Stirring Jealousy

When the time came, the chairman of the Domun Group—the host of the party and the birthday celebrant—made his appearance.

People began to gather around him as if a celebrity had arrived.

Jiwan watched the scene from a slight distance.

Those who needed to impress the chairman desperately tried to catch his eye and gathered there, but Jiwan had no such need.

His power didn’t come from the group, but from the guild itself, and if the distance between him and the group grew, it would be the Domun Group that would regret it.

Since Jiho wasn’t coming near him, Jiwan picked up a glass of alcohol from a tray held by another waiter and decided to wait until the crowd thinned out.

There was no point entering that chaotic crowd and exhausting himself along with the chairman.

“Are you bored?”

At that moment, someone spoke to him.

Jiwan glanced sideways to check who it was, then immediately put his mask back on.

It was none other than Chaeun, whom he had been introduced to earlier.

“Haha, not at all.”

“Hm, it looked that way to me…

Or am I wrong?”

Her tone became slightly informal, and her smiling eyes carried a clear sense of flirtation.

Having experienced such tactics many times, Jiwan clicked his tongue inwardly.

He was about to tell her to leave—

But then he was slightly surprised.

Not because of Chaeun, but because of Jiho.

Until just moments ago, Jiho hadn’t spared him a glance, yet now that Chaeun stood beside him, Jiho was staring at him intently.

‘…Well, would you look at that?’

Jiwan suppressed the corners of his lips that threatened to rise and turned his gaze away from Jiho.

One side of his cheek, facing Jiho’s direction, felt strangely ticklish.

Is he jealous?

Just moments ago, Chaeun had been nothing more than an annoying flirt.

But not anymore.

If he could draw out Jiho’s jealousy, this level of inconvenience was nothing.

“Well… maybe, sometimes?”

As Jiwan answered, Chaeun curled her lips into a smile.

Touching her red lips, she lightly grabbed Jiwan’s sleeve.

“We…”

“E-Excuse me!”

Just as Chaeun was about to continue her subtle seduction, Jiho suddenly pushed himself between them.

Chaeun’s face twisted in irritation at the interruption, and Jiho spoke.

“Th-the chairman is calling for you!”

Then he glared at Jiwan with wide eyes.

Jiwan looked at Jiho, then turned his gaze toward the chairman.

But the chairman seemed busy talking to someone else.

Jiwan immediately realized it was a lie.

Still, he didn’t want to put Jiho in an awkward position, so he gently stepped away from Chaeun.

“If the chairman is calling, I should go.”

“Ah, wait…”

Chaeun tried to say something, but Jiwan turned away without listening.

Jiho followed behind him as he headed toward the chairman.

“Excuse me…”

“….”

“…Guild Leader?”

When Jiwan didn’t respond to Jiho’s voice from behind, Jiho kept calling him, growing more anxious.

“…Do Jiwan…?

…Young master?”

“Why am I ‘young master’?”

“I-I don’t know?”

When Jiwan asked in disbelief, Jiho just rolled his eyes around, as if he didn’t know either.

After a moment of silence, Jiho spoke again.

“Are you… close with that person?”

“Who?

Min Chaeun?”

“I don’t know her name…

That woman from earlier.”

“Well… we’re quite close.”

They weren’t close at all—in fact, they had just met today.

But Jiwan lied calmly.

Jiho was startled and hesitated, as if he wanted to say something.

“…Do you have to be close with her?”

Jiwan almost burst into laughter at Jiho’s words.

Suddenly acting this cute?

Jiwan, who had always been the one to feel jealous of those around Jiho, now found himself in the opposite situation—and it was almost overwhelmingly enjoyable.

Suppressing the laughter in his voice, Jiwan asked,

“Why?

Why shouldn’t I be close with Min Chaeun?”

“That’s… because…”

Jiho fumbled, dragging his words before finally saying,

“Just… she seems like a strange person.”

After saying that, Jiho seemed to realize how odd he sounded and clamped his mouth shut.

Watching him, Jiwan bit his lip.

Jiho, receiving no answer, whined again for him not to get close to Min Chaeun, but Jiwan remained silent and continued walking toward the chairman.

