Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Isn't This Striking Gold?
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Hot steam filled the room.
Woojin's place, where he never turned off the boiler even if he cranked the AC in winter due to his trauma from basement living.
Even in the dead of winter, the room felt like a sauna.
Thanks to that, Woojin was dressed in a thin short-sleeved tee and shorts, while Yoo Jihyun, straddling him, wore that 'ridiculously skimpy' outfit.
Gulp.
Woojin swallowed hard.
The visual impact of all that skin was stimulating enough, but the real problem was the tactile sensation.
Yoo Jihyun's smooth legs pressing down on his thighs.
The soft texture of her bare skin and her body heat transmitting directly.
Woojin hurriedly unleashed his ultimate technique.
'Ugh!! May God eternally bless our Korea from the East Sea to Baekdu Mountain!!'
But...
The national anthem worked, but it was just a temporary fix.
Her eyes were still glazed, her breathing ragged.
Under the effects of the 'Sincerity' skill, her rationality had snapped, turning her into a beast driven purely by instinct.
And Woojin was nothing more than prey.
"Kim Woojin... I can't hold back anymore..."
Her face slowly descended further.
A sweet shampoo scent mixed with alcohol assaulted Woojin's nose and senses, numbing them.
Honestly, Woojin was a man too.
Not some ageless sage or saintly gentleman.
Would he really push away the most beautiful woman in Korea—who clearly had feelings for him—when she was coming on this strong?
Screw it!!
The impulse to just go for it dominated his mind right up to the edge.
He'd laughed at guys online who fell into traps and ended up married, calling them idiots...
But now here he was, one step away from becoming one of them.
However.
'Jihyun's dad is right outside!!'
This wouldn't do.
With only a flimsy door between them, Yoo Daeho was out there drinking.
If he screwed up here?
He might end up on tomorrow morning's news as an 'unidentified corpse.'
No, he definitely would.
Woojin summoned superhuman patience and started struggling again.
But the power difference was clear.
When Yoo Jihyun—on the verge of her second awakening—pinned him down for real, Woojin couldn't budge an inch.
"Ji, Jihyun. Snap out of it. This is the alcohol talking."
Woojin desperately pleaded, trying to turn his head, but even that was impossible.
"Shh... stop struggling... just stay still..."
Yoo Jihyun's hand gently cupped Woojin's cheek.
Her red lips, moist from lip balm, dove toward his.
10cm.
5cm.
1cm.
'Is this the end of my life? At least I'll die having kissed someone.'
Woojin squeezed his eyes shut, imagining his corpse-to-be tomorrow.
Mm.
"!!!"
It touched.
The soft, hot sensation brushed the very tip of his lips in that instant.
Bang bang bang—!
The door rattled like it might shatter.
"What the hell are you two doing in there! Why's the door locked?!"
Yoo Daeho's roar like a tiger's bellow.
At the sound, Yoo Jihyun's shoulders twitched.
"?!"
Focus returned to her alcohol- and instinct-clouded eyes.
She registered Woojin's face right in front of her—and the embarrassingly compromising position of her pinning him down.
"Gasp!!"
Whoosh—
Yoo Jihyun sucked in a breath and sprang up like a coiled spring.
"Wh-what have I done...!!"
Her face flushed crimson as if it might explode. Without a backward glance, she flung open the door.
Slam—
"Jihyun! You rascal!"
Yoo Daeho called after his daughter from the doorway, but Yoo Jihyun shoved past him and fled to the entryway.
Thud thud—
Bang—
It all happened in a flash.
Apartment 1103's front door slammed shut, leaving silence in its wake.
Yoo Daeho stared blankly at the closed door before slowly turning to Woojin, who had lightning-fast assumed a perfect upright posture.
"......"
"......"
An awkward silence.
Yoo Daeho demanded with terrifying intensity.
"What the hell is going on here...?"
"No, sir, it's... Chairman, it's a misunderstanding..."
As Woojin's excuses dragged on while he scrambled for words—
An unexpected remark slipped from Yoo Daeho's mouth that even Woojin hadn't anticipated.
"Don't tell me... you... just rejected my daughter? You dared to turn her down?"
"Pardon?"
"Then why the hell did she run home with her face beet red like that?!"
"......"
Should he call it fortunate? From the outside, it did look that way.
Even Yoo Daeho couldn't imagine his daughter locking the door and pouncing on Woojin with him right outside.
Woojin decided to use the chairman's misunderstanding as his escape route.
"Well... if I've upset you, I apologize. But I'm not the right match for Jihyun anyway."
Yoo Daeho clicked his tongue at Woojin's words.
"Tsk tsk, a man shouldn't put himself down like that..."
His hasty excuse seemed to have worked.
"Jihyun's got some nerve too. She hears I like you a bit and can't wait to rush over and confess? I knew she was impulsive, but she's got a long way to go before she catches up to her mom."
Woojin's curiosity piqued at that.
He also wanted to change the subject.
"What was your late wife like?"
Yoo Daeho's eyes grew distant at the question.
He stared into space, recalling memories from 30 years ago.
—Hehe, I can't go home tonight, Daeho.
—S-Su, Suyeon! Wait! What the hell is that outfit?! Wh-why are you locking the door!
