Chapter 116: The Break Point

“Of course.”

“Waaah.”

At Hyunwoo’s gentle reply, Hyunjin looked like he could jump from joy.

Then, with a face full of excitement, he chirped:

“Hyung, can I decide what we’ll do for your birthday this time?

On my birthday, you did everything for me.

I want to do that too.”

“Sure.

I’ll leave everything to you.”

“Hehe, okay! Just trust me!”

Hyunjin shouted confidently, his cheeks flushed pink.

Hyunwoo watched him with a fond smile.

“Hyunjin-ssi, counter!”

“Ah, yes!”

Another employee, seemingly overwhelmed by the sudden crowd of customers, urgently called for Hyunjin.

Startled, Hyunjin answered loudly, then turned back to Hyunwoo.

“Sorry, hyung! I’ll come back later!”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. Go work.”

Hyunwoo waved him off with an easy nod.

There was no way he could keep Hyunjin sitting here when the café was clearly swamped.

Watching Hyunjin hurry back to the counter, Hyunwoo smiled softly.

The weekend passed.

And the weekdays began again.

As usual, Hyunwoo arrived at the office and listened to Junghoon’s report.

“Is the press release preparation going smoothly?”

“Yes, the materials for the reporters are already ready.”

“This time, it’s better to distribute them early.”

The project was finally moving out of the planning stage and into the next phase.

Normally, they didn’t rush press releases like this,
but Hyunwoo had a bad feeling—
and his instincts were usually sharp.

Because of that, Junghoon didn’t argue and simply nodded.

“Understood.

I’ll send out the emails today.”

“Good.”

Hyunwoo knew exactly why he felt uneasy lately.

The company atmosphere had been unusually tense.

Rumors about the data leak incident continued circulating.

And somehow, the rumors were getting exaggerated, twisted into stranger versions of the truth.

Hyunwoo hadn’t heard anything directly since that time he overheard gossip in the pantry,
but the discomfort on Junghoon’s face
and the strange glances from team members
told him enough—
even if he didn’t want to know.

What on earth is being said?

He wanted to call each team member in for individual interviews,
but there was no proper reason to justify that.
And he couldn’t manage that many people alone anyway.

Besides, even if he summoned them,
who would answer honestly to their superior?

Very few.

“Phew….”

After finishing the morning briefing, Hyunwoo let out a long sigh.

The planning phase of the project was nearly over,
yet his stress hadn’t decreased at all.

It didn’t feel like anything was ending.

Should I really take a vacation?

He thought back to the ridiculous dream from before.

The dream itself had been unpleasant,
but taking time off and going somewhere far away didn’t sound like a bad idea.

It might even refresh him.

Hyunjin was going on a club trip soon.

And the other friends…

He really didn’t want to go anywhere with the so-called “friends” of the original Joo Hyunwoo.

Maybe he should go alone.

As he considered possible destinations, he turned on his monitor.

If he was going to go, he might as well find a nice place online.

He opened his browser, intending to type a simple keyword like “travel”—

“Hm?”

The headlines on the portal site were unusual.

Frowning, Hyunwoo clicked one of them.

[L&S Pulls It Off.
New Model to Be Released Soon…
The Start of a Groundbreaking Series….]

The terminology used, the phrasing between lines—
everything felt familiar.

Of course it did.

Because the “new model” and “performance” mentioned in the article
were exactly the details included in the press release for his project.

But the company name was wrong.

Everything had L&S’s name, not Munseong’s.

Hyunwoo’s face twisted sharply.

“What the hell….”

“Director!”

Junghoon burst into the office, face pale.

They met eyes.

“How did this happen?”

“Well….”

“…….”

But pressing Junghoon wouldn’t accomplish anything.
He wasn’t the type to leak company data.

Hyunwoo’s face grew pale as well.

“Has intern Lee Seunghyuk come in today?”

“Y-yes. He’s working right now, but…”

“Have him take a half-day.
Send him home immediately.”

“What?”

“Go.”

“A-ah… yes!”

Confused but obedient, Junghoon nodded and hurried out.

Watching him leave, Hyunwoo let out another long sigh.

“Haah….”

His judgment had been correct.

The entire planning team was already in chaos.

