Plunder (6)
“Why are you lying?”
It was the halfway house at Shail CC—better known as the shade house. Behind it, a group of adults shared drinks while the future royal family of the Oyang Group settled for a light meal of ramen. They clustered together, killing time.
Only the eldest grandson, Lee Jeongguk, was absent on an overseas business trip. Those present were Lee Hyoeun, daughter of Chairman Lee Dojung’s eldest son Lee Seokpil; Lee Hyoju, the only daughter of the second son Lee Seokjun; and the two sons of the third son Lee Seokjong—Lee Jeongho and Lee Jeonghun.
Under their grandfather’s sharp gaze, witnessed by everyone, Lee Jeongho turned on Lee Hyoju and demanded an answer.
The two of them were both second-years at Cheonghwa High. Yet they never so much as met each other’s eyes at school. Their parents weren’t close either.
Grandfather Lee Dojung was nearly eighty. The moment he passed, the group’s shares would be carved up. Depending on who inherited the prize companies, their futures would diverge. It wasn’t imminent, but the children kept their antennas up for a contingency that could strike at any time. It was the private little problem every major Korean conglomerate family went through.
“Lying? Me?”
Lee Hyoju, who had just taken a sip of iced coffee, fixed Lee Jeongho with a cold stare. Lee Jeongho had zero interest in studying. He was banking on the family’s wealth to enter a prestigious university as a sports special admit. His personality was rotten to boot, so Hyoju shared not the slightest affection with her cousin.
“Yeah. You.”
“What lie are you talking about?”
Lee Hyoeun and Lee Jeonghun watched the spat with interest.
Are they finally going to go at each other for real today?
Lee Hyoeun, whose face resembled a jealous cat’s, narrowed her eyes and smiled in satisfaction. She herself had entered Yeonguk University as a sports special admit. Envying Hyoju, whose academic performance always topped the charts, felt like her destiny. Watching her younger cousins clash after so long was entertaining. She had no intention of stopping them. They were rivals who would eventually have to fight properly for what was theirs.
“Friends? Heh. What friends do you even have?”
Being in the same grade, Lee Jeongho knew exactly what Hyoju’s social situation was like. Hyoju was known among the studious kids as a complete bookworm. That alone made everyone keep their distance. Most students at the school came from notable families, but kids from the top 100 conglomerates were rare. The handful of true chaebol heirs all quietly sized one another up. Especially Hyoju—same family, future competitor. Jeongho understood her better than anyone. A few guys at school regularly fed him intel on every little thing she did.
“On what basis are you deciding I have no friends?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Who’d be friends with a bitch with your attitude? Heh.”
“Pfft!”
“Bro, isn’t that a bit harsh? Hahaha.”
The three cousins, excluding Hyoju, united in mockery. Part of the reason for the cold shoulder was Hyoju’s mother, Han Soeun, who was cut from different cloth. She came from a properly educated family, completely different from the other cousins’ mothers. The difference in how the children had been raised was on full display.
Hyoju’s maternal grandfather was a former Supreme Court Justice. On top of that, her mother Han Soeun had graduated from Seoguk University’s business school. That was the biggest reason her kind-hearted father Lee Seokjun had been able to take the helm as CEO of the chemicals division—thanks to his wife. Naturally, the other daughters-in-law couldn’t help but envy her. These cousins had grown up hearing every petty shift in the family’s dynamics. Of course they didn’t like the second son Lee Seokjun’s household.
The one consolation was that he had only a daughter, no sons. Even though Chairman Lee Dojung openly doted on this granddaughter, she would inevitably be pushed aside in the succession process.
“Haa.”
Lee Hyoju let out a short sigh. If not for her grandfather’s stubborn will, she would never have attended gatherings like this. Every time they met, it felt childish and petty. Lee Jeongho was basically a quasi-delinquent who had been drinking and smoking for ages. Lately he even forged an ID to get into clubs. She had treated it as someone else’s business and looked the other way. But today he seemed determined to pick a fight.
“Second Aunt’s the same. No matter how much it’s for her kid, she shouldn’t lie in front of Grandfather… Heh.”
Lee Jeongho was about to cross the line. He clearly thought he had her dead to rights.
Lee Hyoju, you’re out today!
Being the same age, the two of them had always been the family’s favorite comparison subjects.
“Lee Jeongho!”
Hyoju snapped his name like a warning. A cold light glinted in her eyes.
What are you looking at? Fuck. Hehehe.
Jeongho swallowed a curse inside, as if he had been trying to provoke her.
“Call me ‘Noona’ from now on.”
“Noooona? You?”
For a moment Jeongho was speechless.
“Grandfather said it himself. Even among cousins, there’s a hierarchy if you’re even one minute older.”
“Hierarchy? Bullshit. Hahahaha.”
Jeongho poured out laughter at her counterattack.
“Hyoju, that doesn’t seem right. Calling yourself Noona just because you were born a few months earlier? What would your friends say?”
Lee Hyoeun jumped in to back Jeongho up.
“Yeah, Hyoju Noona, that’s not it. Same age and you want to be called Noona?”
Jeongho’s younger brother Lee Jeonghun took his brother’s side too. Not once in their lives had these people ever sided with Hyoju. Knowing that full well, Hyoju smoothly rose from her seat. She had no desire to sit and talk with them any longer.
