CTL 19

Yoongeon’s morning started earlier than others. Today, he came to the company at 7 in the morning to meet reporter Park Jinhoon. He had been living in seclusion since January 1st because he was receiving all sorts of threats from all directions.

Thus, he proposed a deal to Park Jinhoon.

In any case, his life as a newspaper reporter in Korea was as good as over. Park Jinhoon’s face lit up with joy at the suggestion that it would be better to move to an overseas media company and continue covering the lounge bar. This was because the media company Yoongeon mentioned was famous for not being swayed by external pressure.

“It will be a good fit for you, Mr. Park Jinhoon. It will also be safer for you to be here as a foreign correspondent. I will send your family abroad, so please do not worry.”

As he spoke, he checked with a sideways glance to see if there was any contact from Seohwi. Fortunately, his cell phone was still silent.

‘Well, he is a person who sleeps a lot.’

For now, it would be better for him to sleep a little longer. He did not seem severely ill, but he could not feel at ease. Even while speaking calmly to Park Jinhoon, his mind was constantly on Seohwi.

“Thank you.”

Park Jinhoon bowed, saying thank you. Looking at him, Yoongeon temporarily put aside his thoughts about Seohwi. For now, he had to deal with Park Jinhoon quickly.

Park Jinhoon, who was repeatedly expressing his gratitude, might think he had received a great deal of help, but in reality, this was more like a shackle than help.

Of course, it would cost a lot of money right now, but in truth, it was not a loss for Yoongeon. Since he was personally moving Park Jinhoon’s family abroad, he could know their exact location of residence, and even if it was for a short time, their personal information would be in his hands, would it not? This was not bad. Yoongeon handed Park Jinhoon a tablet and continued speaking.

“You will have to figure out how to infiltrate that place on your own. If you succeed, reveal your identity to these people. They are people we have assigned, so they will cooperate.”

“Lee Wonim, Kim Seokho…. Yes, I have memorized them all.”

After staring at the tablet for a while, Park Jinhoon returned it, as if he had finished checking.

“Coming back to Korea after the coverage is over… that would be difficult, right.”

“Yes.”

Yoongeon answered cleanly. He was a person who had openly attacked none other than the Shinhyun Group. For now, Yoongeon was looking out for him because he was useful, but they were not in a relationship where they could go all the way together.

“You will have to get your parents out as soon as possible as well.”

When Yoongeon gestured with his eyes, Secretary Lim, who had been standing still to one side, opened the window. He took a cigarette from the pack and put it in his mouth.

“You can’t help it even if you think it’s petty. You have to do at least one thing on your own to act with sincerity.”

After lighting it, he exhaled smoke. The smoke escaped out of the open window. Park Jinhoon watched the scene for a moment before nodding his head.

“Yes, I understand. I am a person with a sense of shame and a conscience, so I will not ask for more.”

“Good that you think so.”

In fact, with Yoongeon’s wealth, it was not a difficult task to move his entire extended family’s home at once, but Yoongeon had said he would only send his wife and daughter. Therefore, Park Jinhoon had to use the money he would receive from Yoongeon to take his parents abroad. It meant that if he did not receive the money, he could not guarantee his parents’ safety, so he should try with all his might. Yoongeon handed him the tickets that were on a corner of the table. The airline’s logo was printed on the front.

“Your family’s departure is at 9 o’clock this evening. It will be tight even if you go and prepare from now.”

As soon as he heard that, Park Jinhoon rushed out in a hurry. Watching his retreating figure, Secretary Lim came closer.

“Isn’t it cleaner to just take care of him?”

“You talk as if you’re someone who does that kind of thing often.”

At Yoongeon’s words, Secretary Lim grinned.

“In the drama I watched yesterday, the secretary of a conglomerate family said something like this. It looked cool, so I tried it too.”

“Right….”

Yoongeon, who had developed a tolerance for most kinds of nonsense, let it go.

“But you never know, right? Maybe I will start from now on. Look at this.”

He handed over his cell phone. When Yoongeon took it, a video of Ko Yoonchul harassing an employee at a bar was playing.

“Where is this?”

“It’s the Gangnam First Class Club. The sign on the outside says it’s a nightclub and it’s very tacky, so young people don’t go there, but those in the know know it well. It’s not a club, and it’s not a nightclub, it’s practically a prostitution establishment. If you look closely here, the people wearing employee uniforms are prostitutes and the people wearing manager uniforms are the real employees. They use tricks like this to claim they don’t do things like prostitution.”

The employees captured in the video included both men and women. Among them, some were already half-naked.

