RB 19

“Huh?” Eunho lifted his eyes, which had only been fixed on the floor, to look at him.

Yeorok swirled his wine glass and showed a picture-like smile.

“I think I can make the time.”

“…Does that mean the Chairman will teach me?”

“You said you felt neglected and upset, didn’t you?”

Eunho couldn’t bring himself to speak, only moving his lips soundlessly. It was impossible that just a few sips of wine had made him drunk, yet he still could not grasp the situation.

“Taehwa hyung will teach me well anyway…”

“Would it make you uncomfortable if I teach you?”

Of course it would be uncomfortable. Even facing him like this was enough to make him tense. He doubted he could actually take in anything Yeorok taught him.

Eunho swallowed the words that almost came out. Instead, he just stared at Yeorok.

Yeorok had left him unattended before, why was he now suddenly acting friendly again? Eunho stared at him as he tried to figure out Yeorok’s intention.

Yeorok answered with a relaxed smile. Eunho forced a calm expression, but his face and his gaze revealed so clearly what he was thinking that it was obvious how inexperienced he was. On the outside he looked exactly like Choi Yoonho’s, but when spending time with him, it was easy to feel that he was a completely different person.

Yes, Sim Eunho and Choi Yoonho were distinctly different.

Even when he felt disgusted, if Yeorok talked with Sim Eunho for more than five minutes, his own mind softened. Knowing that Eunho’s nature behind his reserve was tender and weak, it was not easy to treat him harshly.

His noticeable looks and his sorrowful eyes that drew people’s attention were qualities Sim Eunho possessed. He probably did not even realize it himself.

Originally, Yeorok had no intention of getting involved, but he changed his plan. Sim Eunho would become more like Choi Yoonho with each passing day, and if he watched that change, he would never grow attached.

“I will apologize for leaving you alone. I needed time to get a grip on myself.”

“……”

“So as an apology, I want to teach you about alcohol, Sim Eunho-ssi. But if you do not want it, you can refuse.”

Eunho looked up at him silently. His clear brown eyes looked very pure. For a moment, doubt flickered in his heart, but it quickly died down.

“Wednesday at midnight is fine.”

“Overdrinking is absolutely forbidden.”

Yeorok lightly clinked his glass.

The clear ringing sound was bright. Despite the pure tone, Eunho’s expression did not relax. The taste of wine was still confusing to him, and he only thought it felt overly luxurious.

‎

“Yeorok came last night?”

Eunho only nodded instead of answering. His mouth was full of bread and he could not speak.

“For what reason?”

Eunho chewed the bread quickly. He tried to force it down his throat but it was too much. Only after he swallowed it with juice did he manage to empty his mouth.

“He just came and talked for a bit.”

“Talked for a bit?”

“We drank wine.”

“Oh.” Seo Taehwa let out a short exclamation. Even for him, a late-night drinking session seemed unexpected.

“Since I know nothing about wine… the Chairman said he would help me.”

“Well, he does know a lot about alcohol. What is your drinking capacity, Eunho-ssi?”

“I have almost never drunk before.”

On the day he killed Mr. Oh, he had tasted alcohol for the first time. The tipsy feeling had not been pleasant. Maybe because of Mr. Oh, he only remembered it as a bad memory.

“Choi Yoonho wasn’t that strong with alcohol either. One bottle of wine and he was wasted. I had been meaning to try giving you some alcohol, but Choi Yeorok beat me to it.”

Seo Taehwa laughed as he sipped his juice. The way he lightly swirled the glass of orange juice looked like he was mimicking drinking wine. Even his casual action looked refined. Like the people of Haegang, he had etiquette ingrained in him.

“So what did he say he would help you with?”

“He said he would come every Wednesday to teach me something.”

“Ohh.”

Seo Taehwa let out another exclamation. His trembling lips made him look suspicious, but Eunho did not pry and continued his meal. Thinking of his schedule ahead, he had no time to linger.

“Eunho-ssi… Choi Yeorok teaching you might not be such a good thing.”

But the words that followed didn’t sound ordinary. Eunho could not hold back his curiosity and asked.

“In what way?”

“You already know from experience. He is a perfectionist. And his standards are so high that to meet his level… Ha, you will have a hard time, Eunho-ssi.”

“Even if it is hard, there is nothing I can do. It is the work I have to do.”

“You are too gentle. At this rate, a beast will tear you apart.”

“Even if I get torn apart, I would not taste good anyway.”

Seo Taehwa laughed loudly enough to show his uvula. No matter how much the other laughed, Eunho just kept moving his fork steadily.

“You are unexpectedly funny, Eunho-ssi.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

Seo Taehwa stretched his words playfully. Unlike his bright smile, Eunho’s reaction to the joke was lukewarm. Having grown up struggling since childhood, he still found it awkward to respond to teasing.

