Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Royal Family 8-2
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Seo Ji-hyeok pulled up in his car and arrived in Hannam-dong.
He parked at a coffee shop with an outdoor terrace, went inside, and grabbed a seat.
After ordering a coffee, he picked up his phone.
"It's me."
The name on Ji-hyeok's screen was Cha Dong-hwi.
The moment he heard Ji-hyeok's voice, Dong-hwi practically shouted back.
"Hyung!"
"Whoa, you scared me. Why are you yelling? Aren't you at the office?"
"Yeah, at the office. Damn, hyung, are you seriously doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"You got a job?"
"Can you lower your voice? My ears hurt. Anyway, if you've got time, come out for a sec. I'm at the coffee shop right in front of your building."
"For real? Got it. Stay put. I'm coming right now!"
Ji-hyeok chuckled as the call abruptly ended.
Do you even know where I am?
Across from Sunil Accounting Firm—the top accounting firm in Korea without question—there was practically a coffee shop in every building.
Yet Dong-hwi had hung up the moment he heard "coffee shop," which was so typical of him that Ji-hyeok couldn't help but laugh.
Right on cue, the vibration buzzer rang, and Ji-hyeok got up to head to the counter.
He picked up two coffees, one for Dong-hwi as well, and returned to his seat. Just as he was about to take a sip...
"Hyung!"
A booming voice echoed through the entire coffee shop.
With that single word, Cha Dong-hwi had drawn every eye in the place. He bent over at the waist, gasping for breath.
Ji-hyeok felt a bit sorry for the other patrons but smiled warmly at the sight of Dong-hwi.
He could easily picture how Dong-hwi had gotten here so fast since hanging up.
Dong-hwi caught his breath a little and plopped down in front of Ji-hyeok, downing the coffee in one gulp.
"Whew, I just got my whole year's workout done."
"Then why'd you run? Think I'm gonna bolt?"
"I just wanted to see you quick. Heh heh heh."
"Creep. Cut that laugh out. How's the job treating you?"
"Boring as hell. I'm planning to quit by year's end anyway. Family debts are all paid off. Time to live my own life for a change."
"Impressive. You cleared all that debt in just three years?"
"Feels weird saying it myself, but I'm the ace here. Heh heh heh."
Dong-hwi was a year younger than Ji-hyeok but had started college earlier, of course.
He majored in accounting and was a math genius.
Even at Korea University, teeming with geniuses and prodigies, he stood out as the unrivaled talent.
His brilliance became campus legend when his math professor publicly declared during a lecture that Dong-hwi was the greatest math genius he'd seen in ten years.
Of course, that remark plunged countless math majors into despair, but Dong-hwi himself couldn't have cared less.
To be precise, he didn't have the time to care.
His family had gone bankrupt due to his father's business failure and was on the brink of homelessness.
The fact that Dong-hwi—a different year and major—had crossed paths with Ji-hyeok was, in truth, a fateful coincidence in disguise.
At least, that's what Dong-hwi still believed.
That meeting Ji-hyeok was destiny...
To pay off his family's debts, Dong-hwi had turned to gambling.
Specifically, card counting—the technique that gained worldwide fame when U.S. university math professors and students tested it against casinos.
As famous as it was, casinos had countermeasures in place.
Card counting literally involved tracking played cards to predict the remaining deck and boost win rates.
For it to work, used and unused cards needed separation, but modern casinos shuffle after every game, blocking it entirely.
And Dong-hwi knew that.
So he chose illegal casinos.
Places without casino-grade shuffling machines, perfect for card counting.
The first few times went predictably well.
But assuming gambling dens wouldn't notice was a huge mistake.
These were haunts for seasoned veterans, pros, and hustlers of every stripe. Trying to outsmart them with card counting was naive at best.
The result was the scar still visible on the wrist of the man now holding a coffee.
If Ji-hyeok had arrived just a minute later, that wrist would've been severed.
"How's the hand?"
"This? Aches when it rains. Heh heh heh. But hey, thanks to you, it's still attached."
"What're you gonna do after quitting?"
"Travel. Thinking of backpacking Europe. Gotta do it once in my twenties, right?"
"Skip the backpack. Go luxury. But work with me for two months first."
"With you?"
"Yeah. I'm at Taesung."
"No way? You calling me over to Taesung?"
"Nah. I'm hiring you. I'll hook you up with plenty of travel cash. But it'll be tough."
"Deal. Hang on. I'll go turn in my resignation."
"What? Hey! Hey!"
Ji-hyeok called after him urgently, but Dong-hwi bolted out the door.
This guy...
It was absurd, but Ji-hyeok ended up chuckling anyway.
Taesung Card was a subsidiary of Taesung Life Insurance, which itself fell under Taesung Corporation.
With annual sales of 3.5 trillion won, it was a KOSPI-listed company trading at 36,000 won per share as of today.
Its president was Kang Jun-woo, eldest son of Taesung Life Vice Chairman Kang Hun. His eldest daughter, Kang Se-hee, served as head of the Strategy Office, while his son Kang Young-min worked as a manager in the Bonds Team.
