Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Clash with the Half-Brother
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Watching his employees' exploits from inside the car, Park Jung-gi's face was utterly haggard.
Stress had piled up immensely.
Jeong Hyuk-su, crushed by Lee Dae-hyuk.
Wolfgang, still no word from.
Even Kim Jin-taek and Min Seung-su subtly pressuring him.
He was one step away from going mad.
Even so, if he wanted to make any excuses to those two, he had to clean up the scene neatly.
Of course, even if he went out to the site, there wasn't much for him to do.
He just had to watch his employees' heroics from inside the car like this.
At least seeing them smash things so refreshingly made his stress ease a bit.
'Should I go out there too?'
It had been so long since he'd been at a site that his body was itching.
But if his face, that of a somewhat famous figure, got exposed, things would get more complicated.
Tsk-!
As Park Jung-gi smacked his lips in regret, giving up on returning to the scene(?),
As if reading Park Jung-gi's mind,
Clunk-!!
"!!"
Suddenly, the driver's seat and rear doors opened simultaneously, and two burly men in masks burst in.
"You, what the hell are you guys?!"
As Park Jung-gi shouted, Kim Hak-su, the masked man in front of him, raised his right fist.
"Thugs. You damn thug!"
"What? What bullshit..."
Just as Park Jung-gi was about to spit out a curse,
Kim Hak-su's fist slammed into his jaw.
Crack-!!!
***
Inside the security vehicle speeding down the road.
Having finished his usual 'Kim Jae-woon special lecture' as always, Lee Dae-hyuk opened his notebook and reviewed the economic terms he'd learned so far.
Short Selling, convertible bonds, creative accounting, split listings, and so on.
Along with the economic terms he'd jotted down, he'd also noted how to use them.
'Earn money by appropriately crossing between legal and illegal... I have the power for that.'
As Lee Dae-hyuk looked over his notebook, he recalled Kim Jae-woon's words from just moments ago.
Making money like this would create 'retail investors' who bleed out.
That's why Kim Jae-woon had earnestly pleaded several times during class.
Too many people die because of money.
At least keep to the 'line.'
Don't become a monster because of money like the other chaebols.
'A monster, huh...'
Pfft-!
A hollow laugh rose to his lips.
Kim Jae-woon's worries were unnecessary.
He was already a monster mad with revenge.
But the only necks this Lee Dae-hyuk monster would bite were those of Yu Jae-man's family and Oh Tae-gyu.
On the contrary, Lee Dae-hyuk sometimes envisioned life after revenge.
'Once revenge is done, it wouldn't be bad to use this money for society.'
He mustn't create a second Kim Geon-woo or Lee Dae-hyuk.
They mustn't become thugs out of poverty.
And especially not from abuse.
He hadn't yet thought of a way to prevent such tragedies... but with money, anything was possible.
However, dreaming of the distant future was a luxury right now.
'I need to deal with Wolfgang first.'
To draw that future, he had to solve the homework right in front of him.
'No contact yet, so neither Park Jung-gi nor Wolfgang has found it...'
Things were dragging on longer than expected.
But what could he do.
All he could do now was build his skills and wait.
Then.
Bzzz-!!
A text message came from a completely unexpected source.
[Let's have dinner. 7:30. Daehan Hotel.]
Lee Dae-hyuk frowned upon checking the message.
'Busy even on a Saturday.'
Seeing the sender saved as 'Lee Dae-hwan' on his phone instinctively stirred resentment and rage.
So far, he'd only glimpsed Lee Dae-hwan through Lee Dae-hyuk's memories; he'd never met him in person.
And yet.
"......"
Tremble-.
Just the three letters of Lee Dae-hwan's name made his hand holding the phone shake.
It was due to two opposing emotions.
Intense rage and fear.
Originally, Lee Dae-hyuk had hated Lee Dae-hwan to the point of wanting to kill him.
Because he'd led the abuse against him.
The problem was that the thickly accumulated fear had robbed him of even the courage to stand up to Lee Dae-hwan.
He'd dreamed countless times of choking Lee Dae-hwan's neck, of killing him.
