Chapter 153 – Higher, Even Higher – Part 6

Chapter 153 – Higher, Even Higher – Part 6

At Lee Hyerim’s even-toned voice, Eldest Aunt’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

It was as if the whites of her eyes above and below her dark pupils were clearly visible.

“Good heavens… look at her, look at what she’s saying?

Brother! Dad! What is he doing now!?

She wasn’t the only one; others also had expressions of shock.

It was not something that should come from such a mouth.

Eventually, a sharp voice also came from the second aunt’s mouth.

“Hey, is something wrong with you?

No matter how lucky you were, is that something you should say?”

Even with the oppressive gazes and sharp voices pouring from the dining room, Lee Hyerim showed no signs of shrinking back.

Instead, she opened her mouth.

“I made my own luck.

I created opportunities, seized them, and produced results. While my other brothers and sisters were eating good food, drinking good alcohol, and sleeping, I was working hard.”

She called celebrities to throw parties and stayed out late even at clubs she didn’t usually go to.

It might have been enjoyable for others, but for Lee Hyerim, it was torture.

It was a kind of show to display a dissolute life.

“Dad! This kind of thing for a dissolute woman…”

Bang!

Lee Jeongcheol’s clenched fist hit the table.

“A dissolute woman? Do you think that’s something you should say to your niece?

Or are you feeling inferior to your niece?”

“What she’s saying right now proves it!”

At that moment, Chairman Lee’s low, deep voice silenced his children.

“You immature brats.”

Even when children grow old, they are still children in their parents’ eyes.

It didn’t look any different from them fighting over gifts.

Therefore, even as he grows older, he must always remain a formidable father.

“I will say no more. Do not interfere with the rights offering.”

“…”

……

“Did you put HoneyIra in your mouth? Why are you all so quiet?”

At Chairman Lee’s sharp voice, his children answered weakly, their tones tinged with sighs.

They knew well how terrifying their father could be when he held the switch.

“Suddenly, I’ve lost my appetite. Hyerim, you stay.

You must be busy, so each of you go back and eat at the company or at home.”

The children slowly rose from their seats.

Then, Chairman Lee’s gaze fell on his eldest son.

“Jeongho, you brought in oil too expensively.

A full wallet is reassuring, but if it overflows in the eyes of others, flies are bound to gather.”

The eyes of the eldest, Lee Jeongho, wavered.

“You may go.”

Thus, Chairman Lee’s children bowed and then went out into the yard.

Then, recalling his father’s words from a moment ago, he ran a hand through his hair.

He thought he had laundered it appropriately and handled it secretly in his wallet.

But this time too, he couldn’t hide it from his father’s eyes.

There was only one reason why Lee Jeongho was accumulating funds and quietly gathering shares little by little.

Lee Jeongho turned around and looked at his siblings.

It was because he had to be one step above them to ascend to the next chairman’s position.

Of course, even now, as the eldest son, he received more trust from his father than these guys.

Lee Jeongho smiled and placed a hand on Lee Jeongcheol’s shoulder.

“Hyerim did a great job. You must have given her a lot of advice.”

“She did it all by herself, cleverly.”

“Really?”

“Father’s praise isn’t excessive either.”

Lee Jeongho nodded his head.

“Well, my father is someone who doesn’t spare support if he sees a promising sprout.

He thinks Hyerim deserves the gift.”

Lee Jeongho was smiling, but his true feelings were, of course, different.

It was clear that his younger brother, Lee Jeongcheol, had put Hyerim forward as a front and was behind her.

The invisible war of nerves between the two barely subsided, and they each got into their cars.

Woojin, who had been watching the entire scene from inside the car, slowly nodded his head.

They were people who were scolded inside the house like other ordinary people, but that only applied within this residence.

Outside, they were figures of respect, admiration, and fear to others.

Meanwhile, the Eldest Aunt was pressing her brows together in the car.

SH Construction had to belong to her eldest son.

It wasn’t for nothing that she had been flattering Dad and visiting him regularly all this time.

“What should I do… what should I do…”

The shares Lee Hyerim currently held were 4%, and if she acquired another 7%, it would be 11%.

The shares she had painstakingly collected for her son were a little over 4%.

4% was by no means a small stake.

However, if Lee Hyerim acquired 7% in this Rights Offering, the gap would inevitably widen completely.

Her brows furrowed more and more as she continued to ponder.

Even if the shares went to Hyerim, she still had to use legal means.

–

“Welcome. Did I keep you waiting long?”

Chairman Lee greeted Woojin with a smile as he entered the living room.

His words carried the nuance of apologizing for making him wait, but Chairman Lee was very accustomed to making others wait.

And those who waited for Chairman Lee would invariably respond with a big smile and say, ‘It’s perfectly fine.’

However, Woojin was a little different.

“I was so hungry I was just about to grab some gimbap.

Chairman, have you eaten?”

Chairman Lee blinked.

“You’re hungry?”

“Because I didn’t eat lunch.”

He had deliberately starved himself.

Chairman Lee, on the other hand, let out an incredulous laugh.

Had anyone waiting for him ever said such a thing?

Chairman Lee looked towards the kitchen and spoke.

“I’ll have to put the food back out instead of clearing it away.”

And so, Woojin sat opposite Lee Hyerim at the long dining table.

Of course, Chairman Lee was seated at the head of the table.

