"What about Zahn Neri?" Zoren asked.
Saeki paused before suddenly laughing as he swiped through his phone.
"Stone Face has changed a lot. He got drunk at Big Bro's villa and was laughing and crying at the same time."
They watched the video Saeki played, and they were left speechless.
"He's really serious about chasing his ex-wife, huh?" Daniel commented.
"Well, it's his fault for realizing his feelings too late," Allen added.
"Are you any better? You only realized what kind of woman Calin was after she almost killed you in that car accident," Tristan jested.
Allen "..."
Since Tristan had spoken, their attention naturally shifted to him.
Zoren quickly asked, "When did you slip up? Who's your son's mother?"
"That's what I've been wanting to know, but he won't tell me either," Saeki said indignantly. "Don't you trust us?"
"No," Tristan said without blinking.
"Is she someone we know? It's not like we don't know your past girlfriends," Daniel pointed out.
"Wait, you really don't trust us? What about me?" Saeki exclaimed, clearly hung up on Tristan's answer.
"You're the one I trust the least, so shut up," Tristan said as he put his phone on airplane mode. It had been vibrating nonstop.
Saeki looked as though he had just experienced the greatest betrayal of his life, but everyone ignored him.
Zoren chuckled when he noticed Tristan's gesture. "Well, well. It seems the balance in your girlfriend circle has finally shattered. Are they all eager to know who dared break the equilibrium and have a child with you?"
Tristan said nothing.
Just hours ago, when Xati's existence had been publicly exposed, his phone had been ringing incessantly.
Accusations, confrontations, and demands from his current girlfriend and even some of his former ones had flooded in. Those who had once accepted their relationships as "no strings attached" had suddenly thrown all their reservations out the window and were now coming after him for answers.
"Who wouldn't feel threatened?" Saeki said, nodding confidently at his own theory. "These women probably thought it was fine for Tristan to have other women because he wasn't supposed to belong to anyone or to one woman alone. But then someone got ahead of them and had his child, and now they feel betrayed."
"You're really smart when you're not needed, aren't you?" Tristan said dryly.
Saeki completely missed the sarcasm and puffed out his chest proudly. "Of course! I'm the Prince of Entertainment!"
Despite their curiosity, they couldn't get Tristan to reveal who Xati's mother was.
Just then, the door opened, and Shin Keir walked in.
"Whoa! Who lied to you about the agenda of this gathering?" Allen blurted out.
After all, it was rare to get Shin to hang out unless there was business involved.
Before the others could say anything, Yeri peeked out from behind Shin and greeted them.
"I hope you don't mind me tagging along."
"Not at all," Saeki said excitedly. "We were just discussing Tristan's son, Xati."
Yeri, who had just sat down, immediately paused.
"Don't poke your nose into matters that don't concern you," Shin said.
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone except Saeki, who apparently hadn't yet learned that once Shin Keir spoke, further questioning was generally considered a terrible survival strategy.
"Why not? We're all friends here. Sharing information helps us put our heads together," Saeki reasoned.
Zoren and Allen exchanged glances before quickly shifting the conversation toward the case. They both knew that indulging Saeki's nonsense would only drag them into trouble.
Daniel was the first to speak.
"Shin, I appreciate you not including me in the case."
"Yeah, the ongoing case must've been exhausting, right?" Allen followed. "Anyway, thanks for knocking some sense into me."
Yeri looked between them, completely confused.
Shin understood what they meant but couldn't be bothered to comment. He hadn't done it for either of them. Daniel's footage had simply been part of the evidence, and Allen's realization was his own business.
"I've had enough of hearing about the case all day. Don't you have anything else to talk about?" he replied.
"Right! I'm in a good mood today, and this case earned me a lot of money in just one day!" Saeki said, rubbing his hands together with a grin as he looked at Yeri.
Since Yeri was now signed under his agency, the case being the most followed and discussed topic at the moment naturally meant increased earnings from the traffic on Yeri's social media accounts.
"Sister-in-law, you're about to earn your millions after graduating," Saeki continued cheerfully.
Naturally, Yeri wasn't about to turn down easy money as she also smiled excitedly.
It turned out this case had some good sides after all. Suddenly, she no longer felt quite so exhausted.
"Send me her contract. I want to check whether it's fair," Shin said, narrowing his eyes.
Saeki immediately jumped up, looking wounded.
"What do you mean, Big Bro? Do you think I'm being unfair to Sister-in-law? Don't you trust me?"
"No. In business, you trust the contract."
Saeki clutched his chest as though he'd been physically wounded. This was the second time tonight someone had told him they didn't trust him.
Just as he was about to launch into another dramatic performance, the door opened again.
A woman stepped inside.
