Episode 11

 

“Have you ever been to Busan? I come down a few times a year for hotel management. Since I’ve already come all this way…”

 

“Y Hotel seems to be a very leisurely place.”

 

“Well, since the chairman is still healthy, I can just learn things here and there in my spare time.”

 

It was a sarcastic remark, but no matter what he said, it didn’t get through. Seung-hyun, who finally gave up on sending him back, left the hotel with Jae-young.

 

Like all the main characters in this novel, Jae-young was also the son of a prominent family. However, the difference from Tae-sung or Seung-hyun was that he was living a life completely unrelated to the succession structure.

 

Without needing to get involved in complicated political fights, he was someone who would inherit his mother’s shares in Y Hotel as they were and was set to become the CEO of Y Hotel someday.

 

“I never had much interest until now, but meeting a director like this seems quite fun too.”

 

“I told you many times, I’m not a director anymore. And  if you’re not going to tell me what happened, even now…”

 

“That night, the bar Director Han went to was my friend’s regular bar.”

 

Just when he was thinking of pushing him away and running off, Jae-young finally started talking. Seung-hyun, who had been looking at Jae-young’s brazen face for a moment as he naturally opened the passenger door, thought about it and got into the car.

 

“Since Director Han attends all sorts of events so often, my friend also recognized the director’s face… He found it curious and contacted me. It’s common to see familiar faces, but.”

 

Jae-young lightly shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Seung-hyun.

 

“Of all people, Director Han. I felt I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it, so I went there.”

 

“…”

 

He didn’t ask for such a detailed explanation. Seung-hyun made a disgruntled face and turned his gaze away from Jae-young, who was holding the steering wheel.

 

‘At this rate, we’ll arrive before I can hear the story properly.’

 

“Director Han was really there. And in a heavily intoxicated state at that.”

 

Jae-young continued the story slowly regardless. Although it wasn’t that he had no intention of stalling for time, there was not a single moment that Jae-young couldn’t remember when recalling that night.

 

“I’ve never thought of myself as a forgettable person…”

 

“I remember that much too. Up until we left the bar together.”

 

But it was a story completely useless to Seung-hyun. In the end, unable to bear the boredom, Seung-hyun interrupted Jae-young’s story.

 

“And… I remember what we did too. I think you can just briefly summarize the story in between.”

 

“I’m not sure  if I can summarize it briefly. But I’ll try.”

 

Jae-young spoke in a voice that sounded like he had no intention of doing so at all. After a brief pause, thinking about where to start the story, Jae-young began again.

 

***

 

“I can… drink more…”

 

“You’re already completely drunk, what are you talking about?”

 

“I used to drink ten bottles of soju alone without getting drunk, what nonsense are you… hiccup.”

 

He was relatively okay until he came out, but perhaps the intoxication hit him as soon as he stepped outside, Seung-hyun’s behavior became a little aggressive. To the point where he even started shaking Jae-young’s shoulders, making Jae-young wonder if he was dreaming.

 

‘Congratulations on your marriage. Director Han.’

 

The first place he met Seung-hyun was at Seon-hu’s wedding. Although he had a neat appearance and a relaxed smile, Jae-young could tell. That the man wanted to flip over this wedding hall right now.

 

Should I say it was a sense of kinship? Although it wasn’t for the same reason as himself, he could immediately see that underneath the smiling face, a fire was burning that could scorch his insides black.

 

So he was a rather memorable person, but after learning that the reason was because he was in a competitive position with Tae-sung, who became Seon-hu’s spouse, that interest quickly faded away.

 

‘Jae-young. What do I do?’

 

The moment he regained interest in him was when Seon-hu called him crying. Seon-hu was not someone who easily shed tears.

 

No matter the situation, he would just smile stupidly saying things would work out, so Jae-young, who knew better than anyone that he wasn’t someone to cry over trivial matters, immediately rushed to Seon-hu.

 

That was the day Seung-hyun’s interference caused Tae-sung to be stranded on an island he went to for a business trip and was out of contact for days. From Seon-hu’s perspective, it was understandable to be worried, but for Jae-young, who only cared about Seon-hu in his life, it was quite a cruel thing.

 

After learning the full story of that incident, Jae-young became a little more interested in Seung-hyun. However, this time it wasn’t positive interest. It was closer to looking into him for preparation, as he never wanted to receive such a call from Seon-hu again.

 

Seung-hyun was originally a famous figure, so finding out about him wasn’t difficult at all. The grandson of Chairman Han, who was particularly more extreme even in the chaebol society where discriminatory thinking based on traits was prevalent. Even without digging further, it seemed obvious what kind of person he was.

