Translator: Nox

Chapter 31

31. That Woman

=========

Taeseo, who crushed out his cigarette and threw the butt in the trash, walked to his car.

“Why did you resort to violence?”

With every step, Hyunwoo's nagging erupted without fail.

“You came down here to restrain yourself, so how can you beat someone up? What if our dream of returning to Seoul-”

“Then should I just let a criminal bastard go?”

Even after getting into the car, Hyunwoo's words continued incessantly.

“No, even if a crime happened next to you, you should just report it. Why are you hitting people, hitting people……”

Of course, Taeseo didn't back down and said everything he had to say.

“If he were someone who could be reasoned with, I wouldn't have done that. Ah, I don't know. Tell the lawyer to handle it.”

“These days, it's a world where meddling in other people's business can cause big trouble.”

“Ah, right. I did damage some property in the studio apartment……”

“……?”

“Yeah. That happened because he wouldn't open the door while committing his crime, so please handle that too.”

At the mention of property damage, Hyunwoo, who had started driving, pulled over to the shoulder in front of the police station.

“Property… property… You said you damaged property…?”

“Yeah.”

Hyunwoo froze in that position for a long time before finally parting his lips.

“Excuse me, Chief. You don't want to go back to Seoul, do you…? You're not planning on settling down in this town, are you…?”

\ \ \

The aftermath of what happened at night blew in from elsewhere.

After returning from the police station and finally falling into a light sleep, Taeseo's phone rang. Rubbing his eyes, Taeseo picked up his phone and looked at the screen. Hyunwoo was calling.

He had decided to take a day off after the commotion early that morning. Hyunwoo had already submitted a leave request, so there were no procedural issues. Yet, the phone kept ringing.

“He tells me to rest, then calls at this hour. What kind of bad manners is that?”

Taeseo forced his heavy eyelids open and answered the call.

“What is it? You told me to rest today?”

“It’s a big problem, Chief! Executive Director Kwon Taejin is coming down to the site right now! You need to come to the office immediately!”

At the urgent voice from the receiver, Taeseo shot up.

“Really? My brother?”

The mention of his brother’s name instantly chased away his sleep.

“How far has he come? If he just left, we have about 3 hours, right?”

Unlike Taeseo, Taejin prioritized principles in everything he did. For him, who valued procedure in handling matters, an unannounced site visit meant that something of such grave importance had occurred that it warranted disregarding protocol.

“His secretary said he just passed the toll gate and will arrive at the site within 30 minutes.”

“Damn it. He should have contacted me when he left. What am I supposed to do if he contacts me now?”

Taejin would suspect dereliction of duty upon seeing Taeseo absent and would investigate his past work conduct.

By any measure, Taeseo could not be described as diligently working. Until now, the site staff had overlooked his behavior, but if Taejin investigated, it would be quickly exposed.

“I’ll be right there.”

For Taeseo, it was like being caught completely off guard, a fire lit under his feet.

“Please come as quickly as possible, hurry.”

Hyunwoo's anxious voice could be heard from the receiver.

Indeed, he had reason to be anxious. Taeseo's actions would determine the timing of his reinstatement to the Seoul headquarters.

If Taeseo were to step down from Namkyung Group's management by any misstep, the lifeline Hyunwoo had secured would become a severed rope, not a rotten one.

Taeseo also felt the heat. The moment everything that had happened so far reached Taejin's ears, his chance of escaping this tiresome place would recede into the distant future.

\ \ \

Taeseo barely made it to the site office before Taejin arrived and checked his appearance in the mirror.

He hadn't slept properly, hadn't showered, and had only wet his hair. His usually fair skin was dark with fatigue, and the dark circles under his eyes were black.

The only fortunate thing was that his natural physique was good, so he looked presentable when he put on decent clothes.

After tidying his appearance, he stepped out in front of the office to a remarkable sight. Upon hearing that the executive director was coming from headquarters, all the office staff had gathered in front of the main building.

Since it was a rainy day, construction had been halted, and even the heavy equipment operators, who had nothing to do, stood in formation holding umbrellas.

When Taeseo, demoted from headquarters, had come down to Seongwoo-eup, no one had paid him any mind. Now, staff members eager to make an impression on Taejin, who was considered a contender for the next chairman, had turned out in full force.

Taeseo approached Hyunwoo at the end of the crowd. In the distance, a black sedan, presumably Taejin's car, was approaching the site.

“Our esteemed Kwon Taejin hates authoritarianism.”

“Huh?”

Hyunwoo looked at Taeseo as if to ask what he meant.

“The brother I know is excessively pragmatic and detests such empty formalities. He'll probably ask why everyone isn't working the moment he arrives.”

“Oh, in that case, should I go inside?”

Taeseo shook his head at Hyunwoo's timid remark.

