Chapter 20: Love Triangle
"Really? I was just thinking about buying a building... Mind if I ask you for a favor, Taeho?"
It was a question. But the answer Han Taeho could give was already set in stone.
"Haha. O-of course, hyungnim. If it's work from you, Jaewoo hyungnim, I'll do my absolute best and set you up with the top property on the market."
How could he grovel like that? He was ready to hand over his liver and gallbladder if asked. Shin Jaewoo smirked at the sight.
"When you talk like that, it kinda makes me not trust you."
Han Taeho's face stiffened at the words.
'Fuck. What the hell is this bastard saying?'
Anger bubbled up inside him. But Han Taeho couldn't show it.
"Come on, hyungnim. Don't say that—have a drink from me and trust me, yeah?"
In truth, Shin Jaewoo was a customer he didn't want to take, no matter how prime he was. He wished he could cut ties with him completely. Just seeing him at the department store had been bad luck enough. He never imagined he'd run into that face here too.
'Damn it.'
But he couldn't let those feelings show. Apparently, he had anyway.
"Surprising. I figured you'd give me a property full of pranks and poison instead of something good."
As he spoke, Shin Jaewoo glanced sideways at Kim Hyeju and Kim Dong-su. Han Taeho's body twitched at that moment. And so did Kim Dong-su's.
'Well, well?'
Kim Dong-su picked up on the tension between the three. Han Taeho and Kim Hyeju. And Shin Jaewoo. There was clearly some history between them—and it wasn't the good kind.
'At first, I thought maybe that girl Hyeju and this guy Jaewoo had dated or something.'
Now, Kim Hyeju was just sitting in the corner of the table, sipping her drink alone. That was strike one. She'd come saying she wanted to be a cam girl, aiming to catch someone's eye. She should've been cozying up to him or Shin Jaewoo, flirting it up. But she showed no sign of it. It had started the moment she laid eyes on Shin Jaewoo. There was no ignoring it.
And now Shin Jaewoo's words:
"Surprising. I figured you'd give me a property full of pranks and poison instead of something good."
He'd said it while looking at Kim Dong-su, then glanced at Kim Hyeju. Kim Dong-su wasn't the type to miss what that meant. Even the reason Kim Hyeju was moping in the corner, nursing her drink.
'She really is pretty, though.'
Kim Dong-su's eyes roamed over Kim Hyeju's body. Nice figure. But Shin Jaewoo had just warned him with that line.
'This girl's got poison in her.'
He could guess what kind. And it pissed him off. Shin Jaewoo was spelling it out while talking to Han Taeho—that this was the prank Han Taeho had pulled on him.
"Why would you say something like that?"
Han Taeho was quick on the uptake. Even without that, Shin Jaewoo's words threw him off. He'd seen Kim Hyeju as a poisoned apple himself. It felt like he'd been caught. The plan to pass her off to Kim Dong-su and wash his hands of it without getting dirty.
'That fucking Shin Jaewoo...'
Shin Jaewoo had read his mind. Shin Jaewoo grinned.
"Oh? I thought that was just your style. Smiling to their face while stabbing them in the back."
Han Taeho flinched. This time, Shin Jaewoo's words were blunt. He started trembling. He bit his lip hard. He knew he had to choose his words carefully from here on out.
"H-haha... So I guess I rubbed you the wrong way, hyungnim. I'm sorry. If there's any reason you can't stand the sight of me, that's on me."
"Exactly right. If we catch eyes like ours, that's a sin in itself. Right, Taeho?"
Kim Dong-su jumped in as Han Taeho spoke. Han Taeho flinched the moment he heard that voice. He hoped it was his imagination, but there was an edge to Kim Dong-su's tone.
'Damn it!'
This whole mess stemmed from Shin Jaewoo's earlier suspicion. And it wasn't even suspicion.
'This is a warning.'
Kim Dong-su thought. He'd planned to sample Kim Hyeju once. But that idea was scrapped now. At first, he'd figured Shin Jaewoo wouldn't care much if he touched her. But Shin Jaewoo had just made it clear.
'If you take these two under your wing, you're picking a fight with me.'
That's the vibe Shin Jaewoo was giving off. Han Taeho, at least having some sense, forced a clownish laugh and raised his glass.
"H-here, my bad, little bro. Let me take this penalty shot—forgive me."
He looked ready to drop to his knees for Shin Jaewoo. His eyes were desperate.
