Chapter 55: The Arm Bends Inwards

“Honestly, leaving something like that stuffed away in a house is a waste.”

Would it have felt different if Lee Ah-seong had spoken with even a hint of apology? Perhaps not. It seemed to be in his nature. Even while saying such things, his posture remained flawless, his expression utterly self-assured. If anything, he sounded like he was giving a lecture.

“Wouldn’t it be better to put it to meaningful use? For our family.”

It was the first time Go Ha-jin had ever heard the words our family come from Lee Ah-seong’s mouth. Of course, he wasn’t at all certain that he himself was included within that definition of “our.” The chances were probably very low.

“Well, of course family members should help each other. But does it have to be that painting?”

“You may not know this, but there’s a by-election coming up, and our broadcasting company recently received poor results in its license renewal review.”

As if I wouldn’t know.

“Ah. So you mean using it for your younger brother’s political campaign fund—the uncle Chae Woo-seok has on his mother’s side?”

“That’s- !”

“And for that tabloid station, I mean, SHS. Since it got the lowest score in the review and could fail the second evaluation too, you’re thinking of greasing some palms to make up the difference. Right?”

How else had Go Ha-jin survived in a world this ruthless? His formal education might be lacking, but he compensated by studying twice as hard as anyone else.

Politics, economics, society, nothing escaped his attention. And those two issues happened to be the biggest topics surrounding this family lately.

If the channel failed its renewal review this month, it could be forced off the air as soon as next month. Considering it specialized in sensationalist reporting that served its owners’ interests, the poor results weren’t surprising.

As for Lee Ah-seong’s younger brother, the situation was even worse. An unqualified candidate had been parachuted into a supposedly safe district and was now suffering severe backlash.

It was the sort of constituency where even a stray dog wearing the ruling party’s colors could win, yet he was posting historically low approval ratings. Even the party chairman, his own father, had effectively abandoned him.

“Since you seem to know so much, that makes things easier. So I’ll be taking the painting.”

Not even a token denial. Such shamelessness fit Lee Ah-seong’s circumstances perfectly. Earlier that morning he had received two phone calls, one from his brother and one from his husband. Both had asked him to liquidate some artwork and raise money.

The moment money came up, Go Ha-jin had immediately come to mind.

Why spend his own?

There was a perfectly good source of funds available.

“Hmm. Helping family is only natural… but I don’t want to.”

“Right. Family should naturally help each- what? You don’t?”

Lee Ah-seong had assumed compliance was a given. Hearing a flat refusal left him momentarily stunned.

“No, I don’t. Honestly, it would be a waste to use that painting for something like that. Uncle’s campaign is doomed no matter how much money gets thrown at it. As for the channel, they can’t just shut it down that easily. No matter how terrible it is, it still has viewers. They’ll probably pass the review with only a modest payoff. It’s conditioning, that’s all.”

The truth was much simpler.

He just didn’t want to give it away.

Even if a family member were dying and selling that painting were the only way to save them, he still wouldn’t want to part with it.

Why should he?

What had any of them ever done to deserve such generosity?

“You little- ! Why don’t you just curse us outright?”

“Curse you? I’m only stating facts. I’d love to help family too, but why spend money on something worthless? My father always said not to waste even ten won on things without value.”

And it wasn’t as though he was wrong.

The younger brother’s poll numbers were collapsing. The channel’s situation wasn’t much better. It constantly screamed that the nation was on the brink of collapse; if anything, regulators would probably renew its license just to stop the noise.

“You don’t know anything- !”

“I was thinking something, Father. Uncle’s situation is understandable. He’s desperate. But do you really think the Chairman doesn’t know all this?”

“…What?”

Lee Ah-seong paused.

The anger draining from his face was replaced by suspicion.

“Even someone as ignorant as me can tell the renewal review won’t require that much money. So would the Chairman really spend tens or hundreds of billions to secure it? Personally, I think he’d sooner shut the station down, let everyone lose their jobs, and blame the government rather than spend that kind of money.”