When they got close enough, the chairman noticed Jiwan’s approach and turned his head.

“Oh, isn’t that Jiwan?”

“Happy birthday, Chairman.”

As Jiwan bowed slightly, the chairman’s eyes gleamed with interest.

Jiho, who had been following behind, looked around nervously before quietly slipping away somewhere.

Unlike the chairman, who seemed pleased by Jiwan’s presence, the people around him regarded Jiwan with discomfort.

It was understandable—someone they had once considered flawed and beneath them had polished himself and begun to shine so brightly that they were now overshadowed by him.

Moreover, while they tried to act close by calling him grandfather or father, Jiwan addressed him formally as “Chairman,” which irritated them.

As the relatives’ gazes grew sharper, the chairman pulled Jiwan closer to his side.

“You’re busy, yet you came all the way here.

Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Perhaps sensing the sincerity in Jiwan’s words, the relatives’ eyes sharpened even further.

Trying to divert the chairman’s attention away from Jiwan, they all began boasting about themselves.

The chairman, not oblivious, listened to each of them with a chuckle.

“Father!

There’s good news in our family.”

“Oh?

What is it?”

“You’re going to see your first great-grandchild soon.”

As he said this, one man even pushed his daughter-in-law forward.

She shyly covered her cheek as everyone’s attention turned to her.

She was the wife of Jiwan’s cousin, the first among them to get married.

Most of the others were still only engaged or newly married.

At the mention of a great-grandchild, the chairman’s face lit up.

“A child!

So there’s a member of the Do family inside?”

As his gaze fell on her still-flat stomach, she nodded shyly.

Like someone from an older generation, the chairman was delighted at the mention of a child and asked what she wanted as a gift, making her father-in-law beam with pride.

He seemed especially pleased to have taken the chairman’s attention away from Jiwan.

But that satisfaction didn’t last long.

As if remembering something, the chairman turned his attention back to Jiwan.

“Come to think of it, Jiwan, you don’t even have a fiancée yet, do you?”

As the chairman’s attention returned to square one, the relatives’ expressions stiffened.

They had never received such interest from him regarding their own engagements, so their jealousy flared.

Fully aware of their reactions, the chairman continued speaking to Jiwan.

“So, is there a suitable young lady yet?”

He spoke as if he might arrange a match immediately, making everyone glare sharply at Jiwan.

‘What a troublesome old man.’

At this rate, Jiwan felt like he’d be killed by their stares, so it was best to end this here.

“It’s fine, Chairman.

I’m not planning to marry yet.”

“Hoh, even if marriage is later, it’s good to at least be engaged.”

But the chairman was persistent.

Suppressing a dry laugh, Jiwan replied,

“No.

As someone in business, I should sell what can be sold at the highest price.”

“Hm?”

“The most valuable thing I can sell… is myself.”

Understanding his meaning, the chairman laughed with amusement.

“Rather than rushing into an engagement and selling myself cheaply, it’s better to sell myself to whoever offers the best and highest conditions.

I’m still young, and as a hunter, my life expectancy is longer than average.”

“Haha!

That’s right!

Better to sell at the highest price than cheaply!

You’re very clever.”

The chairman laughed in satisfaction.

Relieved that the topic of engagement seemed to be over, Jiwan relaxed slightly.

Then, while others began speaking to the chairman to compete for attention, Jiwan quietly slipped away from the crowd.

‘Showing my face this much should be enough.’

He had never intended to stay long.

Making a proper impression had been his only goal, and he had already achieved that.

Even so, Jiwan couldn’t leave the party.

‘That foolish Shin Jiho.’

He should’ve just waited quietly at home.

Because Jiho was tied here as staff, it was difficult for Jiwan to leave.

‘Should I just drag him out?’

As he thought that and looked at Jiho, he saw Jiho standing blankly before noticing him and starting to approach.

But just then, someone grabbed Jiho.

Jiho exchanged a few words with the person, then gave up coming toward Jiwan and followed them instead.

Watching this, Jiwan couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

‘He’s working ridiculously hard.’

Clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction, Jiwan noticed someone approaching him again.