The Betrayers Revealed (Part 1)
Today was a weekend, so the mother and daughter had gathered in the living room to watch TV.
Choi In-sook was on the phone.
“Oh, yes. Hyung! Have you received any calls or messages for him?”
She sounded like she was talking to some woman.
“Oh, yes. Understood. How are everyone doing? And Dong-hoon too?”
“Yes. I’ll contact you again later.”
Choi In-sook hung up the phone.
“Who were you talking to? You don’t have many people to call you ‘hyung,’ do you?”
“Your husband’s older sister. I’m a noona to Min-ji.”
“Ah, the representative’s older sister. There’s a son named Dong-hoon in that family, it seems.”
“Yes. His name is Park Dong-hoon, the representative’s son.”
Park Dong-hoon? There were so many people with the same name.
“I had a Park Dong-hoon in my college class too. Must be a pretty common name.”
“No, it’s not the same person. He’s the representative’s friend. Dong-hoon said he was a college friend of the representative’s.”
“Park Dong-hoon from Seokguk University, department of Architecture?”
“Yes, he said he’s close with the representative. Does Dong-hoon not know?”
“No, I do know.”
How could I not know? But my friend Park Dong-hoon is the big sister’s son of Yoo Seok-yeon? Then Yoo Seok-yeon is his uncle? What the hell is going on here? The shock hit my head with a loud thud. It was quite a heavy blow.
“It seems Dong-hoon is on good terms with the representative too.”
“Yes, since he’s an uncle. He used to meet my husband often.”
The moment I heard Choi In-sook’s answer, my head started spinning.
Look at this? Park Dong-hoon is Yoo Seok-yeon’s nephew, and Yoo Seok-yeon is his uncle? Could it be that bastard kept asking me about Luna Planning the whole time? Could it be Kyung-hee too?
I suddenly imagined something ridiculous. But if this ridiculous thought turned out to be true? This was a serious situation.
First, I needed to give them instructions on what not to say.
“Ah, never tell Dong-hoon that we live in my office. He might be tailing us. After the two of us disappeared, they’ll probably have everyone in the family under surveillance. Just say In-sook is staying at a friend’s house that she knows.”
“Yes, understood. Of course, I’ll say we’re at a friend’s house. I’ve never told anyone that we lived together at the representative’s office.”
“Min-ji must never say we’re living together.”
“I know. I haven’t told anyone except you that we’re living at the representative’s office. I just say we’re staying at mom’s friend’s house.”
“Good. You’re doing well.”
After giving them strict instructions, I went to find the junior who had given me Kyung-hee’s news earlier.
“Huh? Seong-tae hyung! What’s up, bro?”
“Long time no see. Just passed by and stopped in.”
The guy I met at a real estate agency office was my school junior, Lee Cheol-su. A real estate agency business unrelated to his major. Well, not many people end up in their field of study anyway. After a simple greeting, I asked about the things I was curious about.
“I heard you once said Kyung-hee was dating two guys at the same time.”
“Yes, it was a story that spread around our school days. Everyone knew Kyung-hee was dating two guys.”
“And you said one of them was Dong-hoon, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Kyung-hee originally dated Dong-hoon hyung, then switched to you, and came back to Dong-hoon hyung again. Only you didn’t know. Everyone else did.”
I already knew that Kyung-hee had been friends with Dong-hoon before dating me. Park Dong-hoon had introduced her to me, pushing her as a good junior, and Kyung-hee had taken the initiative to date him. But if this was intentional? The two bastards had betrayed me. No, they had fooled me. While swallowing the boiling anger, I listened carefully to everything Cheol-su had to say.
“Thanks. If you ever want to grab a meal later, give me a call. Ares Planning is my company now.”
“Huh? You acquired a company? Didn’t the hyung’s business go under?”
“It rose again.”
“Oh, really? Congratulations. After dealing with all the bad stuff, spring has finally bloomed for the hyung.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
It had been a story I had casually let slip before. Because if I dug deeper, I might turn into a pathetic guy who couldn’t let go of the woman who left. But after learning that Dong-hoon was Yoo Seok-yeon’s nephew, the feeling was completely different. If what Cheol-su said was true, I needed to figure out the intention behind both of them. If Cheol-su was right, this was a serious event related to my father’s death.
