Jihun and Suyeon's Date
Two years later, Jaehyuk and Jihun had completed their military service. It was a December day when snow lay thick and white across the roads. Jaehyuk sat inside a pub with Jihun and Jeonghan, sharing plates of chicken and cold beer.
“By the way, Jeonghan, how are you finding military life?” Jaehyuk asked.
Jeonghan took a slow sip of beer before answering. “It’s… fine, I guess.”
“Where did you say your unit was again?” Jihun asked.
“Special Forces. Just Special Forces.” Jeonghan’s reply was deliberately vague and short. Jaehyuk smoothly changed the subject, turning to Jihun.
“Your father runs a business, right?”
“Yeah. He manages one company.”
Jihun’s expression darkened as he lifted his glass and drank. Jeonghan studied him for a moment, then asked, “So after graduation, will you join his company or take it over someday?”
“No, I’m thinking of using my major to get a job somewhere else. Honestly, I don’t want to get tangled up with my father’s company.”
Crown Holdings is basically a mid-sized enterprise. And he doesn’t want to inherit it?
Jaehyuk raised an eyebrow, surprised by the answer. Jeonghan asked carefully, “Is there bad blood between you and your father?”
“It’s not that… I just have my own reasons.”
Jaehyuk stared at Jihun’s conflicted face and recalled an event from the previous timeline.
“The chairman must be truly heartbroken.”
After laying the drunken, rambling Jihun on the hotel bed, Jaehyuk spoke to Im Kanghun beside him.
“His only son running around like a complete mess…”
“Exactly. He never caused his father a single headache before the drugs, so this must be even harder to bear.”
Im Kanghun. At the time, manager of the Seoul branch of Crown Hotel.
Kanghun stepped out into the hallway with Jaehyuk and asked, “Manager Park. Did you know the chairman had named Jihun his top successor before the drugs took hold?”
“Isn’t it because he’s the only son?”
“That’s part of it, but… you know how the chairman is. He doesn’t indulge family just because they share blood. If that mattered more, he would have handed the crown jewel—Crown Hotel—to his brother-in-law, Representative Seo Taeyang. Why give it to Representative Ha Seongjun, a complete outsider?”
Kanghun glanced back at the closed door of Jihun’s room with a look of pity before continuing. “The boy may be too gentle for the organization, but he’s sharp, strong in a fight, and well-liked by everyone. The chairman had already chosen him as successor. If Jihun had never touched drugs… he would have been at least an executive director at Holdings by now. That’s why drugs are so terrifying. Drugs…”
Kanghun shook his head and walked down the corridor. Jaehyuk followed silently behind him.
While drinking beer and drifting through those old memories, Jaehyuk thought to himself, Even if he had never become addicted, would Kang Jihun have taken over Gangryonghoe? With his personality, he never seemed like someone who would want the boss’s seat…
Jeonghan changed the subject again. “So what are you doing for Christmas, Jihun?”
“Me? Well… can I be honest?”
He’s planning to go out with Suyeon. It’s written all over his face.
Jaehyuk let out an involuntary chuckle. Jeonghan glared at Jihun. “You’re going out with Suyeon, aren’t you?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Jeonghan sighed. “Fine… Have fun. And don’t do anything weird that makes her cry.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll treat her right.”
Jaehyuk grinned, trying to reassure him. “They’re both adults. They’ll be fine. Stop worrying so much.”
“I know, but… I can’t help it.”
When Jeonghan’s concern showed, Jihun flashed him a bright, mischievous smile. “Hey, don’t you trust this hyung? Come on, brother-in-law. Put a little faith in me.”
“Aish, my birthday is three months earlier than yours. What do you mean, hyung?”
“Three months is nothing. Honestly, since I’m taller, I think I deserve to be called hyung.”
“Yeah, yeah. Must be nice being a giant, Mr. Super Tall.”
Jaehyuk watched the two bicker like a comedy sketch on a variety show, simply enjoying his beer in the light, comfortable atmosphere.
A few days later, deep in a remote mountain, inside the basement of an abandoned building, Minhyuk was scanning through data on his laptop.
Is this everything I’ve gathered so far? I thought I had collected quite a lot… but it still feels so insufficient.
The files contained information on the cartel linking ruling Seonmin Party leader Cha Jinyong, Gangryonghoe boss Kang Jiyong, and National Intelligence Service Second Deputy Director Nam Sanghoon.
The key is to cut off their limbs one by one. But taking on Cha Jinyong and Kang Jiyong directly is still too dangerous. Removing Nam Sanghoon first seems like the easiest target…
Minhyuk pressed Alt and Tab, switching windows to open a notepad file. The screen displayed the following notes:
[Seonmin Party Cha Jinyong. Assembling North Korean special forces defectors to form private military organization Yeonghoda.]
[Supplying weapons to Yeonghoda through Gangryonghoe.]
[2017 Presidential Election. More than half of the incident involving Jeongjik Party candidate Choi Gilseok was fabricated.]
Besides these entries, the file contained even more explosive information. If it all reached the South Korean press, the country would be turned upside down.
