Chapter 129 – Ordinarily – Part 9

Chapter 129 – Ordinarily – Part 9

A flustered voice unconsciously came out of Lee Hyerim’s mouth.

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

Her older brother, Lee Yohwan, had just been arrested.

And it seemed like Woojin was behind it.

With her family history being questioned in this situation, a sudden prediction came to mind.

Woojin turned his head to the window.

Snow was falling heavily, as if trying to brighten the dark night sky.

“Just curious.”

At Woojin’s calm tone, Lee Hyerim ran her hand through her hair.

“Woojin, you’re not… you’re not thinking that, are you?”

“What are you thinking?”

“To help me. So…”

As Woojin stared at Lee Hyerim, she couldn’t continue her sentence and raised her coffee cup.

It was because she felt like she was overreacting for no reason.

The coffee tasted like she was drinking kimchi soup, and Lee Hyerim’s face grew hot.

“Hyerim.”

“Huh?”

“I just want to see you succeed. There’s no other meaning. You have two older sisters and two older brothers, right?”

Including Lee Yohwan.

As Lee Hyerim slowly nodded, Woojin leaned his upper body slightly towards her and spoke.

“We can’t change the past that has already passed, but we can create the future that is coming. Would you like to hear my story? First, Young Master Lee Yohwan can’t get away. Because your father is also involved, Hyerim.”

Because he had heard stories about her father from Lee Hyerim intermittently, he could predict his personality and ability to cope.

***

-If this is the Righteous Path, isn’t Prosecutor Kim Cheolung a detective, not a prosecutor? hahahahaha

-I sincerely hope you eliminate the saying, “Innocent with money, guilty without money”!

-hahaha, if he gets released after all this, everything needs to be investigated. Money + Law = Innocent.

-Seriously, Prosecutor Brother has no limits hahahaha

-If the prosecutor in charge of this case changes, there’s a problem.

-Breaking news just came out for Room Broadcast, yay yay yay yay

-He really needs to be thrown in jail. I want to see him get beaten up.

-They say Actor Moon Siyoung was also assaulted?

-I just wish he would die.

YouTube and internet articles started to go wild, and news outlets, without exception, announced breaking news.

Of course, there were also Room Broadcast lawsuits that weren’t.

But the fire had already been lit, and desires began to boil over.

The lights of SH Strategy remained brightly lit until late at night.

All staff members were unable to leave the office, some went out on business to recruit or meet someone, and those in the office couldn’t put down their handsets.

“No one is answering the phone!”

“Why is the guy who went to meet Assemblyman Hwang not responding to calls!?

“Stop the articles first!”

“Well… right now, everyone and their mother is turning it into an article…”

“We’ve taken it down from the trending searches several times, but it’s rising again.”

“Then tell them to take it down again! Name! Drugs! Tell them to exclude anything related to those so they can’t go up!”

All the chiefs of each department were shouting, their faces red.

But there was no brilliant plan to overturn the situation.

No matter how much they blocked it, it kept coming back up endlessly.

The politicians and the prosecution they had bribed, most of them were unreachable.

Even those who were reached gave negative answers.

That it would be difficult this time.

They tried subtle blackmail, but it didn’t work well.

Because the media was so agitated.

Looking at the current situation, it seemed like there might even be a protest in Gwanghwamun if things went well.

Woojin considered these points and moved them.

An era has arrived where people spend more time with media than in face-to-face conversations.

An era where individuals can fully satisfy the desires of their primitive brains by seeing only what they want to see and hearing only what they want to hear.

And anonymity becomes their alter ego, spewing out vomit to satisfy mood-driven desires.

This means it can also be used as a tool to relieve stress.

And so, people are always ready to fight.

Consideration diminishes, and they react solely to desires and even small stresses, moving their fingers and raising their voices to immediately express themselves.

When such people gather, form a group, and feel a sense of belonging, they emerge from the surface.

Lee Yohwan was perfect prey for them.

“Fuck…”

One of the yelling Chiefs ran a hand through his hair and muttered.

He wanted to curse out that crazy bastard, Lee Yohwan, to his heart’s content, but he couldn’t with so many eyes watching.

That son of a bitch made a mistake, but the punishment fell squarely on them.

“Fuck… I should just quit.”

But he couldn’t get such a high salary at any other company.

“He’s not answering the phone!”

“Then go find him, you jerk!”

SH Strategy’s office was no different from a bustling marketplace.

Then, the noisy office suddenly fell silent.

It was because Lee Jeongcheol, Lee Yohwan’s father and the center of the incident, had entered.

Everyone bowed at the waist like folders.

The four Chiefs quickly approached Lee Jeongcheol.

“You’re here.”

Despite their polite greetings, Lee Jeongcheol merely scanned his surroundings indifferently.

The Chiefs gritted their teeth.

They knew this moment would come.

It felt like facing the Grim Reaper.

“The situation.”

At his low voice, one of the Chiefs quickly replied.

“First, we’ve filed a complaint against the Prosecution. It’s Kim Cheolung, the Deputy Division Chief Prosecutor. We’ve contacted the Third Deputy Chief Prosecutor, and the lawyers are on standby. Also…”

Lee Jeongcheol listened to his explanation silently.

He explained all the measures being taken and what was happening.

“So.”

Excuse me?

What do you think will happen?

I’ll do my best to get him a suspended sentence at the very least…

Lee Jeongcheol looked at the Chief with emotionless eyes.

I’m not talking about Yohwan, I’m talking about my image. How much damage will it cause? At the group’s Board Meeting.

