* * *

Soohyuk’s eyes darted around, quickly assessing the situation.

It was easy to misunderstand, but seeing that the other person was Jingyeom, he forced himself to view it more innocently.

Jingyeom was fully dressed, holding a towel, and Wonbeom was still wearing his pants.

Soohyuk had no idea why Jingyeom was helping wipe Wonbeom’s body, but raising his voice now would only make things awkward, so he clenched his teeth and spoke calmly.

“You two seem pretty close since I’ve been gone. Makes me jealous.”

He tried to act like nothing was wrong, but the twitch of his lips betrayed him.

Eventually, he let out a heavy sigh and hung his head.

Jingyeom, who had brightened like a flower in the sun at the sight of Soohyuk, started to greet him cheerfully, but his smile faded when he noticed Soohyuk’s serious expression.

“Does he not know that Wonbeom-hyung was hurt?”

Jingyeom thought Soohyuk’s sigh was because of the bruises still covering Wonbeom’s body.

Feeling sympathetic, he looked at Soohyuk with soft eyes.

In the original story, the two had fought over Jinwoo, but their friendship hadn’t changed much.

They didn’t openly show it, but they clearly cared for each other.

If Soohyuk didn’t know that Wonbeom had been injured and was here because of it, he must be pretty upset.

“If I’m feeling bad, Soohyuk-hyung must be even more heartbroken.”

Jingyeom, still looking at Soohyuk with concern, quickly unfolded the towel and covered Wonbeom’s back.

He thought Wonbeom wouldn’t want his scarred body to be on display.

Watching the silent exchange between Soohyuk and Wonbeom, Jingyeom quietly got off the bed.

“You two haven’t seen each other in a while… you should talk.”

As Jingyeom moved to leave, Soohyuk blocked his path with his arm.

“Where are you going? It’s been a while for us, too.”

“That’s true, but it seems like you two have something to talk about…”

“Oh, we do. Are you trying to avoid us?”

“…Yes.”

For some reason, Soohyuk’s voice seemed lower than usual.

Thinking that it was because of Wonbeom, Jingyeom ducked under Soohyuk’s outstretched arm, wanting to give them some privacy to talk.

Soohyuk let out a disbelieving laugh.

Jingyeom hadn’t even asked him to move or tried to push past him—he had just slipped right underneath his arm.

“What the hell?”

“Well then, have a good talk, you two.”

Not wanting to interfere, Jingyeom quickly made his way to his room.

It wasn’t far from Wonbeom’s, so he shot Soohyuk one last glance before disappearing inside.

As soon as Jingyeom was out of sight, Soohyuk sighed heavily and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

In the meantime, Wonbeom had peeled off the towel from his back and was now putting on his shirt.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s up?”

“Why were you acting like that with Jingyeom?”

“You saw it, didn’t you?”

“That’s exactly why I’m asking, because it’s even more ridiculous! The guy who hates showing his body was there, completely naked, and with Jingyeom of all people. Isn’t it normal for me to be curious?”

Soohyuk sat on a couch a little away from the bed.

“He found out about the knife wound, and he insisted on cleaning it up himself since I couldn’t get it wet, so I let him.”

“You? Oh, my question was off. Obviously, you allowed it, so that’s why Jingyeom was doing it. But knowing and being annoyed are two different things. Do you think I sent you here for this?”

“…”

“I told you to get some rest, and suddenly you’re showing off your body?”

Even though Soohyuk was clearly irritated, Wonbeom ignored him as he buttoned up his shirt.

“If I had known Jingyeom would stay by your side like that, I should’ve taken that knife for you.”

“You can still get stabbed now if you want.”

“What good would it do now? It’s all over.”

“… Sigh. Just tell me why you’re here.”

Soohyuk clicked his tongue at Wonbeom’s directness, as if urging him to get to the point.

It had been a little over a week since Wonbeom arrived here.

During that time, they had only communicated through email, and even then, it wasn’t his own email but someone else’s to avoid revealing his location.

Given the effort to stay hidden, Soohyuk’s visit meant something urgent had come up.

Wonbeom raised his eyebrows, signaling Soohyuk to start talking. Soohyuk finally explained the reason for his visit.

“Chairman Kim has started making moves.”

Wonbeom’s gaze showed he wasn’t impressed by the news, as if that’s all Soohyuk had to say. Soohyuk shrugged.

