chapter 59

After firmly pressing on Shin Tae-oh's forehead, who insisted on not sleeping, Se-hyeon left and realized that it was already approaching lunchtime. He wasn’t hungry, but he hurriedly left the office, thinking that the person he needed to meet might not be at his desk during lunchtime.

"Secretary Ahn."

After he considered ignoring the urgent call, Se-hyeon eventually turned around when he realized that Lee Jin-ho would probably continue following him. Lee Jin-ho eased his pace, looking relieved.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Well... Can you really handle this directly?"

"Yes. I am confident that I can resolve it best."

With Se-hyeon's confident response, Lee Jin-ho nodded as if there was no other choice.

"Alright. Take care."

"Thank you."

Lee Jin-ho wouldn't just wait silently, but at least he wasn't someone who would interfere with what he had in mind.

After exhaling a hot breath, Se-hyeon unbuttoned his coat. The lingering heat would dissipate once he felt the breeze outside.

***

"Is this really it?"

Ha Jin-woong shook the end of the tablet, uncertain when it would slip from his grasp.

Despite the precarious situation, Ha Jin-seong didn't say a word. Instead, he waved his hand as if it was bothersome, signaling Jin-woong to leave.

"Hyung, what is this? Did you gather people just to post this kind of scandal?"

Ha Jin-woong sat in front of Ha Jin-seong and said, “The thirsty person digs a well first.”

[TL note: It's a Korean proverb meaning "the one who needs something makes more effort than others to get something".]

"Weren't you trying to sacrifice Secretary Ahn? Then this isn't it. Whether the CEO goes to a hotel or not, you should have included embezzlement allegations."

"Stay quiet."

"This isn't something to stay quiet about. Is this all?"

"No."

But Ha Jin-seong, who didn't want to bother explaining further to his younger brother, fell silent. He was already feeling down, and there was no patience left to kindly clarify things.

"Just shut up and leave."

"Hyung, do you think I can just stay quiet? Those guys are all looking at this strangely. We've been told to find all the internal embezzlers in SR so far, but why did it explode like this? Don't tell me you changed your mind halfway? Huh?"

"It's not like that."

"It's not. I know you asked Ha Min-hyuk to take over that project."

The reason behind Ha Jin-woong's rampage became clear. Excited, he roughly tossed the tablet aside and abruptly stood up.

"Since yesterday when Ha Min-hyuk and I went, things felt off. Hyung, don't you think your little brother doesn't know? If you have any thoughts of sharing it nicely later, forget about it. I can't do that."

"Jin-woong."

Due to Ha Jin-woong's outburst, Ha Jin-seong tightly suppressed his irritation. He seemed unwilling to stay quiet despite having a headache. So he called out his brother's full name, in a gentle yet unyielding voice.

"The company is mine."

He didn't even attempt to calm Ha Jin-woong. He simply calmly pointed out where he was mistaken.

"If you want to receive even a single subsidiary, then leave."

"Hyung!"

"Dammit!"

In the end, Ha Jin-seong abruptly stood up and threw the nearby tablet. As it collided with the wall, shattering with a loud crash, no one uttered a word.

"Get out."

Ha Jin-seong stared at Ha Jin-woong with cold eyes and then closed his eyes. Seeing his selfish appearance of not even waiting for Ha Jin-woong to leave, Ha Jin-woong clenched his fists and turned around.

Enraged by the revealed truth, Ha Jin-woong swung his fist. His wrist itched from the dull vibrations reverberating through the wall, but Ha Jin-woong's anger extended to the very tip of his head as he vented his frustration.

"What the hell? Is the company yours?"

Strictly speaking, Ha Jin-woong was also a legitimate candidate for succession, but Ha Jin-seong didn't even consider it. That hurt Ha Jin-woong's pride.

"Wait and see. I'll show you that I'm better than Ha Min-hyuk."

He gritted his teeth at Ha Jin-seong, who was hanging out with Ha Min-hyuk, who had different interests and whom Ha jin-woong never even considered his younger brother.

"I'm here to meet Director Ha Jin-seong."

Ha Jin-woong raised his head at the calm voice he had heard somewhere before. He looked at the secretary and narrowed his eyes when he saw the man speaking to the secretary. As the man's face came into focus, he soon realized who he was.

"It's Ahn Se-hyeon."

Upon hearing Ha Jin-woong's voice, Se-hyeon turned to look at him.

Recognizing Ha Jin-woong, he lightly nodded his head.

It had reached a frustrating point where Se-hyeon couldn't understand why Ha Jin-seong was behaving this way. It was not only disappointing that Ha Jin-seong had no intention of dividing the company at the moment but also unsettling that he was associating with Ha Minhyuk these days.

As Ha jin-woong looked at Se-hyeon, a good idea flashed in his mind.

"Did you come to meet Hyung Jin-seong?"

"Yes."

"Follow me."

Ha Jin-woong nodded at Se-hyeon and took the lead. Once he confirmed that Se-hyeon was following behind, he didn't stop at all.

