Reviving Seonghwa Group
Murder happened most often at night.
Why?
Simple really. Simply because it was hard to see.
Few witnesses, and nobody reacted quickly if someone vanished.
On the flip side, killing someone right in the middle of a bustling daytime street raised the difficulty dramatically.
More eyes watching, more attention piling up, and from that moment it stopped being just a death and became an incident.
And right now I was…
Still night.
An illegitimate child whose name was unknown. A being that could be thrown away without a second thought.
No matter how much Choi Yu-na treated me as chairman, I didn’t have the power to match that treatment now.
So there was only one answer. I had to force myself into the spotlight.
From now on, I had to make sure no one in this Korean Empire didn’t know my existence.
Chairman, the KBN side’s coordination is finished. We can go live nationwide right now. “
Faster than I thought. Did they swallow their pride and accept the offer? “
Yes. With things the way they are, it makes sense. “
As Choi Yu-na had said, the hottest topic on the entire Korean peninsula right now was something related to Seonghwa Group. “
The unprecedented incident where the entire owner family was poisoned. “
And who would be the first to represent that stance? “
The illegitimate child whose name had never been heard of in Seonghwa Group until now, and now a high-school boy who was the only surviving bloodline heir. “
Looking from far away it was tragic, close up it was a soap-opera mess. The broadcast station was surely thinking “the fish jumped into the net all by itself!” and grinning. “
But unlike them, Choi Yu-na’s expression was serious. “
I’m sorry, Chairman. “
I’ve lived my whole life being ignored, but here I am putting you on the front lines even more than anyone else in this worst possible situation. “
What now? “
I thought I should say it. I came here thinking you were my only path out, but I feel guilty for getting dragged into the adults’ mess too. “
If you’re feeling guilty, stop calling me chairman. Every time you do it makes me dizzy with sincerity. “
Chairman, the suit suits you really well. “
Choi Yu-na quickly turned the conversation. “
It was just a joke I threw out, but she clenched her teeth like she was proving it wasn’t allowed. “
Letting out a small sigh, I headed to the studio that was ready. “
The moment the door opened, the first thing that hit me was the blindingly bright lights. “
In the center was a single stage, and on it a microphone sat ready. “
It looked like someone had hurriedly set up the space for an “opening statement.” “
Cameras were swiveling and bustling around the edges, and the staff were rushing back and forth in panic. “
And the instant I stepped inside with Choi Yu-na, the people moving around locked their gazes on me for just a second. “
Curiosity, confusion, and an excitement that was impossible to explain. “
At that moment a middle-aged man pushed through the crowd and hurried over. “
Oh, you’re here. “
The man took a breath and bowed quickly. “
Kim Jeong-ho, head of the KBN news department. I’m grateful for your visit in this situation. “
Grateful? Inside I let out a hollow laugh. “
The live setup is all finished. We’ll cut to this studio screen without breaking the viewer flow of the regular live news. In other words, it’s the way to minimize viewer drop-off. And the official KBN YouTube channel will broadcast at the same time. “
… “
When you stand on the central stage, the ON AIR indicator will light up and the countdown will begin in a moment. From that instant, consider it the start. “
He added carefully, “…you won’t need a script?” “
At those words I looked at the microphone on the stage. A script… “
Honestly this was my first time doing something like this, and since it was live it would be safer with a script. “
But what I was about to do wasn’t that. “
A declaration to survive. “
If my eyes went to a script instead of the camera when I needed to speak with the utmost sincerity, it would mean I had no reason to be standing here. “
I had already roughly thought it through anyway. “
How to phrase it, at least. “
Still… “
Could you compile the expressions I must be careful with? “
…Excuse me? “
I decide what I say, but the tone and actions I can’t use, experts know better. Secretary Choi, help too. “
After that short adjustment, I stood in front of the stage microphone. “
Soon the red light on the studio wall lit up. “
Anyone looking would see my face filling the TV screen and the YouTube live with no gap. “
If I wasn’t tense I’d be lying, but… “
It wasn’t tension, it was anger bigger than anything. “
Who dared to drop me into this mess of a drama world and drag me into a plot like this? “
And I wanted to know what kind of insane bastards had pulled off something this insane. Even Kim-bu-jang. “
That was why… “
Hello, I’m Kang-geun, the third chairman of Seonghwa Group. “
I was going to say it cool and clean. “
*** “
Inside the screen a boy who looked like a high-school student stood proudly in front of the microphone. “
He swallowed dryly like he was nervous, but his eyes showed no tremor. “
At 11 o’clock this morning a terrible incident occurred at an internal Seonghwa Group event. “
As the media has reported, the owner family members who participated in the event have all died from poison. “
And that result was… “
Currently, the only person left with the bloodline to inherit Seonghwa Group is me alone. “
From birth an eyesore of the Seonghwa Group, an illegitimate child who always wanted to hide my very existence… “
Kang-geun. That was the boy on the screen. “
As he spoke the boy took a short breath. “
Honestly, I’m shaken and still dazed. I never imagined I would be standing here like this overnight. “
Besides, I’m not even an adult yet, a kid who doesn’t know the ways of the world. “
Still, the reason the boy was standing in front of the nation right now was clear. “
The boy looked straight at the camera. “
