Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Royal Family 17-1
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Chairman Kang Wook unexpectedly nodded without a word, allowing Gong Sa-woo to take a seat at the table and thereby granting him entry into the Taesung Residence.
The meal for four began just like that.
Gong Sa-woo focused intently on his food without saying a word for a while.
But when Chairman Kang Wook set down his chopsticks, he finally spoke.
"I heard about yesterday from Mother. You're getting a divorce, I take it."
"I have no intention of meddling in my daughter's divorce now that she's nearing sixty."
"I just thought you should know."
Gong Sa-woo had clearly changed.
With his impatience gone and a touch of composure in its place, he seemed like an entirely different person.
"Did you also hear that your mother plans to hand over all her shares to that punk?"
"Yes. I did."
"Then wouldn't it be wiser to follow your father? At least you'd inherit that tiny school of his."
Chairman Kang Wook's words were brutally harsh.
They all but said there were no more chances for him.
But Gong Sa-woo was no longer the man from a few days ago.
He opened his mouth with a calm expression.
"I figure the game isn't over as long as you're still alive, Grandfather. I plan to keep playing until I can't anymore. I've only just started enjoying the work. And you like this sort of thing, don't you? Family competing against each other."
"True enough. It's not bad. The strongest one should take Taesung."
Eun-seok, who had been eating across from Ji-hyeok, pursed his lips at Chairman Kang Wook's words.
And then Ji-hyeok, who had been silent the whole time, slowly spoke up.
"By the way, when do I get my shares?"
"Your shares? Didn't you arrange to get them from your eldest aunt yesterday?"
"Those are the ones I earned. You still need to give me yours, Grandfather."
"Is that so? How much are you after?"
"I know you gave each of your three daughters 5% at the start. Give me the same."
Chairman Kang Wook's eyes made it clear he was doing the math in his head.
The current share structure of the holding company Taesung Co., Ltd. was as follows.
Kang Jin-young: 16% → to Kang Ji-hyeok.
Kang Seon-young: 13%.
Kang Mi-young: 11%.
That made a total of 40% distributed among the children, with 60% still held by Chairman Kang Wook.
Which meant he could distribute up to 9% while still maintaining solid control.
Yet Ji-hyeok was asking for 5% now.
Even after giving that much, he'd still have room to spare.
But as Chairman Kang Wook took longer to decide, Ji-hyeok let out a smirk.
Those eyes resembled those of a promoter plotting a tournament bracket.
"Fine, you'll get them. But can I give to one without giving to the others? I'll give 2% each to you, Gong Sa-woo, Gong Yeon-woo, Yeo Seo-yeon, Yeo Seong-gyu, Park Eun-ju, and even that kid over there. You wouldn't call that unfair, would you?"
Ji-hyeok smirked at Chairman Kang Wook's words.
It was all too transparent.
Of course, that would mean distributing 14% in total, leaving Chairman Kang Wook with 46%—a number that could threaten his control.
If all the recipients united their shares, they could oust him.
Yet Chairman Kang Wook made that decision anyway.
Why?
He was certain it would never happen.
And if they could pull it off, then they should go ahead and try.
That was the message: unite everyone if they could and kick him out.
Ji-hyeok laughed for one simple reason.
This decision perfectly mirrored the reality of Taesung's inner circle.
Strangers living under the name of family.
"Sure. Sounds good to me. Thank you."
But Ji-hyeok accepted readily.
Gong Sa-woo followed suit with an indifferent expression, offering his thanks as well.
Eun-seok, however, looked baffled as he glanced back and forth between Ji-hyeok and Chairman Kang Wook.
"Uh... you mean I'm getting some too?"
"Aren't you my grandson?"
"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!"
Eun-seok's face lit up with utter gratitude, as if all the years of being cast out had been washed away. He kept thanking them profusely.
And that elation lasted even as they finished the meal and headed to work with Ji-hyeok.
"Hee hee hee..."
"That happy, huh?"
"Yeah. It's the first time in my life Grandfather's ever given me anything."
Ji-hyeok wanted to say something but held his tongue, not wanting to spoil Eun-seok's good mood.
The morning and afternoon passed in a flurry of work.
As if nothing had happened yesterday, Ji-hyeok threw himself into his tasks, while Eun-seok stole a few glances at him but nothing more.
But Ji-hyeok made his move after work.
"You go on ahead."
"You don't mean..."
"Drop it. If it's something you need to know, you'll find out without asking."
"Got it. Then... be careful."
With a face full of worry, Eun-seok returned to the Taesung Residence.
Ji-hyeok then headed to the main road, hailed a taxi, and made for Dongdaemun.
Soon after, he descended into the basement of a building near Gwanghui Gate, once called the City Guard Gate because funeral processions of the old capital passed through it.
"You're here."
On the fourth basement level, in the boiler room, Jang Woo greeted him.
"Wait long?"
"Nah. But did you eat, hyung?"
"Grabbed something. Business first. Where is he?"
"Over there. This way."
Following Jang Woo deeper into the boiler room, several familiar faces bowed to Ji-hyeok.
They were the underlings who'd been with him since the Cheongnyangni days.
Now that Jang Woo had fully taken control of the organization, Ji-hyeok saw no need to hide.
