#120

“Wait. There’s always a way to find this kind of thing out.”

Du-min took the phone back from Ho-jae and moved his thumbs rapidly. A moment later.

“Oh, I knew it. With this many followers, I figured someone would have summarized it!”

What Du-min showed him again was a Shorts video titled ‘Ending the Controversy Over the Engagement Ring of Kyung Seung-hee, the Trendy Real Silver-Spoon Contemporary Artist.’

The video claimed that artist Kyung Seung-hee, who had sparked marriage rumors a few months ago by posting a photo of a ring on her left ring finger, had recently deleted that post. It speculated that her current trip to Morocco was not a working trip, but a trip to heal from a breakup.

Ho-jae swallowed hard. A thrill ran through him, enough to make his fingertips tingle, but he forced himself to speak in a calm tone.

“This is just speculation.”

“What’s with you, Ho-jae, Ho-jae? Don’t be such an amateur. You have to look at the facts. And what are the facts? She posted a photo of a ring on her ring finger and then deleted it!”

“…….”

“Looking at her profile, she’s the type who cares deeply about the aesthetic consistency of her feed. So, she posted a close-up of just her hand to draw attention to the ring, which didn’t even fit the vibe of her feed? And there were no sponsorship or ad tags? That’s the real deal.”

Shin Ho-jae’s brow furrowed.

The captured photo of the ring remaining in the Shorts video was identical to the ring Jung-hyun had been wearing at the banquet.

Come to think of it, how was Jung-hyun the last time he was with him? Was he wearing a ring?

No, there had been no ring on Jung-hyun’s finger. He remembered clearly because he had looked at his left hand while disinfecting the back of it. At the time, he had been too frazzled to pay much attention to it.

‘Someone told me that everyone gets a little strange before they get married.’

‘I’m sorry. …For continuing to lie.’

“Could the lie have been….”

Was it about the marriage?

It was then that Ho-jae’s phone vibrated repeatedly. It was an unknown number. Du-min, peeking at the screen, spoke excitedly.

“Answer it! Maybe it’s the CEO?”

Ho-jae let out a faint sigh and touched the call button. His heart fluttered at Du-min’s words, but he didn’t actually expect it to be Jung-hyun.

“…Hello?”

─This is Park Ha-na. Is now a good time to talk?

“Reporter Park.”

It was Reporter Park Ha-na. The one he hadn’t been in contact with for a long time. Ho-jae reflexively stood up from his seat.

─I’m sorry I couldn’t get in touch. I had some circumstances that forced me to stay hidden.

“You were hiding…?”

─More importantly, I’m calling because I have a favor to ask regarding CEO Jung-hyun. Do you have a moment right now?

＊＊＊

The place Reporter Park Ha-na called Ho-jae to was a PC cafe in Suwon.

As per Park Ha-na’s request, Ho-jae entered with his face covered as much as possible. The lone part-timer wasn’t at the counter, likely busy preparing food. Soon, the phone in his hand vibrated.

36

It was a message from Reporter Park Ha-na. Realizing it meant seat number 36, Ho-jae pulled his hat down further to hide his face and sat down.

The PC cafe was filled with people playing the same game. Everyone had similar screens and were all wearing headsets. Without exception, they were shouting harsh curses while frantically tapping their mice and keyboards.

Ho-jae could guess why Park Ha-na had called him here. In a place like this, it seemed no one would care regardless of what he did.

[Just play any game]

Checking the new message, Ho-jae awkwardly moved the mouse. It had been so long since he’d been to a place like this that it took him a while to realize he had to log in. He wondered if this was really necessary, but he soon changed his mind.

There must be a reason. Between the long period of silence and the expression ‘staying hidden’ during the call, it was clear the situation was far from ordinary.

Just as Ho-jae, having finally succeeded in logging in, was playing an arcade game where you kill opponents with water balloon bombs—a game he used to play with Du-min and Min-chul in middle school—someone sat in the empty seat next to him. Ho-jae looked up only with his eyes to identify the person. It was Park Ha-na, wearing a black hat and mask similar to his.

“Reporter….”

“Shh. Keep pretending to play the game and put this in.”

As she spoke, Park Ha-na handed a single wireless earbud across the table. Ho-jae put the earbud in one ear and asked.

“…Aren’t you going to tell me what this is about?”

“You’ll know once you hear it.”

Park Ha-na operated her phone. Soon, a sound began to play through the earbud.

─That photo the younger brother saw today. It was for 20 million.

Ho-jae immediately furrowed his brow. It was a familiar voice.

─It would have been better if he just took the 20 million and… but that rat… he’s trying to blackmail me.

The audio quality was poor, sounding as if a recording from a TV or radio had been recorded again. There were parts that weren’t clearly audible, but Ho-jae immediately realized this was the ‘recording file’ Park Ha-na had mentioned before.

─The hand… slipped. …I’ll pay the medical bills and…

Ho-jae covered the ear that didn’t have the earbud with his hand. He had an instinctive feeling that he needed to hear this conversation more clearly.

Then, a voice he could never mistake sounded.

─You said you paid the medical bills.

Shin Ho-jae’s eyes widened.

