My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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45.

The two of them stepped out of the restaurant and took seats across from each other at a small table in front of the shop.
Cha Ji-hoon placed a Hangover Relief Drink in front of Lee Jin—he must have prepared it beforehand.
“Ah, thanks.”
Lee Jin offered her thanks, but then only fingered the drink in her hands. Watching her quietly, Cha Ji-hoon spoke abruptly.
“Are you doing all right?”
The question carried multiple layers of meaning.
He was asking not just how she was, but whether she’d continued her relationship with Moon Kang-hyun even after his true nature had been revealed.
“Of course I’m doing fine.”
Lee Jin answered as though responding only to his greeting, deliberately overlooking the deeper implication.
“Things seem pretty tangled for someone who’s doing fine.”
Cha Ji-hoon spoke in a measured tone, though his inner turmoil was written plainly across his face.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
Lee Jin replied flatly, and finally Cha Ji-hoon’s eyes narrowed.
“Lee Jin, I told you. That man is toying with you. How can you not see it?”
Watching the exasperation on Cha Ji-hoon’s face, she couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
He didn’t know what it had taken for her to break up with Moon Kang-hyun, didn’t know the heart with which she’d blessed him to find someone good and live happily.
A decision that hadn’t come easily—and one she had no wish to revisit. Nor did she want him to know that her side was now empty.
“Senior, I’m not a child. I can bear the consequences of my own choices.”
As Lee Jin’s voice turned quiet and steady, Cha Ji-hoon’s expression darkened. He felt helpless, restless, furious.
If she was willing to be treated as a plaything by that man, it meant there would be no opening for him in her future at all.
“Don’t you understand why I feel this way? I’ve liked you for over five years now.”
Being pressed to return someone’s feelings is an exhausting thing. She was grateful for his affection, but she’d never asked him to feel it.
If she liked him simply because he liked her, there would be no crossed wires in love. Hearts didn’t work by force of will alone.
“I’m sorry, senior. I can’t return your feelings.”
Lee Jin rose from her seat, regretting that she’d come to this gathering at all.
She’d only attended because of Kim Eun-byul’s persistence—she shouldn’t have come.
The alcohol had made her emotions volatile. The hopeful future she’d painted, one where she’d be fine without Moon Kang-hyun, wavered like a mirage.
“Lee Jin! I’m not finished with what I was saying!”
Cha Ji-hoon’s hand shot out and caught her wrist. The grip was rough, trembling with unguarded emotion. Her wrist throbbed from the force of it.
“It hurts, senior.”
Lee Jin’s brow furrowed as she spoke. But instead of releasing her, Cha Ji-hoon pulled harder.
“Just sit down. Sit and listen to what I have to——”
“It hurts, senior.”
Lee Jin cut through his words, meeting his eyes with a gaze so cold and blank that Cha Ji-hoon felt suddenly, violently aware of himself.
“I… I’m sorry.”
He released her wrist in shock, but red marks were already blooming across her skin. She rubbed her wrist as she spoke.
“Senior, I have nothing more to say. May I go?”
……
Cha Ji-hoon couldn’t answer. The vivid marks on her wrist rendered him mute.
He hadn’t meant to. It was because you wouldn’t listen to me. He swallowed the petty excuse and couldn’t bring himself to hold her back.
Watching her receding figure, he was seized by a terrible premonition that they would never be close again, and his spirits sank without measure.

