In his study, Chairman Cheon, who had been lost in thought while looking out the window, turned his head at the sound of a knock.
“Chairman, it's Myeong-hun.”
Manager Ha entered, bowing his waist. He stood near the door and waited for Chairman Cheon to speak. Chairman Cheon, who had been looking out the window, sat down in his chair after a moment.
At his gaze, Manager Ha opened his mouth.
“About the Young Master's friend...”
Chairman Cheon, who had been listening to the report without a word, asked a question as soon as Manager Ha finished speaking.
“So he used the card he got from Yoon Chang-ho back then?”
“Yes, it seems he used it for a personal matter.”
“Hmm....”
Chairman Cheon's fingertips tapped the desk for a long while.
“He pulled out that card just to take over one small company and throw the people involved in jail?”
He muttered with a slightly displeased expression. Manager Ha shook his head.
“It's not completely over yet. Let's watch for a little longer.”
“That boy Mu-hyeok is just pretending to be vicious. He's still not ripe. He should have taken everything. Even their lives.”
To his words, spoken with a click of the tongue, Manager Ha took Mu-hyeok's side.
“I heard the people who carried it out have been stuck in the salt farms. It's a salt farm we manage, a place no one can escape from alive.”
“Good, that's how it should be. You must give them a pain worse than death. It's a mistake to think revenge is over just by taking the company and doing the same to his son.”
“Haven't the times changed? They've changed a lot from your era, Chairman.”
At Manager Ha's words, Chairman Cheon's brow furrowed.
“They've changed. But even if they've changed, some things don't. Someone who was once an enemy can become an enemy again at any time. You have to instill absolute fear in them. Mu-hyeok doesn't know that yet.”
However, not long after. News arrived that Jo Hyeon-gu had committed suicide in the detention center. A satisfied laugh echoed from Chairman Cheon's study.
“Yes. This is how it should be. That's my grandson.”
Manager Ha stood before him, bowing his head in silence.* * Inside the detention center, Jo Hyeon-gu was treated worse than an animal. He suffered frequent beatings from the prison guards, and even assault and harassment from his own cellmates. But there was no one to help him. And then, his name vanished even from the media. “Section Chief Ma, please finish it now. Handle it quietly as a suicide, and take everything his family has. Everything, without leaving a single grain of rice.” Section Chief Ma faithfully followed my instructions. He bribed a prison guard and used someone inside to hang him in the bathroom. I thought a lot while handling this matter. In the end, I had to be ruthless. I could never die in vain like I did in my last life. Hyeon-seong got his cast off, took a leave of absence from school, and went down to Busan. “The ignorant bastard says he needs to sort out his thoughts. Just leave him be. He'll get his head straight and come back up on his own.” Myeong-soo's words seemed to echo in my ears again. He probably said it out of concern for me, but it didn't resonate at all. I couldn't help the bitter taste in my mouth. In the meantime, I had been preparing for the bar exam and trying hard not to think about that incident. Time flew by, and the bar exam was just around the corner. After class ended, I was walking out of the lecture hall when someone tapped my shoulder. “Hey!” It was Myeong-soo. I asked with an indifferent expression. “Have you studied much for the bar exam? What about the others?” “Yeah, everyone's overflowing with confidence. They were all worried about you, since you haven't been coming to school properly. Did you even study?” Seeing Myeong-soo's confident appearance, a smile finally appeared on my face. “Me? I'm always ready.” The first round of the exam covers the three basic laws of constitution, criminal law, and civil law, plus an elective. Unlike the second round, it's a multiple-choice test, so assuming they studied hard, most students at the level of Korea University's law department pass the first round by the time they graduate. “Ah, you annoying bastard. Speaking of which, we all decided to get together for a meal for the first time in a while. You should come too.” I nodded at his words. As I walked off campus, Section Chief Ma was waiting in front. Normally, I left Section Chief Ma behind when I came to school for the sake of a normal school life, but ever since handling this incident, I had been moving with him at all times. As Myeong-soo and I got into the