Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Royal Family 18-4
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Blue Eye's office was on the third floor of the building that housed the club.
The office looked no different from any ordinary company workspace.
Desks with computers divided by partitions, chairs, a small conference table, and a water cooler—it was just your typical setup.
Lee Chang-gyun was waiting there for Jang Woo.
Just as he started thinking he'd been waiting a bit too long, the door opened, and a young man in a suit walked in.
It was Seo Ji-hyeok.
"Sorry, have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all."
"Please, have a seat."
The two men sat down at the small round table and exchanged business cards.
"SY Consulting... SY, that means Seyeon Group, right?"
"Yes, you can think of it as an affiliate of Seyeon Group."
The business card Lee Chang-gyun handed over was the one he used when meeting people.
In reality, no such company existed, and the address was just copied from Seyeon Highway's.
But Seo Ji-hyeok pretended not to know, examining the card carefully.
"I heard you acquired the club recently."
"Yeah, I love partying too much. Figured it was better to buy one than keep blowing money there."
"Ah, must be nice having that kind of financial backing."
"Eh, just got lucky. Made a killing on some crypto."
Lee Chang-gyun felt a blaze of jealousy at Seo Ji-hyeok's casual reply.
That damn crypto...
He'd seen plenty of guys like this.
Kids who didn't even know what a candlestick chart was, accidentally dumping money into crypto and striking it rich overnight.
To him, someone who prided himself on knowing the stock market inside out, these were just lucky bastards.
Fated winners or whatever.
'Fuck, just you wait. This time, I'm the one who's gonna make it big.'
Despite the raging envy inside, Lee Chang-gyun plastered a smile on his face and played along.
"I see. Must've hit it big to afford buying a club."
"Nah, not that much. My old man's loaded anyway. Basically just borrowed a bit from my inheritance early."
"Hahaha, so humble... So, what's the story with Daecheon Transport this time?"
"Ah, the president's an old hometown buddy of my dad's."
"I see. But isn't that a bit thin a connection to invest that much money?"
"Sure, but they won't follow through anyway, right?"
"I'm still thinking it over."
"If I become the majority shareholder, I'll just sell it off. Put in 51 billion, sell high, done."
"Pardon?"
"Of course, the old man will bitch about it, but I'm not even close to the Daecheon president. Let's be real—where's the loyalty in money? He'll complain a few times and get over it."
Seo Ji-hyeok's words muddled Lee Chang-gyun's thoughts.
He'd run into the toughest kind of opponent.
Extremely calculating in one moment, recklessly impulsive in the next...
This unpredictable type was the hardest to deal with.
In truth, the reason Lee Chang-gyun had come today was to propose sharing the profits.
In exchange, he was prepared to offer about 3 billion won from his hand.
If Jang Woo—for whom he mistook Seo Ji-hyeok—gave up on acquiring the new shares, he'd pay 3 billion as compensation.
Before meeting Seo Ji-hyeok, Lee Chang-gyun had confirmed that Heo Gyu-seok had reached a divorce settlement with Kim Su-jin.
In three weeks, Kim Su-jin would receive half of Heo Gyu-seok's shares.
That meant Heo Gyu-seok had agreed to the settlement banking on the third-party allotment.
If Jang Woo snapped up the shares, Kim Su-jin would end up with worthless scraps too.
"Any chance you'd consider backing out of the new share acquisition?"
"It's a hassle, sure. If the compensation's good enough, I'd think about it."
Lee Chang-gyun's mind raced at that moment.
How much to offer?
If he was planning to sell anyway, the initial 3 billion wouldn't budge him.
"What about 10 billion?"
"Come on, you're joking. Daecheon has 1,600 taxis. You know how much corporate taxi licenses go for, right? Even at depressed prices, it's 70 million per cab. Do the math—51 billion in, 100 billion out. Throwing in another 10 billion on top? No way."
He was slippery, knowing every detail.
In the end, Lee Chang-gyun realized his cards weren't enough.
'If he's playing hardball, no choice. Gotta scout their funding first, then decide on pushing the new shares.'
Having reached that conclusion, Lee Chang-gyun exchanged brief pleasantries and hurried out.
He needed to report the situation to Jo Dong-yeon ASAP.
Seo Ji-hyeok watched from the window as Lee Chang-gyun's car disappeared, chuckling softly before picking up his phone.
"Did it work?"
- No. The guy's phone doesn't auto-connect to Wi-Fi. Sent a phishing text, but we'll have to wait.
It was the real Jang Woo on the line.
Jang Woo was on standby on the fourth floor of the building.
The moment Lee Chang-gyun entered, they'd tried to hack his phone via auto Wi-Fi connection.
"Can't be helped."
- I'll stick someone on him. There'll be an opening.
"Sounds good. Gotta head out now. Talk later."
Hanging up, Seo Ji-hyeok left the building and drove off.
A short while later, he arrived at Taesung Seoul Hospital.
"How is he?"
At Seo Ji-hyeok's question, the director standing beside him answered cautiously.
"The tumor's in a really bad spot, so we need to monitor the situation a bit longer."
Lying on the bed in the VIP ward was Heo Gyu-seok.
He was out cold from medication, and though it had only been ten days, he looked gaunt beyond belief.
It might've been an impression, but this wasn't the plump-cheeked Heo Gyu-seok who'd snarled "You bastard!" at him defiantly on their first meeting.
"Take good care of him."
"Yes, we'll do our utmost."
Seo Ji-hyeok left the room and headed to another one floor below.
