Chapter 250
I called Manager Bae and told him I wanted to meet in person to talk. It was something we could have handled over the phone just fine, but I needed to use my ability on him.
With the strong possibility that the eldest son of Hanyeong Group was the mastermind behind all this, I needed an ally inside the company.
The reason I'd zeroed in on Seol Hyoseok as the culprit in the current situation was because he'd met with Kim Seongu. But Kim Seongu wasn't a card I could play publicly yet. He was someone I'd identified as the perpetrator using events from my previous life and my ability, so there was no other way to explain it to outsiders.
Unless Manager Bae publicly confirmed that Seol Hyoseok was the one who'd contacted the guards the day before, there'd be no suspicious link between Kim Seongu and Seol Hyoseok.
That was why I needed Manager Bae. I had to bring him to my side. Or more precisely, make sure he stayed on Seol Hyeongseok's side.
"Lawyer Cha?"
Recognizing the urgency in the situation, Manager Bae said he'd send a car to pick me up at the office. Sure enough, a black sedan soon pulled up out front.
The drive didn't take long, and we came to a stop at a quiet spot along the Han River embankment. Another sedan of the same make was already waiting there.
As I stepped out, the rear window of the waiting sedan rolled down halfway. It was Manager Bae.
"Get in."
No sooner had I climbed into the car than the man in the driver's seat got out. He left the area together with the driver from my ride.
Manager Bae had deliberately cleared the area.
"Looks like you've had a busy day."
In the quiet confines of the car, I spoke first. I wanted to confirm whether he'd deliberately ignored my calls.
"I was tied up tracking down who'd given orders to the guards. I didn't even realize you called."
The word lie appeared above Manager Bae's head for the first time.
"So, did you find them?"
"Not yet. I just gave the orders to look into it."
As expected. By the time I'd called him, Manager Bae had already confirmed who'd given the orders to the guards. And the only reason he'd shown up here now was to gauge how much I knew—he had no intention of sharing what he held.
"So, about the person you mentioned in your text, the one you found... who do you mean? A witness?"
"I meant I'd identified the one who gave orders to the guards."
"Is that so? Who is it?"
"You already know."
I'd lied to Yi Se-hwa that I'd already been rude to Manager Bae, but from here on out, it wouldn't be a lie anymore. With Seol Hyeongseok in a vegetative state, Manager Bae was like a gourd without its vine—I intended to rattle him.
"...What do you mean, I know?"
"You've already confirmed who met the guards yesterday and ordered them to give false testimony."
"News to me."
"After confirming it, you called me again to gauge what I think about that person and what I plan to do."
"...Lawyer Cha. I have no idea why you'd think that. Speaking so definitively about things that aren't true is hardly prudent."
"On the way here, I pondered why you'd do that, Manager Bae. And I reached one conclusion."
Manager Bae furrowed his brow as he stared at me. The fact that he wasn't interrupting meant he was curious what nonsense I'd spout next. Maybe he even thought he could glean some hint from my words if he listened a bit longer.
"Chairman Seol is getting on in years, so he's probably thinking about handing the reins to the second generation. Waiting around for Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok, who might never wake up, must seem like too much of a gamble. So you must be worried that if you expose Representative Seol Hyoseok's misdeeds yourself, your position will be at risk once he takes over down the line."
At my question, Manager Bae let out a hollow chuckle, as if utterly flabbergasted. His laughter started as a scoff but soon escalated into full-blown guffaws.
I said nothing, just watched him. The reason I'd decided to turn his insides upside down wasn't complicated. I needed to confirm whether he'd truly resolved to side with Seol Hyoseok.
If so, I'd warn him that since I'd confirmed Seol Hyoseok's crime, there was no hiding it. He didn't know I lacked concrete evidence, after all.
On the flip side, if he planned to hold Seol Hyoseok accountable, I'd ask for his full cooperation.
"Haha, sure..."
Finally reining in his laughter, Manager Bae let out a long sigh before speaking.
"You're not wrong. I did confirm that Representative Seol met with the guards, just like you suspected."