She wore a professional smile as she walked toward Tristan and gestured for Saeki to move over.
Others "..."
"What are you doing here?" Tristan asked, frowning.
The woman simply linked her arm around his and began chatting nonchalantly, as though showing up at a private gathering uninvited was perfectly normal.
"It's been a while," she said casually.
Listening to their conversation, Yeri quickly figured out that she was Tristan's current girlfriend.
It was also the first time Yeri had ever met one of Tristan's girlfriends.
The woman had the aura of a powerful female CEO, confident and intimidating without needing to raise her voice.
Somehow, it aligned perfectly with Tristan's apparent type: mature, sophisticated, and business-oriented.
When their drinks arrived, Yeri felt parched and immediately took a sip of her piña colada.
Shin took one long look at the drink and immediately recognized the smell of rum.
"You ordered alcohol?"
"The last time I had one was ages ago. Why can't I have one?" Yeri pouted. "Besides, aren't you here to look after me?"
Shin "..."
Given how exhausting the hearing had been all day, and considering that he was indeed there to look after her, he eventually stopped objecting.
"Fine. But it's not good to drink on an empty stomach. You should eat something too."
He picked up the tablet menu and carefully browsed the food section.
"Oh, this looks tasty. Add that too." Yeri pointed at the tequila sunrise.
Shin looked at her as though she had been restrained from drinking for too long and had finally decided to make up for lost time in one evening.
"What?" Yeri asked innocently. "I have lots of money. I can buy myself another drink if you don't want to."
Shin "..."
He considered arguing, but instead sighed and let her do whatever she wanted.
An hour later, Zoren and Daniel were already drunk, singing and laughing as though they had forgotten how dignity worked.
Allen and Saeki, however, were still perfectly fine thanks to their high alcohol tolerance.
"Listen up!" Daniel suddenly announced, raising his glass. "Our friendship has been forged over many years, and no matter what happens, you guys are the ones I love the most."
"Agreed," Zoren said, swaying slightly as he lifted his glass. "After this, we might not be able to hang out as often anymore. Allen and Shin are getting married this year... Tristan now has a son, and maybe he'll have a wife in the future too..."
"Then you should get married too and shut up. You're both too loud," Allen said.
Saeki, although nowhere near drunk, was as lively as ever.
"Nonsense! As long as I'm here, I can always arrange for us to gather together! I know you all can't live without me. You just don't want to admit it, so you make up things like saying you don't trust me."
Yeri burst out laughing.
Watching these men, who were undoubtedly formidable in their respective fields, act like a bunch of middle schoolers was surprisingly entertaining.
Then Daniel suddenly burst into tears, rushing toward Allen and wrapped his arms around him.
"I'm really sorry! I never meant to betray our friendship!"
"Get off me!" Allen shouted, struggling to pry him away.
"Group hug! Group hug!" Zoren shouted enthusiastically.
Yeri laughed even harder when Saeki immediately joined in.
"No more liquor for you," Shin said, noticing that her cheeks had become noticeably redder.
"Why are you being so rigid? Don't be a grandpa," she pouted.
Before he could stop her, Yeri grabbed his drink and downed it.
Her expression immediately contorted.
"I don't like this vodka."
"Because it's not vodka," Shin said patiently as he took the glass from her.
By now, he was certain she was at least a little drunk. She was far more talkative than usual.
Yeri stared intently at his face for several seconds.
Then her eyes suddenly lit up as she wrapped her arms around him.
"You're so handsome! Why are you so handsome? You smell good too!"
Shin "...."
"Damn it! Why am I stuck with you three bastards while watching those two flirt?" Daniel suddenly blurted out, pointing at Shin and Yeri. "Saeki, why didn't you call for girls? It's not fair that Shin is the only one with a date!"
Saeki clapped his hands.
"Oh! Why didn't I think of that? It's because Big Bro is here that I've gotten used to not bringing models."
"Shin wouldn't mind because he's already engaged! It's all in the past!" Zoren shouted.
He slammed his glass onto the table with sudden enthusiasm.
"While we're at it, let's make this Allen's bachelor party!"
"Bachelor party!" Yeri excitedly seconded. "I'll sing! I'm actually good at karaoke!"
She immediately tried to get up, but Shin grabbed her and pulled her back into her seat.
Looking at the four idiots, he suddenly regretted bringing her.
He had only wanted her to relax after the exhausting hearing, completely forgetting what Yeri was like when she was drunk.
Meanwhile, Tristan's girlfriend sat awkwardly by herself after Tristan stepped out to take a call.
At first, she had felt wary of Yeri and even sensed a hint of rivalry toward her because of the rumors online linking Yeri to Tristan. But now, it seemed her jealousy had been completely unfounded.