Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Money Thicker Than Blood (1)
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Busan, Cheolhwa Medical Center VIP room.
Seo Guk-cheol, chairman of Cheolhwa Group, clutched at his chest, his face twisted in pain. Even breathing in and out seemed like too much effort.
“Chairman, the youngest young master has just arrived.”
“Bring him straight in. And tell the hospital staff to keep their mouths shut—one more time.”
His hand, withered like a tree transplanted to the desert, reached out toward the branches beyond the window.
A piercing winter cold. The last clinging leaves must have run out of strength to hold on.
Seo Guk-cheol’s trembling hand. The barren branches swaying in the wind seemed to beckon him, waving hello.
“Hello. Fa… ther.”
The hospital room door slid open with a rattle, and a young boy stepped inside.
The boy fidgeted awkwardly, glancing at his father, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.
“Yes, Yun-seok. My one and only son. Come closer.”
Still far too young to bear the heavy crown on his head.
Knowing this, Seo Guk-cheol slowly stroked his son’s hair, hoping to lighten the burden of the Cheolhwa Group crown even just a little.
“Hey, Im-ja. Bring that document from Attorney Park.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
A small safe in the corner of the room. The secretary general opened the metal door and pulled out the documents needed to transfer controlling shares of the Cheolhwa Group holding company.
Seo Guk-cheol sat the boy down beside him—his face barely dusted with peach fuzz.
He flipped through the papers one by one with his own hands, rushing through the succession process.
“That’s right. Just stamp your seal there and sign. Do the same on the next one.”
The boy’s tiny hands followed his father’s instructions.
Seo Guk-cheol seemed uneasy at the sight of his young son, who didn’t yet understand the meaning of his actions.
His voice thick with worry, Seo Guk-cheol spoke.
“Listen while you do it. Starting tomorrow, you’ll have to meet with all the affiliate presidents. They’ll be your regents in my place for the next five years, so you must… *cough! Cough!*
“Ah… Father! Are you okay? There’s blood…”
Seo Guk-cheol spat blood onto his white patient gown.
In just the past few days, his life’s flame had been flickering out rapidly, as if someone outside were blowing fiercely on it.
“Cough, cough…! It’s fine. I’m okay, so finish that up.”
The paperwork was already complete.
Seo Guk-cheol handed the signed documents to his loyal secretary general.
“How long until everything’s processed? Even if we rush it.”
“Even at top speed… it’ll take about a week.”
“A week, a week… I can’t die until then, I suppose.”
Clutching his chest where sharp pain stabbed, Seo Guk-cheol wished his sluggish heart would just hurry up and stop already. Today, it felt especially cruel.
After exhaling a blood-tinged sigh, a knock came from outside.
“Excuse me. Chairman, it’s time for your medication.”
The medical staff looked visibly tense.
Seo Guk-cheol took a thick bundle of pills from them. Unlike usual, when he’d toss them straight into his mouth, he just stared at them blankly.
“Doctor. Have the meds changed? Seems like more.”
“Ah, well, since your collapse, your lung and heart functions have declined further… so we added some stronger ones.”
The doctor averted his eyes, mechanically reciting the pharmacology and side effects.
Strong effects meant severe side effects, but they were essential for prolonging life, he explained.
“I see. No need to say more, Doctor.”
Exhausted to the extreme, Seo Guk-cheol’s face was the color of dirt. He placed the pills in his palm and spoke.
“If I want to live, I have to endure the pain. Just one week—one week of lying here like a living corpse with my eyes open.”
Seo Guk-cheol swallowed nearly a dozen pills.
Had a dream demon come for him? His eyelids grew heavier.
Darkness crept in around his narrowing vision. Now lying back, his weak voice slipped out faintly.
“Whew… I’m a bit tired.”
“Chairman, are you alright?”
“Yeah, yeah. Everyone out for a bit. I need to rest my eyes…”
Like a camera lens gone dark, Seo Guk-cheol’s vision fully faded to black.
After that, the withered old man’s eyes never opened again.
What came for him wasn’t a dream demon, but the reaper in black robes, come to guide the departed.
* * * *
China, outskirts of Guangzhou IT Industrial Park.
A semiconductor factory that was little more than ruins. Or rather, what used to be a factory.
Former President Lee Tae-gyu stepped out of the car and scratched the back of his head at the desolate sight, his head already aching.
“Ha, this is a total loss.”
Lee Tae-gyu expressed his dismay.
He wandered among the industrial facilities needed for semiconductor manufacturing, shaking his head repeatedly.
“No way to get this running, even if you beat it to death. Best to scrap it all for parts and sell the metal—that’s the real money.”
“Any other options? Really none?”
A woman followed Lee Tae-gyu into the factory.
