Chapter 165 – Peace – Part 1

Chapter 165 – Peace – Part 1

-…….

Lee Hyerim’s voice didn’t come through the cellphone, and it seemed like she was still hesitating.

Woojin quietly waited for her.

How many candles passed like that?

-Woojin.

“Haha. Oh dear. I’m really caught.”

As Chairman Lee spoke, looking at the Go board, Lee Hyerim’s voice was heard again.

-Are you with Grandfather right now?

“Yes. You can speak.”

-…Woojin. I don’t want to go that far. I can’t do that much.

Lee Hyerim’s voice trembled and was gradually turning into sobs.

-Thank you so much for helping me so much until now, really, thank you. I mean it. But I’m sorry. I really can’t go that far… I really can’t. I’m so pathetic, aren’t I? I’m sorry… I’m really sorry… I’m sorry, Woojin.

Woojin slowly nodded his head.

“I respect your opinion. Alright. I’ll contact you later then.”

Woojin, who calmly ended the call, put his cellphone back into his pocket.

Just then, Chairman Lee, who had been staring at the Go Board, spoke.

“Is the business deal not going well?”

“It seems our partner has changed their mind.”

“Make them change their mind back. That’s how business is. If you’re sure your idea is right, there are times you have to push it through. If you overthink things, you’ll end up going in the wrong direction. When you need to push, you have to act like a bulldozer.”

If he had said, ‘I want to put Shinhwa Group in Hyerim’s hands,’ Chairman Lee would never have said such a thing.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Woojin made a quick decision.

Helping an acquaintance or friend means advising them or taking action to help them overcome problems they are struggling with or things they want.

This is as far as Hyerim wants to go.

Even if he stopped here, he had already gained more financial benefit than he wanted, and there was nothing to lose.

In fact, it wasn’t the financial aspect he truly desired.

He merely wanted to meet a chaebol chairman, experience his children, and their environment while helping Hyerim.

There was no lingering regret about stopping.

Because there were many more important things he wanted to do.

Woojin then spoke to Chairman Lee, who was silently lost in thought, gazing at the Go Board.

“If you place it immediately to the left, a path seems to open up.”

Chairman Lee smiled and nodded his head.

“That’s right. There was a path like this.”

“It’s also a move you made before, Chairman Lee.”

Chairman Lee looked up as if asking what he meant.

“I made that move?”

“Yes. This current situation is also a battle that has played out several times.”

Chairman Lee furrowed his brow slightly, as if he didn’t understand.

“I feel like this is the first time I’ve played like this?”

“That’s possible. It’s because Chairman Lee’s illness is progressing right now.”

Chairman Lee looked at Woojin as if to ask what nonsense he was talking about.

“What are you talking about?”

“People commonly call that illness Dementia.”

Suddenly, Chairman Lee’s face was tinged with disbelief.

“What?”

“You used to hike on the estate every morning, but you didn’t today. You had porridge because you couldn’t digest well. You seemed to have stayed in the Study for about three hours on the Righteous Path. You approved many documents. You have a habit when you sign, don’t you? Tapping the book with your pen as if tapping it with your finger.”

Blood vessels popped in Chairman Lee’s eyes.

He didn’t know how many years it had been since he was this surprised.

Wasn’t he completely aware of his day’s schedule as if looking at a CCTV?

Chairman Lee, who had been staring at Woojin like a stone statue for a few moments, picked up the handset.

“Go check if there are any cameras or small cameras installed in my house right now.”

Chairman Lee, who put down the handset, sank deep into the sofa and said,

“So that’s why you asked to see the Study? I thought you were a rabbit, but you were a fox. Do you know what happens to a fox like you when it enters a tiger’s den?”

From Woojin’s perspective, he had gained a lot.

He gained experience and was able to help Lee Hyerim.

Woojin opened his mouth without changing his expression.

“I didn’t do anything that the Chairman is concerned about. Miss Lee Hyerim didn’t ask me to either. However, it was no coincidence that I got to sit across from the Chairman like this and play Go.”

“No coincidence?”

Chairman Lee’s body and face looked quite relaxed, but his eyes were unusual.

The dignity of a predator at the edge of the food chain was fully revealed.

“It was a request from Miss Lee Hyerim.”

Of course, there was no such request.

Woojin intended to lay the groundwork for Lee Hyerim before he left.

So that Chairman Lee could think more positively of Lee Hyerim.

Woojin continued speaking.

“Chairman, I have a good ability to read people. To put it another way, I became good at reading people in order to survive. Just as a grandmother lifted a car to save her grandchild who was pinned under it, I also went through a similar series of events, which seems to have led to some kind of awakening. If no surveillance devices or cameras are found at the Chairman’s residence, I believe it could be evidence to support my claim. And today, the Chairman will be going out once.”

Chairman Lee would not have a schedule today.

There was a habit he had whenever he had a schedule.

That was to unconsciously and periodically glance at the wall clock.

But even without a schedule, he was destined to go out today.

Chairman Lee smiled as if he found it amusing.

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ve been blessed by a god.”

“It’s not like that. To elaborate further, Miss Lee Hyerim told me that the Chairman has been showing strange symptoms. Occasional trembling in his hands, slurred speech, and memory problems.”

Woojin spoke with a slight emphasis each time he mentioned Hyerim’s name, as if implanting it.

This was because repeating the same word in media or advertising, or like a catchy song hook, could create a hypnosis that makes one hum it unconsciously.

