Bait for the Second Son
Kwon Je-gyun, the second son of Chairman Kwon Byung-do and current president of QS Food, had long believed his life would have flourished long ago if only his older brother Kwon Seong-gyun did not exist. He resented having to endure this tiresome succession battle because of his brother and often grumbled that being born later meant he was always given fewer opportunities than Seong-gyun. Je-gyun’s goal was not to inherit the company through his own merit, but to bring down his brother by any means necessary so that he alone would become the sole successor of QS.
A prime example was the internal war between QS Electronics and QS Telecom, a story even I had heard despite being outside the company. It happened roughly three years ago. At the time, Kwon Seong-gyun was running QS Electronics while Kwon Je-gyun headed QS Telecom. When QS Electronics released a new smartphone model, QS Telecom refused all marketing cooperation, sparking chaos. In the end, QS Electronics had to conduct its main marketing campaign with other carriers. The new phone became a massive hit, while QS Telecom’s market share plummeted noticeably. Rumors spread that the entire mess had been deliberately orchestrated by Je-gyun to check Seong-gyun’s power, and it seemed those rumors were true.
Upon hearing the news, Chairman Kwon Byung-do flew into such a rage that he immediately transferred Je-gyun from president of QS Telecom to president of QS Food. Even after that, Je-gyun apparently never came to his senses and continued clinging to the belief that he only needed to defeat his one older brother.
At this rate, Je-gyun would bite the bait I had prepared quite eagerly.
“So-hee noona’s lawsuit against Seong-gyun hyung—how about we handle it this way?”
“Yes. I’ll proceed exactly as you direct, young master. What would you like me to do?”
The time to leverage Oh Il-mu’s vast network in the legal community had arrived sooner than expected.
“Please don’t take the case yourself, Attorney Oh. Assign it to a lawyer who has close ties to either Je-gyun hyung or QS Food. Make sure Je-gyun hyung naturally learns about the lawsuit. It would be even better if the lawyer maintains close communication with you as well.”
Hmph. Je-gyun’s way of thinking—toppling other competitors to advance himself—wasn’t entirely wrong. The same principle applied to me. If my other two rivals both lost points, it would be the same as me gaining them.
The card Kwon So-hee had brought—the accusation of Seong-gyun creating a slush fund—would inflict only minor damage on the target while forcing the user to shoulder enormous risk. Therefore, it would be perfect if both the person damaged by this card and the person using it were my enemies.
Oh Il-mu nodded with a smile, showing he understood.
“I see what you mean. I’ll entrust it to someone reliable and report back as things progress.”
“Thank you. Since you mentioned meeting So-hee noona again, please drop a subtle hint that things will be much easier if she gets help from Je-gyun hyung.”
“Of course.”
Several weeks had passed since the late-night drinking session with Oh Il-mu. On the final Saturday evening of every month, Chairman Kwon Byung-do summoned all three of his sons to the family residence for dinner. Today was that day. Within QS Group, employees referred to this gathering as the Night of Father and Sons. Opinions were divided on the meaning behind the name. Some believed it meant the Night of Father and Sons, while others interpreted it as the Night of the Wealthy. Because many of the company's most important decisions were made during these dinners, even employees who could not attend personally paid close attention to any news that emerged afterward.
Ho-gyun had never missed this gathering either. It was not because the boy had any real interest in running the group; rather, it was probably the only route through which the troublemaker Kwon Ho-gyun could earn recognition as a son from Chairman Kwon Byung-do. Of course, I attended diligently every month for an entirely different purpose. This was one of the few places where I could directly hear stories about the QS Group’s inner circle—especially the chairman’s family—and as someone starved for information, I could not afford to miss it.
Usually I maintained a position of quietly pretending to focus on the meal while listening, but today the atmosphere felt noticeably different. Both Kwon Seong-gyun and Kwon Je-gyun, like me, were burying their faces in their rice bowls and eating with unusual concentration. It was not because they would have nothing to eat once they left; the glances they cast over their food showed they were carefully watching Chairman Kwon Byung-do’s expression.
Only the sounds of spoons and chopsticks clinking could be heard until the chairman finally spoke.
“Seong-gyun.”
Startled, Kwon Seong-gyun froze mid-reach with his chopsticks and quickly bowed his head.
“Yes, Father.”
“I heard So-hee filed a lawsuit against you?”
“Yes. There was such an incident, but the cousins nitpicking over trivial matters is nothing new. This will be cleanly resolved as well, so please don’t worry too much.”
The chairman’s gaze, which had turned to the right, now shifted to the opposite side.
“Je-gyun.”
“Yes.”
“In the case where your brother was sued, it seems information that only the group headquarters’ Central Management Headquarters or affiliate presidents can access has been passed to the prosecution. Do you know anything about that?”
Seong-gyun’s and Je-gyun’s eyes met over the center of the table, sparking tension. Then, under the chairman’s questioning, Je-gyun quickly turned his head and bowed deeply.
“No, Father. If I had known anything, I would have either handled it myself or reported it to you immediately. I truly know nothing about it.”
Then came my turn.
“Is that so? Understood. Ho-gyun.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Is work at the law firm very busy?”