'Come on, Jaewoo. Let's end this here and let me live.'
That plea seeped through. Shin Jaewoo ignored the look in his eyes.
Gulp, gulp.
Still, in a place like this, he had to put on the so-called ass-kissing show. Han Taeho downed the shot he'd been holding.
"Ahh."
The strong liquor burned, but the situation was far more poisonous to him.
'Fuck.'
He had to get past this crisis somehow. As Han Taeho thought that, Shin Jaewoo added,
"As long as the property's good, I'm fine. From a dealer's perspective. But still..."
Shin Jaewoo trailed off. His eyes turned to Kim Dong-su this time.
"Since you're the one introducing it, hyungnim, I guess I can trust it?"
Was that saying Kim Dong-su would share the blame if Han Taeho screwed up? It sealed it. Shin Jaewoo wanted him to ditch these two. Kim Dong-su's lips curled up. It wasn't a field he cared much about anyway.
'Better to team up with that guy than these losers.'
That was the position of Royal Road.
"Man, I was gonna bow out, but I can't now. But Jaewoo hyung."
"Yeah."
"Investment risk is on you. You can't blame the recommender."
Shin Jaewoo smiled at that.
It might just be his imagination.
'He won't take responsibility for these two.'
That's how it sounded to Shin Jaewoo.
"Right. You bear your own investment risks."
Shin Jaewoo agreed, picking up the thread. For some reason, it felt like sitting on pins and needles to Han Taeho. It had to. This was aimed at him and Kim Hyeju from the start.
'Taeho chose Hyeju, and Hyeju chose Taeho for her investment.'
They'd ditched him for that path. Responsibility over mercy. He could feel it.
"Learning something good today."
"Hahaha."
Kim Dong-su let out a big laugh at Shin Jaewoo's words. He was getting curious about the exact story between the three. But he wouldn't ask now. He could dig it up later. Given Shin Jaewoo's attitude, it was better to ask behind the scenes.
'He says to play dumb, so I will.'
Kim Dong-su didn't know Shin Jaewoo's exact wealth or status. When you didn't know, it was best to make an enemy into an ally. He'd already decided that much.
"Do you watch AsiaTV?"
Sharing hobbies was a good way to bond. Kim Dong-su asked Shin Jaewoo.
The sudden question threw Shin Jaewoo off too. He hadn't expected it.
"...A bit."
Shin Jaewoo nodded. Kim Dong-su's eyes lit up immediately.
"Oh? You do? Games? Or do you watch Excel?"
"Lately, just game streams. Star."
"Ah, Star."
He nodded vigorously at Shin Jaewoo's words. StarCraft. A genre with traditional popularity on AsiaTV. He glanced at Shin Jaewoo and asked again.
"MEP then? Or college girl cams?"
"Just MEP these days."
"MEP's great. I watch Hangju and Jo Su-hyuk."
Hangju was probably Kwon Yul. Shin Jaewoo shared his picks after hearing that.
"Ah, I watch Jinwoo."
"Aha, Seong Jinwoo? Makes sense—his recent MEP funding was strong. Must be 'cause hyungnim's backing him."
Shin Jaewoo nodded but felt a twinge of awkwardness.
'Hyungnim... Calling me little bro would feel more natural.'
Between him and Seong Jinwoo, he'd believe it more if he were called the nephew. Yet here he was calling him 'hyungnim.' He'd been doing it since earlier. It was streamer culture. Everyone was 'hyung' there. Fine in chat, but saying it face-to-face felt off.
'It's burdensome.'
Especially with Kim Dong-su's face.
"So you're funding MEP?"
"Yeah, something like that. Just found out about pay yesterday, though."
As Shin Jaewoo said that, Kim Dong-su's eyes sparkled.
"If you just learned about pay... You're probably just sending straight cash whatever the pay demands."
"Huh?"
Kim Dong-su's words left Shin Jaewoo baffled from his perspective. Kim Dong-su chuckled and added,
"You know pays get cheaper rates in Asia than living costs, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
"And the process is simple—just one transfer... But."
Kim Dong-su trailed off.
"Even so, VIPs get different rates from normies. Right, Taeho?"
"Yes, hyungnim. Obviously."
"You get better deals than most too, huh, Taeho?"
"Haha. All thanks to you, hyungnim."
Shin Jaewoo's eyes lit up at Kim Dong-su's words. At that moment, Kim Dong-su's did too.
"...Speak of the devil. Perfect timing. President Song's here."