 

A lone wolf who would likely survive in this brawl, living arduously while wearing a mask. Jae-young defined Seung-hyun that way.

 

Then, he unexpectedly discovered Seung-hyun in an unlikely place. But to see him like this. It was as if mocking all the information he had seen and heard about him recently.

 

The faded curiosity was ignited again. After receiving the wedding invitation from Seon-hu, a rare interesting variable had appeared in his life that had lost interest after losing the only person he cared about.

 

“I said I’m not drunk…”

 

Jae-young chuckled as he watched Seung-hyun, who was clearly dead drunk, lightly tapping his feet. Just a moment ago, he was emitting pheromones as if interested in him, but now he was whining about drinking more as if that never happened.

 

“If you won’t let me drink… I’ll drink by myself then.”

 

“Wait.”

 

However, that smile disappeared as soon as Seung-hyun turned his back on him. It seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to let him go like this. After a brief contemplation, Jae-young finally nodded.

 

“What? I’m going to drink more.”

 

“Do you realize you’re completely drunk right now? Sigh. If you really want to drink… I know a private bar. Let’s go there.”

 

To have a conversation with a troublemaker who was so drunk that he didn’t even realize he was drunk, it seemed this much effort was necessary. When he said he wouldn’t stop him from drinking, Seung-hyun finally nodded.

 

‘Well, he’s already this drunk, so even if I give him water instead of alcohol, he probably won’t notice.’

 

He didn’t say he would give him alcohol, so it wasn’t a lie. Seung-hyun got into Jae-young’s car without any wariness, and before long, the two arrived at Jae-young’s regular bar.

 

“Ugh…”

 

“Excuse me. Director Han?”

 

“Ah, I’m fine. It’s okay.”

 

It wasn’t clearly visible at the bar because of the lighting, but seeing him in a bright place, his complexion had noticeably turned pale.

 

‘As expected, I shouldn’t let him drink more. If he drinks more here, forget being drunk, he looks like he might collapse.’

 

“Let’s go inside for now.”

 

Jae-young, who was familiarly guided to a room, sat Seung-hyun, who seemed to be in a worse condition than a little while ago, in a seat. He didn’t know why he was insisting on drinking even in that state, but for now, giving him anything to drink would probably console him.

 

“I’ll have my usual, and for this customer… I think an orange juice will do.”

 

“What? Ah, yes. Understood.”

 

“Ugh…”

 

Jae-young glanced at Seung-hyun, who didn’t seem to be in a good condition at all. Is he really okay? Feeling a bit anxious, Jae-young approached Seung-hyun and checked his condition.

 

“Are you really okay? Maybe a hangover cure or something…”

 

“I’m… fine. I said this much won’t faze me.”

 

Why does he keep being stubborn when anyone can see he’s not in a good state? Is it because he has a perfectionist tendency, so his behavior is more extreme when he’s drunk? Jae-young recalled the information he recently found out about Seung-hyun.

 

Doesn’t smoke or drink. He drinks when he can’t avoid it, but never shows a disheveled appearance by exceeding his limit. Manages himself meticulously and has better capabilities than most dominant alphas despite being a passionate alpha.

 

During his school days, he was pushed aside by dominant alphas and wasn’t at the very top in grades, but he was a well-known hard worker that anyone would recognize.

 

Although he is inferior to Executive Director Han Tae-sung in various aspects, he still occasionally threatens him by creating a force within the company that supports him and producing results.

 

‘That was roughly the gist of it, but this is just…’

 

Is the Han Seung-hyun in front of his eyes really that director? Thinking that, Jae-young placed his hand on Seung-hyun’s shoulder.

 

“Ugh…”

 

“…Director Han?”

 

And at the retching sound that was different from a little while ago, Jae-young felt a bad premonition and took a step back, but it was already too late.

 

***

 

“We’ve arrived.”

 

“…What?”

 

Seung-hyun, who had been biting his nails and listening to Jae-young’s story, returned to reality in an instant. Wondering what he meant, he looked around and saw that while he was concentrating on listening to the story, the car had entered the department store parking lot.

 

‘It felt like the important part was just starting…!’

 

“Can’t you finish the story before we go in?”

 

“Ah, the brand of the shoes I threw away that day has a store here.”

 

At Jae-young’s words, Seung-hyun tightly closed his mouth and unfastened his seat belt. It seemed he had no intention of telling the story right away.

 

‘But it’s my business, so it feels iffy that I can’t remember it…’

 

In the end, Seung-hyun reluctantly got out of the car. In order to properly find out what happened, it seemed he would have to spend time with Jae-young until this evening.