Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Leashing the Spies
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One hour later.
In the executive conference room at Daehan Construction headquarters, only Park Joo-seung and Cha Woo-jin sat there, isolated.
The two accomplices and colleagues in the same crime avoided each other's gazes with pale faces.
Overwhelmed by mounting anxiety, Cha Woo-jin's complexion was ashen.
Park Joo-seung, who had received a report through his security team that the attempt to harm Kim Joo-ran had failed, was biting his lip in despair.
But while Cha Woo-jin might not survive, he himself would definitely live on.
So for now, he had to bow his head.
As he steeled his resolve,
The door to the executive conference room opened, and Nam Seong-il and Lee Dae-hyuk walked in.
"Mr. Park Joo-seung, Mr. Cha Woo-jin. Sorry I'm a bit late."
"!!?"
"……!?"
The two men could not help but be startled by Nam Seong-il's greeting upon entering the executive room.
Calling them by their names with "Mr." instead of their company titles meant only one thing.
'We're caught.'
"……."
"……."
Heavy silence fell, and cold sweat beaded on the bridges of Park Joo-seung and Cha Woo-jin's noses.
But deep down, the two were thinking different things.
Cha Woo-jin clenched his fists.
'No need to cling to this perennial runner-up company. I can just go to Seojin.'
Cha Woo-jin neatly sorted out his lingering attachments.
Park Joo-seung glared straight at Nam Seong-il, but his shoulders trembled slightly.
Still, he gritted his teeth outwardly to avoid showing any sign of fear.
Nam Seong-il, who had been silently watching the two, played his trump card.
"Let me inform you in advance that Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk here—no, the chairman's third son, Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk—has been investigating you both."
"……!"
Park Joo-seung, who already knew about Lee Dae-hyuk, remained composed, but Cha Woo-jin was shocked enough to make his lips tremble palely.
If the 'chairman's son' knew, it meant his misdeeds had reached the chairman's ears.
Lee Myung-guk had the power to block him from going to Seojin.
'Damn it! I'm about to become a laughingstock.'
As Cha Woo-jin's face twisted even more fiercely, Nam Seong-il glanced at Lee Dae-hyuk.
Lee Dae-hyuk had asked him first to reveal his identity.
It would be easier to control them if they knew a mere employee was actually the chairman's son holding their leash.
This was Lee Dae-hyuk's scheme.
'He certainly has the guts and foresight like the chairman.'
He pursued practical gains over emotional responses.
That was how Lee Myung-guk had led the Daehan Group.
Lee Dae-hyuk was the same.
He harbored no good feelings toward either man, privately or officially.
But to use them, he had to hold back for now.
As Lee Dae-hyuk remained silent, Nam Seong-il continued his explanation.
"There's more than enough physical evidence proving you two are Seojin Construction's moles. There are witnesses too. Especially in Mr. Park Joo-seung's case, there's a very solid witness."
It was referring to Kim Joo-ran.
Park Joo-seung shut his mouth.
And then,
"I didn't know you liked golf so much, Mr. Cha Woo-jin. It's a shame we didn't play a round together."
As even the golf story came up, Cha Woo-jin also lowered his head.
With the two remaining silent, Nam Seong-il handed over the baton.
"Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk, say a word."
At Jang Seong-jae's consideration, Lee Dae-hyuk looked down at the two men seated at the conference table.
His gaze was filled with arrogance and contempt.
Cha Woo-jin and Park Joo-seung instinctively trembled.
It felt like their throats were being strangled.
The terror of possibly losing everything they had made their bodies shake like convicts awaiting execution.
Pfft-!
Smirking at their trembling, Lee Dae-hyuk spoke.
"It's fortunate you're dumber than I thought. Or should I say wiser?"
"Wis... wise? What do you mean by that?"
Park Joo-seung, who had been biting his lip, countered.
Lee Dae-hyuk glanced at him and continued with a face full of amusement.
"You don't waste time denying it. I'm grateful for that part."
At Lee Dae-hyuk's sarcasm, Cha Woo-jin and Park Joo-seung both flushed red simultaneously.
They felt miserable and humiliated.
But what could they do?
Lee Dae-hyuk held their leashes.
For now, they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut and await his verdict.
"……."
Like the two, Lee Dae-hyuk fell silent for a moment.
He knew silence could double the anxiety, so he deliberately let it linger.
Then, Lee Dae-hyuk dangled food before the leashed dogs.
"There is a way for you to keep enjoying what you have now. A way to continue getting your company salary, selling information as Seojin's moles, and taking their bonuses."
