Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: A Long-Awaited Reunion
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“…….”
Steven Gibson bit his lip.
The birth mother he had so desperately wanted to meet was right in front of him.
He wanted to talk with her.
There were so many things he wanted to ask and hear.
But he was a rational man in any situation.
And his rationality was casting doubt on Lee Dae-hyuk.
‘It doesn’t make sense.’
The one who had brought him here to find his birth mother must be Lee Dae-hyuk.
‘Why?’
Rather than gratitude, he felt bewilderment.
He did like the man and wanted to make him a business partner.
Still, this seemed too much.
He couldn’t help but suspect his intentions.
“What is your name?”
Steven Gibson asked his birth mother’s name in as calm a tone as possible.
A son asking for his name… after decades apart.
“…….”
Rather than感動, a sorrow gripped her heart.
Barely holding back the welling tears and grief, Martha gave her name.
“Martha. Martha Williams.”
“Could you… step out for a moment? Ma, rtha.”
Even calling his birth mother by name was painful for Steven Gibson.
But in front of Lee Dae-hyuk, he wanted to keep his distance.
“…….”
Whether she understood her son’s feelings or not, Martha silently left the conference room without another word.
The footsteps of Steven Gibson’s aides, Yoon Tae-ho, and the others heading to the nearby reception room could be heard.
Thud, thud, thud-!!
After the footsteps faded.
Lee Dae-hyuk spoke.
“Will you hear my story first?”
“…Is the answer to my question in there too?”
“Yes.”
Lee Dae-hyuk intended to tell Steven Gibson everything that had happened between The Company and himself.
‘Honestly, I’d rather keep it hidden if I could.’
The original plan had been solely to use the mother to get Steven Gibson to undergo surgery.
But even if he found her for him, Steven would still suspect him.
And who knew when someone sent by The Company might appear.
‘No, they might even be watching from nearby right now.’
So, Steven Gibson needed to know the full story of everything that had transpired so far.
‘He won’t suspect me then, and Steven will protect himself.’
It might sound like a completely unrealistic, implausible tale.
Still, there was no choice but to tell the truth now.
“There’s a secret organization that controls the world economy. That group was targeting you, Steven.”
“Mr. Lee, have you been drinking? Or drugs?”
Steven Gibson let out a hollow laugh at Lee Dae-hyuk’s words.
He had thought him an outstanding, capable young man.
Even in the conversation he’d shared with Bill Gates, he had been certain Lee Dae-hyuk would become a giant….
‘Did we misjudge him?’
While Steven Gibson looked baffled, Lee Dae-hyuk continued.
“Lizen Tian was a member of that organization.”
“What, did you even investigate my background? How do you know about Lizen Tian?”
Steven Gibson’s eyes widened.
But instead of answering, Lee Dae-hyuk pressed on with his story.
“The pain disappeared completely after Lizen Tian’s injections, right?”
“Uh, how do you even know that?”
Steven Gibson’s pupils shook.
The fact that the pain vanished after Lizen Tian’s injections was something only he knew.
Now it wasn’t anger anymore—it was sheer bewilderment.
Steven Gibson stared at him with eyes that screamed incomprehension.
To him, Lee Dae-hyuk dropped a shocking truth.
“It wasn’t because of Lizen Tian’s injections. It was the drug’s effect—you just couldn’t feel the pain.”
“……!!!”
.
.
.
After hearing Lee Dae-hyuk’s entire story.
Steven Gibson had no choice but to believe.
It was absurd and made no sense, but….
‘It all fits.’
Michael’s completely unexpected death.
The pain worsening right after he died.
And Lizen Tian suddenly vanishing.
It all made sense if Lee Dae-hyuk’s story was true.
“Even if we say everything Mr. Lee told me is close to the truth… no, the truth. I still can’t easily believe it.”
Steven Gibson maintained his rationality.
Emotionally, he wanted to believe. But there was a question that needed resolving first.
“Fine. Let’s say the killer of Michael and Lizen Tian… that secret organization straight out of a Hollywood movie did it. But how did you know about it, Mr. Lee?”
