#94

In order to steer the conversation away from a rather unwelcome topic, I asked about the whereabouts of President Go Woonjae, who wasn’t in the room. Secretary Sung Yoojun quickly responded.

“Given the situation, I asked Secretary Jung to escort him outside for now. He probably hasn’t left the building yet, so I believe he’s in the break room in the secretary’s office.”

A good decision. Things are already confusing enough—better to remove him from the scene than keep exposing everyone to it. As I nodded in agreement, a sudden ominous feeling crawled up my spine. Alarmed by the unpleasant sensation, I quickly looked around.

“President? Is something wrong?”

“What about Euiseo-ssi? And the others?”

Sung Yoojun had said he was in the recording studio when he heard I had collapsed, and Nam Yisol and Lee Daon, who had been with him, had come along to the president’s office. But what about the others?

Yoo Euiseo, who must’ve also been in the recording studio at the time, along with Jung Hosu, Lee Gaon, and Manager Ahn Siwon—where were they? Why didn’t they come along too? If they heard the news, surely they all would’ve wanted to rush over.

I turned to Secretary Sung Yoojun, urging him with my eyes to answer. And then I saw the troubled expression on his face. The moment I saw that expression, I immediately knew what the source of that ominous feeling was.

“……Did they meet?”

“Yes.”

A short, affirmative reply to my subjectless question. I grabbed my now-throbbing head and let out a heavy sigh.

It seemed President Go Woonjae had indeed run into Yoo Euiseo. I had gone out of my way to make sure they never crossed paths. That’s why I met President Go Woonjae myself when he came here, even after rejecting his request for a meeting. But now, all that effort had gone to waste.

“Where are they?”

“You should rest a little longer.”

“I’m fine. Where are they now? In the secretary’s break room?”

Pushing away Secretary Sung Yoojun’s hand as he tried to stop me, I got up from my seat. He then spoke with a complicated expression.

“Yes. They’re there.”

“How’s the atmosphere?”

“I’m sorry. Since you were the priority, I haven’t paid much attention to what’s happening over there. But Secretary Jung is with them, along with Jung Hosu-ssi and Lee Gaon-ssi, so I believe things should be alright.”

Should be alright, huh? Even though he said there were people around who could intervene, I just couldn’t feel at ease. I’d better go check for myself. With that in mind, I quickly started walking toward the secretary’s break room.

The break room wasn’t far from the president’s office, so I reached it after only a few steps. I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly to calm my nerves, then knocked on the firmly closed door of the secretary’s break room.

Knock knock.

A clear sound rang out, and a few seconds later, the door to the secretary’s break room slowly opened. Standing there, revealed through the open door, was Secretary Jung Minjae with a worried expression.

“President? You’re awake! Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

I answered Secretary Jung Minjae’s concerned question and glanced past his shoulder to quickly assess the situation inside the break room.

The first thing I saw was Yoo Euiseo and President Go Woonjae sitting across from each other on the sofas with a table between them. A short distance away, Lee Gaon and Jung Hosu stood, seemingly keeping watch over the scene. Even without stepping all the way inside, I could feel the tension in the air—it was palpable.

“President?! Are you okay?”

As soon as Yoo Euiseo spotted me peeking over Secretary Jung Minjae’s shoulder, he sprang up from his seat and rushed toward me, asking urgently. At the same time, I caught a glimpse of a peculiar glint flashing in President Go Woonjae’s eyes as he watched Yoo Euiseo’s reaction.

……This doesn’t feel good. That reaction is giving me a bad feeling. I deliberately avoided President Go Woonjae’s gaze, which was flickering with an unsettling gleam as he glanced between me and Yoo Euiseo with shining eyes, and instead fixed my gaze on Yoo Euiseo, who was now standing right in front of me.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Despite my reassurance, Yoo Euiseo didn’t look the least bit relieved. He reached out and cupped my cheeks with both hands, turning my face this way and that to check on me.

“I don’t know…… You still look a little pale……”

He murmured softly to himself, though the words were filled with deep concern for me. That warmth felt unexpectedly sweet, and the corners of my eyes softened into a gentle curve, but then I felt a prickling gaze coming from somewhere.

I didn’t need to look to know whose gaze it was. Of course, it was President Go Woonjae’s.

