Chapter 64 Part 1

“You’re here?”

When Chaeheon arrived home, Han Jeong-min, who was surrounded by bodyguards, raised his hand to acknowledge him.

“I told them I had something to say to you, but they wouldn’t let me through. Even if we’re friends, isn’t it too much to block me like this?”

Han Jeong-min said this while looking at each bodyguard’s face. As he acted as if he would remember their faces, Chaeheon nonchalantly retorted.

“That’s what bodyguards do.”

Chaeheon turned away from Han Jeong-min as if he had no business with him and went up the stairs. He ignored Han Jeong-min’s call, “Just a moment,” trying to stop him. Chaeheon had a lot of grievances against Han Jeong-min.

“Even if you don’t take my side, this is too much. What happened to all the friendship we’ve built?”

“It seems like I threw all that away earlier.”

The moment he chose Lee Jun, Chaeheon’s feelings towards Han Jeong-min were completely cleared. Business partner? Don’t make me laugh. He didn’t particularly choose people based on their businesses, so it was much easier to push Jeong-min away.

“Even so, we have to finish the conversation we didn’t get to earlier. Is it okay to talk here?”

However, Han Jeong-min was absolutely unwilling to miss this opportunity. He abruptly asked if Chaeheon had forgotten where they were, and that, as he wished, stopped Chaeheon in his tracks.

“Your grandfather is here, Chairman Jang.”

This was not an ordinary home. It was a grand and magnificent mansion. The Main Residence that anyone named Jang would want to enter. Chaeheon was staying in that Main Residence. It was a light threat, asking if it was okay to mention Lee Jun’s name in a house filled only with Chairman Jang’s people.

“You need to grasp the situation, Chaeheon.”

Chaeheon looked at Han Jeong-min’s smiling face and said impassively.

“It seems like you’re the one who can’t grasp the situation.”

Chaeheon stopped not because Han Jeong-min’s threat had worked, but to tell him that such things were useless. Then, Han Jeong-min, who had been looking at the wound on the Executive Secretary’s neck, turned back to Chaeheon as if asking what he meant.

“Are you really going to leave?”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Of course, you do. You must be curious how I… how I’m involved.”

“I heard it all earlier, so it’s unnecessary.”

“No. I haven’t told you everything. Please listen.”

The moment Han Jeong-min pleaded, the situation shifted in Chaeheon’s favor. Chaeheon, who had already ascended a few steps, turned his body to look down at Han Jeong-min, fixing his gaze on his wavering eyes.

“Explain everything that happened. Then you can ask for a favor.”

“Ah…”

Han Jeong-min flinched at Chaeheon’s mocking gaze. It seemed Chaeheon already knew why he had come, even though he hadn’t said anything yet.

“That’s right. I came to ask you for a favor. I’ll be polite.”

As Han Jeong-min raised both hands, making a gesture of promise, Chaeheon dismissed the others.

Chaeheon, left alone with Han Jeong-min, crossed his arms as if daring him to speak. When this seemed to indicate he had no intention of letting him inside, Han Jeong-min pointed at his own feet.

“Are you really suggesting we talk here?”

Han Jeong-min, who had been acting as if questioning if it was okay, let out a chuckle. Now he understood why Chaeheon was doing this.

“You’re really different from me.”

Chaeheon had no intention of hiding Lee Jun’s existence. Perhaps he had even come to the Main Residence to sort that out.

“Alright. I’ll explain without beating around the bush.”

Han Jeong-min wiped away his usual smile and for the first time revealed his true emotions. It was a raw, exposed self, as much as he had held back until now.

“I dated Haein. We were together for quite a while, and if nothing unusual happened, I didn’t want to break up.”

Chaeheon, uninterested in other people’s romantic lives, quickly looked bored. As if there was no need to listen further, Chaeheon’s foot was turning towards the Main Residence, so Han Jeong-min quickly added to his words.

“When Haein got pregnant, sadness came before joy. I was so happy that she was carrying my child, but my parents wouldn’t accept Haein… So I hid it from everyone. I knew it wasn’t the best option, but I couldn’t help it…”

Han Jeong-min’s voice faded, becoming indistinct, but it didn’t matter. There was something else Chaeheon wanted to hear right now.

“Even when Haein went to the hospital, I couldn’t go with her, and even though I knew Hae Sol was born, I couldn’t tell anyone.”

Han Jeong-min gave a pained smile. At the same time, Chaeheon seriously considered going inside the house right now. Han Jeong-min’s feelings were none of his concern, and he felt like he was just saying useless things.

“The baby was born, and the name Hae Sol was given… I wasn’t there for any of those moments. All I could do was watch from afar. I want to hold Hae Sol and say I’m his dad…”

A faint smile appeared on Han Jeong-min’s pained face, as if he was imagining holding Hae Sol.

“But I couldn’t do that, could I? The moment I appeared, it would all be revealed to everyone. It was better to pretend not to know Hae Sol than to separate him from his mother. So I hid everything about Hae Sol as much as possible. So no one would ever know…”

Chaeheon’s eyes narrowed at Han Jeong-min’s explanation. When he had investigated Haein, there were no rumors at school, and he had wondered if Lee Jun was keeping quiet about Hae Sol, but Han Jeong-min was the cause.

Because of Han Jeong-min…

Since Han Jeong-min knew but pretended not to, Lee Jun must have known nothing. That’s why he must have been worried that if Chaeheon knew about Hae Sol’s existence, it would naturally be revealed to Han Jeong-min.

“Because of you… did I break up with Senior?”

Perhaps studying abroad wasn’t just an excuse?

What he had thought of as a guess now solidified into a certainty, and Chaeheon let out a faint, disbelieving laugh. If his suspicion was correct… he would dislike Han Jeong-min even more.

It was a purely subjective thought, with no trace of resentment towards Lee Jun for making a decision without asking him in the first place. Chaeheon looked at Han Jeong-min, who had become an obstacle in his relationship, with great dissatisfaction and annoyance.

“As you know, I’m in a great hurry.”

Han Jeong-min nervously looked around. His inability to calm down showed that his true purpose was now coming out.

“Hae Sol is growing bigger by the day. Before, I didn’t know how, so all I could do was watch, but now I’m getting impatient.”

Han Jeong-min met Chaeheon’s eyes.

“Now that I think I’ve found a way, I want to bring him here quickly.”