“Hyoju, go tell Grandfather the truth—that you have no friends. If you’ve got a conscience. Heh.”
Even as she turned away, Jeongho needled her with jeers to the end.
Right then—
“Hyoju~!”
A strange man’s voice called her name from somewhere.
“Fuck! Does this make any sense? Why is my putting suddenly shaky?!”
Park Dojun stood in front of the shade house and spat curses. He was so furious he could lose his mind. He might have been outdriven, but plenty of pro players hit longer than you’d think. So he never forced unnecessary greed. His specialty was the putter, after all. And Park Dojun almost never lost at short game.
Yet today he had completely choked. He stuck his approaches well enough, but even three-meter putts wobbled. Birdies were nearly nonexistent. To his humiliation he even recorded a three-putt—something only hundred-shooters usually did. What was more embarrassing was that pars were rare; he had mostly played bogey golf. On a nine-hole, 36-course he had shot 43.
Shail CC, where he normally enjoyed his rounds, was an easy course for him. That made the shock worse. A pro of Park Dojun’s caliber should at least shoot 72 to break even. And yet… 43? That was amateur mid-80s territory.
“What the hell is that Ha Taewoong bastard? And what’s with that An Hyeonju bitch?!”
Choi Yurin was even more heated than Park Dojun. An Hyeonju had barely set foot on a course since the scandal. Yet her driver distance and accuracy were astonishing. Her approaches and putting were approaching tour-ranking levels. She was trailing by a full three strokes after nine holes. Choi Yurin was just as mentally shattered as Park Dojun.
Today’s round had been set up specifically to crush An Hyeonju. Instead, the very people who had laid the trap—Park Dojun and Choi Yurin—had their minds blown.
“Should we bail?”
The unexpected suggestion slipped out of Choi Yurin’s mouth. This wasn’t going to end as a mere matter of pride. One million won per stroke. Park Dojun was already down over ten million.
“You want to?”
For Park Dojun it wasn’t about pride either. They happened to be taking a short break at the shade house. An Hyeonju and Ha Taewoong had gone to the restroom.
“Let’s go already.”
Choi Yurin was already the loser. She didn’t want to keep playing and embarrass herself further. Even if An Hyeonju went around talking about today, no one would believe her.
“Ugh. So fucking humiliating.”
Having lost both his putting feel and his pride, Park Dojun approached the caddie with an irritated face.
“Caddie.”
“Yes?”
“Something urgent came up. We think we need to leave first.”
“Then…”
He quickly counted out six 50,000-won bills and pressed them into the caddie’s hand.
“Yes.”
Catching on, the caddie took the bills without comment. It wasn’t the caddie’s place to interfere anyway.
“Get us out of here fast.”
Choi Yurin scanned the surroundings, climbed into the cart, and urged him on. Park Dojun also climbed aboard like a criminal fleeing in the night and eyed the shade house.
With a whir, the cart smoothly pulled away from the shade house. The caddie drove with an awkward expression. He had no idea that Ha Taewoong was watching their retreating figures from a distance.
There are far too many people in this world who lack the basics. Looking back on everything I experienced in school, the military, and the company, nothing ever changes. There are always those who dodge and run the moment something threatens their interests. They figure that selling their conscience is a fair price to buy a temporary escape from crisis. Of course, none of them ever end well. What you can’t escape is known to heaven—and to yourself.
I had expected their behavior. From the first hole, Park Dojun and Choi Yurin were done. Park Dojun, his talent plundered, had putting that shook without mercy. Choi Yurin was also being overwhelmed by Pro An Hyeonju. The gap in fundamental skill was obvious. Looks, character, and ability—all of it. As the disparity grew, their faces twisted like demons over time. In the end, the two chose to flee.
I didn’t need their paltry money. But there was something they hadn’t considered. From now on, Pro An Hyeonju would become a lifelong trauma for them. And one more unfortunate fact: Park Dojun’s pro career was over. The aftereffects of having his life’s talent plundered would hit hard. The money I would have won from the bet could just count as the plunder fee.
“Tae… Taewoong?”
Lee Hyoju spotted me and startled. I looked at her with her eyes gone round. Her flustered expression, as if she had seen a midday ghost, was cute. I was just as surprised as she was. I never imagined I would run into her here today, at this very time.
Unintentionally, I had overheard their conversation coming out of the restroom. The chance dialogue was a quarrel among cousins. So this is the real face the royal family hides? It turns out they live no differently from ordinary commoners. Only the content of the fights and the units of the fortune differ. Even conglomerate kids fight tooth and nail over money. That’s reality.
“Who’s this?”
A woman who vaguely resembled Lee Hyoju looked at me with curiosity. She had a rather pretty face, but the aura color she gave off was dark and deep—close to a blackish red. The guys sitting beside Hyoju gave off the same shade. These young punks were already radiating dark gray. I recognized one of their faces. Lee Jeongho, a second-year at Cheonghwa High. The same type as Oh Gwangjun, whom I had crushed after regressing. He had entered Yeonguk University as a horse-racing special admit in the past.
“And who might the person asking that be?”
I asked with a relaxed smile at the corners of my mouth. With the game ending early, a new battlefield for today was showing its first signs.
“Who might I be? Who the hell are you, you little shit?!”
As if seized by fate, the air around us heated up fiercely.