"!!"
Park Joo-seung and Cha Woo-jin both widened their eyes.
Wasn't this like a lifeline thrown to drowning men?
But the two hesitated to speak up.
They sensed it might be another trap set by Lee Dae-hyuk.
As their premonitions suggested, Lee Dae-hyuk revealed his true intentions.
"There is such a way... Will you do it? Just follow my simple orders."
'Orders?!'
Cha Woo-jin and Park Joo-seung's eyes sparkled simultaneously.
Though an ominous feeling surged, Cha Woo-jin couldn't open his mouth.
What words could a criminal have?
On the other hand, Park Joo-seung, who somewhat underestimated Lee Dae-hyuk, asked.
"What orders are you talking about?"
"Mr. Park Joo-seung, your speech is too casual."
As Lee Dae-hyuk playfully tilted his head, Park Joo-seung gritted his teeth.
It meant to use honorifics.
'Fine. For now, I'll play along with you.'
He wanted to tear Lee Dae-hyuk apart right then, but what wouldn't he do to survive?
"...Tell us what orders, sir. We can only follow if they're something we can do."
"Yes. Mr. Park Joo-seung is right."
Cha Woo-jin, who had been listening, backed him up.
'Daehan Construction was already rotten. And it's not just Daehan Construction.'
Could a company with executives like Park Joo-seung and Cha Woo-jin function properly?
And there would be trash like them throughout the Daehan Group.
'Trash needs to be sorted out as quickly as possible.'
But usable trash should be recycled, right?
Thoroughly, until they begged to be discarded.
"Simple. From now on, live just as you have been. Meet Seojin Construction people too. But hand over the information I provide you."
"Pr-provided information?"
Park Joo-seung's mouth fell open.
He was shocked at the idea of passing on fake information from Lee Dae-hyuk.
Cha Woo-jin was equally speechless.
Lee Dae-hyuk smirked at the two dumbfounded men and continued.
"And extract information from Seojin Construction."
"What?!!"
Unlike Cha Woo-jin, who was too stunned to react, Park Joo-seung raised his voice and slammed the conference table.
"Who are you trying to get killed? Don't you know what kind of people are in the Seojin Group?"
"I know very well."
Lee Dae-hyuk smiled at the shouting Park Joo-seung.
Who knew more about Seojin Construction than he did?
'More than greenhorns like you—I know the real 'them.''
And he had come back from death to bring them down.
"No need to raise your voice. If you don't like it, just leave. But tomorrow, you'll be reporting to the police station instead of the office."
Park Joo-seung and Cha Woo-jin both glared furiously.
They had prepared for this, but hearing 'police station' from Lee Dae-hyuk's mouth snapped them alert.
"Even if you fight it in court, with the evidence overflowing... you won't escape prison. And you know how scary Chairman Lee Myung-guk gets when he's angry, right?"
Despite Lee Dae-hyuk's teasing tone, Cha Woo-jin and Park Joo-seung didn't get angry but only dropped their heads in resignation.
A short silence flowed.
Cha Woo-jin surrendered first.
"...We'll do anything."
And then,
"Tell us exactly what we need to do. No, tell us... sir."
Even Park Joo-seung surrendered.
Lee Dae-hyuk patted the shoulders of the two still-lowered heads and spoke in a serious tone.
"I'll be counting on you from now on. You two—no, the two of you—can pull this off."
"……."
"……."
***
A few days after thus taming the two spies.
After work, Lee Dae-hyuk headed not home but to the warehouse.
'Impressive efficiency.'
Looking around the empty warehouse, Lee Dae-hyuk was slightly impressed.
All of Yoo Jae-man's artworks were gone.
Meaning they had all been sold.
Thud, thud-!
"You're early."
Footsteps echoed from behind Lee Dae-hyuk.
Jeong Hee-joo, dressed in a suit, approached with a bright face.
"You sold everything already?"
At Lee Dae-hyuk's question, Jeong Hee-joo nodded.
"Yes. The items and buyers are perfect. They won't have any tailing worries... but we might be at a bit of risk. So from now on, bring a few more bodyguards with you."
Jeong Hee-joo, who had smiled playfully, stopped in front of Lee Dae-hyuk.
The jokes ended here.
Now it was business.
Jeong Hee-joo spoke in a serious tone.
"I'll tell you the total sales amount. We sold 61 pieces at very reasonable and fair prices for 33.1 billion won. Excluding our 10% commission, 29.79 billion won is your share, Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk."
29.79 billion won.
