Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Facing the Music
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"CEO, that was way too close! I swear my heart stopped for a second~."
...That level of scolding was what I'd braced for. Even if she got mad, I figured it'd be Baek Jae-ha laying into me.
But instead, what I faced was Hyun Ye-won's icy expression, with Baek Jae-ha glancing nervously at her side.
I decided to gauge the situation first.
"How much do you know?"
At my question, Hyun Ye-won's gaze sharpened even more.
"And how much were you planning to tell us, CEO?"
Her tone rose at the end. It wasn't a question—it was an interrogation.
"If this hadn't happened, we never would've dreamed of it. Of what you've been up to behind the scenes. How dangerous it's all been."
"......"
"Hyun Tae-seong's downfall—that was your doing, right?"
So they'd figured that out too.
With him collapsing right at the courthouse, it was hard to play dumb anyway. They seemed to know the gist.
They'd probably even pieced together that I was the key witness exposing his drug scandal.
'The question is why and how...'
Could I spin this convincingly? Hyun Tae-seong, elite heir of a chaebol family, inviting me—a small-business CEO—to his exclusive party out of the blue?
Even if I claimed some deep bond formed in our short acquaintance, would they buy it?
As I clamped my mouth shut and stared at her, Hyun Ye-won couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first.
"I don't care what that bastard Hyun Tae-seong was doing behind the scenes. And I have no desire to protect family."
There didn't seem to be any sibling bond between them, so that wasn't the issue. Hyun Ye-won might even feel relieved with him gone.
"But...!"
Her clenched fist turned white. She gripped so hard her nails dug into her palm.
Hyun Ye-won closed her eyes tightly, then opened them, steadying her emotions.
"I just can't understand why you did something this dangerous alone without saying a word."
"Ye-won."
"When I first saw you stand at the witness stand in court. Do you know what I felt?"
"......!"
She'd been at the trial. I hadn't realized that.
"For a moment, I felt like a complete idiot. How could something like this happen right under my nose without me having a clue?"
A bitter smile crossed Hyun Ye-won's face.
"I tried to understand. Sure, it was huge. You couldn't just confide in anyone. That's probably why."
"......"
"But then, when I chased after you to talk... stumbling around until I found you, stabbed and covered in blood...!"
Ah.
-Whoa? Why's there water all over... Aaaah!
That was Hyun Ye-won. My head was foggy; I hadn't recognized her.
Hyun Ye-won buried her face in her trembling hands. Her shoulders shook finely.
"The floor... the floor was red... there was a knife dropped nearby, and your face was so pale. I... I really thought you were going to...!"
I'd shown her an awful sight.
Recalling that gruesome scene, Hyun Ye-won breathed raggedly. Baek Jae-ha handed her a plastic bag like it was routine.
She pressed her face to it and huffed into it. Once her breathing steadied, she fixed her half-dead eyes on me.
"If something had happened to you that day, I never would've forgiven myself."
"......"
"I was so shocked, I was a bit late calling 119."
Last time with the stabbing, she'd been there too. Showing her this again... I had no words.
"Was it just me? What about this guy?"
Hyun Ye-won grabbed Baek Jae-ha's arm.
"You know how much he looks up to you, right? He drove you to and from work every day, worried Kim Jun-seo might hold a grudge. How much effort did he put in?"
"Cut it out."
Baek Jae-ha said, eyeing me carefully.
"Cut what out! What do you think would've happened to him if something happened to you? You think he'd just move on fine?"
"......"
No, he wouldn't have.
"He'd blame himself forever. Curse himself for not being more persistent. Is that what you want for him?"
"No, of course not."
My voice lacked conviction. Even to me, it sounded weak and unsteady.
It had to be that way.
Everything Hyun Ye-won said was right.
"I think what happened today could've been prevented. If you'd just been honest with us and asked for help."
Maybe.
Hyun Ye-won and Baek Jae-ha would've jumped in for me without hesitation.
Infiltrating the drug party would've been far easier with Hyun Ye-won. With Baek Jae-ha there, Kim Jun-seo couldn't have approached so freely.
