Chapter 159: The Hidden Pressure

[Good morning, Mr. Smith.]

[Ah… yes. Good morning, Mr. Joo.]

Philip made a sour face when he saw Hyunwoo arriving unusually late today.

He had been coming in at dawn for days, yet today he showed up just before 10 a.m.

He was impossible to predict.

Philip, who had come early to match Hyunwoo’s schedule, felt defeated.

[Haha… I’ve been waking up too early lately, so I was tired.

I plan to stay until the evening today.]

[I see….]

Hyunwoo secretly laughed at Philip’s hollow-eyed nod.

Obviously, he had come early to keep an eye on him.

Hyunwoo sat down comfortably and opened his laptop.

He didn’t have much to do at the office anyway.

Investigating Abram was Seunghyuk’s task.

He only needed to check emails from headquarters and give simple instructions.

Because of the sudden pregnancy, the move to the U.S. happened too quickly, throwing the headquarters staff into chaos.

He hadn’t even finished the project he was working on.

He had left it to the most capable people he could, but his input was still needed at times.

So he exchanged messages and emails with HQ whenever he found the time.

[Mr. Smith, you came early, but aren’t you leaving yet?]

[…I still have work to do.]

[Oh, is that so.]

Even though it was nearly time to go home, Philip stayed.

He couldn’t leave while Hyunwoo remained in the office.

Philip clenched his teeth while staring at Hyunwoo’s relaxed face.

Still, he couldn’t leave Hyunwoo alone.

He would simply have to extend his working hours.

Even though he wouldn’t be paid extra.

Philip turned his head and sighed quietly.

[Excuse me.]

“Ah—!”

Philip jerked back when Hyunwoo suddenly leaned close.

He nearly tipped over in his chair.

Embarrassed, he straightened up.

[Wh-what is it, sir?]

[Ah, nothing big.

My laptop suddenly stopped working, so I wondered if you could help.]

[Hmm, let me take a look.]

[Yes.]

Hyunwoo smiled and stepped back.

Philip, his face slightly red, approached the desk.

[This is the laptop?]

[Yes, it was working fine and then suddenly froze.]

[Hmm….]

Philip sat down and began checking it.

He was familiar with machines from handling various programs.

He pressed the power button first.

[It’s not turning on at all.

Did you do anything before it shut down?]

[Uh… an email came in, and when I clicked it, this happened.]

[You only opened the email?

You didn’t run any attached installer files?]

[I think… maybe I did….]

[Then it’s likely infected with a virus.]

Philip muttered seriously.

Hyunwoo nodded beside him.

[Seems so.]

[Rather than me, it might be better to call the tech team….]

He reached for the phone—then froze.

A thought struck him.

“Did he ever charge this laptop today?”

A laptop usually lasts six or seven hours on full battery.

Longer if new, shorter if old.

But this laptop didn’t seem aged.

And Philip had not seen Hyunwoo charge it once.

It should be out of battery by now.

No wonder it didn’t turn on.

Philip swallowed nervously.

[Mr. Philip Smith.]

[Y-yes…?]

Standing behind him, Hyunwoo spoke quietly.

His face faintly reflected in the black screen.

Philip swallowed again.

[Don’t turn around.

There’s CCTV behind us.

Just act naturally.

Keep pretending to fix it.]

[W-why are you doing this?]

[For your sake.

So you’ll have an excuse when explaining to your superiors later.]

[……?]

Philip had no idea what Hyunwoo meant.

A strange pressure rose behind him.

He froze, listening to Hyunwoo’s voice.

[Abram Martin.

He’s connected with APP Corp, right?]

[Th—!]

[Don’t bother answering.

I already know.]

Philip’s eyes shook.

A secret absolutely not meant to be known—spoken calmly by the one person who must not know it.

Philip clenched his hands tightly.

[I—I don’t know much about his affairs….]

[I know you’ve aligned yourself with Abram Martin.

That much is obvious.]

Philip shut his mouth.

Damn it.

He couldn’t even cut ties now.

Philip closed his eyes tightly.

[What do you want from me?]

[Oh? You admit it easily.

Good.]

He expected resistance, but Philip was already defeated.

[There’s no point pretending.]

He had shadowed Abram closely, but that was all.

Now that the successor knew everything, they were done.

Philip lowered his head.

[You’re quite sharp.

Seems like a waste to stay under someone like him.]

[…Me?]

[Of course.]

Hyunwoo smiled lightly.

He wasn’t lying.

According to Seunghyuk’s findings, Abram’s ties with APP Corp went far back.

Their rivalry didn’t stop them from crossing lines behind the scenes.

But Abram was too deeply involved.

He leaked Moonseong’s classified data for money and favors.

He used that to speed up his promotions.

And more corruption was involved.

[I always wondered how someone as incompetent as Abram avoided getting caught.

Then I realized—it must’ve been because of you.]

[That’s….]

Hyunwoo’s guess was close.

Philip’s lips trembled.

He bowed his head.

Philip’s background was poor.

He was white, but born in Harlem to drug-addicted parents.

Tired of constant fighting at home, he joined a gang.

To escape, he studied using discarded books and used supplies.

It was his only way out.

He barely entered college on a scholarship, but the competition was never equal.

To become an executive, family background mattered.

A Harlem-born kid could never dream of it.

Then Abram approached him with promises of promotion.

Philip fell into the trap.

[I think you overestimate me.]

[Overestimate you?]

[Yes, I’m not that exceptional.]

[Hmm.]

Philip shook his head firmly.

Hyunwoo looked down at him quietly.

He hadn’t known Philip long.

It was hard to fully understand someone so soon.

But something about him felt similar to Sungyoon—sharp, efficient, quick.

If Abram had someone that competent beside him, things made sense.

Hyunwoo nodded.

[Actually, I need a favor from you.]

[A… favor?]

[Yes.]

[If it’s whistleblowing….]

[It’s not, so don’t worry.]

[……?]

Hyunwoo already had enough evidence.

He didn’t need Philip’s testimony.

Something else had become a problem.

The thing he feared upon arriving here.

[I have paparazzi on me.]

[Paparazzi…?]

[Yes, and it’s troublesome.]

Philip tilted his head—then understood.

He nodded slowly.

[You want me to deal with that paparazzi.]

[Exactly.]

Hyunwoo came to the U.S. alone.

No Sungyoon, no Junghoon.

And Seunghyuk was an ordinary civilian—it would be dangerous for him.

Philip was the perfect person.

Hyunwoo placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

[You’ll help me, right?]

[…I suppose I don’t have a choice.]

[Good.]

Hyunwoo smiled, satisfied.

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