Chapter 26
The rain had stopped, but the air in the apartment still carried a cool dampness, mingled with the faint scent of chamomile tea and a sharp trace of disinfectant. Eun Wol sat cross-legged on the couch, his hair tousled and half-dry from the shower. Strands clung to his forehead and the curve of his neck, his eyes glazed and unfocused as the low glow of the television flickered over his tired face. His head dipped slowly, exhaustion pulling at his eyelids until he nearly slumped into the cushions.
Gyu In settled on the floor opposite him, leaning back against the couch with his pyjama sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The soft scrape of fabric was the only sound in the room. His voice came low and calm, warm in a way that eased the edges of the night. "Let's dry your hair first. Then you can take my bed."
"I can take the couch," Eun Wol mumbled, voice thick with sleep.
Gyu In's smile softened. His eyes crinkled with a quiet affection. "Come on, let me help."
He reached for the towel Eun Wol had tossed aside and folded it carefully, the fabric still warm from the dryer. Gently, he draped it over Eun Wol's damp hair. The towel shifted from cool to warm as it absorbed the lingering moisture. His fingers pressed softly against Eun Wol's scalp, massaging slow, tender circles that sent a shiver of comfort down Eun Wol's spine.
The faint scent of Gyu In's body shampoo mingled with the clean towel, wrapping around Eun Wol in something that felt safe. Safe in a way that needed no explanation. Outside, the rain had faded entirely, leaving only the hum of the refrigerator and the distant shuffle of a city settling into the night.
His breathing steadied without him noticing. The tension that had held his shoulders tight loosened under the rhythm of fingers and fabric.
"Mhmm… missed it."
Gyu In frowned slightly, unsure he heard right. "Repeat that, drowsy head."
"I missed it."
The corner of Gyu In's mouth lifted. "What did you miss? Someone drying your hair for you?"
Eun Wol lowered his head into Gyu In's hand, voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah. My mum used to dry my hair when I was younger."
The fingers in his hair tightened gently, then eased, moving in slow circles.
"Where is she now?"
"No longer here." His eyes fluttered, his voice thin and small.
Gyu In's smile faltered, his expression dimming with quiet understanding. "I see," he murmured, soft and careful. "I'm sorry."
"My father… never dried my hair," Eun Wol said after a pause, as though the thought slipped out on its own.
Gyu In's hands stilled for a moment. When they moved again, they were slow and steady.
"Well, you have me now."
The warmth in his voice wrapped around Eun Wol like a blanket. His breathing evened out, and the last of the tension melted from his shoulders. Within moments, he surrendered to sleep, his head resting heavier against Gyu In's hand.
Gyu In stayed still, watching over him as if afraid to disturb the fragile peace between them.
Morning arrived quicker than Eun Wol expected. When he opened his eyes, he found himself tucked comfortably into a bed, the blanket pulled up just right. The faint, familiar scent told him exactly where he was. This time, there was no nervous flutter in his chest, only a strange sense of calm.
A noisy ruckus drifted from outside the bedroom. Pushing the blanket aside, he stood and walked toward the door.
"Gyu In—"
But he stopped at the sight of Ryu Chan staring at him, frozen in disbelief.
Eun Wol let out a long sigh.
"What are you sighing at my face for?" Ryu Chan snapped, baffled.
"Where's Gyu In?"
Ryu Chan scoffed and bit into his bread. "Already off to work. Didn't know you were this clingy."
"I'm not!" Eun Wol shot back right away. "Your face is just uglier."
Ryu Chan rolled his eyes and chewed slowly, as if giving himself patience. "Uh huh. Don't bother me. I have important things to do. Unlike someone who climbs through trash tunnels."
"You—"
Eun Wol drew in a sharp breath, ready to sling something back that would make Ryu Chan choke on his bread. Before the words could form, Ryu Chan flicked his hand dismissively.
"Go wash your face or something. You still have bed hair."
"I just—"
"Bed. Hair." Ryu Chan pointed toward the bathroom like a strict traffic officer directing a confused driver.
Eun Wol muttered something under his breath and trudged down the hall, leaving Ryu Chan smirking into his breakfast.
