I decided to be hospitalized for a few days. I said I was fine, but Manager Ha insisted it was absolutely out of the question and forced me to be admitted unconditionally.
"I will not ask for the reason. However, you will have to go and speak to the Chairman in a few days. For now, just focus on recovering your body. I will take care of the rest."
Leaving those words behind, Manager Ha did not visit the hospital even once until I was discharged. Not long after, Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong visited the hospital room, bringing my grandmother along. My grandmother, who came in crying, and Myeong-soo, who was amazed at the large hospital room, showed contrasting reactions.
"Wow! Is this a hospital room or a hotel?"
My grandmother came to the side of the bed while crying.
"What in the world happened? Oh my, Mu-hyeok. Are you hurt badly? What should we do."
"I am not hurt badly. Grandma, I am sorry. Please do not cry. I did not even need to be hospitalized, but Manager Ha told me I unconditionally had to, so I am just staying here because I have no choice. It does not hurt."
"What do you mean it does not hurt..."
I tightly held the hand of my upset grandmother.
"It is the truth. I am only slightly hurt. You do not need to worry."
"Have you eaten?"
"I ate the hospital food earlier."
"Is hospital food enough? Is there anything you want to eat? I need to build up my baby's strength."
Myeong-soo, who was looking around the room, spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Oh my, grandma. He is fine. Our Mu-hyeok is not the type of guy to go around getting beaten up, he just got slightly scratched. I heard he was hospitalized just in case there were any problems later."
I gave Myeong-soo a look without my grandmother noticing. Myeong-soo gave a faint nod.
"Grandma has not eaten since earlier because she was worried about you. I will take her out to eat and come back."
"Could you do that? Thank you."
"No need for thanks."
"I do not need to eat. You boys go and eat. I want to stay by my baby's side."
"Sigh, if grandma does not eat, Mu-hyeok will not be able to lie down comfortably. Let us go and eat first."
"Yes, grandma, please go and eat."
"...I will be back quickly."
"Please eat a whole lot."
Grandma reluctantly left the hospital room, led by the hands of Hyeon-seong and Myeong-soo. A short while later, Myeong-soo came back in alone and plopped down next to the hospital bed.
"Are you not going to eat?"
"I have to eat. Are you really okay?"
"I am fine."
Myeong-soo looked at the gauze attached to my head with a gloomy expression.
"I am sorry. And thank you."
"Hah, bullshit. I am the one who is sorry. You got involved with those bastards because of me. Do not worry about it."
"Even so..."
"Myeong-soo, Lee Myeong-soo. Are we not friends?"
"..."
"Enough. Just go and eat."
As I waved my hand dismissively, Myeong-soo stood back up.
"But your maternal grandfather seems to be no joke. I talked to Hyeon-seong's father on the phone earlier, and he said the police station was completely turned upside down. I just thought he was someone who lived comfortably, but I guess not. What does he do?"
"Later. I will tell you slowly."
"Understood. You are really okay, right?"
"I told you I am fine. Hurry up and go out to eat. Let me rest a bit."
"Alrighty~ your big brother here will go eat with grandma and come back~" The hospital room left alone after Myeong-soo went out.
Manager Ha is probably busy cleaning things up right about now. He must be planning to go up to Seoul with me after sorting out everything with the school, the police, and the prosecution. 'Is that why he made me get hospitalized?'
I fell into deep thought as I stared at the hospital ceiling.
A blowfish restaurant in Busan. In a private room cut off from the outside, three men were talking, pushing the blowfish dishes aside.
"Chief Prosecutor."
"Yes, Manager Ha."
"Our Chairman..."
Manager Ha purposely trailed off his sentence. Chief Prosecutor Yoon Chang-ho anxiously swallowed his dry saliva. The position of the head of the Busan District Office was absolutely not a low rank within the prosecution hierarchy.
However, even Chief Prosecutor Yoon was sweating and bowing before Manager Ha, who was just a subordinate, not even Chairman Cheon himself.
"Manager Ha, Chief Prosecutor Yoon did not know. He is not someone with enough guts to do something like that while knowing, so please speak well of him to the Chairman."
