RB 3

The scenery outside the car window passed by at a fast speed. As they entered the center of Seoul, the sight of the city glowing all night filled the view. The yellow and red lights sparkling looked like a spectacle.

But Eunho could not see any of it. His his eyes rolling anxiously as he held the seatbelt across his chest.

“Um… could you tell me why I am being called?”

“It is nothing worth being so nervous about. Just think of it as a simple greeting.”

Secretary Hong, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, spoke casually. Even so, Eunho could not relax. How could a meeting with the chairman of the foundation be considered something simple?

Eunho squeezed his voice out with difficulty.

“I may not be as educated as others, but I am not stupid.”

He picked one of the scenarios that came to mind and spoke.

“Are you… planning to cancel the sponsorship?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because… Haegang has no reason to sponsor me.”

He had thought it strange for a long time. That a huge company like Haegang would sponsor him.

Usually, if a foundation sponsored someone, there had to be a reason. Either the person was exceptionally intelligent, or they showed outstanding talent in the arts or athletics. If not, then they had some moving story.

Sim Eunho fit none of these. He was part of a marginalized class, but there were plenty of others in the same situation.

Even so, Haegang’s sponsorship had continued for over five years. Every month he received a small amount of money, and every quarter he received daily necessities. Eunho used that to pay his rent and bills.

Their sponsorship had only one condition.

He had to get a health checkup every year at a designated hospital.

He had pretended not to notice and took the support, but he had always felt nervous. He was sure there was some system error. Otherwise, why would they sponsor someone like him?

But he could not survive without the foundation’s support, so he had gritted his teeth and played dumb. It looked like it had finally been exposed. Even so, was it really something that required meeting the chairman in person?

The more he thought, the more confused he became, and his breathing grew heavier.

“The chairman…”

Seeing him trembling, the man in the driver’s seat carefully spoke.

“The chairman needs your help, Mr. Sim Eunho.”

“…Me? But I cannot do anything.”

“It is something only you can do. This is all I can tell you. You will hear the rest directly from him.”

Secretary Hong’s words did not ease his mind. They only made his more nervous.

Eunho shut his mouth and rubbed his empty stomach. Something only he could do… health checkups… could it be they wanted his organs?

***

Yeorok spun a black fountain pen.

The pen traced half circles over his long fingers, tapping the corner of the paper each time it stopped. On the paper, the words [Sim Eunho Tracking and Observation Report] were written in bold at the top.

It had been five years since he first became aware of the boy who was his nephew’s doppelganger, a boy who looked exactly like Choi Yoonho.

Back then, after Chairman Choi’s death, Yeorok had been overwhelmed with taking over the group and the foundation. At that time, Choi Yoonho was a walking bomb. He lacked empathy, had no guilt, no conscience, and no sense of responsibility. On top of that, he had immense wealth. It was no wonder he acted out of control.

The incidents Choi Yoonho caused on impulse left the people of Haegang completely helpless. His extreme behavior only made Yeorok’s stress worse with each passing day.

He only looked after him because of forced duty. Even though he was his only nephew, if given the chance, he wanted to get rid of him.

Then one day, he received a report about a boy who looked very similar to Choi Yoonho. He resembled him so closely that people even called him “Young Master Yoonho.”

‘How similar can he be?’

‘They said he could pass as his twin.’

At the time, Yeorok only scoffed. Even when he looked at the photo secretly taken of the boy, he felt nothing special. Interesting. That was the only thought in his mind.

But the more he thought about it, the sharper his instincts became.

Do not let this boy slip away. Someday, he will be useful.

‘Keep watching him. There’s no need to act, just monitor him.’

The sponsorship was a kind of investment.

To prepare for an accident. Or to use as a substitute to take the blame if Choi Yoonho caused irreparable trouble.

Whatever the use, there was no harm in being prepared. The cost was nothing to Yeorok, and the work of keeping tabs on him would be handled by his subordinates.

Who could have known that Sim Eunho would become the key solution?

“……”

The report in Yeorok’s hand was thin.

A high school graduation photo and school record, a simple background check, five years of health examination results, and a record of the foundation’s support. That was all.

Eunho.

The boy’s name was different from Yoonho’s by only one character.

He was two years older than Yoonho, and his personality was quiet and calm. He was so poor that he even had to wear hand-me-down uniforms.

It was clear that Sim Eunho had lived a difficult life. The gloomy expression in his graduation photo proved it. His long-standing poverty was visible even in the picture.

Because of that, it still did not satisfy Yeorok. His face and appearance looked somewhat similar, but it was not enough to call him a true doppelganger. It was probably because of his gentle eyes.

With only this much, he could not be used as Choi Yoonho’s substitute, and Yeorok hated incomplete forms.

Knock, knock.

Soon someone knocked on the door.

Yeorok kept his eyes on the report and answered shortly, “Yes.”

Through the slightly opened door, Hong Namyeong’s stern face appeared first. Behind him was Sim Eunho, his head lowered under a black cap pulled down.

“Please come in.”

At Hong’s invitation, Eunho reluctantly stepped forward. His mouth was drying, and his throat tightened from the extreme nervousness.

From the moment he stepped into this house, the pressure had been overwhelming. The carefully kept garden, the three-story mansion that looked like a fortress, and now this study. Before such wealth he had never experienced, he shrank without even realizing it.

Eunho gripped the frayed hem of his T-shirt. In such a luxurious space, his faded shirt looked unbearably shabby. His toes, hidden in worn socks, kept twitching.

Meanwhile, Yeorok pushed back his chair and walked in front of him. His slippers scraped softly against the floor.

He stood facing Sim Eunho in the center of the study, leaving only a short distance between them. Unlike the tense Eunho, Yeorok was calm.

“Mr. Sim Eunho.”

“…Yes.”

“I am Choi Yeorok, chairman of the Haegang Foundation. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Yeorok first extended his hand for a handshake. His hand hovered in the air for some time, waiting. Even while Eunho hesitated, Yeorok patiently held it out.

“…It is… nice to meet you.”

The voice squeezed out of him was weak to anyone’s ears.

Yeorok’s calm black eyes scanned him closely. Seeing Sim Eunho in person, his expectations thinned even more.

Even during the brief handshake, Yeorok measured the right hand he touched. The skin was rough, but the size of the hand was about the same as his nephew’s.

“Could you take off your cap?”

“What? …Ah, yes.”

Eunho hesitated, then raised his hand. He lifted the brim slightly, but his bangs still covered half his face.

Then the man in front stepped closer. When he came so near that he invaded Eunho’s personal space, Eunho’s legs automatically stepped back. But Yeorok’s hand was faster.

“Ah, wait, just a moment…!”

When a hand suddenly reached toward him, Eunho instinctively closed his eyes. But instead of the violence he had always known, an unfamiliar touch landed on his face.

Yeorok held his chin firmly and brushed aside the bangs flattened by the cap without hesitation. In contrast to the rude act, the palm that slid over his nose and forehead was very gentle.

Only then did Eunho slowly open his trembling eyelids.

Choi Yeorok’s face filled his sight at close range. The man, whose deep eyes left a strong impression, looked down at his face intently and let out a shallow breath.

“……”

Yeorok’s tongue stuck to his mouth, and no words came out. The moment he saw Sim Eunho’s face fully revealed, a shiver ran up his spine and spread to his head.

His once-calm mind tangled with scattered thoughts. Looking at a face that matched without the slightest mistake, the hairs on his body stood up and goosebumps covered his skin.

This was not just resemblance. This was Choi Yoonho himself.