#184. Boom! 4
At the words telling him to break the stick, Cha Joo-hyuk lowered his head and went outside.
The chairman sat back deeply on the sofa and held the cell phone to his ear.
The gaze was fixed on Director Cho, whose eyes and face were reddened.
Finally, when the other person answered the phone, Chairman Lee's closed mouth opened.
At that time, Director Cho's appearance appeared hazy, as if he was underwater.
The chairman felt his concentration falter and bit his molars.
And said.
“Hey, how are you?”
– Mr. Chairman, where are you? There are so many rumors going around. Are you doing well?
“Then, I was eating three meals a day and sleeping well, enjoying the breeze. There’s nothing special about being a freshman. I have to hand over one person there. For embezzlement, you know. There’s more to it than that. I’ll hand over the data tomorrow morning…”
Chairman Lee, whose speech had been vague, asked Director Cho.
“How many years would you like?”
Director Cho knelt down once again.
“Mr. Chairman Lee. Just this once! Please spare me just this once! If you spare me just this once… .”
The chairman cut him off.
“Eight years would be fine. By then, children will have children and grandchildren will be very talented. President, eight years would be good.”
-It is possible, as long as there is evidence.
“Okay, I’ll contact you again.”
After finishing the call, Chairman Lee nodded to his bodyguard.
“Take me.”
“Chairman, please save me! Save me… .”
Director Cho tried to grab the chairman's feet, but was stopped by two bodyguards and dragged out to the front door.
“Mr. Chairman!”
His voice was desperate, but it did not change the chairman's expression.
Woojin looked at the front door where Director Jo had disappeared for a moment.
Instead of attempted murder, they cover it up with embezzlement and other crimes.
I could guess what the chairman was thinking.
I am thinking of the image of Shinwha Group.
If it became known to the world that they had attempted to kill the entire group, the Shinwha Group would inevitably falter due to various algorithms.
But the punishment will definitely be felt by the children.
If that happens….
At that moment, the chairman looked at the two handcuffed people who had been hiding in the house and spoke to Woojin.
“I wish those guys were thieves, but can you do that?”
“I will do that.”
“Okay, please.”
Chairman Lee got up from his seat and muttered as he walked toward the entrance, carrying his luggage on his back.
“You’re not letting this old man rest.”
Then he said to his bodyguards.
“Pack your bags. Let’s go to Hannam-dong.”
* * *
After the chairman left the villa, Woojin took the two men into the car and headed to the police station.
“Uh, what happens to us now?”
At a man's question, Woojin looked at the rearview mirror.
Woojin's calm voice flowed into their ears.
“As I heard at the villa, you are being taken away as a thief.”
According to Woojin's words, they could not figure out Chairman Lee's intentions at all.
He treats the person who tried to kill him as a thief.
If it were them, they wouldn't have felt refreshed even if they changed it and drank it.
But the way this chairman looks at them is like… .
What should I say?
It was a look in his eyes that didn't even consider him a bug.
They didn't even feel angry or upset with Director Cho, whom they believed in and followed, and they didn't even have any regrets, as if they were throwing away trash.
Is this chairman really someone who cannot be understood by their common sense?
I tried to kill that person.
“It would be better to stay in prison for a long time.”
A look of doubt appeared in their eyes at Woojin's words.
“It will be safer to stay in prison for a long time. If this chairman changes his mind, you will have a vivid experience of what hell is like.”
When they said nothing, Woojin continued.
“So what I’m saying is, you’d better confess to all the sins you’ve committed. Live for at least a year before you get out.”
They each had no choice but to fall into deep thought.
* * *
When the chairman arrived at his home in Hannam-dong, it was past six in the morning.
There was no one in the house, but it felt as if Lee Jeong-ho, Lee Jeong-mi, and youngest daughter Lee Jeong-hye were sitting on the sofa.
“I’m tired.”
The chairman went straight into the bedroom.
And then I lay down and closed my eyes.
“That guy Jeongcheol….”
The name that came out of the chairman's mouth was Lee Hye-rim's father.
No more words came out, and his stiff muscles slowly relaxed like water.
My chest, which was out of breath, rose and fell repeatedly, and soon I fell asleep.
That moment.
Lee Jeong-ho, in the office, was moving around as if he was wandering around the window.
Her lips were parched and her pale face looked anxious.
“Fuck… .”
News came in that Director Cho had been transferred to the prosecution.
However, he was involved in embezzlement and other crimes, not attempted murder.
I'm sure the plan was discovered… .
“What the hell is going on?”
Director Cho turned it over by himself?
That doesn't make sense.
The father noticed the night guest's intentions.
It was impossible.
It was very difficult to understand my father's intentions.
The important thing was whether or not his father knew that it was he who gave instructions to Director Cho.
That's the blind spot.
At that moment, a man in a neat suit came in with a knock on the door.
“Director Cho is refusing all interviews.”
"what?"
Lee Jeong-ho, who had been frowning, put on his outerwear.
“I will go myself.”
The man answered with an embarrassed expression.
“I said I wouldn’t meet him even if the CEO came.”
“What the hell!”
Lee Jeong-ho threw the nameplate away.
bang!
Not only that, everything I could hold in my hands was broken and smashed.