“Shallow tricks like this won’t work.”

“Of course. If they had the intelligence to be fooled by such shallow tricks, they wouldn’t have become police officers in the first place. This club gives a lot of money to the police under the pretext of a business tax, and they take it and pretend not to know.”

“That’s quite something….”

“I hear he’s been getting particularly anxious lately. He’s also a bit shocked from being beaten by the Chairman. I guess his stress is severe. It’s the fear of ‘I think my dad isn’t going to help me!'”

It had only been two days, but Ko Yoonchul was already unable to overcome his anxiety and was acting out.

“The drugs?”

“He didn’t do it here. He’s still being cautious in that regard, but for an addict, well, how long would that last. It seems likely he will go to the lounge bar soon. The employees we have prepared… should we just deploy them quickly?”

At Secretary Lim’s words, Yoongeon shook his head.

“At times like these, we have to be certain. It’s okay, so deploy them starting next week.”

“Yes. Ah, but recently, the number of prostitutes frequenting that place is said to have decreased. It seems they are trying to lay low because of Vice President Ko Yoonchul.”

Yoongeon took a deep drag from his cigarette. Right, they would. No matter how crazy those bastards are for drugs and sex, people are the kind of creatures who naturally look before they leap.

“It won’t be for long.”

But how easy is it to resist a pleasure once tasted. It would not be for long. It would be the same for Ko Yoonchul.

Yoongeon was hiding in the bushes like a tiger before its prey, waiting quietly. To wait for the optimal moment to bite the prey’s neck, even if it took a day, two days, or more.

“Hoo….”

Yoongeon exhaled the smoke.

Waiting, being patient. It was something he was very good at.

✧ ✧ ✧

But there was one thing Yoongeon absolutely could not endure.

“……”

It was waiting for Seohwi to get better from being sick.

He certainly seemed like he would get better soon just this morning, but when Yoongeon returned after finishing his work, he was strangely more feeble. When he asked what on earth was wrong, he said he had an upset stomach.

“An upset stomach?”

“……”

“Why all of a sudden.”

Didn’t he say it was a body ache? When he asked why he suddenly had an upset stomach, Seohwi hesitated to answer.

“Why are you not answering. Did you do something strange behind my back?”

Somehow, his hesitant appearance felt very unsettling, so he asked, but there was no answer for a long time. Only when Yoongeon’s patience was about to completely snap did he finally manage to say that was not it.

“I won’t get angry, so please just tell me.”

He did not know what he was hesitating about, but Yoongeon was not the type of person to get angry at a sick person for being sick. Right now, it was just that he did not understand, that’s all.

As Yoongeon persistently demanded an answer, Seohwi’s lips finally opened. It was also at that moment that his face began to literally contort.

“……Because he said I could only go after eating all the fish-shaped buns.”

It was all thanks to that bastard, Lim Sunwoong.

“He was stubborn, saying that the Executive Director had told him to make me eat everything, so I ate it.”

“Haah….”

What in the world should I do with this bastard?

Yoongeon gritted his teeth.

He picked up his cell phone and pressed hard on Secretary Lim’s contact number. Then, as soon as he picked up, he just cursed for about 10 minutes without any context. Secretary Lim, as if he knew very well why he was getting an earful of curses, only replied, ‘Yes. …I’m sorry.’

Only after spewing out every curse that exists in Korea could Yoongeon finally calm down. He hung up the phone without even saying he was hanging up, and only then did he see Seohwi in front of him with a hand on his forehead.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you, because I thought you would get this angry.”

“He deserves to be cursed at.”

“……”

It was true. Lim Sunwoong had done something that deserved to be cursed at. He sent him to check on a sick person, but he made him even sicker.

“……Yes.”

Yoongeon retorted so firmly that Seohwi, in the end, just answered that he understood without any other words. Yoongeon, with an annoyed face, called a doctor to the house. The doctor who came after receiving the call said it would be tough with an upset stomach on top of the body aches and gave him another IV drip. At the stinging sensation of the needle going in, Seohwi furrowed his brow, and Yoongeon’s mood hit rock bottom.

“I don’t think it will come to that, but if he is not better by the day after tomorrow, I think it would be good to go to the hospital then, Executive Director.”

He nodded his head at the doctor’s words as he handed over the medicine to be taken. In fact, without even waiting until the day after tomorrow, he was planning to take Seohwi to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning.

After the doctor said his goodbyes and left, Yoongeon let out a small sigh and covered him with a blanket. After covering him carefully so as not to get caught on the IV line, he pulled up a chair, sat down in front of him, and said.

