I Bought the Male Lead with Money

27.

The reason for his surprise was obvious. It was a question the original Yu Jin would never have asked. But he had to ask anyway. You need to know what you have in order to use it.

Thanks to the well-organized merchant guild documents, Yu Jin was able to understand what the guild’s main business was and what they were doing. But Yu Jin’s wealth probably wasn’t limited to just the profits from the guild.

He wanted to know about the maintenance allowance from the family, separate land and buildings he owned, and the income from those as well. After thoroughly investigating, Yu Jin discovered that he was even wealthier than he had thought.

‘This is a lot for a discarded youngest son.’

Most of it had originally belonged to his mother, but it was impressive that it had been handed over intact. Well, his father was the type to do anything his mother said. With this much, it seemed he could start moving properly.

“Next, I’d like to see the child Jinhyeon brought.”

Keith, who had been looking anxious throughout the asset list review, finally spoke up.

“Can I know what you’re trying to do?”

“It’s simple. I’m going to take control of the back alleys.”

“The back alleys? Do you know what kind of people live there?”

“I do.”

“No, just knowing isn’t enough.”

Keith put his hand on his forehead.

“The people living there are broken. They have nothing and will do anything to survive. They’ll kill for a loaf of bread. And you want to take control of that place?”

The back alleys are a lawless zone. Although factions have formed, they’re based on violence, so people don’t care for each other. The state doesn’t intervene because they don’t feel the need to.

Even if they decide to intervene later when the situation escalates, it’s unlikely to be in a positive direction. The state will probably decide to push out the back alleys and drive out the people living there.

So they needed to act before that happened. Like Jinhyeon in the novel.

“No. Do something else instead.”

Yu Jin stared at Keith.

“No matter how you look at me, it’s still no. It’s really dangerous there. There are even people who would harm nobles for their goals.”

Sometimes desperation makes life seem cheap. And nobles often used such people.

“Besides, what if the other madams find out about this?”

They’d probably try to kill Yu Jin. They already didn’t like him much. The reason they had left Yu Jin alone so far was because his father was still alive and Yu Jin was a useless person.

“But Keith, it’ll be the same even after father passes away. They’ll all try to kill me anyway.”

While also swallowing up his assets.

“Am I wrong?”

Keith closed his eyes tightly.

“Is all of this your own thinking?”

As expected, Keith seemed to suspect Jinhyeon. But Yu Jin didn’t intend to outright deny his suspicion. That would be even stranger.

“I got some help. But in the end, I made the decision.”

“Alright. Then convince me. What changes if you take control of the back alleys?”

Keith didn’t seem willing to help readily. It was natural since Yu Jin hadn’t shown much so far. Who would hand a dangerous tool to someone who knows nothing?

Yu Jin took a deep breath.

Now, let’s try to convince Keith. Afterward, he would have to deal with Haruna too. So he needed to be careful.

Jinhyeon, who had been standing at the wall adjoining Yu Jin’s bedroom, turned away. He had been at the training ground when he saw Keith passing by the mansion window. Judging by the direction, it seemed he was heading to Yu Jin, so Jinhyeon immediately ended his training and followed.

Noble rooms are designed to prevent sound from leaking out, but Jinhyeon could eavesdrop on the sounds inside the room. Conversely, if Keith concentrated, he might notice Jinhyeon outside, so Jinhyeon suppressed his presence as much as possible and stuck to the wall.

At first, a maid came in and out a few times. Then the meal followed.

‘Isn’t his attitude too different?’

Yu Jin had cursed at Jinhyeon but was kind to Keith. Listening to this made Jinhyeon’s mischievous side grow. He wasn’t usually this childish. Yu Jin had a way of provoking people’s emotions. But Jinhyeon decided to enjoy it rather than avoid it.

‘How should I torment him?’

He could use Yu Jin’s body that’s weak to pleasure, or deliberately cling to him to ruin his relationship with Keith. Many methods came to mind.

If he persistently tormented Yu Jin, those pretty blue eyes would probably fill with tears and whimper. He might even spew curses like during sex.

Suddenly, he remembered one of the guys he used to know who had a strange taste.

