PEN Vol 2 Ch. 21

Imagining Sejin’s face scrunched up in annoyance, Cheon Sejoo slipped his phone back into his suit pocket. When he lifted his head, Han Jonghyun had already disappeared from sight.

The thought of Han Jonghyun, who had gone inside first, made him feel uneasy. He was already getting annoyed just wondering about why Han Jonghyun suddenly wanted to have a meal and what nonsense he was planning to say.

Nonetheless, Cheon Sejoo forced himself to move forward and headed inside the building.

“Right this way, please.”

A staff member in a suit gestured down the hallway.

The Japanese restaurant had a private layout. The hallway was lined with wooden floors, and on either side, there were several rooms with sliding doors. Cheon Sejoo was led to the very last room, the one furthest back.

It seemed like a reservation had been made in advance, or perhaps Han Jonghyun frequented the place often because despite it being break time, the staff welcomed them without any hint of displeasure.

“What do you want to eat?”

The room featured a sunken seating area.

Han Jonghyun, who had already removed his jacket, took a seat first. With his slender upper body hugged tightly by a vest, he sat there with a polite smile on his well-groomed face. It was a smile that carried a vague sense of unease, making his intentions unclear.

Cheon Sejoo shook his head and sat down across from him.

“I just had a meal with the President. You should order whatever you’d like, Director.”

At those words, Han Jonghyun shrugged and ordered the tuna course. When he also asked the server to bring some sake first, Cheon Sejoo’s concern deepened. He couldn’t figure out what Han Jonghyun intended to discuss, especially if alcohol was involved.

As soon as the server confirmed the order and closed the door behind them, Han Jonghyun immediately asked Cheon Sejoo a question.

“What did you talk about during your meal with the President?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

It was obvious how he would answer, yet Han Jonghyun still asked. He gave a scoffing laugh at Cheon Sejoo’s response, as if he hadn’t expected much, and leaned back in his chair.

Silence filled the room.

Cheon Sejoo took off his jacket and placed it on the floor, poured the sake, and placed it in front of Han Jonghyun. He also poured himself a warm cup of tea and gripped it in his hand as he looked across the table.

Han Jonghyun was already gulping down the sake as if he couldn’t bring himself to speak while sober. One glass, two glass, the bottle grew lighter, and it was only after quite some time that he finally opened his mouth.

“You haven’t heard anything, have you?”

“…”

There was plenty he had heard.

The tasks Shin Gyoyeon assigned to him varied, and whenever Cheon Sejoo listened to the background explanations tied to them, it was impossible not to get a sense of what was being planned or what kind of picture was being painted.

However, all of that information was confidential. Even with Chae Beomjun, Cheon Sejoo didn’t bring up these topics, so discussing them with Han Jonghyun was out of the question.

Cheon Sejoo sipped his tea slowly, raising his gaze before responding.

“What are you talking about?”

Unless Han Jonghyun offered him a hint, there was no topic Cheon Sejoo could bring up in this conversation. In response to his question, Han Jonghyun seemed to contemplate for a moment, rubbing his cheek as if in thought, and then asked in a low voice.

“Have you ever heard about a plan to build an urban resort near Bukhansan^[1]?”

An urban resort?

Cheon Sejoo’s brow furrowed slightly.

He had, in fact, heard about it very recently. Just about an hour or two ago, Shin Gyoyeon and Chae Beomjun discussed it during lunch. But all Cheon Sejoo knew was that they were facing difficulties acquiring the land.

What does that have to do with Han Jonghyun?

As Cheon Sejoo continued to show little reaction and simply stared at him, Han Jonghyun hesitated as if gauging his expression before speaking again.

“That project, by any chance…”

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, a knock came from outside, and a staff member’s voice was heard.

Han Jonghyun closed his mouth, and the sliding door silently opened. Out of habit, Cheon Sejoo glanced at the face of the server who was bringing in the food.

Then, as he held the cup of tea in his hand, he frowned and turned his head toward the hallway again. Realizing that he hadn’t been mistaken by what he saw, a sigh slipped from his lips.

“Ha…”

There, in the hallway, was a familiar face.

Kwon Sejin, who had claimed he was meeting a friend who didn’t even exist, was now dressed in a white shirt and black pants, busily transferring trays from the serving cart onto a stand. The apron tied around his waist was slightly wet, and the shirt he was wearing even had a name tag that clearly displayed “Sejin,” suggesting that he hadn’t just started working here recently.

It was exasperating.

At least he wasn’t directly serving the food, as Sejin didn’t come inside the room. He just silently placed the trays on the stand and then left.

Cheon Sejoo stared at the spot where Sejin had been standing with a face that was utterly baffled. Noticing his piercing gaze, the staff member who was setting the dishes on the table got unnecessarily self-conscious.

“Why? Did you see someone you know?”

Han Jonghyun, having sensed the change in atmosphere, asked with a displeased expression, as if telling Cheon Sejoo to stay focused.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Cheon Sejoo turned his head back into the room. He wanted to go grab that disobedient “puppy” right then and there, but for now, dealing with Han Jonghyun took priority. He didn’t want to give Han Jonghyun any reason to find fault with him.

“It’s nothing. Let’s eat.”

Keeping his emotions in check, Cheon Sejoo calmly drank his tea while meeting Han Jonghyun’s gaze who was looking at him suspiciously. Trying to maintain a composed and unaffected expression, Cheon Sejoo maintained eye contact, and fortunately, Han Jonghyun finally looked away.