Moving with the director, he passed through several more security checks than the VIP ward, venturing deep inside.
Just as he rounded the corner...
"What're you doing?"
"Huh? Bro..."
It was Eun-seok.
He was peering through the small window in the door.
"What's going on here?"
"Well..."
"Move."
Pushing Eun-seok aside, Seo Ji-hyeok looked through. Heo Yu-rim was curled up like a shrimp on the floor.
Another episode, apparently—the mattress was flipped, and everything was scattered.
Surprisingly, Yu-rim was struggling hard.
Unlike Eun-seok, who'd dosed himself gradually with antidotes while trying to think his way out, she'd been hit all at once.
"When did you find out about this place?"
"Needed her signature for the board meeting minutes... That's when I found out."
"What do you think?"
Eun-seok couldn't answer Seo Ji-hyeok's question.
Maybe memories of his own past surged up, or the pathetic end through another's eyes choked him silent.
"Be honest. It crosses your mind sometimes these days, doesn't it?"
"...Yes."
"Look closely. That's your ending."
Seo Ji-hyeok's voice was ice-cold.
Eun-seok bowed his head even lower.
But moments later,
"Can I help?"
"Help who?"
"Ms. Heo Yu-rim."
"Hell no. You think I want two junkies side by side? What kinda shitshow is that?"
Seo Ji-hyeok's tone was frigid again.
Each word stabbed into Eun-seok's chest like a blade.
Head hung low, Eun-seok turned and shuffled out of sight.
Confirming he was gone, Seo Ji-hyeok turned to the director beside him.
"How's he doing?"
"His will is strong. Medically, he's past the withdrawal phase, but the anxiety's still severe enough for isolation. With concurrent psychological treatment, he shouldn't need much longer to return to normal life."
"What if we tell him about his father's condition?"
"Hard to say. Medically, I wouldn't recommend such strong stimuli."
Seo Ji-hyeok nodded at the director's words, said to take care, and left the hospital.
It was a somewhat gloomy evening.
It was definitely his brother.
A half-brother, sure, but unlike eldest sister Jo Sung-yeon, Jo Jung-yeon had been five when their father remarried his mother, so he harbored no real resentment toward her. He could even say he'd grown up with five-year-older Jo Dong-yeon.
Still, Jo Dong-yeon couldn't recall the last time he'd sat face-to-face with Jo Jung-yeon like this.
Maybe it was just because they were half-siblings.
They'd played together as kids, but as they grew, they'd naturally drifted apart.
"Bro, I'm telling you, it's legit."
The awkwardness grated, but Jo Dong-yeon's face showed only an earnest little brother.
"Ah, that bastard talks in circles. So you're saying I should invest, right?"
"Double your money the moment you do."
"Double, triple, whatever. Just answer one thing: why the hell would I do this for your sake? Fuck, even shit flows downhill— you trying to swallow the whole company?"
"No, seriously. That's just Dad's idea. I promise, even if he hands over the highway, I'll give you guys shares. That work? If not, I'll write you an IOU."
Jo Jung-yeon's expression softened a bit at Jo Dong-yeon's groveling.
Seizing the moment, Jo Dong-yeon refilled his brother's glass from the cognac bottle and clinked his own against it forcibly.
- Clink!
A reluctant toast, but Jo Jung-yeon downed it in one go.
Then, like tonguing something bitter, he took the fruit hors d'oeuvre Jo Dong-yeon offered, bit into it, and tossed it on the table.
"Fucking prick anyway. Can't fool me, even if you could others. Shady as hell. So what do you want?"
"Just pull 30 billion from construction. I'll cover the rest with loans against my highway shares. Then I'll repay you 60 billion as promised. For real."
"30 billion? What the fuck kinda name is that?"
"Bro, you can spare that much for a month, honestly."
True.
No matter how much of a headache construction had become for the group, it wasn't because the company itself was failing—it was the excessive debt from the acquisition.
It still held 5th in domestic contracting rankings, with annual sales hitting 10 trillion won.
Sure, interest burdens meant net losses, but scraping together 30 billion wasn't impossible.
Jo Jung-yeon pondered briefly before speaking again.
"What if they hit us with another rights offering?"
"No worries there."
"You idiot, how can you not worry? That's the biggest issue!"
"I know some guys. Give 'em money, they'll do anything."
Jo Jung-yeon looked mildly shocked at Jo Dong-yeon's reply.
For a fleeting moment, the brother he'd always dismissed felt unfamiliar.
But then,
"Bro, a gift."
"What's this?"
Jo Jung-yeon picked up the small pouch in front of him and unzipped it.
Inside were a dozen small transparent bags of white powder.
"What the hell is this? You trying to set me up?"
Jo Jung-yeon's eyes sharpened instantly.
Junkies feared leaks above all.
So Jo Dong-yeon's "gift" looked more like a trap.
But right then, Jo Dong-yeon pulled a small bag from his own pocket and shook it.
"Relax, bro. I do it too. This ain't cheap shit—try it. Nah, let's do it together."
To dispel the suspicion, Jo Dong-yeon sprinkled some white powder on his own hand.
Jo Jung-yeon's face eased at the sight.
Now they shared a secret.
Of course, Jo Jung-yeon had no idea.
The powder on Jo Dong-yeon's hand was just finely ground vitamins...
"Chief, Seyeon Highway accepted the new share acquisition."
Seo Ji-hyeok's smile deepened at the strategy team leader's report.
Now the real game began.