Chapter 194 – Everything I Want to Do – Part 5

Chapter 194 – Everything I Want to Do – Part 5

“What are you doing?”

To Lee Jeongcheol’s question, Woojin, still prostrate, continued to speak.

“I’ll make sure Hyerim never has to get her hands wet, and I’ll buy rubber gloves by the box.”

Lee Jeongcheol, frowning, turned his gaze to Lee Hyerim, who seemed at a loss.

“Explain. What is this situation? And what nonsense is this guy spouting now?”

“Well…”

Woojin stood up and opened his mouth.

“I want to marry Hyerim. Father, please give us your permission.”

Lee Jeongcheol, who had glanced at Woojin, turned his gaze back to Lee Hyerim without sitting down.

“Is the person you’re introducing just this guy, spouting such ridiculous things? And marriage?”

Lee Jeongcheol’s cold face hardened even more.

He thought this was a meeting where his daughter would be introduced to someone to get advice as she participated in Shinhwa Group’s management.

But marriage?

With some guy with no background?

As Lee Jeongcheol’s brows furrowed deeper, Lee Hyerim quickly spoke up.

“Grandfather has also approved. Grandfather was the one who brought up marriage first.”

Lee Jeongcheol’s eyes widened slightly.

“What did you say?”

Lee Hyerim, as if to confirm again, spoke with more emphasis in her voice than before.

“Grandfather brought up marriage first.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes.”

Lee Jeongcheol once again scanned Woojin from head to toe.

He mentioned Teacher Go as Hyerim’s marriage partner…

Father is more resolute when it comes to family matters.

He acts more coldly than others, never emotionally.

As Lee Jeongcheol, who had been quietly scrutinizing Woojin, sat down, Lee Hyerim let out a silent sigh of relief.

She had thought Father might react that way.

But she really, really didn’t expect Woojin to prostrate himself like that.

But why did she feel like laughing?

Amidst the silence, the food began to arrive.

But no one touched it.

Then Woojin spoke up.

“Sir, the food here is J…”

As the letter ‘J’ came out of Woojin’s mouth, Lee Hyerim grabbed Woojin’s hand under the table, stopping him.

She could easily guess what he was going to say.

Woojin smiled at Lee Hyerim and continued without breaking his sentence.

“The taste is excellent, even better than JRestaurant.”

Lee Jeongcheol adjusted his tie and said dryly,

“Are you oblivious? Or do you have a reason to be so confident?”

“I just want to marry the person I love.”

“Love… you speak of it so easily, like a child’s game of house.”

“Dad…”

Lee Jeongcheol cut her off.

“Think about how your Eldest Aunt’s Uncle is living. Your Aunt Lee Jeongmi was just like you when she got married. Falling for someone just by their looks.”

Woojin, as Lee Jeongcheol saw him, was exactly like that.

He was as handsome as an Actor, but that was all.

And now, what was he? Utterly incompetent, and Lee Jeongmi also found him unsatisfactory.

However, even with Lee Jeongcheol thinking that way, there was a reason he didn’t leave this spot immediately.

It was because Father had approved the marriage.

Then, Woojin spoke up.

“I’ll be a good wife. We’ll eat delicious food together, laugh, have children, and live a happy life.”

As Lee Jeongcheol’s face was progressively turning into a spectacle, Woojin briefly spoke.

“You probably know Seongju Engineering.”

Lee Jeongcheol’s eyes widened slightly.

It was as if he was asking, ‘How do you know that?’

It was a KOSDAQ-listed company he had been interested in for a year.

The reason for his interest was simple.

As the automotive market was undergoing a rapid transformation, Seongju Engineering was accelerating the development of MCUs.

Or, to be precise, they were one step ahead, independently developing high-performance MCUs through trial and error, almost reaching completion.

This information had not yet leaked to the public.

Lee Jeongcheol had sent countless love calls, but they hadn’t budged.

They seemed to be weighing their options, not even showing any reaction even when a huge sum was offered.

The conventional method was completely ineffective.

