Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chairman Cha’s Intention (3)

At Chairman Cha’s gesture, Secretary Kim immediately sat opposite.

“Secretary Kim, is this your doing?”

Chairman Cha tapped U-gwang Construction’s bribe ledger.

U-gwang Construction’s holding funds are far insufficient, so the funding needed for lobbying is not U-gwang but Taeseong’s······.

Secretary Kim’s eyes automatically narrowed.

It’s a file folder tied with string.

He could have removed the corresponding pages perfectly, but he deliberately left traces of erasing 3 pages.

“This isn’t something that happened to tear. Someone intentionally cut it.”

“That intention hit the mark. I definitely have to see these disappeared pages.”

Where and how did U-gwang Construction poke Taeseong!

Where, from whom, and how much did they extract the necessary funds!

“Return to the headquarters.”

Thump thump thump!

The footsteps of Chairman Cha leaving the Taeseong Hotel coffee shop fully contained the anger he couldn’t erase.

Secretary Kim and Go manager followed behind Chairman Cha.

“Secretary Kim, the guy who wrote this ledger. Where is he now?”

“I understand he was dragged to the Seobinggo underground torture room.”

“Bring him in front of me. I have to hear it directly from that guy’s mouth.”

“Yes.”

It was something he had already promised Young Master Jeong-hyeok anyway.

That problem now seems like it will be solved by putting one phone call to the KCIA in the chairman’s name.

Chairman Cha ground his teeth.

“There’s talk that there’s a bastard who joined hands with U-gwang and hit the back of my head. Is there anyone you can guess?”

Secretary Kim didn’t open his mouth easily.

Because there are only clues, no circumstantial evidence let alone conclusive evidence.

“Can’t be helped. Since water is leaking from my house jar, I have no choice but to block the water hole first and see.”

Chairman Cha’s order fell.

“Immediately summon the presidents of all affiliates! Convene an emergency meeting! Two hours later, at the headquarters conference room!”

Secretary Kim’s complexion noticeably hardened.

There’s no way the schedules of the presidents and executives are free.

It meant it was hard to come running immediately just because the group chairman called.

But since Chairman Cha is pushing, the presidents can’t not come running in socks either.

“Contact the secretariat and tell them to turn the phones immediately! From Taeseong’s headquarters to the lowest affiliates, all of them! Also strictly instruct not to forget to bring this year’s accounting ledgers when coming!”

“Yes.”

“Also put lines to the media and politicians! Contact the spies planted in U-gwang and check if there’s anything to confirm!”

“Yes.”

“I’ll attach Go manager and the security team kids. Secretary Kim, you handle it directly without caring about means and methods!”

“Yes, I will do so.”

Chairman Cha’s nickname is the Flame Bulldozer.

Once he sets his mind to do it, he rushes with eyes blazing.

If there’s a rock in front, he breaks the rock, if there’s a river, whether swimming, borrowing a boat, or building a bridge, he must cross it to be satisfied.

Since such a gentleman has resolved and declared that he will catch the thieves, naturally the matter couldn’t help but grow big.

‘Time is too tight. Less than a month left until the subway construction bidding!’

Even without a place that comes to mind right away, to put the entire affiliate presidents on the suspect line and thoroughly search······ damn!

Even mobilizing the legal department, accounting department, audit department, and general affairs department, it won’t be easy to find flaws.

When you set your mind to betray, creating double ledgers to hide the stench is basic.

If we flip the group upside down like this, the noise won’t stop.

His Excellency at the Blue House won’t look favorably either.

The thought of whether there’s a need to take such a reckless move ahead of the construction that the future of Taeseong Construction depends on was brief.

‘Still, what needs to be done must be done!’

Chairman Cha’s heart didn’t change.

‘30 years! Is there anyone among the current presidents who hasn’t worked with me for at least 30 years? No!’

Chairman Cha trembled with a sense of betrayal.

He trusted and cherished them that much.

As much as they shared the hardships of the old days, they shared the good times of now.

He entrusted not only decent positions and thick salaries but also stocks.

‘Even if I cast them out, I’ll give them a chance to confess obediently! There’s that much loyalty between those guys and me!’

That was the reason Chairman Cha immediately summoned the presidents.

The taste was bitter.

A long sigh naturally flowed out.

“That bribe. Even roughly estimating, it was over 2 billion. There’s no way U-gwang, who pulled in all the money they had and didn’t have to jump into the steel business 4 years ago, has that much spare funds. That’s all Taeseong’s······, damn!”

The more I think, the more my insides boil.

Secretary Kim carefully opened his mouth.

“Chairman, there is a way to narrow the scope simply and solve it easily.”

“What is it?”

“Who sent this ledger to the chairman?”

“······!”

Chairman Cha hardened his complexion.

Even the thumping steps stopped and he stood still in place.

“Surely······!”

“The pages the chairman is looking for somehow seem like Young Master Jeong-hyeok has them.”

“That kid is only seven years old!”

“Yes, that’s why he’s amazing. He blatantly hid only the most important information as if showing off. What would be the intention of readily handing this information to me?”

The reason he could readily give such a ledger calling it a bribe.

The leisure to hold his mother’s hand and walk out boldly while raising his voice to the chaebol grandfather.

‘Definitely not an ordinary kid. I can’t help but hold this little young master’s hand.’