*
The glass doors of VALHEN Group's headquarters parted with a soft hiss.
Gyu In stepped through, crisp suit in place, hair still faintly damp from the morning shower. He had left before dawn, the city quiet enough for his thoughts to fall into a straight line.
The lobby hummed with its usual polished rhythm. Marble floors gleamed under the lights, conversations stayed hushed, and the aroma of roasted coffee drifted from the café in the corner. It was the same pristine veneer the company always held.
But underneath it all, something dark pulsed.
He rode the elevator up, hands tucked into his pockets, gaze half-lidded yet alert. Yoo In Hwa's name lingered in the back of his mind like a sharp echo.
The elevator chimed. As the doors opened, office noise spilled out: ringing phones, clacking keyboards, murmured conversations drifting behind partitions of glass.
"Sir Kim." Hae Won approached with a tablet in hand, posture straight and polished. "You have the quarterly review at ten. Director Park also requested to see you before that. Something regarding security clearances."
Security. The word slotted into place, an unresolved piece of a larger puzzle.
"Tell Director Park I will stop by," he said calmly. "And pull a full list of staff changes from the last six months. All departments."
Hae Won blinked, caught off guard, though he recovered quickly. "I will prepare it."
Inside his office, Gyu In closed the door behind him. The soft thud sealed him away from the noise. He moved to his desk and opened a file labeled Yoo In Hwa. He had already done his own digging.
The results were thin. Too thin for a woman with influence that stretched into shadowed corners of the city.
Corporate records. Public event photos. A stake in a shell company linked faintly, almost invisibly, to Do Yoon Su.
His eyes narrowed. The trail was there, but most of it had been scrubbed clean.
A knock pulled him out of his thoughts.
"A cup of warm tea," Hae Won said as he placed it on the table. His gaze flicked toward the open file, a quick glance he did not mean to reveal. "Sir Kim, is it wise to involve yourself this deeply in Shim Eun Wol's affairs?"
"You know about Yoo In Hwa?"
Hae Won hesitated. Uncertainty settled in his posture.
"If you know something, tell me. It will help."
"It is nothing substantial," he finally said. "Only remarks I have heard during company dinners. She is an intimidating person."
"Oh?"
"That bar."
"MUTE," Gyu In said quietly. He pressed his fingers against the file, a steady weight. "Call it by its name. Acting like it is a harmless business venture does nothing."
Hae Won's jaw tightened. "Pretending you can step into their world without consequences does nothing either. If the chairman hears about this, it will—"
"Please." Gyu In leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment. "You are on my side."
"Always, Sir Kim," Hae Won answered. "I only want you to be safe."
Gyu In smiled. It was small, but final. "Then that is enough."
The shift was clear: the conversation had ended. Hae Won understood. He bowed his head slightly and left the room.
Gyu In reopened the file. Most of it was surface-level: ownership chains, registrations, spotless paperwork. Too spotless. But one name surfaced repeatedly in minor transactions.
Chungho Logistics.
He picked up his phone.
"Chungho Logistics?" Ryu Chan's voice crackled through the speaker, muffled by the crunch of something he was probably eating. "Yeah, they move half the entertainment industry's cargo. Shady for years, but clean enough to stay untouched. Why?"
"They connect to MUTE through three shell companies. Find the link they tried to hide."
A pause. Then, "By the way, I found something interesting last night. While checking internal feeds, I saw a guy at MUTE's staff exit. Cap, mask, hoodie. Talking to Eun Bin. Probably the man you saw."
Gyu In's fingers tightened around the pen. "His face?"
"No clear shot. But she looked different. Relaxed. Like she knew him."
Gyu In's brow lowered. "Could it be Ji Hun?"
"Not sure. I checked him too. Nothing out of the ordinary. He attends his schedules, practices, dorm life. Very idol. Very boring."
"Send me what you found."
"You are welcome," Ryu Chan muttered. "Also, stop doing this lone-wolf act. Brooding vice president with trauma is a great film concept, but maybe try not to get beaten up again."
"Just send the footage."