‘I wish a pretty older sister would hurl insults at me during sex. Calling me a bastard or a crazy guy would be good. Or even calling me a fucking bastard would be nice.’

Friends had jeered at his excessively detailed and perverse words. Jinhyeon didn’t jeer like them but looked at the guy with contempt. He thought there were all sorts of weird people out there.

‘It wasn’t bad.’

When Yu Jin cursed with his half-hoarse voice, it made Jinhyeon’s lower body tense up.

“You crazy bastard!”

Yu Jin was terrified, but Jinhyeon pushed his re-hardened member into the swollen opening. At first, the tight hole became sloppy and clung to him so nicely that he acted like someone having sex for the first time in decades. It would be a shame to end this with just one round.

You should get tired of sex like that, but instead, the more he did it, the more thirsty he became. Yu Jin seemed like a person born just for Jinhyeon. Although Yu Jin would absolutely deny that.

While thinking these thoughts, inside the room, the meal ended and they began to have a serious conversation. Yu Jin calmly persuaded Keith, who was opposing. Jinhyeon closed his eyes while listening to Yu Jin’s voice.

Yu Jin accurately understood his current position in the Lucid family. And based on that, he managed to persuade Keith. The conversation was nearing its end, and it wasn’t difficult to predict Yu Jin’s next move. Since Haruna wasn’t at the mansion right now, he would probably call San to hear his thoughts. He might even call Jinhyeon along.

Jinhyeon thought it might be time to move and detached himself from the wall. At that moment, Yu Jin raised his voice.

“Oh right. The injury!”

Then an argument broke out between Yu Jin and Keith.

The general conversation wrapped up quickly. The rest of the discussion had to be done with Haruna anyway, so they decided to postpone it a bit. Now it was time to examine Keith’s injury. However, Keith kept slipping away from questions about his injury like a loach. Because of this, Yu Jin, whose temper had been boiling, finally raised his weak body and grabbed Keith’s hand.

Keith tried to pull his hand away, but he couldn’t move for fear that Yu Jin might fall due to his unstable posture.

“You can’t run away now, can you?”

Yu Jin said triumphantly.

“Now tell me. What were you really doing when you got hurt?”

“It’s nothing. Didn’t you say we need to meet San? I’ll bring him.”

Keith tried to change the subject again. Of course, Yu Jin’s voice rose as he blocked him.

“No, it’s okay. We can see San later.”

Yu Jin, to prevent Keith from pulling his hand away, hugged him tightly. Keith was in a difficult position, unable to push Yu Jin away.

“Tell me where you got hurt.”

As Yu Jin looked at him stubbornly, Keith lowered his eyes slightly. He seemed unwilling to speak, but Yu Jin had no intention of backing down. He sensed something ominous in Keith’s attitude.

“I won’t let go until you tell me.”

At those words, Keith smiled lightly.

“I actually prefer that.”

Would he really say it’s fine to be held all day? Yu Jin’s eyes narrowed. Keith’s smile gradually faded until all traces of it disappeared from his face. It seemed the last bit of hesitation had vanished along with it.

Keith opened his mouth obediently.

“I bit myself.”

At first, Yu Jin didn’t understand the meaning of those words. As he blinked blankly, Keith elaborated.

“I was anxious and felt like I was going crazy, so I bit myself, and it left wounds. It hurt at first, but later it started to feel refreshing. My mind felt more at ease too.”

At Keith’s confession, Yu Jin gritted his teeth.

‘This is my fault, isn’t it?’

He had been too insensitive. If he had paid more attention, Keith wouldn’t have resorted to self-harm. Yu Jin relaxed his body that was hugging Keith. He didn’t know what to say to him.

‘Should I apologize?’

If he apologized right away, Yu Jin might feel better. But what about Keith? Thinking of him, Yu Jin couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Seeing Yu Jin like this, this time Keith hugged him.

“I’m okay. I told you I’m fine being second to you. Just look at me from time to time, that’s all.”

He couldn’t believe how kind a person could be. His conscience stung with guilt. How insensitive had he been to someone who was like family to him?