The surface reason Kyung-hee gave for ending things was that she had heard rumors about my father and that marriage would be difficult. Yeah, even if it was love, marriage was hard when money was tight, and the heart could drift away too. I understood her leaving because our family had collapsed. A poor man couldn’t keep dating forever. Lovers weren’t meant to last a lifetime. We might break up because of mismatched feelings, arguments, or incompatibility. At the time, I thought it was because our family had fallen.
But the moment I started dating her, no, even before, the friend I trusted most had started sleeping with her on purpose, approaching me with bad intent. If that was related to my father? That was a completely different matter.
I had thought the connection ended, had forgotten about it.
Even though I didn’t want to meet him again, I had to check.
I waited near Kyung-hee’s office building, then blocked her path when I saw her.
“Hah? Seong-tae oppa? What are you doing here?”
Kim Kyung-hee looked shocked and scared when she saw me suddenly appear. More fear and anxiety showed on her face than the happy look she usually gave when we met after a long time.
“I just wanted to ask you something.”
“W-what? We broke up long ago. Why come looking for me like this? I’m not going to cling to you again like before. I have someone else now.”
“I know. I don’t plan to cling. I just have something to ask.”
“What? I have nothing to say.”
Kim Kyung-hee tried to run away from me, but I grabbed her hand.
“I’ll only ask a few things. Short.”
“W-what?”
“First, there was a rumor at the alumni gathering. That you dated Park Dong-hoon before me, and even while dating me, you kept seeing Dong-hoon as a sex partner. Then you went back to him. Is that true?”
“Ah, no. It’s true that I met Dong-hoon oppa before dating you, but I didn’t meet him while dating you.”
Shit, who the hell spread those rumors? Thanks to the rumor at the alumni gathering, I’m in trouble. I don’t know why the kids heard about Kyung-hee dating two guys.
I had already confirmed it through Cheol-su, but this was the question I wanted to check with Kyung-hee’s real feelings.
“So, while dating me, you didn’t meet Dong-hoon?”
“Of course. I only met you, oppa.”
Hmph, she must have heard the rumors. So what? With rumors, there’s nothing you can do to me.
“Really? Then, did you love me when we met?”
“Of course. It’s only natural. That’s why I met you, oppa.”
Dumbass! These idiots always think a woman fell for them because she loved them.
Well, I didn’t fall for you because I loved you. I liked that. Many women like the background of a rich or wealthy man and marry them.
“Did Dong-hoon ask you to do anything specific for him?”
“What do you mean? Nothing at all.”
I can’t reveal that Dong-hoon oppa asked me to steal information about Luna Planning. Otherwise, why would I have met you? I was going to marry Dong-hoon oppa.
Kim Kyung-hee was definitely approaching me with Park Dong-hoon’s impure intentions.
She came to steal Luna Planning information.
The moment I confirmed Kyung-hee’s true feelings, a hollow laugh escaped me.
So… the two bastards I trusted most betrayed me and screwed me over. Fucking hell! It’s all bullshit!
When I smiled with a hollow expression, Kyung-hee suddenly tensed up and shook off my hand.
“We’re over. Don’t show up in front of me again. If you do, I’ll report you to the police as a stalker.”
Kim Kyung-hee ran off toward the office building after shaking off my hand.
My hand was burning, and my head was burning.
I had confirmed with Kyung-hee, but I also needed to confirm with Park Dong-hoon. His thoughts could be different from hers.
“Hey, who is it? My friend Seong-tae? What’s going on?”
“Long time no see. Let’s shake hands.”
With a clack, we shook hands, then asked without letting go.
“Yo, I heard there was a rumor at the alumni gathering that you and Kyung-hee would get married. Are you getting married?”
“Well, it’s not the age for marriage talk yet.”
I’m not going to marry a slut like her. Hmph, what a joke. She’s not even a real fuck buddy, just a warm body.
Kim Kyung-hee might see him as a marriage candidate, but to him, she was just a sex partner.
“But why bring up Kyung-hee now that we’ve met after so long? Are you unhappy that your ex-girlfriend is seeing me?”
“No, that’s not it. I got the feeling that you deliberately introduced Kyung-hee to me. Was there any reason you introduced her to me?”
Park Dong-hoon’s eyebrows shot up as he twitched.
This bastard is suddenly asking such sharp questions. Did he sense that I used Kyung-hee to steal Luna Planning information under his uncle’s orders? No way.
Unluckily, the result was exactly what I had expected.
Dong-hoon, you’re also responsible for my father’s death.
It was now certain. Park Dong-hoon and Kim Kyung-hee were part of the group that had stolen Luna Planning. They were definitely the bastards who participated in driving my father to death.