Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Auctioning Stocks and Secrets
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There was only one reason Lee Dae-hwan had no choice but to fall to Lee Dae-hyeok.
Perfect complacency.
Even now, he was looking down on Lee Dae-hyeok with utter disregard.
Despite having thrown Kim Hyun-seung in prison and demolished the Gold Moon Club.
Right now, all the high-society regulars of the Gold Moon Club were trembling in fear.
And yet, even knowing Kim Hyun-seung must be grinding his teeth in rage, Lee Dae-hwan paid it no mind.
Who would dare touch the heir to Daehan Group?
Kim Hyun-seung was no different.
Unless his own will explicitly named him, the Daehan Group heir was untouchable.
‘Just toss some money into his commissary account or something.’
Pushing aside any worries about Kim Hyun-seung, Lee Dae-hwan actually felt anticipation.
He wondered how Lee Dae-hyeok would come at him.
Of course, a flicker of unease would rear its head now and then, but he stubbornly ignored it.
He was convinced he could crush Lee Dae-hyeok no matter what tricks he pulled.
‘Gold Moon got wrecked just days ago, and now he wants a meeting? Obviously not for reconciliation.’
Far from reconciliation—he must have prepared every dirty trick to stab him in the back.
‘Whatever schemes he’s got, I’ll smash them all.’
Lee Dae-hwan resolved not just to destroy whatever weapons Lee Dae-hyeok had prepared, but Lee Dae-hyeok himself.
Shaking off the unease with effort, Lee Dae-hwan glanced at his watch and spoke.
“Rude. He asked to meet, so why’s he so late?”
“Oppa must be eager to see Dae-hyeok soon? That’s weird.”
“I hate wasting time.”
Lee Sun-ah responded to Lee Dae-hwan’s icy retort with a scoff instead of words.
She knew full well that the traps her eldest brother had set had been dismantled by Lee Dae-hyeok.
She had her own moles inside the company, and through her fiancé’s back channels, she’d gathered plenty of intel.
Amid all that information, Lee Sun-ah had been genuinely surprised.
Lee Dae-hyeok had achieved feats beyond her expectations—in less than four months, no less.
‘Even rooting out the spy in Daehan Construction… He’s no pushover. He might even surpass my brothers.’
Lee Sun-ah resembled her mother, Park Ji-sook, more than anyone.
She harbored deep, intense ambitions.
But there was one key difference.
She was a thorough pragmatist.
She never started a fight she could lose. And once she committed, she kept her emotions hidden until the battle began.
She knew Lee Dae-hyeok hadn’t called this meeting for some trivial reason.
‘Only that muscle-headed idiot doesn’t get it.’
Lee Sun-ah frowned at her second brother, Lee Dae-cheol, who kept grinning like a fool.
‘How does he run a business with brains like that…?’
They had been rivals since birth.
Unfortunately, being born into a chaebol family meant giving up any notion of normal sibling bonds.
Yet Lee Dae-cheol still hadn’t grasped that reality, even as an adult.
‘Well, that works in my favor.’
Lee Sun-ah hoped her second brother stayed this dumb forever.
It would mean one less competitor.
At that moment.
Knock knock knock!!!
Along with the knock, another rival entered the room.
“Sorry. I’m a bit late.”
Flashing a bright smile, Lee Dae-hyeok offered a brief apology and took his seat.
Creak!!
.
.
.
The door closed… but no one spoke first.
Lee Dae-hwan was scrutinizing Lee Dae-hyeok’s face and mouth, waging his own silent battle of nerves.
Lee Sun-ah was doing the same.
From here on, every word would be a dagger or bullet aimed at a rival.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Only Lee Dae-cheol kept a silence of a slightly different kind.
‘I expected this, but… the mood’s way too heavy.’
“Um… Dae-hwan hyung. Sun-ah. It’s been so long….”
Just as Lee Dae-cheol opened his mouth.
“As expected. We’re not the hugging type, huh?”
“!!”
Lee Dae-hyeok cut him off and pulled the trigger.