The conversation had ended with him conveying that he could offer more money than other companies, which clearly revealed Lee Jeongcheol’s personality.

If he wants something, he doesn’t hesitate to use any means or methods, or eliminate any potential competition, but he doesn’t do that.

Thus, Chairman Lee said that Lee Jeongcheol was not a suitable talent to be a Chairman.

“I believe that if Seongju Engineering’s technology is absorbed by Shinhwa Group or if they join hands, Shinhwa Group’s automobile division can grow even larger.”

Lee Jeongcheol, who had been moistening his throat with a small amount of water, put down his glass.

“How you found that out isn’t important.”

He was a little surprised that the guy knew that information.

But that’s all there is to it.

“Because nothing changes just because you know.”

“I will go visit Seongju Engineering.”

Woojin turned his head to Lee Hyerim next to him and winked slightly so that Lee Jeongcheol couldn’t see.

At that moment, Lee Hyerim remembered what Grandfather had said to Woojin.

“Okay, how are you going to get his permission to marry?”

Woojin said,

“I have something in mind.”

With one wink from Woojin, Lee Hyerim immediately understood what Woojin wanted from her father.

And Woojin had already thought of it.

Seongju Engineering?

It was a company she didn’t know much about.

Especially recently, as she had been preoccupied.

“You’re going to visit them? Who do you think you are?”

“I’m an ordinary person, but I want to marry your daughter. If I go and can get a positive reaction, please give us your permission to marry.”

Lee Jeongcheol chuckled to himself.

“It sounds like you’re implying you have a close relationship with Seongju Engineering.”

Woojin shook his head.

He had no connection whatsoever. However, he had researched and identified everyone involved with Seongju Engineering.

“If you give me just one week, I’ll show you results. Think of it as Hyerim’s support, or even further, Shinhwa Group’s support.”

Lee Jeongcheol looked at Woojin as if he were crazy, but Chairman Lee, who wasn’t there, was different.

He saw Woojin as extraordinary, which was why he had even brought up a prenuptial agreement.

Lee Jeongcheol stood up as if there was nothing more to hear.

And buttoning his suit, he said,

“One week.”

Leaving those words, Lee Jeongcheol left the seat and got into his car.

Then he called someone and said,

“Find out who this guy is. His name is Shin Woojin.”

If Lee Jeongcheol were to look into Shin Woojin’s background, he too would show the same reaction as his brother.

In the spot where Lee Jeongcheol had left, Lee Hyerim rested her chin on her hand and watched Woojin.

Woojin was slowly and deliciously cutting and eating his steak.

If it’s a company Dad is interested in, it would have been easy to get them to come over. What are you going to do?

Even though Woojin has a lot of money, it’s still far less than Shinhwa Group’s financial power.

Woojin wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled subtly.

I’m going to go talk to them.

Talk?

Lee Hyerim shook her head and touched her face with her hand as if to cover it.

You’re driving me crazy.

Why?

Because it’s hard to imagine it logically.

Woojin’s hand went up to her head.

It’ll be fine. I’ll make it happen.

***

A few days later.

It was a truly luxurious private room.

On either side of Oh Seongjin, a big thug who looked to be in his 40s and had a knife scar on his cheek, two women were pouring drinks, and across from him, a man who looked to be in his 30s had his arm around a woman’s shoulder.

Brother, I’ll pour you a drink.

Alright.

As the whiskey filled the shot glass, Oh Seongjin fixed his gaze on his subordinate’s chest and spoke.

Manseok, I told you to button your shirt all the way up to your neck, didn’t I? Now that there’s only upward movement left, do you think those gentlemen will want to work with you if they see your tattoos?

I’m sorry.

Tell the kids not to act like thugs. Tell them that if they get into a fight anywhere now, they’ll lose a hand. Or set an example.

Manseok grinned and replied.

Because a rosy future awaited them as time went on.

I understand. But, Brother.

Why?

It’s a bit disappointing that we received a call from Shinhwa Group. The amount isn’t small…

“You pathetic fool. Hey, if you just snatch it up, you’ll be nothing.”

“Isn’t it over once we get the money?”