The Chiefs felt as if they had been hit in the back of the head.

He was thinking about the stability of his power more than his son.

He was indeed as expected.

They knew he was this kind of person, but they had forgotten that fact for a moment.

I will handle it promptl…

Issue an apology in my name and schedule a reporter’s conference. Yohwan will go to prison.

Excuse me?

Lee Jeongcheol’s brows furrowed slightly.

And convene a Board Meeting.

Understood. I’ll try to schedule the Board Meeting as soon as possible.

Lee Jeongcheol turned away without hesitation, then turned back to face the Chiefs.

If something like this happens again, all your wives and children will starve.

The Chiefs bowed at a 90-degree angle.

***

The next day.

The Republic of Korea was in an uproar.

This was because Lee Jeongcheol apologized, calling it his own mistake, and wanted his son punished.

It was quite an unusual event, excluding politicians.

Once Lee Jeongcheol expressed his will, even those who were connected to the Shinhwa Group had no choice but to follow the procedures.

Of course, since there had been dealings between them, a slight reduction in sentence was unavoidable.

That wasn’t important.

What was important was the fact that Lee Yohwan had been excluded from Management Rights.

Lee Yohwan, upon hearing the news, looked like someone who had lost their mind.

Kim Taehyun spoke to Lee Yohwan, who was nicely locked up in the detention center.

“Does our Young Master not like Sundae-gukbap?”

He hadn’t touched it.

No, he had flipped the tray over.

Then he stood up and raised his hand at Kim Taehyun.

“Let me use a phone for one call. I’ll give you a million won per minute.”

“A million won?”

Kim Taehyun’s eyes widened, and he quickly rummaged through his pocket.

“Mr. Lee Yohwan! You should have told me sooner if you needed something!”

And he reached into his inner pocket.

“Ah, here it was. Fuck, I thought I’d lost it.”

What came out of his inner pocket was his middle finger.

Kim Taehyun grinned and said,

“Fuck you.”

Lee Yohwan gripped the iron bars with both hands, and tiny blood vessels, like cobwebs, appeared in his eyes.

“Do you think you’ll get away with this!”

Kim Taehyun picked his ear and flicked out the earwax.

“We’re short on budget, you see. I can’t order anything else for you. If you’re hungry, just pick up some Sundae (Korean Blood Sausage) and eat it.”

At that time,

Woojin was at work at SH Strategy.

The atmosphere was calmer than on his first day. Or rather, everyone could be said to be on edge.

Woojin was organizing receipts whose purpose he didn’t know, but even as he moved his hands, he was observing each staff member.

Even without seeing the nameplate with their title, one could roughly tell their position by observing their actions and surroundings.

The larger the size of the desk, the wider the independent space, the higher the position tends to be.

It was easy to think of it as the size of one’s territory.

Their behavior is also indicative.

Their voice is loud, and they are decisive in their medical decisions. Also, their gait is different, and they approach staff members without hesitation.

Mirroring is also like that.

If a person of higher rank makes a small gesture, their subordinate will often follow that action.

They unconsciously follow the leader, wanting to assimilate.

Based on these things, you can also tell who is leading the atmosphere in any gathering.

Who crossed their legs first, whose movements are larger, who raised their glass first, and so on.

Even without hearing their voices, observing their non-verbal cues reveals their relationships.

“Are you all done organizing?”

At Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok’s words, Woojin presented the organized receipts.

He flipped through the receipts and nodded.

“You have a good head for work.”

Woojin, who had been watching Cha Juhyeok flip through the receipts, opened his mouth.

“It seems your mother’s condition has improved a lot. That’s a relief.”

Cha Juhyeok looked up at Woojin.

“Older people often consider bone broth a health food and consume it regularly. However, it doesn’t seem suitable for your mother, who has a fracture. In fact, the phosphorus components that leach out can cause calcium to leave the bones. This is because it has a higher content of protein and fat than calcium, and excessive consumption can lead to obesity or osteoporosis.”

Cha Juhyeok blinked and crossed his arms.

He said something similar on his first day of work, and now,

“How did you know I ordered bones?”

He had never shopped or purchased anything at the company.

“I had a feeling.”

Cha Juhyeok looked around and whispered.

“Are you investigating me? Be honest. You’re not just a Parachute, are you? Who told you to watch over me?”

Woojin thought about telling him what he had been doing, but decided against it.

It was because he was making his own deductions, just as intended.

Woojin spoke as if he had nothing to hide.

“How is your time after work today? I think it could be a more beneficial time for Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok than stopping by the hospital and then meeting the bartender.”

Cha Juhyeok wiped his face with his hands and let out a silent sigh.

Given that he even knew his movements, it was clear something was involved.

Considering what he had seen and heard while working here, someone like this could exist… But the problem was that Shin Woojin in front of him no longer felt like a subordinate.

He had skimmed a few times when making financial transactions to silence issues or reporters.

Was that what got him caught?

How?

He thought there would be no trouble.

Cha Juhyeok, who had been rubbing his face, soon lifted his head and said in a low voice,

“As you already know from your investigation, there’s not a speck of dust on me…”

Woojin slowly nodded and replied,

“If you make it, it’ll appear.”

* * *

9 PM.

Woojin and Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok visited the Classic Bar.

There was no one else there. Well, a woman was sitting at the stand,

and she turned her head and greeted Woojin, who had just entered.

It was Lee Hyerim.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah. Did you order the spicy rice cakes?”

Assistant Manager Cha Juhyeok’s eyes widened.

“Why is the Young Lady here…?”