“……Hey, Choi Yeon-jun.”
“Huh?”
“Do you happen to know someone named Kim Seung-jun’s relative at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs?”
Just then, the number on the dashboard changed to 1, and Seo Baek-han naturally changed the subject as he exited the elevator.
“Would a loser like me, who painstakingly crafts mother-of-pearl at home, know something you don’t?”
Choi Yeon-jun, one of the founding members of 〈Haechi〉, is a lacquerware craftsman who has been making quite a name for himself lately. Although he has benefited greatly from his maternal family running one of Asia’s leading antique galleries, Choi Yeon-jun’s skills are undeniable.
“Ugh! Shit! Come to think of it, I have to finish inspecting the new National Museum of Korea’s MD by tomorrow! I forgot… Ah, ah… I really don’t want to…”
Seo Baek-han, who was looking at Choi Yeon-jun tearing at his hair with a pathetic expression, suddenly had an idea and slowly stroked his chin.
“Oh? Then you’ll be meeting the director of the National Museum of Korea tomorrow?”
“Huh? Well… probably? I have to say hello since I’m stopping by the museum. The director is petty and gets easily offended by things like that.”
“I know there was an event held by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs two days ago, and I heard the director attended. The National Museum of Korea sponsored it quite a bit.”
“Really? I didn’t know.”
“Yeah. So, when you meet the director tomorrow, casually drop a word or two.”
“Huh?”
Choi Yeon-jun, unable to immediately understand Seo Baek-han’s abrupt request as if he had skipped a section, scratched his cheek with a bewildered expression.
“Drop a word… Ah, are you talking about Kim Seung-jun? Tell the director?”
“Yeah. Say exactly what you saw, no more, no less. That some crazy bastard was name-dropping a relative at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and badmouthing Joo Tae-hyun, which made the atmosphere unpleasant.”
After all, the number of people related to the Crown Prince who can come and go to 〈Haechi〉 is limited. Among them, someone connected to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and linked to Kim Seung-jun? There’s no need to ask for help from his father or Prince Lee… Anyway, Seo Baek-han was confident that he could narrow it down enough on his own.
He could also guarantee that Kim Seung-jun’s relative wouldn’t be anything special, but he was a little concerned that Kim Seung-jun knew quite accurately about the circumstances of Joo Tae-hyun’s confession to him.
From where? How? Had something that happened at an internal 〈Haechi〉 event leaked out? Moreover, the place where Joo Tae-hyun confessed to him wasn’t in the middle of the banquet hall, but in a quiet, secluded spot.
Did he secretly install a listening device? Or did he sneak in…?
As Seo Baek-han pondered various possibilities, he abruptly cut off the branches of thought that kept reaching out.
Let’s take it one step at a time. I was already thinking about completely overhauling the inside of 〈Haechi〉, so I should use this as an excuse to start by replacing the staff.
“Well… I can do it if I have to, but why would you tell the director something like that?”
“The National Museum of Korea’s budget is tight, so how can they afford to sponsor events from other ministries? They must have taken it on reluctantly, so the director probably doesn’t have good feelings towards the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs right now, right?”
“Yeah, but… so what?”
“In that situation, if they hear that a relative of someone from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs caused trouble at the Crown Prince’s scholarship foundation, would they stay silent? They’ll probably spread the word to other people.”
Even if the director of the National Museum of Korea only complains that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs guys are hopeless, there will definitely be people who find the circumstances strange as the rumors spread.
“‘The guy who was humiliated by Seo Baek-han, whose son is he? I don’t know, I’ve never heard of him. But why did someone like that come to the scholarship foundation’s inauguration ceremony? I heard the Crown Prince put a lot of effort into that event…’ Things like that will naturally come out.”
After that, it’s easy. People will bring information to him on their own without him having to move a finger.
Once speculation starts pouring out about why the Crown Prince is associating with someone like Kim Seung-jun, he just has to pick out the plausible ones and follow them. He felt like he would stumble upon something big. Maybe even something bigger than he expected.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to contact Joo Tae-hyun right now if that’s the case?”
Seo Baek-han glanced outside without replying. Choi Yeon-jun is usually quick-witted and smart, but he sometimes goes off on tangents like this. He didn’t want to get tired of arguing any further, so he really wanted to leave this place as it was today.
“Seo Baek-han? Are you listening? Why are you going around in circles?”
The valet parking staff outside, noticing Seo Baek-han’s gaze, kept bowing their heads over the door. It seemed difficult to get the car out because of the scale of the event.
“If what you’re saying is true, the story will eventually get to Joo Tae-hyun’s house anyway, so the elders there will definitely get pissed off and start poking around everywhere. Isn’t that what you ultimately want to set up?”
“Yeon-jun, Choi Yeon-jun. You should break the stone, not your head.”
“This bastard, really!”
“Would you use a large-caliber shotgun to catch a mouse? If a match is going to be held, you have to put players of the same weight class against each other first.”
“Hey!”