But when actually facing him, he'd only break out in cold sweat and avoid his eyes.
In the end, Lee Dae-hyuk hadn't landed even a single punch on Lee Dae-hwan's face before ending that wretched life.
But.
Though his life had ended, he who had inherited everything of his remained.
'Poor guy. Don't worry, I'll land one for you in your place.'
The 'current' Lee Dae-hyuk wasn't afraid of Lee Dae-hwan.
He remembered this punk's misdeeds perfectly.
But to him, who had gone through countless battles, Lee Dae-hwan was just a cute little upstart.
'What we've lived through, endured, and achieved is different.'
What Lee Dae-hwan had wasn't his own power.
'It's Chairman Lee Myung-guk's, my father's, power.'
More precisely, the power of Daehan Group.
Soon to be his Daehan Group's power.
If things went according to plan, he'd clash head-on with Lee Dae-hwan in earnest within a year.
So, a slight declaration of war at this point wouldn't be bad.
***
Daehan Hotel VIP room.
Seated across from Lee Dae-hwan, Lee Dae-hyuk hadn't touched his steak.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"You want me to eat this facing you? And besides..."
Lee Dae-hyuk stared intently at Lee Dae-hwan's steak.
When he'd arrived, Lee Dae-hwan had already finished eating.
As if he didn't even want to share a meal with someone beneath him.
One rude act after another.
Arms crossed, legs also crossed, Lee Dae-hyuk glared at Lee Dae-hwan.
"You need to learn manners first."
"......?"
"Even elementary kids don't call someone over and eat alone."
At Lee Dae-hyuk's sharp rebuke with chilling eyes, Lee Dae-hwan furrowed his brow.
"Talking down to me... Guess we've gotten a lot closer lately."
Lee Dae-hwan laughed as if relaxed, but his hand gripping the fork and knife trembled finely.
He sensed rage in Lee Dae-hyuk's words and actions.
The Lee Dae-hyuk who used to cower and avoid his eyes whenever he saw him.
But now he was sitting with arms crossed, even talking down.
On top of that.
"Don't wanna get close to trash like you?"
He was even provocatively taunting him so naturally.
"You've grown a lot, huh."
At Lee Dae-hwan's sneer, Lee Dae-hyuk shrugged.
"We're not close enough to eat nicely together, and asking about each other's lives is a waste of time. Get to the point."
Unlike usual, Lee Dae-hyuk provoked Lee Dae-hwan.
Without even using Psycho Metry.
'Just sitting across from him is unpleasant enough; a handshake too? The thought alone is revolting.'
As Lee Dae-hyuk shuddered inwardly,
"......"
Lee Dae-hwan, who had been quietly staring at Lee Dae-hyuk, opened his mouth.
"The point, huh... Yeah. No reason to waste each other's time."
Lee Dae-hwan set his fork and knife on the table and glanced at a piece of steak.
Because it was rare, blood was oozing from the steak piece.
A desire rose to make Lee Dae-hyuk like this.
A desire to immediately chop him up and drench him in blood.
Tormenting Lee Dae-hyuk since childhood had been a delightful game.
'A very delightful game.'
Even now as an adult, he wanted to do it just like back then.
But he had to hold back now.
'Business comes before games.'
"Land hoarding for money games? You've been into such low-class hobbies lately."
"Ha."
Lee Dae-hyuk snorted.
Land hoarding and money games.
His half-brother must have heard from Kim Jin-taek or Min Seung-su's requests.
For Daehan Group's heir to be Sejin Group's lackey.
'Is that why it fell so easily?'
With an heir like this, Daehan Group had no hope from the start.
But now it was different.
He would take Daehan Group.
"Cheating on your wife and rolling in bed with any woman—is that classy behavior?"
"What?"
Stunned by Lee Dae-hyuk's counterattack, Lee Dae-hwan couldn't hide his shock.
But soon.
"What nonsense did Jin Soo-young spout?"
"You're not even surprised."
"Same to you, isn't it?"
Lee Dae-hwan was inwardly impressed.
His influence within Daehan Group was absolute.
Subordinates everywhere reported all sorts of information.