“You’ve gotten a bit used to using your left hand?”

“My right hand still goes out first. Even when I’m conscious of it.”

“That’s only natural. It’s the hand you’ve used for over twenty years. Changing it isn’t easy.”

After that, they continued chatting. When Eunho finished his last piece of fruit, Seo Taehwa smacked the table with both hands and stood up.

“Alright, then let’s work hard again today!”

Eunho wiped his mouth with a napkin and answered briefly with a yes. Their energy levels were so different, but in his will to achieve his purpose, Sim Eunho was no less determined. His eyes, facing the training ahead, shone much clearer than before.

‎

‎

A low-quality video was playing on the large television in the room. Eunho stared at the screen with his mouth half open.

-I told you, fuck!! Don’t touch my stuff.

-Yoonho, I never touched it.

-It’s out of place!

-Choi Yoonho! Haa, just calm down for a second.

-Fuck! Where are you putting your filthy hands!? Touch it again and I’ll cut your hands off.

On the screen, Choi Yoonho was in the midst of a rampage. The guy who had been happily humming a tune just moments before suddenly turned wild like a beast. Even Seo Taehwa sweating as he tried to calm him down was conveyed vividly.

Choi Yoonho, who was shouting at the top of his lungs, looked like someone possessed. He raged, the veins in his neck were raised, just because the placement of his things had been slightly off. At one point, he picked up a glass of water from the nightstand and threw it at Seo Taehwa. The glass hit his forehead directly, broke in two large pieces on the floor, and Seo Taehwa pressed the bleeding spot with his hand.

-Get lost, just seeing your face makes me sick, get out of my sight right now!

-Yoonho. Just wait… I’m bleeding.

-Perfect. Bleed more. At least that might improve my mood, don’t you think?

The scene showed Choi Yoonho mercilessly pushing and kicking the bleeding Seo Taehwa. Eunho froze and could not even breathe as he looked at the violent scene. Choi Yoonho’s true nature, which he had only ever heard about in words until now, far exceeded his expectations.

“Hyung… this is too much.”

“Yeah, not easy, right?”

Seo Taehwa answered as if it was nothing. Watching the video next to Eunho, he touched his forehead, as though he was recalling old memories. The scar from that time was still faintly there.

“Was he always like this?”

“This one is on the more extreme side.”

Seo Taehwa sighed with a bitter smile.

“By ratio, about fifty percent? His violent tendencies didn’t always show in actions. Most of the time it was expressed in words. When he was in a good mood, he treated people well. The problem was how wildly it shifted.”

Seo Taehwa picked up the laptop and showed him the list of videos. Inside the folder were hundreds of files sorted by category. Most were short videos under three minutes.

Inside a folder called ‘Key Behaviors’ were more yellow folders. They were divided in detail by moods, by situations, by types.

“There are this many videos?”

“Most are from the CCTV at home, and some are clips taken on phones. He has a lot of enemies. Just buying up the videos that acquaintances threatened to spread cost billions of won. It’s a miracle Choi Yoonho is a chaebol. If he wasn’t, he would’ve gone to prison long ago.”

Seo Taehwa spoke in a deliberately casual tone. He truly seemed to hold no sympathy for Choi Yoonho. But it didn’t feel like malice either. He was simply listing facts as they were.

“From now on, you’ll watch these videos and copy Choi Yoonho’s behavior. Keep copying until it looks convincing, understand?”

“……”

Eunho’s face visibly darkened. Honestly, he had lost confidence. Especially right after watching a video of Choi Yoonho’s violent tantrums.

“Hyung… how can I do that?”

“I’m not saying you should start raging right away, so don’t worry. Didn’t I tell you to just trust me? You can do it!”

Seo Taehwa patted Eunho’s shoulder. But at that moment, even his gentle touch did not comfort him. Eunho covered his face with his hands and only murmured that he would try hard.

“Come on, cheer up. We haven’t even started, and you’re like this already?”

“…You’re telling me I have to curse at you and hit you like in that video, aren’t you?”

“Geez, you softie. It’s just acting. We’ll leave the hard stuff for later and start with step one.”

He tapped the laptop and played a prepared video. This time it showed Choi Yoonho sitting on a sofa. The folder name was ‘Sitting Posture.’ There were even dozens of other videos with the same name but numbered differently.

“See, nothing special, right?”

Eunho suddenly recalled the huge number of folders he had glimpsed earlier. He realized he had to learn and make his own every behavior, tone, and Choi Yoonho’s every small habit.

“Even ten months won’t be enough.”

“Our client is very strict, so let’s push ourselves.”

Seo Taehwa subtly mentioned Choi Yeorok. Yeorok was the kind of man who could wake him up from slackness.

Eunho let out a short breath and focused on the screen again. Just as Seo Taehwa said, it was right to work harder instead of whining.