To thoroughly search the entire Taeseong Group affiliates like catching fleas, the secretariat also has to roll with groans.

If it’s the impatient chairman, he has to confirm overtime for at least a month before the subway construction bidding starts, saying he’s dead.

So Secretary Kim spoke emphatically unlike usual.

“Chairman, if you just get your hands on this back part, you don’t have to suspect all the presidents who shared joys and sorrows for 30 years. The leaking water hole can also be simply blocked once found.”

That’s right.

“You can greatly reduce the time and effort to root out the traitor. You don’t have to mobilize all available personnel and thoroughly search the affiliates’ accounting ledgers. Isn’t that all a waste of time and money?”

Chairman Cha looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

He recalled pushing Lee Su-jin earlier saying leave the child and find your own way of living.

Also the appearance of the grandson he saw for the first time today holding his mother’s hand and leaving without looking back.

‘It seems I got properly caught. If he was going to obediently give that back part, he wouldn’t have blatantly cut it in advance either.’

That was the reason Chairman Cha sighed.

A matter entangled with the subway construction with a full 180 billion at stake, Taeseong’s hole that looks at least 2 billion, and also the 30 billion won business with U-gwang.

Of course, Chairman Cha’s pride that he had decisively cut saying marriage is not allowed was also at stake the same!

“Today I really crave a cigarette.”

“Here it is.”

Go manager immediately offered a cigarette.

He lit the lighter and lit Chairman Cha’s cigarette.

Secretary Kim waited silently for Chairman Cha who was smoking.

“Hoo······.”

Chairman Cha smoked five cigarettes in a row right there.

After exhaling the hazy smoke long for a while, Chairman Cha turned to look at Secretary Kim.

Secretary Kim immediately bowed at the waist.

“Please leave this matter to me, I will definitely obtain the secrets of these three pages by going to find Young Master Jeong-hyeok.”

“Good, then I’ll entrust this matter to Secretary Kim. I’ll fully support you, so solve it quickly.”

“Yes.”

Secretary Kim said while bowing at the waist.

“Chairman, may I ask just one thing?”

“What?”

“The 180 billion won Subway Line 2 construction and the 30 billion won cooperative business with U-gwang. If you have to choose one of the two, which one will the chairman discard?”

Chairman Cha frowned his brow.

“Why do I have to discard those? There’s no reason Taeseong can’t take charge of the subway construction, and there’s no reason to give up the 30 billion won business either.”

“But does the world’s affairs always unravel as intended? There’s something called what if, isn’t there?”

Chairman Cha didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned his back.

“That’s something to decide when the time comes, it’s not late. Right now, how much was scraped from Taeseong’s safe, what kind of guy is entangled, from when he hit the back of my head. Finding that out and crushing it is first.”

“Understood.”

Secretary Kim left.

Chairman Cha stared blankly at that back view and then irritably rubbed out the cigarette butt.

‘So it’s better to give up the marriage with U-gwang and accept that mother and son?’

Chairman Cha’s eyes sank deeply.

‘If it’s certain that U-gwang really hit the back of Taeseong’s head······.’

The 30 billion won business promoted on the premise of the marriage with U-gwang.

Just thinking about that made his insides ache.

* * *

I headed to the court first while holding Mother’s hand.

‘Writing the contract and paying the remaining balance isn’t the end of everything. Until the official court registration is completed, I absolutely can’t let my guard down!’

The country has to officially recognize the rights relationship to my house!

“Done!”

I finished the registration procedures smoothly without difficulty.

Mother kept her eyes wide open the whole time.

“How did you apply for the registration so skillfully that even Mom doesn’t know how to do?”

“······.”

Oops.

The place I frequently went in and out of while doing private loans was exactly the court.

Because it was the low-ranking days when I had no money, I tenaciously went around to get the registration to somehow save on the judicial scrivener fee.

There’s no way to explain this?

“Where on earth did you learn something like this?”

“······Playing house?”

“Do kids these days also apply for registration when playing house? When did you learn Hangul again?”

“······.”

This is gradually becoming an awkward answer?

Making excuses in a rambling way and watching others’ eyes is not my style.

I pretended not to know.

“How much has the era changed these days. Do you think it’s the same as when Mom was young?”

“······.”

Originally, generational difference is an unchanging excuse for all ages.

Next is natural topic changing!

“Let’s go see our house! I want to see the swimming pool!”

Since it became my house, I have to solve the problems I’ve postponed until now first.

‘Why did only that house flash with golden light like an incandescent light bulb. Surely there must be some hidden secret. It smells like money!’

My intuition is like that.

‘Of course, exorcism is a bonus.’

Snap.

When I snapped my fingers, the underworld messenger rose up like smoke with a swoosh.

[······Don’t you think it’s really too much from a human perspective?]

Come to think of it, I used him quite substantially yesterday and today.

‘That’s why I called? From now on, it’s your time to vent!’

Only then did color return to the underworld messenger’s pale complexion.

[I like that very much!]

‘Let’s go scold the ghosts!’

[······.]

From of old, superiors ordering subordinates is a capital crime regardless of past and present, but downward scolding is an unchanging tradition for all ages!

‘Surely there must be at least one ghost who knows the secret of that house. Find that guy!’

I originally had a knack for amazingly capturing the signs of things entangled with black money.

This somehow feels like well-laundered slush funds traded secretly in the shadows!

The intuition is coming!

Or not.