TN38

Chapter 38

After parting with Seorin, Taeyun sat alone on the sofa in the living room on the second floor of the main house. Although the banquet was still in full swing, that private space was off-limits to outsiders, so no one else could enter.

The noise from outside was muffled, filtering through two or three times, and faintly audible. Hearing that hollow laughter, Taeyun downed his drink.

He had chosen alcohol because it was hard to be sober, but the more he drank, the less his mind blurred; instead, it became clearer.

The soft flesh he had gripped and crushed in his hands, and the unrestrained desires he had indulged in, still lingered with Taeyun, tormenting him.

It was strange. He had started this to give her pain, but as time passed, Taeyun found himself also increasingly in pain. A peculiar relationship with no victor, only losers, yet he couldn’t let go, couldn’t lose her. So he had no choice but to continue.

Taeyun twisted his lips, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. Even if what remained in his hands was a ragged piece of cloth, it would still be Eun Seorin’s.

Someone came up the second-floor staircase, holding onto the acrylic handrail. It was Section Chief Song.

“Section Chief Song, you’re here.”

Looking at him, Taeyun poured another drink and emptied the glass.

“Yes, Director.”

Section Chief Song, who approached Taeyun, was secretly astounded. There were already several empty bottles on the table. Each one was of considerable strength. It was enough to make even an elephant drunk, yet Taeyun looked perfectly fine despite drinking such a large amount.

‘Is he really human? Or just a robot disguised as one?’

He had thought Taeyun was unusual from the moment he joined the company and quickly grasped everything, giving precise instructions. But when he saw such monstrous physical abilities, he sometimes even had the illusion that he wasn’t human.

So, perhaps it was a natural progression for him to genuinely trust and follow Director Seo Taeyun. Even if he was initially planted as Youngsook’s confidant.

He had been under Youngsook for several times the amount of time he had spent with Seo Taeyun, but he couldn’t help but feel more drawn to him. Those few months felt much more valuable than the past few years, after all.

‘Besides, at this rate, TK Group will naturally fall to Seo Taeyun.’

His instincts told him that if the current chairman was who he was, that position would inevitably be taken over by Seo Taeyun, their only son, someday.

If being good at aligning oneself was a skill, then it was a skill. So Section Chief Song intended to show his unwavering loyalty to Seo Taeyun.

“Yes, did you look into what I instructed?”

Taeyun asked, slowly tilting his glass. His eyes, sharper than usual today, met Section Chief Song’s.

“Yes, Director.” Section Chief Song unconsciously swallowed and took out what he had prepared from his bag.

Taeyun took the stack of documents with one hand and flipped through the pages. A hollow laugh escaped Taeyun’s lips after reviewing them.

“Ha. This, there’s more than one suspicious place.”

What Taeyun held in his hand was a cash flow statement for Ilyoung Capital, owned by his maternal grandfather. The movement of some funds was oddly cut off in certain places. Especially around the area where his mother, Ahn Youngsook, had been pushing for mergers and acquisitions, it was even smoother.

Taeyun pointed out a few specific areas with his finger.

“Director, and here, investigate this part a little more closely.”

Section Chief Song’s face hardened as he craned his neck to examine the areas Taeyun pointed out. Taeyun had eerily pinpointed the very parts that Section Chief Song himself had found unsettling during his investigation.

“Is this okay?”

Although it was called an investigation, it was closer to digging for dirt. Furthermore, Ilyoung Capital was a company that had provided immense support to TK. This was tantamount to grabbing the throat of Ilyoung, which had made the current TK possible.

Moreover, Ahn Seong-cheol, the head of Ilyoung Capital, was unknown to no one in the business and political world, and there was no one he didn’t influence. His intelligence network was also formidable, and there was a risk of a backlash if they weren’t careful.

Taeyun, reading the worried look in Section Chief Song’s eyes, chuckled, letting out a ‘Pfft’ sound.

“Why are you so worried? Shouldn’t a grandson know that much?”

“But…”

“Don’t worry. This time, TK Construction plans to raise a large sum of money through Ilyoung Capital.”

“Try to approach them through that. No matter if it’s a family business, you can’t sign a contract without a proper financial statement, can you?”

Section Chief Song quickly thought through Taeyun’s words. Hearing him speak, he began to get a grasp of the situation. If they requested a corporate credit rating, they might be able to find clues to uncover more detailed inside information.

“Understood. I’ll do that.”

Taeyun nodded as if telling him to leave. Section Chief Song bowed briefly and departed.

After he left, Taeyun, who had brought the glass to his lips again and swallowed, let his gaze fall on the documents. What Section Chief Song had brought was like a patchwork quilt made by sewing together small pieces, if likened to clothes. Something that could barely be called clothes, but with holes here and there patched up, barely maintaining the shape of clothing.

“You’ve been spilling things all over the place all this time.”

Taeyun’s eyes gleamed sharply as he looked at the ledger, which was his maternal grandfather’s vulnerability, or perhaps a flaw created by his own mother.

The banquet held in Hyunmujae ended late. By the time they saw off the guests returning home and Youngsook returned to her room, it was already close to midnight.

“Oh, Chaehee!”

Only then did Youngsook realize she hadn’t seen Chaehee for several hours. “Where did Chaehee go?”

Chaehee was not visible among the pouring guests. She hadn’t realized it due to the chaos, but Chaehee hadn’t been seen for several hours.

The belated thought made Youngsook anxious.

“Surely… nothing happened to Chaehee, right?”

Anxious thoughts assailed her. Normally, she would have dismissed it, but it was even more so after realizing that Seorin and Taeyun’s relationship had been continuously ongoing.

Youngsook pulled out her cell phone, forgetting the late hour.

Beep-beep

As the call tone deepened, Youngsook bit her nails in anxiety.

Beep-beep-beep

After a long call tone, a ‘Hello’ sound came. Youngsook brightened and raised her voice.

“Chaehee, where are you…”

As she spoke, Youngsook stopped mid-sentence. All sorts of noises were mixed and heard through the receiver. Thumping music, loud chattering, and cheers from a distance disoriented her ears.

An irritated voice came through Youngsook’s ear as she hung up in confusion.

“Haa… what time is it now? Just stop.”

“Huh?”

‘So why did you answer the phone, I told you to ignore it,’ a faintly heard, communicating voice further confused Youngsook’s mind. ‘Is that meant for me right now?’

“Quiet,” Chaehee, who seemed to be telling off her friends, cleared her throat.

“What is it? I’m a bit preoccupied right now.”

Chaehee’s voice became a little clearer, as if she had moved to a different spot. The loud noise had also lessened significantly.

“Oh, right, I’m sorry it’s so late, Chaehee. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Today, I sent Seorin out of our house.”

“I belatedly thought that you might feel uncomfortable, and honestly, so did I… I won’t let Seorin set foot in our house again. So…”

However, Youngsook couldn’t even finish her sentence and had to hang up. This was because she heard hysterical laughter coming through the receiver.

Chaehee’s reaction was peculiar. Youngsook, finding it strange, called Chaehee’s name as if checking on her.

“Chaehee?”

Chaehee chuckled, as if amused or dumbfounded, and then stopped laughing to speak.

“Why? Why did you suddenly send Seorin away?”