Chapter 4
Episode 4. The Rebel or The Darling
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The morning newspaper flew towards Taeseo's body. The crumpled paper hit his broad chest and fell to his feet.
"What kind of brat are you!"
Taeseo looked down at the morning newspaper with an impassive face. Two newspapers had featured photos of a person presumed to be Taeseo on their front pages.
[Third-generation chaebol heirs: How much moral laxity should be tolerated.]
[Third-generation chaebol heir: Reality of ties with the entertainment industry captured]
Taeseo's prediction was correct. The next morning's newspapers featured a large photo of Taeseo leaving the entrance of a residence building.
The flashing camera bulbs blinded him, and he instinctively raised his hand to his face, but the newspaper company chose that photo, where his face wasn't clearly visible, for the article.
In the photo, he looked as if he were trying to avoid the camera because he had committed a crime.
Anyone who didn't know him would likely see Taeseo, who had merely drunk a bottle of Glenfiddich at a residence, as a symbol of the crumbling discipline among third-generation chaebol heirs.
The incident had its roots in the entertainment industry's Sponsor Gate scandal a few months prior. Third-generation chaebol heirs were deeply involved in that incident, and those involved were arrested by the police who raided the residence.
But humorously, the news of their arrest was pushed to the back pages, while the front pages were dominated by articles exposing the decadent lifestyles of third-generation chaebol heirs.
He didn't know who the editors-in-chief of the two newspapers were, but they were undoubtedly capable individuals.
They had chosen Kwon Taeseo, who was considered the most outstanding among the third-generation chaebol heirs, to fill their front pages.
Furthermore, their prediction that exposing the reality of third-generation chaebol heirs would be more sensational than the already stale Sponsor Gate scandal proved valid.
From early morning, online news outlets were copying and spreading the newspaper articles.
It seemed the transition team, preparing for a change in government, had begun to rein in the chaebols, and this crackdown on discipline, following the Sponsor Gate, was set to yield successful results with the third-generation heirs.
Although Kwon Taeseo's name wasn't mentioned, anyone who knew Kwon Taeseo would recognize the person in the photo without a doubt.
Even with his hand covering his face, his elegant jawline was not hidden. In fact, the obscured face only made his proportions look even better.
Taeseo smirked as he looked at the newspaper featuring his photo. This behavior agitated Namkyung Group Chairman Kwon Seongtae.
"You son of a bitch, Kwon Taeseo!"
Chairman Kwon shouted. Taeseo looked at his father with a smiling face.
"If I'm a son of a bitch, are you a dog?"
"What? You son of a whore!"
"So, you're a son of a whore then?"
Taeseo, with a calm expression, picked up the newspaper and swept his messy bangs back with one hand. Seeing his upright face, which seemed unaware of any wrongdoing, Chairman Kwon clutched the back of his neck.
"Hey, you idiot! Didn't I tell you repeatedly not to cause trouble, or didn't I!"
"I didn't cause trouble."
"This is not causing trouble? Your face plastered all over the newspaper, and you say you didn't cause trouble? You moron!"
As Chairman Kwon clutched his neck and feigned collapse, his eldest son, Taejin, rushed over.
"Father."
Taejin helped Chairman Kwon and escorted him to the master bedroom. "You need to be careful with your blood pressure," Taejin's words flowed out, suggesting he would talk Taeseo down.
"Talk me down, my ass."
Taeseo muttered a low curse.
Of Namkyung's two sons, the elder was raised as a model student. In contrast, the younger son, Taeseo, always caused trouble, big or small.
The public whispered that the saying "no son is as good as his father" referred to the Namkyung brothers.
A moment later, the door to the master bedroom closed, and Taejin, turning back from the door, looked at Taeseo.
"Kwon Taeseo, you've gone too far this time."
"My brother could have stopped this much."
"Every reporter is eagerly looking to dig into the lives of third-generation chaebol heirs; do you think that's feasible in this climate?"
Indeed, when public sentiment is turbulent, even obvious news cannot be suppressed. With the Sponsor Gate, not only news outlets but also online media and YouTubers have joined in, preaching conspiracy theories about chaebol collusion, so it was understandable.
Taeseo scanned the article that used his photo. It elaborated extensively on the recklessness of third-generation chaebol heirs, but it didn't mention what Kwon Taeseo specifically did.
"They just used a photo. There are no criminal charges, so don't worry about it."
Having grasped the article's content in a short time, Taeseo tossed the newspaper into a corner of the sofa as if it were no big deal.
"There's an old saying, 'The crow flies, and the persimmon falls.' Even if you just do what you're told, your position is secure, so why do you go out of your way to create problems?"
"I didn't create any problems. When something happens, people look at my face first; is this the first day?"
Taejin let out a long sigh, then looked up at Taeseo, who stood there as stubbornly as ever.
"I told you to exercise restraint."
More nagging. This time, Taeseo sighed.
"What haven't I exercised restraint about? Did I do drugs? Did I roll around with women?"
"So, you think you did well?"
"What did I do wrong? Is drinking at a drinking party a crime? Oh, and for your information, I didn't drink for free either."