He had never been so happy to hear the staff’s notification that the car was ready as he was at this moment. Choi Yeon-jun kept grumbling, “I’ve told you three thousand times that mother-of-pearl isn’t made by breaking stones, right? Huh?”
“And how do you think Joo Tae-hyun would feel if I told him this directly?”
“I don’t know. Wouldn’t he be happy if you contacted him?”
“Choi Yeon-jun. Do you think Joo Tae-hyun is only following me around?”
“Of course! How could you not know? Even guys who have no sense know that.”
“Yeah. Since even you know it. But to someone like that, am I supposed to directly tell him that a bastard named Kim Seung-jun was saying that he was chasing after me like an Omega in heat, even though I’m an Alpha?”
“……Ah.”
He didn’t feel sorry for drawing a line with Joo Tae-hyun rather coldly that day. It was his fault for unilaterally foisting a feeling that no one asked for. But he didn’t think that not being able to hide his feelings was something to be ridiculed by others. Seo Baek-han would have acted exactly the same way as he did a moment ago, even if Kim Seung-jun had targeted someone other than Joo Tae-hyun.
“Talk to the director well tomorrow.”
“Yeah, go in.”
“Yeah. Unlike some people, Yeon-jun, my true friend.”
As he headed towards the car, he lightly winked, and Choi Yeon-jun pretended to gag. Then, as if he had realized something, he ran towards Seo Baek-han and grabbed his sleeve.
“Seo Baek-han, wait a minute. You’ll give me a heads-up before you overhaul 〈Haechi〉, right? Huh?”
“What now?”
“No! There’s a kid I really like. This time it’s for real!”
“How many times have you said that? I told you to stop messing around with the staff.”
“Ah, this time it’s serious! Really! Hey, Seo Baek-haan!”
After that incident, rumors spread that Seo Baek-han cherished Joo Tae-hyun quite a bit, but he didn’t bother to explain or correct them. It wasn’t like he couldn’t live without him, and saying that he cherished a much younger brother wouldn’t harm his reputation.
Anyway, thanks to Joo Tae-hyun, or rather, thanks to DH Group’s uproar, he succeeded in turning 〈Haechi〉 inside out. As he investigated Kim Seung-jun, he also learned about the direction of the policies that the Crown Prince was secretly working on, so it wasn’t a bad harvest at all.
“Hyung.”
“……Hmm?”
Joo Tae-hyun’s small, monotonous voice carefully awakened Seo Baek-han, who had been lost in reminiscence.
“Can I, um, speak now?”
Perhaps embarrassed that their eyes met, Joo Tae-hyun quickly lowered his head. Was it because his pupils were large? Joo Tae-hyun’s eyes were particularly watery, so much so that you might mistake him for crying at first glance.
“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something else for a moment. Go ahead.”
Was it because he was going back to the old days? The youthful Joo Tae-hyun, who had said he liked his hyung in a fading voice, was subtly superimposed on the face of the current Joo Tae-hyun sitting in front of him.
Perhaps that’s why. Seo Baek-han wanted to be a little more lenient with Joo Tae-hyun. He didn’t know what kind of family matter he wanted to consult him about, but if it wasn’t an excessive request, he was willing enough to worry about it together.
“The reason I wanted to see hyung today was not to consult, but to make a proposal to hyung…”
Joo Tae-hyun struggled to move his lips, which were tattered with bite marks. Sensing that something unusual was about to come out, Seo Baek-han also placed his clasped hands on his crossed legs and took a posture to listen attentively.
“A proposal? To me?”
“Yes.”
Even a poorly oiled robot would move more naturally than that. Joo Tae-hyun’s face, nodding creakily, was pale to the point of being pitiful.
Seo Baek-han scanned his appearance intently, but did not avert his gaze. He knew that Joo Tae-hyun was on the verge of losing his breath because of his direct gaze. But if he felt this much pressure from just this, shouldn’t he not be making proposals or consultations to him?
Today, Seo Baek-han had squeezed out time to meet the youngest son of DH Group, who was most loved, not a kid he had known for a long time.
“Hyung.”
Seo Baek-han’s posture, which had been slightly leaning towards Joo Tae-hyun, relaxed again. He knew he was very nervous, but… after the same scene was repeated several times, he inadvertently became indifferent.
How long would he have to wait for Joo Tae-hyun’s meaningless deep breaths to end? He was just about to get a little bored.
Joo Tae-hyun swallowed hard again this time and opened his dry lips, and Seo Baek-han glanced at Joo Tae-hyun without much expectation, as he had experienced similar situations several times before.
Hmm, I hope it’s an interesting story that can completely change his previous impression… But looking at Joo Tae-hyun’s behavior now, it would be a relief if he didn’t say something like he still likes his hyung.
But.
“Let’s get married, us.”
“……Huh?”
The story that he finally pulled out after a long deliberation is neither an explanation of DH’s internal affairs nor a confession that he still likes his hyung.
Joo Tae-hyun told him to get married.