Lawyer Moon Su-ho defended the Chief Prosecutor. Receiving a glance from Moon Su-ho, Chief Prosecutor Yoon continuously bowed his head toward Manager Ha.
"I really did not know. I did not know the Chairman's grandson was in Busan, and I did not know he got involved with Deputy Hong."
Looking down at the crown of Chief Prosecutor Yoon's head, Manager Ha asked.
"What will you do about Deputy Hong?"
"I will suspend him from his duties first and begin an internal audit."
"People from the Public Prosecutor’s Office will come down soon. Please cooperate well. Absolutely not a single letter of the Young Master's name must be mentioned. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes. Of course."
"I will consider what to report about Chief Prosecutor Yoon after seeing how you handle this matter."
"Thank you."
"Let us all eat for now."
Only then did they pick up their utensils.
"By the way, how will you handle the school teachers? I heard there are teachers who are colluding with Deputy Hong."
Manager Ha spoke while calmly eating his food. Chief Prosecutor Yoon's mind began to spin rapidly.
"I will take care of it myself."
"Ah, alright. I will trust you. Please eat, Chief Prosecutor. You have to come up to Seoul, right?"
"Yes, yes."
For the one week I was hospitalized, my grandmother did not leave my side. Since it was a VIP room, there was nothing uncomfortable about my grandmother living there as well, but... Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong came to the hospital room every day after school like they were clocking in for work.
On days when Hyeon-seong had sports practice, Myeong-soo would come alone and tell me all the details about what was happening at school.
"Hey! The police suddenly dragged away the Bald Eagle and the vice principal. They got caught taking bribes. Hahaha, his face turned bright red as he was screaming, and it felt so damn good, you know?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, the principal could not say a word and just watched quietly, anyway the school's atmosphere is completely ruined. I heard all those guys who had problems with you submitted their dropout papers too. Did you know?"
"No." It seemed Manager Ha had taken action.
"What about Cheol-gu? Did that bastard drop out too?"
"No... They just didn't mention that bastard. You said he backed out at the start."
"Yeah, that is a relief."
"When are you getting discharged?"
"Tomorrow? I will probably go to Seoul and come back down next week. Please visit the house often during that time so my grandmother does not get lonely."
"Do not worry about it. She is our grandma too."
"Hahaha. Yeah, our grandma."
Myeong-soo and I looked at each other's faces and laughed. Now, the Myeong-soo whose leg was crippled in my memories was no more. That was enough.
While we were laughing for a long time, Manager Ha came to the hospital.
"You will be discharged tomorrow morning and go straight to Pyeongchang District. We have already explained everything to your grandmother. You do not need to prepare anything, you can just bring yourself. I will come to pick you up tomorrow morning."
"Yes. Thank you, Manager."
"Do not mention it. I will see you tomorrow then."
Leaving only those words, he bowed and immediately turned around and left.
"Wow, that mister really only says exactly what he needs to say. He is not a robot, he is practically a machine."
"He is a good person."
"Hah, anyway, going to school is actually fun without the Bald Eagle around. I am so happy."
"What about Viper?"
"Viper is the same as always. I think Viper is probably going to become the head of student affairs, though?"
"Oh?"
"What do you mean oh, can't he become a somewhat nice teacher?"
"Viper is very nice. Him taking bribes cannot be helped. But at least he does not hit us over useless things. You just do things that deserve a beating."
"Yes, yes. Model student Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok. It must be nice to be you."
The next day. I left the hospital with Manager Ha, who had finished the discharge procedures early in the morning. The Director and the other doctors came out to say their greetings... and I felt a bit embarrassed because all the people around us were staring.
"Director, thank you. The Chairman will contact you once. Then, let us see each other next time."
"Yes, thank you. I hope to see the Young Master next time as well."
The doctors bowed their heads in unison. I followed suit and greeted them, then got into Manager Ha's car. A short while later, when we arrived at my grandfather's house in Pyeongchang District, the housekeeper was nowhere to be found, and only my grandfather was waiting.
Chairman Cheon wore a stiff expression.
"Hello, grandfather."
"Mhm."
As I approached closer, my grandfather gestured with his hand.
"Sit down. Manager Ha, stay outside. Come in when I call you."
"Yes, Chairman."
