Baek-han crossed his arms and tilted his head.
“Still can’t tell right from wrong, can you? Kim Seung-jun, even if you had been born the youngest son of DH Group, you could never have become like Joo Tae-hyun.”
“Hey, Seo Baek-han. Even at a time like this, you’re still… to me…!”
No, that’s not it. Seo Baek-han lightly shook his head.
“I’m not trying to hurt you on purpose. You’re not even worth that much, so why would I? Why bother?”
“But, Seung-jun. What I’m trying to say is,” he said, calling his name as if to soothe and placate him. Kim Seung-jun’s narrow eyes grew moist. It was only natural that Joo Tae-hyun was incomparable to others, but… how could he feel absolutely nothing even watching the guy bawl his eyes out?
“Just look at the Crown Prince. He was born holding the most precious umbilical cord of all, yet you know better than anyone how he was raised, how he was ruined, and how much he’s being condemned by people now, don’t you?”
On the other hand, what about Joo Tae-hyun? Looking at him objectively, he was a person worthy of being loved.
“Tae-hyun has always lived his life to the fullest. Righteously, properly, uprightly. He has lived far too diligently to be subjected to base slander from bastards like you.”
Joo Tae-hyun had once confessed that he liked seeing him run relentlessly toward his goals. Though he was drunk, he hadn’t hesitated to say blush-inducing things like he liked how his hyung shone.
Looking back now, Joo Tae-hyun was also a person who shone. No, was there even a need to add an explanation like ‘also’? Joo Tae-hyun sparkled at every moment. He was incomparable to him, who, not even knowing his own heart, had made the kid cry with all sorts of excuses. Joo Tae-hyun was someone who knew how to shine on his own, without anyone’s help.
“…So why should a Tae-hyun like that have to go through such a rough time? Of course his husband should take care of it, behind his back, and put an end to it all.”
“Isn’t that right?” Seo Baek-han said, tapping Kim Seung-jun’s leg with the toe of his shoe. He ground his teeth in frustration but didn’t thrash about wildly like before.
“So what are you going to do?”
Even if Kim Seung-jun kept his mouth shut until the end, Seo Baek-han had nothing to lose. It was just the phone of a common thug who went around throwing chump change. It wasn’t some classified document hidden by a black ops agent; he could probably solve it easily by calling any developer who was good with devices, without even needing to go to a professional hacker.
“I’ll, I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you, goddammit!”
The shock that his father’s life was on the line because of his own rash actions must have been quite severe, as Kim Seung-jun burst into tears with a loud sob. Secretary Nam, grimacing as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have, approached him and wrote down the password.
“Heo-eong, Dad… Daaad!”
Seo Baek-han leaned against the window frame and slightly parted the blackout curtain. He had visited this city often, but why did it feel so new?
It must be because of Joo Tae-hyun. Just the fact that he was standing on the same ground as Joo Tae-hyun made New York, a city he didn’t even particularly like, feel so lovely.
“Director, I’ve checked all the folders. There’s… quite a lot of useful data.”
“Send it all to Chief Eunuch Jeong. The Second Prince will contact us right away.”
“Understood. Then… shall I forward it to Assemblyman Seo as well?”
“What for? He’ll just show off that he knows this information and ruin everything. Ah, give it to Guk-won hyung separately. Chief Eunuch Jeong will contact the DH side anyway, but…”
He had kept his promise to Joo Guk-won to finish off only Kim Seung-jun without Joo Tae-hyun’s knowledge. Just as he had boasted to Joo Kyung-han, the focus of the incident had shifted to the Crown Prince. So from now on, the instances of people senselessly blaming Joo Tae-hyun would gradually subside. There would be no more stupid bastards stirring up trouble by bringing up Joo Tae-hyun.
As always, Seo Baek-han had produced the desired result. He had even seamlessly patched up the mistake he’d made impulsively in a fit of anger, making it look like part of the original plan.
…So he should be feeling good, but why did he only feel more lost?
Yesterday… no, considering the time difference, it must have been about two days since he’d last seen Joo Tae-hyun. It was hard to believe that only that much time had passed.
The fact that he hadn’t been able to apologize more when he last saw him in the lounge had been weighing on his chest, but now.
“Director, President Joo Kyung-han wishes to speak with you directly.”
“Ah, put him through.”
…The fact that he hadn’t been able to honestly confess, I think I like you too, no, I like you, was now just a lingering regret.
To think that he couldn’t even come up with that common confession and had talked around his feelings would be this heart-wrenching.
“Hello.”
Seo Baek-han smiled bitterly and took the phone from Secretary Nam.
“…Yes, Hyung. You’re still awake?”
Tae-hyun. How much more will I have to be sorry to you in the future?
“Ah, rather than that, the Second Prince…”
How much will I beat my chest, only now remembering the words I should have said to you long ago?
That doesn’t really matter, but… at the end of this unfamiliar melancholy, will I be able to see you again?
Disliking the sight of his own faint reflection in the window, Seo Baek-han closed the curtain again.
The dust that had piled up in layers on the piece of black cloth wandered aimlessly, with nowhere to go. It continued, and continued, even after Seo Baek-han closed his eyes.
*
“Oh, Young Master! Your numbers are very good. Your Alpha pheromones are stable, and it’s safe to say the imprinting is now broken.”
Before he knew it, three months had passed.