And if the content is beneficial to him, the effect is amplified even more.

Woojin did not hesitate to use these methods on anyone.

Because no matter their social standing, he saw everyone as just people.

“Miss Lee Hyerim thought it was strange. The Chairman’s attending physician claims he’s healthy. She thought it was even stranger that she could see it with her own eyes, but her family wasn’t mentioning it. So, worried, she asked me to look into it, which is why I am here. If the attending physician was recruited to hide this fact, if the family is hiding the truth and trying to use him… Miss Lee Hyerim is truly very worried.”

Of course, it was so subtle and even the attending physician missed it, so no one noticed.

“I, myself, have dementia?”

“I will say it carefully once more. It might be good to get checked by another doctor for suspected dementia. You can think I’m crazy. People always only see what they want to see, and close their eyes and ears to what they don’t want to see.”

Chairman Lee crossed his arms.

Crossing arms was mostly a non-verbal cue that one did not think positively of the other person.

“Alright. Let’s see if there’s any credibility to your words.”

Woojin slowly nodded his head.

***

Among the thugs who were thoroughly searching Chairman Lee’s residence, one approached and said politely.

“Chairman, nothing was found.”

“Are you sure? It won’t be fun if something is found later.”

“Yes. I’m certain.”

Chairman Lee nodded, fixing his gaze on Woojin, who was seated.

“Alright, go attend to your duties.”

They left the residence, even mindful of their footsteps.

Thus, silence fell upon the Living Room for a moment.

“He has peculiar talents beyond Go.”

Indeed, information that could only be known if there were hidden devices flowed from Woojin’s lips.

“I think it would be best if you received a Prosecutor soon.”

Woojin smoothly rose from his seat.

“Well then, I will be taking my leave, Chairman.”

Woojin, with a bowed head, moved towards the entrance.

Chairman Lee did not stop him and was recalling what Woojin had said.

‘If they recruited an Attending Physician to hide this fact, if his family is trying to hide the truth and exploit him……’

If those words were true, then the saying that raising children is futile would become a reality approaching him.

And that only his granddaughter truly cared for him.

Chairman Lee picked up the Handset and dialed somewhere.

“Find another Doctor. In secret. They will depart immediately.”

He put the Handset down again and let out a hollow laugh.

Dementia?

There’s a saying, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

He needed to alleviate this unsettling anxiety.

But what if it was true?

Chairman Lee let out another bitter laugh.

‘Today, the Chairman will be going out once.’

Woojin, his words were proving to be precisely accurate.

Chairman Lee looked down at the Go Board.

There were times he had fought the same battle like this, several times…

He really couldn’t remember.

* * *

The next day.

Woojin was sitting with Lee Hyerim at a Coffee Shop.

She gave an awkward smile.

“I said I’d put on a Mask and transform to devour the Shinhwa Group, then I said I’d give up. You must be very disappointed in me, right?”

Woojin’s help was absolute, so Hyerim couldn’t really lift her head.

Woojin’s expression, on the other hand, was the same as before and now.

“No. I think that’s understandable.”

When Hyerim and Bora first met in the old Hillside Slum, Hyerim changed a lot by crossing the line then.

She became more empathetic to the pain and sadness of others, a hormonal action.

“I’m so embarrassed, I really can’t lift my head.”

Woojin, who was sipping his caramel macchiato, said.

“Hyerim, you don’t have to feel sorry to me, and you don’t have to think you’ve taken up my time. It was a sufficiently beneficial time for me.”

At the word “beneficial,” Lee Hyerim unconsciously let out a chuckle.

He was still unpredictable.

Of course, it could have been words of consideration for her.

“More importantly, Hyerim. Yesterday…”

Woojin began to recount the story of what happened yesterday with Chairman Lee.

Lee Hyerim’s eyes grew wider and wider.

“I, I said it was done?”

Woojin nodded his head.

“You didn’t want to use Chairman Lee. You’ll also get the Prosecutor quickly, and you can solidify your position. I thought it was killing two birds with one stone. So I went with what you said.

At that moment, Lee Hyerim’s cellphone vibrated.

“Hello?”

-Young Lady, this is Chief Choi. The Chairman wishes to see you quietly now.

Lee Hyerim spoke with a trembling voice.

“Is that right?”

-Yes. I received confirmation from the Doctor.

“……Alright.”

A trembling breath escaped her lips after she finished the call.

As always, it was another moment where Woojin’s words became reality.

Woojin opened his mouth.

“I don’t think overthinking will change anything, and worrying won’t change anything either. You should do what you can now. Go on. Don’t forget to hold his hand a lot.”

“Woojin. Later, no, in the future. I’ll repay everything. Everything you helped me with. I’ll repay it all.”

“Then, can you pay for just one slice of cake before you go?”

Hyerim let out a small laugh.

“Just one?”

“Yes.”

After paying for the slice of cake, Lee Hyerim left at Woojin’s words, and Woojin watched her receding figure through the window, his lips moving.

“There’s no need to go from one, two to three. If you want, Hyerim.”

Soon after, Woojin, who had received the cake, speared a piece with a fork and brought it to his mouth.

Woojin shook his head, as if there was no taste in the world like it.

As time passed, he visited a large bookstore and began to flip through books as if reviewing them.

Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Administrative Law, Police Science, Introduction to Police Science, Criminal Justice Law, and so on…