TLR 14

Chapter 14 …

Once the decision was made, coming up with a way to actually improve Seol’s situation turned out to be surprisingly tough.

If Seol owned even a tiny plot of land out in the countryside, he could have relocated an MS subsidiary out there to send the property values skyrocketing into the stratosphere. But she didn’t own a single square foot of land—heck, she didn’t even live in a lease-deposit rental.

Even if he managed to source a winning first-prize lottery ticket, there was no way to hand over a ticket that had already been drawn.

Am I really this incompetent? Feeling self-conscious for the very first time in his life was a bizarre, uncomfortable experience.

In a terrible mood, he spent the weekend running like a madman on a treadmill to chase a runner’s high, accomplishing nothing more than breaking a machine worth tens of thousands of dollars before the weekend finally wound down.

“Here is the profile report on Han Iju’s surviving family members, sir.”

On Monday morning, Junhyuk received the report with an utterly blank face.

Flipping through the thick stack of paper—which had grown considerably after his previous outburst—his eyes locked onto a specific spot.

“Offer revoked?”

“Yes, sir. I inquired with HJ regarding the reason, but they declined to answer, stating it was an internal corporate matter.”

The reason was glaringly obvious.

At least Mun Pilyong left behind a mountain of cash when he died. That woman, Han Iju, hadn’t just rained on her sister’s life—she’d completely smeared dirt all over it.

Junhyuk loosened his tie and leaned back into the sofa.

So this was the real reason Han Seol was stuck trying to pass her job entrance exams all over again. Waking up at the crack of dawn to wrap bread, rushing around to wipe up coffee spilled by customers…

Even at this very moment, she was probably wrapping bread. She didn’t have a single day off all week.

“What kind of utterly…”

Junhyuk barely stopped himself from letting out a string of curses.

Who on earth did HJ think they were? Acting like a dutiful son? At this rate, they’d be weeding Mun Pilyong’s grave and setting up ancestral memorial tables for him, too.

Well, whether they did or didn’t wasn’t his concern. It wasn’t like he was ever going to do it himself.

Junhyuk checked his watch. 9:05 AM. He still had enough time before his 11:00 AM meeting with the Finance Department.

“Secretary Park.”

“Yes, Executive Director?”

“Let’s step out for a bit. Have the car ready.”

“Understood, sir.” Secretary Park bowed politely and stepped out of the office.

Junhyuk stood up, put his jacket back on, and straightened his tie.

The destination wasn’t far, thanks to the fact that Seoul’s central business district was packed with the headquarters of the country’s biggest corporations.

The black sedan pulled up in front of the HJ Corporation building—formerly known as Haejin Shipping.

Secretary Park’s hand trembled ever so slightly as he opened the rear passenger door. He had come along because his boss told him to, but doubts kept creeping in about what on earth they were actually doing here.

“Go inside and tell them I’m here to see Director Kim Jinshin.”

“Yes, Executive Director.” Secretary Park headed toward the lobby information desk.

“Welcome, sir.”

“Is Director Kim Jinshin in? I’d like to see him.”

“Excuse me, but Director Kim is unavailable for any unannounced meetings without a prior appointment.”

“Please inform him that Executive Director Moon Junhyuk from MS is here. I’m certain he will see us.”

“I’m so sorry, sir, but the info desk doesn’t even have a direct line to the director’s office.”

“Ah, I see.”

Secretary Park knew that sounded like total nonsense, but he turned around anyway, walking back over to Junhyuk, who was standing right in the middle of the lobby.

“Did they turn you down?” Junhyuk tilted his head sideways.

“They claim there’s no way to contact the director’s office from the lobby desk.”

“Where do they get off with that kind of… Ah, forget it. Someone must have that bastard’s phone number…” Junhyuk muttered, pulling out his cell phone.

It seemed he knew the man personally, though they weren’t exactly close. Secretary Park clutched his hands together and held his breath.

“Hey, Junhyuk!”

At the sudden shout, Junhyuk slowly raised his head.

“What brings you all the way here without calling first?”

Kim Jinshin approached with four men trailing behind him.

Junhyuk slid his phone back into his pants pocket and turned toward Jinshin.

“Did you come to see me? What bad timing—I was just on my way out.” Jinshin stopped in his tracks.

Junhyuk stared down with an unreadable expression at Jinshin, who was about a head shorter than him.

“Man, how long has it been anyway? I’m really busy right now, so I’ll call you later. We should grab a drink sometime…”

Jinshin cut himself off and burst into a loud laugh.

