CH140 | Heir

Chairman Jang Kyung-joon's eyebrows twitched as he looked at the note.

And I knew exactly what that twitch meant.

“They must have thought I would attack you after receiving this note.”

“Did Young-joon really give you this note?”

“Yes. If you want, you can have it fingerprinted. You'll find Chairman Jang Young-joon's fingerprints on it.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-joon clenched his fist, crumpling the note.

Then, with wide eyes, he asked me a question.

“But what if the contents of this note are true?”

“If that were the case, would I be sitting here with you today? The intelligence capabilities of Tae-woo Group are far greater than you might think.”

I had already known before receiving the note.

Out of habit, I had verified every detail and quickly realized that Jang Young-joon was lying.

The moment I received the note, I thought he was playing a cheeky trick.

“It's not that I doubt Tae-woo Group's intelligence capabilities, but Young-joon would never move so carelessly. I'm sure he set up circumstances that would arouse suspicion before giving you that note.”

“That part is true. There's a man named Jang Soo-young, who was kicked out of Tae-woo Construction. I heard he was offered the position of CEO at Hyundai Construction.”

“I've already appointed Hyundai Construction's CEO. And I have no intention of installing anyone from Tae-woo Construction in that position.”

“Jang Young-joon must have meddled behind the scenes.”

It was possible to suspect that Jang Young-joon and Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil were conspiring together.

However, Jang Young-joon did not hold the power to appoint Hyundai Construction's CEO at will.

“Why would Young-joon do such a thing? Did he really want to pit us against each other?”

“Perhaps he thinks the Prince's Rebellion isn't over yet. If we fight, he probably believes he can reap the benefits from the sidelines.”

“Do you think Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil is working under Young-joon?”

“It's hard to say he's pulling the strings. Jang Young-joon is more likely using Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil to stir up conflict rather than offering any real support.”

At first, I had also suspected there might be a connection between Jang Young-joon and Yoon Hyun-gil.

But the deeper I dug, the more it became clear that the two were not allies.

Jang Young-joon hadn't provided any meaningful support to Yoon Hyun-gil—only empty promises.

Hyundai Construction was already in Chairman Jang Kyung-joon's hands—how could Jang Young-joon promise anyone the CEO position?

“Hah... I'm sorry. I never thought Young-joon would resort to such petty tricks.”

“There's nothing for you to apologize for, Chairman.”

“If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. You wouldn't have given me this note for no reason, would you?”

As expected, he's sharp.

He knew I wouldn't have gone out of my way during such a busy time just to sow discord between brothers.

“All you need to do is show Jang Soo-young the reality he's dreaming of.”

“I'll announce the new CEO of Hyundai Construction immediately and release an article stating that the CEO will hold the position for at least five years. Will that be enough?”

“More than enough.”

“So, how do you plan to handle this matter?”

“Shouldn't I return exactly what I received? That way, the same thing won't happen again.”

“Does that include Young-joon as well?”

“I have no intention of fighting Chairman Jang Young-joon. Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil alone will suffice.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-joon looked slightly disappointed.

Why would I bother fighting Chairman Jang Young-joon for someone else's benefit?

In the end, the one who would profit from that would be Chairman Jang Kyung-joon.

Besides, even without my intervention, Hyundai Group, led by Jang Young-joon, was bound to collapse sooner or later.

“A five-term congressman got too greedy. Will we no longer see him in Yeouido?”

“Most likely.”

When stepping on someone, you have to make sure they're completely crushed.

That didn't mean there was no way for Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil to survive.

If he voluntarily offered to become a watchdog, I was willing to let him live.

* * *

The next day.

Chairman Jang Kyung-joon kept his promise to me.

Hyundai Construction's CEO inauguration ceremony was held on a grand scale, and he publicly expressed his commitment to fully support the newly appointed CEO for at least five years.

“Chief of Planning, I think I should meet with President Jang Soo-young.”

“You're planning to meet him in person, Vice Chairman?”

“There won't be any problems. By now, he’s probably half-mad with betrayal.”

“Then I'll arrange a quiet meeting spot.”

The Chief of Planning briefly left the office to contact Jang Soo-young.

He returned to the vice chairman's office in less than 30 minutes with good news.

“He wants to meet you right away. His voice sounded very urgent.”

“Then we'll have lunch together.”

“I'll reserve a very quiet restaurant.”

After wrapping up my morning tasks, I headed to the restaurant.

When the Chief of Planning said he would reserve a quiet place, he wasn't joking—he had booked a restaurant hidden deep in the mountains.

It specialized in baeksuk—Korean boiled chicken—and the owner was plucking feathers from a freshly slaughtered chicken as I arrived.

While I waited, President Jang Soo-young arrived a little late, walking awkwardly as he approached me.

“President Jang, it's been a while. I heard you've been enjoying yourself lately.”

“N-No, not at all.”

