By Zephyria 
“Uh, well…”
Joo Guk-won hesitated to answer, which was rare. He had never used a negative word to his youngest brother in his life, so the words didn’t come easily.
“Our Tae-hyun, um, seems to be having a hard time.”
He recalled passages from parenting books he had devoured all night long before the birth of his youngest child. Right, they said to choose soft words first and lay down a cushion.
It seemed his youngest brother’s stress was at its peak. Of course, he had every right to be angry. He fully understood Joo Tae-hyun’s desire to lash out without thinking.
“Baby, you don’t have to do things like that.”
But it wouldn’t do. He would support his baby brother whether he played the drum or the janggu, but how could he, as the eldest brother, stand by and watch his young brother be attacked by public opinion?
The legal and PR teams were working together to write a perfect rebuttal, and it was naturally his job to read it in front of the reporters. Joo Tae-hyun, his youngest brother, would absolutely not have to stand before the public because of this.
“Hyung. I can prove everything. This is something only I can do.”
“Tae-hyun-ah. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to stand before people when you get a little older. So, let Hyung handle this one. There’s no need to go through rough times in advance.”
“Still, with a child involved, I don’t think it’s something you can just read a statement and be done with.”
“…Huh?”
Joo Guk-won blinked blankly. What did his youngest brother just say? Did he hear wrong? What… is happening?
“Baby, wait a minute. What did you just…”
“I’ll explain everything to the family in detail after the press conference. But Hyung… I.”
Joo Tae-hyun hesitated for a moment, unable to finish his sentence.
Watching his youngest brother carefully choose his words, Joo Tae-won realized that their little one had grown up so much. The visibly moving Adam’s apple and the perfectly sculpted brow bone were undeniably those of a grown man.
Seeing him like this, he realized that he shouldn’t just oppose him because he was still young. It seemed like it was time to seriously listen to what plans their now-adult youngest brother had.
“Yeah, Tae-hyun-ah. It’s okay. Take your time.”
“…I’m, having a child.”
The fingertips of his youngest brother, who lightly placed his hand on his stomach, trembled as if convulsing. It seemed to be an unconscious action, as he was startled as if he had been electrocuted and immediately took his hand away.
“I’m sorry, Hyung. You must be very surprised to hear this so suddenly… Um, I didn’t mean to hide it, but it hasn’t been long since it happened. I only found out recently.”
“Oh, baby. You’re going to run out of breath. Slowly, slowly.”
“…Yeah, thank you. Where was I? Ah. The baby… I haven’t been to the hospital yet, so I’m not sure, but according to my calculations, it’s probably been less than three weeks.”
“Wait a minute, Tae-hyun-ah. The reason you want to hold a press conference is…”
“…That’s right. So, I’m going to tell people in front of everyone that I’m actually an Omega… and, cough, I’m going to show them the results of a simple blood test pregnancy test kit directly.”
Joo Tae-hyun carefully recited what he had thought about.
“Of course, it’s not like I’ve really become an Omega. It’s true that I bought a Dirty Switch before. But I thought this would prevent any harm from coming to our family, and to Baek-han Hyung…”
“So, you’re saying that because you’re an Omega, there’s no reason for you to have used drugs like the Dirty Switch in the first place, and that all the press releases are malicious fabrications, you want to explain it that way?”
“That’s right. Just looking at the photos, the authenticity is unclear. More than anything, I don’t know why they keep dragging Cheon Seung-pil into this. All he did was go and buy the test kit for me.”
Joo Guk-won was silent for a while. He just looked confused, holding his forehead and repeating, “A baby, our baby is having a baby…”
“I know it’s reckless and flimsy. But…”
He was about to continue persuading him to trust him this once, and that there was no more effective way to shape public opinion than visual shock.
“Our youngest.”
Before he could even open his mouth, Joo Guk-won grabbed Joo Tae-hyun and hugged him tightly.
“Okay, let’s do whatever our youngest wants to do.”
Joo Guk-won gently patted Joo Tae-hyun’s shoulder and nodded. As if he knew something, the touch of his eldest brother accurately pinpointed the bruised area where he had bumped into the director’s office door yesterday, and a tingling sensation rose from deep within him.
“You’re right, Tae-hyun. There’s no more effective way than visual shock. Don’t even think about it being flimsy. You just say everything you want to say and come down, and I’ll take care of the aftermath perfectly.”
“…Hyung.”
“I won’t ask you anything now. I’ll tell the other family members the general situation, so you just think about what you want to do.”
“…”
“But later, when you’re ready, I hope you’ll tell me everything that happened, even if it’s just to me… Would you not want to do that, my baby?”
Joo Tae-hyun lightly leaned his forehead against his brother’s collarbone and shook his head. Of course not. It felt like he had returned to his younger days and was acting spoiled with his brother.
Right. This was what it felt like to have someone on his side.
