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Chapter 25 - Trust and Confidence
Maybe the other man chose to become bad because he didn’t want to be weak.
Like walking on eggshells, Yoonshin carefully spoke up. “Um, Attorney Kang. About what you said to me last time
”
“You’re definitely trying to scope me out this time. Rejected.”
“I didn’t even say my point yet. I practically only mentioned the ‘o’ in opening.”
“Whether it’s the opening or the closing, you won’t hear my answer, so stop staring. I’m not a painting.” Sehun growled, causing Yoonshin to flinch. He didn’t think that Sehun wouldn’t notice his gaze, but he didn’t think that he was feeling conscious of it. Yoonshin was flustered. As if caught doing something impertinent behind another’s back, he started to feel embarrassed.
Perhaps it was because Sehun told him to quit, but it only made his curiosity-filled eyes try to chase after the other even more. Yoonshin felt troubled by his impulse, so he looked away and bit his pursed lips. While Yoonshin was distracted and diffident, the machine faithfully descended to the lower floors.
The two men were still reflected in the elevator doors, but Sehun was not looking in Yoonshin’s direction anymore. The moment this registered in Yoonshin’s head, he realized—Sehun was avoiding talking about what happened back then on purpose.
‘Coward.’ Yoonshin uttered the two syllables in his head, and his sigh dissipated into his surroundings.
Act 04
The interior of the private room was like a sturdy sailboat.
It felt like they were floating on calm, rolling waves, and all the while, Yoonshin kept glancing at Sehun. There was no way the other didn’t feel the eyes of the younger, but he continued to quietly have his meal.
Time kept ticking.
Sehun dabbed his mouth with a napkin and looked directly at Yoonshin, who was sitting across from him. Yoonshin was sipping his water, but he set it carefully back down. “You have something to say, right? Go ahead. I’m also done eating.”
“Then, I’ll cut to the chase and ask. What’s your relationship with Attorney Song?”
Yoonshin couldn’t grasp the intention of the question, so he couldn’t help but talk back. “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“You met with her three times at a hotel before coming to the firm—once to give your CV and twice for interviews.”
“Yes, that’s ri— How did you know?”
Sehun’s lips twisted wryly, and his overall expression changed. As if to confirm that it wasn’t Yoonshin’s delusion, Sehun’s follow-up question had a hint of prurience despite it being midday. “Did you sleep with her? You met her in a hotel room, Taesan Hotel’s suite room.”
Yoonshin was fidgeting aimlessly with his napkin, then froze stiffly. He couldn’t help but feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. “What in the world do you
?”
Nothing was set in stone at the time, so after searching for a place that avoided the prying eyes of others, they ended up having no choice but to choose a hotel suite room.
Each meeting was around two hours. Yoonshin’s sister’s secretary was also there each time. As Yoonshin heard about the firm’s culture and atmosphere, Attorney Song advised him on how to work at the firm going forward. Yoonshin told the older woman about himself, his sister, his father, and his working style so far. Converse was the only thing they did in that room.
However, it still didn’t look good to go back and forth from a hotel with an older woman lawyer with a family, so Yoonshin’s sister stopped information about this meeting from leaking. The fact that Sehun found out a closely guarded secret made Yoonshin realize that Sehun’s network of information was not to be overlooked.
“Why are you asking this sort of question?” Yoonshin asked, not hiding that he was nonplussed.
Sehun tapped the table and replied nonchalantly, “I’m just asking in case you two were involved privately. Even if you’re Professor Do’s son and a link to Soohan Group, Attorney Song’s choice was strange. Handam, Taesan, Daeyoung—I’m one of the few lawyers who has dealt with all of the corporate giants in this country. Naturally, I know a lot of secrets related to different projects. Yet, to plant a specific company’s in-law next to me? Obviously, I would be suspicious.”
“Do you think there’s a connection between my sister and Attorney Song, and that for Soohan, I sold my body to pluck out information from her?”
“It’s quite unlikely, but the possibility is still there. No?”
“So what if I slept with her?” Yoonshin retorted, sharper than usual. Yoonshin looked agitated. Sehun stared and then leaned back as if he lost some interest. Yoonshin wasn’t sure what the other lawyer would say, but whatever it was, he read the truth in Yoonshin’s face.
“So you didn’t.”
“Should I do it now if it’s not too late?”
“Do you want to? That’ll be the proof to confirm my suspicions.”
It was perfectly reasonable for Sehun to doubt Yoonshin. It was as he said—Sehun was someone who held a lot of confidential information about many companies. If Yoonshin were in Sehun’s position, he would have had the same doubts.
However, he couldn’t understand why Sehun would doubt Attorney Song, who he knew since his childhood and who financially supported him, and think she would stab him in the back.
“What can you do with that evidence?”
“It’ll make a good cause to terminate you,” Sehun answered without a hint of hesitation, which caused a lump to rise in Yoonshin’s throat. It wasn’t just from being targeted with an inappropriate and ridiculous question. For some reason, Yoonshin felt disheartened that it was Sehun who questioned who Yoonshin slept with and followed by saying it was a good cause for termination. It seemed like stealing peeks at Sehun every day made Yoonshin one-sidedly feel some sort of friendliness with Sehun.
Maybe that was why Yoonshin impulsively asked a question that might have been better unasked. “Then what if I sleep with you? Who’ll get fired between the two of us?”
Even Sehun, who was always prepared for any reply, was thrown off by this question. Sehun opened his mouth to retort, but he let out a burst of wry laughter.
“Why are you laughing?” Yoonshin snapped.