DMSD | Chapter 9

Whether it was because the brothers had great instincts or because he couldn’t manage his expressions, Myeongeun wasn’t sure. Either way, it seemed like the latter. Feeling a bit awkward, he rubbed his cheek.

“I can’t provide solid evidence, but even if any problems arise from today’s incident, no one will hold you accountable, Myeongeun-ssi. The PR office falls under the Management Support Department, after all.”

Kwon Jinhyeon smiled kindly.

“The responsibility lies with me.”

Myeongeun felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Now that he thought about it, he’d heard something similar from Kwon Jinhyeok at the warehouse earlier. Just like then, Myeongeun had no reason to probe further, so he just nodded.

“We should hear back in about five minutes, so let’s wait a bit.”

Kwon Jinhyeon glanced at his wristwatch.

Myeongeun watched the conversation between the eldest and third sons. Earlier, when he’d been with Kwon Jinhyeon, he had also noticed how close the three men seemed. Other than their age gap, they looked like nothing but tight-knit brothers. Kwon Jinhyeok was thirty-six, Kwon Jinhyeon was thirty-four, and the man named Kwon Jinhwan looked, at most, like he was in his mid-20s.

The age difference was quite significant. Even if there was a 99% chance that they were the sons of the company president, he couldn’t completely ignore the remaining 1%.

He glanced at Kwon Jinhyeon, who was looking at his wristwatch with his arms folded. Should he ask or not? He hesitated for a few seconds.

“Yes, he’s my younger brother.”

“…Deputy Head Manager, is it that obvious on my face?”

“Well, considering the flow of the conversation, isn’t it obvious?” Kwon Jinhyeon chuckled, leaving Myeongeun realizing he’d been living in the delusion that he’d kept his expressions well in check for the past twenty years. At this point, it was practically like his face was projecting his thoughts. He felt a bit silly for being nervous earlier when he’d asked if they were the president’s sons.

“I mean, given this level of resemblance…”

Kwon Jinhyeon continued in a casual tone.

“If all the brothers were illegitimate children, the rumor might make sense. Strange, huh?”

“…”

Myeongeun’s lips twitched a few times, but he decided to say nothing. It would be funny to act like he already knew or pretend he hadn’t heard such rumors. In this case, staying silent was the best response.

“But, Myeongeun-ssi…”

After a brief pause, Kwon Jinhyeon asked, “Did you take a ride with Hwan?”

“Yes,” he replied, glancing at Jinhwan. At that exact moment, Jinhwan happened to look at him too, their eyes meeting. It looked like Jinhwan was still upset with him or found him displeasing.

Turning his head away that obviously…

Being disliked by the president’s son could definitely make an employee feel small.

“That’s surprising,” Jinhyeon commented.

“That guy usually never eats food given by others.”

Just then, Myeongeun’s phone rang. Kwon Jinhyeon looked at his watch, and so did he. It had indeed been five minutes, just as Jinhwan had predicted.

“There was a three-car pileup right in front of me, but no one got hurt. I guess the heavens were watching out for us! Still, it was a close call. Haha. I’ll be there in 30 minutes, Assistant Manager!”

The cheerful voice of the transportation manager left Myeongeun feeling utterly drained. He collapsed onto the desk right after hanging up.

Thank goodness.

With how he felt, he could have waited not just 30 minutes but even 30 hours if needed.

“Good news,” Jinhyeon said, reassured after hearing Myeongeun’s report.

“Let’s get back to work now,” said Jinhyeok, stretching as he nudged Jinhyeon.

“Myeongeun-ssi,” Jinhyeon asked, “Could we borrow the warehouse key?”

“The warehouse?” he asked, his eyes widening. “Ah, is it because of the bugs?”

“Bugs?”

Jinhyeon tilted his head, as if confused. Myeongeun looked over at Jinhyeok, who waved his hand lazily and said, “Yeah, bugs.”

“It won’t take long, so could you lend it to us, Assistant Manager Go?”

Myeongeun hesitated.

“Uh, sorry, but the rule is that a staff member from the PR office has to accompany anyone visiting the warehouse. There were a few theft incidents before, so since then, we strictly control access. You should know that, Deputy Head Manager…”

He gave Jinhyeon a sidelong glance.

“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” he replied, but Myeongeun knew he couldn’t have simply forgotten since he was the one who’d enforced the rule. Which meant that Jinhyeon didn’t want him tagging along.