“…Hyung. I’m really very…”
“If you say you’re sorry, I’m really going to get angry.”
Joo Guk-won ruffled Joo Tae-hyun’s hair in a funny way and clapped his hands once, as if trying to change the atmosphere.
“It seems impossible to go to Seoul now… And it’s a bit worrying to set up a stage in the middle of Pyongyang. You don’t have any particular place you want to go, do you?”
“No. Just, even a really small place is fine.”
“Hmm. Good. Yoon-woo is close to So-jin, so I should ask if there’s a suitable place nearby. I’ll contact the law firm too, so baby, you can consult with the lawyer in the meantime.”
Nodding and unconsciously biting his lip, Joo Tae-hyun was startled and released the tension in his teeth. It was a habit that Seo Baek-han hated, and he had been trying hard to correct it, but it was still not easy.
Press conference.
He knew how reckless he was being. He also knew how embarrassed Seo Baek-han would be when he heard the news later.
Blinded by his foolish love affair at the age of twenty, he was causing too much harm to too many people. From Seo Baek-han himself to his family and his precious family, the Yoonra Foundation, and Cheon Seung-pil.
So, he wanted to tie up this matter with his own hands, no matter what repercussions it brought. He was already firmly disliked by the people of Pyongyang, so he didn’t care if he was criticized for not having to act so extreme.
However, the child.
He was truly sorry to the child who had unintentionally taken root in his womb and was already being used so much.
* * *
[Breaking News] DH Group’s Joo Tae-hyun (26) to Hold Emergency Press Conference Tonight
Joo Tae-hyun, who was once again embroiled in controversy yesterday over the use of Dirty Switch and drugs, will hold a press conference this evening to directly explain the circumstances of the incident and his position on it.
(photo.jpg)
â–² Seo Baek-han, Director of the Royal Hospital, and Joo Tae-hyun Spotted on a Date in Pyongyang.
Comments (1,789)
I’m not buying the drug addict’s sob story, get lost
Stop harassing the poor graduate student. My life is a mess for defending Joo Tae-hyun so hard until recently.
It hasn’t even been that long since Seo Baek-han took a knife for him…
But… aren’t the photos that were released as evidence a bit flimsy this time too? They’re all ambiguous to be considered decisive evidence…
➥Stop with the viral marketing, it’s obvious you’re using people in every community.
➥Even if you don’t know anything else, it’s obvious he used the Switch.
➥➥Then isn’t Seo Baek-han also a problem? His husband used the Switch
➥➥➥He slept with other men, damn it.
Seo Baek-han roughly pressed his swollen eyelids and threw his phone away.
The aftermath of the article reported yesterday was growing uncontrollably. If it hadn’t been for the call from Joo Guk-won just before the article was published, he would have ignored whatever Joo Tae-hyun had asked and taken action.
‘DH Group, in the name of Father and myself, will take responsibility, so let us handle it. I just told Assemblyman Seo a little while ago.’
‘But, Hyung-nim.’
‘…Right. He’s my Tae-hyun Hyung, but he’s also Hyung-nim to you, Baek-han. In that capacity, let me ask you just one thing. Baek-han, didn’t you hear anything from Tae-hyun?’
‘I also checked the draft of the press release yesterday. Tae-hyun was there with me. Tae-hyun has something in mind, so he told me to let the article be released as is-.’
‘You don’t know.’
Joo Guk-won’s voice, interrupting Seo Baek-han’s words, was so cold that it was chilling.
‘I guessed roughly… but it seems like you don’t know anything, Baek-han.’
Before he could ask what he was talking about, the call was abruptly cut off with a notification that he should know that.
He immediately called back, but Joo Guk-won didn’t answer. It was common for the call to be cut off before the signal even went through, as if he had blocked him.
What are they really, trying to do?
Since then until now. Not a single message has been sent to him from Joo Tae-hyun or DH Group. Joo Tae-hyun’s scheduled press conference is coming up soon.
Seo Baek-han, who had brought his phone back and was looking at the news screens pouring out every minute, couldn’t stand it any longer and jumped up from his seat.
He was aware that he was acting somewhat impulsively, but his body moved first.
“Director? What’s wrong?”
“Where’s the car?”
“Yes? You’re not going to the press conference, are you?”
The aides who were guarding Seo Baek-han’s hospital room were flustered and stopped him.
“The Assemblyman strictly ordered you. Until DH Group takes action, never leave the Director’s hospital room-.”
“Do you really think I’ve been obediently stuck in the hospital because of my father’s orders?”
He was resentful of Joo Tae-hyun, who had mentioned divorce yesterday. He was so dumbfounded by the fact that he could do everything on his own that he had just watched for a while, telling him to do whatever he wanted.
A press conference, and in Pyongyang at that.
Even though he said that, what could Joo Tae-hyun do? He was just a kid who had only done academic presentations, a press conference. Of course, it would be his job to clean up the mess.