When Hyunwoo said that, Mingyu looked at him with a stunned expression.

Hyunwoo continued,

“You don’t have to feel sad. The research material you handed over to Singyoung was fake. It’s only natural that you didn’t get the money.”

Mingyu’s eyes opened wide not because the material was fake nor he didn’t receive the money.

He asked in a trembling voice, “Did you know that already?”

“Of course, I knew it from the start.”

“How did you know?”

In fact, it was impossible for Hyunwoo not to know it, given Mingyu’s typical behavioral pattern.

Mingyu was a passive child. The main reason was he couldn’t mingle with his friends as he was so weak, but he was of a passive disposition.

As a result, Mingyu didn’t like going out to play. Even though his close friends encouraged him to play outside, he refused.

In particular, Mingyu hated going out in the dark. Nobody had ever seen him going out in the evening.

But he began to go out alone in the evening some time ago.

Of course, Hyunwoo could not doubt him just because of that.

Nonetheless, Hyunwoo had some reason to be suspicious of his behavior.

It was because of Namsik Cho.

Namsik was so timid and passive, even more so than Mingyu.

One day Namsik got up his nerve and told Hyunwoo about Mingyu’s strange behavior.

“Mingyu is strange these days.”

“What do you mean?”

“He often peeks in Dr. Duyoung’s lab.”

Hyunwoo could have ignored it if somebody else told him that.

But he could not because Namsik said that. Namsik must have gathered a lot of courage to do so.

So, Hyunwoo asked Namsik to keep an eye on Mingyu a little more.

“I know it’s bad to tell you on someone, but I think I have to tell you this…”

After that, Hyunwoo watched Mingyu carefully. And he shadowed Mingyu when he secretly went out.

And he confirmed the scene of his meeting with Insan Park, a former colleague of Duyoung.

Hyunwoo tracked down Insan and confirmed that he was approaching Mingyu at the instigation of Singyoung.

Hyunwoo was enraged at Insan and Mingyu.

In particular, he felt betrayed by Mingyu. How many favors had Hyunwoo given him so far?

But he could understand Mingyu’s position because of his father Byungwon’s sickness.

Hyunwoo wanted to know about the real reason for his betrayal.

“Why did you do it?”

Mingyu could not reply easily. At Hyunwoo’s repeated asking, he opened his mouth.

“It was because of my father’s hospital bills…”

It was as Hyunwoo expected.

Like his son, Byungwoo was physically very weak.

In particular, his health got worse since he was scouted by Design Room. He spent his time and energy on research because of the heavy pressure on his performance, which led him to get sick.

He developed complications, in addition to existing diabetes. His condition was so severe that his primary doctor could not be sure of his life.

But Byungwon kept his condition a secret from his son.

But there was no eternal secret. As Byungwon’s hospitalization lasted longer, Mingyu got wind of it and checked with the nurse about his father’s exact condition.

Mingyu also confirmed that his father’s hospital bills were snowballing, so he began to worry.

But Mingyu didn’t need to worry because Hyunwoo paid his father’s bills from the beginning.

Of course, Mingyu didn’t know that because Hyunwoo kept it secret.

Looking back, Hyunwoo felt it was his mistake. If he had told Mingyu about it frankly, Mingyu would not have coveted money.

Hyunwoo let out a sigh and said, “Sorry, Mingyu. I wish I had not led you on from the start. It’s my mistake that I thought you’re just immature.”

And then Hyunwoo told Mingyu about everything about his father’s hospital bills and his exact physical condition.

After he heard Hyunwoo’s explanation, Mingyu had a stunned look and said, “Really? You paid my father’s hospital bills?”

“Oh, let me say I lent the money to him rather than paid his bills. You can pay it later when you make a success.”

Mingyu didn’t say anything, just looking at Hyunwoo as his jaw dropped.

“Boohoo. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that…”

“I’m sorry, too. I used you against my will.”

Shortly after he confirmed that Mingyu met Insal secretly, Hyunwoo found out Insan’s ties with Singyoung.

