PA 63

At that moment, Junhyuk whispered softly in his ear.

“Are you nervous?”

“You think?”

Yejun opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to look at Junhyuk. Yejun’s tense face broke into a pure smile, relieved by Junhyuk’s gentle gaze.

“Junhyuk, look over there. We’re about to take off.”

“So we are.”

Yejun checked his seatbelt one more time. Soon, the private jet they were on sped down the runway and soared into the sky in an instant. Yejun couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful city receding into the distance beyond the window.

Once the plane reached the lower stratosphere above the clouds, the turbulence of the aircraft noticeably lessened. As soon as the light for the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign went out, Junhyuk got up from his seat.

“What should we eat?”

“No, I’m tired, so I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Really?”

He leaned his seat back and even put on an eye mask, worried he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Having slept poorly the previous night, and with the effects of the alcohol starting to kick in, Yejun soon drifted off to sleep.

In the front cabin of the private jet, Secretary Jung and other staff members assisting Junhyuk were attending to company business. Once Yejun was asleep, Junhyuk walked toward the front.

“So the board meeting was held after all?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Was the agenda the same?”

“Yes.”

Junhyuk couldn’t understand at all why Sanghyeon was handing over all his assets and management rights to him.

“Why? Why is he in such a hurry to hand over the management rights?”

“The specific reason for the succession of management rights has not been disclosed. However, Saeil Group is sailing smoothly even amid the major change of its executive team being replaced. But…”

“But?”

Junhyuk looked at the hesitant Secretary Jung with a displeased expression and asked again.

“We have confirmed that Secretary Song and Doctor Park are staying at Chairman Cha’s residence.”

“In the last two weeks, how many times has my father come to the main office?”

“…None.”

Instantly, Junhyuk’s brow furrowed sharply. He was seized by an intuition that something bad might have happened to Sanghyeon.

☂︎

Sanghyeon followed Jiyun and entered the gallery entrance on the second floor of the main office building. The lobby was quite spacious, and its stylish interior, like that of a luxury hotel, stood out. At Sanghyeon’s appearance, all the reception staff at the desk stood up.

“Chairman, thank you for your valuable visit.”

“Come to think of it, this is my first time at the Hangang Gallery.”

Sanghyeon stood in front of a geometric sculpture in the center of the lobby and carefully read the artwork’s label. Jiyun stood next to him, waiting without a word. Sanghyeon observed the sculpture again, then shifted his gaze to Jiyun, who was standing about two steps away. Then, Jiyun began to speak.

“Is that so? Now that you mention it, that’s right. Please visit often from now on.”

“If I have time.”

“I heard you were going to look at some paintings today, Chairman, so I intend to guide you myself.”

It was unlikely to end with just talk of art. Her gaze was no different from that of a person with a clear objective. Previously, he had thought it greatly resembled his dead wife’s gaze. But this time, there was something different about its texture.

What is it?

At that moment, the face of the man who had been standing anxiously outside the gallery came to mind.

Ah, Song Yeongsik.

Sanghyeon’s brow narrowed, and he fell silent for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Jiyun, a creeping sense of foreboding washing over him. She was calling his name with a worried look in her eyes.

“…man, Chairman?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. My mind wandered for a moment.”

“Not at all. Would you like to tour the exhibition hall? Or would you prefer to view the artworks in the VIP room?”

“Well… whatever Director Han prefers.”

Sanghyeon felt as if he could hear the sound of Jiyun’s mind racing.

“Let’s go to the VIP room.”

“Let’s do that.”

As if having finished all her calculations, Jiyun guided Sanghyeon to the VIP room located in the innermost part of the VIP lounge. There, relatively simple but luxurious refreshments were prepared.

“This place is connected to a private exhibition room. First…”

“Director Han.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Let’s not beat around the bush and get straight to the point.”

Jiyun gestured with her eyes to the curator who had followed them into the VIP room to provide information on the artworks. Only Sanghyeon and Jiyun were left in the VIP room.

“From now on, I’ll just call you Mister like I did when I was young.”

“As you like.”

To Jiyun, it seemed Sanghyeon wanted to get straight to the point. She was well aware of Sanghyeon’s straightforward personality. That was why she, too, no longer hesitated and revealed her true intentions.

“Mister, I really want to marry Junhyuk.”

“You’re confident you can endure a loveless marriage.”

Jiyun looked at Sanghyeon, who was trying to dissuade her, with a sharp gaze. She brandished the weapon she believed to be the most powerful one she possessed at Sanghyeon.

“Our Hangang Construction will be quite helpful to Junhyuk, too.”