“What a shame. I was looking forward to seeing a former Tae-woo Construction executive take over Hyundai Construction. But I hear Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil was just bluffing.”

At the mention of Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil, President Jang's eyes widened.

He probably never imagined that a five-term congressman would lie to him.

Technically, Congressman Yoon hadn't lied.

The whole situation was the result of Jang Young-joon's meddling behind the scenes.

“I was completely deceived by sweet talk.”

“Are you thinking of offering an apology? There's no need for that. What's done is done—an apology won't change anything. It won't stop my grandfather from standing in front of the prosecutor's photo line, will it?”

“Is the chairman really under investigation by the prosecution?”

“Of course. How could they let it slide when he's under suspicion of accounting fraud? Not that the investigation will uncover much—at most, he'll get off with a fine.”

President Jang Soo-young hung his head low.

He had once been his grandfather's right-hand man, so the thought of his grandfather facing a prosecution investigation seemed to sadden him.

But was he really sad?

If he'd truly felt that way, he wouldn't have handed over the accounting fraud documents to Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil in the first place.

“That was never my intention. Congressman Yoon's side promised they would only use the information as a bargaining chip.”

“Have you only met politicians once or twice? You should've assumed half of what they said was a lie.”

“I was foolish. I truly had no intention of harming the chairman.”

Tears welled up in President Jang's eyes.

He did look a little pitiful now.

If only he'd set his pride aside instead of leaving Tae-woo Construction, none of this would have happened.

“Well, that's that. Congressman Yoon seems to be preparing to pull out of this mess. What’s your plan? He's bound to pin the false information on you—shouldn't you at least try to defend yourself?”

“Are you saying he's going to shift the blame onto me?”

“Why are you acting so naive? Do you really think Congressman Yoon would take responsibility? He’s raised his profile enough—now he'll step back and toss out a scapegoat.”

“I swear, I'm innocent. I never handed over false documents.”

“That’s something you should tell the prosecution, not me. But going head-to-head with Congressman Yoon in a mudslinging fight won't be easy.”

Thud!

President Jang dropped to his knees.

“Please spare me. I'll do anything within my power—just give me one chance.”

“Do you see over there? The owner raised that chicken with care to serve a special guest. But there are over ten chickens in the coop—why do you think that one was chosen?”

“…I don't know.”

“It was chosen because it was a good chicken. The others pecked and flapped their wings when the owner tried to grab them, but that one quietly accepted the owner's hand. And that's why it ended up on the table like this.”

If you don't fight back, you become prey.

To survive, you must flap your wings and peck with all your might.

“Are you telling me to peck at Congressman Yoon?”

“Then you'll find a way to survive. If you make it out of the coop, you'll have a chance to meet a new owner. And that new owner might let you roam the yard freely and give you plenty of feed.”

“I'll survive no matter what. I'll make sure to be chosen by the new owner.”

President Jang understood my message right away.

Attack Congressman Yoon and survive—then I'll take you in.

It wasn’t an impossible mission.

I'd already cut off one of Congressman Yoon’s hands reaching for President Jang.

Dodging both hands might have been difficult, but avoiding one was manageable.

***

Congressman Yoon Hyun-gil's office was in a state of emergency.

Without any prior notice, President Jang Soo-young had stormed in and was causing a commotion.

“How could you do this to me! You promised not to use the materials I gave you to attack the chairman! And what’s the meaning of someone else becoming the president of Hyundai Construction? Do you think I’m an easy target?”

President Jang's furious shouting filled the office.

The aides were pale with fear, and Congressman Yoon was sweating nervously.

“Please, calm down. Everything is wrapping up nicely. Just wait a little longer, and I'll deliver some good news.”

“I have ears, Congressman. Things might be wrapping up nicely for you, but you're just going to toss me out as bait. I'm not that easy to get rid of. If I go down, I'm not going down alone.”

“President Jang! Why are you getting so worked up? I'd never sacrifice you like that.”

“I’ve secured multiple layers of insurance. The moment you touch me, we all go down together—just know that.”

With heavy breathing, President Jang stormed out of the office.

The room, left in chaos, echoed with the sound of sighs.

“That guy... I didn't know he had such a nasty temper.”

“I don't think he’s bluffing. He used to be the president of Tae-woo Construction—we can't underestimate him.”

“This is a headache... We'll need to revise the plan.”

“If President Jang strikes first, things will spiral out of control. It would be better to find another piece of bait to throw at Tae-woo Group.”

“Chairman Jang Young-joon hasn’t been answering my calls lately either… Nothing’s going right these days.”

Congressman Yoon had been planning to serve up President Jang as bait.

But with President Jang willing to risk his life and fight back, the plan had to be revised.

Before he got pecked by a sharp beak, Congressman Yoon was already searching for another chicken.

But did he know?

There were only a few chickens left in the coop.

And once all the bait was gone…

He'd be the one on the chopping block.