Tumbling Down with a Single Cough
“Cough, cough!”
“Oh dear, you still haven’t gotten over your cold?” Dojin asked with concern at the sound of coughing over the phone.
Given her age, he couldn’t help but worry.
Perhaps sensing his anxiety, the person on the other end chuckled reassuringly.
“Heul-heul-heul. Indeed. To think I would catch a cold in the summer when I don’t even get them in the dead of winter. Tsk, it is all because of the air conditioning. You must be careful too, Dojin. If you cling to the air conditioner just because it is hot, you will end up like this.”
“Yes, well… I’ll be careful,” Dojin replied awkwardly.
Even now, he was taking the call while standing directly in the path of the air conditioner’s icy blast.
But the weather is so insane, I have no choice…
The moment he stepped even a single foot outside the main building, he would be drenched in sweat. The sun was brutal enough, but the suffocating humidity was the real killer. It was a sweltering heat that felt like a literal steamer basket, so whenever he came back inside, he naturally gravitated toward the air conditioner.
“You’re eating the bellflower roots and mushrooms I sent, right? You can cook the mushrooms, and the bellflower roots should be dried well and brewed into tea.”
“Heul-heul-heul. I know, I know. I have heard you say that at least ten times now, so you may stop. Indeed, eating them has made my body feel much lighter than before. But why did you send so many mushrooms?”
The amount of bellflower roots and mushrooms Dojin had sent was quite substantial. The mushrooms alone—shiitake, meshima, chaga, and rock tripe—filled a large cardboard box to the brim, and the wild bellflower roots he had recently found on the mountain made up about half that volume.
Yet, Dojin had not worried about sending such a large quantity.
“It’s not like you’re going to eat them all by yourself anyway, Chairman. You’ll just share them with the people working at your estate.”
“Heul-heul-heul. You see right through me now. Let me see, did you install surveillance cameras in my home or something?”
Dojin let out a chuckle at her words.
Installing surveillance cameras in her estate? The very thought was absurd.
“Who would dare install cameras in that house? Even if they wanted to, the moment they tried, Uncle Yeong-jin would find them and wring their neck.”
“Heul-heul-heul. Our Chief Jo does keep a very tight ship.”
The chairperson laughed in agreement.
Then, Dojin asked, finding it strange, “But is Uncle Yeong-jin just letting this slide? You’ve had this cold for three weeks now. Knowing his personality, I would have expected him to throw a fit.”
If it were the Jo Yeong-jin Dojin knew, Wang Hye-seok should have been admitted to a VIP suite at a university hospital by now. It wouldn’t have been surprising at all if she were undergoing all kinds of detailed checkups and intensive treatments, so he couldn’t understand why she was still at home.
“Our Chief Jo? Of course he threw a fit. He was making a fuss about going to recuperate for a few months in a place with clean air if I refused to be hospitalized. I had a hard time stopping him from trying to buy an island in Southeast Asia.”
“Haha… That sounds just like him.”
Yeong-jin always went to extremes when it came to the chairperson. The only problem was that the scale of his actions was far grander than Dojin could have imagined.
Just how much does it cost to buy an island overseas?
Moreover, judging by the conversation, it wasn’t even a proposal awaiting approval. Yeong-jin had already been in the process of buying it when Hye-seok stopped him.
That meant one of two things: either Yeong-jin possessed enough personal wealth to purchase an island on a whim, or he held enough authority to handle such transactions without the chairperson’s direct approval.
Whichever it was, Yeong-jin’s capabilities far exceeded Dojin’s expectations.
But why do I feel like it’s both?
It wouldn’t be surprising at all if both were true. He wasn’t called the chairperson’s closest confidant for nothing.
The chairperson isn’t the type to hold back when it comes to her own people, after all.
This was obvious from how she always lamented not being able to give Dojin more whenever something happened.
“You should have listened to him. Even if it’s just a cold, three weeks is a long time for it to linger. It could be serious.”
Considering Hye-seok’s age, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
How old is the chairperson now? She must be well over seventy.
No matter how much people talked about living to a hundred these days, once someone passed seventy, even minor ailments had to be treated with the utmost seriousness. In that sense, Yeong-jin’s reaction, though slightly excessive, wasn’t wrong.
However, the chairperson’s next words left Dojin bewildered.
“Heul-heul. What would I do there all by myself? I might have considered it if Chief Jo could come along.”
“What? Wasn’t Uncle Yeong-jin going to go with you?”
Since Yeong-jin was practically the chairperson’s shadow, Dojin had naturally assumed he would accompany her. But her words suggested otherwise.
