Salt Society Chapter 61

Of course, I was the one who said we should break up first. It wasn’t as if we could continue the relationship in that state. However, it was the other person who acted as if they wanted to cut ties entirely.

Cho Yeonoh felt irritated, as if the heart disease that had been quiet for several years was recurring. The face that had turned away with an expressionless look came to mind again. It was the same this time. Cho Yeonoh could never, not even once, understand the love So Kihyun spoke of.

What kind of love involves standing a step back, always prepared to pull out at any moment? Even as he thought that the bastard had been acting that way for more than a day or two, his chest felt hot, as if he had swallowed glowing embers.

So Kihyun probably thought Cho Yeonoh wasn’t feeling anything. For the past seven years, So Kihyun had always behaved like a bastard desperate to escape. Now, even he was sick of it.

“A parasite? He is a member of society who received a formal education and grew up properly. His personality isn’t shitty like mine, either. Rather, when are you going to admit that the Chairman’s grandson is the defective product?”

When he replied irritably, displeased with the topic, his grandfather threw something once more. He lightly avoided it and said, tsk, clicking his tongue.

“Get some exercise. Stop thinking only about calling young kids over to play around with your lower half. Your throwing strength isn’t what it used to be, so it’s breaking your grandson’s heart.”

“What a cursed brat…”

Perhaps lacking the strength, his grandfather finally slumped into his seat. Thinking he just needed to hold out for about five more minutes before leaving, he kept his mouth shut.

Cho Gyudeok was still huffing, his anger seemingly not yet subsided. The well-built old man had lost the vigorous energy of the old days after collapsing from shock when his eldest son, whom he cherished dearly, had an accident and fell into a vegetative state several years ago. It was an accident where he crashed into a truck changing lanes while driving drunk on the highway and fell over the guardrail.

It was thanks to Cho Gyudeok that Cho Yeonoh inherited his strong frame and dominant Alpha traits; the grandfather had also been large-boned and sturdy even in old age, but he had aged significantly in just a few years.

His uncles and Cho Yeonoh’s cousins were in high spirits. They thought that Cho Gyudeok, who had been preoccupied with mourning his lost child, would finally clear away the eldest son in critical condition and divide the company among them.

However, Cho Gyudeok sat Cho Yeonoh down as the director of Naban Gallery and then handed over the stocks of prime subsidiaries and a seat as an executive director. He had begun the process of solidifying the successor in earnest.

“How can a fellow like you have nothing better to do than sleep with a man? And a Beta at that! If you like people with something between their legs, you should have brought in an Omega boy!”

This, too, had been the same repertoire for several years. If he had to pick a preference, Cho Yeonoh actually didn’t care for people with the same equipment. Except for So Kihyun, everyone he had met had been Omega women.

Except for So Kihyun, yes… That was the problem.

“Stop right there. You could just tell those bastards talking shit to shut up, but you call a busy person here just to ramble on… It gets worse as you age, so try to make an effort to fix it. It feels like dementia, so it’s quite unpleasant—”

“Won’t you stop?!”

Shrugging his shoulders, he willingly kept his mouth shut. Since he had heard enough nagging, it seemed he could leave now. Cho Yeonoh turned to leave his grandfather’s room.

From behind his back, a chilling tone flew toward him.

“Dispose of that thing as soon as possible. I have no intention of overlooking it anymore, so behave yourself.”

I told you I was dumped, regardless of whether you overlook it or not. Intending to reply like that, he left the room without even a goodbye. He felt extremely foul.

As soon as he opened the door, Yeong-won was waiting for him with an anxious face. He glanced down at his mother and tried to walk past her, but she eventually called out to him.

“What did your grandfather say? I heard loud noises; he didn’t throw something at you again, did he?”

Even if he did, Yeong-won would not be able to protect Cho Yeonoh. She and Cho Seongheon, who were at-fault spouses to each other, both played around with Beta men. The problem lay in the fact that both she and Cho Seongheon were caught red-handed by their only son.

“Why are you inside here, Mother? Don’t you know what divorce is? What’s so good about wanting to see the Chairman’s face every day?”

Perhaps it sounded pathetic, as a small crease formed on Yeong-won’s brow. She soon let out a small sigh and asked.

“…Are you going straight to Kihyun’s apartment?”

His relationship with So Kihyun was a fact known only to the old man, who was like his grandson’s stalker. His mother, who knew nothing and only knew that her only son was soft only toward Kihyun, often used So Kihyun as a shield.

It was a fragile, base affection.

“I was kicked out. He told me never to come back.”

“Oh dear… Why did you do that? You must have provoked Kihyun’s temper again. Otherwise, why would that kind child do that?”

