#75

As my attention had been completely focused on Lee Daon, I hadn’t paid much attention to the calmer Lee Gaon. Feeling guilty about that, my expression darkened slightly, but Lee Gaon hastily waved both hands.

“I’m really fine! I never thought that you and my mother made some kind of deal. And I also believed that such a thing never happened. You don’t seem like someone who would do that, President.”

I was surprised by how firm Lee Gaon’s trust in me was. Seeing my reaction, Lee Gaon awkwardly scratched the back of his head and continued speaking.

“And honestly, I don’t think there’s much for you to gain from making a deal with my mother, and even if she did offer something as a condition, I don’t think it would be particularly interesting to you…… So I really never misunderstood, nor did I ever feel betrayed or anything like that.”

……Wow, he’s perceiving reality with remarkable accuracy. I quietly marveled at Lee Gaon’s unexpected insight.

“You got it exactly right. That’s correct. There’s no reason to make a deal when there’s nothing to gain.”

Saying so, I smiled gently. I had been worried that, like his younger brother, Lee Gaon might have misunderstood me but was too kind-hearted to say anything. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Lee Daon and Lee Gaon—both of them knew that there had never been any sort of deal between me and Rep. Oh Hahyun. That was enough.

Now that the concern that had been lingering in my mind turned out to be unnecessary, I felt completely at ease. Just as I was about to drink my cocoa again, I sensed movement from the staircase leading to the second floor. I guessed it would be Lee Daon and Secretary Sung Yoojun, and when I turned my head, sure enough, the two of them were coming down the stairs.

Lee Daon, who still looked fresh from having just showered, quickened his steps slightly as soon as our eyes met. Then, he quietly sat down in the seat where I had placed the cocoa for him. Watching him, I felt a sense of satisfaction before shifting my gaze to Secretary Sung Yoojun, who stood a little distance away, looking in our direction.

“I’ll be heading in now. Please talk comfortably.”

“Wait a moment, Secretary Sung.”

I called out, stopping Sung Yoojun just as he was about to bow his head and head to his room. He paused and looked at me with a curious expression. I quickly picked up the cocoa I had set aside for him on the table and walked over to him.

“Drink this before you go to sleep.”

When I extended the cocoa toward him, Sung Yoojun stared at it with wide eyes, as if he hadn’t expected this at all. He simply looked at the cup for a while without taking it.

Did he perhaps not like cocoa? That thought crossed my mind belatedly, and I was about to tell him that it was okay to refuse if he didn’t want to drink it. But just then, Sung Yoojun reached out and accepted the cup from my hands.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“I made it myself, so I hope it suits your taste.”

“If it was made by you, sir, then I’m sure it will be delicious.”

At his words, which had the ability to make people feel good, I smiled softly. Then, after confirming that Sung Yoojun had gone into his room, I returned to the living room sofa.

While I had been talking with Sung Yoojun, Lee Gaon had emptied his cup completely, whereas Lee Daon was still sipping his cocoa, with about half remaining. I thought about waiting until he finished before starting the conversation, but as soon as I sat down, Lee Daon placed his cup on the table.

“You can finish drinking it first.”

“No, I’ve had enough. So you can go ahead and say what you wanted to now.”

Lee Daon’s voice carried a firm determination, and he somehow looked solemn—almost as if he was bracing himself to accept whatever I was about to say with humility.

Was he feeling guilty about what he said earlier? Maybe he was thinking something like, ‘I said what I wanted, so now it’s your turn.’

Amused by his resolute stance, I let out a faint chuckle and reached out to him.

Then, with my thumb, I gently wiped away the trace of cocoa that had been bothering me on the corner of his lips and began to speak.

“Hmm, where should I start……? Well, first of all…… Yes. I should begin by apologizing for keeping Rep. Oh Hahyun a secret from you.”

Slowly withdrawing my cocoa-stained hand, I lightly curled it into a fist and placed it neatly on my thigh before continuing.

“If I had told you beforehand, this misunderstanding wouldn’t have happened…… I’m sorry.”

As I bowed my head deeply to express my apology, Lee Daon panicked and immediately grabbed my shoulders, pulling me upright.

