Chapter 13
The answer came quickly.
Was Kyle killed to silence him because he learned something he should never have known? Or perhaps he had been secretly doing something that could damage Allfail’s management. If not that, then maybe—without even realizing it—he had already overtaken someone on the track to inheriting managerial control.
Or maybe it was all three.
And then there was the attitude of his parents.
They said he died and came back to life, and then immediately wrapped up the negotiations—but the results were utterly trivial.
According to the report, it was a small Korean company, and the contract they secured was little more than a kind of copyright–patent shopping to facilitate Alzheimer’s research.
And yet the couple came in person?
Yoon Eun-han, who didn’t know the circumstances, had simply assumed the couple was so cold that they only showed up at the hospital around dinner time. But the truth wasn’t that simple.
Keith and Ian couldn’t believe that their adoptive parents would personally come all the way to the hospital just to see a child who had supposedly died and come back to life. There was no way that would happen.
If Keith were to die, they would show their faces briefly at the funeral and then leave right away. Even if he miraculously came back to life, they would probably just say, “Well, you’re alive, so that’s good,” and invite him back to the mansion instead.
But for Kyle, those very same adoptive parents had come in person.
There was only one conclusion.
Kyle was a far more important person to Mata and Matthew than Keith had ever imagined.
Up until just yesterday, Kyle hadn’t been Keith’s competitor. Keith himself believed that. The only ones who ever tried to pit Keith and Kyle against each other were the tabloids. They always loved constructing rivalries.
“…Was I the only one who didn’t know?”
Maybe the tabloids were right.
Come to think of it, Keith had always known, intellectually, that Kyle was no ordinary person. Kyle was a genius who stood out in every respect. He preferred shutting himself away with books to outdoor activities like sports, and his introverted personality meant he rarely drew attention. Keith had noticed Kyle’s potential to bloom early on—and had hoped he never would.
Staring down into his teacup, Keith thought back.
—
I saw it right away. After coming back to life, the world looks a bit different. From now on, I’m planning to live however I want. You can look forward to it.
—
He had said it while staring straight at Keith, almost challengingly.
Now that he thought about it, that must have been Kyle’s moment of awakening.
The very moment Keith had desperately hoped would never come.
Keith was biting his lip when Ian, as if reflexively trying to lighten the heavy mood, spoke up in an artificially cheerful voice.
“B-But still, hyung. If it’s that project, we’ll be fine, right?”
“That project? …Ah. Aertus?”
“Yeah. That massive investment project.”
Ian spoke proudly as he stepped closer to Keith and casually reached out to knead his neck. Keith smiled faintly and calmly slapped Ian’s hand away.
“Let’s not do the massaging.”
“Ah, sorry, hyung.”
Ian hesitated for a moment, then continued speaking as if nothing had happened.
“Anyway, I’m rooting for you. And… I know you’re probably worried about Kyle too, hyung, but… don’t worry.”
“……”
“From now on, I’ll keep a thorough watch on that bastard. I’ll dig up every single flaw, no matter what it takes, so he’ll fall off the management track.”
Ian even added jokingly:
I’ve already put someone on him, actually.
But more than anyone else, the brothers themselves knew the truth. Their so-called closeness was nothing more than Ian’s one-sided worship, almost like a plea. There was barely any genuine brotherly bond between them to begin with. A precarious relationship, like walking on a sheet of very thin ice—that was the true nature of their brotherhood.
“So you just focus on your own work, hyung. They say it’s a really solid project. I truly support you. You know that, right?”
“……Yeah.”
Keith fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“And until then, behave yourself. Even if you don’t like it, apologize to Kyle. It’s better not to give anyone anything to nitpick.”
“……Got it, hyung. We’re on the same team, so I’ll cooperate.”
“……”
Though Ian emphasized it, Keith didn’t respond. He stood up instead.
“I should get going now. Thanks for the tea.”
“Oh—uh, yeah. Take care, hyung.”
* * *
Oliver showed up the next morning looking noticeably haggard. In his hands were several thick file folders.
“First, this is the news you asked about.”
Oliver opened one of the folders in front of me himself. It was clear he had searched thoroughly—article headlines and several blog posts were neatly arranged.
