Establishing the Hierarchy
The courtroom erupted the moment the witness took the stand. From the spectators to the judge himself, everyone stirred. There was no way to dismiss testimony this critical, so the judge immediately recognized the man who identified himself as Song Jeong-pil as a witness and allowed him to speak. What followed was exactly what I had already seen in the future verdict.
“It’s true that I sold the land to QS Resort first. But just days after signing the contract, they contacted me again. When I asked what was going on, they said they wanted to cancel the deal and get their money back.”
JB Construction’s attorney continued the cross-examination. “How did you respond to that proposal?”
“I obviously refused. I’d gone through so much trouble to sell that land, and the contract was already signed with the payment deposited. It was absurd that they suddenly wanted to back out. Even so, they kept pushing. What power does a regular person like me have against a conglomerate like QS? In the end, I agreed.”
“What happened after that?”
“We signed a contract termination agreement with QS, and they wired the money to the account they specified. Not long after, JB Construction offered to buy the land. I can’t tell you how relieved I was. If it weren’t for JB Construction, I probably would’ve been stuck with that land and suffering over it.”
A faint smile appeared on JB Construction’s attorney’s lips, as if the finishing blow was finally ready. “Do you happen to remember the name on the account that received the returned purchase price?”
“Yes. It was a personal account under the name Choi Sang-seok. The money had come in under the QS Resort name when I received it, but they asked for it to be returned to a personal account. I thought that was strange at the time. Later I found out Choi Sang-seok was the president of QS Resort, so I just assumed it was fine.”
“Let me confirm one more time. You received the funds from QS Resort’s corporate account, but when returning the money, you wired it to President Choi Sang-seok’s personal account?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Thud, thud. JB Construction’s attorney walked over to the defense table, picked up two sheets of paper, and held them up toward the gallery. “These are copies of the contract termination agreement the witness signed with QS Resort and the receipt showing the wire transfer to President Choi Sang-seok’s personal account. The truth of this case has finally come to light. This is nothing more and nothing less than President Choi Sang-seok of QS Resort embezzling corporate funds through the purchase and return of the land.”
Throughout the witness examination, Oh Il-mu had been sitting at the defense table with his face flushed red. Suddenly he shot to his feet and shouted, “How can you make such an absurd claim?”
Click, click, flash, flash. The image of Oh Il-mu, red-faced and pointing aggressively at the opposing counsel, was captured by cameras held by spectators in the gallery.
JB Construction’s attorney looked at him with thinly veiled contempt and continued. “That concludes our witness examination. I would like to thank the witness for helping reveal this valuable truth. This proves that after the land sale contract between QS Resort and the witness was terminated, ownership of the land belongs to JB Construction, which purchased it afterward.”
Oh Il-mu’s nightmare did not end there. Before we even left the courtroom, an article featuring his enraged face in massive size was already published.
And just as internet media always does, once an article that could draw public attention was published, hundreds of identical articles were instantly copied and uploaded across the web. He always liked seeing his name plastered in big letters on signs—how must Oh Il-mu feel now that his name and face were being broadcast nationwide?
When I arrived at the chairman’s office in the QS Group headquarters, Chairman Kwon Byung-do was pacing the room in fury. Because of that, Oh Il-mu and I had no choice but to stand and listen to his tirade.
“Attorney Oh Il-mu, Ho-gyun. It hasn’t even been that long since the two of you went independent, and you’re already causing this kind of mess? Huh?”
Oh Il-mu lowered his head and answered in a barely audible voice. “I’m sorry, Chairman. That land was supposed to—”
“You think I’m doing this over a few measly plots of land? Attorney Oh, even when you were in the legal team, I told you multiple times that we can never lose to JB. And you let yourself get played like that in court? And Ho-gyun, you scored first place on the bar exam, yet you just sat there and did nothing?”
Oh? What a perfect opportunity.
“I’m sorry, Father. In truth, I told Attorney Oh Il-mu that something felt off about this case and that we should request a postponement. The trial isn’t over yet, so I will definitely make JB pay for this.”
“What? Then why didn’t you postpone and instead go get beaten like that?”
Instead of answering, I glanced sideways. Receiving both my and the chairman’s glares, Oh Il-mu lowered his head even further, as if trying to burrow into the floor.
“I’m sorry, Chairman.”
“So what are you going to do from now on?”
Oh Il-mu opened his mouth, perhaps grasping at his last straw of hope. “Yes, Chairman, so from now on—”
His words were mercilessly cut off by Chairman Kwon Byung-do.
“No, not you, Attorney Oh. Ho-gyun, you speak.”