Lee Dae-hyuk let out a quiet sigh.
It was a question he had expected.
But he couldn’t give all the answers here.
“I can’t answer every question right now. You wouldn’t believe me even if I did.”
Steven Gibson was a genius.
No matter how he tried to cover it with lies, he’d spot the gaps and grow more suspicious.
He could demonstrate psycho metry directly, but that was impractical for now.
If he revealed he had such a special ability, Steven would only fear or guard against him.
‘I need to build more trust.’
For now, he had to invoke his right to silence while appealing to his emotions.
“You don’t have to believe me. But dangerous things could happen, so stay vigilant around you. That’s all I want.”
“…….”
Even after Lee Dae-hyuk’s explanation, the distrust in Steven Gibson’s eyes remained.
But what could he do?
If he told bigger lies to avoid suspicion, his connection with Steven Gibson might end.
Moreover, Lee Dae-hyuk wasn’t offended by Steven’s reaction.
‘I would’ve done the same.’
His trusted boss, Yoo Jae-man.
The younger brother he saw as family, Oh Tae-gyu.
Kim Geon-woo, betrayed by them and forced to die. Though he had been reborn in Lee Dae-hyuk’s body, he couldn’t demand others trust him easily.
People have to be wary of people.
‘Still….’
Lee Dae-hyuk hoped Steven Gibson would at least sense his sincerity.
“Your… mother is alive.”
“……?!”
“But I can’t meet my mother. There are reasons I shouldn’t.”
Lee Dae-hyuk was speaking his true heart as ‘Kim Geon-woo,’ not Lee Dae-hyuk.
“…….”
Did he sense that sincerity even a little?
Steven Gibson simply gazed at Lee Dae-hyuk without a word.
“There are many people in the world who are alive, missed dearly, but can’t be met. In that sense, Steven, you’re happier than me. Don’t let that happiness slip away.”
“…….”
Steven Gibson was silent for a long time.
Everything was confusing.
The betrayal by Lizen Tian and bodyguard Michael, the sudden secret organization, and now his birth mother’s appearance….
It felt like a storm was raging through his mind.
In that storm, Steven Gibson pulled out the most crucial point.
“You said you knew the secret organization was targeting my mother and found her first?”
“Yes.”
“And you protected her through Eagle Hound in the meantime.”
Lee Dae-hyuk nodded at Steven Gibson’s following question.
“I know it was rude. But your mother’s safety came first.”
At his words, Steven Gibson closed his eyes gently.
It was still confusing.
There were many parts he couldn’t properly judge.
Still.
‘One thing is clear.’
Lee Dae-hyuk had tried to save him and his mother.
There were still suspicious parts, but in the end, he and his mother had been kept safe until now.
Thanks to the man before him.
“I don’t know if I’ll take it back later… but for now, I should thank you. Thank… you.”
Steven Gibson’s face was a bit awkward as he expressed his gratitude.
Still, since his sincerity had reached him, Lee Dae-hyuk could breathe a sigh of relief.
‘This is enough for now.’
Unless he used psycho metry on Steven Gibson, he couldn’t dispel all his doubts. So for the time being, he wouldn’t fully let go of his suspicions.
‘Still, I’ll wait.’
This was about changing Steven Gibson’s life—and no, Daekwang Group’s future.
He could wait plenty.
“Your mother must be waiting. I’ll get out of the way now, so you two talk.”
***
That evening, as Lee Dae-hyuk and Steven Gibson were having their deep conversation.
Dream American Hotel.
The Company’s executive conference room.
For the regular meeting, executives wearing animal masks—including America’s Wolf Mask—had gathered.
Just before the regular meeting, Wolf Mask reported his meeting with Lee Dae-hyuk.
“He was an interesting young man.”
But at the words that he had let Steven Gibson go because of that interesting young man, Japan’s Tiger Mask, Shogun, clicked his tongue.
“To be played by some young punk’s antics. Is that amusing? A waste of the name ‘King.’”
