Seong-ho took a moment to sip his coffee and catch his breath.

But to Chang-jong, watching him, it only felt as though his own breathing grew more labored.

In the end, unable to wait, Chang-jong shouted.

"Out with it. Why can't I go and explain myself right now?!"

Even under Chang-jong's badgering, Seong-ho didn't stop drinking his coffee. Only once he'd gotten about halfway through the cup did he set it down and finally speak.

"Brother. Think about it. Going to the eldest and the second right now would look strange to anyone, wouldn't it? You bare your ambition, and only now come running to say it wasn't what you meant? No matter how you slice it, it's a situation that can only invite suspicion."

"Bare my ambition? Who bared any ambition? I keep telling you, I have no designs on the Ilhyeon Group!"

"And do you suppose the others see it the way you do, Brother?"

Feeling stifled by Seong-ho's words, Chang-jong pounded his chest with a fist.

"That's exactly why I'm saying I'll go to my brothers and prove it."

"It's too late, I tell you."

Seong-ho shook his head as if it pained him.

"If you'd gone to the eldest before coming here… or at the very least to Pyeongchang-dong, your brothers might not have misunderstood. Or, if even that was too much, if you'd at least not met with your sister before coming here, the two of us could have quietly gotten our stories straight and cleared up the misunderstanding."

Hearing this, Chang-jong started.

"How… how do you know I came from seeing my sister? Don't tell me you've put someone on my tail?"

"Brother."

To a Chang-jong suspecting he was being watched, Seong-ho spoke in a voice tinged with exasperation.

"If you were angry about my slighting your face, you'd have come to me straightaway—not several days later. So what reason could there be for coming this late?"

"That's…"

"Which naturally means you consulted with someone, and setting aside your brothers, it's easy enough to deduce that someone was your sister."

Just as Seong-ho said,…