By blood, they were Ji-hyeok's sixth cousins.
"Ooh, nice building."
Ji-hyeok and Dong-hwi arrived at Taesung Card at nine in the morning.
Dong-hwi's current status was as a manager in Taesung Corporation's Special Division, hired under the expert recruitment program.
The accounting world was small enough that HR had verified Dong-hwi's star status at Sunil Accounting Firm and approved his hire without hesitation.
Not that they could've refused anyway.
"Huh? Whoa, no one's here? They're straight-up ignoring us."
"Different from when Sunil auditors come, huh?"
"Totally. They usually roll out at least a team leader to greet us."
"Take notes. This is where we're headed."
"Fun. Heh heh heh."
Even the Special Division—known as the group's typhoon—couldn't conduct audits willy-nilly.
Ji-hyeok's visit had been officially notified three days prior via formal letter.
No one coming out meant blatant hostility.
"Excuse me."
"Hello. Taesung Card. How can I assist you?"
"From headquarters Special Division. Could you contact the president for me?"
"Ah, yes. Do you have a prior appointment?"
Ji-hyeok could tell from the receptionist's bright smile that she was well-trained.
'Fine. Playing it like that? No choice then.'
He leaned his elbows on the information desk and bent forward.
"Kim... Hee-young-ssi, you know I could flag this as obstructing an audit, right?"
"Pardon? What do you..."
"Working at Taesung and you don't know the company? Don't get caught in the whale fight. Hit the intercom. Tell them I'm here."
"Uh... who should I say?"
The receptionist's voice trembled, her face paling at Ji-hyeok's demeanor.
He felt a twinge of guilt, but some things couldn't be helped.
"Who were you supposed to contact when I showed up?"
"Uh... Manager Kang..."
"Call the Secretary's Office. Tell them I'm heading up to see the president."
"Pardon? Wait!"
Ji-hyeok hopped over the security gate and strode inside.
The receptionist yelped in surprise, and security looked shocked, but having overheard Ji-hyeok, no one dared intervene openly.
As Ji-hyeok entered, Dong-hwi followed, struggling with spread legs to clear the gate.
"Can't hop that?"
"Try working fourteen hours a day for three years straight."
"That's how you paid off the debts."
"True, but looking back, I was an idiot."
"How so?"
"They started seeing me as a sucker 'cause I worked myself to death. Kept piling on jobs. Damn. I'd collapse, get IVs, collect consolation pay. But weird—I never got nosebleeds. Should've faked a few."
While bantering with Dong-hwi at the elevators, chaos erupted at the desk.
Every intercom blared with urgent voices, and security shouted into radios.
Then...
- Ding!
The elevator arrived. Ji-hyeok and Dong-hwi stepped in.
Others waiting hesitated or stepped back, signaling no ride.
Ji-hyeok smiled at their faces, pressed 26 lightly, and hit close.
"Heh heh heh."
"What?"
"Too fun. You're the best, hyung. No doubt—you're my life's savior."
"Quiet. Salvation's DIY."
"Ooh, that cold edge. So damn charming."
Ji-hyeok chuckled at Dong-hwi.
'Yeah. That's him.'
Jang Woo and Cha Dong-hwi were cut from different cloth.
Woo was like a solid brick—tough at a glance. Dong-hwi was polished marble.
Slippery, always climbing at openings, but not hateful.
He knew boundaries too well.
Jokes when joking, serious when serious.
Woo followed blindly, right or wrong.
Dong-hwi called right right and wrong wrong.
Plus, he had the grit not to beg even as his wrist faced the chop.
So Woo was great his way, Dong-hwi his.
- Ding! Floor 26.
The elevator reached 26 in a flash.
As doors opened, pale-faced staff awaited Ji-hyeok.
"Seo Ji-hyeok-ssi?"
"Yes."
"You can't come this way. Audit prep is in the 20th-floor conference room. Let me escort you."
"Nah. Since I'm here, I'll say hi to the president."
"No! He's not in."
"What time is it? Still not clocked in? Taesung execs start at seven, right? Oh, guess it's the chairman's relative perk."
"N-no. Not that. External... yes, external schedule."
"I see. So either prep's airtight or audits are no big deal."
"Yes... pardon?"
"Hey, you!"
Then it came.
A sharp voice from behind. Ji-hyeok turned slowly.
A woman in red heels approached, glaring fiercely.
Ji-hyeok recognized her instantly.
Kang Se-hee, eldest daughter of Taesung Card President Kang Jun-woo and head of the Strategy Office.
At thirty-four, she'd normally be Cousin Se-hee, but now she advanced on Ji-hyeok like he was her parents' killer.
"You're Seo Ji-hyeok?"
"Yes. And who might you be to banmal me on first meet? Etiquette says introduce yourself first."
Gasp!
Secretaries rushing from the president's office gaped at Ji-hyeok's words.
Kang Se-hee's eyes sharpened further.