Survive! Gwanggong!

Gwak Seung-hyeon started the car smoothly, as if water was flowing. Gwak Seon-woo, tense and on edge, kept his eyes fixed on the driver’s seat the entire time. Whether Seung-hyeon was oblivious to the gaze from behind or simply choosing to ignore it was unclear, but he remained focused on the road ahead.

The car glided along the road as if floating. Seon-woo wasn’t a bad driver himself, but Seung-hyeon had a distinctly different feel. To exaggerate a little, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say he was better than the chauffeur who used to drive the Gwanggong’s car. Thanks to the steady driving, his sharpened nerves gradually began to settle.

Leaning back comfortably against the seat, Seon-woo recalled what the chairman had said before the gathering dispersed. While the others were tidying up, the chairman had quietly called him aside.

“Well, I figured this wasn’t something to be said in front of everyone, so I called you over.”

The way he started made Seon-woo tense up instinctively. Logically, he knew it was impossible, but a part of him still braced for the absurd possibility that the chairman would say something like, ‘Just who the hell are you, taking over my grandson’s body?’ The thought alone made his fingertips turn cold. However, the words that followed were far less dramatic than what he had feared.

“That kid. Gwak Seung-hyeon.”

“Ah… Yes.”

Seon-woo barely managed to catch himself before blurting out something foolish. Fortunately, the chairman didn’t seem to care. Wearing a slightly concerned expression, the old man’s deeply wrinkled face twisted even further.

“I can’t exactly place him in an important position, but it also doesn’t feel right to leave him idle at home… So, I sent him over to your side, thinking he might be of some use. What do you think?”

He spoke of Seung-hyeon like a burden, but it didn’t seem like he truly disliked or despised him. In fact, he even looked somewhat regretful. It was a stark contrast to Gwak Sang-cheol, who had shown nothing but blatant contempt. The unexpected reaction left Seon-woo momentarily unsure of what to make of the chairman’s thoughts.

Perhaps sensing his hesitation, the chairman continued.

“If he turns out to be completely useless, I can always send him somewhere else.”

But despite those words, he didn’t seem particularly inclined to do so. And truthfully, Seon-woo himself had no intention of sending Seung-hyeon away either. It was true that having him around kept exposing the worst of the Gwanggong’s personality, which did weigh on his conscience. But putting that aside, as a person, Gwak Seung-hyeon had left a rather good impression on him.

Just as he was about to respond carefully, a familiar sound rang out—the notification tone indicating that a set of choices had appeared.

▶ “He pulls his weight.”

▶ “He’s not completely useless.”

▶ “He’s absolutely useless, but I’ll take responsibility for him.”

“He does his part.”

Without much difficulty, Gwak Seon-woo made his choice. After a brief hesitation, he voluntarily added a few more words.

“You don’t need to worry.”

It felt like unnecessary embellishment, but fortunately, the chairman seemed satisfied. With a quiet hum, he patted Seon-woo on the shoulder before leaving first.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

The voice interrupting his thoughts belonged to Gwak Seung-hyeon. The car had stopped at a red light.

Seon-woo, startled by how casual his tone was, retraced his memories. Had he, without realizing it, already apologized and mended their relationship? That’s how natural Seung-hyeon’s voice sounded—so much so that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had clashed with Seon-woo in every possible way just yesterday and today.

Then again, all of those conflicts had been completely one-sided, with Seon-woo being the aggressor. That made this even more awkward.

What are you thinking about? That was a difficult question to answer. He couldn’t just say it outright, nor was it easy to put his thoughts into words.

It wasn’t the first time he’d ignored Seung-hyeon’s words unintentionally… Maybe one more time wouldn’t hurt.

▶”I was wondering if you even have any pride.”

▶”And what exactly do you plan to do with that information?”

▶ “You’re giving me a headache, so stop talking out of turn.”

▶ “After what you’ve been through, you still have the nerve to smile?”

As Seon-woo hesitated, the system once again presented its choices with an air of smugness. As expected, all of them were nothing but petty provocations.

Whenever dealing with Gwak Seung-hyeon, the system always seemed to insist on making him act like a bratty elementary school kid picking fights.

Still, among the given choices, the last one seemed like the best option. Maybe it was just that he’d been surrounded by so much crude language that it actually felt relatively mild.

“After what you’ve been through, you still have the nerve to smile?”

His tone was blatantly sarcastic, yet he still used formal speech. It seemed that when Gwanggong wanted to express anger, he resorted to outright informal speech, but when he needed to maintain appearances, he stuck to honorifics. To outsiders, it probably just looked like mood swings.

Gwak Seung-hyeon let out a calm, audible chuckle—not too dismissive, yet not too intimate either.

“Should I not smile?”

Seon-woo was briefly tempted to see what would happen if he actually told him not to. Instead, he leaned his head back comfortably and responded with something else entirely.

“Why did you interfere?”

It was a compromise between the sharp, cutting tone the system seemed to prefer and the bare minimum level of politeness Seon-woo considered acceptable. He didn’t offer any further explanation, but Seung-hyeon seemed to understand nonetheless.

“Was I not supposed to do that either?”

Seon-woo didn’t respond. He couldn’t scold him for something he was actually grateful for, but he also couldn’t bring himself to say, No, you did a fantastic job! either.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just that incompetent…”

Seung-hyeon, who had been maintaining a lighthearted demeanor all along, suddenly spoke in an exaggeratedly theatrical tone. He even added a small sigh for effect. Whether he was being sarcastic or just naturally smooth, Seon-woo couldn’t tell. Just moments ago, he had seemed genuinely angry, yet now he was brushing it off as if it were nothing.

“Let’s cut the pointless chatter.”

Seon-woo interrupted. Instead of answering, Seung-hyeon simply shut his mouth and returned to a neutral, businesslike expression. Then, as if he had been planning to speak all along, he continued.

“When you stepped away earlier.”

“Yes?”

“I saw Gwak Sang-cheol calling someone over.”

The way he addressed him was strikingly impersonal, as if he were referring to a complete stranger. Seon-woo glanced toward him, wondering if that was really okay, and Seung-hyeon nonchalantly corrected himself.

“My apologies, I saw Uncle calling someone over.”

“Well… call him whatever you want, I don’t really care.”

When Seon-woo trailed off, Seung-hyeon chuckled out of habit.

“Anyway, I saw him summon someone and give them instructions. Your name came up, and then suddenly, your car had a flat tire. Pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

“I figured I’d feel guilty if I overheard that and just ignored it.”

There was something ambiguous in the way he stretched out the last part of his sentence, as if leading into something else. Sure enough, he followed up with a deliberate pause before continuing.

“And…”

Seon-woo, suddenly uneasy, glanced at Seung-hyeon’s profile in the rearview mirror.

“Is something going on with you?”

His forehead furrowed instinctively in surprise. Had his reaction made it obvious that he was startled? Or did he simply look like he was annoyed?

Seung-hyeon remained unshaken as he calmly added,

“Yesterday too, and today as well…”

“You’ve just seemed… different.”

Then, through the rearview mirror, their eyes met.

Seon-woo’s heart dropped.

Different.

What exactly did that mean?

He had never considered the possibility before.

If people kept sensing that something about Gwak Seon-woo was off, what would happen then?

Seung-hyeon’s face was unreadable, but there was something sharp about his gaze, as if he had picked up on something.

There was no way he could have realized that this Gwak Seon-woo was actually a player and not the original.

But even so, the wave of panic didn’t subside.

A cold sweat ran down his back.