“Wh-what……! Don’t apologize! I was the one who misunderstood everything on my own! Lee Gaon had the situation figured out, but I……”

Even after pulling me upright, Lee Daon kept his hands on my shoulders. I placed my hand gently over his and lightly patted the back of his hand.

“It was my actions that caused you to misunderstand. And it was my own selfishness that led me to decide to keep Rep. Oh Hahyun’s involvement from both of you. So, I felt that offering an apology was the right thing to do.”

Lee Daon didn’t seem to like my apology at all. He pursed his lips as if he were on the verge of yelling, ‘Are you serious? Are you a pushover or something?!’. But in the end, he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he simply exhaled a deep, heavy breath as if trying to cool the frustration burning inside him.

Since Lee Daon was too busy suppressing his anger, it was his older brother, Lee Gaon, who spoke up in his place.

“Selfishness, you say?”

He had precisely pinpointed the part of my explanation that played the biggest role in my reasoning. Once again, I found myself admiring his insight as I responded.

“Yes. A foolish kind of selfishness.”

“May I ask what exactly that selfishness stemmed from?”

His voice carried a mixture of caution and curiosity. I nodded without hesitation. I had already decided to tell them everything. Of course, being honest about it was a little embarrassing, but still.

“I heard that you both have a decent relationship with Rep. Oh Hahyun.”

As I spoke softly with a faint smile, both Lee Gaon and even the still-fuming Lee Daon gave me puzzled looks. It seemed like they didn’t quite understand what I was trying to say.

“A while ago, when President Lee Yongjun tried to pressure Euiseo-ssi, I found out that Rep. Oh Hahyun was behind it. At the time, I wasn’t sure of her exact intentions, but I interpreted it as an attack against me. Normally, if someone attacks me first, I would retaliate in equal measure. But since that opponent was Rep. Oh Hahyun, I couldn’t help but think of both of you.”

“…….”

“We had only just started to mend our relationship little by little, and I was worried that if you two found out about what happened between me and Rep. Oh, you wouldn’t take it well. Honestly, when a mother and a boss are in conflict, it’s obvious which side the child would take. And since I had also heard that your relationship with your mother was fine, that thought only solidified in my mind. So, I chose not to say anything and kept it a secret.”

“You were afraid that we would see you in a negative light?”

At Lee Gaon’s question, I slowly nodded in affirmation. Then, I added one more thing.

“I was also afraid that you’d end up hating me completely.”

As I laid out my honest feelings without hesitation, both Lee Gaon and Lee Daon were left looking utterly dumbfounded. Seeing their faces like that, I let out an awkward chuckle.

“I was greedy. In a way, it’s my own fault for being misunderstood. I kept something from you that I should have been upfront about, so I have no right to blame anyone else. If I had known things would turn out this way, I would have just been honest from the start. But I was worried that it would make things awkward between us…… You must have been really surprised at the restaurant earlier, right? I’m sorry for keeping it from you.”

With that, I lowered my gaze. I had no idea how the twins would react to hearing all this. I didn’t think they’d be too angry, but still…… Admitting that I had made such a cowardly choice out of fear felt embarrassing.

I also felt a little self-conscious about my faintly flushed cheeks. I was eight years older than these two, yet I had been too scared and ended up making such a foolish decision. Saying it out loud made it all the more mortifying.

“……You’re really strict with yourself, aren’t you? Even though you’re so generous with others.”

Breaking the long silence, Lee Gaon carefully spoke up. I cautiously lifted my gaze from the floor to look at him. That’s when I saw Lee Gaon looking at me with an incredibly gentle expression.

“I figured you weren’t the type to insist that Daon was more at fault, but I didn’t expect you to go so far as to say you have no right to blame anyone at all. And honestly, hearing that you were worried about us seeing you in a negative light was surprising too.”

Lee Gaon smiled faintly as he spoke. I stared at him for a moment before tilting my head slightly to the side. Why is that surprising?

Noticing that I was questioning his words, Lee Gaon added.

“The more distinct the hierarchy in a relationship, the less people tend to worry about things like that.”

Somehow, his words carried a sense of life’s hardships…… I found myself worrying about what experiences had led Lee Gaon to say something like that and studied him closely.

Once again, he quickly picked up on my thoughts, flashed a small smile, and smoothly changed the subject.