CTL 61

“Yes.”

“Haa….”

Seohwi looked at Yoongeon, who was still unconscious with his eyes closed. Normally, he would have woken up quickly at this level of noise, but now he remained with his eyes shut, making Seohwi anxious.

“I understand.”

After a moment of consideration, Seohwi had no choice but to agree in the end.

He told the returned doctor that he would do as Secretary Lim said. The doctor said he had expected as much and left.

“Still, let him sleep for as long as he needs to for now.”

After the doctor left, Seohwi said as he led Secretary Lim outside. He had been determined to push his point through, even by force, if he didn’t accept, but fortunately, Secretary Lim readily agreed.

“I’m sorry. For shutting you down in front of the doctor. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“…”

Seohwi turned back at his words as he looked around the wrecked living room.

“But I’m worried about the Executive Director, too. Not as much as you, Mr. Yoon Seohwi, but still.”

Seohwi let out a small sigh and rubbed his dry face with his hands.

“I know.”

How could he not know? Seohwi was already well aware that Secretary Lim was not as carefree as he appeared. Hadn’t he seen the loyalty he showed Yoongeon and the way he cared for him many times already? When a person like that said no, there must have been a good reason.

Nevertheless, Seohwi felt frustrated. He couldn’t get involved in Yoongeon’s affairs. He didn’t have the power to do so.

“I also know that the Executive Director has a lot of responsibilities, Mr. Secretary Lim.”

He wanted to help in some way, but he disliked himself for having very little he could actually do. No, actually, there was one thing he could do to help. It was just that it wasn’t what Seohwi wanted.

“Mr. Yoon Seohwi, are you okay?”

“…”

“You must have been very startled. Sit down and rest for a bit. The housekeeper will come and clean that up later.”

Secretary Lim took his arm and sat him down on the sofa.

“You did well not to report it to 119. Thanks to that, it was easier for me to handle things.”

He chose his words carefully.

“I know you must be frustrated, Mr. Yoon Seohwi. It’s probably because you roughly know what’s going on but can’t be a part of it.”

Although he was soothing him with kind words, Seohwi understood that the conclusion was that there was nothing he could do to help.

“…”

He wanted to stand side by side with him, but in the end, was it not possible?

Although he didn’t feel good about it, Seohwi thought. It was natural that he couldn’t be of help to Yoongeon. He was younger and more inexperienced than him, so it was natural. But he was sure he had been helpful to him in the past. It even felt like they had stood side by side at times.

‘…In the past?’

In the past, when?

The thought that flashed through his mind was one without a clear answer. He wanted to think about it deeply, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so with Secretary Lim staring right at him from across.

“I understand.”

So Seohwi answered. Acting like this just because he couldn’t be of help to him was no different from throwing a tantrum. If he thought he didn’t want to make things harder for Yoongeon, then he should act accordingly.

“I know I’m not helpful, so I’ll do what I can.”

He had hoped that Yoongeon, who was struggling without being able to show it to others, could at least rest a little by his side. But when he saw the collapsed Yoongeon earlier, Seohwi realized that his thinking was completely wrong.

“I’ll do what I can do, so please, Mr. Secretary Lim, stay by the Executive Director’s side.”

If Yoongeon could have truly rested comfortably by his side, he wouldn’t be lying there like that now. He was a more sensitive and delicate person than he thought. It couldn’t have been comfortable for him to be constantly hung up on unresolved matters. So Seohwi decided to stop doing things that weren’t like him and do something that could practically help Yoongeon.

“…Will you be okay? You were so worried.”

It was Secretary Lim who was surprised by Seohwi’s words. He looked as if he hadn’t expected Seohwi to say he would back down so readily.

“Actually, I was prepared for a fight.”

He had intended to persuade him until he accepted, if he didn’t. Seohwi shook his head. He had no intention of wasting the time of people who were busy.

“Mr. Secretary Lim, you stay here.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the company.”

“It is about time to get ready for work, but….”

Secretary Lim asked, as if to confirm whether it was really okay for him not to be by his side.

“Well, it’s a bit strange for me to say this now, but… I think the Executive Director will look for you, Mr. Yoon Seohwi, as soon as he wakes up.”

“Tell him I went to work. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Umm….”

With a face that clearly showed his doubt about whether this was the right thing to do, Secretary Lim reluctantly nodded his head, and Seohwi quickly got ready and headed to the company.

In his heart, he wanted to stay by Yoongeon’s side and protect him. But that wasn’t what Yoongeon wanted from him, nor was it a way to actually protect him. What Seohwi could do now was to ensure that one of the many tasks piled on Yoongeon’s shoulders could run smoothly without getting stuck.

He had been thinking complacently. He had thought that just by making his heart feel at ease, Yoongeon would be able to rest even a little, but that was not the right answer. He was worried, but for now, he decided to trust Yoongeon. The Ko Yoongeon he knew was a strong person, and not someone who would collapse easily.

Yoongeon was not the type of person to run away from his responsibilities. As Secretary Lim had said, numerous people were depending on him, and since they were waiting for Yoongeon to resolve their issues, Yoongeon would surely get back on his feet.

When he arrived at the office, he saw the team members who were doing their best, fully committed to making this project a success. They were Yoongeon’s unseen supporters, and Seohwi, too, had to be here at this moment. ‘We’ had to make sure this project led by Yoongeon ran smoothly.

