Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Devil's Temptation
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Daehan Group Security Team Leader's office.
Team Leader Kim Chan-uk let out a hollow laugh at Kim Jun-sik's report.
"So, you got KO'd by an amateur?"
"I'm sorry."
Kim Jun-sik bowed his head, his face flushing red.
It was humiliating.
"......"
After staring at him for a long while, Kim Chan-uk waved him off.
"Get out."
At Kim Chan-uk's dismissal, Kim Jun-sik bowed deeply and left the team leader's office.
Creak—click!
Once the door closed, Kim Chan-uk picked up the document file on his desk.
Rustle!
Inside the file were photos and information on Lee Dae-hyuk, packed densely.
'No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense.'
A suicide addict and shut-in managing a 30 billion investment firm wasn't enough—he even beat a martial arts black belt bodyguard?
It was absurd.
As Kim Chan-uk read through Lee Dae-hyuk's photos and past information, he let out another hollow laugh.
He hadn't harbored any hostility from the start.
He had only been watching Lee Dae-hyuk because he was an enemy of the woman he was duty-bound to protect.
And he had felt some pity, too.
Anyone with a conscience would feel sympathy for an abused child.
But what if that child grew up to become an enemy of Park Ji-sook?
'I can't just leave him be, one way or another.'
Eliminating variables was part of security work.
'This time, I need to crush him for sure.'
Kim Chan-uk glared at the photo of Lee Dae-hyuk smiling brightly and began devising a plan to protect Park Ji-sook.
***
A diner near the Prosecutors' Office.
"Cough! Hack!"
A man who had been digging into his gulbi rice set started coughing unexpectedly.
It was because of the uninvited guest who had suddenly plopped down across from him.
The uninvited guest—no, Lee Dae-hyuk—frowned at the man with messy hair and stubble poking out.
"Prosecutor, you should wash up before going out."
"You insolent chaebol third-gen punk, interrupting my meal! No, more than that—how did you know I was here?"
Prosecutor Kim Il-jung playfully furrowed his brow.
In response, Lee Dae-hyuk, arms crossed, shot back bluntly.
"You act like you're not a chaebol son yourself."
"Shut up."
At Lee Dae-hyuk's words, Kim Il-jung glanced around warily.
Fortunately, the diner's patrons were too busy eating noisily to overhear their conversation.
"Don't be so cold to your little bro you haven't seen in ages."
"Damn it, bro."
Kim Il-jung clicked his tongue at Lee Dae-hyuk's teasing.
Kim Il-jung.
Lee Dae-hyuk's childhood friend and the third son of Hyeonsan Group, ranked 11th in the business world.
The oddball who went through active duty military service, declaring he lived for people, not money, and then became a prosecutor.
And the only person the old 'Lee Dae-hyuk' remembered as a friend.
"You've really changed a lot. You sure you're the Lee Dae-hyuk I know?"
"Of course I'm Lee Dae-hyuk. Who else would I look like?"
Kim Il-jung scowled at the banter from his younger friend, five years his junior.
But in that expression—no, in his eyes—there was affection for Lee Dae-hyuk.
Just recently, Lee Dae-hyuk had shown up after ten years and handed him information that led to a major bust.
They had arrested the entire network: Russian mafia smuggling organs out of Korea, along with the Triads and Japanese Yakuza.
They even nabbed the sellers.
The problem was.
'They're all dead.'
All the organization members who supplied them with organs had died.
'Killed by some unknown assailant who slit their carotid arteries, causing fatal blood loss. Right before capture.'
Six dead in a single day.
The autopsies showed the cuts matched a single perpetrator.
Fortunately, the victims had mentioned 'Park Cheon-ho's faction.'
But even raiding with search warrants turned up no evidence on Park Cheon-ho.
"Is that why you're here? The investigation's still ongoing. I'll let you know when we get results."
"Yeah?"
Kim Il-jung felt a twinge of embarrassment at Lee Dae-hyuk's response.
"We tore the place apart. Nothing. Damn it, we need something to move forward."
Lee Dae-hyuk countered after hearing Kim Il-jung's excuse.
"...Even the slaughterhouse I told you about had nothing?"
