Chapter 3 : Burying the Truth

“Haa, haa.” 

Having grasped the situation, Jungwoo collapsed onto the floor. 

With trembling hands, he barely managed to pull his smartphone from his pocket. 

After a few fumbles, he made a call somewhere. 

“Help… help me… I-I think I messed up big time.” 

After ending the call, Jungwoo crouched beside the now-cold body of Jaehyun, hugging himself and muttering. 

“This was an accident. An accident. I was drunk. It was an impulsive accident that happened in a state of mental and physical weakness… Ugh, agh!” 

Feeling as if someone was watching him, he looked up to see Jaehyun’s dog, Hyunjae, staring at him through the glass door of the balcony. 

“Woof! Woof!” 

As if sensing something had happened to its owner, the dog barked even more frantically than before. 

However, because Jaehyun had closed all the windows tightly for soundproofing, no sound reached the outside. 

The dog scratched at the glass door, its breath fogging up the window, but it couldn’t get past the firmly shut barrier. 

“How the hell is that mutt out there?” 

Jungwoo was startled to see the dog, which should have been inside, out on the balcony, but since it was just a dog, he didn’t care too much. 

Not long after, the person Jungwoo had called arrived at Jaehyun’s house. 

“Th-this is…” 

The person who arrived was Taehwan, the CEO of the agency representing both Jaehyun and Jungwoo. 

Seeing Jaehyun collapsed on the floor, Taehwan’s face hardened, and he stammered. 

“Uncle! Please, save me. It was really an accident…” 

“You’re insane! An accident? You think this can be brushed off as an accident?!” 

Taehwan knew Jungwoo had been borrowing money lately due to a gambling addiction, but this was on a whole different level. 

Sighing deeply and clutching his forehead, Taehwan spoke. 

“This guy had dramas and commercials lined up!” 

The money Jaehyun had earned and was expected to earn was substantial. 

If Jungwoo weren’t his nephew, Taehwan would have wanted to strangle him on the spot. 

“I know, I know! But what can I do when it’s already happened… Please, just let it slide this once.” 

“Haa—I’m not some god. How am I supposed to clean this up?!” 

“Uncle, please, just this once! I swear I’ll do whatever you say from now on.” 

Jungwoo crawled on his knees, clutching Taehwan’s pant leg and begging. 

“He doesn’t even have a family. The only guardian is you, uncle. Can’t we figure something out?” 

“Hah! You think it’s that simple because he has no family? He’s a celebrity! A guy who was perfectly fine until yesterday dies suddenly, and you think there won’t be an autopsy? An investigation?” 

“He… he did drugs!” 

“What?” 

At the mention of drugs, Taehwan’s expression changed. 

“I-I forced him to take them, but he did drugs. So, if we push it in that direction, maybe it’ll work out?” 

Taehwan’s mind raced. 

If they framed it as Jaehyun dying from drugs, all the penalties for breached contracts could be pinned on him, and the agency wouldn’t lose anything. 

Since they couldn’t bring a dead person back, minimizing their losses was the best course of action. 

“Ha… no one saw, right?” 

“Saw?” 

Jungwoo’s gaze briefly shifted to Hyunjae, and Taehwan’s followed. 

“Get a grip! What’s a damn dog gonna know?” 

“No one! No one saw!” 

“Alright, I’ll handle the cleanup.” 

“Uncle, thank you so much!” 

Jungwoo grabbed Taehwan’s hand like it was a lifeline, repeatedly expressing his gratitude. 

“But from now on, you do exactly what I say.” 

“Yes, yes! Of course!” 

Even setting aside the fact that Jungwoo was his nephew, he wasn’t a bad asset. 

He had decent looks, and while he wasn’t a great actor, he wasn’t bad enough to be criticized for it either. 

If not for his lack of diligence and peculiar personality, he could have made it big. 

“Listen carefully. Jung Jaehyun collapsed from doing drugs, and the injury on his head was from an impulsive accident during a minor argument.” 

“Okay, okay.” 

“You’ll probably have to face an investigation too. But since the focus will be on the drugs, don’t worry too much.” 

With 20 years in the entertainment industry, Taehwan knew exactly how the public would react. 

People would feel betrayed learning that the upright Jung Jaehyun was a drug addict, and they’d obsess over every word and action from his past, tearing him apart. 

“Got it, uncle.” 

“Damn, what a waste. If you weren’t my nephew, you’d be dead.” 

“I’ll never forget this, uncle. Never!” 

Tap tap tap—Woof! Woof! 

Hyunjae, jumping frantically on the balcony, caught their attention again. 

“That mutt’s got some instincts, huh? Not that it matters since it can’t talk.” 

“Oh, hold on.” 

At the mention of Hyunjae, Jungwoo grabbed two scripts that belonged to Jaehyun. 

“Why are you taking those?” 

“I’m gonna use them.” 

Woof! Woof! 

My owner was lying on the floor, bleeding from his head. 

Another man came in, they talked, and soon after, a bunch of people rushed in. 

They took my owner away somewhere, and I haven’t seen him since. 

He was bleeding a lot. Is he badly hurt? I should’ve chased that guy out back then. 

I regretted not biting that man and driving him away. 

I don’t know how much time passed, but the spot where Jaehyun had collapsed was cleaned up, and I was still at home, waiting for my owner to return. 

“Ugh, what a mess.” 

Strangers kept coming and going until a familiar face finally showed up. 