Even Jinhyeok looked troubled.

But the warehouse was monitored by CCTV, so this time, he couldn’t ignore his duties.

“If it’s for pest control, I’ll help out. Four people are better than three, and pest control falls under PR office duties anyway.”

Fearing the two managers would try to persuade him with their usual charm, he quickly blurted out his offer. In truth, he hated bugs and had since he was young. Were there actually bugs in the warehouse? If so, how big were they? How many? Just thinking about it made him itchy and gave him the chills. If he could, he’d avoid pest control entirely to preserve his mental peace.

But what choice did he have? As a mere worker ant, he had to do his job.

As the silence between Jinhyeok and Jinhyeon stretched, a low voice broke in.

“Fine, then.”

They all turned toward the source of the voice.

Leaning against the automatic doors, sipping dandelion tea, Jinhwan strode into the office with a calm “Whatever, take him. He said he wants to go.”

It’s not that I want to go, but that I have to. He bit back his response. Then he watched in alarm as Jinhwan placed his mug on a nearby desk—specifically, Supervisor Yu’s desk. If she returned tomorrow to find an unwashed mug, she’d be furious.

“Are you really okay with this? I’m asking you, Hwan-ah,” Jinhyeon asked.

“Don’t care.”

As he walked to the break room to wash the mug, he could feel Jinhwan’s gaze on him, making him break into a cold sweat.

“Are you fine with it, too?”

Hearing Jinhwan’s voice, he peeked his head back out the break room door. Their eyes met, and Jinhwan’s brows seemed to furrow slightly. Instinctively, he shrank back.

“Uh…?”

“Are you fine with exterminating whatever’s in there?”

“E-Exterminating? You mean bugs?”

“Yeah. You said it was your job to handle pests.”

Caught off guard, he stammered, “Well, I-I don’t usually exterminate the pests myself; I usually call a service, but…”

“So are you going or not?”

He fidgeted with the mug handle, fumbling his answer.

“I’ll… I’ll go. I’ll go, all right?”

He swallowed hard.

Scary.

Yes, that’s right. Kwon Jinhwan terrified him. His blunt expression, his curt tone, his large frame—all of it was intimidating. But most of all, knowing he disliked him was what scared him. Afraid of being hated, he felt small and weak whenever he sensed hostility toward him.

As if to emphasize his disdain, Jinhwan clicked his tongue softly and looked away. With a hint of annoyance, he lifted his baseball cap, letting his slightly tousled light-brown hair settle as he pulled it back down.

If I walked around like that, I’d look like a total bum.

But on Jinhwan, the “handsome aura” made it work. Secretly, though unreasonably, he was a bit impressed by how Jinhwan’s looks seemed to excuse everything. His personality might be a crime, but his face was innocent.

“Well then… I’ll just go rinse this quickly.”

He darted into the break room before Jinhwan could criticize him for it.

Once alone, he finally let out his pent-up frustration.

That brat.

Snatching the sponge, he gave the soap dispenser an extra-hard pump—twice—and began scrubbing the mug with a vengeance.

After all, this was still his father’s and brothers’ company. Even if he was just an ordinary employee, couldn’t he show a little courtesy? What would happen if he spread rumors about the president’s youngest son’s rude attitude?

Silently, he seethed.

The more he scrubbed, rinsed, and dried the mug with a paper towel, the more his frustration ebbed, leaving him with only a resigned sigh by the time he dried his hands on a towel.

It was obvious that the Kwon family had coddled their youngest, pampering him excessively. The way he’d immediately asserted his identity to a stranger or acted petulant showed as much.

That’s why he was so surprised by Kwon Jinhyeok and Kwon Jinhyeon. Both of them were incredibly lenient with their younger brother. Of course, that was possible. But based on what he and most of the employees knew, if a sibling had acted rudely to another employee, especially disregarding the family’s reputation, the two would have reprimanded him or at least cautioned him.

Both brothers had worked hard to build a good reputation, even as members of the founding family. But in the end, even they seemed to be subject to family loyalty.

It left him with mixed feelings.

“W-what?”

But before he could sort out those feelings, something else came up that added to his confusion.

“Deputy Team Leader is coming along personally?”

One of the three men waiting for him outside the break room, Kwon Jinhyeok, suddenly grabbed his shoulders and flashed him a refreshing smile—a smile that had earned him the nickname of the “cool guy of the Legal Department” and “the nice guy of the law.”