“…I think I’m going crazy.”

Late that night, Tae finally arrived home after returning to Seoul from Busan, and the moment he stepped inside, he noticed his father sitting comfortably in the living room, watching television as though he had been waiting there for him.

Tae had left Busan after completing the party without his men, telling them to take some rest before returning to Seoul, but instead of coming straight home, he had gone somewhere else first, gotten ready, and then left again before eventually returning late at night.

Now, seeing his father still awake, Tae quietly tried to make his way toward the stairs without being noticed.

Unfortunately, Chairman Han's instincts were almost frighteningly sharp; even when someone was following him, he could often sense it without needing to turn around, and tonight was no different.

Without taking his eyes away from the television, Chairman Han calmly said, “I heard that you left Busan without your men. Do you have any explanation for that?”

Although his voice remained calm, there was a quiet authority behind it that immediately made Tae stop.

Tae lowered his gaze for a moment before answering steadily, “I had some work to take care of in Seoul, so I decided to come back first, and I told them to take some rest before returning because they've been working for two days without getting enough sleep or proper meals.”

For several seconds, Chairman Han remained silent, but then his serious expression suddenly disappeared and was replaced by his usual playful smile.

“Aww, my baby did a great job. Come here and sit down.”

Tae sighed quietly before walking toward the sofa and sitting across from his father.

Chairman Han crossed one leg over the other and looked directly at him with an amused expression before asking, “Now tell me, where did you actually go after leaving Busan?”

Tae gave him a small smile and casually answered, “I went to meet my puppy.”

For a second, Chairman Han simply stared at him before suddenly bursting into laughter.

“Hahahaha! that's what I did when I was in collage, You know, that's exactly what I used to do when I was in love with your mother. I would find every excuse possible to go see her, even when I had other things I was supposed to be doing.”

Tae blinked at his father, but before he could respond, Chairman Han's playful expression slowly faded and his attention shifted toward the more important matter.

“Tell me about the alliance. What happened after I sent you to Busan, and how did everything go with Seok Jin and the others?”

Tae quietly began explaining everything that had happened, including how the agreement had been reached and how Seok Jin had accepted the alliance between the Tigers and the White Wolf. He also explained that the leader of the Black Crow Gang had attended the gathering and had given him a visiting card.

When he finished, Tae reached into his pocket and pulled out the card before handing it to his father.

The moment Chairman Han looked down and saw the name printed on it, his eyes widened slightly.

Kim Dojin.

Then, completely unexpectedly, he broke into laughter.

Tae stared at him in confusion. “Why are you laughing?”

Chairman Han wiped the corner of his eye while still smiling and shook his head.

“That fucking bastard… Dojin was my best friend back when I was in school and college. I haven't heard his name in years, and now I suddenly see his visiting card in your hand.”

Tae blinked several times, genuinely surprised by what he had just heard.

“You and Dojin were friends?”

Chairman Han nodded.

“We weren't just friends. We were extremely close back then, and that's actually a pretty long story. Tae-ah, do you want to know how we became friends and what happened between us?”

Tae nodded, trying not to show how curious he actually was.

Chairman Han leaned back against the sofa before beginning.

“When I was in eighth grade, I got into a huge fight at school, and the situation became so serious that your grandfather decided to transfer me to another school. Because of that, I had to repeat the same year, and when I arrived at the new school, everyone eventually found out that I had been involved in a major fight at my previous school, so nobody wanted to come near me. They all kept their distance, and before long, I had become a complete loner.”

Tae remained silent, listening carefully as his father continued.

“At that school, we had tests that determined which section we would be placed in, and because I got low marks on one of those tests, they moved me from Section One to Section Four. That's how I ended up in Class 8-4, and that's where I first saw Kim Dojin. He was sitting near the window, completely ignoring everyone around him, and he had bruises all over his face. I don't even know why I did it, but for some reason, I walked over and sat in the seat beside him.”

Tae raised an eyebrow before asking, “So that's how you two became friends?”

Chairman Han immediately shook his head with a smile.

“No, that's not how it happened. Everyone thought the two of us were problematic, so nobody wanted to become friends with either of us, and honestly, we didn't particularly like each other either. We simply kept our distance and went about our own lives, but halfway through the semester, a transfer student joined our class, and the moment we saw her, both Dojin and I fell in love with her.”

Tae's eyebrows rose slightly, but he remained silent.

“At first, neither of us had the courage to tell her, and although she joined the class halfway through the semester, she quickly became friends with almost everyone except us. Eventually, we started thinking that we had to confess before graduation because once school ended, we would all go our separate ways and attend different colleges, so we both unknowingly decided to propose to her in the middle of the basketball court.”

Chairman Han paused briefly, almost amused by the memory.

