Chapter 25
It kept gnawing at him. Hana had always seemed so sweet, so innocent, such a kind person. Someone who needed protecting… or so he'd believed.
He couldn't wrap his head around any of this now. What bothered him even more was how off everything felt.
Jiseok wasn't acting like any wealthy businessman, it wasn't normal. This whole conversation was far from normal. Just like the photographs spread across the table.
These were private family matters, secrets buried deep within the Choi household.
How on earth did Han Jiseok have these photos? And how did he know every single detail?
"You… does Yeonho know?"
It was a question that deserved a clear, confident answer but Jiseok just sat there, silent.
"So Choi Yeonho has no idea you know everything about his past?" He pressed again. This time, Jiseok let out a low, chuckle.
"You'll only get confused if I explain it simply. Yeonho doesn't know I've known him since he was a child. He has no clue who I really am. All he thinks is that I'm just some old man giving him money to get by… in exchange for him giving his body to me."
'What the fuck did he just say? He's known Yeonho since he was little… and Yeonho never even realized it?'
Disgust and hostility flared up instantly. Gyeongjae leaned forward, eyes burning with rage.
"You're telling me you've been waiting all this time, just for Yeonho to grow old enough so you could get your hands on him?"
Jiseok only laughed again, composed of the situation.
"What's so funny, old man? You think this is a joke? Targeting someone who was just a kid?"
"No. I find your reaction hilarious. You're suddenly acting like you actually care about him. Now that you've learned a tiny fraction of what he's been through, you feel sorry for him, is that it?"
Gyeongjae fell quiet. As much as he'd always hated Yeonho, looked down on him… Yeonho was still a person. And far, far younger than a man like Jiseok.
He was about to fire back, to demand more answers—but Jiseok spoke first, cutting him off completely.
"Let me make this very clear. It was never my plan to have Yeonho by my side like this. This was the only way I could help him. And for the record… I only met him again long after the Choi family cast him aside, threw him away to rot in another country. I found him there."
"But you just said Yeonho has been sleeping with men–"
"Don't interrupt me while I'm speaking, Mr. Woo. If you want to understand even a little bit of this… let me finish. Or stay silent."
As much as he wanted to argue, challenge every word like they were standing in a courtroom, Gyeongjae bit his tongue and held his peace.
"Good. Now let me continue." Jiseok said, pushing his cigarette away toward the guard standing nearby.
"The truth is… before I found him, he was already broken. His life had been wasted away completely." Jiseok explained.
"Word had reached me that Yeonho was living in Russia, barely alive. I was there, so I tracked him down and got to him just before it was too late. I know, you know about the rumors going around that Yeonho's selling his body to survive."
Gyeongjae knows about it. People have been talking about it online, mocking and making fun of Yeonho working as a prostitute in russia.
"There is so much more to that boy's story than you could ever guess. And that is exactly why I do everything I do— to stop him from doing something reckless, something that would destroy him completely."
Every word sounded sincere. Earnest. Protective, even. It threw Gyeongjae off balance more than anything else had.
"Even so… how did you get your hands on these photos?" Gyeongjae still wanted to make sure of the evidence.
"If you really cared enough, you'd do your own proper background check on Yeonho. You'd find all of this out yourself. I'm not going to reveal every last thing to you. Not only because it's none of your business… but because I know it would hurt him more than anything specially if someone knew his past, if he remembered all of this. And thankfully… he doesn't. That is the only good thing about all of this."
Gyeongjae just sat there, trying to force his mind to make sense of everything he'd heard.
Now that he knew even this small piece of Yeonho's life… he couldn't help but feel a heavy ache of pity for him.
"That is all. That is as simple as it gets." Jiseok's voice turned commanding once more.
"So I am ordering you. Stay away from him.
I don't want Yeonho getting tangled up with anyone who knows his family. Anyone like his twin sister, Choi Hana. My only goal is to make sure no one ever hurts or targets him again."
Jiseok stood up slowly, smoothing the front of his suit jacket until it was perfectly straight.
'Russia… He was all alone in Russia…'
Just imagining what that life must have been like made Gyeongjae's chest feel heavy.
"There is one more thing." Jiseok stopped, and a slow, sharp grin spread across his face.
"What?" Gyeongjae looked up at him, confused.
"Yeonho is planning to get back at Hana. He wants everything she has, everything she is. You better watch yourself very closely… because that little wildcat is far more dangerous now, far more unpredictable, than you could ever imagine."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because it's Choi Yeonho. I told you these things not to change how you act… but so you know— never underestimate him. Not for a second."
Now he didn't know what to feel at all. He felt sorry for Yeonho, yes… but he was still angry too. Angry that Yeonho had caused so much trouble, had hurt Hana, had acted so arrogant and cruel.
But at the same time he felt conflicted because of the pictures.
Jiseok turned to leave, but Gyeongjae called out, stopping him right there.
"What about these? Aren't you going to take them back?" He nodded his chin toward the photographs still spread across the table.
"You can keep them if you want." Jiseok's tone turned cold.
"But I strongly advise you, do not use them. Do not show them. Do not let anyone else see them, even Choi Yeonho himself. If you do… you will regret it deeply, Mr. Woo. I am not someone you want to make an enemy of, or play games with."
With that, he walked away. Out of the restaurant, out of the hotel, gone completely.
Left sitting all alone, Gyeongjae stared down at the photos of the twins spread before him.
"Hana… why did you do it?" He whispered softly, his thumb brushing slowly over the image.
Everything Jiseok had told him had turned his whole world upside down. He didn't know what to believe anymore, or how he was supposed to feel. To think Hana had done something like that… and they were just children back then.
It made him question everything he'd ever thought about her, everything he'd ever felt for her.
He remembered too— The video Yeonho had shown him. The one that proved Hana had drugged him, had tricked him.
That memory only made the disappointment heavier, deeper.
He thought back to how serious Jiseok had been the whole time… and how fiercely, how possessively he protective Yeonho.
"He really is protecting him, isn't he?" He murmurd.
"So overprotective… That's why he let Yeonho do whatever he wants. Spoils him, gives him everything he asked… Because no one ever did"
He let out a long, heavy sigh, rubbing his palm hard over his face.
Was this even real? Was any of this true?
Choi Yeonho had always acted so high and mighty, so confident and untouchable… but there was so much more underneath.
And Hana… she wasn't the person he'd believed her to be at all. But still, he likes her.
Guilt twisted inside him, mixed with a strange, distant feeling.
He stood up, gathered every photo back into the envelope, and left the hotel building.
He had no desire to go back to his penthouse. He definitely didn't want to stay here, in the same hotel where Yeonho was staying.
Right now… All he wanted was his private villa. Quiet. Empty. Only a few servants, no one to bother him.
He needed to clear his head. To sort out everything he'd learned. Something had changed. Nothing would ever be the same again if everything about the picture was true.