Seo Yun-ji, with her jet-black bob, couldn’t hide the urgency on her face.
“Even low-grade quality is fine as long as we produce something. You’re the top expert here, right? Figure something out.”
“Hey, what kind of semiconductors you gonna make with this junk? Even if we fix it, we can’t produce anything that’ll sell on the market.”
Hearing informal speech from Seo Yun-ji, who was young enough to be his niece, former President Lee Tae-gyu grumbled but continued.
“Stamping out junk chips from junk machines? No sane buyer for that… My advice? Don’t waste your breath.”
“So, you’re saying repairs are possible.”
Lee Tae-gyu couldn’t fathom how she’d arrived at that conclusion.
He imagined grabbing the nagging girl by the head and yelling at her to listen.
But.
“Ahem. Repairs? Sure, possible. If I take the baton, I can whip up a shell in a couple months flat.”
His face scowled, but positive words came out.
Having blown his savings at the casino lately, he desperately needed cash.
Lee Tae-gyu had no intention of biting the hand that fed him.
Seo Yun-ji, satisfied with the answer, finally smiled.
“What? You could do it, but you dragged out the preamble? Conclusion’s set—now direct the recovery as fast as possible and deliver results.”
“Hey, but Representative Seo, your instructions are always so curt…”
“Performance bonus paid right after factory recovery. 500 million won, separate from your salary. How’s that?”
“Abso! Lute! Ly! I’ll serve you with my life, bones shattering if need be, Representative Seo!”
Lee Tae-gyu proved that cash trumped formal speech.
His 30-year creed of not saluting civilians had long faded before the casino’s glittering lights.
“That’s enough bossing around the gambling-addicted old timer.”
Seo Yun-ji walked out without a backward glance at Lee Tae-gyu frozen in salute.
She recalled her recent conversation with Yan Long of Shanghai Capital.
‘Just surpass Ammunition Group in industrial facility scores again, Representative Seo.’
Shanghai Capital had approached her in despair after losing Cheolhwa Semiconductors, offering a hand.
Their option was like raw fugu—poison still intact.
A bubble facility existing only on paper. The Chinese semiconductor plant would surely churn out losses and trash, but that meant nothing to Seo Yun-ji.
‘As long as… I win. If I snag the Defense Ministry’s new weapon development contract and crush Ammunition Group.’
Sweet flesh laced with deadly poison, impossible to refuse.
Yan Long’s next words drew the fugu meat to her lips.
‘Until then… we at Shanghai Capital will cover half the losses from this Chinese plant.’
A razor-thin gamble that could leave her half-paralyzed forever.
But with fire already scorching her feet, Seo Yun-ji didn’t care.
“Han Seo-jun… If I can’t crush him now, I’m done for.”
Looking up, gray smoke rose into the sky.
A foul smell. Pinching her nose at the stench of burning flesh from a nearby illegal crematorium, a strange intuition hit her.
“Just… my imagination?”
She shook her head, denying it.
But then… her coat pocket rang with a phone call.
The international call from Korea proved her gut right—no one had told her, but it was spot on.
“Representative Seo! The Chairman… he’s passed away. You need to come to Korea right away!”
* * * *
Seo Guk-cheol’s portrait photo amid hundreds of white chrysanthemums.
A funeral hall with no one shedding tears for the deceased. After a formal bow to Cheolhwa Group’s eldest son-in-law, who played the chief mourner, I left immediately.
“Keuhe, look at that old geezer in the frame. Even his exit was a work of art.”
Kim Won-cheol uncle followed me out, pointing at the portrait and whispering.
“Word is, those two brats from the main wife messed with the old man’s meds.”
“Likely. For Seo Guk-cheol or his two daughters, it was a race against time either way.”
The little heir hadn’t even made it onto the family register properly, couldn’t even attend the funeral.
And the affiliate presidents openly railing against the two daughters at the funeral.
Cheolhwa Group. Cracks were forming in the heart of the massive dinosaur.
“What an end times, huh?”
“Money… runs thicker than blood. No one in the Seo family of Cheolhwa Group truly mourns him.”
I fiddled with a chrysanthemum from the floral wreaths lining up.
Swallowing a pang of pity, I began pondering my next strategy.
Seo Guk-cheol’s death and Cheolhwa Group’s fracture. What chain reaction would all these variables bring to Ammunition Group—and me?
“Secretary General. Looks like I need to stick around the funeral a bit longer.”
“Huh? What’s that about… Ah. Yeah, makes sense.”
Through the white petals, someone approached.
A woman in black mourning attire for women drew near.
Her face, a canvas painted with an unreadable expression.
“Han Seo-jun… Chairman? Fancy meeting you here.”