It was Jung-hyun’s voice.

─Why would I… do that? When I have a younger brother who can take the fall for me.

─…And my father-in-law, who is involved in the lawsuit.

“He probably said ‘broadcasting station.’ I’m sure Shin-seonsu noticed who the owner of the voice was too.”

Park Ha-na interrupted to provide further explanation.

“The next part is heard quite clearly. This part was likely the key that Senior Kim held.”

─This time, I’ll make Kim In-jung write this as an article. I’ll tie in everything—the assault, sexual harassment, and power abuse controversies surrounding the younger brother that were previously only rumors. How about it? Sounds fun, right?

Goosebumps erupted on the back of his neck.

“……Then CEO Jung-hyun.”

Park Ha-na glanced at Ho-jae’s tightly clenched fist and nodded.

“Yes. He resigned after taking the fall for what Kwon Ki-hyuk did.”

“……Why.”

Why did Jung-hyun have to take the blame for something Kwon Ki-hyuk did?

The question in his head was hollowly resolved by the voice that followed.

─…Just make sure the club and the players can finish the season without any problems.

“…….”

Ho-jae sat in silence for a long time, staring blankly at the gap between the monitor and the keyboard.

‘A false accusation?’

‘Why do you think that? I really did all of it.’

He remembered when the article came out and he had visited Jung-hyun’s house. He remembered Jung-hyun’s face, so composed as he told a skeptical Ho-jae that he was indeed the one who had done it.

‘There’s a new owner at the Blue Wolves?’

And the way Jung-hyun’s eyes had wavered after hearing Kwon Ki-hyuk’s name. At the time, he had simply thought Jung-hyun didn’t know, but…….

‘The club affairs are no longer important to me. I don’t care whether they win the championship or not.’

Those words weren’t sincere after all. He had said that to deceive him because of Kwon Ki-hyuk’s blackmail.

He remembered Jung-hyun’s expression of resignation, as if he were used to it, when Ho-jae had asked about the pheromones of Kwon Ki-hyuk on his cheek.

He had been treated this way by Kwon Ki-hyuk for a very long time. That was why he had that face of resignation.

His fists trembled at the late realization. He could not forgive Kwon Ki-hyuk. And Myeong-jeong either.

Could the family really have been unaware of the things a person like Kwon Ki-hyuk was committing? There was no way. On the contrary, perhaps they had easily made him a scapegoat because he was a child who failed to become an Alpha. Hadn’t Kwon Ki-hyuk himself said his family ‘strongly preferred Alphas’?

Thinking about it that way, all of his actions and words finally made sense.

The way he had been cold to him, the way he had snapped at him not to stand out to others—it was all because he thought it would bring harm to Ho-jae.

Lest he catch the eye of Kwon Ki-hyuk, who had become the club owner. Lest he and his family suffer as a result.

His eyes slowly grew hot.

‘Do you want to run away with me?’

That was the only thing that had been Jung-hyun’s truth. Even so, he could fully understand Jung-hyun’s choice to eventually return instead of choosing to flee. If the positions were reversed, he would have done the same.

“Not long after the scoop was blocked, Senior Kim In-jung went missing.”

At Park Ha-na’s words, Ho-jae roughly wiped his eyes and looked up. Thanks to the hat and mask, it was a relief that it wasn’t obvious he had been crying.

“…Missing?”

Park Ha-na nodded with a dark expression.

“I found out when Senior Kim’s mother called the company. Shortly after the missing person report was filed, records of his departure for the Philippines were confirmed, and the police are refusing to investigate, saying it’s a simple case of an adult male running away from home.”

“…….”

“But Senior Kim has a phobia of flying. Even during his time as a reporter, he was famous for insisting on taking the train.”

Shin Ho-jae’s eyes widened.

“The fact that the scoop was blocked at the last minute and Senior Kim’s disappearance both lead back to one person.”

“…Then the reason you couldn’t get in touch all this time was also….”

“Yes. I felt like someone was tailing me. I took an express bus to my hometown immediately. I kept writing articles to avoid suspicion.”

“…Is Kwon Ki-hyuk still keeping an eye on you? Because of this recording file…?”

“He probably doesn’t know exactly what I have. If he did, he would have found me and dealt with me by any means.”

“…….”

“The audio quality was very poor earlier, wasn’t it? That’s because it’s not the original. I secretly recorded it when Senior Kim played a snippet of the recording while negotiating.”

Park Ha-na gave a bitter smile.

“But this recording will be difficult to admit as evidence. Not only is it not the original, but recording without consent is illegal in the first place, and the party involved has disappeared. And the media is already firmly in Kwon Ki-hyuk’s grip.”

“…So, you’re saying that with just this, it’s difficult to get police cooperation and reporting to the media is blocked?”

“That’s right. So the only remaining method is….”

“The internet.”

At Shin Ho-jae’s words, Park Ha-na nodded.

“Actually, I tried posting it on communities several times, but it was deleted every time, as if they were monitoring it. I stopped because I felt my location would be discovered if I continued. So, the method I thought of is….”

Park Ha-na and Ho-jae spoke simultaneously.

“YouTube.”

121 – PUCK DROP