“Heul-heul. It seems our Chief Jo has been rather busy lately. With the coronavirus causing trouble here and there, I barely get to see his face.”
“He’s that busy?”
For Yeong-jin—who never left the chairperson’s side no matter how much work there was—to be barely visible was hard to believe, even under the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic.
The chairperson’s next words cleared up Dojin’s confusion.
“Heul-heul. Normally, these are matters I would have to resolve myself. Those money-grubbing fools keep looking for me. No matter how many times I refuse, saying I am unwell, they persist. In the end, our Chief Jo has stepped in to clear the path. Heul-heul-heul.”
“Ah…”
Hearing this, Dojin could roughly grasp the situation.
The pandemic had dried up cash flows everywhere. Because money wasn’t circulating, the economy was faltering, and enterprises and local governments alike were facing all sorts of crises. To those people, Wang Hye-seok was a real-life lottery ticket—one with a much higher chance of winning and a payout far greater than any actual lottery.
Of course, unlike a lottery, they’ll have to pay back what they receive later.
But to those whose funds had dried up completely, such a price was nothing.
Come to think of it, I’d probably be begging for a meeting too.
Realizing that everyone from old acquaintances to business associates must be pleading for her help, Dojin could understand why Yeong-jin was so busy. In other words, things were so bad that the situation couldn’t be managed unless someone of Yeong-jin’s caliber stepped in.
“I should send some mushrooms to Uncle Yeong-jin as well.”
“Heul-heul. There is no need. I have already given him some.”
She was already sending him the mushrooms and bellflower roots Dojin had provided, along with various restorative medicines and herbal tonics every month. For Yeong-jin, who was dealing with these people in her stead, such care was the least she could do. Though, what truly pained Yeong-jin was his inability to serve the chairperson by her side.
Inside Jo Yeong-jin’s office.
Yeong-jin was on the phone with someone.
“So, what did he say?”
At Yeong-jin’s cold tone, the person on the other end of the line spoke with increased caution.
"One of the bastards who tried to trespass into the estate last time came looking for us. He demanded to meet Dojin."
“His reason?”
"He claims to have information regarding Dohee's family. He says he wants to explain their situation, but judging by his attitude and tone, it seems he intends to blackmail us."
Yeong-jin let out a weary sigh.
He was already overwhelmed with various matters, and now some insignificant thug was getting on his nerves.
“Eun-seop. No, Team Leader Hong.”
“Yes, Chief,” Eun-seop replied immediately, sensing that his former superior was in a foul mood.
Sure enough, Yeong-jin voiced his frustration plainly.
“I haven’t been in a good mood lately. The Chairman’s cold just won’t go away.”
“…”
“And yet, more and more people keep bothering me, completely oblivious to my state of mind. They come asking for handouts as if I owe them something. Having to leave the Chairman’s side for days just to deal with these pests makes me want to just clean house entirely.”
“…”
“So, do you think I should be wasting my energy on trash like that right now?”
“My apologies. I will handle it on my end—” Eun-seop quickly tried to resolve the situation, realizing he should have taken care of this himself.
But Yeong-jin cut him off.
“Of course I should. It’s not just anyone; it’s Dojin we’re talking about.”
“…”
Then what does he want me to do? the thought flashed through Eun-seop’s mind.
“Dojin is a good kid. A rare breed these days. Since the moment I met him, I’ve never seen him show greed. He only takes what he earns, what he achieves through his own hard work.”
“…”
“Above all, his sincerity toward the Chairman is genuine. He doesn’t expect anything from her; he treats her like his own grandmother. It’s thanks to him that I can leave her side for days like this. He calls her regularly and sends gifts of things he grew himself. Anyone would think they were actual grandmother and grandson. Haha, if the Chairman hadn’t taken a liking to him, I would have wanted to groom him as my successor.”
The warmth that had briefly entered Yeong-jin’s eyes vanished, replaced once more by a chilling coldness.
“And someone wants to do what to him? Blackmail? How dare they.”
Yeong-jin ground his teeth. He tried to suppress it, but a sudden surge of anger flared up.
Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, Yeong-jin continued.
“The Chairman already knows everything about Miss Dohee.”
He had already investigated not only Dohee but also Seung-wan. It was Yeong-jin himself who had delivered the report.
And upon hearing it, the chairperson had only said one thing:
“Tsk, what a pitiful life that child has led. Help her so she and Dojin can get along well.”
It was a simple sentence, but it was more than enough reason for Yeong-jin to settle the matter himself without needing to report back to Hye-seok.
“It’s heartbreaking that two people who have suffered so much ended up together. That’s why I cannot tolerate anyone trying to get in their way.”
“…Which means?”