"Yeah. The forensics team dug up the ground, but no bodies, no organs, not even a drop of blood."
Lee Dae-hyuk sighed upon hearing Kim Il-jung's account.
He had definitely confirmed Park Cheon-ho's Cheonan slaughterhouse with psycho metry.
The place where monsters dismembered humans instead of pigs.
'They moved faster than I thought.'
They must have swiftly removed the evidence.
Killing the sellers and cleaning up traces showed Park Cheon-ho was no pushover.
The issue was what came next.
'What to do...'
Even Kim Il-jung, foul-mouthed but undeniably capable, hadn't found evidence.
Still, arresting the Russian mafia, Triads, and Yakuza was a small mercy.
'Hmm.'
As Lee Dae-hyuk furrowed his brow in thought, Kim Il-jung spoke up.
"Don't scowl. Ruins the appetite. Just go."
"You weren't ever nice to me anyway."
"This is me being as nice as it gets."
Kim Il-jung drew a line.
He had become a prosecutor out of disgust for chaebol corruption.
He had personally arrested and imprisoned more than a few himself.
As his nickname 'Chaebol Hunter' suggested, he despised them.
His father, Chairman Kim Myeong-seong, who hit a pedestrian while drunk driving, then framed and drove his secretary to suicide.
His mother, who cheated endlessly with young male models and actors, neglecting him.
His older brothers, who committed school violence and sexual assaults but had it all covered up with Hyeonsan Group's power.
Those memories were deeply etched in young Kim Il-jung's mind.
Chaebols are trash.
I have to clean them up.
'Yeah. I have to clean house.'
But Kim Il-jung still wasn't a reliable ally.
That had nothing to do with the old Lee Dae-hyuk considering him a friend.
Right now, Kim Il-jung's gaze held contempt and doubt as he looked at him.
He was asking the same questions he'd posed before, now with his eyes.
How a suicide addict like Lee Dae-hyuk had changed, and how he knew Cheon-ho faction's 'secret.'
Meeting his stare head-on, Lee Dae-hyuk spoke.
"Do you trust me?"
"No. I don't trust chaebols."
Lee Dae-hyuk gave a bitter smile at Kim Il-jung's words and stood up.
"This will be the last time we meet regarding the Cheon-ho faction."
"Hey!"
Thud-thud!!!
As Lee Dae-hyuk left the diner, Kim Il-jung shot to his feet and yelled.
But Lee Dae-hyuk didn't look back, as if he hadn't heard, and exited.
Staring at the closing door, Kim Il-jung muttered.
"Kid's grown up."
Watching Lee Dae-hyuk's retreating figure with a strange expression, Kim Il-jung recalled the first time he saw him.
Did seeing an abused kitten abandoned on the street feel like this?
His face naturally evoked pity.
That's why he'd treated him well in his own way, but family issues made him forget Lee Dae-hyuk.
After that, he'd only heard about his suicide attempts.
Yet the Lee Dae-hyuk he met again was a monster beyond imagination.
'If he made hundreds of billions on his own and can dismantle crime syndicates, he's the real deal.'
Lee Dae-hyuk would become a chaebol unlike any he'd imagined.
In that case.
"See you around, punk."
Thud!
Kim Il-jung slumped back down and picked up his spoon again.
***
Inside a security vehicle speeding down the road.
"We blocked the deal, but it's still a failure."
Yoon Tae-ho clicked his tongue at Lee Dae-hyuk's words.
Lee Dae-hyuk had tried to check Park Cheon-ho by pulling in Prosecutor Kim Il-jung.
But it was a complete failure.
"Park Cheon-ho—that bastard's no ordinary guy. There must be moles feeding him info inside the police and prosecutors."
"He's probably bribed everyone. Wasn't that expected?"
Even as he replied, Yoon Tae-ho's head throbbed.
He was supposed to protect Lee Dae-hyuk.
Yet he felt like he was dragging him into more danger.
'Park Cheon-ho will move in earnest now. I need to guard Young Master more thoroughly from here on.'
But before Yoon Tae-ho's resolve could settle, Lee Dae-hyuk issued a shocking order.