“Dae-hyeok-ah?”
Perhaps sensing the chill in Lee Dae-hyeok’s tone.
Lee Dae-cheol stared at his little brother in surprise.
“Ha… Sorry the vibe’s like this. But you can’t talk like that either.”
Lee Dae-hyeok felt a twinge of bitterness at Lee Dae-cheol’s sincere words.
He could feel the genuine remorse for past wrongs.
If Lee Dae-hwan or Lee Sun-ah had looked at him the same way, this meeting might have gone differently.
‘No—their whole lives might have turned out different.’
Sorry as he was to the original owner of this body, he might have irresponsibly forgiven them.
But fortunately, no such situation arose where he’d have to apologize to the original Lee Dae-hyeok.
“Sorry, hyung. With the mood like this, looks like we’ll stick to business.”
“Business… talk?”
Lee Dae-cheol furrowed his brow.
Even he, oblivious as he was, finally got it.
Lee Dae-hyeok’s goal had been business from the start, not reconciliation.
“Whatever business it is… No, before that. You didn’t really want to reconcile? That was a lie too?”
“If you two had apologized as sincerely as hyung, reconciliation might’ve been possible. But I waited, and it doesn’t seem like that’ll happen.”
Lee Dae-hyeok glanced between Lee Dae-hwan and Lee Sun-ah.
Lee Dae-hwan’s eyes held no remorse or guilt—only hostility.
Lee Sun-ah was observing him with curious interest.
Staring straight at them, Lee Dae-hyeok spoke.
“No more time-wasting. Let’s talk business from now on.”
“Spit it out.”
Lee Dae-hwan flicked his hand, gesturing for him to speak.
Lee Dae-hyeok stared at the gesture and let out a scoff.
“Spit it out, huh? What rude phrasing.”
“Rude…?”
Wrinkle formed on the bridge of Lee Dae-hwan’s nose.
But instead of cursing or yelling, he quietly clenched his fist.
He could blow up anytime.
First, hear what Lee Dae-hyeok’s business was.
‘I’ll smash him afterward, whatever it takes.’
“…….”
“Pfft hahaha. Big bro just got owned hard?”
Lee Sun-ah clutched her stomach laughing at Lee Dae-hwan’s reaction.
Perhaps her laughter grated on him.
“…….”
“Aww… Okay, sorry, big bro.”
Under Lee Dae-hwan’s silent glare, Lee Sun-ah wiped the smile from her face.
He was still a scary figure to her.
At least until she and her future husband solidified their position, she had to pretend to stay on his good side.
“Fine. Dae-hyeok-ah. Stop souring the mood and just say it straight. What business do you want?”
To Lee Sun-ah’s question, Lee Dae-hyeok replied.
“I want to sell my Daehan Group shares.”
‘He wants to sell headquarters shares?’
At those words, not just Lee Dae-hwan—Lee Dae-cheol and Lee Sun-ah’s jaws dropped.
Seeing his siblings’ shock, Lee Dae-hyeok tilted his head.
“Why the surprise?”
Lee Dae-cheol spoke up at his innocent question.
“To us, Daehan Group shares aren’t just any stock. They’re more precious than money—than gold itself.”
Lee Dae-cheol, who’d been sitting uncomfortably, raised his voice.
It was the same in other companies, but stocks were weapons with voting rights.
Retail investors couldn’t wield that power, but they were different.
One share could cost them an affiliate company.
Worry filled Lee Dae-cheol’s face.
“Thanks for the concern.”
Lee Dae-hyeok felt a slight gratitude toward his second brother.
‘Maybe things could be different with Dae-cheol.’
Lee Dae-hwan and Lee Sun-ah, on the other hand, had to be pushed out of Daehan Group.
‘No helping it. They’re enemies.’
Reading the hostility in their eyes, Lee Dae-hyeok smiled leisurely and dove into the real business talk.
“I need cash right now. Willing to sell anything for it. But selling my shares to outsiders didn’t sit right.”
“Company loyalty?”
