Chapter 68 Part 1

The kiss concluded, and I returned home. Of all the conversations at the cafe, what stuck in my mind most wasn’t Han Jeong-min, but Chaeheon’s reaction to my confession.

He was delighted, taking my confession as a marriage proposal. It was surprising, but there was no way I disliked it. Until now, Chaeheon had always shown Lee Jun only one unwavering emotion.

He wanted Lee Jun, desired to possess him, and wished to have him. If that possessiveness had been subtly veiled with gentleness before, it was now revealed in its rawest form.

“From now on, we only focus on each other.”

With the setting sun beginning to paint the lake red, Chaeheon said this. He urged them never to let anyone else come between them.

“Now I don’t have to think about breaking up…”

It felt good.

Everything felt good, but there was one awkward thing. Lee Jun stood staring at the front door’s digital lock, unable to bring himself to unlock it.

Chaeheon had brought him all the way to his house, so all he had to do was go inside, but he couldn’t grasp the doorknob. The reason was simple.

It was because of the kiss they had just shared. Lee Jun touched his lips. Chaeheon had bitten and sucked on them, and then, swept up in the mood, Lee Jun had climbed on top and explored Chaeheon’s lips.

“It stings.”

Even touching them now felt like a stimulation, his lips hurt. He didn’t need to look; they were surely red. This was practically a billboard announcing, “I just had a kiss.” So, he tried to cool his flushed lips in the evening breeze, but the situation wasn’t in Lee Jun’s favor.

The mechanical sound of the door lock disengaging came from inside, and the door opened. Lee Jun, who almost bumped into the door, quickly pulled his upper body back, and Haein, who was about to step out, saw him and spoke.

“What are you doing, not coming in?”

“I just got here.”

“Really?”

Haein nodded indifferently and stepped aside.

“Where are you going?”

“To buy beer. Do you want some too, Oppa?”

Lee Jun nodded. He was thirsty anyway, and at the mention of beer, he wanted to drink a can before going to sleep.

Haein nodded and pulled up the hood of her hoodie. As she was about to put her hands in her pockets and leave, she saw Lee Jun hesitating and asked,

“Do you have something to say?”

“Are you… thinking of seeing Han Jeong-min again?”

“Han Jeong-min? Why?”

Startled by the sudden question, Haein seemed to recall something and immediately changed her question.

“Because of Chaeheon Oppa? He offered to help?”

“Your decision will be important, won’t it?”

Lee Jun nodded. Haein then scratched her head for a moment, expressing her indecision.

“I’m going to think about it. When I remember almost losing Hae Sol that day, I want to grab him by the collar right away, but there’s something bothering me, so I’ll look into that and then decide.”

Haein didn’t immediately answer what she would do, but Lee Jun decided to trust her, just by how thoughtfully she was approaching it.

“Anyway, go inside now. Don’t stay outside with those lips.”

Haein lightly tapped Lee Jun’s shoulder as he stood still and turned him towards the house. Then, she gave his back a strong push, shoving him inside, and closed the door herself.

Lee Jun, having entered the house thanks to Haein, kept recalling his sister’s last words.

“…with those lips… don’t stay… outside.”

Haein’s knowing tone made Lee Jun’s face flush again.

“I’m home.”

Upon Chaeheon’s greeting as he entered the Main Residence, the housekeeper, who managed the household, approached him.

“Welcome home. The Chairman is waiting for you.”

“Me?”

Unsure what it was about, as she didn’t explain, Chaeheon nodded, indicating he understood for now. His original plan was to greet his grandfather briefly and go to his room to call Lee Jun, but it seemed their conversation would be long.

“Grandfather.”

Knock, knock. Chaeheon knocked on the door and entered, first checking by the window. He thought the NK Chairman might be there, as he had a hobby of sitting on the sofa, looking at the sky, and reading a book, but it was empty.

Next, he looked towards the desk and saw NK Chairman Jang Han-gyeong wearing glasses and looking at something.

“You called for me, but you’re not even looking at me. What are you so focused on?”

Chaeheon approached him, speaking in a familiar tone. He pulled up a chair and sat opposite him, and only then did Chairman Jang Han-gyeong remove his reading glasses and press his eyelids.

“Chaeheon, you…”

“Please speak.”

“You said you wouldn’t take an executive position.”

“I will. Not now, but later.”

“There will be things you need to do in that position…”

“Are you going to say that it’s okay to leave that position vacant?”

Chaeheon calmly took over Chairman Jang Han-gyeong’s words. Others wouldn’t interrupt the Chairman’s speech. They would act as if his word was law, and if they ever got excited and cut him off, they would later subtly bow their heads in apology.

However, Chaeheon never showed such behavior to Chairman Jang Han-gyeong. There was only one reason: not because he was exceptional, but because he had no great desire for his grandfather’s possessions.

“It wouldn’t be good for me to sit there immediately. Who would welcome the Chairman’s grandson, who suddenly appeared after never being revealed before?”

“What’s the big deal, when my son is already in and out of the prosecutor’s office?”

The entire country was abuzz with NK Group’s affairs. It was no one else but Jang Hyeon-seong, a member of the NK family, who had personally appeared with illegal evidence, so the repercussions were significant.

Outside, the shouts for truth and clarification, wondering what had happened, filled the air, but the Chairman Jang Han-gyeong’s Study remained as quiet as if nothing could reach it.

“Then that’s fortunate. Indeed, after experiencing so much, you’re not shaken by such things.”

Chaeheon placed both hands on the desk and leaned his upper body towards Chairman Jang Han-gyeong.

“Or perhaps you already knew everything?”

Chaeheon, having dropped a subtle remark, leaned back in his chair, still wearing his smirk. Chairman Jang Han-gyeong’s eyes snapped open sharply at that annoying smile, as if to say there was a line not to be crossed, no matter how much he doted on his grandson.

“Tsk, are you saying I knew and just watched?”

“No.”

“Then why are you speaking so carelessly?”

“Because it seems like you were the one who ordered it to happen, not just watched.”

Chaeheon harbored no doubt about his own guess. He simply gazed at the Chairman with a look that suggested he thought as much.