car, Section Chief Ma started the engine. Before long, we arrived at the meeting spot, a family restaurant. When I went inside, everyone was already gathered and waiting. “Hey~ Kim Mu-hyeok! Long time no see, huh?” Starting with Oh Hyeon-woo, Yoon Jae-ha and Han Min-gyeong also greeted me warmly. I smiled and sat down. “Sorry, I suggested we form this group but couldn't participate much, right? I have more time now, so I'll join as much as I can.” We each ordered our food and began to discuss the bar exam. “You're all confident you'll pass the first round on the first try, right? I am. Let's all pass the first and second rounds in one go and go to the training institute together.” Seeing the confident Oh Hyeon-woo, I thought again that I had made the right choice in selecting him as the group's president. “Mu-hyeok, this is no time for you to be smiling. You're the biggest problem here. Did you study? The top spot in the department went to Min-gyeong not long ago, didn't it?” At my words, Min-gyeong gave a slightly awkward smile. I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, I couldn't even come to class often, so this is expected. Still, it's enough for the first round.” At that, everyone chided me for being annoying. The loudest among them was, of course, Myeong-soo's voice. “See, what did I tell you? The most useless thing in the world is worrying about Mu-hyeok. We just need to do well. This bastard said from the start he was only going to take the first round and had no intention of taking the second. Let's just ignore him.” If you pass the first round, you get two chances at the second round: one this year and one next year. The second round was the real bar exam. The second round, held over three days, was essay-based. Unlike the multiple-choice first round, it wasn't a test you could pass just by memorizing the law books. Most people tasted failure in the second round. There was also a third round, but it was an interview, so most people passed unless there were truly exceptional circumstances. It was a formal interview where you wouldn't fail unless you did something like praise North Korea and the Communist Party. “Have you all thought about your career paths if you pass all three rounds?” Everyone stopped their forks and looked at me. “Well? I'll have to see my scores from the training institute, but I'm thinking of becoming a prosecutor.” It seemed Oh Hyeon-woo was planning to walk the same path as in his previous life. Back then, despite having high enough scores at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he had shattered everyone's expectations and chosen to become a prosecutor instead of a judge. At Oh Hyeon-woo's words, all the eyes that had been on me turned to him. Yoon Jae-ha, in particular, let out a surprised cough. “Really? Doesn't your family want you to become a judge?” Perhaps because Oh Hyeon-woo's grandfather had served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Yoon Jae-ha seemed to have assumed he would naturally choose to be a judge. Oh Hyeon-woo frowned at that and shook his head. “It's my life, so I should be the one to choose. It's separate from what the family elders want.” “Whew~ I'm jealous of that resolve. I don't even have the freedom to choose. I have to go straight into a law firm.” Yoon Jae-ha also made the same choice as before. “I'm becoming a prosecutor! Unconditionally a prosecutor!” “Yeah, yeah. Every student in the law department knows you're becoming a prosecutor. Stop talking about it. My ears hurt.” Everyone naturally ignored Myeong-soo's words. The only one left was Han Min-gyeong. As everyone turned to look at her, Han Min-gyeong shrugged. “I haven't thought about it yet. I'm planning to follow my scores. If I can be a judge, that'd be great. If I can be a prosecutor, that's good too. Being a lawyer isn't bad either. For now, passing the exam is the priority.” Originally, Han Min-gyeong would have worked as a lawyer before accepting a recruitment offer from the opposition party and entering politics. But the Han Min-gyeong of now was sure to compete for the top spot at the training institute. ‘Her becoming a judge wouldn't be bad for me either.’ I watched the situation unfold as I took a sip of water. “Oh~ Look at Han Min-gyeong's confidence. Isn't she almost at Mu-hyeok's level? She's the female Kim Mu-hyeok!” Everyone burst into loud laughter at Myeong-soo's words. I laughed along with them. I nonchalantly said to Han Min-gyeong, who was smiling awkwardly. “If your scores are good enough, I think being a judge would suit you, Min-gyeong. You'll do well at anything.” “Thank you.” She smiled brightly at me. “What's with this strange atmosphere?” Ignoring Myeong-soo's teasing, everyone got up from their seats. “Then let's see each other on the day of the bar exam.” Time passed, and the day of the bar exam arrived. We all met in front of the examination hall and went inside together. When we came out of the examination hall at 5 o'clock, after the sun had set, everyone had a smile on their face. “Ah! I don't know anymore~ I did as much as I could, so that's that.” Everyone nodded at Myeong-soo's words. “On a day like this, we should all have a drink together, right?” At Oh Hyeon-woo's words, everyone looked at me. I nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We should.” I went to a nearby pub with the guys, where we laughed, chatted, drank, and then parted ways. On the way home. I stared blankly at the night scenery passing by the car window, lost in thought. I had pushed it aside, not wanting to think about other things before the exam, but now it was time to collect my thoughts. By the time I almost reached home, I shook off my thoughts with a sigh. “Section Chief Ma.” “Yes. Boss.” “Now, I'm going to do it properly.” “Understood.” Grandfather, seeing me come in drunk for the first time, said nothing. I greeted him and went up to the second floor, into my room. The next morning, after finishing my meal, I went into the study to talk with Grandfather. “I'm going to stop my school life now.” I didn't avoid Grandfather's gaze as he watched me with a blank expression. “I feel like if I try to do everything, I'll end up doing nothing. I'm going to do it properly now. I'm thinking of either dropping out or taking a leave of absence from school.” “Is that so?” “Yes, I plan to go to Busan and then get started for real.” “Properly....” Grandfather looked at me in silence, tapping the table with his fingertips. In the spacious study, Grandfather and I looked into each other's eyes without a word. “Alright. But, you don't need to quit school. I'll take care of it so you can graduate, so just show your face once in a while. Since you said you'll do it properly, I'm now going to see if you're fit to be my successor, not just my grandson.” “Understood. I will spend some time with my grandmother in Busan and then come back up.” I bowed to my grandfather, who nodded, and left the study. That evening, I went down to Busan with Section Chief Ma. * “So that boy Mu-hyeok is going to do it properly.” Chairman Cheon said, looking out the window. Outside, the car carrying Kim Mu-hyeok was leaving Chairman Cheon's mansion. “Is that so?” “When he returns from Busan, hand over your duties to him one by one. He said he'll do it properly, so let's see what he can do.” “Understood.” Chairman Cheon turned from the window and walked towards his chair. “What's Su-man doing?” “He's quiet. He's only doing his usual work, with no particular movements.” “Ji-won, Ji-soo?” “Young Master Ji-won... is the same as always. I heard that Miss Ji-soo will join Ilseong after she graduates this year.” “Tsk. The eldest grandson still hasn't come to his senses? What on earth is that boy Su-man doing?” Manager Ha silently bowed his head. Chairman Cheon, who was clicking his tongue with a displeased face, added. “Call Ji-won and Ji-soo to the house. And what's Ji-young been up to these days? She never comes to see her grandfather.” “I will contact them.” “No, it's fine. We'll talk about Ji-young later, I need to see Ji-won and Ji-soo first.” “Understood.” After Manager Ha bowed and left, Chairman Cheon remained alone, sitting for a long time with his eyes closed as if lost in thought. * *“Grandma!”
“Mu-hyeok, you're here?”
The house in Busan was always warm. Seeing my unchanging grandma, the smile never left my face. I spent the day eating dinner and talking with my grandma.
I told her I was planning to properly take on my grandfather's work, but Grandma just patted my back without a word. I didn't contact Hyeon-seong either, instead spending my time organizing my thoughts, going for walks with Grandma, and eating delicious food. The one who broke my rest was Park Dong-soo.— Little brother!
You're in Busan, right?
“Yes. But brother, if it's not urgent, could you call me later? My head is a bit of a mess right now.”— Hmm...
It's about your parents' case. I called because there's someone who says they know a little something about it. Sometimes, you find a clue to an unsolved problem in the most unexpected of places.
My parents' case was like that.
“Who is it? Where are they now!”
< Now, I'm going to do it properly. > End