Two Choices! (3)
"Excuse me?" For a split second, Jung Jae-woon felt completely dazed.
Since there was no mention of the pharmaceutical company, it was a conversation that wouldn't have raised any red flags even if someone had overheard. However, for Jung Jae-woon, it was a conversation that was problematic in every sense.
"Department Head, even so..."
"Department Head, everything I've done until now..."
"No..."
With a small carrot dangled before him, Jung Jae-woon eventually had no choice but to back down. "Can you go right now?"
"Th-thank you." It was truly agonizing not being able to verify things immediately when something happened.
"My son, quit that company right now."
The next day, Jung Jae-woon was thrown into a panic the moment he answered his mother's call. "Yes?"
"I try to avoid calling because international calls are expensive, but how can a person be like that?"
"Mother, what do you mean...? Didn't Department Head Park visit the hospital? He even contacted me saying there was nothing to worry about..." Jung Jae-woon couldn't understand why his mother was so furious.
"He came. That’s why I’m even angrier."
"What on earth happened...?" A sigh escaped from the other end of the line.
"He came to the hospital yesterday, and the first thing he said to my daughter-in-law was, 'Please stop calling your husband over trivial matters.' He went on a long lecture about how important the work your husband is doing is. Is that the kind of company you’ve been working for all this time?"
"M-Mother..."
"He did leave some money in an envelope, though. Is money the priority for us right now? Your child is hovering between life and death, and you’re showing loyalty to people like that? Are you even a father?"
His mother was so furious that she was practically spewing verbal abuse at him. However, Jung Jae-woon focused on one word in her rant. "What? The child is hovering between life and death?"
"Yes! I only told you she was very sick because I didn't want you to worry, but she's in the intensive care unit right now! Are you going to come to Korea only after the child dies? Did you have no intention of coming to Korea just because I said she was sick?"
"M-Mother. Department Head Park clearly said the child was fine..."
"You believed that!"
At his mother's sharp rebuke, Jung Jae-woon finally realized the reality. *Thud!*
"Jae-woon! Jae-woon!"
Leaving the receiver dangling, Jung Jae-woon headed straight for the airport.
Even in the 2010s, there weren't many flights between South Korea and Russia, so one could only imagine how it was in the 80s. Thanks to YK, it wasn't as if there were no flights at all, but Jung Jae-woon had to wait for his flight feeling as if his blood were drying up. It took a full four days to arrive in Korea. When he finally reached the hospital where his daughter was admitted, he felt as if the sky had collapsed.
"Jae-woon!"
"Mother! H-how is Da-eun?"
"There's still no improvement..."
"No, what kind of illness is it..."
"They say it's pediatric pneumonia, but there's just no improvement. The doctor says there could be permanent aftereffects if this continues..."
"Where is the child's mother?!"
"She's still in front of the intensive care unit..."
Jung Jae-woon ran to the ICU, but he couldn't go inside. Instead, he found his wife crying in front of the unit. "Honey, what on earth..."
*Slap!* Jung Jae-woon felt a flash of light and grabbed his cheek.
"H-honey..."
"The child is hovering between life and death, and you call yourself a father!"
The crying wife eventually collapsed into Jung Jae-woon's arms. "Our child, what do we do... what do we do..."
"I'm sorry... I'm truly sorry..."
In truth, Jung Jae-woon returning to Korea didn't guarantee his daughter would get better. However, no one could deny that having family by one's side in a moment of crisis was more important than money. 'Damn it...'
Due to visitation rules, Jung Jae-woon could only watch his suffering daughter from outside the ICU. With a burning heart, he stepped outside the hospital and lit a cigarette.
"Well, what on earth are you doing right now?" It was Department Head Park, who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Department Head, why are you here...?"
However, Department Head Park didn't explain the reason. "What the hell are you doing here!"
"Excuse me...?"
"Do you not know what your job is? We don't know what information might come in at this moment, so why are you here!"
Jung Jae-woon finally realized what kind of person Department Head Park was. The lie about his daughter's condition, and his behavior right now. In reality, Department Head Park had sent people to monitor Jung Jae-woon's family, just in case he tried to make any additional calls from a public phone. Unfortunately for Department Head Park, Jung Jae-woon's mother had called him before the surveillance began, allowing him to return to Korea. That was why, upon hearing the news that Jung Jae-woon had appeared at the hospital, Department Head Park had rushed over. He was responsible for managing Jung Jae-woon, after all.
"Go back immediately! I'll handle the work in Korea, so go back!"
Jung Jae-woon couldn't hold back and threw a punch at Department Head Park, who was practically foaming at the mouth. "You son of a bitch!"
*Crunch!* A fountain of blood erupted from Department Head Park's nose.
"Argh!"
It was a truly refreshing action. However, the police followed right after the refreshing act.
In the police station detention center. Jung Jae-woon was shouting with all his might. "Please, let me out. My daughter is sick!"