“Just get more sleep.”

The person who should have been resting due to body aches could not even rest properly because of his upset stomach. At Yoongeon’s words, Seohwi nodded his head and then closed his eyes. Seeing that he did not say he was okay even as a courtesy, it seemed he himself was having a very hard time.

Fortunately, as the medicine took effect, his stomach seemed to become a bit more comfortable, and he fell asleep quickly without tossing and turning much. He whimpered a little and broke out in a cold sweat, but this was acceptable. Yoongeon made a wet towel and came to wipe the sweat that had formed on Seohwi’s forehead. After about 20 minutes of this, his face relaxed a little. Yoongeon nursed him the whole time, and only when he was completely asleep did he carefully come out and start working in the living room.

However, he constantly checked on Seohwi. The first time he went in, he had pulled out the IV, and the next time he went in, he wiped away the sweat he had shed in the meantime. He had a very slight fever, so he also wiped his body with a lukewarm wet towel. Even though Yoongeon was touching him, Seohwi did not wake from his sleep.

It goes without saying, but Yoongeon could not fall asleep even after finishing his work. He knew it was just a light body ache, but he had a learned fear engraved in his bones. He repeatedly woke up without even being able to sleep for 30 minutes. But Yoongeon did not complain. He was just grateful that he could be by Seohwi’s side.

Time passed, and it was soon 4 in the morning. Seohwi’s complexion had returned to how it was before. His fever had completely gone down, his complexion had improved, and he was not breaking out in a cold sweat. The whimpering as if he was uncomfortable had also completely disappeared. Only then did Yoongeon, relieved, let out a sigh of relief.

He caressed Seohwi’s cheek with tender eyes. As his cool hand touched him, perhaps feeling good, he unconsciously rubbed his cheek against it. Liking the sight of that, Yoongeon raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“……Sleep well.”

Yoongeon offered a greeting that Seohwi would not hear.

Only then did fatigue rush in, and he contemplated whether to sleep a little or work more, but more than that, he wanted to loosen up his stiff body. If he exercised and then slept, he would feel much more refreshed even if he slept for a short time, so that seemed like the better option.

When he called Manager Lee and told him to bring a fighter, he asked back, ‘Should I call the person you called before again?’ Who was that, he wondered, then recalled the man who had landed a punch on him before. Come to think of it, he remembered that guy’s fists were quite sharp.

“Does he say he wants to continue?”

[Yes. He said he would do it then too, so I’ve put the other fighters on standby for the time being. Haha, it seems the Executive Director has forgotten as you’ve been so busy with work lately.]

“Call that person, then.”

If he said he would endure, it was not a bad thing for Yoongeon. Yoongeon prepared to leave, being careful not to wake Seohwi.

✧ ✧ ✧

His whole body was a mess from sparring without a break. But he felt more refreshed than ever before. It was because his mind was much more at ease now that Seohwi was not sick. He drank the beverage that Manager Lee handed him and then gave the opposing fighter a bag full of money. When he paid him according to their previous promise, the fighter’s face brightened up.

For boxers, it was difficult to make big money unless they became a star, even if they became a professional fighter. The other day, he had asked to be chosen again next time. That must mean he was not making a proper living. As Yoongeon looked at him suspiciously and asked if he had any intention of competing in a tournament, the fighter shook his head.

“Yes. My younger sister is a little sick. I urgently need money for hospital bills.”

“I see, then.”

He did not say things like that’s a shame, or ask if his sister’s condition was okay. But it seemed that as long as he gave him money, the fighter was fine with anything. Yoongeon liked that he did not have high expectations of him.

“With this much money, I won’t have to worry about hospital bills for a while. So please call me anytime.”

Since he himself said it was fine, there was no reason not to call him. Yoongeon nodded his head, and the fighter bowed his head deeply in greeting before leaving.

“Executive Director, are you alright? Today, for some reason….”

Manager Lee, who took the empty drink and handed him a towel, asked.

“Ah.”

Yoongeon looked at the full-length mirror placed in front of him. Perhaps because they had told each other not to go easy, both that fighter and himself were in a terrible state.

He had repeatedly thrown punches and kicks without letting up until the opposing fighter yelled out his surrender. He had cornered him so he could not escape, and knocked him to the floor and mercilessly punched him. The range of escape in the small ring was narrow, and because of that, the fighter’s state was a mess.