“Clear them out. If there is too much trash in a room, it’s bad for the owner’s health.”
“Understood.”
“Lump the others who went in with him together. Cleanly. You know what to do?”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, the call ended.
“Sigh… How exhausting.”
Yeong-jin set his phone down and rubbed his face. He wanted to finish up here as quickly as possible and return to his office—not this temporary one set up for external affairs, but his room back at the chairperson’s estate.
He wanted to check on the chairperson and see if she needed anything.
“I should head back today.”
It had already been three days since he had slept away from the estate. It was the longest he had ever been away since he began serving the chairperson. The anxiety was becoming unbearable.
“I wonder if she’s taking her medicine properly.”
Although he had left it to the domestic staff, he couldn’t bring himself to fully trust them. The chairperson rarely took her medicine unless he personally saw to it.
Fortunately, he had heard her cold was much better. It was all thanks to Dojin. Upon hearing that the mushrooms and bellflower roots were hand-dug by Dojin, the chairperson had consumed them without a single complaint.
“Good lad.”
Thinking of Dojin brought a smile back to Yeong-jin’s face. Perhaps from spending so much time together, his smile closely resembled the one the chairperson wore whenever she thought of Dojin.
“Did Dojin say he was getting married next year? Then I might see a child the year after that.”
The thought of Dojin’s future child brought an unstoppable grin to his face. At some point, Dojin had wormed his way into his heart as well—enough for him to eliminate those who wished to harm the boy, even without the chairperson’s orders.
On the outskirts of Paju, Gyeonggi-do.
An incident that occurred here once again set South Korea ablaze, despite the desolation of the pandemic.
A copycat Telegram crime.
A copycat version of the infamous ‘N-th Room’ case had taken place. Fortunately, the crime was detected and thwarted in advance. However, the fact that such a horrific crime, which had shaken the nation just months prior, was about to be repeated outraged the public.
The police and prosecution moved swiftly to release the crime records, the investigation process, and, in a rare move, the faces of the suspects.
“Cough!”
“T-That’s enough, right? Please, spare me…”
Watching the news, Choi Dong-hui pleaded with the people around him.
Having come to Sekki House at Na Seok-uk’s suggestion, he had initially been arrogant, misinterpreting the security team’s polite reception. He had assumed, as Seok-uk said, that they wanted to keep Dohee’s family history under wraps. That was why he had willingly followed them to the reception room…
But the place they arrived at was not a reception room; it was hell.
“I-I really don’t know anything else. I’ve told you everything Na Seok-uk told us, I swear! *Sob*…”
The sobbing of a tattooed man weighing over 120 kilograms evoked disgust rather than pity. In particular, the team members, who had listened to all the crimes this bastard had committed, looked at him as if he were toxic waste.
Just then, the dark door of the room creaked open.
“Choi Dong-hui.”
At the voice that accompanied the light, Choi Dong-hui’s shoulders flinched. He recognized the owner of that voice—the very person who had guided him to this hell, the king of demons.
Hong Eun-seop spoke to him once more.
“It has been verified that what you said is true. Thanks to you, the trash has been cleared out nicely.”
Although it wasn’t mentioned in the news, the other accomplices currently in the detention center had their sentences increased. This was all thanks to Choi Dong-hui’s active confession. Among themselves, boasting about who committed the worse crime was a badge of honor, and Dong-hui, remembering those boasts, had spilled everything here.
“R-Right? Then now…”
“Yes. As promised, you are free to leave this place. After this… you know what to do?”
“O-Of course! I’ll turn myself in. I’ll go straight to the police station and confess to everything I’ve done!” Dong-hui replied hastily. Even with the light behind Eun-seop, he could feel the murderous glare in the man’s eyes. If he said anything else, he felt like his throat would be slit right then and there. It was better to live in prison than to die. There was a reason people said even a dog’s life was better than death.
“Good. Wise choice. Get out.” Satisfied, Eun-seop nodded and pointed behind him.
“R-Really? I can… really leave?”
“Yes. Hurry up and go.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
After casting a wary glance, Dong-hui scrambled out of the room.
Watching his retreating figure, Eun-seop ordered, “Keep a close eye on that bastard. If he breaks his promise and doesn’t turn himself in, report him immediately with the evidence we gathered.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and break his legs so he can’t run away before the police arrive.”
“Yes, sir.”
At Eun-seop’s command, a gleam appeared in the team members’ eyes. For them, who detested Dong-hui, there could be no better order.
Please break the promise…
Just run away like you always do. Don’t suddenly start keeping promises now.
I wonder if I’ll get in trouble if I break his arms too?
Similar thoughts ran through the minds of most of the security team members.