“You can check the main text here.”
He then set a tablet PC beside it. Well, points for that—when I ask, he does bring things right away. Listening to Oliver’s explanation, I operated the tablet and skimmed through the blogs.
“There were about twenty posts in the search results. It seems there was some minor controversy on places like Reddit.”
“Do people believe it?”
“They don’t so much believe in Mr. Kyle as they believe the rumor because they don’t trust the Allfail family.”
“Haha. Not very popular, huh. Well, pharmaceutical companies don’t tend to be popular with the public anyway.”
I already knew that. I’d once been part of that “public” myself. To be honest, pharmaceutical companies often felt closer to villains—capable of threatening patients’ lives under the pretext of medicine. Under the noble banner of developing new drugs, they were imagined to commit countless crimes. Just look at how nearly every villain in comics seems to come from a pharmaceutical company.
“It’s unfortunate prejudice,” Oliver said solemnly.
Tilting my head as I looked at him, I replied,
“I’m not sure it’s prejudice.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think it is.”
“…Ah….”
There was no way he failed to catch the barb hidden in my words. Looking at Oliver, whose face had clouded with confusion, I smiled brightly.
“We just have to change it for the better.”
Of course. To change it for the better, I’d smash it to pieces the moment it got swallowed. Oblivious to my inner resolve, Oliver nodded as if enchanted by my words.
“That’s right… Ah, and I also looked into Kang In-ha.”
He placed another file folder down.
“Kang In-ha. Thirty-four years old. He was considered a leading scientific prodigy in Korea, but strangely, he wasn’t very well known publicly. It appears he was under heavy pressure from his company. His academic background wasn’t particularly outstanding, nor did he join a major pharmaceutical firm, yet his research results were exceptional—that seems to have been the problem. From what I can tell, he got caught up in power struggles among the executives.”
I frowned slightly, recalling the first time I’d met Kang In-ha.
Kang In-ha had light brown hair and large eyes, and he wore thin, silver-rimmed glasses. He had a lean build, but was taller than expected.
The first place I met him was a café I used to frequent at the time. He was sitting hunched over in a corner when he spoke to me first.
“Excuse me.”
Until he spoke, I hadn’t even realized he was there.
My first impression of him was that of a very gentle herbivore.
A deer? A rabbit? A sheep? Hard to say. In any case, he seemed like someone with considerable talent and decent looks, yet no desire whatsoever to draw attention. I looked at him for a moment, then asked briefly,
“How did you find this café?”
“Seok-hyung introduced it to me. He said this was the only place you ever come to.”
“Seok-hyung… Lee Seok-hyung, from D&E?”
“Yes. Back in university, I taught him a general physics course.”
“You were a professor?”
“No. A PhD.”
He answered shortly, then paused, hesitating.
“Please help me.”
“How would you like me to help?”
“I want to run away.”
For him to come all the way to me and speak of running away—it wasn’t simple escape. It was practically a request to erase his existence from the world.
I stared at his hands. Even as he spoke to me, his fingers were clasped together like he was praying, trembling slightly.
I realized then that just coming here must have taken immense courage for him. I thought that this might be the first—and last—act of rebellion in his entire life.
Let’s help him.
I made the decision in an instant.
“Alright.”
Kang In-ha’s eyes widened.
“You’re not going to ask anything?”
“Once I’ve decided to help, I’m not all that curious about why you want to erase yourself from the world.”
I shrugged lightly as I spoke.
“Honestly, even if you’d committed murder or had hundreds of millions in gambling debt, I wouldn’t care. You mentioned the name of someone I know well, and I decided to help. That’s all.”
“…Seok-hyung told me it wouldn’t be easy.”
Kang In-ha murmured, looking dazed. I smiled with just one corner of my mouth raised.
“That depends on the person.”
He blinked at me, as if he’d never expected this reaction. His eyes behind the glasses looked gentle—like those of a cow.
Ah. Yes. He really did resemble a cow.
I’d finally found the right animal.
And at that moment, I somehow knew I’d have no choice but to see this through to the end.
That was how my connection with Kang In-ha began.
