Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Father's Challenge
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‘To think I’d end up flattering him like this… I’ve changed a lot too.’
Lee Myung-guk figured it was what he wanted to hear most, so he said it. But after the words left his mouth, he felt embarrassed.
Still, seeing Lee Myung-guk’s expression told him his guess wasn’t wrong.
His face was flushed with surprise, his mouth hanging open.
Just as his expression showed, Lee Myung-guk’s heart was pounding like it was about to burst—something he hadn’t felt in ages.
‘Can my heart still race like this?’
Of course, from Lee Myung-guk’s perspective, Lee Dae-hyuk’s story wasn’t entirely cause for joy.
In a way, it was a declaration of war against Park Ji-sook.
Lee Myung-guk glanced subtly at Park Ji-sook’s face.
She was biting her lip, her fists clenched.
Humiliation washed over her, but perhaps due to a shred of refinement and patience, Park Ji-sook didn’t raise her voice.
Instead.
“I’m not feeling well, so I think I’ll head inside. You rich folks enjoy your meal.”
She pushed back her chair and stood up.
As if to hide her twisted expression, she turned her head away and hurried out of the living room.
As she headed to the master bedroom, an awkward silence hung between the father and son.
“…….”
Lee Myung-guk was the one who broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s something I’ve prepared for.”
Lee Myung-guk’s chest ached at Lee Dae-hyuk’s words.
Because of him, his wife was hurt, as well as the woman he once loved and her children.
But regrets wouldn’t change anything now.
He couldn’t turn back time, and even if he could, he’d make the same choice.
All he could do now was be a proper father.
And.
‘Be a proper chairman too.’
As a father, it pained him to let his children fight.
But as chairman, it was right to set the stage for his heirs to compete properly.
‘Fatherhood can wait a bit.’
He’d tend to his wounded children later.
The company’s people were his ‘children’ too, after all.
“Earlier, I said I’d invest in you, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll decide the investment amount. But there’s a condition.”
After a brief pause, Lee Myung-guk laid out the condition.
“Use your skills to grow the assets to 50 billion. Then I’ll invest another 50 billion.”
Lee Dae-hyuk caught the implication in Lee Myung-guk’s words.
If he couldn’t, there’d be no investment.
Lee Myung-guk knew the weight of money.
The fact that Lee Dae-hyuk had somehow scraped together nearly 30 billion proved his ability.
But 30 billion wasn’t enough.
To enter the real game for control of Daekwang Group, Lee Dae-hyuk needed to prove himself several times better than the other children.
If he did, Lee Myung-guk was ready to reward him handsomely.
As if reading Lee Myung-guk’s complicated thoughts.
Lee Dae-hyuk fell silent for a moment.
“…….”
This time, he wanted to speak not as a son, but as a ‘businessman’ facing an ‘investor.’
“If I make 100 billion, will you invest another 100 billion?”
“……!!”
Lee Myung-guk’s eyes widened.
50 billion was already a huge sum. 100 billion?
“If you make 100 billion… No need to exaggerate in front of your father. Just show reasonable ability.”
“100 billion is reasonable for me.”
Lee Dae-hyuk said lightly.
In truth, proper land hoarding would make 100 billion a piece of cake.
‘Up by 10 billion.’
Lee Dae-hyuk felt a twinge of guilt toward Seojin Construction.
He’d originally planned to squeeze 90 billion—ten times his 9 billion investment.
But Lee Myung-guk’s proposal had just bumped it up to 100 billion.
‘Sorry, President Yoo. Heh.’
After a insincere apology in his mind, Lee Dae-hyuk continued.
“I’ll bring back 100 billion within a month.”
Lee Myung-guk’s eyes sparkled at his son’s bold promise.
Such a massive amount was hard to believe right away.
Still, he wanted to trust his son.
“…Fine. I’ll be expecting it. Let’s eat.”
“Yes.”
And so the father and son’s meal began.
.
.
.
Park Ji-sook, who had left the table first.
Now, she strolled the garden as if to soothe her stuffy chest.
Was it the night breeze?
The resentment piled up inside her eased a little.
But she’d been humiliated—she couldn’t just let it slide.
“Team Leader Kim. You said you’re from the NIS, right?”
The sharp-cheekboned man standing behind Park Ji-sook stepped forward.
“Yes.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
“I’ve never killed. But I’ve brought plenty to the brink of death.”
“Is that so?”
“Boring, huh?”
A smile crept across Park Ji-sook’s lips at Team Leader Kim’s joke.
“Are you trying to comfort me right now?”
“Doing my best.”
Her smile deepened at Team Leader Kim’s playful remark.
Sometimes, this kind of consolation helped.
Still, thinking of the bastard eating at her table twisted her pride and guts.
Park Ji-sook spoke in a low tone.
“If you’re stressed, you gotta relieve it, right?”
“…Please give the order.”
“I hear that kid’s learning martial arts. Accidents happen in sparring, don’t they?”
“They do.”
Team Leader Kim sighed.
Hearing his sigh.
Park Ji-sook smiled bitterly and continued.
“I’ll just laugh it off inwardly as childish.”
“What level of accident do you want?”
At Team Leader Kim’s question, Park Ji-sook muttered.
“Make it so he rests for a month.”
That much time would let her prepare to bury Lee Dae-hyuk legally.
Plus, prepare for war with her husband.
It couldn’t be helped.
Even if he was her husband… to protect her and her children’s share, she had to fight.
‘Your dinner with that son of yours in this house ends tonight.’
***
Two weeks had passed since the meeting with Lee Myung-guk and Park Ji-sook.
Lee Dae-hyuk had half-expected an attack from Park Ji-sook.
You needed an attack to counterattack, after all.
