At President Cha’s gesture, Kim Secretary immediately sat across from him.
“Kim Secretary, is this your doing?”
President Cha tapped the Ukwang Construction bribe Capital Account.
……
Kim Secretary’s eyes naturally narrowed.
It was a file bound with string.
They could have discreetly removed the page, but instead, someone intentionally left traces of tearing out three pages.
“This wasn’t torn by accident. Someone deliberately cut them out.”
“Their intention hit the mark. I need to see those missing pages no matter what.”
Where exactly did Ukwang Construction poke into Taeseong?
From where, to whom, and how much did they siphon the necessary funds?
“We’re returning to Headquarters.”
Thud, thud, thud!
President Cha’s steps as he left the Taeseong Hotel coffee shop still carried a raw, unshakable anger.
Kim Secretary and Director Go followed behind President Cha.
“Kim Secretary, the person who wrote up this Capital Account. Where are they now?”
“I understand they’ve been dragged to the underground interrogation room in Seobinggo.”
“Bring them to me. I want to hear it straight from their mouth.”
“Yes, sir.”
This was something that had already been promised to Young Master Junghyuk anyway.
Now, it seemed the issue could be solved with a single phone call from the Chairman to the intelligence agency.
President Cha ground his teeth.
“There’s someone who joined hands with Ukwang and stabbed me in the back. Do you have any suspects?”
Kim Secretary didn’t answer easily.
There were only vague clues—no definite evidence or certainty.
“It can’t be helped. Water’s leaking from my own jar, so I’d better plug the hole first before anything else.”
President Cha gave the order.
“Summon all Affiliated Company presidents immediately! Convene an emergency meeting! In two hours, at the Headquarters conference room!”
Kim Secretary’s expression noticeably hardened.
It was obvious that, including the presidents, the executives wouldn’t have open schedules.
Even if the group chairman called, it was difficult to expect them to drop everything and rush over.
But if President Cha pushed, the company presidents had no choice but to come running, even if barefoot.
“Contact the Secretary’s Office and tell them to call everyone at once! From Taeseong’s Headquarters down to the lowest Affiliated Company! Remind them not to forget this year’s accounting books!”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll also establish connections with the press and politicians! And if there’s anything to check, coordinate with our informants planted in Ukwang!”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll assign Director Go and members of the security team to assist. Kim Secretary, you take care of it by any means necessary—no exceptions!”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”
President Cha’s nickname was the Flaming Bulldozer.
Once he set his mind to something, he’d barrel forward with burning eyes.
If a rock blocked his path, he’d crush it. If a river stood before him, he’d swim, borrow a boat, or build a bridge—whatever it took to cross.
Only after getting to the other side would he be satisfied.
Now that he had set his sights on catching the traitors, there was no way the matter wouldn’t escalate.
‘Time is way too tight. The subway construction bid is less than a month away!’
There were no clear leads at the moment, but putting all the Affiliated Company presidents under suspicion and combing through everything…
…Damn it!
Even if he mobilized the Legal Affairs Department, accounting, audit, and general affairs teams, it wouldn’t be easy to find the loophole.
If someone had truly made up their mind to betray, they’d have created double Capital Accounts to hide the stench as a matter of course.
If the whole group was turned upside down like this, there would be endless rumors.
Even the person at the Cheongwadae Security Office wouldn’t look kindly on this.
With Taeseong Construction’s future on the line, did he really need to take such a big risk right before such an important project?
Only for a moment did he hesitate.
‘But still, what’s necessary must be done!’
President Cha’s determination did not waver.
‘Thirty years! Is there anyone among the company presidents who hasn’t worked with me for at least thirty years? There isn’t!’
President Cha trembled in betrayal.
He’d trusted and cherished them that much.
They’d shared hardship in the old days and enjoyed good times together now.
He’d granted them solid positions, generous salaries, and even entrusted them with shares.
Oh!!
‘Even if I have to kick them out, I’ll give them a chance to confess first! There’s at least that much loyalty between us!’
That was why President Cha summoned the presidents immediately.
His mouth tasted bitter.
A long sigh escaped his lips.
“About that bribe. Even at a rough estimate, it’s over two billion won. Four years ago, Ukwang poured every penny they had into the steel business, so there’s no way they’d have that much spare cash. Which means it’s all Taeseong’s…, damn it!”
The more he thought about it, the more his insides boiled.
Kim Secretary cautiously spoke up.
“Chairman, there is a simple way to narrow it down and resolve this quickly.”
“What is it?”
“Who sent this Capital Account to you, sir?”
“……!”
President Cha’s expression hardened.
Even his thudding steps came to an abrupt halt.
“Don’t tell me…!”
“I have a feeling that the pages you’re looking for are in Young Master Junghyuk’s hands.”
“He’s only seven years old!”
“Yes, which makes it even more remarkable. He blatantly hid only the most important information, right in front of us. Why do you think he handed this material to me so readily?”
The reason he could offer up such a Capital Account as a bribe without hesitation.
The confidence to grab his mother’s hand and walk out on a chaebol grandfather, head held high.
‘He really is something else. I can’t just ignore this little Young Master.’