—Playing dumb? You're. So. Cute. My Daeho♡
Her seductive figure in lacy, glamorous lingerie, shy yet bold as she locked the door.
That night, Yoo Daeho had been powerless as a rabbit before a tiger.
Yoo Daeho cleared his throat awkwardly, his face reddening.
That was also why he hadn't made a big fuss about Jihyun's outfit.
"Ahem! What do you need to know? She... takes after her mom just a tiny bit. Blood will tell."
Yoo Daeho returned to the living room table.
"Come pour another round. That girl ruined the mood."
"Yes, sir."
Woojin followed behind.
But his hand unconsciously fiddled with his lips.
It touched...
Just barely, but it definitely did.
Which meant he'd crossed the line.
No, isn't this striking gold?
In sports, stepping on the gold line means 'in,' not 'out.'
Teetering on the edge, but 'safe.'
He decided to think of it that way.
Still, the close call left its mark.
The moist, soft sensation. And her scent in that moment.
Woojin's heart began pounding.
Haa... gonna lose it.
Whether from the booze or something else, Woojin's face heated up too.
How am I supposed to face her tomorrow...
As the drinking resumed and the mood warmed up again, the conversation naturally shifted to practical matters.
"Chairman, what are your plans now?"
"Plans for what?"
"For Jihyun. Once people find out you've reconciled, they won't sit idly by."
Yoo Daeho's expression darkened at Woojin's point.
The die had been cast.
He had no intention of giving up his hard-won relationship with his daughter.
But reconciling with Jihyun meant war with his in-laws—the real power behind DH Group.
"It's a headache. My wife's family... they're hyenas who have politics and the judiciary in their grip. If I try to look after Jihyun, they'll shake the group's management. I'm already losing the share battle."
It was a tangled power struggle even Yoo Daeho couldn't resolve easily.
Then Woojin turned to Sangjin beside him.
"Hey, Kim Sangjin. Got any ideas?"
Sangjin was sitting ramrod straight, fists clenched on his knees like a raw recruit.
'Why the hell am I sitting here drinking with Yoo Daeho...?'
He'd been suddenly dragged out when Jihyun left and numbers didn't add up, feeling utterly on pins and needles.
"Hey, what're you doing? Zoning out?"
Sangjin finally snapped to and asked back.
"What was the question...?"
"Not paying attention? Daydreaming in front of the chairman. DH Group's current situation—you're an expert on that stuff."
'How's this guy so chill in front of Yoo Daeho...?'
"Oh? Your brother's into that sort of thing?"
"Yeah, looks like a slacker but he was top of his econ class. Does stock clubs too."
As Woojin said, Sangjin's hobby was corporate analysis.
Flustered but meeting Yoo Daeho's sharp gaze, Sangjin instinctively straightened up.
"Ah... DH Group, right? They're transitioning to a holding company structure, but it's a half-baked one where the chairman's control is still weak."
Sangjin dipped his finger in water and sketched a chart on the table.
"Looking at the share structure of the holding company 'DH Holdings,' the chairman holds about 15%. His in-laws' friendly shares exceed 30%. It's a structure that hands them the board."
Yoo Daeho nodded. Spot-on analysis.
"Plus, 'DH Semiconductor'—the group's cash cow—is controlled by an in-law affiliate, not the holding company. The chairman's 'DH Electronics' and 'DH Life Health' are treated like redheaded stepchildren in the group."
"Exactly. That's why I can't wield any power."
Yoo Daeho sighed, and Woojin cut in.
"Dude... you memorize all that? Even if I don't know much, can't we just juice up those stepchildren and fix it?"
Yoo Daeho answered that one.
"You think it's that easy? Sales and investment scales are in different leagues."
In DH Group, semis and appliances were worlds apart.
Too many vested interests tangled up to fix the governance at the root.
Sangjin nodded in understanding.
"In the end, he needs to seize the board... but with current shares, no chance. Any capital increase or whatever needs board approval, and those hostiles won't greenlight anything that empowers the chairman."
"Right, it's a deadlock."
The enemy was inside, with the gates locked tight.
A heavy silence fell.
But then.
Sangjin's eyes flashed.
Whether from the booze, a mischievous grin crept onto his lips.
"Chairman."
"Hm?"
"Why seek their approval at all? Aren't they the enemy?"
Yoo Daeho blinked in confusion.
"They are. But without board resolution, nothing gets done. That's the law and company rules. Even enemies have lines you don't cross. Obvious stuff, Sangjin."
"Lines, huh..."
Sangjin smirked.
Not his usual timid self.
The effects of 'Sincerity Lv.6' were firing his neurons toward the most radical, efficient path.
The reins were off.
"What if you have the power to cross those lines?"
"What're you saying?"
"You've got a brother, and he can create overwhelming 'power.'"
Sangjin slammed down his empty glass and alternated glances between Yoo Daeho and Woojin.
Then he dropped the simplest, most terrifying solution.
"There's a dead simple way. It's capitalism, right?"
Sangjin's eyes gleamed slyly.
"What else? Just buy them out."
"What?"
Yoo Daeho looked dumbfounded.
"Does the university your brother—no, you attend teach such radical economics?"