But surprisingly, there was no movement from her side.
‘Boring.’
He’d been a little hopeful.
If she moved, he could strike back.
But he understood her lack of action.
She’d expect him to be on guard.
So she was probably waiting quietly for him to slip.
‘Let’s put that aside for now.’
If she attacked, he’d deal with her then.
Right now, he needed to focus on his routine.
His daily life hadn’t changed much.
Work, gym.
Checking the stocks Kim Jae-woon was buying.
He’d glimpsed Yoo Jae-man’s trades over his shoulder at this point, so he had a rough idea.
He vaguely remembered which stocks surged or plunged.
But.
Kim Jae-woon had repeated buys and sells using only his own knowledge and judgment, without that info.
“Return rate of 164 percent…”
“Minus 0.5 percent commission, it’s 163.5 percent.”
In Kim Jae-woon’s officetel.
Starting with 100 million in seed money, he’d turned it into 269 million, looking somewhat regained in confidence.
Lee Dae-hyuk praised him sincerely.
“Impressive.”
“Hmm… It’s clearly praise, but it feels weird.”
Kim Jae-woon furrowed his brow.
He should feel good, but something nagged at him.
“Uh… Getting praised like this by someone who makes hundreds of billions… it’s a mixed feeling.”
“Hahaha. This is just the start—you deserve praise. I trust you’ll keep delivering returns like this.”
“…That’s burdensome too.”
Lee Dae-hyuk chuckled happily at Kim Jae-woon, feeling both confidence and pressure.
Kim Jae-woon still didn’t fully trust himself.
Probably after a few more wins.
And tens of billions in his account.
‘He’ll change a bit.’
When money and status shift, people balance desire and responsibility.
They mature in that balance to enjoy success—or get consumed by desire and ruin their lives.
Kim Jae-woon would surely balance it and succeed, but then his cute(?) side would fade.
Teasing him like this until then wasn’t bad.
“By the way, the officetel looks cleaner today.”
“Noona Mi-jin said to clean it spotless while she’s in Busan. Talk about pressure… It’s like having a barracks sergeant.”
Kim Mi-jin was on a business trip to Busan with Kim Min-gyu’s men.
At first, he’d worried about her going with those rough-looking guys.
But fortunately, living with Yoon Tae-ho had acclimated her to tough-faced men, so she was navigating Busan without issue.
“Noona’s taking good care of you?”
“No worries about meals.”
No sooner had he spoken than Kim Jae-woon stood and headed to the fridge.
He opened it and shrugged.
“From fresh kimchi to soybean sprouts and sesame leaf banchan—she made it all herself before leaving.”
Introducing the side dishes, his voice choked up.
He felt a family warmth he’d never known through them.
“I’ll work hard to earn those side dishes.”
Knowing Kim Jae-woon’s family history well, Lee Dae-hyuk felt a lump in his throat.
Humans could heal wounds and find strength from mere side dishes.
‘Someday, I’ll live like that too.’
A life of simple routines, not revenge.
But that would come only after a long time.
To reach it sooner, Lee Dae-hyuk wanted to end his revenge quickly.
‘…….’
Shaking off the thought, Lee Dae-hyuk spoke.
“Oh, and you know we have a guest today?”
“Yeah, Manager Yoon told me.”
Tension etched Kim Jae-woon’s face as he answered curtly.
A client investing 3 billion was coming.
His heart raced, body stiff with nerves.
3 billion, or even 300 million or 30 million—an investor was precious and grateful.
Especially now, when he needed seed money badly.
“Should I prepare some wine?”
“This isn’t a bar, it’s a company. So… just do your usual thing.”
“Hmm… Got it.”
Kim Jae-woon’s face flushed red as he returned to his seat.
Knock knock knock-!
A knock, followed by Jung Hee-joo’s voice.
“It’s Jung Hee-joo.”
“Ah, I’ll get it now.”
Creeeak-!
Lee Dae-hyuk went to the door himself and opened it, letting Jung Hee-joo into the officetel.
She scanned the place in her black suit dress.
“Just an officetel, huh. How many staff?”
“Two.”
“Hello. I-I’m Kim Jae-woon.”
Kim Jae-woon shot up from his seat and bowed deeply to Jung Hee-joo.
A full 90-degree bow, polite and proper.
Seeing it, Lee Dae-hyuk frowned.
“Hey, Kim Jae-woon. You don’t need to go that fa—.”
“It’s polite, but I like it. I’m Jung Hee-joo.”
Cutting Lee Dae-hyuk off, Jung Hee-joo extended her right hand.
Kim Jae-woon, lifting his head, shook it.
Thump thump-!
Feeling his heart pound wildly for a different reason.
Seeing Kim Jae-woon’s flushed face, Lee Dae-hyuk wanted to slap his forehead.
‘No need for psychometry to see this.’
Kim Jae-woon had fallen for Jung Hee-joo at first sight.
.
.
.
“I believe investments should be made with reason, not emotion. ‘This’ll go up, that’ll go down’—the moment emotion takes over, you’re done.”
“Yes, yes.”
“This emotion includes fear too. A good stock suddenly drops—that’s shaking out the retail investors. You can’t fall for it. Why? We’re not retail. Right?”
“Yes, yes. What’s a retail investor? Hahaha.”
“…….”
Lee Dae-hyuk looked at Kim Jae-woon pitifully.
As he sipped the coffee Jung Hee-joo had brought, discussing stocks.
“Money is power. I need power. Give me your power.”
“Yes. I’ll definitely give it to you.”
Kim Jae-woon clenched his fist in determination.
Jung Hee-joo smiled alluringly, as if on cue.
Watching them alternate, Lee Dae-hyuk drank his now-cold coffee to soothe his frustration.