DS Ch2

“I’m sorry I’m late, hyung.”8623061c7d6220a7

Joo Taehyun bowed 0e1395ff99 his head slightly 9e0e1ce219 once more in 8d12e4c01b apology, the chill a539e63b30 from outside still 3dd2670c9c clinging to him.3af4f09fd7db1e71

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“It was jammed right in front of me.”8d9e1f49838e42ef

“It’s fine. I only arrived a little while ago myself.”3cdd1fd85a8ce4d7

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Seo Baekhan leisurely looked over Joo Taehyun as he approached the table. Though he’d seen him occasionally in news photos and knew that little kid had grown up quite a bit, seeing him in person was still striking.a55e43eb5ea370dc

When he was younger, Joo Taehyun had more of a cute, pretty look about him. If he remembered correctly, his body was so thin that Hatch’s group uniform hung loose on him alone. But now he’d grown tall enough that words like handsome and strapping suited him better.354dfe04bc1a167e

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“By the way, you’ve really grown a lot. How tall are you now?”9fde78c487903de6

“Hmm. About 180… just under, I think.”32f64fc02fe82f9d

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As Joo Taehyun hurriedly unwound his scarf and took off his coat, his long fingers were bright red from the cold. Strangely, that made him look very young. No, he’s twenty this year, so while he’s grown tall, he was still young after all.8b4330ca6e4f5122

Sure enough, the snow sprinkled like sugar on Joo Taehyun’s hair had already melted away without a trace. Judging by his high body temperature, he was still a kid indeed.574766a13a5179b3

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“Is it still snowing a lot outside?”b88ba26bbff94037

“Yes.”9231c1e4b2adf37c

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When Seo Baekhan gestured 174cfc039c lightly with his chin 23226bd9a9 for him to sit, 55dd275e02 Joo Taehyun quickly took c4a7399b8d a seat across from 7caca32ef1 him. His obedient manner daa5b8e110 made him seem ed343a2bc4 like a well-trained 2172f57542 pet. Like a purebred dog 1eae43fbed with sleek, untangled fur.4ebfa3f0a80796ea

“I ordered drinks in advance, is that okay?”96d1bb7cfd9c422f

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“Ah, yes. Thank you.”b19b8da52966263f

Though Joo Taehyun answered agreeably, he didn’t reach for the cup. Seo Baekhan had ordered a safe iced Americano, but it didn’t seem to be to the kid’s taste.617f29c75ed70cf6

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But what could he do? It’s not like he’d met up with Joo Taehyun to chat and eat tasty food.1e907e84c10c8f89

“Have you been well?”6b93f4e9d25f439e

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Ignoring how Joo Taehyun ac8f0c1112 kept grasping and releasing cdbeac85c3 the coffee cup, Seo ef3afb6a41 Baekhan chose a bland 0c460b39e8 greeting.3ede04fd134a335a

In truth, fec653d541 Seo Baekhan beaf4f155a preferred people 26eec60882 who could b7b3973fe1 clearly express e0506ef111 their own e3831aab15 opinions. He absolutely 22a91eaaf5 hated it 8daf4c0f3a when acquaintances 3444fcf7f5 or lovers 5e788a5f74 acted vague a06125d841 around him. If they 85818efb1e lacked that 38f0b7fcbd ability, they 9aa5042547 needed to a396bed319 be skilled 892d19efb1 enough actors a68e89416f to deceive 11e34df0b1 others flawlessly.a35cfd57e6f57c3b

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But Joo Taehyun wasn’t someone who would ever step into his domain anyway. It would be ridiculous to critique the immature behavior of a kid born with a diamond spoon, raised on only the finest things.f219c6cd8173899a

“Well… Same as always for me. How about you, hyung?”aed218232810d469

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“I roughly finished my thesis, so things are a bit more manageable now. You started university early too, right?”94fbc1b77ff422de

“Yes.”b1fdd7350d2f3c14

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“Washington was unexpected. Are you interested in politics by any chance?”f4ae474a0663ddc4

“Not really.”b843d54230cd7177

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More perfunctory questions were exchanged after that, with Joo Taehyun sticking to short answers. For someone who had asked to meet first saying he wanted help, he seemed rather indifferent. Well, it didn’t matter to Seo Baekhan either way, since he hadn’t planned to spend much time on this meeting.9b243e70b1c2e768

“By the way, Taehyun.”e855721cbbe46af5

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“Yes?”223ec01bce7b6bda

“Shouldn’t you be greeting me a bit more warmly than this?”67f0b33857920dc2

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“…Pardon?”7114b9ec4a8abf8d

Regardless, he didn’t want to put up with a green kid acting all high and mighty as if he had nothing to lose.4d1514f1b43262b6

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“You know I schedule my time down to the minute when I’m in Korea.”ec834d315aaff18c

