Chapter 18: That Bastard’s Circumstances

Inside the car on the way back to the dorm, Manager Woo, still looking visibly excited, asked,

“So basically, I just have to do whatever PD Jang Yeonju asks me to do, right?”

“Mm… to put it simply, yes.”

Okay, maybe that was a little too simple.

“Then what about running our company?”

“Oh, that’s easy.”

I lifted my right hand and made a circle with my fingers.

“I’ll take care of that too.”

“Okay, then there’s no problem!”

Hmm-hmm-hmm~ Manager Woo began humming cheerfully, clearly in a great mood. At this point, it was kind of ridiculous—but honestly, he looked so happy it was kind of nice to see.

‘Right, Soram?’

Soram, who’d been flitting around nearby with a cheerful smile on his face, nodded.

“Manager Woo.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“PD Jang Yeonju seems like a good person. I think you should go for it.”

“……?!!!”

Screech—!

The car came to a sudden halt.

“Agh… geez…”

That scared me for real.

“Y-you, when did you—”

Despite his flustered state, Manager Woo had enough sense left to check the rearview mirror and turn on the hazard lights as he stumbled over his words.

Whew, thank god we were the only ones on this road.

The sudden stop was a bit stressful, sure, but the look on his panicked face was just too perfect for teasing. I couldn’t help but grin.

“Since the Ayangso thing?”

Manager Woo’s face turned red again—starting from the ears, no less. First time in a while seeing that.

Oh? Was I right?

“I… was it that obvious…?”

“Yes.”

Honestly, I haven’t even known you for a whole month yet, Manager Woo, but it was still clear as day.

“Then… d-do you think PD Jang knows too…?”

I haven’t even known Manager Woo for a full month yet, but I still figured it out.

“Th–then… do you think PD Jang knows too…?”

Hmm…

“Yes!”

I barely stopped myself from saying, If he doesn’t, he’s a fool!

Because what if—just maybe—he’s only a fool when it comes to things like this?

“Really??? It’s that obvious?”

No, seriously, if he doesn’t know, he’s an idiot. Do you need to hear me say it directly?

“Just drive already. We’ve basically rented this whole road to ourselves right now.”

Still flushed, Manager Woo scrambled to get the car moving again.

“He knows… so he really does know…”

His face kept getting redder by the second. How high can this man’s R value even go?

“Haram-ah…”

I glanced over at him with an impish grin, thoroughly enjoying the scene even more than I expected.

“I think I’m gonna resign…”

“…What?”

Wow. It’s been a while since I said ‘What?’ out loud like that.

That old habit from my Seo Jimin days was definitely starting to seep into this body too.

“Why? Because you’re embarrassed??”

“I don’t know… I just… I want to quit…”

What kind of nonsense is that? I’m not about to let my grand plan be derailed by something as trivial as failed romance, of all things.

For the rest of the ride to the dorm, the conversation was nothing but him repeating “I’m gonna quit…” and me countering with “No. I won’t let you. Go back.”

“You’re not some high school senior taking entrance exams, what are you even doing?”

The car eventually stopped in front of the dorm, and I got out while scolding Manager Woo.

“Whoa!!!!!”

And the moment I stepped out, someone let out a scream that sounded more like an excited shriek than anything else.

“It’s Kim Haram!!!!!”

Huh? Startled by the sudden shout, I instinctively turned my head toward the source of the noise.

“KIM HARAM!!!!!!”

A young boy—probably in first or second grade—was running straight at me, his little feet pattering against the pavement.

“Ah, don’t run. You’ll fall.”

I didn’t say it aloud, but honestly, I’d gotten used to this sort of thing. It happened pretty often whenever I changed locations.

It was a natural enough situation. I mean, Clover should’ve been a bit more successful, honestly.

I crouched down to meet the boy’s eyes as he ran toward me.

Whether he heard me or not, he closed the distance in an instant and came to a stop right in front of me.

“KIM HARAM!!!!!!!!!!!”

How can such a tiny kid have such a huge voice? It reminded me of someone who once yelled at a panel of judges.

“Alright, alright. Calm down. What’s your name, little friend—”

“My brother!!!!!”

Huh?

“Where’s my brother!!!”

“Uh…?”

Your brother? Uh… well? How should I know?

“Wait a second, you…”

Hold on. That voice, that face…

“Haram hyung?”

Rumble, rumble.

This time, the noise came from behind—near the dorm entrance. I could hear a small crowd of people clattering up the stairs.

“Haram hyung!!”

Leading the charge, Choi Woojin rushed out with a wide smile and called my name again. Behind him came Lee Hyunjae and Lee Jiwon.

“What’s going on with you guys?”

The three of them had clearly sprinted out in a hurry, their expressions unusually tense—like they had something urgent to say but weren’t sure how to begin.

“Well, it’s…”

A brief silence fell.

“Ah!!!”

And of course, the one to break that silence was the little girl again.

“The handsome Sadam my brother talked about!!”

He pointed straight at Choi Woojin.

So I was right…

Just then, I finally caught sight of the name tag hanging from the girl’s backpack:

[Incheon Seoreung Elementary, Grade 2 Class 1]

[Go Jeong-yoon]

“I’m sorry for the trouble,”

The child apologized in a strangely babyish lisp. Where did he even learn how to say something like that…?

“No, no. It’s no trouble at all.”

Dormitory lounge.

The child—Jeong-yoon—was sitting in a chair while the rest of us had gathered around him in a loose circle on the floor.

“No, really. My grandma said I shouldn’t point at people I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

The child gave a polite bow toward Choi Woojin.

Woojin, smiling like he was about to melt from how cute he was, handed him one of his precious konjac jellies.

Unbelievable—Woojin was giving up one of his sacred snacks…

But even more shocking was this:

“Thank you.”