“Yes, Father. Watching what happened in court today, it all felt like a meticulously scripted play. The person who double-sold the land, who we couldn’t find no matter how hard we looked, suddenly appeared. And there were reporters in the gallery as if they knew this would happen.”
“It certainly is suspicious.”
“Yes. At this point, even the testimony claiming that President Choi Sang-seok of QS Resort embezzled funds seems like part of the script written by JB’s side. I will uncover the truth hidden behind that script, recover the land, and prove President Choi Sang-seok’s innocence regarding the embezzlement charges.”
“Good. Ho-gyun, you take charge of this. Don’t stop there—see it through to the end. Catch everyone involved: the one who wrote the script, the double-dealing swindler who acted it out, even the reporter. Bring them all to court. Understood?”
“Yes. Thank you for entrusting this to me. First, I’d like to speak with President Choi Sang-seok of QS Resort. Would that be all right?”
Having calmed down after hearing my proposed solution, Chairman Kwon Byung-do nodded. “Yes, that’s the proper order. I’ll have QS Resort notified, so go talk to him. Make sure to find out whether Choi Sang-seok actually embezzled or not.”
“Yes. I’ll report the situation as things progress.”
“Good. You’ll have a lot to do, so get going. If you need anything, send a text. I’ll handle it as soon as I see it.”
“Yes, Father.”
Oh Il-mu, who had been fidgeting beside me, excluded from the conversation, forced out a strained voice. “Chairman, what about me?”
“What about you? Just do your job well and help Ho-gyun with the QS Resort matter like he tells you to. Since your face got plastered everywhere, don’t go out in public for a while.”
“...... Yes, Chairman.”
I barely held back a laugh. A quick glance at Oh Il-mu showed a face that looked like he had bitten into something foul and was dying inside.
On the way back to the law firm after leaving the chairman’s office, I felt satisfied at having properly knocked Oh Il-mu down a peg, but the thought of having to clean up the mess he made weighed heavily on my shoulders.
Chairman Kwon Byung-do had passed over Oh Il-mu, whom he had trusted so much, and handed the matter to me. This couldn’t be explained away as mere anger over losing to JB Group. I had entered my second test. If passing the bar exam had been the written test to earn the chairman’s trust, then being given full authority over this case meant the practical exam had begun.
Chairman Kwon Byung-do’s pride had already been thoroughly damaged by losing to JB Group. Even if I failed, the additional cost he would have to pay was only the three hundred million won land purchase price. On the other hand, if I succeeded, he would fully reclaim the third son he had essentially written off. Instinctively minimizing costs while maximizing expected gains—that was the true face of a chaebol chairman, a merchant among merchants.
There was another reason I had to resolve this case. By showing that I could solve the case Oh Il-mu had failed, the hierarchy would be cleanly established without any unnecessary growling. Just as Chairman Kwon Byung-do had laid out moments ago, Oh Il-mu would remain in the position of “helping with whatever I tell him to do,” not just for this case but going forward. He would be the one who helped me take over QS Group, leveraging his vast network across the legal and business worlds and the chairman’s trust. That was Oh Il-mu’s role.
After leaving the chairman’s office, I returned to the law firm first and printed out the documents. The contract termination agreement between QS Resort and the land seller, newly submitted as evidence in court today, along with the wire transfer receipt showing the funds sent to President Choi Sang-seok’s personal account. Adding the existing materials to these, I completed the timeline of the case.
- January 17: QS Resort signs land sale contract
- January 20: Land ownership transferred to QS Resort
- January 30: QS Resort terminates sale contract (?)
- January 31: Purchase price returned to President Choi Sang-seok (?)
- February 10: JB Construction signs land sale contract
- February 15: JB Construction files ownership transfer lawsuit
- April 22 (today): QS gets thoroughly beaten by JB in court and humiliated nationwide
From now on, I had to prove that the events of January 30 and 31 never happened. Only then could I turn this lawsuit around and restore QS’s honor that had fallen to the ground today.
Bzzt, bzzt. My phone, left on the desk after I entered my office, vibrated. Checking the caller ID, it was an unknown number. Still, it wasn’t hard to guess who it was.
The moment I answered, an urgent voice came through the phone.
“Hello. This is Choi Sang-seok of QS Resort. I got your number from Attorney Oh Il-mu and called right away. I heard you’re taking over the QS Resort land ownership case that Attorney Oh Il-mu was handling. Is now a good time to talk?”
“Yes, hello. Now is fine. I was just looking over the QS Resort case files. This is Kwon Ho-gyun.”