If either had called the police when I was threatened, it might've ended without danger.
'...What's the point of this new life if I keep acting the same way.'
So used to handling everything alone, I hadn't even considered other options.
"I can't guess why you got close to Hyun Tae-seong or started all this. But you could've told us something. Yet not a word to us... Did you not trust us that much?"
"Ye-won, it's not like that. I just—"
I didn't want to drag anyone else into danger.
But I couldn't voice the rest. Listening to her, I realized even this was just self-justification for my own satisfaction.
I knew they'd grieve more if I got hurt pushing alone. Tormenting myself "for their sake"—what else was that but deceit?
"I just... thought this was the right way."
Pathetically, I really had.
"Until I heard you out. I never even considered it might be wrong."
What would happen to those left behind if I screwed up. I'd never thought about it.
I was always the one left behind.
Afterward, I figured even if I messed up, no one would grieve that much. ...But was that true?
"That I'm the one hurting the people I care about."
I looked at the two in front of me.
Hyun Ye-won's eyes were red-rimmed; even as she grilled me sharply, she couldn't hide her trembling fingertips.
Baek Jae-ha, stuck between us, always intervened whenever Hyun Ye-won's voice rose, worried I'd push too hard.
Why had it taken me so long to recognize this clear affection?
...What a foolish thing I'd done.
That realization cleared my mind instead.
"Seriously."
Suddenly sniffling, Hyun Ye-won stepped forward and hugged me tight. Before I could react—
"I swore I'd stay mad, but with a face like that, I can't."
What face?
I didn't get it, but the heavy mood lifted instantly. Good, her anger had subsided.
"I'm letting this one slide. Got it? Next time, you tell us before something like this. Promise!"
"Got it."
"Promise!"
I had to pinky swear, thumbprint, and copy-paste before she let go.
"That's enough, right? What are you doing to someone who just woke up?"
Baek Jae-ha sighed deeply from the side. Hyun Ye-won didn't back down—instead, she hugged me tighter.
"Hmph! As long as I don't touch his leg, it's fine?!"
Baek Jae-ha still clicked his tongue.
"Something I've been wondering since earlier..."
I looked back and forth between them.
"When did you two get so close?"
"......"
"......"
They both averted their eyes and turned their heads slightly. What was that about? As I tilted my head, Hyun Ye-won laughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
"Oh, right! You're trending all over the internet right now. The office phones are blowing up—can't do normal work at all."
"Huh?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Trending online?
"Oh. You haven't seen."
Hyun Ye-won widened her eyes, then pulled out her phone to show me.
"Take a look."
It was a post from an online community.
The title...
'The Process of How the Anonymous Tipster Was Revealed as Song Woo-yeon (feat. Three-Line Summary)?'
In a room shrouded in dark shadows, dim indirect lighting barely outlined a human form.
Hwang Tae-in sat on the edge of the sofa, barely perching, his anxiety plain as day.
The leather was so soft and luxurious, just sitting on it felt overwhelming.
Unlike usual, his back straightened rigidly, shoulders hunched. Hwang Tae-in kept stealing glances at Hyun Jeong-hu in the head seat.
Rustle, flip.
For a while, only the sound of Hyun Jeong-hu turning newspaper pages filled the room.
Thud.
Even as Hyun Jeong-hu set the paper down, Hwang Tae-in jolted, body stiffening.
"...So that's how it went."
As Hyun Jeong-hu spoke first, Hwang Tae-in jumped in with a sycophantic tone.
"Yes. When things go wrong, they really go wrong. We bribed the reporters to hush it, but then the internet blew up."
"Hmm."
"I told them not to mention as much as possible, but as the issue grew..."
Bam!
"Eek!"
Hwang Tae-in yelped involuntarily, then clamped his mouth shut.
Hyun Jeong-hu propped his feet on the table, continuing in an arrogant pose.
"Director Hwang."
"Yes?"
"Should we call all this coincidence?"
A bad feeling hit.
Song Woo-yeon's name catching his ankle—this wouldn't be the last time, he sensed.