“Following others is also a way to get by. If you're the only one not doing it, you'll look like a rebel.”

“Then what should I do…?”

“Just stay put.”

Just then, Taejin's car arrived in front of the site office. The faces of the gathered employees showed evident tension as the car stopped.

A moment later, the door opened, and gleaming polished shoes touched the ground. As Taejin, dressed in a blue suit, stepped out of the car, his secretary, who had exited from the passenger seat, handed him an umbrella.

Holding the umbrella, Taejin stood still and looked at the employees lined up in front of the site office. The site manager rushed forward to Taejin.

“Greetings, Executive Director. I am Jo Seokjin, the site manager for the Seongwoo-eup golf resort.”

“Ah, yes. Manager. It’s been a while. But why are you all here instead of working…?”

Hearing those words from a few steps behind, Taeseo chuckled.

“See? I told you so, didn't I?”

Despite Taeseo's comment, Hyunwoo remained frozen and silent.

Taejin scanned the assembled people and his gaze stopped at Taeseo's face. A cold voice emanated from Taejin's lips.

“Kwon Taeseo. Come see me.”

The stark difference in temperature compared to his greeting of the site manager made the employees standing side-by-side flinch.

Some of them knew about the Namkyung Group's second son's dereliction of duty after causing trouble, and they closed their eyes tightly, resigned to the inevitable.

“The meeting room is still available, right?”

At Taejin's question, the site manager nodded. His face clearly showed his despair, as he was the first to be informed about Taeseo's absenteeism.

Taejin walked past the site manager towards Taeseo and said with a stern face,

“Follow me.”

“Me? Why?”

Taeseo shrugged as if he didn't understand the reason, but Taejin only said what he needed to and walked towards the meeting room attached to the site office.

Feeling awkward, Taeseo made a joke to Hyunwoo standing beside him.

“See, I told you he wouldn't like this show of respect.”

Hyunwoo, unable to smile, nudged Taeseo's back.

“Hurry and go to the meeting room.”

From Hyunwoo's perspective, he had tried his best to prevent a leak, but in the end, the leak had occurred and reached headquarters.

Turning away from Hyunwoo, who looked as if the world had split in two, Taeseo sauntered towards the meeting room where his brother had entered.

\ \ *

As Taeseo opened the door and entered the meeting room, Taejin, who was already seated, yelled.

“Are you an idiot or not?”

Taeseo replied indifferently.

“What?”

“If you had any sense, you wouldn't have beaten a local into a pulp after coming down to the site!”

“He was in the wrong first. Mind your own business.”

“His wrongdoing is his, but beating him up is yours!”

“Ah… So you came down here trembling, worried that the Namkyung Group's second son would cause trouble after coming to the site?”

Taeseo looked at Taejin with a knowing expression. His face was defiant, as if he didn't understand what the problem was.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes with you. Father is furious and wants to send you abroad immediately, for study or whatever.”

“I can’t speak a word of English, so what good is studying abroad?”

Taejin sighed at Taeseo's words. He said he couldn't speak English with confidence, but it was true.

He had never studied English beyond university requirements.

Taeseo's mindset was that he would never need English for anything, and if necessary, he could hire an interpreter.

“Is it something to brag about that you didn't study when others did?”

“Studying is for smart people. Is it the first day I'm known as a delinquent?”

Taejin pressed his temples as if his head ached. Taeseo grinned at the sight.

“Tell the old man who came down here in a rage that if you send me abroad, I'll just do drugs and gamble and have a real good time.”

“You little punk.”

“It’s perfect, I really hated being here. Since I can play to my heart's content away from both of you and Father, send me if you want to see that.”

“Are you going to keep living like this?”

“You’re always talking about studying abroad, studying abroad. You barely studied in college, so what are you going to learn now, somewhere I can't even communicate?”

“Then! You should have lived properly!”

“What haven't I lived properly?”

“Pack your bags right now. Pack them and go to America or England, wherever Father tells you to.”

“I’m not going. Damn it, what am I supposed to do in a place where I can’t even communicate? I’m the type of person who doesn't go overseas even when I get a vacation. Because nothing goes my way. Huh?”

“This is really…”

“I’m handling my work here well enough, so keep your nagging to yourself.”

“The one who claims to be handling things well committed property damage and assault?”

“You must have heard everything from the police station's witness investigation. If anything, there’s someone who can testify to my innocence, so don't worry about it.”

Of course, Taeseo had no intention of making Yuna testify if a problem arose. If she testified, she would have to recall the incident where she was almost sexually assaulted.

Therefore, this was merely a threat to Taejin.

However, upon hearing this, Taejin looked at Taeseo with an even fiercer gaze.

“Is that person who can testify the woman who was almost sexually assaulted? A woman who settled for 1 million won for attempted sexual assault? She'll hardly testify.”