TTD 161

-Side Story 2.9-

“Is this… real?”

Wang Lun brought the gold elephant to his mouth and lightly bit it. After confirming it was pure gold, his expression brightened immensely. Wang Han was equally moved. Not because the gift was gold, but because their youngest had prepared Christmas presents and even personally wrote cards for them.

“Gold prices have gone up lately, so this must be worth quite a bit.”

Wang Lun held the heavy gold piece in his hand and roughly estimated its value. When he tried to search for the market price, Wang Han hit the back of his head saying gifts are about the heart, not the amount.

“Then you just take the card, hyung. Give me the gold.”

“Shut up. I’m going to cherish both.”

“But, Wei. Did you eat something wrong? You’re doing things you’ve never done before. It’s strange.”

“Hyung. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized something.”

“What?”

“That you raised me with hardship. That you worked really hard.”

At those words, Wang Han choked up, scrunched his nose, and looked at distant mountains.

Wang Lun’s eyes reddened as he grumbled for no reason.

“Raised you well… If we’d raised you well, you wouldn’t have become a hitman.”

Wang Han felt the same.

“Right. I’m saying this now, but sometimes I regret it, what if we’d led you on a more proper path? I felt that even more when I saw your real brother. If it weren’t for us, you would have become such an excellent person too.”

Ja-kyung scolded them not to talk nonsense. If it weren’t for the Wangs in his childhood, he would have been beaten to death long ago. Or he would have been sold somewhere, had his organs harvested, and his corpse dumped. It was the same afterward. It was hard because they were so poor, but he could endure it because Wang Han and Wang Lun were there.

They always felt sorry for dragging Ja-kyung in, but Ja-kyung thought he was fortunate to have the two of them in his life. Wang Han, who had been talking about old memories, gestured with a face full of emotion.

“Come here. Let’s have a group hug, the three of us.”

“Do we have to?”

“Lun, don’t ruin the mood. Wei, hurry.”

When he reluctantly went and got hugged, Han embraced them tightly and patted their backs. Let’s not change this feeling in the future, I only have you two and you are my top priority. In such a warm atmosphere, while briefly recalling old memories, Ja-kyung remembered an appointment coming up in a few days.

“Oh, how about having a family meal on Christmas Eve?”

“A meal? With who?”

“With CEO Kang, Tae-ho hyung, and Ms. Kang Yoo-jung.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Han and Wang Lun’s faces contorted. The two subtly separated, leaving only Ja-kyung alone. Wasn’t it a combination that made you choke just thinking about it? When meeting separately, they were all perfectly fine people, but imagining the three of them gathering like that made him lose his appetite just thinking about it.

“You know, Wei… I think I have an important appointment that day.”

Ja-kyung frowned.

“Liar! You don’t even have anyone to meet!”

“I just made one.”

“What about Lun hyung?”

Lun shook his head without a second thought.

“I can’t. I have to volunteer at the church.”

Ja-kyung’s eyes widened like a flounder.

“You traitors! You said I was your top priority!”

“It’s time to yield the spot next to you to CEO Kang.”

“Right. It’s not that we absolutely don’t want to be part of that gathering. Of course, I want to see Ms. Kang Yoo-jung. But honestly, just imagining eating with those two makes yesterday’s dinner want to come back up?”

“Stop it, Lun. You’re making it sound like we hate CEO Kang and Prosecutor Jang.”

“I don’t hate them. I actually like them. But think about it. Do you want to eat with a principled, stuffy prosecutor and a man who got a perfect score on a psychopath test? Plus, they’re sworn enemies. Of course, CEO Kang is a step above when it comes to smiling while being sarcastic.”

Wang Han didn’t deny it, and Ja-kyung understood their feelings so he didn’t insist further. The three of them clearly knew how much nerve warfare Kang Il-hyun and Jang Tae-ho would engage in. It was Kang Yoo-jung who first suggested the dinner appointment, and regret belatedly washed over him about whether he should refuse even now.

*

While riding up in the elevator, Ja-kyung slightly pulled at the tie loop around his neck. Wearing a suit he didn’t normally wear felt suffocating like a shackle around his neck. Next, he looked in the mirror and checked his hair styled with wax. Thinking he’d raised it too much, he roughly lowered it with his hand, but he wasn’t really satisfied.