Lee Dae-hyeok shot back at Lee Dae-hwan’s sarcasm without batting an eye.
“Let’s call it family loyalty.”
“Family? You?”
Lee Dae-hwan wanted to unleash a tirade.
But Lee Sun-ah raised a hand to stop him.
“Wait, oppa. Let’s hear him out properly. This is interesting.”
“…….”
As Lee Dae-hwan shut his mouth with a displeased look, Lee Sun-ah asked.
“How much for 2,000 shares?”
“Sun-ah.”
When Lee Sun-ah brought up money, Lee Dae-hwan glared at his sister.
With sharp, icy eyes.
But she didn’t flinch.
“Aren’t you curious? No idiot would call us just to sell plain shares, right?”
“…….”
“Tell us, Dae-hyeok-ah. What else besides the shares?”
‘Ho… She might really be the real enemy here.’
Lee Dae-hyeok inwardly admired how she’d seen through him but kept his expression neutral.
Lee Dae-cheol aside, Lee Dae-hwan and Lee Sun-ah were clear foes.
Dealing with enemies meant mastering his poker face.
Plus, from here on, it was bluffing time.
‘Gotta squeeze at least 2 billion more out of them.’
Settling on a figure, Lee Dae-hyeok spoke in a deliberately mild tone.
“Impressive. Got superpowers or something?”
Lee Dae-hwan’s eyes narrowed at the joke.
“You really have more to sell?”
“I’m thinking of selling 2,000 shares plus a video.”
“Video?”
Lee Dae-hwan flinched involuntarily, his body tensing.
Did he somehow get the video Kim Hyun-seung had of him?
“…….”
Lee Dae-hwan’s face hardened.
Coming from Lee Dae-hyeok of all people, the word “video” was bound to rattle him.
And.
‘…….’
‘Something’s up….’
Lee Dae-cheol and Lee Sun-ah didn’t miss the change in his expression.
They shared the exact same thought.
‘This could be our chance.’
A once-in-a-lifetime shot at becoming Daehan Group’s heir.
Meanwhile.
‘So predictable. Was he always this amateurish?’
Lee Dae-hyeok smirked inwardly at Lee Dae-hwan’s frozen face.
Tensing up this much over three little words? No wonder he did something so stupid.
‘Not my problem, though.’
He just needed to milk this lie for as much cash as possible.
Lee Dae-hyeok pressed the attack.
“I’ll sell the video and shares to whichever of you—brothers or sister—bids the highest.”
“How much?”
Unable to hold back, Lee Dae-hwan bit the bait Lee Dae-hyeok dangled.
Smirk!!!
‘Hook, line, and sinker. Too easy.’
Satisfied, Lee Dae-hyeok named the price.
“2 billion.”
His siblings reacted differently to the figure.
Lee Dae-hwan let out a disbelieving laugh.
“…2 billion?! Ha!”
Lee Sun-ah’s eyes, however, gleamed sharply.
2 billion for 2,000 shares and dirt on big bro?
If played right, she could oust the heir and take his place.
“…Cheap. Give me the account number. I’ll wire it by tomorrow.”
At Lee Sun-ah’s words, Lee Dae-hwan and Lee Dae-cheol turned to her.
“……?!!!”
“Sun-ah.”
Unlike Lee Dae-hwan, who glared silently with pursed lips, Lee Dae-cheol called his sister’s name in a pained tone.
But Lee Sun-ah met them boldly, without hesitation.
“Why? I’m curious what’s on that video. Quench my curiosity and snag shares? Total steal.”
At her response, Lee Dae-hyeok slammed the table.
Bang!
The three siblings’ eyes snapped to their half-brother at the sound.
With their gazes on him, Lee Dae-hyeok spoke slowly.
“I wasn’t clear enough…. 2 billion isn’t the final price. It’s the starting bid.”
“Starting bid? What’s that mean?”
To Lee Sun-ah’s question, Lee Dae-hyeok grinned slyly.
“Let’s do a simple auction. Very simple, with an obvious winner.”