Chapter 156 – Higher, Even Higher – Part 9

Chapter 156 – Higher, Even Higher – Part 9

Just then, Prosecutor Kim Cheolung laughed heartily.

“This… I feel like I’ve entered the eye of the storm.”

He felt like he had stepped into a family feud among the owner’s family.

How many political figures and prosecution officials were involved with Shinhwa Group?

If he touched Shinhwa Electric, promotion would truly be an impossible dream.

He knew better than anyone how intense the pressure from above had been when Lee Yohwan was arrested.

However.

“If a man draws a sword, he should at least try to cut something, right?”

Woojin nodded.

“I think Prosecutor Kim Cheolung will cut well.”

High risk, high return. Prosecutor Kim Cheolung took this gamble for Desire, even at risk.

He’s the kind of person who would rush in without looking back if there was a chance.

Even if it doesn’t work out, just the action is enough.

“I’ll do my best to be helpful too.”

Kim Cheolung said with a smile and a playful voice.

“Oh dear~ how reassuring.”

Although he said it as a joke, Kim Cheolung considered Woojin to be a possibility.

The miraculous abilities Woojin had shown so far were influencing his thoughts.

“But where did you get this information from?”

“The GAAP and Inventory Valuation Loss seemed a bit strange.

The Overhead-Allocated Inventory also had strange increases and decreases. There was also evidence of inflation.”

So he asked the Assistant Manager of SH Strategy for detailed documents.

“You just looked at it, smelled something, and found more?”

“Something like that. Prosecutor, I’ll get going now. Goodbye.”

“Already? Why don’t you stay for a cup of coffee?”

“I have an appointment.”

Kim Cheolung asked, as if he could guess.

“Going to eat?”

“No. I’m going to play Go.”

“Go? Go is good. Let’s play sometime.

Regular Go is boring, so let’s play Gambling Go.”

For a moment, Woojin’s calm eyes seemed to sparkle.

Yes. Definitely keep it.

Alright. But are you going to a Go club or something?

He was a peculiar fellow.

But the words that immediately came out of Woojin’s mouth flustered Kim Cheolung.

I’m going to meet Chairman Lee of Shinhwa Group.

……

Kim Cheolung scratched his cheek and asked again.

Chairman Lee of Shinhwa Group? Woojin?

Yes.

Why would that old man want to play Go with Woojin?

He said he wanted to play with me.

That great man is showing interest in Woojin?

There seemed to be no connection.

But Woojin wasn’t the type to lie either.

He didn’t know how Woojin had come to meet Chairman Lee, but it was clear that the possibility had increased.

It was also possible that Woojin had deliberately arranged such a meeting…

Suddenly, Kim Cheolung remembered the first time he saw Woojin.

When he showed incredible profiling skills with his soft, fluffy hair.

Could he have approached him with such profiling skills?

Well then, I’ll be going. See you next time.

Uh… alright. Make sure you eat.

As Woojin left, a call came in from the investigator.

– Our prosecutor, you’re trending at number 9 again.

Kim Cheolung immediately opened the internet and checked the real-time search rankings.

The credit for catching the criminal who committed three serial murders was once again entirely attributed to him.

Of course, it was a criminal that Woojin had caught.

This is how Kim Cheolung was continuously exposed to the media.

He was making his face widely known to the public and firmly laying the groundwork for entering politics.

“Investigator.”

– The prosecutor’s voice sounds serious, can’t you just not say anything?

“I have obtained information about Shinhwa Electric’s accounting fraud and nominee accounts.”

– Oh dear. You’ve got something good there. Quickly shred it or burn it.

You know very well that will be an obstacle to your promotion as prosecutor. You have to get promoted this time, right?

“Promotion… I’m not going to. If I can’t be a lawyer or anything, I’ll just open that butcher shop I mentioned last time.”

– Oh my…

“Don’t worry about anything, Investigator.”

If I open a butcher shop, won’t all the guys I sentenced come swarming in?

– Business will be good then.

–

Lee Hyerim’s aunt, Lee Jeongmi, was driving around the construction site, where work was in full swing.

As the smell of construction dust seemed to cling to her even from a distance, Lee Jeongmi frowned slightly and closed the car window.

“Let’s go.”

As the car started moving again, Lee Jeongmi looked at the construction site once more.

The name of SH Construction would be stamped on all the apartments to be built on this large site.

It meant that SH Construction’s Mega Town would be built exclusively.

‘I wanted to help Aunt.’

Lee Hyerim had grown up mindful of her family.

She would have known better than anyone that she had no standing.

But she might also have harbored audacious thoughts.

So, as a show, when her siblings and nephews cursed Lee Hyerim, she took her side.

It was just for show.

Of course, that wasn’t all; it also meant that she was on her Dad’s side and respected his thoughts.

This was not only to make Dad see her in a positive light, but also to reassure Lee Hyerim, even if she harbored impure thoughts.

All these actions were not for Lee Hyerim, but for her precious son, Lee Jeonghoon.

Thus, the car driven by Lee Jeongmi’s chauffeur was able to arrive at Shinhwa Electric.

It was a structure where Shinhwa Electric held a little over 18% of SH Construction, and Shinhwa Group’s holding company dominated Shinhwa Electric’s high shareholding ratio.

CEO Director Kim Daehan welcomed Lee Jeongmi.