If Hyung can't do it, then I have no choice but to take action. If I push Shin Tae-oh into a corner and ruins Ha Min-hyuk's project, Hyung won't associate with someone like Ha Minhyuk again.

***

"Where are we?"

Se-hyeon looked around, fascinated by the fact that such a space existed within the company.

At first glance, it appeared to be just an office. The space was well divided with desks, chairs, and partitions, but there was one thing missing.

"It's dark without any windows."

Despite turning on the fluorescent lights, the space still felt gloomy and unsettling.

"Is this it?"

Ha Jin-woong, who had entered first and was waiting for Se-hyeon, smirked.

"A room where we keep the disobedient ones."

He spoke with a cruel smile, and Se-hyeon looked around before focusing on Ha Jin-woong.

It seemed strange that there had been no communication since he was asked to follow, and it didn't seem like Ha Jin-woong had good intentions towards him.

"Why? Are you scared?"

In response to Ha Jin-woong's taunting, Se-hyeon took out his phone from his pocket. Then he turned the screen towards Ha Jin-woong, so he could see.

"What is it?"

"I don't think you can kill me in this place."

"But why?"

If Jin-woong intended to kill him, he would have taken Se-hyeon to a place where no traces would be left. As Se-hyeon showed the screen to Ha Jin-woong, who still couldn't fully understand, he scrolled through it. It wasn't 112, but 119.

[TL note: Emergency Assistance and Support. Police: dial 112. Fire and Ambulance: dial 119.]

"I have a severe allergy, even a slight touch makes me turn red. I will go to the hospital and get a medical certificate, so please don't lay a hand on me."

"What? Oh."

Ha Jin-woong, somewhat bewildered, pondered over Se-hyeon's words before asking.

"You're telling me not to hit you?"

"Yes."

"And you're not saying you'll leave?"

"I said if you have something to say."

Se-hyeon looked straight at Ha Jin-woong, holding his phone in his hand.

"You... Are you really not afraid?"

No matter what Ha Jin-woong said, Se-hyeon didn't flinch.

From the moment Ha Jin-woong told him to follow him instead of meeting Ha Jin-seong, Se-hyeon had expected something like this. So the thought of leaving never crossed his mind from the beginning.

"Is there a problem?"

“Ah, that’s what I want to say. Did anything happen?”

Ha Jin-woong asked, sitting on the edge of the desk, and from his question of whether

nothing was going on, it's clear he wanted to know what's going on that's Se-hyeon looking for his hung it's like asking 'I had my suspicions, but now I had certainty. I just wished I knew a bit more about the situation... '

Se-hyeon paused for a moment, then spoke up.

"There was."

"Is that so?"

"I came to ask about it."

"I understand why you caught Hyung's attention."

Ha Jin-woong smirked and stood up from the desk where he had been leaning. His imposing figure moved towards Se-hyeon, giving off a rather threatening presence.

“I don’t think there’s any need to approach me like that?”

"Really?"

Ha Jin-woong clenched his fist.

***

Shin Tae-oh leaned back on the chair, and completely laid down. His hands were neatly placed on his belly button, and his eyes were tightly shut.

"Just closing your eyes like that would only be a waste of time."

Lee Jin-ho subtly pushed the payment documents, saying he should instead look at the documents.

“Secretary Ahn told me to go to sleep.”

As Shin Tae-oh's lips kept moving slightly, Lee Jin-ho pursed his lips silently.

Shin tae-oh was someone who was pretend to be dead if it was Se-hyeon speaking, yet he wouldn't even listen to my words. If that's the case, why not make Se-hyeon the chief secretary? Why?

"Then just go to sleep for real."

"I can't sleep."

"You don't look well."

Since Shin Tae-oh's body hadn't fully recovered yet, it was unreasonable for him to move like that. His face didn't lie. Perhaps Se-hyeon would say that his eyes were bloodshot.

"I guess it won't work."

Shin Tae-oh couldn't hold it in any longer and stood up from his seat.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"I'm going to see Secretary Ahn."

"Why?"

Shin Tae-oh straightened his sleeves, holding onto the necktie he had loosened. As he buttoned them one by one, Shin Tae-oh had an expression that he hadn't shown even when he forced himself to close his eyes.

"I feel strange."

"How so?"

"Just..."

Should he say his heart was pounding? It wasn't an exciting feeling, but rather an uneasy one.

"I feel like I should go see him right away."

Even if nothing was happening, it felt like his mind would only be at ease if he saw Se-hyeon with his own eyes.

"Do you know where he is?"

Lee Jin-ho asked with a skeptical look on his face. Se-hyeon hadn't said anything, so how could they find out unless they attached a tracking device to his body?

"I've found Se-hyeon before. My intuition tells me it's there."

"When did this happen again? Ah..."

Lee Jin-ho seemed to recall it belatedly.

There was a time when Shin Tae-oh tried to figure out where Se-hyeon went under the pretext of having lunch. And with just a rough location, Shin Tae-oh found Se-hyeon.

"The fox who coveted Ahn Se-hyeon was the culprit."

Now that Shin Tae-oh was starting to grasp it, he glared somewhere and muttered.