* * *

“Phew…”

He pulled out his pack of cigarettes, finding only one left.

He’d intended to smoke just one, but the realization that it was his last somehow irritated him even more.

Clamping the cigarette between his lips, he flicked his lighter and took a deep drag, exhaling the smoke with a long sigh.

How he longed to rip off the employee badge hanging around his neck and quit on the spot.

But he swallowed his complaints, knowing the black card in his wallet would be immediately canceled if he dared.

He took another drag, releasing the smoke into the air, when his phone buzzed in his hand.

Thinking Team Leader Baek was already hunting for him, despite only a few minutes away, his brow furrowed deeply.

“…”

Squinting at the screen, he saw an unfamiliar number starting with the area code 02 instead of Baek Hajeong’s name.

Assuming it was spam, he was about to decline the call but paused, feeling a faint sense of familiarity.

‘Where have I seen this number before?’

The vibration persisted as he pondered, and he finally answered, deciding he could always hang up if it turned out to be a nuisance.

“Hello?”

“Is this Mr. Cha Junyoung’s phone?”

“Yes, speaking.”

“This is the Korea Genetic Research Institute. We’re calling to inform you about the results of the paternity test you requested.”

Junyoung, who had been nonchalant until now, straightened up instantly.

The reason for the familiarity hit him—this was the number of the lab where he’d recently ordered a paternity test.

“W-Wait a moment. Phew… Just ten seconds—no, thirty seconds! Let me take a deep breath first.”

Quickly stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray, Junyoung nervously bit his dry lips.

Though the lab had mentioned the results might be available in a day or two, he hadn’t expected to receive the call on the third day.

Unprepared, he was caught off guard.

Taking a deep breath as if to empty his lungs, he reassured himself.

He had chosen this lab specifically to avoid tampering, suspecting that Seojin might have tried to manipulate other labs.

There should be no issues with the results.

All he needed to hear was that the child wasn’t his.

That would resolve everything.

Of course, the child couldn’t be his.

Yoo Seojin was a liar.

Still, why was his heart pounding so hard?

“Phew… Okay, I’m ready to hear—”

“Cha Junyoung?”

Just as he was about to hear the results, a voice called out from behind.

Startled, he whipped around to see a woman with a calm smile tilting her head in curiosity.

“What are you doing here when I told you to revise the proposal?”

…Damn it. I’m screwed.

Junyoung froze on the spot, facing Baek Hajeong, who managed to radiate an intimidating aura even while smiling.

She took a step closer, her gaze drifting to the phone in his awkwardly held hand.

“Oh, uh, just… clearing my head for a moment.”

“Clearing your head, huh? So, your brain overheats sometimes too? Then why is your work always subpar?”

Her sarcastic remark, delivered with a sweet smile, was typical of Baek Hajeong, Junyoung’s cousin and the team leader tasked by his mother to turn him into a useful employee.

“You’re done with your cigarette, so let’s head down.”

Hajeong glanced at the barely smoked cigarette in the ashtray before leading the way.

Junyoung hesitated, his gaze shifting nervously from the phone in his hand to Hajeong.

He desperately needed to hear the results, but with her standing right there, he was stuck.

Even if the results cleared him, the fact that he had taken a paternity test would undoubtedly give Hajeong plenty of ammunition to mock him.

Resigned, he ended the call, hiding his phone behind his back.

He’d try again later.

As he followed Hajeong, he flinched when she suddenly turned to him.

“Wasn’t that a call? Was it important?”

“No, not at all.”

“Of course not. There’s nothing more important than work during office hours.”

That was exactly the kind of thing a workaholic like Hajeong would say.

Ignoring Junyoung’s sour expression, she cheerfully held the door open to the rooftop garden.

Junyoung nervously fiddled with his phone, trailing after her, his heart still pounding unpleasantly.

Junyoung hastily sent the revised project proposal to Hajeong, then, taking advantage of the fact that Hajeong was out at the Cheongdam branch for work, he left the office as soon as it hit 6 p.m.

He was the youngest member of the team, a new recruit, but he boldly left a farewell message, intending to make an early exit.

He figured that with so many ears around the office and Hajeong’s sharp gaze to avoid, it would be better to go directly to the vendor and pick up the results himself.

The vendor’s business hours were until 7 p.m. Junyoung quickly hopped into his car and headed there.

Since he had visited the vendor before when he needed a test, the address was saved in his navigation system.

As it was rush hour, it showed that the drive would take 40 minutes.

During the drive, his phone vibrated several times briefly, but Junyoung figured it was probably a message from Hajeong and didn’t check it.

When he arrived at the vendor just in time, Junyoung immediately asked the employee for the results.

The employee handed him a white envelope with the company’s logo, and Junyoung quickly grabbed it, heading back to the car.

Sigh…

Without thinking, he tightened his grip on the envelope.

As he took a deep breath and thought about opening it quickly, his phone vibrated again.

Of all times… Junyoung furrowed his brow and grabbed his phone.

He had ignored the calls during the drive, so Hajeong’s anger was sure to be even worse now.

[It’s me, Yoo Seojin. Can you make some time for me this weekend? I have something important to talk about. I won’t take up too much of your time.]

But instead of a furious message from Hajeong, it was a text from Seojin.

‘How did he get my number? I changed it right after college.’

Junyoung scowled at the name he didn’t want to see.

‘Last time, Seojin just barged into the office and caused a scene, and now he’s figured out my number and is contacting me?’

It was so absurd that Junyoung couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

“…”

However, Junyoung quickly changed his mindset and fell silent.

He had warned Seojin to never show up again and even threatened to sue him for blackmail, but if Seojin was contacting him, maybe he was ready for a lawsuit.

Junyoung smirked and sent a reply, intentionally sending just a time and place without much effort.

Naturally, the meeting spot was the nearest café to Seojin’s house.

Junyoung didn’t care about how far it was from Seojin’s place or even where his house was.

He placed the phone back on the console and finally opened the envelope.

His tension and anxiety melted away as he imagined trampling on Seojin’s pride.

Junyoung even whistled as he took the paper from the envelope.

“…Huh?”

The whistling stopped, and his head tilted in confusion.

His eyes trembled as he looked over an unfamiliar string of English words and numbers, growing more uneasy with every line.

[Client: Cha Junyoung (M) & Client: Yoo Jinseo (M) – Biological parent-child relationship confirmed.]

“…What the fuck?”

Junyoung slapped his forehead in disbelief and checked the results again.

Every red-marked word in front of him read “match.”

Even their blood types matched—both were B-type.

[Parent-child probability: 99.999%]

The final line, “99.999%,” was in bold red, too.

Junyoung rubbed his eyes, thinking they must be seeing things, blinking repeatedly, but the words didn’t change.

The result still said that Yoo Jinseo was his son.

Junyoung cursed as he read Seojin’s reply.

* * *