The man bowed his head and waited until Lee Jeong-ho stopped moving.
“Haa… haa… .”
Lee Jeong-ho, who was throwing things, nervously loosened his tie.
Then the man said.
“The chairman has entered the house.”
Lee Jeong-ho rubbed his face with one hand.
“That… Meet the doctor your father changed to again. Find out if he’s been diagnosed with dementia or not. Tell him it won’t be fun if he lies.”
"All right."
* * *
2pm.
Woojin was looking at the forest of buildings from the rooftop.
Cha Joo-hyuk was standing next to him.
“I don’t know what to say….”
“Congratulations on becoming CEO.”
“It’s all thanks to Director Shin Woo-jin. Thank you.”
Cha Joo-hyuk still couldn't believe it.
I felt like I was walking on thin ice, but before I knew it, I had become the head of SH Strategy.
And he did it while jumping as if he was climbing the stairs two at a time.
Cha Joo-hyuk glanced at Woo-jin.
The sight of her eyes closed as if she was feeling the blowing wind reminded me of a commercial.
With that kind of face, he went around catching criminals and became the sword of Lady Lee Hye-rim, pulling them up.
Is that all?
He was good at reading people like a fortune teller.
It predicted what we did yesterday, what we will do today, and even the future.
And that was mostly correct.
Sometimes I even thought that I might have superpowers, but I always said that it was just observation.
When Woojin remained silent, Cha Joo-hyuk opened his mouth to try to clear the awkwardness.
“By the way, are you closed today?”
He was talking about police work.
"no."
“Ah. I see you took a vacation.”
“I submitted my resignation.”
"yes?"
“I resign.”
"iced coffee…."
Cha Joo-hyuk made an awkward laugh.
He was a person you knew but didn't know.
It seemed like I was doing everything I really wanted to do.
Cha Joo-hyuk immediately smiled slightly.
Well, it was a shame that this kind of person was a police officer.
I didn't realize how dumbfounded I was when I first became a police officer.
Cha Joo-hyuk asked cautiously.
“Are you thinking about something else?”
“Yes. I’m going to do that now.”
Woojin called Lee Hye-rim.
“Can you meet me in front of the company in an hour? I’m craving pancakes there.”
-What should I say… I feel like I’m addicted to pancakes.
“See you later.”
After finishing the call, Woojin said to Cha Joo-hyuk.
“From now on, I think you need to understand the weaknesses of the CEOs and major shareholders of Shinwha Group.”
It was like creating a kind of profile.
“I’ll explain in more detail than Director Cho did. Don’t worry about manpower or money.”
Cha Joo-hyuk bowed his head to Woo-jin.
"All right."
It was the same for Woojin.
* * *
An hour later, Woojin was savoring pancakes while facing Hye-rim Lee.
She asked, resting her chin on her hand and looking at Woojin.
"delicious?"
“The taste that doesn’t change is always right. Oh my… look how moist it is.”
Woojin said, putting down the fork he was holding.
“Did you know that Director Cho joined the prosecution?”
“Of course. I heard it was embezzlement, but I think it’ll take more time to figure out the details.”
Woojin shook his head.
“On the surface, it’s like that, but there’s a lot to talk about.”
Lee Hye-rim's eyes widened slightly.
“Different?”
She looked at Woojin again, puzzled.
He knows the story of the Shinwha Group's bloodlines better than I do.
What the hell is going on… Woojin opened his mouth.
“Yeah. Actually… .”
Woojin decided that she should know the truth and started explaining.
Woojin's story was simple and to the point.
But her expression was the complete opposite of Woojin's calm face.
Without realizing it, I brought it to my lips with my hand.
“To that extent… .”
I thought I knew them well, having seen them since I was little.
I thought they were people who would do anything without hesitation for their stake, no matter what happened to others.
But I never even imagined a case like this.
“You’re crazy. You’re crazy. How could a child…?”
Woojin nodded his head as if he agreed.
The reason I made this known was to make her realize that the people she was dealing with were beings beyond her imagination.
The hardships that Woojin talked about at the food stall were talking about her mental state.
The brain is always trying to stay comfortable.
They constantly whisper to us to avoid stress and continually create rationalizations to tell us not to do anything difficult.
The same goes for human relationships.
“Hye-rim, more eyes will be on you than before. Even if it’s hard and you’re tired, you have to accept it calmly.”
“You think you’ll get attention?”
“Yeah. That’s how it is. It can’t be helped.”
That will be a crisis for Hye-rim.
“Really… will that happen?”
Woojin nodded as if giving a definitive answer.
“Mr. Chairman, you know that you don’t have much time.”
At that time, Hye-rim Lee received a phone call.
She was her secretary.
She had been quietly listening to the call with the phone to her ear, and then she ended the call.
And then I looked at Woojin.
“Grandpa, I think you’re looking for me.”
Woojin took a sip of his caramel macchiato through a straw and stood up.
“Hye-rim, please help me get a job. As your chief secretary.”
"uh?"
“Are you going to sign me up for health insurance?”
“You police… .”
“I quit and became unemployed. Then… I thought you’d help me get a job.”
Woojin smiled faintly.
“Let’s go, young lady. I will serve you with all my heart.”