But no police officer was willing to let him out. *Clang! Clang! Clang!* A police officer who struck the iron door of the detention center with a baton looked at Jung Jae-woon with a pitiful expression.
"If your daughter was that sick, you should have focused on her. Why did you go around swinging your fists? Huh?"
"I admit that was my fault. But my daughter is sick. I will definitely come back once she's all better, so please, just let me go for now. Please?"
The officer scoffed. "I don't know how sick your daughter is, and do you think the police station is a hotel? You come in when you want, and leave when you want? You should consider yourself lucky. If you had spouted such nonsense during the military regime, you would have left with a broken bone."
Jung Jae-woon was a bit scared by the officer's words, which were definitely not a joke, but he didn't keep his mouth shut. "Please, I beg you. Don't you have children of your own, Officer?"
"I don't commit crimes, so I don't have to worry about being locked in a detention center. If you keep making noise, I'll just lock you in the basement. You understand?"
Just as Jung Jae-woon was weeping sorrowfully in the police station, Department Head Park appeared. He looked somewhat ridiculous with his nose swollen from receiving treatment. "D-Department Head Park. I was wrong. Please, forgive me just this once!"
Jung Jae-woon clung to Department Head Park as if he were a lifeline. But Department Head Park frowned deeply.
"Forgive you? You ungrateful bastard, you need to eat some prison food to learn your lesson."
"Department Head, I was truly wrong. Really, my daughter is so sick that my hand moved before I could think. I'll pay for all the medical expenses and compensate you for everything, so please, just look the other way this once. If my daughter dies because of this, I won't have the face to look at my wife for the rest of my life."
It was a sorrowful plea, but it didn't work on Department Head Park.
"I don't know about that, just try eating some prison food for a while. Once you eat some prison food in the detention center and prison, you'll realize how comfortable a life you've been living until now."
Department Head Park turned away without hesitation. He intended to keep Jung Jae-woon on a tight leash using the threat of prison food. To do that, intimidating him thoroughly right now was an essential factor. It didn't matter to Department Head Park what happened to Jung Jae-woon's daughter.
"Department Head Park! Department Head Park! Department Head Paaaaark!"
As if he had no more business with Jung Jae-woon, Department Head Park vanished from the police station like the wind.
"Sob... sob... sob..."
Jung Jae-woon, who had been shedding tears, suddenly stopped. And then, as if he had made a decision, he began to shout something new.
"I am an industrial spy who infiltrated YK! Please, connect me to YK!"
For a moment, most of the police officers in the station burst into laughter. Most of them thought he was just shouting because he had lost his mind. However, there was exactly one person among them. There was a police officer who was influenced by Superintendent Seo In-pyo.
Superintendent Seo In-pyo, who was still serving as the Chief of the Jongno Police Station, felt a spark of interest at the call he received. "Hmm? There's a guy claiming to be an industrial spy who infiltrated YK?"
Most would dismiss it as the ramblings of a madman, but Superintendent Seo In-pyo happened to be free at the moment. He had been busy until recently due to protests demanding the resignation of JSD, but those protests had all disappeared lately. Thus, Superintendent Seo In-pyo ordered them to send over the personal details of the individual. A moment later, after receiving the file, Superintendent Seo In-pyo judged that there was a possibility. The reason was the record of entry and exit to the Soviet Union. If that hadn't been there, the credibility would have plummeted, but the record of Soviet travel was evidence that increased the connection. Therefore, Seo In-pyo immediately placed a direct call to Yoon-gi. He wasn't at the secretary level, but he was certainly a man who showed absolute loyalty to Yoon-gi. That was why Superintendent Seo In-pyo had been granted the qualification to call Yoon-gi directly.
"Hello, Chairman. I have something to tell you."
Seo In-pyo reported the details regarding Jung Jae-woon to Yoon-gi.
"Ah, that? I already know."
Yoon-gi's mansion, the drawing room. Seo In-pyo was looking at him with a puzzled expression. "You knew he was an industrial spy, yet you just left him be?"
"Isn't fruit best picked when it's fully ripe? Simply catching and eliminating him wouldn't satisfy me."
"Ah... so that's why he was able to be safe until now." Seo In-pyo nodded and continued. "I heard he had a fight with his superior because his daughter was sick. That's why he's currently locked in the detention center."
"His daughter is very sick?"
"Yes. She's currently in the hospital's intensive care unit, and they say she's an infant who hasn't even been weaned yet. It's enough to make anyone lose their mind."
"Hmm..." Yoon-gi thought for a moment before picking up the receiver. He then ordered the mobilization of the best medical personnel available to save Jung Jae-woon's daughter.
"Wait... are you saving the daughter of an industrial spy?"
"The daughter is innocent, isn't she? You have to save the lives you can save."
Yoon-gi shrugged and gave a new instruction to Seo In-pyo. "In about 3 or 4 days, take Jung Jae-woon to President Ma Seok-il."
Yoon-gi had already thought about how to utilize industrial spies like Jung Jae-woon.