He had just remembered a New Year’s gathering packed with high-ranking politicians and business tycoons, where Junhyuk had turned down drinks offered by both the Prime Minister and the chairman of the country’s top conglomerate.

Junhyuk hadn’t even bothered with a polite excuse. He was in his early twenties at the time—a total greenhorn.

Remembering how Junhyuk had ruined the whole atmosphere with a sour face, repeatedly saying, ‘I don’t drink due to health reasons,’ Jinshin couldn’t stop laughing.

“A guy built like a bull who could knock out an ox with one hand talking about ‘poor health’…”

Jinshin’s laughter came to a screeching halt. This time, it was because Junhyuk had suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” The four men surrounded Junhyuk in an instant, shouting in unison.

“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine! We’ve been friends since kindergarten! We went to elementary school, university, and even studied abroad in the US together!” Jinshin held up a hand, playing it off with a laugh.

So he really didn’t have his phone number, then. Secretary Park’s pupils quivered slightly.

“Hey, even if we’re close friends, there are eyes watching, so let go of… Woah, hey!”

Jinshin, who had been speaking casually, let out a sharp yell as Junhyuk lifted him.

“I… I can’t, can’t breathe! What are you doing?! Break it up!”

A pair of custom-made designer shoes worth millions of won dangled helplessly in midair. The four men rushed in, and three security guards came running over.

To anyone watching, his boss was clearly the villain here. But unable to stand by while Junhyuk was hopelessly outnumbered, Secretary Park finally stepped toward the crowd of men.

Just as total chaos was about to erupt, Junhyuk slammed Jinshin down onto the floor.

“Ugh… ah!”

“Director! Are you okay?!”

As the men rushed to Jinshin’s side, the guards grabbed Junhyuk by both arms.

Without much effort, Junhyuk shook off the security guards and brushed back his barely rumpled hair.

“Jinshin.”

“…”

“Make some time for me.”

“…”

“No matter how busy you are.”

A heavy silence settled behind his composed tone, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“You crazy bastard! Where do you think you are?!”

After a solid minute of silence, one of the men yelled out with fake bravado.

Taking that as a green light, a heated competition of corporate loyalty broke out: “Call the police! The police!” “What are you standing there for?! Grab him!”

“That’s enough, that’s enough! I’m going up for a minute, so you guys wait down here.”

“Yes, sir!” the men answered in unison.

They filed through the security zone. Seeing an opening, Secretary Park grabbed one of the men’s arms, pleaded, “Let me come along,” and made his way to the elevators.

The doors slid shut with only Junhyuk and Jinshin inside.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re so pissed about, but doing this in my own backyard makes me look like an absolute joke.”

Jinshin—who had never pushed an elevator button himself a day in his life—naturally took his usual spot near the back and voiced a legitimate complaint.

“Huh? Am I wrong? Ah, press the 23rd floor…”

A shadow slowly cast over his head. Making eye contact with a pair of maniacal eyes inside the enclosed space instantly made him think of his mother.

Jinshin’s pupils shook uncontrollably before freezing dead still.

He was grabbed by the collar once again.

“Han Seol.”

“…Huh?”

“Why did you revoke her job offer, and what was the reason?”

“Huh? Wait, you raised all this hell over that…? Urk! I-I can’t talk if you do this…”

Junhyuk eased his grip just a fraction.

“H-Hyemi came to see me…”

“Hyemi?”

“She kept calling me ‘oppa’ and asked me for a favor…”

That little scoundrel. Junhyuk let go of Jinshin and slammed his elbow into the elevator wall.

Jinshin slowly backed away from Junhyuk, creating some distance before speaking up.

“Now that I know what Han Seol’s sister did, how am I supposed to pay her a salary?”

“Why couldn’t you? Is there a law of collective punishment in South Korea?”

“Huh? Your tone sounds a bit weird. Hey, I’m your friend! I’ve played golf with your dad a few times grown up, and besides…”

“Besides what?”

“…Besides, I like Hyemi.”

When Junhyuk’s hand shot up again, Jinshin hurriedly ducked into a defensive posture.

“A guy like me isn’t half bad! I don’t do drugs, and I only date one woman at a time!”

“Bragging about qualifications that wouldn’t even pass the preliminary round?”

Junhyuk was just about to smack the back of Jinshin’s head mercilessly when he stopped his hand. He had to keep the guy alive first if he wanted to get this sorted out.

“Reinstate Han Seol’s job offer.”