"Min-gyu might be in danger now. Protect him."
"Me? Sir?"
Nod-nod!
Lee Dae-hyuk nodded silently, staring at Yoon Tae-ho with serious eyes.
"Park Cheon-ho won't come after me directly. But he'll want to vent his anger somewhere."
"So you're saying he'll target Kim Min-gyu? If that's the case, I'll assign my men. I should stay with you, Young Master..."
"I'm fine. My routine's just going between the company and home. I'm under security team protection during that time, so Manager Yoon, please look after Min-gyu."
"But still..."
"It's what I want."
"...Yes, sir."
Yoon Tae-ho bowed his head at Lee Dae-hyuk's firm tone.
***
Park Cheon-ho's office.
Crash! Crunch! Boom!
Park Cheon-ho smashed the large TV on one side of the office with his golf club.
He wanted to beat his failed underlings like old times, but he couldn't.
Why?
His manpower had already dwindled too much.
"Hoo... huff!"
'Fuck! Fucking hell!'
Park Cheon-ho breathed heavily.
He had lost all his clients.
So he killed all the underlings who had made contact with them.
He cut off tails to save himself.
He used the knife-man he'd raised since his father's days to handle it all.
And he burned every shred of evidence, so he should be safe for a while.
But his rage wouldn't subside.
'Damn it.'
Park Cheon-ho bit his lip.
Lee Dae-hyuk and Kim Min-gyu.
He didn't know how to chew up those two to vent his anger.
How furious was he to pull out and read a Bible he hadn't touched since elementary school?
He tossed the golf club aside and flipped open the thick Bible on his desk, but his mind was a mess.
'What to do...'
Killing Lee Dae-hyuk outright was impossible.
Bodyguards would be around him, and screwing up could make enemies of Daehan Group.
But Kim Min-gyu was different.
No backlash to worry about if he killed him now.
'Who to send?'
The knife-man who handled the organization members had gone into hiding.
Only one reliable fighter left.
"Sang-wook."
At his call, the door burst open, and a burly young man in training clothes entered.
The blond-dyed teen with fierce eyes bowed.
"You called?"
"You've been bored, huh?"
At Park Cheon-ho's question, the youth—Lee Sang-wook—nodded slightly.
"Not bored, just... a bit idle."
"Can't have my Sang-wook idle. Here, I'll give you some work to fix that."
Park Cheon-ho grinned lecherously.
Lee Sang-wook.
The kid in front of him was what people called a genius.
A father addicted to gambling, bleeding the family dry, even selling his own organs.
So the boy took down five gangsters single-handedly to save him.
A mother who cared for him until needing dialysis.
So the boy needed to make money.
And his way to do it was with his fists.
But he didn't bully the weak.
He just took money from bullies who stole from others, like his dad.
Not heroism.
The bullies, who valued face over cash, never reported to police, so he fleeced them freely.
Spotting Lee Sang-wook's talent, Park Cheon-ho decided to trust him and ditch Kim Min-gyu.
Lee Sang-wook had been nineteen then.
After clearing his father's gambling debts, plus a bonus 100 million, he even got a healthy kidney for his mother.
Park Cheon-ho had saved his life.
In the end, Lee Sang-wook had no choice but to stay by his side.
And now, that savior gave an order.
"You've never gotten blood on your hands, right?"
"Yes."
"Then let's fix that. One head on your tally."
"...Who do I kill?"
Lee Sang-wook's voice trembled.
He had beaten plenty, broken bones countless times.
But never killed.
Murder.
The word alone sent chills down his spine.
Sensing his agitation, Park Cheon-ho cooed slyly.
"Sang-wook, I saved both your parents. Doesn't that mean you can kill one person for your big bro?"
Park Cheon-ho smiled and placed a hand on Lee Sang-wook's shoulder.
Tremble!
The boy's shoulder shook at the order to kill.
The devil licked its lips once more toward the boy.
"Don't you love your parents?"
"My dad... I'm not sure."
Smirk!
Park Cheon-ho's lips curled at Lee Sang-wook's answer.
"Then for your beloved mother, shouldn't you do something?"
"......!!!"
Boss, Become a Chaebol