Was this kid really genetically related to that guy?

There was absolutely nothing about him that resembled his brother.

Ah.

Suddenly, the image of him running toward me earlier, shouting my name, flashed through my mind.
I quickly shook my head to get rid of it.

Jimin will only remember the pretty moments.

“So Jeong-yoon, how did you end up here? You came looking for your brother?”

“Yes…”

The story he told went like this: His brother had finally come home after a long time, but then he suddenly left again, way too soon, and it made him really sad.

And for some reason, he hadn’t been calling like he used to—not even picking up when Grandma tried calling him.

So he’d gotten really worried.

“And then some man called our house looking for brother.”

“What man?”

“Mm… just some man.”

He said when the man asked for his brother and he replied he wasn’t home, he heard him mutter this over the phone:

‘That little shit’s ghosting every call. If I catch him, I oughta kill him or something.’

He’d heard that voice himself. And if there was even a 1% chance he was right—it was almost certainly Jo Jeongjae.

“Brother always looked so tired whenever that man called.”

That’s why he’d come.

“Brother won’t even pick up when I call him… I thought he might be in trouble. So I came to find him.”

From Dong-gu, Incheon to the middle of Seoul—a 9-year-old child came all by himself. He retraced the route from when he’d once come here with his brother. He didn’t even have a cellphone in hand.

The fact that I ran into him on the street… that was nothing short of a miracle.

“I came all by myself!”

The child gave us a cheerful smile. It was like he’d sensed the mood getting heavy and wanted to brighten it up.

“…Wow. You came all this way alone, Jeong-yoon? You’re so smart. I don’t think I could’ve even imagined doing that back in second grade.”

I forced a smile and followed his lead, barely swallowing the words I actually wanted to say.

“Jeong-yoon, have you had dinner yet?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Oh no, that won’t do!”

I glanced dramatically toward where Choi Woojin and Lee Hyeonjae were sitting.

“Hyeonjae-hyung! Woojin, could you two take Jeong-yoon out and buy him something nice to eat Manager Woo’s still outside, so grab the company card from him before you go!”

The two of them nodded.

“Sure! Jeong-yoon, what do you like? Just name it!”

The girl’s face brightened a little—but then quickly shifted into a troubled expression.

“Um… but… brother…”

“Jeongeun just stepped out for a bit.”

“Oh… brother’s not here…?”

His face fell instantly.

“Yeah. He’s not here right now. But while you’re eating, I’ll go real~ quick and bring him back.”

“Can’t I come too…?”

There was a small glimmer of hope in his eyes

“I’m sorry. Only me and Ji-won can go to that place. But I’ll be really fast. You just enjoy your meal, okay?”

That place…

It’s far too contaminated for a sweet kid like you.

Jeong-yoon couldn’t hide his disappointment. But Woojin and Hyeonjae gently coaxed and comforted him as they took him outside.

‘Soram.’

[Here I am!]

‘I’ll give up one of the boxes I have. Can you stick close to Jeong-yoon for a bit?’

If even the slightest thing happened to that kid while he was here… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

[That won’t be necessary!]

[Side Quest – Siblings

Objective: Reunite Go Jeong-eun and Go Jeong-yoon
Reward: Mental and emotional stability +@
Failure Penalty: This quest does not allow failure.

• A quest with failure explicitly prohibited! Due to the high difficulty, the system will actively support the user.
• Any anomalies affecting “Go Jeong-yoon” during this quest will be reported to the user immediately.]

…What a good kid. I watched as Soram zipped after Jeong-yoon, then turned to Ji-won.

“Ji-won.”

“…Yeah.”

“Where’s Go Jeong-eun?”

“Well… the CEO…”

“Don’t call him that.”

Flinch. Ji-won shivered slightly at the sharpness in my voice.

“…Sorry.”

“…No, I’m sorry.”

I shouldn’t be snapping at you. I just hate myself right now. Why didn’t I see this coming?

So what if I’m the possessor?

Goddamn it. The regret hit me like a tidal wave.

But no. That kind of regret won’t help right now. You know that, don’t you?

I pulled out my phone and made the call.

rr—

The tone didn’t ring for long.

[Well, well, Haram~ Calling me at last~?]

Disgusting.

“…Where are you right now?”

[Hey now! Don’t be rude to the CEO, kid~! I’m years older than you, Haram~]

“I asked where you are.”

Laughter spilled through the speaker. Jo Jeong-jae’s awful laugh.

[Where else would a CEO be but at the office? Even at this hour, I’m working hard for the company—]

“Stay right there. Don’t move.”

Click.

I hung up and immediately stood.

“No, not at all. It’s no bother.”

The dormitory living room.

The child—no, Jeongyoon—was sitting on a chair, while the rest of us were gathered in a circle around him.

“No, it’s wrong to point fingers at someone you’re meeting for the first time. My grandma said so. I’m sorry.”

The child bowed his head politely toward Choi Woojin. Woojin smiled so brightly he looked like he might melt, and handed the boy one of his precious konjac jellies. Unbelievable—Woojin actually gave that precious thing away…

But even more surprising was—

“Thank you very much.”

Was this kid really related to Go Jeongeun? They shared the same genes, but there was nothing about him that resembled his older brother.

Ah.

I suddenly recalled how he had come running toward me, shouting my name—but I quickly shook my head to push the memory away. Let’s just remember the cute parts of Jimin.

“How did you end up all the way out here, Jeongyoon? Did you come looking for your brother?”

“Yes…”

The story the boy shared went like this: His brother had returned home after a really long time, but then suddenly left again, way too soon—and that made him really sad. And for some reason, his brother, who used to call every day, stopped calling.

Even when their grandmother tried calling, he wouldn’t answer. So he got really worried.