“It’s not much, but please eat a lot.”

It was the first time an outsider had sat at this dining table.

But Chairman Lee didn’t care.

His own emotional state and amusement were more important.

“I will eat well.”

As Chairman Lee picked up his spoon, Woojin picked up his chopsticks and looked at the lavish feast.

Every single side dish was impeccably neat.

Suddenly, Woojin recalled a scene from a drama.

At the dining table, hotels and department stores were exchanged, and a single stroke of a pen moved hundreds of billions of won…

But that thought quickly vanished.

Because the food was delighting Woojin’s palate.

Woojin’s chopsticks moved evenly, without discrimination.

“I’m glad it suits your taste. Is the brain food working well?”

Chairman Lee spoke as he spooned soup.

Then he looked up again and stared at Woojin.

It was because there was no response.

Woojin was just quietly eating his meal.

So Chairman Lee asked again.

“Is your business going well?”

Woojin, who had been chewing his glass noodles, finally swallowed them and turned his head to Chairman Lee.

“Huh?”

Chairman Lee chuckled at Woojin’s momentarily innocent look.

“No, finish eating. I need to get that person more soup.

It makes me happy to see my guest enjoying the food.”

Woojin answered immediately this time.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could I also have more braised short ribs?”

“Understood.”

“Excuse me, but also more glass noodles…”

“Of course. There’s plenty.”

The auntie smiled and refilled the side dishes.

Lee Hyerim pursed her lips.

Woojin was showing an unchanging conviction even in front of her grandfather.

And her grandfather also seemed to be looking at him with amusement, as if wondering what kind of fellow he was.

After the meal, they had tea time.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“I enjoyed it very much, thank you.”

Chairman Lee, who had been chuckling, put down his teacup and looked at the wall clock.

It was almost time for them to arrive.

“Shall we play a game of Go?”

“Yes.”

Woojin went to the living room and sat on the sofa with Chairman Lee.

“Hyerim, you don’t have to stay here anymore; you can go to work.”

“I want to watch. It looks interesting.”

“Hahaha. Did it look fun to see this old man lose?”

“No, no. Go itself looks interesting.”

Just then, someone walked in.

It was Choi Seongyeong, a Thug who appeared to be in his late thirties and was ranked World No. 1 in Go, a ninth dan player.

“How have you been, Chairman?”

As he greeted him, Chairman Lee smiled as if he had gained a reliable ally.

“Welcome.”

Choi Seongyeong sat down.

“I watched you defeat Ting Yuwei, who challenged in this match. It was exhilarating.

You are indeed Choi Seongyeong, ninth dan.”

“You flatter me.”

“What flattery? This is Shin Woojin, a hidden master, you could say. That’s what I think.”

Choi Seongyeong looked at Woojin.

He seemed very young, and he heard that he played Go with his eyes closed.

That’s called Blindfold Go, and some people intentionally played that way; he had actually seen it before.

However, they were all inferior to him.

And the person sitting in front of him was an amateur, not a professional.

There was an immeasurable difference in skill between an amateur and a professional, so vast it couldn’t even be mentioned.

But Choi Seongyeong wasn’t upset.

The Chairman loved Go so much that he had the nickname “Go fanatic.”

And this event-like occasion arranged by Chairman Lee always came with money.

Chairman Lee looked at Woojin and said,

This is my Go teacher and ninth-dan Choi Seongyeong.

She’s the one who will be playing Go as my proxy today.

Woojin looked at Choi Seongyeong with wavering eyes.

It’s an honor to meet you.

Choi Seongyeong smiled at Woojin’s appearance.

I’m Choi Seongyeong.

Chairman Lee also caught Woojin’s expression and spoke.

It seems like I’m cheating.

Chairman Lee continued with a smile.

You’re a businessman, so you know, right?

You have to do whatever it takes to win. Don’t you think so?

Chairman Lee said that, but he wanted to enjoy watching it as if it were an interesting movie.

He was unconsciously trying to make a value judgment about Woojin.

Of course, Woojin understood Chairman Lee’s unconscious intentions well.

Woojin soon replied.

Fortunately, I ate delicious food and feel full, so my energy has increased.

I ask for your move.

Hahaha! That’s good! Shall we begin?

Shall I play with my eyes closed again?

Choi Seongyeong almost let out a dumbfounded laugh at Woojin’s sudden voice.

It might have been possible for me, but it won’t work on ninth-dan Choi Seongyeong.

Woojin, wearing a dress shirt, unbuttoned his cuffs and spoke to Choi Seongyeong again.

I look forward to working with you.

Woojin’s long fingers, holding a black stone, moved.

Click.

It was the upper right corner, a small point.

Choi Seongyeong, looking intrigued, put his hand into the white stone bowl and rattled the Go stones.

Chairman Lee seemed amused by the sight, crossing his arms and wearing an interested expression.

Then, Choi Seongyeong placed a white stone.

It was the upper left corner, a star point.

Woojin calmly placed a black stone immediately.

Conversely, Chairman Lee and Choi Seongyeong’s brows furrowed slightly.

No, Choi Seongyeong subtly lifted his head and looked at Woojin.

It was because he had placed it right in the center, as if completely disregarding the standard moves and sequences fundamental to Go.

A move that suggests he doesn’t even know the first thing about Go…

Then Woojin spoke.

“Ah, Chairman. You haven’t made a wager yet.”