Manager Ha disappeared, and only Old Man Cheon and I were left alone in the living room.
"Speak."
"About what?"
"From beginning to end."
"That is..."
I told him the truth exactly as it was without adding any unnecessary details. Chairman Cheon just listened to my words without his expression changing even once.
"They tried to suppress me with power, so I asked you for help, grandfather."
"Was it not something you could have avoided? Why did you do that?"
"If they had only messed with me... I probably would have done as you said, grandfather. But since they used the people around me, it was no longer a matter that could be solved by me just avoiding it. If it could not be avoided, I had to trample them so they could never attack me again. That is the way I have lived, and the path I will live by in the future."
"Hmm..."
"I hate seeing the people around me take damage because of me. Our grandmother, my friends, and even you, grandfather... I want to protect the people I consider my family."
"Family, you say..."
My grandfather looked at me with a complicated expression.
"To do that, I can ask for your help, grandfather, and I could even do things far worse than that. I am sorry."
"What were you going to do if I had not helped you? Were you just going to let your life end like that?"
"...Then my ties with you, grandfather, would probably have ended there. If you had enough ability to help me but turned a blind eye... then you would have been excluded from my definition of the word family."
"..."
Chairman Cheon remained silent for a long time. I met his gaze without avoiding it. Right then, Chairman Cheon suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Things are getting very fun in my later years because of you. Right. A man should never avoid things. You must use whatever you can use."
The words I said were my true feelings, but they were also Chairman Cheon's usual philosophy. It seemed to have worked just as I thought, as Chairman Cheon was continuously nodding his head.
"If it cannot be avoided, trample them so they can never attack again. Never forget that. If you deal with them half-heartedly, they will strike again next time. If you want to make them your people, embrace them firmly, and if you think you cannot, you must completely ruin them by any means necessary. You did well. I like it."
"Thank you, grandfather."
"Manager Ha! Come in."
He must have been waiting right nearby, as Manager Ha came in upon hearing my grandfather's voice.
"How did you sort things out?"
"First, Deputy Hong has gone into an internal audit. It will probably... be difficult for him to avoid arrest. He has taken a lot of money since his days in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and with his torture and case fabrications, he has originally done so many things that it will not be an issue. And the Chief Prosecutor of Busan and the Police Chief are awaiting your decision, Chairman."
"And the school teachers?"
"The vice principal and the head of student affairs who colluded with Deputy Hong were arrested. They had also taken so many bribes that there was no problem with that. As for the students involved, we processed it all by receiving their dropout papers. We concluded things through talks with their parents as well."
Chairman Cheon glanced back in my direction.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Yes, but grandfather. I have one favor to ask of you."
"A favor?"
"Could you please leave the decision regarding the Chief Prosecutor and the Police Chief to me?"
"Why is that?"
"The Chief Prosecutor and the Police Chief are probably unable to even sleep properly right now. Rather than going out of our way to make an issue out of people who are not even that involved, would it not be better if I forgave them and made them owe me a debt?"
At that, Chairman Cheon let out a chuckle.
"There is a big difference between you forgiving them, grandfather, and me asking you to forgive them. I will use this as an opportunity to make them my people."
"Hah, you already know how to make people yours. Alright, try it once. But doing it half-heartedly is worse than not doing it at all. You know that, right?"
"Yes."
Chairman Cheon looked back at Manager Ha.
"Myeong-hun, you heard him, right? Handle it like that. Set up a meeting with the Chief Prosecutor, and as for the Police Chief... his rank is too low for a direct meeting. Leave him to Manager Ha."
"I understand."
"Hahaha. It is fun in my later years thanks to my grandson. What kind of fun will you give me next? I am looking forward to it."
"You will not be disappointed."
He seemed like a completely different person from the Chairman Cheon in my memories. Whether he changed like this because I changed, or if this was his original personality and I just never got to see it because I did not meet his expectations, is something I will have to find out further.
"Hahaha, so fun. So fun. I thought my child-rearing was a failure, but Mi-sook gifted me such an amusing child in the end."
However, I must not think too easily of this. Because Chairman Cheon is a scary person... I quietly observed Chairman Cheon, who was laughing heartily, and hid my expression.