Chapter 34: CHAEBOL 101

"HYUNG, don’t give AJ Sunbae-nim 1 billion won, okay?" "Who’s that?" "We just talked about AJ Sunbae-nim earlier, Hyung," Garam said, frustrated because talking to Song Sihyuk sometimes was like talking to a wall. "He’s the sunbae I got into a fight with." "Ah, right. I’m not good at remembering names of bastards I don’t care about," Song Sihyuk said, shrugging unapologetically. "Speaking of which, that bastard doesn’t deserve to be called a ’sunbae.’ Just call him ’scumbag’ or whatever." "But you always nag when I say vulgar words." "It’s fine if you use that little mouth of yours to curse at other people." Tsk. "But why are you telling me not to give that bastard 1 billion won?" Song Sihyuk asked, joining Garam on the couch. Then the Alpha snaked an arm around his waist and pulled him closer to him. "Is he asking that much for a settlement?" "Yes, Hyung," Garam said, nodding. "He’s threatening to sue me if I don’t pay him 1 billion won for compensation. I have the money, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of ripping me off." "Don’t worry about that, Garam-ah. Let my legal representatives handle that. Once they’re done with it, that bastard sunbae of yours wouldn’t even have the courage to look at your way." "How do you plan to settle with AJ Sunbae-nim?" "Aigooya. You can be naïve sometimes, brat. We don’t ’settle’ with bastards like that— we answer a threat with a threat." Okay, that caught his attention. "Threat?" Garam asked curiously. "Did you get some dirt on AJ Sunbae-nim?" "Uh-huh." "Really? CHAMPIONZ is a group from a big company. So, even though most members are jerks, nobody dares to speak about their bullying. They only get into cultural appropriation controversies because their company can’t shut an entire community they offend." "Do you really not know the answer?" "Oh, right. It’s because Hyung acts like a thug most of the time that I forget you’re a chaebol." Song Sihyuk chuckled, probably finding Garam ’adorable’ again. I’m handsome, okay? "Garam-ah, remember this: I will only hesitate to fight if it’s against the Ilsung Group or the Daesung Group," Song Sihyuk said in a serious tone. "As you know, Ilsung Group is the #1 conglomerate in the country. There’s even a saying that goes like this: If Ilsung Group so much as sneezes—" "Then the entire country will catch a cold," Garam said, cutting off Song Sihyuk on purpose. "Every Korean knows that if Ilsung Group collapses, then our country’s entire economy will collapse with them." "Correct. Ilsung Group also has the most powerful shaman by their side, so there’s that." "How about the Daesung Group? Isn’t SG Group bigger than them?" "That’s true. But the Hong Family, the ones who own Daesung Group, comes from a legit noble bloodline," Song Sihyuk explained. "My grandfather was from an ordinary middle-class family before his business boomed, while Ilsung Group’s chairman grew up dirt-poor. But the Hongs are different— they’re rich from the start. Apparently, they came from a noble household that served kings in the past. So, there was never a generation in their clan that experienced poverty, not even for a short time." Oh, that was interesting. It’s not every day you learn about this country’s chaebols. "That’s probably why the Hongs aren’t greedy," Song Sihyuk said, sounding a bit bitter. "They could have expanded their businesses more to be as big as our group, but they’re already content with what they have." "They sound chill. I already like them." "That’s it— I’m never introducing you to the Hongs." "I don’t think there will be an opportunity to meet them anyway," Garam said casually. "Our marriage is a secret, isn’t it?" Song Sihyuk just frowned. Aigoo. Why is this hyung so moody? "How do you plan to threaten AJ Sunbae-nim?" Garam asked curiously. "What dirt did you find out about him?" "He often smokes weed with a woman from a quasi-chaebol family." Garam gasped out loud. Yes, other countries might think smoking weed wasn’t a big deal. But it is a big deal in Korea— people who smoke weed get heavier punishment than sexual abusers here. "That bastard is probably confident that he won’t get exposed because the woman he’s seeing comes from a rich family," Song Sihyuk said, scoffing. "But a quasi-chaebol family is nothing compared to the SG Group." Right. "It’s almost a done deal, so don’t worry about that bastard," Song Sihyuk said, gently grabbing Garam’s face again. "Anyway, how long are you going to stay here?" "I’m not sure. Maybe until my face is healed?" "Alright. I’ll send a house helper here. I already asked my staff to arrange it." "I don’t need—" "Your fridge is empty. The groceries I asked my staff to bring here will arrive later." "Hyung—" "And you’ll have a new bodyguard." Garam knitted his eyebrows. "But why? What happened to Geon Hyung?" "I fired him." "Why would you do that?" Song Sihyuk pointed at Garam’s busted lip. "Because that incompetent bastard failed to protect you." "That’s not true!" Garam said sternly. "I would have gotten more hurt had it not been for Geon Hyung. He stopped both AJ Sunbae-nim and Jun Sunbae-nim from ganging up on me. You can’t fire him, Hyung!" "Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen you this upset on behalf of someone else. Do you like Shin Geon that much?" "Yes, I like Geon Hyung..." Oops. Garam realized that he had said the wrong thing when Song Sihyuk’s face suddenly darkened. To be honest, it was quite scary to see the Alpha make that expression. Possessiveness and jealousy. Those were two traits that Alphas were known for. Even if Sihyuk Hyung doesn’t have romantic feelings for me, he still sees me as his property. If I don’t clear up this misunderstanding, Geon Hyung will be in danger. Yeah, he was more worried about Shin Geon than his own situation. For some reason, I’m confident that Sihyuk won’t hurt me physically. "I mean that in a platonic way, so calm down," Garam said, grabbing Song Sihyuk’s face this time. "Plus, you have nothing to worry about since Geon Hyung is happily married to Junho Hyung." "I’m still annoyed that you seem to like Shin Geon more than you like me." Tsk. It was actually annoying that Song Sihyuk was acting like a jealous boyfriend when they weren’t a real couple anyway. But he knew that his contract husband’s display of jealousy was nothing special. Alphas are just naturally territorial. "Then be nicer to me, Hyung." "Lim Garam, I am not this nice to anyone else." To be fair, Garam already knew that. I mean, there’s no sponsor who’d be satisfied with a kiss after spending at least a billion won to support their ’sugar babies.’ Only Song Sihyuk. We’re technically married, yes, but my point still stands. "Sihyuk Hyung, please let Geon Hyung stay as my bodyguard," Garam said, giving Song Sihyuk puppy-dog eyes. "Tell me what I need to do to convince you not to fire him." "Fine," Song Sihyuk said, grabbing Garam by the waist and pulling him closer to his body. "Live with me then, Lim Garam." *** Please ADD <SECRETLY MARRIED TO A CHAEBOL ALPHA> to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>