Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Vice Chairman Go Yoon-seok said that Saengsong is definitely fast. I was impressed already, but this Gold Coin matter really surprised him.
“How did you handle it?”
Jung Jin-woo replied that they agreed to receive the bearer bonds and send 2 trillion in Gold Coins. That means the chairman now has an additional 2 trillion in highly liquid assets, just like cash.
It was a clean, efficient resolution.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Go Yoon-seok said it was actually better for them that Saengsong was involved. He was impressed by the chairman’s foresight.
There was no need to mention that Jin-ho had come himself, practically begging to be included.
By the way, there are more people trying to track you now. Thanks to those photos, you drew a lot of attention.
“Sorry, that happened while I was working.”
It’s not serious yet, but you should be careful going forward.
“I will.”
Two detective agencies were tracking him.
“Two?”
One was commissioned by the secretary’s office of Daeban C&C. The client appears to be Ham Ho-seok.
“Ah, Choi Ji-eun’s ex-boyfriend. And the other?”
Bando Jewelry.
“……”
Bando Jewelry was a small company run by the parents of his ex-wife, Nomi-ra.
It seems his ex-wife commissioned it.
Go Yoon-seok was well aware of Nomi-ra, even that the child wasn’t Jung Jin-woo’s.
“How did you handle it?”
I warned the agencies, making sure they could not get any closer.
“That should stop them? Those people can be persistent.”
No matter how much money you give them, life is more valuable. Ham Ho-seok or Nomi-ra wouldn’t pay excessively, so there’s no need to worry.
That made sense. They probably offered only a few hundred million won at most, not tens of billions.
Go Yoon-seok added that Choi Tae-min, the CEO of Kiseong IT, had asked about the direction of the major shareholder’s management. He seemed uneasy because the chairman invested but didn’t comment.
“Oh, that.”
It wasn’t something to worry about.
“Tell him to actively cooperate with Manager Oh Gong-tae.”
“Manager Oh Gong-tae, he’s also on our side?”
“Yes, we need to make it that way. He’s already halfway in.”
Oh Gong-tae was the creator of the Gold Coin and was currently developing an interesting VR program using AI.
Website development could be handled by other developers. What Oh Gong-tae was creating would become Kiseong IT’s future revenue stream.
“I’ll keep a close eye on Manager Oh Gong-tae.”
“There’s no need to go that far.”
“No, Chairman. This is my role.”
Go Yoon-seok then said he had something important to tell.
“Go ahead.”
It hit Jung Jin-woo like a slap to the head. He knew exactly what Go Yoon-seok meant.
“Ah, I understand.”
Jung Jin-woo’s heart was racing.
Jung Jin-woo was shocked at how young and beautiful the woman in front of him looked. She appeared to be in her late 30s or early 40s, though she was actually in her mid-to-late 50s. If his father, Jung In-seok, were alive, he’d be 59.
A table was set in the shade of large trees. A gentle stream trickled nearby, and a cool breeze blew.
“Still growing well…”
His heart raced, leaving him unable to respond immediately.
“Thank you for meeting me.”
He looked at her. Her warm, loving eyes seemed to caress his face and body. He felt a deep embarrassment. He had rehearsed this meeting hundreds of times in his mind, but it felt awkward in reality.
“I’m sorry. To you…”
Without hearing the story from lawyer Go Yoon-seok, anyone would think she had lived a carefree life without worries. Everything about her seemed pristine.
In her youth, she met a poor man, but her parents opposed the marriage. She became pregnant to live with him. Yet her father tried several times to have the man killed.
In the end, to save the man, she gave birth and married another man. Her father sent the child to a young couple trading with his company. Those were Jung Jin-woo’s adoptive parents under his former name, Jo Min-gi.
“If I had known it was the last time, I would have been at your father’s deathbed… I heard it too late.”
Her eyes stared into the air.
“The funeral went well.”
“Yes… I heard. I’ll visit soon.”
She spoke plainly, suppressing her emotions. It felt slightly resentful, but he thought it would be presumptuous to try to fully understand her feelings.
“If anything difficult happens, contact me… and this.”
She handed him a white envelope.
“What is this?”
“I know it’s sudden, but I couldn’t send you away empty-handed. I’m sorry if it offends you.”
Inside were checks, each worth 1 million won. There were roughly 100 checks, totaling about 100 million won.
“I have a lot of money. My father left me plenty.”
“Still… could you accept this?”
Her eyes looked sad. Though he could count his wealth in the billions, this money was her way of easing her guilt.