If they were to turn the entire Taeseong Group and all Affiliated Companies upside down, even the Secretary’s Office would be run ragged.
With such an impatient chairman, that meant at least a month of night shifts for everyone, cursing their luck until the subway project bid started.
So Kim Secretary, unusually firm, said,
“Chairman, if you can just get that missing section, you won’t have to doubt every president who has worked with you for thirty years. Once you find the leak, you can plug it right away.”
He was right.
“You’ll greatly reduce the time and effort needed to expose the traitor. There’s no need to exhaust everyone searching through all the Affiliated Companies’ Capital Accounts. That would just be a waste of time and money, wouldn’t it?”
President Cha gazed up at the sky with a long sigh.
He recalled just moments ago, when he’d cornered Lee Sujin, telling her to leave their child behind for her own good.
And his grandson, whom he saw for the first time today, leaving without looking back, holding his mother’s hand.
‘Looks like I’ve been completely caught. If he was going to hand over those missing pages, he wouldn’t have cut them out so obviously in the first place.’
That was why President Cha sighed.
At stake was not only the subway project worth a staggering 180 billion won, but also the 2 billion won-sized hole in Taeseong, not to mention the 30 billion won business deal with Ukwang.
Of course, President Cha’s pride—who had flatly refused the Marriage Alliance—was on the line as well!
“I’m really craving a cigarette today.”
“Here you are.”
Director Go immediately presented a cigarette.
He lit it for President Cha.
Kim Secretary silently waited as President Cha smoked.
“Phew…….”
Right there, President Cha smoked five cigarettes in a row.
After blowing out a long trail of gray smoke, President Cha looked at Kim Secretary.
Kim Secretary immediately bowed at the waist.
“Please leave this to me, sir. I will go to Young Master Junghyuk and get the secret of these three pages, no matter what.”
“Good, I’ll leave this to you. You’ll have my full support, so resolve it as quickly as you can.”
“Understood.”
Kim Secretary spoke while still bowing.
“Chairman, may I ask just one question?”
“What is it?”
“If you absolutely had to choose between the 180 billion won Subway Line 2 project and the 30 billion won cooperative project with Ukwang, which would you give up?”
President Cha furrowed his brow.
“Do I have to give up either? There’s no reason Taeseong can’t handle the subway project, and no need to forfeit the 30 billion won project.”
“But, Chairman, things in life don’t always go as planned, do they? What if something unexpected happens?”
President Cha didn’t reply.
Instead, he turned his back.
“We can decide that when the time comes. Right now, finding out how much they’ve stolen from Taeseong’s safe, who’s involved, and since when they’ve been stabbing me in the back—that comes first.”
“Understood.”
Kim Secretary left.
President Cha gazed at his retreating figure, then stubbed out his cigarette butt with irritation.
‘So, giving up the Marriage Alliance with Ukwang and accepting that mother and son instead—would that be the better choice?’
President Cha’s eyes sank deeply.
‘If Ukwang really did betray Taeseong…!
The 30 billion won business set up on the premise of the Marriage Alliance with Ukwang.
Just thinking about it made his insides churn.
I took my mother’s hand and headed straight for the courthouse.
‘Just because you’ve signed the contract and paid the balance doesn’t mean it’s all over. You absolutely can’t let your guard down until the official court registration is done!’
That’s how you get the state to officially recognize your rights to your home!
“Done!”
I finished the registration process in no time.
My mother kept her eyes wide with surprise the whole time.
“How do you apply for registration so well, when even I don’t know how to do it?”
“……”
Oops.
Back in the loan shark days, I used to be in and out of the courthouse all the time.
When I was at the bottom, I’d always run around getting registrations myself, just to save on legal fees.
How do I explain this?
“Where on earth did you learn this kind of thing?”
“……Playing house?”
“Do kids these days even do registration applications when they play house? And when did you learn Hangul?”
“……”
This is getting harder to answer by the minute.
It’s not my style to make up excuses and look around nervously.
I brazened it out.
“Times have changed so much. You really think it’s the same as when you were a kid, Mom?”
“……”
The generation gap is the oldest excuse in the book.
Now for a natural change of topic!
“Let’s go see our house! I want to see the Pool!”
Now that it’s truly mine, it’s time to solve the problems I’ve put off.
‘Why does that house alone gleam gold like a light bulb? There must be some hidden secret. It smells like money!’
That’s my hunch.
‘And of course, exorcism is a bonus.’
Click.
When I snapped my fingers, the Grim Reaper rose like a wisp of smoke.
[…………Don’t you ever feel like you’re using me too much, as a human being?]
Now that I think about it, I really made good use of him these past couple of days.
‘That’s why I called you. Now it’s your turn for stress relief!’
Only then did the Grim Reaper’s pale face show some color.
[I like the sound of that!]
‘Let’s go pester some ghosts!’
[…]
From olden times, orders from above are to be obeyed without question, but harassing underlings is a timeless tradition!
‘There’s bound to be at least one ghost in that house who knows its secrets. Find that guy!’
Whenever dirty money was involved, I always had a knack for sniffing it out.
This felt like illicit slush funds laundered in the shadows!
I could feel it!
Or maybe not.
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