It was the man who was always with my owner, called the manager. 

I was sure he’d know something about my owner, so I ran to him as soon as he arrived. 

Woof! Woof! 

Come on, tell me! Is my owner badly hurt?

Is he in pain? 

I wanted to bark louder, but I was weak from not eating for a while. 

The man, startled by my sudden approach, started petting my back. 

“Right! This guy was here.” 

Woof! Woof! 

Where’s my owner?

When’s he coming back? 

“You must be sad too, huh?” 

The manager kept saying useless things instead of talking about my owner. 

Stop with the nonsense and tell me where my owner is! 

“How am I supposed to believe hyung was doing drugs? I don’t even believe it myself. Right?” 

Drugs?

What are drugs?

What’s he talking about? 

Just like he couldn’t understand me, I couldn’t understand him either. 

“Hyung got screwed over, didn’t he? Tsk. What do we do with you? There’s nowhere to take you.” 

Why screwed over?

Huh? 

“Hold on.” 

The manager made a phone call. 

“I’m here to clean up, but what do we do with this dog? Huh? …No, I can’t take it.” 

It sounded like he was talking about me since he used the word “dog.” 

Hoping it might be my owner on the other end, I focused on the call. 

Stop calling about useless stuff. 

But it was a stranger’s voice, not my owner’s. 

Realizing this, I curled up in place to save my energy. 

When my owner comes back, I’m gonna demand 100 treats. 

“Hey, Hyunjae~ Come here.” 

The manager, done with his call, called out to me. 

No way. 

Sometimes I’d go with him when he took me for walks instead of my owner, but I wasn’t in the mood now. 

“Haven’t gone for a walk in a while, huh? Wanna go for a walk?” 

As expected, when I ignored him, he tried to lure me with a walk. 

Hmph, I’m not the kind of dog who falls for that easily. 

I could see right through his sneaky smile. 

“Let’s go get some treats and take a walk. Walk!” 

You think I’m an idiot?

You’re not taking me for a walk! 

He didn’t even grab my leash bag—how’s that a walk? 

“Come on, let’s go.” 

I sat by the window, ignoring him. 

“When he’s mad, he stares at the wall and pretends not to hear, just like his owner.” 

At the mention of my owner, my ears perked up instinctively. 

Noticing my reaction, the manager brought up my owner again. 

“Wanna go see hyung?” 

“Let’s go to hyung. He says he misses you~ That’s why I came to get you.” 

I didn’t fully trust him, but what if my owner was really hurt and couldn’t come? 

“Alright, there you go.” 

As I slowly got up, the manager greeted me with a bright smile. 

“Let’s go see hyung~” 

He took me to a small car—not the big black one we usually rode in—and drove. 

When the tall buildings disappeared and green scenery appeared, he stopped the car. 

Where is this? 

“Here we are! Let’s get out.” 

He opened the back door and let me out. 

“Poor guy. Live well.” 

He patted my head twice, got back in the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove off without looking back. 

Woof! Woof! 

I chased after him, barking, but the car sped away. 

I knew it. 

I’d sensed something was off when the green scenery appeared, but it was too late. 

As a dog, I knew I couldn’t stop what a human was set on doing, so I went along with it. 

But isn’t he the idiot? 

I remembered going to a place called a hospital with my owner before. 

It was never a fun place—always painful—but that day was no exception. 

“Hyunjae~ It’ll sting just a bit. Sting—” 

I got ten treats for enduring it that day. 

“Good job! Now even if hyung loses you, he can find you quickly. Good boy, good boy.” 

I was too focused on the treats to pay attention, but I clearly remembered my owner saying he could always find me. 

Let’s go. 

I wasn’t afraid of this situation because I knew my owner would be looking for me. 

Maybe I’d find him first. 

I walked and walked toward a place with people and buildings, looking for a sign with one horizontal and one vertical line crossed. 

While resting for a moment, someone noticed me. 

“Oh my, what’s a dog doing here without a leash? Sweetie, where’s your owner?” 

I whimpered and looked at her with my saddest expression as she crouched down to meet my eyes. 

“Looks like someone’s dog got lost.” 

Yeah, yeah! Take me to the hospital, please! 

I rubbed my face against her hand, acting cute, and she picked me up without hesitation. 

“Look at this cutie, so full of charm! Let’s go find your mom or dad.” 

Thanks to her help, I safely arrived at a place called a hospital, but there was no sign of anyone. 

“Oh, no one’s here. Oh! There’s a phone number. Hang on, I’ll make a call.” 

She gently set me down in front of the hospital and rummaged through her bag before heading off somewhere. 

Haa—I made it. 

After walking for three days and nights, I had no strength left. 

I’ll see my owner soon, right?

I miss him. 

As the tension and strength left my body, my eyes closed on their own. 

“Hey, excuse me—” 

I heard her voice, but I was too exhausted to open my eyes. 

I’m tired. Can’t you just carry me inside? 

“Excuse me—” 

Why’s she suddenly calling me so formally when she was calling me “sweetie” before? 

When I opened my eyes, the woman who brought me was staring down at me with wide eyes. 

What’s wrong? 

I tilted my head, asking what was up, and she, flustered, stared at me before speaking. 

“Have you seen a dog around here?” 

I’m right here. 

“A pretty dog with brown fur, about this size. Haven’t seen it?” 

What’s she talking about when I’m right in front of her? 

I raised my paw to let her know I was here, and that’s when I realized something was wrong.