“This guy only knows one thing and not the other. Let’s say we got the money, then that’s it. We get a pittance and we’re out.”

Manseok blinked.

Because he was calling hundreds of billions a pittance.

“Hey, Manseok. We should also live like decent people, seeing the sunlight. With a business card that says ‘President’. How much do you think the automotive MCU that Seongju Engineering’s president is developing will be worth? Hundreds of billions?”

“Won’t it be the righteous path?”

“At least hundreds of billions. Hundreds of billions.”

“I-is that true, Big Brother?”

“Yes, you idiot. Study a little and live your life. Just study a little. Ugh. That frustrating bastard.”

“Big Brother! Then we…”

“We’re taking over Seongju Engineering.”

Manseok sprang to his feet and bowed deeply.

“I will serve you even better, Big Brother.”

At that sight, Oh Seongjin nodded with satisfaction.

“But Big Brother, that Chief Min, he wouldn’t be messing around behind our backs, would he?”

Chief Min’s nickname was Corporate Raider.

The initial plan was to approach Seongju Engineering, lend them urgent funds for management, and then make some money through stock manipulation, using what were called ‘stock manipulators’, and then leave.

But one day, he met a guy named Chief Min.

He said they could make more money by adding a premium to mergers and acquisitions or stocks.

So, they had acquired friendly shares and even held management rights, but the stakes had grown larger.

Seongju Engineering, which had seemed to be just chasing a dream, was now showing the potential of the MCU that the market wanted and had reached the completion stage.

At Manseok’s worried words, Oh Seongjin chuckled.

“Where do you think that bastard is right now?”

“Huh?”

Oh Seongjin said with a chilling smile.

“He seemed too busy, so I laid him down in the Gold Room to rest comfortably. Stripped naked. Those black-haired foreign bastards don’t know how scary Koreans are.”

“You truly are the boss.”

Oh Seongjin stroked the shoulder of the woman sitting next to him.

Now, he’d live openly, with a CEO business card proudly displayed.

“You’re coming out with me today. Your oppa will show you a good time.”

“Oh, oppa, I’m not going out.”

Oh Seongjin pulled out a 10 million won check from his pocket and waved it gently.

***

The next day.

Lying in bed, Oh Seongjin frowned, feeling like his head was about to split.

He remembered leaving the room salon and getting into a car with a woman, but after that, he blacked out.

Then his eyes opened.

“What the hell…”

It was a completely unfamiliar place.

It wasn’t a hotel, nor a motel. It wasn’t even an inn room.

It was just an ordinary-looking room inside.

“Are you awake?”

Hearing a voice that seemed to come from the living room, Lee Seongjin got up and said,

“Where is this?”

He was mistaken, thinking it was a subordinate.

But the person who appeared was someone completely different.

It was Woojin.

“Who are you?”

As Oh Seongjin asked with a frown, Woojin offered him a glass of water.

“You must be thirsty, right? Please have a glass of cold water first.”

He, who had been wary of Woojin, gulped down the water without suspicion.

It looked like an ordinary family home, and he didn’t get the feeling that Woojin was living a hard life at all.

More than anything, if he had intended to blackmail or harm him, he would have done so already.

And he had experienced such situations a few times before.

It seemed to be the youngest, whose face he didn’t even know, far below him.

He finished the water and asked again.

“Where is this?”

Suddenly, Woojin grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

“Gah!”

He tried to resist, but he was pulled by Woojin’s hand and sat down in a chair.

And a monitor appeared before his eyes.

It was a stock trading window.

Woojin placed his face next to his and said,

“The market opens in 10 minutes. Exactly 15% return by the end of the regular trading hours, no pre-market or after-hours. It doesn’t matter if you choose one stock or several. Just hit 15% return.”

He wanted them to feel the same despair, tears, and frustration they felt as they wiped their faces.

“What kind of nonsense…”

Woojin squeezed his hair tightly.

“Exactly 15%. If it’s even 0.1% less, Mr. Oh Seongjin will never be able to recover. Because you’ll go to hell. Now, start.”