And as he'd expected, the bowing men smiled warmly at him but went no further.
It confirmed Jang Woo's complete dominance.
Deeper in, Gong Gap-su paced anxiously.
The moment he spotted Ji-hyeok, he recoiled in shock.
"Hey, Nephew Ji-hyeok. What's this about?"
"Uncle, are you really asking because you don't know?"
"No, that's not..."
"You didn't think I'd just let it slide, did you?"
"Nephew Ji-hyeok... What do you want me to do? Huh? Just say it. I'll... I'll do whatever I can."
"I hear Sim Sang-cheol's son's admission was the spark that started this mess."
"Ah, that..."
"You still have the lists of all the ones we've slipped in so far, right?"
"Nephew Ji-hyeok... That's..."
"Guess you don't know how impatient I get. There are other ways to cool my temper besides that."
No sooner had Ji-hyeok finished than Jang Woo stepped forward aggressively.
At that...
"I-I'll give it all! Every bit of data, everything!"
"Hand it over now. You're not gonna tell me it's written down on paper in this day and age, are you?"
"No, but... there are videos. They're on my phone right now. So..."
"Good. You know my number? Send them right now."
Moments later, Gong Gap-su's frantic fingers produced files that poured into Ji-hyeok's phone.
After confirming everything, Ji-hyeok nodded and turned to leave.
As he did, Jang Woo turned as well and spoke in a low voice.
"What now? Let him go?"
"He needs to learn what it means to try killing someone."
"Got it."
Jang Woo nodded to his men lurking around the corner.
They grabbed their clubs and headed into the room Ji-hyeok had just left.
Soon after, brutal thuds echoed, followed by Gong Gap-su's screams.
But Ji-hyeok exited the boiler room with a composed face.
"Where's Sim Sang-cheol?"
"Up top."
"Where'd you nab him?"
"Airport this morning."
"Fast runner."
"Crazy bastard didn't even grab his family. Tried to bolt alone."
After dealing with Bae Hyeon-mo yesterday, Ji-hyeok's first order to Jang Woo had been to catch Sim Sang-cheol.
Sim Sang-seop was the real culprit, but as the National Assembly Speaker, he was second in the national protocol order, protected by state security.
Going after him directly would cause more harm than good.
So the plan was to use Sim Sang-cheol to drag Sim Sang-seop down first.
Jang Woo led Ji-hyeok to the building's rooftop.
There, Sim Sang-cheol knelt in his underwear, gagged, trembling.
The sight of Ji-hyeok sent him into convulsions like he'd seen a ghost.
"Mmmph! Mmph! Mmmph!"
Did he think Ji-hyeok's arrival meant his execution?
Ji-hyeok watched him thrash and shake his head wildly.
"Untie his mouth."
One of Jang Woo's men removed the gag from behind.
The moment his mouth was free, Sim Sang-cheol bellowed.
"Please, I—Gah!"
But a light kick to the side from the man who'd ungagged him doubled him over, gasping.
As he did, Ji-hyeok approached and lightly kicked his other side.
"Gah! Hack! Ack... Ack..."
"Yell again."
"Please... spare... Gah!"
This time, Sim Sang-cheol's voice was subdued.
Yet Ji-hyeok kicked his gut lightly again.
"Gah... Ack... Ack..."
"Yell again."
Ji-hyeok's voice was low and heavy.
Hearing it, Sim Sang-cheol clutched his stomach and shook his head frantically.
Only then did Ji-hyeok drag over a nearby chair and sit in front of him.
"Listen up. You get one way to live. Over the past ten years, you've siphoned just over eight billion won from Taesung Construction in 'business advancement expenses.' You didn't just blow it all. What I want are the ledgers. Ledgers with Sim Sang-seop's name on them. Of course, if your brotherly love runs so deep you'll take all the blame, I won't stop you. So? Got those ledgers? Or not?"
Sim Sang-cheol didn't agonize long.
"Y-Yes... I do."
"Where?"
"M-My... phone..."
"Get it."
No sooner had he answered than Jang Woo's voice came from behind.
Moments later, Sim Sang-cheol's phone was in Ji-hyeok's hand.
"Passcode?"
"sschul0042sschul."
"Spy material."
Ji-hyeok unlocked it, then tapped the screen a few times before looking back at Sim Sang-cheol.
"Cloud passcode."
"0042sschul0042."
"Impressive."
Smirking, Ji-hyeok tapped some more.
Finally accessing the files, he scrolled slowly, checking numbers and names, then played an audio file.
Ji-hyeok stopped the recording there.
"You kept it all meticulously."
"So I..."
"Listen. Hold a press conference tomorrow. Shake up the political world completely. That's your path to survival. Got it?"
"Then I'll..."
"Become a whistleblower. You know what that means?"
"Yes. Yes. I understand."
Sim Sang-cheol nodded vigorously, realizing it was his best shot.
Of course, this would hit Taesung Construction hard.
Depending on how it played out, past CEOs could face real prison time.
But this surely wasn't unique to Taesung.
Mirae Construction, their top rival, would be tangled up too.
In the end, the gains would outweigh the losses.
"Sim Sang-cheol stood before us with the heart of a beast."
Korea began to shake.