Do-Jin left for home; he had received the message from his secretary. The meeting is scheduled for this morning at 9 am in the conference room.
He needs to look professional; his dad still finds some kinds of flaws, regardless of how perfect he thinks he looks. So he stopped caring about it, not until now. Today he should look perfect, like that alone can act as a distraction from the mess he had created.
He fixed his tie and cuffs again, looking at his own reflection in the mirror. His hair looks great; still, he found a single strand to fix every single time he looked at it.
He took a breath, a deep and tired one. Taking up his suitcase and keys. He walked out, getting into the sleek white car to look more royal, which his dad is obsessed with. He will hate to find out that he doesn't drive this on normal days and that he doesn't have a driver.
It doesn't matter. He got into the driving seat, throwing his suitcase in the passenger one. Turned the engine on and left for an obviously bad day.
- - -
Last night
Seo Da-Eun has been looking through the shady streets of Luoes (Seoul). The clubs and bars were full of people, drunk and broken, dancing like some kind of puppets in the middle of the night.
It will be easy to find him. Regardless of how many people there were.
She took care of the thugs; now the person who was most at fault should be dealt with accordingly.
Her idiot younger brother.
This club had the messiest atmosphere. It is the biggest and most filthy place in this area. This is the end to her search. She is going to find him here, drunk in some VIP room.
She pushed through the crowd; the place was filled with the stench of alcohol, sweat, and pheromones. No one cares about control or manners in a club.
She finally spotted him on the second floor, surrounded by men and women, all vying for his attention. As she made her way up the stairs, she clenched her fists, trying to control her anger as best she could.
A guard tried to stop her at the door, but she brushed past him without a second thought.
"Seo Jin-Woo, What the fuck are you doing?" She snapped right away, her voice cutting through the loud music and chatter.
Jin-Woo turned to face her, a smirk playing on his lips as he raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Well, well, look who decided to grace us with her presence," he replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Everyone present in the room looked at her like she was a ghost. Without any further words, she detangled her brother from the crowd, throwing him over her shoulders. Walking out, she handed her business card to the guard.
"My assistant will take care of the payment."
Jin-Woo protested, but she walked through the crowd, ignoring him; some people watched her, the sober ones. But no one dared to get close.
Outside, Jin-Woo was throwing up right after he was put down.
"Water?" Da-Eun handed him the bottle.
That he used to wash his mouth before chugging down half of it.
"What the fuck do you want from me?" he asked, throwing the bottle at her side that she dozed.
"Let's go home first." She reached for his wobbly body, but he pushed her away.
"I don't have a home."
"Jin-Woo! Listen to me for once, would you?" She held him up by his arm despite his grumbling.
"We can figure this out together; just let me help you." She whispered softly, hoping to break through his drunken haze and reach the real Jin-Woo hidden beneath.
He was still trying to get away, but the movements were subtle. They walked to the car, Do-Jin's car. She got the side-eye from her brother for that. However drunk he can be, he will always recognize anything that belongs to Do-Jin.
But he got in without a further fight, curling into a ball in the back seat as she drove them back to the so-called home.
- - -
The conference room was quiet.
His dad, the chairman, Kim Joo-Hwan, sat there on one end of the table with his secretary, who stood by his side like always. A beta with no emotion, unlike his mom. She was the one who called Han. She has been a close friend to him for far too long. Do-Jin never liked her, despite his mom insisting that he should respect her.
Do-Jin took a place in one of the rows instead of sitting on the other end, close enough to hear his dad but far enough to save his ears from the yelling.
His secretary handed him a file before he fixed his glasses. The poor guy was shaking from fear. He had been taking care of this branch when Do-Jin and Byung-Chul were down there playing with chemicals.
"Where is it?"
His dad finally said after a long pause of silence.
"What?" Do-Jin, he said almost mindlessly. Mostly because his father acted like he was talking about a nonliving thing.
"Kim Do-Jin! You clearly know what I'm talking about." He spread his hand toward the secretary, who placed a tab in his hand, sliding it to Do-Jin.
Do-Jin picked up to find Hyun-So's information, well, whatever they could get along with a single picture of both of them together. He clenched his hand; obviously, there was a spy here sent by his own father too. He knows that his rivals have sent people from time to time for anything they could get their hands on; Seo Jin-Woo had proved that.
"And here I thought you were talking about a thing." Do-Jin said the last word like a mockery, receiving a worried glare from his secretary. He tried to stay calm, but he just couldn't help if his dad was acting like this.
"This thing doesn't have any pheromones," his dad yelled at him, not something he wasn't expecting. His secretary was still standing in her place like a statue.
"He is a human, for goodness sake, Dad!" he yelled back. "Nothing can change that."
A pause.
For a long moment, both parties went quiet.
"I don't care; take care of him before the government finds out about your experiments." He said it like Hyun-So was nothing more than a lab rat: "And come back home; your vacation is over."
Do-Jin did his best to control his words until now. He can't do this anymore. "I won't be doing that. I'm not throwing Hyun-So out to die just to save my own ass, and I'm not coming home, ever. I thought we were clear on that." Do-Jin got up from his chair, throwing the tablet at the wall, shattering the screen.
"Do-Jin!" The chairman yelled again.
But Do-Jin was too done to listen to more of his nonsense. "And if you are done, you can leave right now. Secretary Ha Ji-Woon, show them the way out." Do-Jin said Secretary Ha's full name with the utmost authority, making it clear that he was serious about his decision. He walked out, messing up his perfect tie and running a hand through his hair in frustration, leaving them behind.
The woman watched him with a face void of emotions, studying him quietly just like he had been doing from his birth.