As Go Ha-jin continued, Lee Ah-seong’s expression grew darker and darker.

He said nothing.

But it seemed likely he had figured out what the money was really intended for.

“So I can’t give it to you. I’m sorry.”

In truth, Lee Ah-seong didn’t entirely disagree. Selling that painting would generate far more money than either issue required. He hadn’t even planned to sell it immediately. He wanted to lock it away in his personal vault and sell other works instead.

Its value would only increase with time.

“Fine. Now I understand exactly how you think about ‘our’ family.”

“Thank you for understanding. Have a safe trip home, Father.”

Lee Ah-seong rose.

He had no intention of begging.

Nor did he wish to make a scene over a single painting.

But he also had no intention of letting this go.

One day, he thought, Go Ha-jin would kneel before him in tears and regret his insolence.

****

“Don’t tell me you’ve started eating dirt now.”

“Oh, you’re back? I was just getting some air.”

“What, were you waiting for me?”

“As if.”

Absolutely not.

After Lee Ah-seong’s visit, Go Ha-jin had been too angry and unsettled to rest. He had wandered around outside for hours before ending up crouched in the garden, staring absentmindedly at the landscaping and debating whether to go buy cigarettes.

Then Chae Woo-seok came home.

Ridiculously early.

Wasn’t he supposed to be working?

“What happened? You look half dead.”]

“Nothing.”

“Should I send people to investigate again? Or are you going to tell me?”

Chae Woo-seok held out a hand.

A large hand.

Looking up at him, Go Ha-jin saw him tilt his head impatiently, silently urging him to take it and stand.

It was such a small gesture.

Yet unexpectedly, his chest tightened.

His eyes stung.

“What is it? What happened?”

In the end, Go Ha-jin never took the offered hand.

Before he could, Chae Woo-seok moved first.

He slipped an arm around his side and hauled him upright with brute force.

Typical.

Nothing but muscle.

Inside the house, Chae Woo-seok dismissed the staff and even sent Team Leader Yang home before sitting down opposite him.

Actually, not opposite.

He dragged over a table and sat directly on top of it, placing himself so close their knees nearly touched.

“Talk.”

“This is a little uncomfortable…”

“Not that. Tell me what happened. Unless you want this conversation to become even more uncomfortable.”

With both of his forearms firmly captured, escape was impossible.

“It’s really nothing.”

“Right.”

That single word carried the unmistakable warning that his patience had run out.

“Father came by earlier. He said he wanted the painting upstairs.”

“Why?”

“Something about campaign funds for your uncle and the SHS license renewal.”

The grip on his arms tightened.

For several moments, Chae Woo-seok said nothing.

The explanation made no sense.

None at all.

“And what did you say? Did you give it to him?”

“Are you crazy? Of course not. Honestly… I’m sorry to say this, but what he said didn’t make much sense. I figured there was no reason to hand it over. Not that I would have anyway.”

Chae Woo-seok already knew how greedy Go Ha-jin could be.

If money or valuables were involved, extracting them from him was nearly impossible.

Still, that particular reasoning was unexpected.

“What part didn’t make sense?”

Carefully, Go Ha-jin explained.

Unlike with Lee Ah-seong, he chose his words with care.

After all, that man was still Chae Woo-seok’s father.

As the explanation continued, Chae Woo-seok found himself impressed.

He had always thought Go Ha-jin was merely a clever con artist.

Apparently he was far more knowledgeable than that.

From a handful of facts, he had uncovered contradictions that others overlooked.

Without realizing it, a smile tugged at Chae Woo-seok’s lips.

“Why are you smiling…?”

Go Ha-jin immediately stiffened, convinced he had said something wrong.

“You did well.”

Before he could process the praise, he felt something brush against his cheek.

A hand.

Large, warm fingers gently teasing the side of his face.

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