Dirty Switch

"Th-that bastard, Seo Baekhan…!"
Kang Bunam, who had been momentarily frozen in disbelief, came to his senses and jabbed a finger in Baekhan’s direction.
"A pleasure to meet you. I’m Seo Baekhan."
With a slight bow, Baekhan offered a polite greeting, but Kang Bunam only looked more satisfied, as if waiting for an excuse. He rolled up his sleeves and charged toward Baekhan, huffing.
"You followed me here on purpose, didn’t you?! Just to sabotage everything!"
"Sabotage? I’m not sure what you mean. I simply came to submit my complaint and leave quietly. Seems we happened to overlap."
At the mention of a legal complaint, reporters rushed to grab their laptops. Seeing the red light on the cameras, it was clear that major media outlets had already gone live.
"And you expect me to believe that?! You people at DH definitely sent him after me! This—this is what corporate tyranny looks like! Surveillance on civilians? Yeah, they don’t even flinch doing that kinda thing. Hey, reporters! What are you just standing around for?! Start writing! ‘DH Group's civil surveillance operation!’ You know—something like that!"
Honestly, it was a relief. Now there’d be a video record of just how disgraceful Kang Bunam truly was. If this had only been reported in articles, no one would’ve understood the full extent of his bullshit.
"Then if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."
"A complaint? A complaint, huh?! Don’t tell me Joo Taehyun told you to file it! You’re really gonna sue a family elder?! What’s that called again? Right—filial impiety! You ungrateful little punks!"
Seo Baekhan tried to step past him and head inside, but Kang Bunam blocked the entrance, stomping furiously in front of him.
Of course, with the perfect stage now set, Baekhan had absolutely no intention of backing away. He’d counted on that rude, idiotic man acting exactly like this.
"Director Seo, are you really planning to sue President Kang Bunam?"
"You came here in person just to submit a complaint? That seems like a deliberate choice."
"No, with all due respect, I honestly have no idea why President Kang is here at the office today."
With his path blocked by Kang Bunam and reporters closing in, Seo Baekhan rubbed his jaw and gave a mildly troubled look.

"You say he’s a family elder, but I’ve never met President Kang in my life. Just listening to what he’s shouting now, you can probably tell I had no intent to interfere with his visit."
Baekhan skillfully steered the situation in his favor. The reporters Kang Bunam had brought were now entirely focused on Baekhan, which left Kang visibly irritated. He sucked in a deep breath, ready to start screaming again.
And Baekhan didn’t miss his chance.
The perfect timing for a scandal had presented itself, almost too perfectly.
"I came here to file a legal complaint against His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
A hush fell over the scene.
The tapping of keyboards, the whirring of camera shutters, the frantic air of reporters hungry for a scoop—all of it evaporated into a flawless, suffocating silence.
President Kang Bunam, who had been about to scream again, began coughing instead, his face suddenly red as if something had gone down the wrong pipe.
The silence lasted longer than expected.
After all, it wasn’t just anyone—it was the Crown Prince. Public opinion might not be favorable toward him, but he was still the next emperor. No one wanted to be seen siding with a madman declaring legal war on royalty.
The cocky energy drained right out of Kang Bunam. He lowered his tail in an instant and began inching away, as if not wanting to be caught in the same frame as Seo Baekhan.
"My spouse, Joo Taehyun, has long suffered from malicious rumors. These attacks were orchestrated by the eldest son of a certain conglomerate—referred to here as 'Mr. A'. The photos Mr. A recently posted on SNS are fabricated nonsense."
Choi Yeonjun stared silently into the distance. He hadn’t expected his foul-tempered friend to sit back quietly, but even he hadn’t imagined Baekhan would pull something this explosive.
"More importantly, Mr. A is an active drug addict in dire need of treatment. Fearing exposure, he even attempted to have a known drug dealer—one of his regular suppliers—killed."
"That… If true, it’s an enormous matter, but… from what you’ve said so far, isn’t this unrelated to His Royal Highness?"
"That statement alone could constitute defamation of the royal family. Are you aware?"
A few reporters, emboldened by the earlier silence, began voicing doubts. Others joined in, murmuring and pressing with cautious questions. Seo Baekhan simply smiled and waited for the stir to die down.
"Mr. A’s father is a major sponsor and core figure of the scholarship foundation under the Crown Prince’s jurisdiction. He’s been funding it with vast sums since its inception."
"But still—!"
"The suspect who’s harassed Joo Taehyun—or should I say, the accused—has regularly attended the foundation’s events. He’s openly boasted that ‘His Royal Highness is backing me.’"
"Even so, isn’t this lacking in actual proof to accuse the Crown Prince directly?"
"Isn’t it irresponsible to hurl such accusations at His Royal Highness based solely on speculation rather than solid evidence?"
They were right. Even among those in the know, the notion that the Crown Prince was pulling the strings had only been a vague rumor. There was no direct evidence tying him to Kim Seungjun’s stunts.
And yes, the accusation was excessive.
"You’re fully aware that the complaint won’t actually be processed, given the Crown Prince’s legal immunity. Aren’t you just using Joo Taehyun’s case as an excuse to drag the Crown Prince into scandal?"
That was also true. Even with irrefutable evidence, a complaint against the Crown Prince wouldn’t go anywhere. That was one of the privileges afforded to royalty.
Which was why Baekhan had done the opposite—leveraging the Prince’s name to create a storm. He had no solid proof to take the Prince down, but he lit the fire anyway.
In any case, the Crown Prince couldn’t comment on this incident in any official capacity. The complaint wouldn’t even be accepted—so how could he respond without giving it weight?
A statement? That was unlikely too. The moment such a statement was issued, it would obligate them to address every future accusation thoroughly. The Crown Prince’s camp surely understood that.
Yes, they could retaliate with defamation or slander charges. But then they’d risk Baekhan releasing the evidence he hadn’t yet shown. That fear alone would keep them cautious.
Still, that was all speculation on Baekhan’s part. Even he couldn’t be sure how the Prince’s people would respond.
This was a gamble.
Uncertainty, impulsiveness, irrationality—he was committing a reckless act made of all the things he hated most.
But if he was going to cause a scene, it had to be at this scale.
He had just become the first person in history to publicly declare intent to file a complaint against the Crown Prince.
From now on, no one—nowhere—could treat Joo Taehyun like a piece of cheap gossip. No more careless posts followed by “Oops, never mind” as if none of it mattered.
Not only Kang Bunam’s petty games, but also every stunt Kim Seungjun had pulled would soon come to light.
Yes, that’s why he’d put his name on the line and stepped forward.
"Of course I’m aware that complaints against His Royal Highness can’t be submitted. And yes, I know I may no longer be able to keep my position as Director ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) of Jejungwon after this. But thinking about what my spouse has endured—I couldn’t stay silent."
"Wasn’t it Joo Taehyun who filed for divorce? Have the two of you decided to stay together after all?"
"One moment, Director Seo—should we interpret your earlier statement as a formal announcement of your resignation from Jejungwon?"