PA 64

Yejun shot up from his seat and gathered his things to escape the unpleasant situation as quickly as possible. A few bodyguards quickly followed after Yejun.

It was at that moment. The cafe door swung wide open, and Junhyuk appeared. Yejun, who was about to leave the cafe, stopped in his tracks and thrust the crumpled photo, which he had squeezed tightly in his hand, into Junhyuk’s hand. Then he left the cafe.

“Ju-Junhyuk.”

“……”

Jiyun was flustered by Junhyuk’s completely unexpected appearance. She stuttered at the sight of Junhyuk staring at her with a murderous glare.

“Han Jiyun, what are you? Why are you meeting Yejun?”

Despite all her efforts, Junhyuk hadn’t changed at all from seven years ago. Yejun was the only one in his mind. Having confirmed this with her own eyes, Jiyun, on one hand, felt her energy drain away and her tension release. She spoke to Junhyuk as if in disbelief.

“Haa… Cha Junhyuk, you really are a lost cause.”

“Why do I have to hear something like this from you?”

“You’re not a kid anymore either. How long are you going to keep dragging around a brat like that?”

“You, watch your mouth. There’s no reason for Yejun to have to hear insults from you.”

Junhyuk was on Yejun’s side until the very end. Jiyun quickly changed her tack and tried to persuade Junhyuk.

“That boy, you can meet him in secret for the rest of your life, and I won’t say a word. Even if you get tired of playing around with Lee Yejun and start seeing someone else, I can pretend not to know.”

“What are you talking about right now?”

At Jiyun’s unreasonable demands, Junhyuk suppressed his boiling anger for a long while. He could see Yejun walking further away outside the cafe with a displeased look on his face. Feeling a sense of urgency at the sight, Junhyuk barely managed to hold back his explosive anger, then turned his back on Jiyun and tried to leave the cafe.

“I have nothing more to say. Sort out your own feelings.”

“Cha Junhyuk!”

“You, this is uncomfortable to watch. Aren’t we complete strangers? This whole situation right now is just you unilaterally harassing Yejun.”

Deeply hurt by Junhyuk’s sharp words, Jiyun’s face contorted, and she took out all the photos she had in her bag and threw them at him. The photos scattered in the air and fell with a patter onto the smooth cafe floor.

“Cha Junhyuk, you’re clinging to a filthy boy who slept with your own father.”

“Hoo…”

“Can’t you tell by looking at this?”

Junhyuk picked up one of the photos. He was now directly seeing the scene of Yejun being raped by his father. As if trying to quell his boiling anger, Junhyuk let out a long sigh and then answered slowly.

“I know.”

“What… you know all of this?”

“That’s right, I know everything.”

Junhyuk’s expression was resolute. Jiyun couldn’t believe his words at all. No, she wanted to deny it to the very end. This reality, where he couldn’t forget a man who had promiscuously slept with his own father for seven years and had sought him out again.

“You’re crazy.”

“That’s right, I’m crazy.”

“Cha Junhyuk, you need to get a grip.”

“Han Jiyun, even in this dogshit situation you’re talking about, the one who’s clinging is me, not Yejun.”

“You, you…”

“Do you get it now? What Yejun means to me. So you, don’t do anything foolish.”

Junhyuk coldly pushed Jiyun away, leaving a warning that was not quite a warning, and left the cafe. Jiyun was so dumbfounded that not even tears would come out. Her hands trembling, she sank to the floor right where she stood.

☂︎

As soon as he left the cafe, Junhyuk checked Yejun’s location and then called him. However, Yejun didn’t answer the phone, and only a message came back saying he was going straight home.

Junhyuk didn’t press Yejun any further and immediately called Sanghyeon. But Sanghyeon didn’t answer either, and only a long ringing tone could be heard from the receiver. Junhyuk didn’t wait for his call any longer. As he got into the car, he said just one short phrase to the driver.

“To Pyeongchang-dong.”

Since he hadn’t sought out Sanghyeon for the past seven years, the driver was flustered and hesitated for a moment. However, after glancing at Junhyuk in the rearview mirror, he started the car without a word. Junhyuk kept his gaze fixed outside the car window and made another call to someone.

“Mr. Secretary Song, it’s me. Cha Junhyuk.”

— Yes, please speak.

“My father… I confirmed he went home a little while ago.”

— Yes.

“I’m heading to Pyeongchang-dong now.”

— Executive Director, today the Chairman’s condition is…

Junhyuk hung up before Secretary Song could even finish his sentence. During rush hour, on the congested road, he called Yejun.

— What?

“Are you very angry?”

— I’m not angry.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t know something like this would happen. This will never happen again.”

— No, I’m really okay.

“I sent a car for you just now. Take the car and go home.”

— …Okay.

It seemed the photo he saw earlier was weighing on Yejun’s mind. He didn’t even get angry at Junhyuk, just answered meekly. Junhyuk, too, was bothered by that photo. The nauseating anxiety at the thought of what he would do if Yejun saw the photo and tried to leave him again was enough to make his palms sweat.

How did she get her hands on the photo from back then?

In the meantime, the car carrying Junhyuk arrived at the family home in Pyeongchang-dong. Secretary Song, who was standing in front of the house, ran up to Junhyuk as he got out of the car.

“Chairman Cha is sleeping right now. I’m sorry, but…”

“It’s eight o’clock right now. You’re telling me my father is sleeping at this hour?”

“Sir, Executive Director.”

Junhyuk retorted as if shouting at Secretary Song’s words and then strode inside. Once inside the mansion, Junhyuk took a seat on the sofa in the middle of the first floor.

“It’s been seven years.”

It was at that moment. Sanghyeon looked down at Junhyuk from the second-floor railing, spoke briefly, and then slowly came down. The moment Sanghyeon sat across from him, Junhyuk discarded all the words that had been floating in his mind. Then he got straight to the point.

“What is your ulterior motive for gifting everything to me?”

“There is no such thing.”

Sanghyeon answered briefly with an impassive expression, as if he had anticipated Junhyuk’s reaction. Thinking that Sanghyeon, a cool-headed businessman, would never make a decision swayed by emotion, Junhyuk couldn’t rashly reveal his inner thoughts.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Don’t tell me you think I’m giving everything to you because of some celebrity I once sponsored?”

“That’s what I mean. I can’t understand your decision and actions at all.”

Sanghyeon did not avoid Junhyuk’s sharp gaze and let out a smirk.

“Then is it really because of this?”

Junhyuk threw a document envelope onto the tea table. His anger surged. He didn’t have any particular affection for Sanghyeon. After getting entangled with Yejun, everything about him was loathsome and even detestable. Junhyuk even had thoughts of standing over Sanghyeon and trampling him mercilessly. Everything concerning him would not be smooth sailing. Junhyuk had lived with all his might until now.