Everyone was naming Seunghyuk as the strongest suspect for the leak.

As if someone had set the stage in advance,
everything flowed naturally toward that conclusion.

And Hyunwoo’s own thoughts were tangled, ready to burst.

No, figuring out the culprit comes later.

Whether it was Seunghyuk or not,
someone had leaked the company data.

But right now, that wasn’t the priority.

They couldn’t let the project collapse.

They needed counter-articles,
and they needed to convince the chairman and executives who would be furious about this.

There had to be weaknesses in L&S’s new model.

Even if he didn’t know when they started copying the data,
a long-term project rushed out in a short time couldn’t possibly be perfect.

Normally L&S wouldn’t try to imitate this so recklessly—
unless…

Unless the rival was Cha Kwon-oh.

He might have pulled this stunt solely to sabotage the project.

Hyunwoo clenched his teeth hard.

Either way, now wasn’t the time to think about Seunghyuk or rumors.

He needed to fix the disaster first.

“Damn… f*ck.”

Hyunwoo tugged harshly at his suffocating tie.
His chest loosened slightly.

His footsteps were heavy as he walked toward the underground parking lot.

Even though he was technically going home,
it didn’t feel like anything was over.

If anything, today felt like the beginning.

His head throbbed as he recalled being hammered all day
by Chairman Jo Munhyuk and the executives.

Nothing was solved.

He had no idea who the culprit was,
and he wasn’t even sure their counter-press release would work.

No—there was one highly suspicious person.

Hyunwoo’s steps halted.

“……!”

“…Hyung.”

He expected to face him at home,
but not here.

Not in the company parking lot.

Hyunwoo glanced around quickly, then grabbed Seunghyuk’s arm and pulled him into a secluded corner.

“I told you to go home.
Why didn’t you?”

“Hyung, it’s really not me.”

“…….”

“Please believe me.
I didn’t do anything.”

Seunghyuk’s face looked genuinely desperate.

Normally so expressionless, now he looked devastated.

Hyunwoo gazed at him with a conflicted expression.

“You know, hyung…
There’s no way L&S did all that in the short time I’ve been here.
They must’ve gotten the data way before….”

“If it started around the time you and I began living together,
the timing matches well enough.”

“Hyung!”

“…….”

Hyunwoo didn’t want to think this way.
Half of him still believed it was impossible.

But everything lined up too neatly.

The way Seunghyuk always stepped out to take certain calls,
the strange conversation Hyunwoo overheard at dawn,
and Hyunseok saying he once saw Seunghyuk with Cha Kwon-oh.

Maybe Seunghyuk pretending to hate Cha Kwon-oh was all an act.

Maybe he pretended to like Hyunwoo, even confessed to him…
just to make Hyunwoo let his guard down.

The thought made something deep inside Hyunwoo ache painfully.

“Hyung, it’s really not me.
Please believe me, okay?”

“…….”

“I don’t have any reason to do that!”

He shouted in frustration.

But that sentence hit a buried part of Hyunwoo—
a part he had sealed away.

Hyunwoo’s eyebrow twitched.

Then what?
The pre-regression Seunghyuk who betrayed him—
he had his reasons?

Right.
He hated Hyunwoo.
Despised him.

Hyunwoo had tried so hard to understand that.

But no matter how much he understood,
it never erased the wounds in his heart.

“People can make up any reason they want.
Why should I believe you?

Even now, you want me to keep trusting you?”

“Hyung….”

“And even if you say you had no reason—
you…!
Back then, you…!”

“…….”

Anger surged up too fast, too violently.

Words he shouldn’t have said slipped out.

“Haa… hah….”

This wasn’t the same Seunghyuk.

But he kept overlapping with the one from before.

Hyunwoo grit his teeth.

He turned away.
If he stayed, he would only get angrier.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Hyung!”

Seunghyuk rushed to block him.

Biting his lip, he lowered his head.

“I… I did everything wrong, hyung.”

“……?”

“I’m not asking for forgiveness, so… so please….”

“You… right now….”

His tone had shifted—subtly, unmistakably.

Hyunwoo’s eyes widened.

No.
Impossible.

There was no way—

He could not finish the sentence.

He simply stood frozen, lips parted in shock.