𝕭𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝕭𝖆𝖈𝖐 ꒐꒐ ⱽᴵᴺᶜᴱᴺᶻᴼ ᶠᶠ

ℂ𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕠 ℕ𝕠𝕧𝕖

The more Hanseo looked at the Italian man who was supposed to be his enemy, the more hooked he got on his smile. It was nice seeing the Jipuragi Team again, even amidst the high tension.

"It's funny how a mafia consigliere is playing the hero, don't you think?" Hanseok suddenly spoke.

"Not at all," Vincenzo responded. "I'm just a scum who can't stand worse-smelling scums."

Hanseo fidgeted with his fingers as the two sides argued with each other. It was quite amusing. However, he refrained from showing any expressions or opinions since his brother could interpret his words negatively. People probably expected him to say something to insult the Italian considering his past witless, irritable personality, but he never said a word until the mafioso-lawyer duo were gone.

"You won't get away with these charges so easily, Chairman Jang," Prosecutor Jung, the man working with Team Jipuragi, said.

The charges were indeed threatening. Along with the incriminating confession from the higher-ups, the situation was not going to de-escalate without intervention. A part of Hanseo really did want to see his brother arrested, even if abetting in murder was a lesser charge than the crimes he had committed. However, a part of him wanted to bet on something. If he took the blame for his brother, would his brother be grateful? Hanseo betted on a no. No, Hanseok would not be grateful. For the first time, Hanseo was actually hoping he'd lose the bet.

"Prosecutor Jung," he uttered, "my brother has nothing to do with this."

The prosecutor gave him a doubtful look.

"He's only been chairman for a few weeks. Do you think he would have been knowledgeable of all these conspiracies? I'm the one who planned this out, not him."

Again, the prosecutor did not look convinced by his reasoning. The man simply chuckled. "Look, if you think you can cover up for your brother, you're absolutely—"

"Jung!" a voice screamed. It was Chief Prosecutor Hwang. "What are you doing keeping the chairman of Babel locked up here?"

"Sir, I—"

"Let them go right now!"

"But—"

"I said now!"

Hanseo didn't miss Hanseok's smirk and Prosecutor Jung's clenched jaw as he exited the room. What a relief, he thought. It would've been bad if his actions, which he did to confirm a little bet in his head, actually resulted in him being imprisoned. Now he had to see whether he won or not.

"Little brother," the monster called out, walking up to him.

"Yes, hyung-nim?"

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Why did you act without my permission?" The monster gritted his teeth. "Did you think I'd be grateful?"

Of course not, Hanseo answered in his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it through."

"You don't think," Hanseok remarked. "Next time, shut up unless I tell you otherwise. You need to take the blame for bigger things like tax evasion and murder, got it?"

Hanseo nodded. He felt sick. Although he won the bet against himself, there was no reward. All he got was the confirmation that his brother didn't care for his life and probably had never had. Hanseo watched silently as the monster walked away. Then, he pulled out his phone to dial a number that he didn't even save in his contact. He really never thought he'd be the one to call first.