He even had eyes and ears in the PR team and security team where Lee Dae-hyuk worked.
The problem was that Lee Dae-hyuk had anticipated all of it.
In this situation, he needed to adjust his approach a bit.
"You're an adult now, so I'll treat you like one."
"Kuk! Hilarious. I have no desire for respect from a traitor."
"......?!"
At the word 'traitor,' Lee Dae-hwan's eyes widened.
"Traitor? What did I betray?"
"You got a request from President Kim Jin-taek or Min Seung-su to block me. And they offered you something you wanted."
"......"
"What our all-powerful Director Lee Dae-hwan wants is Daehan Group, right?"
Even without Psycho Metry, Lee Dae-hyuk knew Lee Dae-hwan's goal.
He might look like the solid heir on the surface.
But Lee Dae-hwan was also in competition with his siblings, Lee Dae-cheol and Lee Sun-ah.
In other words, he'd borrow Sejin Group's power to gain the upper hand in the succession battle.
"And after that, it's obvious. You'll use the excuse of 'Daehan Group and Sejin Group joining forces to go global' to crawl under Yu Jae-man."
As Lee Dae-hyuk spat it out casually, Lee Dae-hwan's face flushed red.
"You bugging me or something?"
At that question, Lee Dae-hyuk frowned.
'Was he this stupid?'
From Lee Dae-hwan's position, he should deny it outright now.
Yet asking if he was bugging him?
That was practically admitting himself that he was the traitor.
'Now I get why Daehan Group ended up like that.'
A hollow smile formed on Lee Dae-hyuk's lips.
In contrast, the gaze Lee Dae-hyuk swept over Lee Dae-hwan's neck was sharply blade-like.
"!!"
Startled by that gaze, Lee Dae-hwan shuddered.
It was just a look.
Yet it felt like a cold blade actually touching his neck.
'He has changed.'
But soon, Lee Dae-hwan regained his composure.
Father's pet had certainly changed.
But still, he was under his feet.
"Know your place, you pet."
Like when they were kids, Lee Dae-hwan called Lee Dae-hyuk a 'pet.'
"......"
Lee Dae-hyuk, who had been silent at those words, soon burst into laughter.
"Puhahaha!!"
Deliberately loud enough for Lee Dae-hwan to hear.
Truthfully, it was utterly ridiculous.
To cling to Yu Jae-man while trying to lord over his half-brother like a tyrant.
From Lee Dae-hyuk's perspective, who knew his true nature, it was just laughable.
"What's... so funny?"
Screeech-!!
Lee Dae-hwan knew that laugh was mockery.
Irritated, he shoved his chair back and approached Lee Dae-hyuk's side.
'How dare you. Mock me?'
Habitually, Lee Dae-hwan raised his right hand.
If the animal wouldn't obey, he had to train it.
But.
Grip-!
"!!"
He couldn't strike Lee Dae-hyuk's head like before.
Lee Dae-hyuk had shot up and grabbed his right hand.
And at the same time.
Flash-!
Psycho Metry activated automatically, and Lee Dae-hwan's information seeped into Lee Dae-hyuk's mind.
Among them, a few 'memories' made Lee Dae-hyuk's eyes twitch.
The reason Lee Dae-hwan hated him was merely...
'Because Father took care of me when I was sick?'
Ha-!
A hollow laugh escaped Lee Dae-hyuk's lips.
Not long after his mother passed and young Lee Dae-hyuk came home, he'd caught a severe fever.
Unable to stand seeing the sniveling kid, Lee Myung-guk had nursed him for three days and nights.
Though he'd given him the cold shoulder as a stepchild, to Lee Myung-guk, Lee Dae-hyuk was still a precious son.
So he'd volunteered to care for his son however he could.
In the end, thanks to his father's devoted nursing, young Lee Dae-hyuk recovered without issue.
But this incident made middle-schooler Lee Dae-hwan start hating Lee Dae-hyuk.
'It was jealousy, after all.'
The reason he'd tormented a child his whole life was just jealousy.
Unknowingly, Lee Dae-hyuk clicked his tongue.