章 2: Tired And Hungry CEO

Lee Whan was reading the same file for the tenth time, but he could not understand. He was worried for his elder brother.

The bodyguards called him and informed him about saesang fans following Lee Yong. From that minute, he lost his mind. As much as he did not want to clean up after his brother's mess and his bandmates' mess, he had to get involved in the issue.

But saesang fans were not common issues to overlook. They could seriously harm his brother and the people around him.

He did not want his elder brother to be harmed or his mother to cry and complain that he was not taking care of his elder brother. Shaking his head, Lee Whan called his elder brother again, who refused to answer the calls.

It would be a miracle only if his elder brother willingly picked up the call at this point in life. He sent another message to him, hoping the other was safe. He looked at the series of messages he had sent his elder brother, becoming more worried.

'Hyung, stay inside the car. Saesang fans are following you.' - Sent at 12:23 am

'Hyung! Never step out of the car. Your bodyguard will take care of the stalkers.' - Sent at 12:34 am

'Hyung! Please respond to the message.' - Sent at 12:39 am

'Hyung! The driver is taking a long route under my order. Do not panic or worry. You will be fine.' - Sent at 12:45 am.

'Hyung! Please let me know if you are safe.' - Sent at 1:00 am

'Hyung! The drive lost the saesang fan. Hope you did not worry about it. But the detour might take a while to bring you back to the path and reach home.' - Sent at 1:23 am

The last and most recent message was at 1:50 am. 'Text me once you reach home.'

Lee Whan was lost in thoughts as he looked at the phone, hoping his brother would respond. But the message he looked for never came. He did not know how much time passed as he stared at the chat.

He did not even realise someone knocked on the door, and when there was no response, the person walked in. The person stood in front of him and called out for him several times before he snapped out of it.

The personal secretary spoke to his boss with respect. "Sir! Your brother is safe at home. The driver confirmed it."

"Good. Thank you, Mr Koh." Lee Whan let out a sigh. He looked up, hopefully wanting to end the mess tonight itself. "What about those saesang fans?

"They ran away, sir. But we will keep an eye on first masters safety." Mr Koh kindly spoke and comforted his boss.

"Make sure to give my brother's bodyguard orders to be vigilant. Thank you! Let's call it a day. You can log in to work later in the afternoon tomorrow." Lee Whan stood up and walked away.

Mr Koh, a man in his forties, did not hesitate to bow his head to the young man in his twenties. He respects and admires the second master, his boss.

When Lee Whan took his position as a CEO, everyone undermined him, including Mr Koh. But the young man proved himself to be more capable and efficient of the year.

He bought the company's business to the next level and led many successful collaboration projects. Even after all these achievements, he still treated the employees with respect, and there was no arrogance regarding success.

Mr Koh stepped up to tidy the table to notice that everything else was in place apart from the file his boss was reading. So he walked out and locked the room.

It was already 2:30 am when he left the office. Lee Whan was tired and hungry but chose to go home. Eating out at this time would ruin his stomach. There used to be a time he could digest anything. But everything changed, and his health was a mess since he stepped up to take care of the family business.

The road was empty as it was very late. Without any hesitation, he stepped on the accelerator and sped home. Unlike his elder brother, who moved out long back, he did not have such privilege. So he was still living with his parents.

The usual 40 minutes journey was covered in less than 18 minutes. He parked the car and ran inside the house, hoping to find something to eat.

Usually, the cook would leave him dinner on the dining table, but there was no food today. Lee Whan knew his mother made dinner and not the cook.

Whenever his mother cooks, she would visit his elder brother's place with the food. In the excitement of cooking for her first son, she would sometimes forget to leave food for her second son.

It was not intentional, but sometimes shit just happens. Blaming his fate and the lack of ramen in the house, Lee Whan ventured inside the kitchen, hoping to find something.

There was only cucumber, lemon, eggs, and carrot in the refrigerator. As for drinks, there were a few water bottles and a milk bottle. He was tired and hungry, and there were few ingredients to make anything. Even if it was there, he did not feel like cooking.

Lee Whan was lactose intolerant and was not in the mood for cucumber. Obviously, lemon was out of the option anyway. So he chose to eat carrots.

He sat on the kitchen floor in front of the refrigerator open as he munched on the carrot. He did not even wash it, hoping the cook cleaned it after purchasing carrots.

Lee In-Su entered the kitchen to get some water, only to be surprised to find his second son seated on the floor munching on the carrot at the ungodly hour. "Why are you sitting down and eating a carrot?"

Lee Whan looked up when he heard his father's voice. He shrugged as he spoke. "That is the only thing available for me to eat now."

"What do you mean? Is there no food in the house?" Lee In-Su looked back at the dining table and then the refrigerator. He was flustered.