“Mr. Seohwi, I think we need to touch this up here. Could you zoom in a little?”

When he zoomed in on the spot Manager Kim Jia was pointing to, he saw a messy line that he hadn’t noticed before. As Seohwi refined the line according to his instructions, a confirmation that it was okay was given soon after. Thanks to everyone working diligently without a single person slacking off since arriving at work, they were able to roughly finish the work before lunchtime.

“It looks a lot cleaner overall. Ms. Inyeong, with this, it should fit perfectly with the parts, right?”

“Well, we’ll have to make a prototype of just the handle for now, but… I think it should be fine for now. Let’s hand it over like this.”

While Kim Jia and Chief Ha were having a serious conversation, Seohwi took off his glasses and pressed his brow firmly. His eyes were sore from staring at the monitor continuously.

“You’ve worked hard. The work is too tough for a new employee who just joined, right?”

Seohwi shook his head at Manager Kim Jia’s words as he placed a hand on his shoulder. It was because he knew how much difficult work Yoongeon, who was right beside him, was handling. What he could do right now was such a small and trivial thing that it didn’t even reach the tip of his toes. He had no intention of acting like a child.

“Anyway, it’s almost 12 o’clock. Mr. Seohwi, let’s go have lunch with us. Oh? Executive Director, you’re here?”

“Yes, hello.”

It was then. Yoongeon opened the door and came in. Unlike in the morning, he showed no signs of being sick at all.

“Now it’s tiring even to ask why you got hurt, Executive Director.”

At Chief Ha’s words as she tapped her forehead, Yoongeon answered nonchalantly.

“I got a little hurt while working out.”

“Gosh, you know no one believes that lie, right?”

“Of course.”

“You’re driving me crazy, really….”

She smiled at Yoongeon, who wouldn’t tell her the reason.

“Executive Director, what are your plans for lunch today? Are you eating with Mr. Yoon Seohwi?”

It was a question of whether they would do so again today, as they had been eating together for a while. Yoongeon thought for a moment before nodding his head.

“Yes. I have no external appointments.”

“Alright. Mr. Seohwi, then enjoy your lunch.”

“Yes.”

By now, the atmosphere was one where everyone naturally accepted Seohwi being with Yoongeon. Chief Ha was about to lead the other employees out, but Secretary Lim said he would eat alone today and sent everyone off, then came over to Seohwi.

“The Executive Director is fine. He’s just like that because he really hates showing that he’s sick.”

“…”

“It’s okay to go in. You already know most of it anyway, Mr. Yoon Seohwi.”

Seohwi acknowledged and braced himself. Right now, he was a person who could not be his place of rest. He was distressed and struggled when he was by his side. He also felt guilty. So, what he could do was not the kind of thing that could make Yoongeon comfortable, but to sometimes stand alongside him so he could move forward, and at other times, provide steadfast support from behind.

‘…Again.’

And Seohwi somehow felt that this was familiar. It was as if it was something he had been doing for a long time. Why do I keep doing this. His head throbbed whenever these thoughts popped up.

“Executive Director.”

No. Now is not the time for such thoughts. As Seohwi followed Secretary Lim into the executive director’s office, Yoongeon opened a window, sat in front of it, and took out a cigarette to put in his mouth. Even though he clearly knew Seohwi had entered, he deliberately did not acknowledge him.

“I think we’ve lost Ko Yoonchul. We searched the entire Hoehyeon-dong villa district, but he didn’t turn up.”

“…?”

Ko Yoonchul was Yoongeon’s half-brother. And he was also the person who had lunged at him with a knife in front of the casino in Gangwon Province. At the time, he had been too flustered to know who it was, but now he knew for certain.

He was dangerous. He knew it the moment he saw him that day he had brazenly come to Yoongeon’s house. He had the eyes of a madman and was filled with hostility toward Yoongeon. So he had told him to be careful….

“Hmm…. I don’t know how much Mr. Yoon Seohwi knows about Ko Yoonchul… but well, you’ll probably understand when you hear it, even if you only know bits and pieces.”

Secretary Lim frowned as if it were a headache.

“Currently, Ko Yoonchul’s whereabouts are unknown. He was released on probation at the last trial and was staying at the house of his biological mother, CEO Park Dongju, for a while. Then CEO Park tried to send him to a drug addiction treatment center, but Ko Yoonchul found out and ran away. His last known location was the Hoehyeon-dong villa district, but we searched the whole area and couldn’t find the person, only barely discovering traces of him.”

“What kind of traces.”

“Traces of someone having lived there. There was a small basement room, and there were things like a gas burner and water bottles scattered about. It’s a sign that someone was staying there until recently. But there were signs of a struggle in that room.”

He took a tablet and showed it to Yoongeon. Seohwi also went closer to look, and he saw a very messy room.

“There are signs of resistance. And some blood. Anyway, so we checked the CCTV in that area, and a scene was captured of a van entering and then leaving.”

“It wouldn’t be a legitimate car, then.”

“No. It’s an unregistered vehicle. We’ve found the car, but we have to start looking for the real owner now.”

“Time.”

“Well… at the usual speed, it would probably take a day or two. But honestly, it’s just annoying that we have to go through the trouble of finding out when it’s so obvious who did it. It really sucks to pretend you don’t know when you know everything.”

Secretary Lim let out a sigh.