A ripple finally disturbed Joo Taehyun’s calm eyes. It seems he hadn’t expected Seo Baekhan to come at him so critically.4472994e22153579

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“I had to really squeeze my schedule to meet you today.”6dab07b588b463de

“Ah… That, yes, I know. Um, so, thank you for making time, hyung.”4460816522dee017

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Watching Joo Taehyun’s Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard, Seo Baekhan finally gave a short, satisfied smile.7a74ea56a98454a4

“I came out of curiosity too, so you don’t need to thank me, just be a little more pleased to see hyung, okay?”58904c8aca1f46fe

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“Yes, I will. …I’m sorry.”3e102c844ce9e20b

Seo Baekhan responded 799c221ec6 by maintaining eye 9eff745fcf contact while bringing a71143467e the coffee cup ab18ade552 to his lips.fc50075157a99dc8

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Fortunately, Joo Taehyun seemed to quickly grasp what Seo Baekhan was trying to say. Judging by how he mumbled something about being shy, as hyung would know…fbc4f1add8a31322

Normally, he couldn’t stand having others above him, but he didn’t act prickly towards kids. What could be more unseemly than that?1b20f7c2509a0e57

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But that’s only if Joo Taehyun were truly an ordinary twenty-year-old college student.00c7ec4a80c3178d

‘Are you free that day?’900ce6c4322e1396

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─ Yes.15e53ea577f30fbf

‘You do know who you’re contacting, right?’9e6b3337de5e546f

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─ Yes, Baekhan hyung. I’m contacting you.227739d5a00034ae

‘Hmm. What’s this about?’c20ba8bc2deaefba

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─ …It doesn’t seem like something to discuss over the phone.81c7e693fc98292f

The precious youngest 1420c575db son of the 3c20c9a835 DH Group had 9ff4c925e4 requested to meet 82eb384eab first, saying he 8f36396b69 wanted advice on 028958abf4 a family matter 2baf58e306 from the eldest d39a431b68 son of Special 4f1fd8aa4a Representative Seo Honggyu. From that moment 9ea0ae2792 on, every conversation 4cdbe77cc2 between Seo Baekhan ee38290523 and Joo Taehyun 9d34d04fe4 became a strategic ffd6fbdd51 performance where even 5007913ebe a single sigh b7c8a8cbaa was calculated.df717525f636cd67

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“Ah. Let me say this in advance, if you’re asking for my help with something like a tax audit-”1c1a08b2306c5b7b

“It’s not that!”a790e3fdbfaf088c

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When Seo Baekhan spoke playfully to break the frozen atmosphere, Joo Taehyun’s eyes went wide with surprise. The way he opened his mouth slightly and waved his hands was not much different from when he was a little kid whose head barely reached Seo Baekhan’s waist.6cae47687dcb51b9

“Absolutely, absolutely not. It’s just, I have no one else to ask but you, hyung.”f5e9721c9974bc0e

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“A family matter you can only confide in me? This is getting more interesting.”01685d80d4521b0d

Seo Baekhan smirked 2d732a98c4 and loosely crossed e9d6ed8d3b his arms.0f49b7b484eee550

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“Alright. As long as it’s nothing illegal. What is it?”d9996a8cdaef0c23

As if he hadn’t raised his voice in surprise just moments ago, Joo Taehyun returned to a calm and sullen expression. If not for the way he slowly rubbed his thumb and index fingernails, a stranger wouldn’t have noticed that Joo Taehyun was somewhat tense.989d659b7f5e3431

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“So, um…”f026f801610451b7

Seo Baekhan fixed his 1db996aa4a gaze on Joo Taehyun 6dbb526247 as he searched for af844f1d54 words, slowly sipping his 91f648c95b coffee.c80c719bed23b04d

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‘Something you can’t say over the phone might be hard to say in person too.’10567a35f0976eb9

─ It’s, um, related to my family…15d8fffa3f6da35c

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‘Family matters? Are you saying you want to tell me about DH Group’s internal affairs?’84e7e4fd8a077adb

─ …Yes. It’s something I can only discuss with you, hyung.f01b5e4c693f8b9f

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At first, Seo Baekhan had responded indifferently, but his curiosity was quickly piqued when he heard it was a family matter. A kid he hadn’t met separately in years suddenly wanted to consult him, an outsider, about DH Group’s internal issues? Moreover, considering the last conversation he’d had with Joo Taehyun, it was even more perplexing that he’d contacted him.ab8c02c53bc520c2

‘I-I liked you, hyung.’e6c228947cd74cff

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Indeed, 3 years ago, at the year-end party for Hatch, a group of independence activists’ descendants, Joo Taehyun had nonchalantly thrown out his feelings.079e9ec245fbf22f

‘Just… that’s how it was.’9a05c1008b720d47

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And in the 3fd5f75b63 past tense, at a576bbedca that.7be666ced872c988