“The chairman has realized that Kim might be connected to your accident. I mean, he probably suspected it all along, but now there’s a mountain of undeniable evidence, and he’s also found out about the company funds that were embezzled. He’s much angrier than we thought.”

People had started to treat Chairman Tak like an old, toothless tiger, but a tiger remains a tiger until its last breath.

Tak still held a significant share of the company, and many executives remained loyal to him.

Though the factions supporting Kim and Director Tak had split, their ultimate loyalty still lay with Chairman Tak.

While loyalty wasn’t what it used to be, many still stuck to their beliefs.

Both Wonbeom and Assistant Kim knew this well.

Chairman Tak’s influence remained, and it was risky to make any bold moves against him.

He wasn’t the type to be easily pushed aside.

“He’s remained neutral until now, but this incident might change things. If he turns his gaze in our direction, that’s undeniably an advantage for us.”

“…”

“You should’ve acted like the perfect grandson earlier. Things would’ve been much easier for you.”

“Enough with the nagging. Is that why you came?”

Soohyuk glanced away, avoiding Wonbeom’s icy stare.

If this was the only news, it could’ve been relayed through email.

There was no need to risk coming here in person.

“Sun Soohyuk.”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s gonna ruin my good looks.”

“If this is all you came here for…”

“There’s more.”

Soohyuk leaned back into the couch and stared at the ceiling.

“You know Baek Jingyeom’s father, Baek Myungjun, right?”

“What about him?”

“You know he’s been in contact with Jeong Sanho, don’t you?”

“You saw it too. If you have something to say, stop beating around the bush and just spit it out.”

Soohyuk turned his head from the ceiling to face Wonbeom.

“Jeong Sanho met with Director Gwak’s secretary. And Baek Myungjun has someone tailing him.”

“…”

“Doesn’t that seem odd?”

“Baek Myungjun might be keeping tabs because he knows just from the paperwork that he’s Jingyeom’s father. Jeong Sanho might have seen them together and figured they were close if he did some digging.”

Director Gwak was one of Kim’s most loyal allies, which meant that whatever moves Jeong Sanho made were under Assistant Kim’s orders.

The combination of Assistant Kim, Jeong Sanho, and Baek Myungjun was strange at first glance, but not entirely surprising when you connected the dots.

Still, Wonbeom knew Soohyuk wouldn’t raise a question if that was all, so he stared at him, waiting for more.

“It doesn’t end there. There’s something else.”

“Who else?”

“Do you remember that pyramid scheme company you took care of?”

Wonbeom frowned but nodded.

“Jeong Sanho’s been in contact with that company’s president.”

“That guy fled overseas, didn’t he? How does Jeong Sanho know him…?”

“You think that’s all? Some of the thugs who were lurking around Jingyeom have also met with Jeong Sanho recently. Doesn’t this all smell fishy to you?”

Through background checks, they’d learned that Jeong Sanho was a small-time crook who scammed people.

Aside from working at a loan company for a year, there wasn’t anything noteworthy about him.

They even checked if the loan company was connected to Assistant Kim, but there was no link.

If Soohyuk hadn’t known about the meeting between Gwak’s secretary and Jeong Sanho, he might’ve assumed Jeong Sanho was acting alone.

“Assistant Kim’s side approached Jeong Sanho first, and after that, they started snooping around Jingyeom’s affairs.”

Wonbeom, now understanding Soohyuk’s visit, relaxed the furrow in his brow.

“It’s clear they’re trying to use Baek Jingyeom to get to me.”

“It’s probably more than that. If they just wanted leverage, kidnapping and threatening him would be the easier move. But since they’re complicating things, there must be another agenda, don’t you think?”

Even if they didn’t know what that agenda was yet, leaving things as they were could put Jingyeom in serious danger.

That’s why they’d brought him to this secluded location and cut off all outside contact.

“You know what’s even more interesting?”

“Just say it all at once.”

“It’s more fun this way! Anyway, there’s a record of Jeong Sanho inquiring about a contract killing a few months ago.”

Wonbeom’s eyebrows shot up at that.

Soohyuk wouldn’t bring this up if it were just some search history.

This meant Jeong Sanho had actually contacted a hitman.

Why?

Before Wonbeom could dwell on the thought, Soohyuk continued with more detailed information.