Manager Bae was finally starting to open up.
"It was Representative Seol the guards met. And you weren't wrong about more than that. There was a bug in Chairman Seol's reception room."
"I see."
"The reason I didn't pick up your calls was because I hadn't decided how to handle this yet. We have proof Representative Seol met the guards, but that doesn't prove he put Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok in that state. It only shows some connection. But you seem convinced Representative Seol did it. Did you find other evidence?"
"I can't say if I can answer that yet."
"Either way, you're not with Hanyeong, so you'll want to bring this to light to prove the attending physician's innocence. But if you do, Representative Seol becomes a suspect in attempted murder. I can't help but worry about the fallout for Hanyeong. That's why I haven't reported to the chairman yet. But I had no intention of burying the incident."
Manager Bae had been wrestling with whether to prosecute Seol Hyoseok as a criminal or treat it as a family matter.
If it became a family matter, it wouldn't leak publicly, and Chairman Seol could impose some penalty on Seol Hyoseok to close the case. But that wouldn't clear Dongjin's name.
Of course, I could cut a separate deal with Manager Bae—make Kim Seongu the public fall guy and cover for Seol Hyoseok. That way, Dongjin's innocence would be proven, and Seol Hyoseok would avoid public criminal status. Both sides would get what we wanted.
But now that I knew it was Seol Hyoseok's doing, I couldn't just let it get buried. There was no need to give up when I could expose his wrongdoing.
"I understand what you're saying. But turning Representative Seol Hyoseok's misdeeds into a 'family matter' might be a bad move for you too, Manager. You've been backing Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok in line with the chairman's intent to pass the company to him, right? What if Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok never wakes up even after the chairman passes away, and Representative Seol Hyoseok takes over Hanyeong? Won't he purge you, the one who didn't support him?"
In chaebol families with multiple heirs, succession battles are often likened to the Princes' Rebellion. Personally, I don't care much for calling them 'princes,' but the parallels are undeniable.
Once the dust settles, mass purges follow. To solidify power, they eliminate factions that didn't back them or opposed them.
If Seol Hyoseok swallowed Hanyeong whole, Manager Bae— who'd sided with Seol Hyeongseok—would be purge target number one.
"By that logic, wouldn't it be better for me to switch to Representative Seol Hyoseok's side now?"
Manager Bae shot back slyly.
"I even have a good card to play. I could offer to cover up what Representative Seol Hyoseok did in exchange for him taking me in. Seems like a solid plan."
His words sounded reasonable at first glance. But I didn't think Manager Bae was the type to settle for mere survival.
Considering the hints from my conversation with Yi Se-hwa, Manager Bae had ambitions to be recognized as a kingmaker who'd placed Seol Hyeongseok on the 'throne' and claim a top seat for himself.
Would a man like that be content serving under Seol Hyoseok? It was obvious he wouldn't earn full trust even then.
Seol Hyeongseok wasn't dead yet. Seol Hyoseok would harbor anxiety that his brother might wake up someday, and that unease would naturally taint Manager Bae. Distrust that Manager Bae might betray him the moment Seol Hyeongseok stirred.
So while he might survive under Seol Hyoseok, he'd gradually be pushed from Hanyeong's center of power.
"Manager, Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok hasn't died yet. Plenty of vegetative patients wake up. If he's lucky, he could open his eyes tomorrow."
"What are you getting at?"
"You need to hold the reins of Hanyeong in preparation for when Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok wakes again."
A glint flashed in Manager Bae's eyes. I'd hit the mark— the ambition writhing in his gut.
"If this incident goes public, Representative Seol Hyoseok can never inherit Hanyeong's leadership. Even if the chairman wants it, no one thinking of the company's future would hand it to a man who tried to kill his own brother for his desires. In the end, if Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok doesn't wake, you'll have to run things as CEO."
"......"
"The chairman will want someone reliable to step aside when Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok recovers, since CEO management is inevitable anyway. Who else could that be?"
Instead of answering, Manager Bae let out a long groan.
"But that means you'd still have to cover for Representative Seol Hyoseok's wrongdoing?"