Chapter 160 – One, Two – Part 3

Chapter 160 – One, Two – Part 3

“I can’t understand what that dog is yapping about. What is it barking at?”

Kim Manpal’s face was sneering, but it couldn’t deceive Unconscious’s observation skills, which noticed the trembling of his shoulders and the bobbing of his Adam’s apple.

He was fighting an inner fear.

Unconscious clasped his hands and leaned his upper body towards him.

Of course, a faint smile played on his lips.

“Then you wouldn’t understand this either. Your family died once a year.

Death by heart attack, or poisoning. Two acquaintances from your neighborhood who were close to you also died away from home, also from heart attacks.”

“You son of a bitch!”

Kim Manpal roared and twitched as if to lunge, but his restraints didn’t loosen, and instead, his ankles and wrists only turned red as if blood would seep out.

Unconscious smiled as if Kim Manpal’s reaction was amusing.

“They were all people who knew my identity. Those people also inflicted wounds on my body.

Because of accumulated stress, because they couldn’t understand what I was saying, because they couldn’t eat quickly, because they couldn’t finish work quickly, because they drank water.”

Woojin, whose eyes had casually shifted to the left for a moment, looked back at Kim Manpal.

“Or, exhausted and collapsed.”

Kim Manpal gritted his teeth.

That guy killed them.

And he deceived them.

He pretended to have a hearing impairment, pretended to be mute, and had been deceiving that small, young fellow from the beginning.

“You devilish bastard…”

That’s all he seemed to be.

The devil who came to him.

Unconscious subtly smiled.

“Then am I the birth of a devil? Then who made the devil born?”

“When I die. Even if I become a ghost, I’ll come find you and chew you up.”

“If ghosts actually existed, all murderers would have died before going to prison.

Listen to me carefully. Whether you believe it or not is your freedom. Your family. Do you really think I died?”

“You crazy bastard…”

“Among your family members, I was the first to discover your wife when she died. Remember? In the greenhouse.

Well, who killed her isn’t important. What’s important is that you came to me exactly as I planned.

I only put on a little act next to the dead. People only believe what they want to believe and see what they want to see for their own self-justification. Think about it carefully.”

Unconscious continued speaking calmly, looking at him who was glaring as if to kill him.

“Now, then. Why on earth are you here? Why? Why did you come all this way? The answer is simple. To kill me. Why?”

Because you thought I killed your family. You wanted to think that. Humans tend to judge easily and believe it.

Because it makes them comfortable. So I helped you feel comfortable. Visiting you a few years ago was one of those things.

I created and turned the gears so you could find me. I even wrote letters and put funds in your commissary to make you want to kill me more.

With your family dead and you locked behind bars, you had nothing left to lose.

The one you think is a demon kept sending letters, didn’t he? Wouldn’t that breed resentment and a desire for revenge?

And you would have formed a conviction, thinking of me.

Unconscious continued speaking as he rose from the chair.

You, Ira, are a human, an organism made of magnesium, chloride, potassium, sodium, sulfur, calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen.

I called you here. You reacted like a puppet.

Unconscious smiled again.

It’s a very natural thing. You know what? I even took care of your health.

Revenge makes a person healthy. You probably exercised voluntarily. You consistently did cardio, too.

All while thinking of the day you would kill me.

What is this crazy bastard blabbering about…!

Unconscious grabbed his hair and smiled faintly.

You don’t have to understand. As I said again, you came to me, and you and I met again.

Now, from this moment, I will carve drawings into your body, exactly as I suffered then. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t die.

The smile on Unconscious’s face vanished instantly.

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Three days later.

Shinhwa Group Chairman Lee’s Residence.

Chairman Lee was sitting across from Kim Daehan, the CEO and Director of Shinhwa Electric.

It had been about 10 minutes that Chairman Lee had been staring silently at the Go Board when Kim Daehan suddenly dropped to his knees.

Chairman, I apologize! It seems I may have lost my mind for a moment. I am so sorry!

Kim Daehan repeatedly banged his forehead on the floor.

Quiet.

“Chairman, if you forgive me just once, I will never forget this kindness. Please think of our old relationship for a moment…”

If Chairman says to die, I will die, and if you tell me to wag my tail like a dog, I will even create a tail that doesn’t exist…”

“Daehan.”

“Yes, Chairman!”

The Go Stones in Chairman Lee’s hand rubbed together.

Crack.

“You were originally a dog.”

Kim Daehan’s two bloodshot eyes widened as if they would tear.

“Chairman…”

“I thought I was throwing you snacks every time you siphoned off money. Spit out all the shares you have and serve your punishment.

Then I won’t boil the water.”

“Ch-Chairman…”

Chairman Lee turned his gaze to look at the man in the suit.

They were people from SH Strategy.

“What are you doing? It’s time for guests to arrive.”

The men forcibly pulled Kim Daehan to his feet.

“Let’s go.”

“Ch-Chairman!”

As he was dragged away, Chairman Lee spoke to the remaining person.

“Tell the Prosecutor General, isn’t delisting too much?”

“Understood.”

He bowed and disappeared, and soon after, another person in a suit entered.