“Please, I tried to prepare more, but I thought you’d feel burdened… That’s all.”
“I understand your intention, but I can’t accept it. You know why. I’m already grateful you came here. It must have taken a lot of courage. I’ll accept the thought behind it.”
“Alright… I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do either…”
How many people get to experience this? Meeting her son after 30 years, a mother’s heart… Jung Jin-woo could barely comprehend it. He could sense her sorrow and her apology.
“Thank you for giving birth to me.”
She widened her eyes in surprise.
“Really? You’re thankful? Not resentful?”
“I grew up feeling subtly different from others. I wondered why, then I learned I wasn’t your biological child.”
“You felt discriminated?”
“When I found out I was adopted, I resented it a little. But your decision brought me into this world. I’m grateful.”
“Mother…”
She muttered the word ‘mother,’ likely not expecting to hear it.
“If you want to see me…”
“……”
Her eyes widened, staring at him.
“I understand it’s awkward to meet publicly. But I’m free, so contact me anytime.”
“You grew up healthy in body and mind… and considerate.”
Jung Jin-woo smiled slightly. He had lost his father a week after meeting him. He didn’t want to lose his mother too. He realized he must cherish and understand her, despite all the hardships she must have endured.
“Sorry, something got in my eye.”
She took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
“Can I just watch you for a moment? You’re such a wonderful son.”
“Yes, mother.”
With a blooming smile, she gazed at her beloved son. Seeing him after 30 years, she wanted to imprint every detail in her eyes. Though her mouth smiled, tears rolled down her face.
“Did you forget our alliance?”
“You, don’t mess around and keep your promise!”
“I won’t… definitely.”
“Try messing around like last time!”
“I won’t. Seriously… Why did Dad start something unnecessary?”
Gwak I-jin and Gwak Jung-jin’s management rights were shaking. Normally, they would never cooperate, but now they had no choice. If they didn’t support each other, they might lose their board seats.
“But there’s something more important.”
“More important? What is it?”
“Look at this!”
Gwak Jung-jin pulled a document envelope from her bag.
“These photos were taken by underground people.”
Photos fell from the envelope.
“What is this?”
Gwak I-jin examined them.
“Mom’s been acting strange lately. So we had her followed. Look at these photos.”
At a quiet stream, their mother sat with a young man. She handed over an envelope, wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, and gazed at him with eyes full of honeyed affection.
“Could this really be…?”
“If not, why would she bring a check for 100 million won?”
“My goodness…”
Gwak I-jin was stunned. Their mother, who had lived a quiet life, was meeting a young man.
“She didn’t accept the envelope! And she’s smiling.”
“See? She’s pretending the amount is small… she wants more.”
“Ah…”
It made sense. When the man refused, she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Then they smiled at each other. She cried, yet laughed.
“The funniest part? That guy.”
“That guy?”
“Remember that time you were late to the gathering? They fought over a guy—Do Ye-rip and Choi Ji-eun! The one that went viral on SNS.”
“So, could it be…”
“Yes! That’s him… This guy’s an absolute Casanova. He’s a terrible man who flirts with women, and Mom got caught by him.”
“Unbelievable… Mom never goes out much. She doesn’t even glance at handsome actors.”
“Exactly. Pros like him know who they can seduce instantly. Someone as naive as Mom? Easy target.”
“Ugh…”
Gwak I-jin bit her lip in anger.
“Don’t overdo it, sister!”
“That kid… do you know him? His contact info?”
“We had underground people check, but they didn’t find out.”
Gwak I-jin raised an eyebrow.
“Then I’ll find out. You said Choi Ji-eun and Do Ye-rip fought over him? I’ll ask Choi Ji-eun. She must know his contact.”
“Wow… Sister… Gwak I-jin, you’ll have to bring that guy out and make sure he never does this again.”
“No! First, I’ll meet him. Then decide whether to punish him. You can hint that you might get help from Mr. Du-chil. That’s for you to do.”
“Do it, sister! You always make me do it.”
“That’s a man’s job.”
“Only when it suits you, huh?”
“Jung-jin!”
Gwak I-jin straightened up and called her brother.
“This is Mom’s business. It’s all of ours. Don’t let word leak out! Got it?”
“Got it! I’m not a kid. That’s why I used underground people for these photos, not the secretaries.”
“Good… Let’s see what kind of guy he is… if he’s really that kind of guy…”
Gwak Jung-jin tried to calm her, but Gwak I-jin’s eyes were fierce.
“I’ll chew him to the bone if I have to.”