“Thanks to the trust you’ve placed in me, there is quite a lot of work, but we’ll be hiring more staff soon, so it’s manageable.”
“That means you still have capacity to take on more?”
“Yes, Father. If there’s anything I can do to help, even a little, please call on me anytime.”
Clack. When Chairman Kwon Byung-do set down his spoon, all three sons, including me, turned to look at him at once.
“Listen carefully, all three of you. From today onward, any legal issues our family faces must first be discussed with Ho-gyun. Seong-gyun, hand over the matter of So-hee suing you to Ho-gyun starting now.”
Seong-gyun drew in a breath as if he had something to say, but quickly changed his stance upon realizing the chairman’s words were not a suggestion but a directive.
“Yes. I will do so.”
Je-gyun was slower to grasp the situation.
“Father, how long has he even been a lawyer? If legal problems arise, shouldn’t we find a more competent attorney than him to handle things properly?”
“Je-gyun.”
“Yes.”
“I made this decision after hearing enough about Ho-gyun’s abilities from Attorney Oh Il-mu, who used to head the headquarters legal team. Do not talk back.”
“Still, legal matters are serious. Entrusting everything to the youngest like this……”
Je-gyun’s protest did not last long.
“Enough! It is not Ho-gyun who decided this—it is my decision. If you, as his older brother, act this way toward Ho-gyun, does that mean you rank above me as well? Where did you learn such insolence? And as his older brothers, have either of you ever once achieved first place in the entire school, let alone first in the nation like Ho-gyun did on the bar exam?”
Ugh. I felt the urge to step in and stop him, but Je-gyun opened his mouth again.
“Father, don’t you remember? I was first in my elementary school once.”
“This brat! You’re still talking about elementary school grades even after seeing every media outlet run articles about Ho-gyun passing as the top scorer? Do you have any idea how much money was spent on your education through middle and high school?”
Thud. Finally, unable to watch any longer, Seong-gyun kicked Je-gyun’s shin under the table to prevent the sparks from reaching him as well. Only then did Je-gyun’s reckless remarks stop.
After silencing Je-gyun, Seong-gyun forced a smile toward me.
“Ho-gyun, I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
“Of course, hyung.”
Chairman Kwon Byung-do drove the point home as if to make it irreversible.
“Seong-gyun, Je-gyun. Go home and make sure your wives and children understand this clearly as well. If any legal issues arise within the family and are handled without going through Ho-gyun, I will assume there are other hidden motives at play. And Ho-gyun.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Especially when it comes to family matters, report to me regularly.”
“I will.”
Oh-ho. Kwon So-hee’s lawsuit against Kwon Seong-gyun had unexpectedly brought me a significant gain. From now on, all legal matters involving the QS Group chairman’s family would pass through me. The same Chairman Kwon Byung-do who had once declared he would not even acknowledge me as a son if I failed the bar exam had now fully accepted me as a member of the family.
I did not know how faithfully Seong-gyun and Je-gyun would follow these instructions, but another route to information deep within the Kwon family had opened up. On top of that, I had secured a legitimate reason to actively intervene in the family’s affairs. And right in front of me was the slush fund case Kwon So-hee had ignited against Kwon Seong-gyun—an issue that had come full circle back to me.
In this case, the person I would be defending was the accused, Kwon Seong-gyun. Since the matter would likely never reach trial, it was little more than a practice game in terms of difficulty. Of course, I was not simply rejoicing over an easy case. There was something else I needed to secure while resolving this matter.
If Seong-gyun had truly created a slush fund, I needed to find evidence of it. I also needed to obtain proof that Je-gyun had passed incriminating evidence against Seong-gyun to either Kwon So-hee or the prosecution. If I presented that to Chairman Kwon Byung-do, I could deliver a fatal blow to both Seong-gyun and Je-gyun simultaneously.
As I left the family home after dinner, a smile formed on my lips at the thought of hooking two big fish—Seong-gyun and Je-gyun—with a single case.
When I arrived at the law firm on Monday, I was greeted by Cha Ye-na, my newly hired secretary who had already come in early. I had recruited her from QS Express, where I effectively held control, and she was working just as diligently in her new role. Holding a sheet of paper densely covered in handwriting, Ye-na greeted me with a bright smile.
“Good morning, Attorney.”
“Morning. How’s the studying going?”
“I’ve finished all the materials you gave me and I’m memorizing the terms separately now.”
Last Friday, before leaving work, I had given her a stack of materials the size of a book. She had apparently already studied all of it. The volume alone was considerable, and the content—procedures for criminal, civil, and administrative lawsuits—would have been quite dense for someone unfamiliar with the law.
“You studied through the weekend without resting?”
“Yes. It was so interesting that I ended up doing that. If I want to assist you properly, I need to catch up on the basics quickly. By the way, is there anything else I should do besides studying?”
“Ah, there is. Could you go to the QS Electronics legal team, mention my name, and pick up some documents? It’s related to the case I’ve taken on, and they seem reluctant to send the litigation files via email.”
“Understood. I’ll be right back. It’s QS Electronics, correct?”
“Yes.”
A short while later, after combining the contents of the documents Ye-na brought with what I had heard from Oh Il-mu, I began to outline the details of Kwon So-hee’s embezzlement accusation against Kwon Seong-gyun.