“But before either of us could do anything, we found out that she was already in a relationship with our class president, so we eventually gave up. At first, we were disappointed, but after looking at each other, we ended up laughing at ourselves, and somehow, that ridiculous situation became the beginning of our friendship.”

Tae slowly exhaled.

“So you became friends because you both failed to confess to the same girl?”

Chairman Han laughed.

“Pretty much.”

Tae nodded before starting to stand.

“Then I guess”

“Wait, wait. It's not over yet. That's only half the story.”

Tae rolled his eyes but sat back down, folding his arms across his chest.

“Fine. Continue.”

Chairman Han took a sip of his drink before continuing.

“After that, Dojin and I became extremely close, and eventually, we ended up attending the same college. Our first year went smoothly, and as we became closer, we started revealing our secrets to each other. I eventually told him that I was the son of the Han Group chairman and that I was secretly the leader of the Tigers Gang, and you know what happened? He didn't even look surprised. He just laughed and told me that he was the leader of the Black Crow Gang and the son of the Kim Group chairman.”

Tae stared at his father.

“He was the Black Crow leader even back then?”

Chairman Han nodded.

“Exactly. At first, we thought that we had become friends because we had so much in common, but everything changed because of one person.”

His voice softened slightly as he looked down, remembering something from the past.

Then his familiar playful expression returned.

“When the freshmen joined college, Dojin and I were standing near the booths trying to recruit students for our clubs. Obviously, we were both members of the basketball club at the time, and that's when we saw her, we both fell in love with her all over .”

Tae listened quietly, although his mind was already filling with questions.

“We tried to recruit her into the basketball club, but she joined the English Literature club instead. Neither of us immediately told her that we had fallen for her, but this time, we were serious. We wanted her to know how we felt, so Dojin and I made a bet that if she fell in love with one of us, the other person would give up completely and never interfere with their relationship.”

Chairman Han smiled as he remembered those days.

“Because of that bet, we tried everything we could think of. We confessed to her countless times, and she rejected us just as many times. We did everything we could think of to impress her, from secret gifts and letters to countless confessions, and somehow she still rejected both of us every single time, but during all of that, we learned that she was incredibly smart. She was the top student in her class and had several Taekwondo medals, and somehow, knowing that only made us like her even more.”

After listening for a long time, Tae finally asked, “If she rejected you so many times, why didn't you give up on her?”

Chairman Han immediately burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! How could I give up on your mother?”

Tae stared at him in disbelief.

“So you actually won the bet?”

Chairman Han proudly nodded.

Tae's curiosity immediately returned.

“Then how did you get Mom to accept you after she rejected you so many times?”

Chairman Han thought for a moment before smiling.

“Well, one day, while we were playing basketball, my hair kept falling into my eyes, so I pushed it back. I had hair like yours at the time, so I tied it into a small bun, and then I wiped the sweat from my face with the tank top I was wearing. That's all it took. She suddenly fell in love with me, and believe it or not, she's actually the one who proposed to me.”

Tae stared at his father for several seconds.

“Are you seriously telling me that's the truth?”

Chairman Han laughed.

“Of course it's the truth.”

Tae shook his head before asking, “Then what happened to Dojin after Mom accepted you?”

Chairman Han's smile slowly faded.

“He eventually left the college, even though that wasn't part of our bet. He simply decided to discontinue his studies, and after that, we gradually became distant. Almost twenty years passed without me hearing his name, and then tonight, I suddenly saw it printed on that visiting card.”

He looked down at the card again, and for a brief moment, his expression became distant as old memories returned.

“I suppose seeing his name brought everything back.”

After a moment, Chairman Han looked toward Tae.

“That was the story I wanted to tell you.”

Then he quietly waved his hand.

“Now go. I want to be alone for a while.”

Tae nodded and stood up, but as he walked away, something about the story continued bothering him.

Just because Dojin had lost the bet and Ye-rin had chosen his father didn't completely explain why he would abandon college altogether, and Tae couldn't shake the feeling that there was something his father had left out.

Still, he was too exhausted to question it any further tonight. He returned to his room, took a warm shower, and eventually collapsed onto his bed.

For several moments, Tae simply stared at the ceiling while his father's dramatic story continued replaying inside his mind. Something didn't add up.

He wanted to ask his father about it, but exhaustion slowly began taking over, and eventually, his thoughts drifted away from Dojin and toward someone else.

Yun.

The memory of Yun's warmth immediately returned to him, followed by the faint, comforting scent that always seemed to linger around him.

Tae felt a strange little ache in his chest and reached for his pillow, pulling it against himself as a small smile slowly appeared on his face.

For the first time that night, his mind finally became quiet.

He closed his eyes and simply waited for morning.

Because morning meant one thing.

He would get to see Yun again.