Even at Shogun’s provocation, Wolf Mask—King—did not lose his composure.
“Of course, if I wanted, I could’ve crushed that brat. The bomb was probably bluffing, and exposing our personal info on the deep web was obviously a lie.”
If he knew their personal information, he would have mentioned it during the talk to threaten them.
But Lee Dae-hyuk hadn’t said a word about personal info.
Germany’s Eagle Mask, Kaiser, interjected.
“So? Why bring it up?”
“It gave me a sense of déjà vu. Wasn’t there another guy who talked big to us like that?”
“You mean that Korea guy.”
Remembering the traitor, Iran’s Dragon Mask, ‘Shah,’ let out a sneer.
The traitor was the only one holding The Company’s real secrets.
That man had also proposed a deal using information disclosure as leverage, just like Lee Dae-hyuk.
Shah stroked his exposed chin beneath the mask, reminiscing about the past.
“But it was a fair trade, wasn’t it? We gave him freedom, and he handed us South Korea’s economy.”
The Company’s secret funds, perfectly laundered through the traitor, now controlled 30 percent of South Korea’s stock market.
If they decided to pull it all out, South Korea would plunge into another foreign exchange crisis within ten years.
But the ending wasn’t set yet.
The Company didn’t forgive traitors.
The executives fell silent, thinking of the traitor.
King sorted out the situation first.
“It was a relatively peaceful process.”
“But true peace comes only from completely uprooting the seeds of unease.”
Shah’s eyes sharpened.
Someday, that traitor would have to be dealt with too.
Even if he had risen to lord over South Korea’s economy now.
If he grew further and built more power?
He could become The Company’s ‘fire.’
Shah planned to one day stamp out that spark—no, the fire itself.
“I agree.”
King stared straight into Shah’s eyes.
This desert royal preferred hunting and blood over money.
Moreover, everyone here had the power to crush not just the traitor, but South Korea’s economy itself.
But King was a pragmatist.
“There’s a Chinese proverb, ‘Use barbarians to control barbarians,’ right? You all know it?”
“Catch barbarians with barbarians? You’ve taken a liking to that Lee Dae-hyuk punk, huh.”
King shook his head at Shogun’s question.
“Not at all. I wanted to kill him right then. But I didn’t want to waste time and effort on something useless.”
If Lee Dae-hyuk hadn’t shared the same nationality as the traitor, he might have killed him on the spot.
But at that moment, King recalled the Eastern proverb ‘use yi to check yi.’
Even if he rejected the offer, ‘raising’ a man like Lee Dae-hyuk would force him to eventually clash with the traitor.
‘A country can have only one king.’
All the executives here knew the traitor’s personality well.
A man who stamped out any sprouting giant.
Lee Dae-hyuk wasn’t the type to go down quietly either.
“Honestly, if you ask if it’s just for fun, it’s not nothing, but I plan to tame a disobedient hunting dog. Of course, we’ll need a formal vote.”
The formal vote King mentioned was a simple show of hands.
It looked like a simple procedure, but it wasn’t.
If personal actions defying the vote were discovered, a new executive would take the seat.
With ‘death’ as the punishment.
And Shah and Shogun were among those who had risen that way.
“…….”
“…….”
That was why they had no choice but to ponder deeply.
.
.
.
Time passed.
The show of hands began.
And.
“What a bore.”
Shah didn’t raise his hand.
But beyond words, there was little he could do.
All the other executives had raised theirs.
As the executives lowered their hands again, a faint smile played on King’s lips.
“Honestly didn’t expect much, but thanks.”
At King’s words, Kaiser spoke first.
“I don’t care about such worms anyway. Whatever little kings in that peninsula minnow country do is irrelevant.”
Shogun shared his view too.
“I’ve seen that man Yi Myeong-guk in person. So I have some expectations. Even if he’s half his father, it’ll be fun.”
After the two executives spoke, King wrapped up the meeting.
“Good. On to the next item. I think we need to tweak the U.S. economy a bit through subprime mortgages. Hope you’ve made preparations.”
Boss, Become a Chaebol