“The target was supposed to be disclosed later, but it kept getting delayed. Now, they’ve contacted him again and told him to be ready soon.”

“Do you know who the target is?”

“Am I a god? The client didn’t reveal it, so how would I know? I can only guess.”

The same thought crossed both of their minds—Jingyeom or Jinwoo.

But killing Jingyeom didn’t make much sense, so their thoughts naturally leaned toward Jinwoo.

“Well, it seems we’re thinking along the same lines. But who knows, it could be someone else.”

“Better to be safe than sorry. Assign more people. Is Secretary Baek still with Secretary Yang? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. In fact, they’re more fired up than ever.”

A few days ago, Jinwoo and Secretary Yang were attacked.

After deciding it would be safer to guard them together rather than separately, they were assigned as a pair, and then that incident happened.

Fortunately, their bodyguards were nearby, and nothing serious occurred.

Besides, both Jinwoo and Yang were skilled enough fighters not to be easily overpowered.

This situation was likely to repeat, which meant leaving Jinwoo as he was would be too risky.

Especially with the uncertainty of what Jeong Sanho might be plotting.

Originally, the plan was for Jinwoo to stay here once things wrapped up.

But with the current situation becoming more complicated, I decided to move up the schedule.

“Secretary Baek will be sent here next week. I’m also planning to increase security. Oh, not just Korean bodyguards—I’ve hired foreign mercenaries too.”

“…Why don’t you just announce to the world that everyone’s here?”

“If we get exposed, I’ll charter a private jet immediately. Oh, how’s the stab wound? With Jingyeom’s devoted care, you must’ve recovered completely by now. You should come up.”

Just moments ago, Soohyuk had been serious, but now he smirked.

From the moment they decided to send Wonbeom here, Soohyuk had anticipated that Jingyeom and he would grow closer.

Spending so much time together in the same space, it was only natural that they’d bond.

It wouldn’t have been much different if he had come himself instead of Wonbeom.

‘No, if I had come, this would’ve been a honeymoon suite.’

Soohyuk would never have missed such a sweet opportunity.

Despite some uneasy feelings, Soohyuk had let Wonbeom go willingly, trusting in Jingyeom.

‘Sometimes, being oblivious can be helpful.’

If Wonbeom had confessed his feelings, maybe Jingyeom would’ve drawn a clearer line.

It was just Soohyuk’s hopeful thinking, but it seemed like a plausible hypothesis.

Not that Wonbeom would confess in this situation anyway.

Soohyuk had considered many possible scenarios.

“Why don’t you rest in your room today? I’ll spend some time with Jingyeom; it’s been a while. See this?”

Soohyuk stretched out his hand, trembling visibly, and laughed as if even he couldn’t believe it.

“I’m shaking because I miss Jingyeom so much.”

He always jokingly said he had withdrawal symptoms from Baek Jingyeom, but now it seemed real.

He found himself looking at Jingyeom’s picture, no matter what he was doing.

There was even a small framed photo of Jingyeom on his office desk.

He thought this feeling would fade over time, but it only grew stronger.

Though this emotion still felt foreign, it was fascinating and amusing to realize he could like someone this much.

He was even curious how far these feelings could go.

“Even quitting smoking wasn’t this hard.”

Giving up cigarettes was easier. He doubted he could ever quit Jingyeom.

Annoyed by Soohyuk’s attempts to show his trembling hand again, Wonbeom threw a towel at him and told him to leave.

“Don’t come out of your room until I leave. Get to work.”

“…”

“I need to see Jingyeom before these symptoms get worse.”

Soohyuk quickly stood and left the room.

Shaking his head, Wonbeom took out the laptop he’d hidden under the bed and connected it to the internet cable.

Even without Wi-Fi, using a wired connection allowed him to access the internet.

From what he’d observed over the past few days, Jingyeom seemed to have adapted well to this place.

Under the guise of needing to repair leaks in his house, they were keeping him here for protection without his knowledge.

At this point, even if they told him there were problems with the company and he had to stay longer, he’d probably just accept it. In that case, it might even be okay to connect the house phone.

‘Soohyuk will handle it.’

Since Soohyuk was managing everything here, Wonbeom felt confident he’d take care of it.

He powered on his laptop and saw his inbox flooded with emails from just one night.

There really was no such thing as a day off in his life.

* * *