And Hyunwoo agonized over his next move.

He concluded that he should use Mingyu and Insan for his own purpose.

Of course, he had another option. It was for him to tell Mingyu frankly about what he knew so that Mingyu could change his mind as soon as possible.

But it was too late for Hyunwoo to do so. Mingyu received more than 5 million won from Insan on several occasions, which made Mingyu determined to cooperate with Insan.

Another problem was that Singyoung would not give up even without Mingyu and would continue to search for a second or third mole.

Given that situation, Hyunwoo felt it would be better to monitor Mingyu and use him.

That’s why Hyunwoo intentionally exposed Duyoung’s wrong research files and experiment notes on green oil so that Mingyu could steal and convey them to Singyong.

By now Singyong must have found out that the stolen files and material were fake. It’s natural that they didn’t pay Mingyu.

Mingyu quietly listened to Hyunwoo’s explanation, lowering his head.

“I’m so sorry, sir.”

“You should. And you should be responsible for your act as a man. If you really repent it, you should take responsibility instead of running away.”

Mingyu nodded his head feebly.

“Yes, I’m ready to receive any punishment.”

“Just behave yourself and wait. Let me check what others think about you. You have to accept whatever they decide on you.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

“They received the material a long time ago. Why don’t I have any updates? What the hell is the development team doing now?” Munsik shouted at the manager of the team.

The manager nervously reported,

“The whole members of the development team have been working on it night and day for almost one month, but they repeatedly failed to get the tangible outcomes. It looks like the material we received has some problems.”

“Problems? Are you saying they are fake?”

Munsik raised his voice higher. It looked like he was going to throw it at him if he got his hands on anything.

“That’s the judgment of our team. I suspect we were deceived.”

At that moment, Munsik cast a glance at the manager of the intelligence team.

With a surprised look he retorted, “I don’t think so. I took the material directly from the student who was an assistant for Duyoung Jang.”

“If that’s the case, do you think it’s because our team is so incompetent?” The manager of the development team demanded, looking at the manager of the intelligence team.

“Well, I’m confident the material has no problem,” replied the intel manager.

“Why do we keep failing in the experiments if there is nothing wrong with the material?”

The two managers were arguing with each other, raising their voices.

But Munsik picked up pens in front of him and threw them at both.

“What the heck are you doing now?”

Both managers suddenly became silent.

Munsik glared at them fiercely and then asked the manager of the development team.

“Are you sure the material has problems?”

“Yes, we tested based on the material. But the values of gasoline we got were wrong. You know how competent our team is, don’t you? We have no other choice but to think the material is defective.”

Then Munsik picked a pen again and threw it at the intel manager.

“How foolish you are, dunce! How can you put on airs before me when you brought me fake material? Do you think you are qualified for your job?”

“The material can’t be wrong…”

But Munsik got angry at him again and warned, “Let me give you three months from now. Get me the genuine material by all means. If you fail this time again, you should be ready to be fired. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

***

In the conference room of Haenim School, eight students gathered around a table. They were assistants for Duyoung. Of course, Duyoung, Hyunwoo, and Mingyu were in the room.

Everybody fixed their eyes on Mingyu, who lowered his head.

After briefing them about the situation, Hyunwoo asked for their opinion.

“What do you think we have to do about Mingyu’s harmful act? Present your own opinion,” said Hyunwoo.

But the students could not reply easily.

Silence prevailed for a while.

Then Hyunwoo named them one by one and asked, “Okay, guys. Please take turns expressing your opinion. Can you start off, Namsik?”

Namsik was the most timid and shy student at the school. That’s why he couldn’t get accustomed to a normal school and moved to Haenim School.

And it was Namsik who told Hyunwoo about Mingyu’s suspicious act.

When he was called by Hyunwoo, he showed a big surprise. His friends there expected he would just remain silent.

But he broke silence unexpectedly.

After showing some hesitancy, he looked at Mingyu and said in a calm voice. Though he spoke slowly and his voice was feeble, he clearly presented his own opinion.