It was none other than Woojin.

Chairman Lee greeted him with a friendly smile.

“Did you eat?”

I’ve eaten.

You look happy, what happened?

Ah, I think I had a pleasant meal with an old friend.

So that’s why you looked so good?

As Woojin smiled, Chairman Lee offered him a seat and stared at him for a moment.

He felt like something in the atmosphere had changed.

Then Woojin, still smiling, spoke.

It was noisy outside, is something going on?

You seem to know, why ask so suddenly?

I spoke out of turn. I apologize.

Chairman Lee calmly spoke as he retrieved the Go stones from the Go board.

Nothing will change. You have nothing to worry about. You just need to think about how to splendidly merge the company Hyerim created with Brain Food.

Woojin, who had listened intently, no, observed the voice with his ears, slowly nodded his head.

Understood.

And then, as if to change the subject, he asked.

Chairman, may I ask what kind of bet you have in mind for today?

Chairman Lee crossed his arms and smiled.

Hmm… what did you come here thinking?

Woojin suppressed a chuckle that was about to escape.

Even in these small words, the principle of not showing one’s hand first is embedded.

It comes out unconsciously after a long life.

That’s the kind of person Chairman Lee Ira of Shilla Group is.

I would like to see the Chairman’s study.

Chairman Lee’s mouth opened in surprise.

Study?

“Yes.”

“Why? Are you afraid there might be a hidden treasure as well?”

“I thought if I soaked up Chairman Lee’s energy, things would go better for me.”

“Hahaha! You’ve got a way with words. You’re an interesting friend. Haha! Alright. If I win, you have to play Go with me until evening today.”

“Understood. Let’s go with a single game.”

And so, Chairman Lee started by placing my stones first.

At that, Woojin nodded slightly, as if he understood something, in a way Chairman Lee wouldn’t notice.

Clack.

The game of Go began.

Woojin played a move right after Chairman Lee, just like before, and ten minutes quickly passed.

Woojin’s hand, which had been reaching for the white Go stone bowl, paused.

Chairman Lee smiled at that sight.

“How is it? I’ve improved quite a bit, haven’t I?”

He created ten points with just one move.

Woojin smiled and rubbed his forehead.

“Such a move… This is the first time I’ve seen someone improve their skills so quickly.”

Of course, Woojin was accommodating him.

He guided the game to look like an intense battle and deliberately gave up territory.

He had to give him hope that he could win, so he would seek him out more in the future.

Woojin’s thought was a one-off, and there was something he actually wanted to confirm.

He guided each move to check if there had been any learning effect on him during that time.

The conclusion was, there wasn’t.

Brain plasticity was lacking.

Was it because of his age? That wasn’t it.

Of course, it could also be said that it was a disease that came with age.

His pronunciation was occasionally slurred, though subtly, and there was a slight twitch observed when he placed a Go stone.

If I judge these comprehensive things, it is this.

“I have a good feeling today? What are you doing? Why aren’t you playing quickly?”

Woojin quickly erased such thoughts from his mind, let go of his attachment to the lost house, and made a different move.

He had no intention of losing; he was merely observing Chairman Lee.

He continued to observe the learning effect as well.

When 40 minutes had passed like that.

Thud.

As Woojin’s stone was placed on the Go board, the game ended with Woojin’s victory.

Still, Chairman Lee smiled.

“I had a good feeling. Still, it’s a satisfying result.”

Before, there wasn’t even a glimmer of hope, but today, some righteous path of achievement was emerging.

“Alright then, shall we start the board again?”

At the sight of Chairman Lee collecting the Go stones, Woojin smiled and opened his mouth.

“Chairman Lee, it was a single game.”

“It wasn’t best of three?”

The moment Chairman Lee uttered those words, Woojin’s gaze scanned and observed his face and movements.

It wasn’t a playful fluke; he had spoken a truth he believed in.

Woojin’s smile deepened even further.

“Yes. A single game.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Chairman Lee, who had been nodding with a smile, stood up.

“I wanted to see the study… Follow me.”

Chairman Lee immediately began to go up to the second floor.

Woojin followed, observing his every step.

“Bring me a cup of tea here.”

Chairman Lee, having gone up to the second floor, pushed open a door as large as a main gate and entered.

As Woojin followed him inside, the scent of wood wafted towards him.

The interior was antique, with a large window that offered a clear view of the garden.

The bookshelves and the work table were so luxurious that they looked like artifacts of exceptional aesthetic sense, passed down through generations.

And the chair that only the Chairman of Shinhwa Group could sit in.

Despite being an object, it appeared haughty and noble.

Of course, that would have been the perspective of ordinary people, but in Woojin’s eyes, it was just an object.

“There’s usually nothing to eat at a highly anticipated feast. Doesn’t it seem like there’s nothing special?”

Woojin, who had been looking out the window,

turned around and looked at Chairman Lee, who was sitting in the Emperor’s seat.

It was a position ill-suited for the aging and ailing Chairman Lee.

Woojin, smiling, spoke up.

“The view seems really good.”

Conversely, it would suit me perfectly if I were to sit there.