He appeared to be in his mid-sixties, with a slightly receding hairline and thick eyebrows.

“I stopped by on my way.”

“Welcome. Please have a seat.”

As Lee Jeongmi settled onto the sofa, Kim Daehan smiled brightly.

“I received the precious Wild Ginseng you sent last time. My wife loved it so much.

I always just receive things like this…

“I’m glad you liked it. By the way, you know that our niece, Hyerim, became a Major Shareholder due to the Rights Offering, right? 14%.”

“Of course, I know.”

“Then you must also know why I stopped by here?”

“Hahahaha! You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure to tell them. No more Friendly Stake will go to Lee Hyerim.

Don’t worry.”

Lee Jeongmi nodded as if pleased.

She hadn’t wasted her efforts on Kim Daehan, whose forehead was always glistening with oil.

Later, the Friendly Stake her son held would side with her son.

“What if someone from Hyerim’s side comes looking or…”

Kim Daehan smiled as if to say not to worry.

“It would be useless even if they came, but I’ll contact you right away.”

Lee Jeongmi stood up with a satisfied smile.

“The Golf Course has been newly renovated. Come visit sometime.

Work is good, but now you should also think about your health.

Actually, I’ve decided to go with Assemblyman Shim. From now on, I’ll only do my workouts and business there. Hahaha!

If there’s even a slight hitch in the New City Development Project, you should put some pressure on them. It would be good if you could create such an opportunity.

Kim Daehan smiled without a word.

Well then, good luck. Don’t come out.

–

Chairman Lee was stroking his chin, staring at the Go board.

Woojin’s moves were so exquisite that he couldn’t cope well.

Since this guy had won two games against Choi Seongyeong 9-dan, it was only natural that he was struggling.

Chairman Lee was aware of this and was playing Go.

Chairman Lee, who hated to lose at anything, knew that if he lost, he should endure and strive for an opportunity, like enduring hardship for revenge.

But on this Go board, even that was useless.

Woojin started by giving him four stones, but he couldn’t see a path or a solution.

When he asked why Woojin made certain moves after losing two games in a row, Woojin would answer, but when they started Go again, different, unconventional moves would appear.

The questions he asked to gain insight felt as futile as throwing a stone into a deep lake, just disappearing.

The same goes for this third game.

As Chairman Lee was deep in thought, someone entered the living room.

It was Lee Jeongmi.

Dad, I’m here. Were you playing Go?

At her words, Chairman Lee raised his hand as if to tell her to be quiet.

She smiled and sat opposite Woojin.

Hello.

Woojin stood up and bowed his head, and Lee Jeongmi scrutinized Woojin’s face before speaking.

Are you the new Go teacher?

No, I’m here to play gambling Go.

A bet?

Lee Jeongmi looked back and forth between Woojin and Chairman Lee.

Chairman Lee, regardless of her actions, just fiddled with a Go stone and stared at the Go board.

Click.

Soon after Chairman Lee made a move, Woojin immediately placed his Go stone down.

It was truly less than a moment of hesitation.

“Hahahaha!”

With that one move, the game ended in Woojin’s victory.

“What about Choi Seongyeong 9-dan?”

Chairman Lee replied as he collected the Go stones, in response to Lee Jeongmi’s question.

“He lost to this friend.”

“What?”

Lee Jeongmi blinked and looked at Woojin.

She didn’t know much about how to play Go, but she knew that Choi Seongyeong 9-dan’s title as world number one wasn’t just some common name.

He was at most in his mid-20s? And very handsome.

Then Chairman Lee spoke.

“I heard. Hyerim said something to those who were jealous of her, didn’t she?

Good for her. If someone does well, they should be praised.”

Lee Jeongmi, as if she hadn’t just been interested in Woojin, quickly lost interest and smiled, looking at Chairman Lee.

“Now that I think about it, the child is too pitiful. How much he must have had to watch his siblings’ reactions all this time.

I’m sorry that I, his aunt, couldn’t take care of him, using being busy as an excuse.”

Chairman Lee slowly nodded and leaned back deeply into the sofa.

“Sometimes, it’s good to be perceptive.

This father also lived by being perceptive when I started as a peddler.

But Jeongmi, you don’t have to live that way. Just live happily.

I’ll take care of you appropriately so you don’t have to worry about others’ reactions. Don’t be greedy.”

Lee Jeongmi flinched at Chairman Lee’s last words, telling her not to be greedy.

It was because she felt as if her father could see right through her.

Just then, Woojin spoke up.

“Chairman Lee. You lost the bet.”

Chairman Lee let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re a practical friend, indeed. Hahaha!

Yes, that’s how it should be to help increase business profits. Shall we get up then?”

“Yes.”

Chairman Lee also spoke to his daughter.

“You, too, stay and eat some meat that your old man is grilling for you. The meat is very good.”

Woojin had bet meat on the Go game.

Number nine 1++ grilled in a large yard.

And it was meat grilled by Chairman Lee himself.

Woojin hadn’t bet on that much effort, but Chairman Lee had taken it upon himself to do it.

Meat grilled by someone else in a large yard.

It couldn’t possibly taste bad.

As Woojin got up, he looked at Lee Jeongmi’s back.

And he asked himself inwardly,

“Who do you think will move faster, Lee Hyerim or you?”