"This time, Father isn't going to let it slide either; he's determined."
In Taeseo's view, it wasn't his father but his brother who wouldn't let it slide. Unlike his father, who would get angry but hold no grudges, his brother had a knack for subtly screwing people over.
"If you don't like it, put a leash on me and lock me up."
"If you were locked up, would you stay put?"
Taeseo looked at Taejin with a "What do you want me to do?" expression.
"Father wants you to leave."
However, the words that followed immediately caught him off guard, and he chuckled.
"What are you talking about?"
Even for worse transgressions, Taeseo had never been kicked out of the house. Kwon Taejin, the eldest son of Namkyung Group, had many things he shouldn't do and rules he had to follow, but the second son, Kwon Taeseo, was allowed to do anything as long as he didn't commit a crime.
Having caused trouble, big and small, since childhood, the second son, Kwon Taeseo, was considered a child they had half-given up on, and perhaps because of that, he always had a get-out-of-jail-free card.
"Father says he can't stand the sight of you and wants you removed from his sight."
But this time was different.
Kwon Taeseo, the second son of Namkyung, who had been engaging in reckless behavior, was about to be kicked out of his home.
Taeseo sat listlessly in the back seat of the sedan heading to Chungcheong Province, recalling the personnel order that had been issued today.
Until yesterday, Taeseo held the title of Executive Director at Namgyeong Development, a subsidiary of Namkyung Group.
It was a nominal title from the start, but as long as he followed the instructions of his brother, who was known as a business genius, maintaining the title was not an issue.
But that was until yesterday, and now he was being driven out of Seoul. Taeseo had been demoted to a golf course construction site in Chungcheong Province.
It was obvious that his brother had played a part in driving him out of Seoul. His brother was a more ruthless person than his father, so he had no idea what repercussions his life would face from now on.
First of all, being driven out of Seoul was unprecedented. How long would this disposition last? How long would he have to exercise restraint? A month? Two months if it was long?
When he first heard he would be kicked out of the house, he thought they would at least let him stay in Seoul. He figured he could lie low for a month in an officetel arranged by his father's secretary, but that wasn't the case.
Even his mother, who had always sided with him, saying, "He's young," "He'll get better when he matures," or "That's just how Taeseo is," joined in the chorus, insisting he be sent away.
Taeseo uncrossed his legs and leaned his head between the driver's and passenger's seats.
"Seriously, the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get? Even among those with the same generation name, there were department heads, deputy general managers, and section chiefs, but what kind of manager is this, a mere section chief!"
Hyunwoo, sitting in the passenger seat, widened his eyes and put his phone down on his lap.
"Originally, Director, no, Manager, at your age, even being a manager was considered a high position—"
Taeseo cut off Hyunwoo's words, as if he didn't want to hear them.
"Hey. Over there."
"Yes."
"What's your rank?"
Hyunwoo stared at the back seat, his mouth agape as if wondering if he didn't know that.
It had been two years since he had been Taeseo's personal assistant. The fact that he had never been called by his rank, let alone his name, in two years suddenly came to mind.
"Are you deaf? Why aren't you answering?"
"I'm a manager, but..."
"Wow. They've ranked the lowest person in the secretariat the same as me. The old man must be really pissed off this time."
"Old man?"
"Yeah, the old man in my house. If you're going to treat me like this after giving birth, why did you have me? You're not horny in your old age."
Another statement that made Hyunwoo's jaw drop burst from Taeseo's lips.
Who was Namkyung's Kwon Seongtae?
He had inherited the spirit of Namkyung Group's founder—Taeseo's grandfather—who was a man of action. He was second to none in Korea when it came to his formidable presence.
To call such a Chairman Kwon an old man, or to suggest he was horny...
Every word Taeseo uttered made Hyunwoo's heart shrink by the second.
Hyunwoo stealthily reached towards the windshield and turned off the black box. The driver, sitting beside him, nodded briefly in understanding.
"Over there. So, where are we going?"
"Excuse me?"
"Where am I supposed to go and how long do I have to be miserable?"
"The duration is until the Chairman permits it, and you are going to Seongwoo-eup..."
Taeseo's pupils widened at the unfamiliar place name.
"What, eup? I've heard of dong, gu, even myeon units, but this is my first time hearing of an eup unit. Eup... isn't that something you only hear in old dramas, like 'eupnae'?"
"I said Seongwoo-eup..."
"Wow, shit."
After that, Taeseo uttered a string of words like "crazy" and "going insane."
"Over there."
"Yes."
"Are there any hotels there?"
"From what I've researched—"
"Just the main point."
"No."
"What about bars?"
"There's one called Two Legs, but..."
"Two what?"
"Two... Legs..."
"Wow, I'm going crazy."
After hearing Hyunwoo's words, Taeseo continued to spew curses containing the Korean equivalent of the 'sh' sound for several minutes.
Hyunwoo moved only his eyes to confirm that the black box was properly turned off and let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn't just Hyunwoo whose heart was pounding; the driver's hands gripping the steering wheel were also tense.