***

Moon Hee-chan exhaled at the thought of his grandson’s request. He should have seen it from the moment that cunning fox pretended to be pitiful.
Still, a promise was a promise, so Moon Hee-chan reluctantly spoke to his secretary.
“Have my secretary call Jin Ae-ran’s Secretary Kim. Tell him I want to meet, but no one is to know about it.”
“Yes, understood, Chairman.”
The man Moon Hee-chan summoned was Jin Ae-ran’s personal secretary, who was with her constantly.
It was Moon Hee-chan who had elevated the Moon Sung Group to the rank of a true megacorporation. Though he had since retired, he still held the title of Honorary Chairman.
No matter how much power Jin Ae-ran wielded within the group, she could never surpass Moon Hee-chan. Which meant Jin Ae-ran’s secretary had no way to refuse his summons.
Hours later, Secretary Kim, Jin Ae-ran’s personal attendant, arrived at Moon Hee-chan’s office.
He seemed quite bewildered, clearly uncertain why he’d been called.
“Sit down.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Secretary Kim remained stiffly upright, unable to relax, his expression tense as he regarded Moon Hee-chan. Moon Hee-chan thought of Moon Kang-hyun’s face and swallowed a sigh.
He’d spent a lifetime striving to live with integrity, yet in his final years he’d accepted a house as a gift from his grandson and found himself on the receiving end of a strange favor.
Moon Hee-chan reflected on the old truth—there’s always a price to pay for something free—as he spoke.
“No need to be so tense. I simply have a few things I’d like to ask you.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“I won’t let this harm you, so answer truthfully: has the Vice Chairman ever met separately with the woman Kang-hyun sees?”
“I… well, that is…”
Secretary Kim broke into a cold sweat, his lips sealed tight.
Having served Jin Ae-ran for quite some time, Secretary Kim was naturally tight-lipped—but Kang-hyun, knowing this well, had already checked the CCTV footage from the public parking lot in front of Lee Jin’s atelier.
Since it was a public lot, reviewing the security footage hadn’t been difficult for Kang-hyun at all.
When he’d examined the dates coinciding with when his own movements had been restricted, he’d spotted Jin Ae-ran in the footage.
Her calculated use of a different vehicle to avoid being seen took his breath away—truly the work of Jin Ae-ran.
“I already know you met. I’ve seen the CCTV footage.”
Moon Hee-chan relayed what his grandson had passed along, and Secretary Kim’s bewilderment deepened.
By mentioning that he knew about the visit to Lee Jin’s atelier, Moon Hee-chan had aimed to draw out something else.
He’d deliberately revealed that he already knew the facts, ensuring Secretary Kim wouldn’t simply clam up.
“What I called you here for was to find out whether money changed hands in that meeting.”
Sensing the trap, Secretary Kim finally understood he wouldn’t leave unless he spoke plainly, and he forced the words out.
“Yes, sir. There was.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred million won, sir.”
Moon Hee-chan’s expression grew peculiar as he absorbed what Secretary Kim had reluctantly confessed, and he rubbed his jaw thoughtfully.
“I see. Thank you for telling me. You’re free to go.”
Secretary Kim, who looked ready to bolt, hesitated strangely and didn’t rise immediately.
“Sir… Chairman.”
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Moon Hee-chan nodded, and Secretary Kim spoke haltingly.
“The woman—Lee Jin’s mother—returned that money. I understand she met with the Vice Chairman directly and gave it back herself.”
“Well, well. So that’s what happened.”
Moon Hee-chan sighed. His daughter-in-law was remarkable, but that young woman on the other side proved to be formidable as well.
“In any case, I’m grateful for the information.”
“Not at all, Chairman. I only hope my words don’t cause trouble for the Vice Chairman.”
“You have my word.”
Secretary Kim bowed and left the office.
Moon Hee-chan exhaled a long sigh just as the door to a small room adjoining the office—which he used as a changing room—clicked open.
Kang-hyun, who had been listening to the entire conversation from the start, walked slowly in and took the seat where Secretary Kim had just been sitting.
Seeing his grandfather’s expression, worn from the exchange, Kang-hyun gave a small, regretful shrug.
“Does that put your mind at ease, you fool.”
Moon Hee-chan voiced his displeasure at his grandson, whose face hadn’t flickered even after hearing everything.
“Well, I got the answer I was looking for, so I’m not bothered exactly—but I wouldn’t say the situation feels satisfying either.”
What if he’d never uncovered this truth? The thought alone was unbearable.
Had he tried to hold onto Lee Jin without knowing what she’d endured, he would have only grasped at air indefinitely.
Noticing his grandson’s eyes darken, Moon Hee-chan clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“In any case, thank you for your help. I’ll handle the rest myself, so you don’t need to worry.”
Kang-hyun rose from his seat with a composure that suggested the mood had never shifted at all.
He’d used his grandfather’s authority to summon Secretary Kim and extract the full account, but knowing how painful it would be for the old man to relay these details to him, he’d deliberately hidden away to listen—sparing his grandfather the burden of how to break such news.
Moon Hee-chan called out to his grandson’s retreating back as he ambled toward the door.
“From now on, I won’t accept anything you try to give me.”
“As you wish. If you’re able to do so.”
Kang-hyun laughed softly and left the office.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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