He probably thought that Yoo Euiseo and I seemed closer than he expected, and was now thinking this situation was better than he could’ve hoped. For all I knew, he might already be scheming how to coax me into siding with him.

Seriously, it was all so uncomfortable. Feeling a bit uneasy, I slowly raised my hand and placed it over the back of Yoo Euiseo’s hand, which was still cupping my cheek.

“I’m really okay.”

When I spoke with conviction, trying to show that I was telling the truth, only then did a faint sense of relief spread across Yoo Euiseo’s face. He let out a heavy sigh and slowly withdrew his hands from my cheeks. Then, placing those hands on my shoulders and waist, he pulled me into a firm hug.

“Thank goodness……”

Yoo Euiseo mumbled in a faint voice, burying his face into my shoulder. Caught off guard and suddenly embraced, I blinked in surprise before slowly raising my hand to gently pat his back.

“What did that man say to you? Did he say something bad? Is that why you……”

His words, muffled against my shoulder, gradually trailed off until they stopped altogether. I couldn’t catch everything Yoo Euiseo was trying to say, but I could easily guess what he meant.

He was probably asking if I had collapsed because of something President Go Woonjae had said. I paused a moment, considering how to respond, then shook my head.

“No. He didn’t say anything bad. He just talked about the past. That brought up a painful memory…… That’s all. It wasn’t the president’s fault.”

What caused me to collapse was the sudden resurfacing of Goo Won’s memories from the game, not anything President Go Woonjae had done. I didn’t particularly like the man, but I didn’t want him to be misunderstood or accused of something he hadn’t done, so I told the truth.

At that, Yoo Euiseo slowly lifted his face from my shoulder and looked at me with reddened eyes.

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“There you go. Grandfather didn’t do anything.”

At President Go Woonjae’s attempt to confirm his innocence, Yoo Euiseo’s gradually softening expression instantly turned stiff again. His face, now cold and expressionless—so unlike his usually simple and straightforward demeanor—turned toward President Go Woonjae, who had already risen to his feet.

Wait—was he just looking at him? That wasn’t just a look. That was a glare. A glare so sharp and piercing, it felt like daggers.

“I just came to talk with President Goo Won, that’s all. I’m telling the truth, so why won’t you believe me, hmm?”

“Trust is something you give to someone who deserves it. Do you really think I could trust someone like you?”

“Oh my, that’s no way to talk to your elders, child. And don’t speak so informally either.”

The moment the word ‘child’ came out of President Go Woonjae’s mouth, Yoo Euiseo’s face twisted in fury. With eyes blazing with the determination to never comply with a word that man said, he glared at the person who was both his grandfather and not his grandfather.

“And trust depends on one’s mindset. Euiseo, you never intended to trust me from the start, and that’s why you can’t trust anyone.”

Despite the scorching gaze that looked like it could burn holes through a wall, President Go Woonjae didn’t even flinch. He simply spoke in a calm voice, as though he were teaching a child. Of course, that condescending tone only poured oil onto the flames of Yoo Euiseo’s already blazing anger.

“How could I ever trust someone like you……!”

Yoo Euiseo, overcome by emotion, raised his voice, but then clamped his mouth shut. He was clearly furious, but it seemed he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsher in front of someone older than him.

……This is exactly why the president won’t give up on him. President Go Woonjae looked at Yoo Euiseo with a satisfied expression, pretending not to care, and I shot him a sidelong glance.

Yoo Euiseo’s reluctance to lash out without restraint at someone older was proof that, no matter how angry he got, he still upheld a sense of basic manners and social norms.

From the perspective of President Go Woonjae, who had lived his entire life as an educator, that alone would seem like a promising sign. It explained why he refused to let go. On top of that, with the brains and effort it took to get into Korea University, one of the best schools in the country, how could his family not covet him?

Even putting aside the fact that he was the last of the Go family bloodline, there were more than enough reasons for President Go Woonjae to want him. He was bound to cling on till the very end in an attempt to take Yoo Euiseo back.

Unhappy with how things were playing out, I shook my head and stepped forward. At that, President Go Woonjae, who had been watching Yoo Euiseo with satisfaction, turned his gaze to me.

“Are you all right? I was very worried when you suddenly collapsed like that.”