However, the atmosphere had already been disrupted, making it difficult for Han Jonghyun to speak again. He fell silent, simply drinking more sake, and the time passed without any meaningful conversation.

An urban resort.

What was so important that Han Jonghyun had to beat around the bush like this, forcing Cheon Sejoo to also remain silent?

“So, about what I mentioned earlier… You’ve at least heard of it, right?”

After a long pause, Han Jonghyun asked again in a slightly drawn-out voice. It was impossible for Cheon Sejoo to guess what he was trying to get at. He suppressed his frustration as he answered.

“All I heard was that they’re in the process of acquiring land. What exactly are you curious about?”

There were plenty of other executives under Shin Gyoyeon, so why did Han Jonghyun specifically drag him all the way here?

As Cheon Sejoo pondered this, he began to suspect Han Jonghyun. It reminded him of the earlier conversation with Shin Gyoyeon when he mentioned his “weakness”.

Could it be that Han Jonghyun knew about Kwon Sejin and brought him here in order to test him?

The thought crossed his mind because, out of all the restaurants in the city, what were the odds that Han Jonghyun had chosen one where Kwon Sejin happened to be working?

Could this really be a coincidence?

Cheon Sejoo began to observe Han Jonghyun closely as he asked himself these questions. However, contrary to his suspicions, Han Jonghyun was drinking the sake without any apparent defenses up. His eyes were already half-closed, and the muscles in his face were relaxed, giving him a somewhat foolish appearance.

After thinking about it for a while, Cheon Sejoo shook his head inwardly.

This was Han Jonghyun, after all. He had no followers, no real influence, and therefore he had no information network. The likelihood that he knew anything about Sejin was almost next to none. Even setting his background aside, it didn’t seem likely that Han Jonghyun would be capable of concocting such a scheme with that dumb look on his face.

As his suspicions faded away, his focus also started to waver.

Cheon Sejoo took a sip of his warm tea and thought to himself.

But wait—when exactly did Kwon Sejin start lying?

Was it from the moment he said he had supplementary classes?

Yeah, it was hard to believe such a school would even hold supplementary classes.

So, had he been working here from 11 AM to 3 PM this whole time?

For nearly a month, I’ve been picking him up from the front of the school and taking him home, but in reality, this kid…

“Didn’t they say anything about… who’s going to be appointed as the resort’s CEO?”

“Huh?”

Cheon Sejoo, who had been thinking about the absurd liar, suddenly looked up when he heard the question. Then he saw Han Jonghyun avoiding his gaze, staring down at the table. He seemed awkward, almost embarrassed for some reason. The unfamiliar expression made Cheon Sejoo feel uneasy, and he stared at Han Jonghyun intently.

Then, out of nowhere, Han Jonghyun let out a deep sigh as he looked out the window and muttered in a barely audible voice.

“Did the President… say anything about… where he’s going to put me… Ah, f*ck… did he say what he’s going to do with me…?”

“…”

Cheon frowned, trying to hide his discomfort.

Seeing his reaction, Han Jonghyun cursed to himself and poured more sake into his cup. He downed several cups in quick succession before slowly slumping in his seat. As he continued to drink, it became clear that he was getting drunk. His outwardly composed face became disheveled, and his words began to slur.

Now back in the drunken state that Cheon Sejoo was all too familiar with, Han Jonghyun glared at him, venting his pent-up frustration at Cheon Sejoo, who remained silent.

“Y-You made it to Manager in three years, right…? D*mn it, I was made a Director as soon as I joined…”

The slurred speech was typical of a drunk. A bad feeling crept up on Cheon Sejoo. He thought that if he sat here any longer, he might be stuck with Han Jonghyun until the sun came up, listening to his drunken ramblings.  Obviously, Cheon Sejoo had no interest in humoring Han Jonghyun’s drunken complaints. He wasn’t even slightly curious about what Han Jonghyun’s issues were.

With a blank expression, Cheon Sejoo snatched the sake cup away from Han Jonghyun and explained calmly.

“If you’re talking about the urban resort project, they’re still in the process of acquiring the land. That’s all I know. And I’ve never heard anything from the President mention anything about you, Director Han. Even if I had, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But I can assure you, no—there hasn’t been any talk about you. So, if that’s all, I think we’re done here, and I’ll be…”

“So, what I’m saying is… why isn’t he talking about me…”

Just as Cheon Sejoo was about to end their conversation and leave, Han Jonghyun beat him to it. Cheon Sejoo closed his eyes for a moment, seeing Han Jonghyun start to open up right in front of him.

This was exactly the kind of thing he hated. Every time they met, Han Jonghyun acted disgusted, as if his very existence revolted him. But now, out of nowhere, this same Han Jonghyun had the gall to unload his pathetic grievances on the very “disgusting homo” he had despised.

“I’ve been a Director for five years, but why doesn’t the President ever give me any proper position…?”

However, Han Jonghyun’s expression was unusually somber as he muttered those words. His face, flushed from the alcohol with his lips pouting, twisted in frustration and his eyes welled up as if he were on the verge of tears.

Cheon Sejoo, who had been about to stand from his seat, forgot all that he was doing and stared at Han Jonghyun in disbelief.

Has this bastard lost his mind…?