Hearing the amount, Lee Dae-hyuk let out a wry chuckle.
'Yoo Jae-man, you were playing with some expensive toys.'
At least 500 million per piece.
Since they were stolen goods and needed quick disposal, they were sold at a discount.
If properly valued and sold, it would have doubled or more.
To think he had been handing out such items as bribes without hesitation...
'Well, he definitely reaped solid returns on those investments.'
The journalists, politicians, and judicial figures who received 'gifts' from Yoo Jae-man became his dogs, offering unwavering loyalty.
No matter what crimes Seojin Group's people committed, they faced no criminal punishment.
The media was busy churning out favorable articles daily, calling it Korea's top group.
Even when factory workers got leukemia or lost their sight from industrial accidents.
Not a single media outlet criticized Seojin Group's faults.
Even without Yoo Jae-man, most chaebols secretly spread bribes to some degree.
They knew better than anyone that a law proposed by a congressman or a single word could crash their stock prices.
In the end, bribes were a means to satisfy their greed.
'I won't become that kind of chaebol.'
Lee Dae-hyuk solidified his resolve inwardly.
He had no intention of becoming a monster to catch one.
He would hunt monsters in his own way.
But first, he needed to thank Jeong Hee-joo.
"You've worked hard."
"No need. I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk, my standing in the organization has risen."
Jeong Hee-joo's expression looked much brighter.
As an outsider(?) in the organization, she had been under scrutiny.
But suddenly bringing in 3.13 billion in profit naturally skyrocketed her status as a boss.
"And as you said, the proceeds will be transferred to your company through a paper company we have in ours."
"Sorry for the hassle."
"No. This isn't tens of billions—it's hundreds. We both need to be careful with this amount. But... Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk."
Jeong Hee-joo, who had waved it off with a friendly smile, suddenly turned cold.
"I forgot to ask back then... How did you know our company has a paper company?"
Her organization kept some profits through a Panama paper company.
This was something he learned from conversations with Yoo Jae-man.
He always joked that the safest vault was in Panama.
In fact, many wealthy people secretly stashed slush funds overseas knowingly or not.
Jeong Hee-joo herself had directly told Kim Geon-woo that she legally managed hundreds of billions through paper companies.
But he couldn't say everything truthfully here.
'I heard it from future you and Yoo Jae-man.' He couldn't say that.
"Isn't it trendy these days? I figured someone like you, Ms. Jeong Hee-joo, would naturally have one."
Lee Dae-hyuk gave a vague answer.
Jeong Hee-joo stared at him intently.
Lee Dae-hyuk was certainly attractive and had already helped her a lot.
But she wasn't a fool; she had noticed his approach felt unnatural.
"I have a lot I want to ask. But I'll hold back for now."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"It's not understanding. I'm just holding back because you're helping me."
Jeong Hee-joo drew a line.
She had some fondness for Lee Dae-hyuk, but in this world, you couldn't trust people lightly.
Even without using psychometry, Lee Dae-hyuk could read Jeong Hee-joo's wariness sufficiently.
"I'll continue being helpful like this."
Did his gentle tone soften her a bit?
Jeong Hee-joo, slightly easing her guard, wrapped up the talk.
"The proceeds will be deposited in about a week. What do you plan to do after that?"
She was asking where he intended to use the money.
At Jeong Hee-joo's question, Lee Dae-hyuk answered firmly.
"Invest it to make even more money."
"Invest?"
"What I plan to do ahead requires a lot of money."
At Lee Dae-hyuk's words, Jeong Hee-joo tilted her head.
A chaebol son with nearly 30 billion now.
And he needed more money?
After pondering briefly, Jeong Hee-joo came to a conclusion.
"Well, chaebols have a different sense of money than ordinary people. You must have your own circumstances, Mr. Lee Dae-hyuk."
Jeong Hee-joo set aside her doubts.
Truthfully, she no longer needed to care what Lee Dae-hyuk did with it.
"Well then, see you later."
As Jeong Hee-joo lightly nodded and turned to leave the abandoned warehouse,
Lee Dae-hyuk called her.
"Ms. Jeong Hee-joo."
"Yes?"
"I'll make a proposal. One that will be very useful to you personally too."
A useful proposal?
Jeong Hee-joo, about to exit the warehouse, looked at him steadily.
"What's the proposal?"
"I told you back then. The corporation I set up is a professional investment company."
"And?"
Jeong Hee-joo's eyes filled with doubt, and Lee Dae-hyuk offered her the chance.
"Would you invest in our company?"
A chance to invest in a company created by a regressor who knew the future.