Chapter 28: Was It Qi Huai?

The news article was followed by a video, showing the exact scene of Yoon Nam-hyuk and Qi Huai together that afternoon.

In the video, the two of them were indeed very close, and they were playfully pushing and pulling as they left, looking very intimate. But Yoon Nam-hyuk knew that they hadn’t engaged in any so-called passionate kissing. At most, he had stood still and let Qi Huai lean on him for a while.

He had just accused Qi Huai of being jealous and fighting over someone that afternoon, and now he was being reported by the media for flirting with another man. Was this some kind of instant karma?

Yoon Nam-hyuk sneered. “This is fake news.”

Yoon Nam-woo and Goo Ah-ra’s eyes widened in unison.

Yoon Tae-min’s brow relaxed. “You mean the video is fake?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s face was expressionless. “No… we didn’t passionately kiss. We’re just acquaintances.”

Yoon Tae-min’s brow furrowed again.

Yoon Nam-woo, on the other hand, let out a cold, sarcastic laugh. “Nam-hyuk, my dear brother. Since the video isn’t fake, we can’t call it fake news, understand? As the president of Woosan Entertainment, being filmed doing something so disgraceful will affect the shareholders’ confidence, do you get it?”

Goo Ah-ra nodded beside him, the tissue pressed to the corner of her eye completely dry. “That’s right, little brother-in-law. Your brother is running for the National Assembly. Do you know how many voters are church members and anti-gay? You should at least think of your family before you do things.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Oh, if you can’t win the election, then don’t run. With your abilities, becoming a member of the National Assembly would only be a burden on the nation. When you need to raise your hand to vote on national decisions, you probably can’t even tell left from right, can you?”

Yoon Nam-woo was so angry his nose was practically crooked. “Hey! You—!”

“Enough!”

Yoon Tae-min once again cut off the brothers’ bickering. He looked at Yoon Nam-hyuk with a dark expression. “I don’t care if this is real news or fake news. You find out who leaked this and eliminate the threat! Understand? Also, you’re twenty-eight this year. It’s time for you to get married and have children. If you can’t choose a partner yourself, then I’ll arrange blind dates for you!”

He stared at Yoon Nam-hyuk with cold eyes. “Nam-hyuk, have you forgotten what Father taught you when you were young? You’re a grown man now. Father doesn’t want to use that method on you again. But if you can’t change, Father won’t be lenient. Understand?”

The internal conflict within the Yoon family, which had started with such fire, ended just as quietly.

Yoon Tae-min hadn’t been as furious as expected, and his handling of Yoon Nam-hyuk was limited to verbal threats with no actual action. This left Yoon Nam-woo and Goo Ah-ra utterly perplexed.

“Honey~ Father is so biased~” Goo Ah-ra whined, half-pouting, half-complaining, her tone full of dissatisfaction. “You’re his biological son too, honey. How come—Ah!”

Yoon Nam-woo backhanded her across the face, his expression dark and vicious. “What do you mean, I’m his biological son too? I am his biological son! Are you ashamed that I’m an illegitimate son? Huh?”

“Honey, how could you hit me!”

Goo Ah-ra covered her face in disbelief, tears streaming down like a waterfall, a hundred times more genuine than her earlier performance in the living room.

Yoon Nam-woo stuck his neck out and shouted, “I hate it when people make fun of my birth! Not even you!”

Goo Ah-ra sobbed, “Honey! Darling! You know I didn’t mean it! Sob sob sob…”

His wife’s crying was like a demonic chant in his ears, giving him a headache. He was starting to regret hitting her. “Stop crying! …Seriously, I was wrong, okay! Please, just be quiet!”

Goo Ah-ra’s sobs turned to whimpers. Once his ears were clear, Yoon Nam-woo began to pace restlessly around the bedroom again. “Indeed, this video can’t prove that Yoon Nam-hyuk is gay. The lighting is a bit dark, and the kissing could just be a matter of perspective. The roughhousing could be passed off as friends… Aish, does that guy Yoon Nam-hyuk even have friends? He’s not even that close with the Kim family’s kid, is he? Anyway, maybe it’s because the evidence isn’t conclusive enough that Father didn’t punish him. Yes, that must be it. Oh, that’s why I said we need a video of him in bed with a man! Such bad luck!”

At this moment, the sobbing Goo Ah-ra suddenly looked up. “Oh my God, honey! Didn’t Father just say to let Yoon Nam-hyuk investigate? But that person said the video was taken by Choi Min-jun! Choi Min-jun!”