To take down Nam Sanghoon, I need a strong rival who can replace him. The person most qualified to become second deputy director in his place… I suppose that ‘friend’ would be the best choice.
As Minhyuk typed rapidly, adding more notes, a urgent voice shouted from outside the door.
“Boss!! Are you in there?!”
Minhyuk instinctively grabbed the Beretta 92FS pistol from his desk drawer before cautiously opening the door.
“What is it?”
“The base location has been compromised! You need to evacuate immediately!”
Minhyuk stepped outside. His subordinates surrounded him, Glock 19 pistols with silencers already drawn.
“Who are the intruders?”
“Presumed to be Yeonghoda operatives.”
“Did they uncover my identity?”
“It doesn’t appear so. They likely traced the previous hacking signatures and followed them here.”
Soon after, chaotic noise erupted alongside several silenced gunshots. Minhyuk’s men tensed, weapons raised, forming a protective circle around him.
“Boss, if anything happens to us, don’t worry about it. Just escape.”
“……Understood.”
Minhyuk and his team climbed the stairs to the surface. A fierce gunfight had already broken out around them. He attached the silencer from his pocket to his own pistol.
Together they fought their way out, systematically eliminating enemies who aimed weapons at them. One of Minhyuk’s men took a bullet to the head as they emerged, collapsing in a spray of blood and brain matter.
“Protect the boss!” the others shouted, returning fire.
Short screams mixed with the eerie sound of silenced gunfire echoed through the mountain.
Meanwhile, a young couple had arrived at a secluded villa, ready to enjoy their date in earnest.
Jihun entered first. Suyeon followed, looking around the interior with wide-eyed wonder.
“Wow… This is your villa, oppa?”
“Yeah. Come on in.”
Jihun smiled gently at her. Suyeon pointed at the refrigerator. “Let’s see what’s inside. I’m hungry.”
“Sure.”
When Jihun opened the fridge, it was stocked with various liquors and premium cuts of meat.
“Want to start with dinner? I’ll make us steak.”
“Yes, please!”
Jihun took out steaks already marinated in seasoning and skillfully grilled them in a frying pan. Once they were perfectly cooked, he plated them with fresh garnish. The two ate together.
After dinner, they pulled out soju, beer, whiskey, and other drinks, preparing to relax in the living room.
“What do you want to drink, Suyeon? Soju? Beer?”
“Hmm… I want so-maek!”
“So-maek? Are you sure? Mixing them hits fast.”
“It’s fine. I drank a ton of it during school MT and never got drunk.”
Suyeon expertly mixed the soju and beer, then asked, “What about you, oppa?”
“I’ll have the same.”
“Okay. I’ll mix yours perfectly.”
They began drinking. As time passed and the alcohol warmed them, they opened up about their deepest feelings.
“Suyeon… No matter what kind of person I am… will you keep loving me?”
“Yes. No matter what others think of you… to me, you’re always a good person, oppa.”
“Thank you for seeing me that way.”
After a few more glasses, the liquor loosened Jihun’s tongue. He revealed the dark truth about his family.
“Actually… the company my father runs is a criminal syndicate. He’s the boss of a gang…”
Suyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“So you hid that from me when you confessed?”
“No, I genuinely didn’t know back then. I only learned the full story while I was in the military.”
Suyeon’s expression grew serious. Though Jihun had never meant any harm, the guilt of having deceived her and his discomfort with his family made him hang his head.
“I’m sorry I waited this long to tell you. I’ve lived comfortably thanks to my father, but when I think about how all that money is stained with blood…”
He couldn’t finish. He emptied his glass in one gulp. After a brief silence, Suyeon asked, “So are you a gangster too, oppa?”
“No.”
“Are you going to become one like your father?”
“Never. I have no intention of becoming a gangster.”
“Then it’s okay. Just because your family are bad people doesn’t make you the same. And if you don’t want to be like them, that’s enough for me.”
Suyeon moved closer and rested her small head on his shoulder. Jihun gently stroked her hair.
“I’m sorry… I should have been honest from the beginning. I was scared you would hate me and leave.”
“It’s all right. You didn’t hide the truth with any bad intentions.”
Suyeon looked up at him. Jihun smiled softly and spoke from the depths of his heart.
Suyeon beamed at him, eyes curving into lovely crescents, and answered with equal sincerity.
A delicate, electric atmosphere wrapped around them as they reaffirmed their feelings. They slowly became drunk on the sweet tension.
Jihun gently closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. Suyeon blinked once, then slowly closed her eyes as well. When he pulled back, their gazes met.
So sweet… I want to feel more…
He caressed her cheek tenderly and smiled.
He kissed her again. Soon afterward, the couple moved to the bedroom, spending a passionate night confirming their love again and again.
Even in the midst of their intense physical intimacy, Jihun smiled at her as if the words could never be enough.
“I love you too… Jihun oppa…”
Later, while resting, Jihun asked, “Shall we wash up?”
“Mmm… but I’m so tired. Can you wash me…?”
“Of course. Let’s go together.”
He easily lifted her sweat-drenched body and carried her to the shower. Even while washing and long after, they continued expressing their love without restraint, spending a heated night together until the following day.