Like he was meeting the eyes of the people on the other side of the screen. “
So I won’t ask you to believe me right away. After all, I believe trust is something you earn with results, not words. “
That’s why I’m going to confirm it myself and take responsibility myself. “
The boy’s words were closer to a declaration than a request. “
To the citizens, to the shareholders who invested in Seonghwa Group believing in it, and to the employees quietly working in their places. “
Seonghwa Group is not yet broken. I will personally prove that fact. “
I don’t think this incident was a simple accident. This poisoning was clearly a planned crime. “
And I don’t think the purpose was simple grudge or revenge. “
Actually the boy still didn’t know why the culprit had done something this insane. “
But at this point the incident was already out, so it wasn’t really important. “
In short… “
Someone is trying to destroy Seonghwa Group itself. “
It was a bit of an exaggeration, but the meaning was clear. “
Seonghwa Group is connected to the lives of tens of millions, no, hundreds of millions of people through countless subsidiaries and partners. “
To shake a company like that in this way is an absolutely unacceptable act that takes people’s daily lives and livelihoods hostage. “
The boy tightened his fists at the fingertips. “
Even if I’m an illegitimate child and I’m lacking a lot, I am still a person who carries the blood of Seonghwa. “
So I will speak clearly from this position. Seonghwa has not yet ended. And… “
I will make the ones who created this situation pay for their sins with their lives. “
After those words a very short silence fell, and the boy on the screen slowly lowered his head. “
Like a person who was deeply resolute but would never back down. “
That was how the boy’s declaration ended. “
It would become a legend in more senses than one. “
*** “
Choi Yu-na stared blankly at the boy who was pouring out his sincere heart toward the world. “
When the Seonghwa Hotel was filled with the owner family’s screams and ambulances rushed to the entrance, the security team and she on the scene were in pure panic. “
And the instant the owner family members there were all given a death sentence, a strange irony struck her. “
Kang-geun. “
The illegitimate son of Kang Jun-hyeok, who had been decided as the next chairman as vice-chairman, the eldest. “
His existence was the truth only the owner family members and the high-level people in the secretary’s office and security had known. “
What was clear was that at this point he was the only person carrying the blood of Seonghwa. “
At the same time the risk to him was enormous. “
That was why Choi Yu-na, using her own judgment, quickly led the security team to where the boy was. “
And she finally met the boy who had been confronting Kim-bu-jang. “
Actually she hadn’t expected the meeting. “
Because he was an illegitimate child there would be huge backlash against Seonghwa Group, and he was still just a high-school boy who hadn’t become an adult. “
She had simply planned to preserve the bloodline of Seonghwa Group and offer him a sham role in exchange for a price. “
After all, as the only surviving owner family member, he would obviously be threatened with his life. She thought that would be convincing. “
Whether it was lucky or not, since he had almost died for real confronting Kim-bu-jang, the complicated explanation wasn’t needed anymore. “
Still… “
Where is the closest broadcasting station here? “
Maybe Choi Yu-na was making a huge mistake. “
She naturally thought she had to go for the Imperial Family’s support. “
Not knowing who was friend or foe. “
In the worst state, even the rightful support allies were missing. “
That was why she had thought borrowing the Imperial Family’s power was the best. “
After all, on this land the Imperial Family was the absolute authority. “
But the boy’s thinking was different. “
He hadn’t simply looked for a place to be protected. “
Not a disposable illegitimate child, but as chairman of Seonghwa Group, an existence no one could lightly touch, he had stepped forward in front of the world. “
The instant she realized that judgment, Choi Yu-na had no choice but to admit she had underestimated the boy too easily. “
Even if I’m an illegitimate child and I’m lacking a lot, I am still a person who carries the blood of Seonghwa. “
So I will speak clearly from this position. Seonghwa has not yet ended. “
As she heard those words, the fingertips of Choi Yu-na trembled slightly. “
Suddenly a phrase she had heard for a long time inside Seonghwa Group came back to her. “
The words “it’s impossible” are only used before Chairman Kang Seong-cheol steps up. “
The founding owner of Seonghwa Group. “
A man who built Seonghwa from nothing and raised it into the best company in the Korean Empire. “
It was said that he was the most bold of them all. “
When others said it was impossible, when he shook his head at danger, he walked straight forward and turned the situation around in one stroke. “
Of course Choi Yu-na had only thought of that phrase as a legend to glorify the founding owner. “
But now… “
Looking at that boy who was boldly revealing himself more than anyone else in front of the entire nation and speaking responsibility… “
Something like that phrase might make sense. “
A still immature face. “
Not yet an adult’s age. “
Yet he walked forward boldly, more bravely than fear. “
This was a kind of resolve she had never seen from anyone in the owner family. “
In that sense it might still be early days, but… “
If it’s that person, Seonghwa Group will be made great again… “
The eyes of Choi Yu-na looking at the boy had already changed. “
In truth the boy who had finished his speech hadn’t noticed the changed light in Choi Yu-na’s eyes at all. “
He was only thinking of one thing. “
How to torment the bastards who had dragged him into this shitty turn of events. “
*** “
“I’m going to make them regret it.”