Yoon Nam-woo stomped his foot in anger, completely missing his wife’s point, and continued his own tirade. “Exactly! That backstabbing bastard Choi Min-jun. I was wondering why he couldn’t get anything on Yoon Nam-hyuk. Turns out he did, but he was hiding it to blackmail me! Shibal! The treacherous bastard! And most importantly—”

“No, honey!!! Oh my!” Goo Ah-ra desperately lunged forward and grabbed Yoon Nam-woo’s sleeve. “If Yoon Nam-hyuk investigates Choi Min-jun, won’t our collaboration with him be exposed? Everything we’ve been planning for so long will be for nothing! That person, he often receives information from us, but he probably doesn’t know that Choi Min-jun is the one doing it, right? Let’s ask him for help again. If he doesn’t want this whole collaboration to go to waste, he should help us deal with Choi Min-jun!”

Only then did Yoon Nam-woo nod in a panic. “Right, right, honey, you’re right. I’ll contact him right now!”

---

Meanwhile.

Back in his bedroom, Yoon Nam-hyuk collapsed onto the sofa, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ceiling, suddenly feeling exhausted.

An ambiguous scene, a hidden camera, then publication and hype—it was the most common tactic in the entertainment industry. He never thought he would fall for it one day.

Was it intentional?

Or a coincidence?

Was it him?

Is he in on it with the person behind the scenes?

Drugging me at the hotel, then sending him to rescue me. So it was a trap within a trap, a situation I would fall into no matter what?

Was bandaging my arm part of it too?

To gain my trust?

And the seaweed soup?

To throw off suspicion?

Once suspicion takes root, even a genuine coincidence can be seen as intentional. Just as Yoon Nam-hyuk had said when he first met Qi Huai, he didn’t believe in coincidences. But who doesn’t hope for coincidences, who doesn’t hope to be favored by heaven?

So what was real? What was fake? What was a coincidence? What was a trap?

Yoon Nam-hyuk felt so tired.

His heart was like a balloon, constantly being filled with a sour emotion, and he couldn’t predict when or where it would finally burst, leaving only a dead silence.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Assistant Yoo. “…No matter what it takes, find out where that video came from. Also… everything Qi Huai did today, who he contacted, who he met, find out everything and report back to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

---

By the time Qi Huai received the news from Choo Min-young, it was already very late.

She was extremely surprised, typing furiously: 「Oh my God, is this you, Qi Huai? Are you and President Yoon in a relationship? Quick, have the president suppress the news. If someone recognizes you, it won’t be good for a new artist’s development.」

Qi Huai clicked on the news and related hashtags. A flood of discussions filled the screen, mostly speculating on his identity and mocking the president of Woosan Entertainment for being gay, interspersed with promotional content about anti-gay church groups and LGBT support activities.

【Ooh~ that’s a tight hug~】

The System floated over to tease him, then mischievously zoomed in on the video, using its special privileges to brighten the slightly dark phone footage.

Only then did Qi Huai clearly see Yoon Nam-hyuk’s subtle expressions.

The other’s cheeks and ears were flushed red. One hand was on his back, while the other was secretly clutching the corner of his suit jacket. He was glancing at him sideways, looking a bit sneaky, his lips pressed together but the corners slightly turned up in a smile.

Weren’t you angry with me at the time?

What are you smiling about?

Qi Huai watched for a long time, then saved the video and opened his chat with Choo Min-young to type: 「Thank you for telling me, Min-young sunbae.」

「It’s nothing.」 Choo Min-young replied. 「Hehe, but to be honest, you two look great together. I’m a member of the LGBT online association, so I’ll always be on your side, don’t worry! By the way, who’s the top? Judging by your build, it should be you, but judging by his temper, President Yoon doesn’t seem like the type to be on the bottom. It’s a real mystery! So please, Qi Huai, tell your sunbae. I’ll definitely keep it a secret ^^」

The long text was followed by three pleading emoji stickers. Qi Huai rubbed his brow. “President Yoon and I are not in that kind of relationship.”

The System snorted: 【At least not yet.】

“…” Qi Huai continued typing. “I lost fifteen pounds for the lab scenes, so I was dizzy at the time. President Yoon was just helping me stand for a while. We were secretly filmed.”

Choo Min-young was silent for a long moment. 「Oh my God… so it was someone from the crew? You need an employee card to get into Woosan’s own filming location…」