*
Hours later, after drifting through the city with no real destination, Eun Wol ended up across the street from Daylight Entertainment. He stared at the entrance without moving. He had no intention of going in. Trouble was not on his list today.
He reached for his phone. His thumb hovered over the contacts, stopping on a name he had not seen in months. He did not press it. He only looked, until the letters softened and blurred.
A memory rose without permission. A streetlight casting a circle of warm gold on wet pavement. A scarf being wrapped clumsily around his neck. The faint smell of laundry soap mixed with citrus cologne. A hand lingering on his shoulder. A voice that was low, soft, smiling.
"Don't catch a cold before your shoot."
It had been foolish, back then. Two people standing on a fragile line between more-than-friends and a feeling neither of them dared to claim. When the scandal broke, everything shattered under silence and mistrust.
He remembered the night he waited outside this very building, phone in hand, ready to explain. Ready to beg, if he had to. Ji Hun never came. Or maybe he did, and simply chose to walk past him.
Eun Wol blinked hard, pushing the memory down. He was tired of how quickly it returned, like a wound that refused to heal.
He turned to leave, unaware of the eyes watching him from behind the tinted glass.
*
The file from Ryu Chan arrived in encrypted fragments. Gyu In clicked through each grainy still. In one of them, Eun Bin was half-turned toward the man in the cap, her lips curved in a way that did not belong inside MUTE's walls. She was saying something. In the next frame, the man's gloved hand rested lightly on her shoulder, guiding her into the shadows outside the camera's reach.
Whoever he was, he had Eun Bin's trust. That meant danger, or opportunity.
A knock sounded. Hae Won stepped inside without waiting to be invited, and Gyu In did not bother to close the video. Hae Won already knew what he was doing.
He trusted Hae Won. The man had been with him from the beginning, when he was still at his lowest. When everyone expected him to fail, including his father.
A quiet sigh came from Hae Won, something Gyu In only started hearing from him recently.
"Sir Kim, with all due respect, you are looking for trouble." Hae Won's gaze flicked to the paused frame on the monitor.
"Trouble already found me."
"That is not your job to fix."
"It is now." Gyu In did not look away from the screen.
Hae Won's voice softened, but it was the kind of softness that came from knowing the other person would not listen. "Just remember that loyalty works both ways. Others might catch wind of what you are doing."
"I know. But I am not stopping now."
When the door clicked shut, Gyu In exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on the shadowed figure on the screen. Whoever the man in the cap was, he was a variable Gyu In needed to understand soon.
*
Later that evening, the bass thumped through the floor, low and steady, a heartbeat disguised as music. Lights sliced through the haze in sharp beams, flashing over faces that blurred together in the dim.
The man in the cap leaned against the far wall, the shadows curling around him like a cloak. From where he stood, the noise felt muffled, the crowd a restless sea between him and the VIP corridor. He kept his head low, adjusting the brim of his cap just enough to block the nearest security camera.
His eyes drifted toward the staff entrance. No movement. Not yet.
He could still hear Eun Bin's voice from earlier, the quiet tremor beneath her careful smile. "It's not safe to talk here."
No kidding. The whole place reeked of eyes that saw too much and mouths that reported to the wrong people. He had been in MUTE before, enough to know the walls were not just decor.
He scanned the room again. Do Yoon Su was nowhere to be seen, but Yoo In Hwa had made a brief appearance earlier, her gaze cutting through the crowd like a polished blade. She lingered long enough for everyone to know she was watching.
He adjusted the strap of the small messenger bag slung across his chest. Inside was a packet, slim and harmless-looking, though it would be anything but harmless if it reached the right hands. Or the wrong ones.
His phone buzzed once in his pocket. A message. No name on the screen. Just a single line:
Don't come back here. It's already moving.
He exhaled quietly and slid the phone away. Moving meant someone else had stepped into the game, someone with enough weight to shift the ground under MUTE's feet.
His gaze lifted to the upper level, toward the shadowed glass where only certain guests were allowed. For a moment, he thought he saw a figure watching. Sharp suit. Broad shoulders. A face lost to the glare of the lights.
He pushed himself off the wall, the decision already made.
If the game was changing, he needed to see the board for himself.