And, although not as much as the fighter, Yoongeon was the same. His shoulder, which had been hit today as well, hurt, and even though he had tried to be careful, he ended up getting hit in the side again. No, it was a lie to say he was being careful. When he was hit in the side, Yoongeon was thinking of Seohwi. The fighter did not miss that opening.

“I’m fine.”

He answered nonchalantly and then took the elevator to go up. He looked at his watch; it was 7 in the morning. Since the fighter had arrived before 5, it meant they had fought with great gusto. Sleeping was out of the question, but his condition was not bad.

“Ugh, ……damn it.”

Before entering the bathroom, after checking one more time to see if Seohwi was in any pain, he took a shower while enduring the pain.

As time passed, the world became softer. It was no longer an age of barbarism. Not rough and crude people, but gentle and intelligent people became predators, and people who used strength were thrown into the mud. Those who would have been active as generals in the old days became athletes or bodyguards, but if things did not work out, they became gangsters.

At first, it was hard to adapt to that. Because gentle and intelligent people were, ridiculously enough, also cunning and vile. They swayed people with words instead of holding and shaking them with strength. His father, Chairman Ko, had realized that early on, quit being a judo athlete, jumped into the succession battle, and was a figure who had wagged his tongue.

The era of ruling the world with strength was over. But Yoongeon’s spirit was more attuned to the past than the present, so if he did not let it out like this sometimes, he was dangerous like a bomb that could explode at any moment. The current world was excessively stifling for Yoongeon. So he wanted to escape.

“Executive Director.”

It was when Yoongeon, having finished his shower, had just stepped out of the bathroom. Unexpectedly, Seohwi was standing in front of him. Yoongeon, who was about to enter the dressing room with only a towel wrapped around his waist, stopped in surprise.

“…When did you wake up?”

“A little while ago.”

Yoongeon, wondering if he had been too loud, apologized. If he had known this would happen, he would have washed up outside.

“I’m sorry. Go back to sleep.”

“I’m not sleepy.”

He answered nonchalantly. But he furrowed his brow as if he did not like something.

“For heaven’s sake, why did you get hurt again this time.”

“This? Ah….”

He had wondered why he was looking at him with that kind of face, and it seemed he had seen his shoulder and side. When he glanced down, they were bruised.

“I was sparring.”

“Sparring?”

“I do it sometimes.”

Even when he said that it was nothing to worry about even though he was injured, Seohwi did not relax his expression. He seemed a little frustrated.

“What are you going to do if the wound opens up again.”

His gaze was on the crook of Yoongeon’s arm. For some reason, that gaze felt a bit burdensome.

“I don’t know why you keep trying to get hurt like that.”

“I was just exercising. I’m not trying to get hurt.”

“You should do something like weight training instead.”

“It’s not fun.”

He was serious. It was not his taste to be tangled up with other humans in a small gym, panting, as if they were running on a hamster wheel. What was the point of meaninglessly lifting some useless chunks of iron.

“There are many exercises where you don’t get hurt.”

“……”

He’ll probably faint if he finds out what state the other guy is in because of me. Yoongeon thought so.

Still, in the past, it seems he didn’t mind sparring, fighting back, and getting a little hurt. Seohwi, reborn in another world, had changed a little from the past. Yoongeon pondered for a moment. It was because he wondered if he should explain to the changed him.

“Move.”

But in the end, Yoongeon entered the dressing room without saying anything. Naturally, he followed him in, but he wondered if he really needed to explain to Seohwi, who was not a little kid, why sparring was not dangerous.

“Mr. Seohwi, are you not interested in exercise?”

He asked while taking out his indoor clothes. In fact, if he thought about it, even in the past, Seohwi had only moved and trained his body because he had to; he was not the type of person who, like Yoongeon, was naturally born to enjoy moving and being active.

“Not particularly….”

As expected, this time too, Seohwi gave the answer he had anticipated.

“Hmm….”

“……What is that reaction.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Yoongeon hesitated between a long-sleeved and a short-sleeved shirt, then put on the short-sleeved one and spoke casually.

“I knew you’d say that.”

Yoongeon, who was taking out underwear from the drawer, turned around and asked. At that moment, Seohwi’s gaze was fixed on the wound in the crook of his arm.

“Are you going to watch?”

“……”

At his question, Seohwi averted his gaze. What was the point of being so distant when they had already slept together anyway. But it was a bit burdensome if he stared intently, so Yoongeon quickly got dressed while he had his gaze averted.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you exercise since you came to this house.”

He had really only stayed at home and only went out when he had to. And yet, he did not show the slightest sign of being frustrated.

“Do you not do it at all?”

“I do some running.”