“Does Junhyuk look like he’s in a position where he desperately needs help from his in-laws?”

No counterargument to Sanghyeon’s question came to mind. Jiyun watched Sanghyeon lean deep into the sofa and cross his legs. Sanghyeon seemed to have no intention of helping her and his son’s marriage. Her vague impatience gradually turned into anxiety. However, Jiyun did not express that anxiety as anger.

“Love isn’t eternal, you know. I can wait until Junhyuk gets his feelings in order.”

“What you say about love not being eternal might be true… but even if his love with the boy he’s seeing now ends, I don’t think my son’s next love will go to you.”

“Mister!”

Sanghyeon judged that now was the time to draw a clear line. If there was any part of Junhyuk that resembled him, he probably wouldn’t be able to hold a woman for the rest of his life. Sanghyeon did not want Jiyun to live the same life as his wife, who had taken her own life.

“Regarding the reason why… I assume you’re not so unaware that I have to explain every single detail?”

“……”

“Pick out a suitable sculpture from the one in the lobby and some paintings by emerging domestic artists and send them to the Saeil Group main office.”

Sanghyeon got up from his seat without any lingering attachment and left the VIP room. The moment he was gone, Jiyun picked up her phone and made a call to someone.

“Pinpoint where Lee Yejun is.”

☂︎

Several days had passed since arriving in Korea. Yejun stopped at the intersection in front of the school and slowly looked around. Among the busily moving people, he felt like an unfamiliar stranger. After standing there blankly for a moment, Yejun belatedly noticed the pedestrian signal blinking and began to cross the crosswalk at a light jog. At that moment, people who had also realized late that the signal had changed started to run hastily after Yejun.

Just how many bodyguards did he assign?

The people who had run after Yejun seemed to be the bodyguards Junhyuk had assigned. A small laugh escaped Yejun’s lips at Junhyuk’s fussiness.

“Welcome.”

Yejun went into a cafe with a good view of the school’s main gate and deliberately sat in a corner seat. Then, he took out a book and began to read. He didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone while he was reading.

It was at that moment. A woman in clothes that were flashy even at a glance spoke to Yejun.

“I can sit here, right?”

“Yes, huh?”

Before a startled Yejun could even give his permission, Jiyun sat down in the opposite seat, crossing her legs. Yejun slightly furrowed his brow at Jiyun’s hostile demeanor.

“Who are you? Who are you to be so rude?”

Jiyun let out a smirk as if she had predicted this situation. Yejun, faced with Jiyun’s absurd attitude, asked once more.

“What are you doing right now?”

“After seeing this, I want you to think about whether my actions right now are rude.”

Jiyun threw a postcard-sized paper envelope onto the table. Yejun, looking at Jiyun warily, tore open the envelope and took out its contents. It was a photograph wrapped in white paper. A sense of foreboding brushed past him, but he carefully tore off the white paper.

“……”

“Am I still being rude?”

What Yejun held in his hand was a photograph. A few of the pictures showed Yejun coming and going from Junhyuk’s house, while a few others showed scenes of him being intimate with Sanghyeon. Yejun’s fingertips trembled faintly, and his lips were parched. However, he took a sip of his coffee and then hid his trembling hands under the table. Jiyun looked at Yejun as if she were looking at a disgusting insect and spat out words of contempt.

“Disgusting.”

Yejun held his breath for a moment and tried to calm his persistently pounding heart.

“How impressive! So, how did it feel to play with a father and son, holding them in your arms?”

Yejun could not bring himself to refute Jiyun’s single insulting remark.

“If you have a mouth, why don’t you say something.”

“……”

Yejun desperately held back the tears that kept threatening to fall and repeated to himself that he had been the victim of the situation back then. Then, he looked straight into Jiyun’s eyes and spoke, enunciating each word.

“So what is your intention in showing me this photo?”

“You really don’t know?”

Yejun, too, no longer respected Jiyun, who was being so rude.

“If you can marry Junhyuk, go ahead.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m saying if you covet Junhyuk so much, take him.”

“You’re quite shameless. You should be the one to back off. If you, Lee Yejun, just get out of the way, everything will go back to normal.”

“I want to do that, too. But that… isn’t up to me.”

“…?”

“The person holding on to this relationship right now isn’t me, it’s Junhyuk.”

It was at that moment. A dozen or so plainclothes bodyguards entered the cafe and surrounded Jiyun in an instant.

“What are you doing right now? And who are all these thugs?”

“Do you think those people are following my orders?”

“What?”

“I don’t think there’s any reason for me to be here. I’ll be leaving first.”