Chapter 93
What’s going on?
Jae-won was left with questions after his phone call with Si-yeon. He’d said he’d be back after he took a call … but had just disappeared.
Si-yeon has said Tae-jun and her were at Su-kwang Lee’s conference, a prominent figure in the world of politics without a question. Because of the upcoming election, a number of candidates were attending the meeting as were these two scions.
All of a sudden Tae-jun had stood up and excused himself on the pretext of a phone call. Since he didn’t return even after the event had drawn to a close, left with no choice at the man’s abrupt exit, Si-yeon had covered for him with a logical excuse.
How could he leave in the middle of such a vital event? What the hell’s going on?! Did something major happen at work?
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with a plausible answer for his cousin’s uncharacteristic behaviour. It was not like he understood Tae-jun completely, but he knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t cast aside important work and walk out like he had.
In the end, he simply threw up his hands and decided to tidy up the place to go home when the phone rang. It was a call from the bar manager. He checked the clock, it was nearing midnight. The bar was still open but was he thinking straight to contact an executive at this late in the night? Jae-won was bewildered as he answered the phone.
“What is it?”
“I was just about to leave.” Jae-won replied as he pushed his arm into his jacket sleeve. He was taking night shifts to work on planning for the Food and Beverage Festival next month.
The manager’s relieved voice sounded.
Hotel Seoin did not have a director, so the director, in this case, had to be his cousin, Tae-jun Seo. Why was he at such a random place?
“Is Director Seo there with you?” Jae-won asked in a trice.
According to Si-yeon, it was 5 hours since he had burst out of his seat. How long has he been drinking?
Jae-won frowned as he put on the rest of the jacket. Down at the hotel bar, the manager was waiting for him in front of the elevator.
“Where is he?” he asked walking out of the lift.
“He’s in the VIP room located all the way down the hallway.”
“Is he by himself?”
The manager nodded. “Yes, nobody came along. Not even a visitor.”
Well, if Tae-jun had anyone along with him, he wouldn’t have received a call at this time of the night.
The manager led him to the VIP room. He knocked without expecting an answer and opened the door right away. This was an action that would most definitely follow with a severe consequence, but the man inside the room was way too dazed … maybe even completely unconscious.
Not far from what he had expected to see, but Jae-won’s jaw still dropped in awe. The smell of alcohol and smoke stung his nose, as it fogged up the private room that could hold at least thirty people. And in the centre of it all was a man, with the aura of an emperor, sloshed and sprawled on the table.
“How much did he drink? He couldn’t have possibly drunk all of those on the table?”
The manager sincerely shook his head. “There should be a few more bottles on the floor.”
Jae-won nearly cussed out loud.
Is he out of his mind?!
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The dimly lit room, shrouded in cigarette haze and suffused with the stench of alcohol, looked nothing like the plush VIP room befitting the scion of Seoin Group. Right now, there was little difference between here and a lowly bar. And sprawled on the table, surrounded by god knows how many empty bottles on the table as well as the floor, the man that Korea held in awe and reverence made for a startling centrepiece.
Tae-jun had a high tolerance for alcohol. This was proudly ingrained in his blood and who better than Jae-won to vouch for it. How many times this fellow beat him and his father in a drinking battle? It would not be an exaggeration to say his cousin was the personification of the phrase ‘drink like a fish’.
Thus, it was unimaginable how much Tae-jun drank to be so out of control. It was as if he drank more alcohol than elephant water.
“How long has it been? You should’ve called me before he got THIS wasted.” Jae-won chastised the manager.
“He didn’t drink for long. An hour or two maybe. You know how the director drinks up to six hours when he’s in the mood.” The manager offered a meek explanation.
If it was so, then something must have pissed him off real hard. If he emptied all of these bottles in just two hours, he must’ve chugged the alcohol directly from the bottles. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was hard to picture. One doesn’t get pissed off because one simply wants to. Most essentially, he was a man who got everything he wanted.
Jae-won shook Tae-jun several times, then gave up and ordered the manager to get an employee to help move him to the suite. The fellow was still as a corpse the whole time he was moved into the room and on the bed.
Who would have thought there would come a day when the boss of all drinking contests would lie like this. All alone in the room, Jae-won sighed as he noticed the careless creases on the bespoke tuxedo his cousin was wearing.
“What did I do to deserve such a plight? I can’t go home, instead I’m taking clothes off of this grown-ass man!” Jae-won grumbled as he headed to Tae-jun’s closet to hang his clothes for him.
Right then, his hands holding the hanger stilled; there was a whisper from the direction of the passed out man.
Tae-jun in his limbo seemed to have called out a name.
Huh? Did I hear that correctly?