Just then, the elevator stopped at the very top floor. Upon arriving at the entrance and giving Kang Il-hyun’s name, the staff politely guided him inside. The place he followed them to was a private room, and when he opened the door and entered, Kang Yoo-jung and Jang Tae-ho had already arrived.

The restaurant was a place where the downtown scenery could be seen at a glance.

“You’re here.”

“Welcome, Ja-kyung. You look so wonderful today.”

Ja-kyung felt awkward and unnecessarily touched his tie once. There were four chairs, and since Kang Yoo-jung and Jang Tae-ho were facing each other, he naturally took a seat next to Jang Tae-ho.

“Where’s CEO Kang?”

“I got a message that he left 30 minutes ago.”

The three talked about how they’d been doing and what’s new. Both said they were incredibly busy these days. Kang Yoo-jung said it was year-end so there were so many trauma patients flooding in that she barely went home, and Jang Tae-ho also lamented that major incidents occurred one after another in the region, so there were days he ate and slept at the prosecutor’s office.

Listening to their stories, Ja-kyung thought he might be the only one living such a comfortable life. What should he learn in the new year? Or get a proper job. But no matter how much he thought about it, he had no idea what a proper job would be.

While briefly lost in other thoughts, Jang Tae-ho called Ja-kyung.

“Kyung-jun. Your tie is crooked.”

When he gestured, Ja-kyung turned around and he undid the tie and retied it. It’s easier this way. He explained slowly, one step at a time. He was so caring that sometimes he seemed like a father rather than a brother. Ja-kyung didn’t remember his deceased father, but through Jang Tae-ho he imagined what he was like.

Just as he finished the knot, there was a knock and the door opened as Kang Il-hyun appeared. He looked back and forth for a moment, then walked unhesitatingly toward where Ja-kyung was sitting. Then, before anyone could stop him, he lightly pecked a kiss on his cheek.

“You look wonderful today, my love.”

Ja-kyung opened his mouth in surprise, lasers shot from Jang Tae-ho’s eyes, and Kang Yoo-jung also frowned. Kang Il-hyun nonchalantly took a seat next to Kang Yoo-jung and looked at Jang Tae-ho.

“It’s been a while, Prosecutor Jang. You look better.”

“…Yes, thanks to you.”

“Congratulations in advance. I heard you’ll be moving to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office soon.”

“Your news is fast. It’s still hush-hush even internally.”

At those words, Ja-kyung’s eyes widened as he turned to Jang Tae-ho.

“Really? You didn’t tell me.”

“I was going to tell you soon.”

“Congratulations, hyung! That’s really great! I’m so proud.”

Seeing his brother happy, Jang Tae-ho also smiled broadly. Then Ja-kyung made eye contact with Kang Il-hyun and flinched in surprise. His mouth was smiling but his eyes were cold. Displeasure was clearly evident in his expression.

Ja-kyung immediately composed his expression and drank the water beside him. The meal began and small talk was exchanged. When steak was served as the main course, Jang Tae-ho cut it and transferred it to Ja-kyung’s plate. Seeing this, Kang Il-hyun took a sip of wine and just smiled with a strange expression.

“Hyung, I, I can eat it myself. Hurry and eat.”

“I’m full just watching you eat.”

Kang Yoo-jung, who was watching, chimed in.

“Goodness, how can they be so close? It’s nice to see. Right, CEO Kang?”

Instead of answering, Kang Il-hyun just stared at them and repeatedly cut with his knife. Later, when the tip of the knife scraped the plate making a screeching sound, Kang Yoo-jung grimaced and tapped Kang Il-hyun’s arm.

“Stop it. Are you planning to cut and eat the plate too?”

Kang Il-hyun put down the knife and fork without even touching the meat, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and moistened his throat with wine. Kang Yoo-jung praised the meat for being so tender and Jang Tae-ho echoed her, but Ja-kyung was so concerned about Kang Il-hyun that he couldn’t tell if the food was going down his throat or his nose. At this point, he respected Wang Lun and Wang Han for knowing in advance and running away.