“I know, right.”

He agreed. Even though he was the only one who knew painfully well that the kind child could be so cold-hearted, he had let his guard down this time as well.

Thinking up to that point, Cho Yeonoh, the light in his eyes snapping out, said insincerely.

“Anyway, stop coming here. Even if you don’t grovel in front of the Chairman, everything here, down to a single baduk stone, is all mine.”

He looked down indifferently as Yeong-won’s face flushed with shame, then turned his back. Previously, he might have at least thought about comforting her, but lately, he was bothered by everything because he hadn’t been able to sleep. In the first place, he couldn’t understand why she was trying to act like a parent now, something she didn’t even do when he was a senior in high school.

However, foolish affection usually works hard without realizing that the time has passed. That must be why she persists in entering her divorced husband’s household.

In any case, Yeong-won was no longer following Cho Yeonoh. Stepping on the granite garden stones connecting the entrance and the garden, Cho Yeonoh left his grandfather’s palatial estate and caught a glimpse of Manager Yoo, who was waiting in front of the main gate. Manager Yoo, who had been waiting for him to come out with his head bowed, said as if reciting.

“I heard he moved to a villa in the center of Ilsan. It seems he hasn’t found a new job yet.”

He made a humming sound in his throat. Come to think of it, he had heard that among his aunt’s—that is, So Kihyun’s mother’s—assets, there was a villa in Ilsan.

It was unexpected that he didn’t look for work right away. So Kihyun is not the type of personality to rest for long. Perhaps deducing Cho Yeonoh’s thoughts, Manager Yoo asked.

“Should I look further into whether he is doing other work?”

“Forget it.”

If he investigated any deeper than that, it would be no different from being a stalker. Since he was already on a precarious line, he shook his head.

Cho Yeonoh found it absurd that insomnia had visited him as if it had been waiting for the past few days, yet he didn’t think of going to find Cho Yeonoh. He felt like he could hold out a bit longer.

“Are you getting any sleep?”

At Manager Yoo’s question, he just shook his head without replying. Perhaps Manager Yoo hadn’t asked the question with any expectation either, as he simply kept his mouth shut. Glancing at him, he rummaged through the cigarette pack in his pocket and asked.

“It seems you didn’t report to the Chairman; that’s unexpected?”

He thought the news that So Kihyun had left Cho Yeonoh would be delivered immediately, so it was unexpected. Manager Yoo replied with a slightly clouded complexion.

“You told me to keep watch on what is close, but you never said to look into what has moved far away.”

At those words, Cho Yeonoh smirked. He opened the cigarette pack, took out a stick, and put it in his mouth; when the other tried to thrust a lighter forward, he pulled his head back in annoyance. Knowing Cho Yeonoh’s personality—that he hated cloying behavior—Manager Yoo did not offer a second time, put the lighter away, and asked again.

“Now, what are you going to do?”

“…”

Cho Yeonoh did not answer that and lit it with his own lighter. A flame was pulled from the tip of the cigarette. He inhaled the smoke until a hollow formed in his cheek. With the filter bitten between his front teeth, he took out his phone and pressed a game app. Looking at the last access record, there had been no login record since the last time he had accessed it.

His thumb, which paused slightly, proceeded to press the participation button to complete a quest. Since the sun had set, the flashing lights from the phone screen illuminated Cho Yeonoh’s face. At the beep beep sound effect, the two men standing side by side fell silent.

Well. I don’t know. I don’t know how long I can hold out, either. Cho Yeonoh slowly moved his lips.

“If things get really bad…”

Manager Yoo seemed to be waiting for the next words, but Cho Yeonoh stopped speaking.

If things get really bad, I’ll just die like this. There was nothing to regret. He had no intention of struggling to extend things. When he pressed his thumb down firmly, the game character’s lifespan was cut by half. Even though he knew it would die immediately if left alone, he didn’t want to do anything more, so he just pressed the hold button.

The fragile light inside the phone snapped out. Holding it as it was, he scratched his temple with the corner of the phone, then stuck out his tongue and licked his lower lip.

“Where in Ilsan did you say it was?”

“…I don’t think it’s a good choice for you to go there.”

Cho Yeonoh smirked and held out his hand. It was a gesture asking for the car keys.

“Giving me advice and all. You know full well my patience is fucking shitty.”

“…”

At those words, Manager Yoo let out a sigh and handed over the car keys. Cho Yeonoh, who tossed the received keys in the air once and caught them, said as he opened the driver’s side door.

“You said there’s a vacant room in the next building. Tell them I’ll move in on a monthly rent, not a purchase. For fuck’s sake, I’m actually going to try living in a rented room.”