Free Web NovelKim Seonghak, chairman of Hyeonhwa Group, was famous for loving his son.
He might beat his son himself, but if someone else dared to touch or disrespect him, he’d stop at nothing.
He wasn’t the type to hand someone over just because I asked.
Sure enough, the moment I brought up his son’s name, Kim Seonghak became visibly agitated and started yelling.
“What? My son’s some kind of object to pass around? Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Chairman, I’d appreciate it if you kept things respectful.”
I intentionally kept provoking him.
“And you think this is the time to talk about respect? What the hell are you thinking?!”
I calmly poured tea into the cup in front of me and said,
“I’ve met you twice before, Chairman, and you seem completely different now. It’s like I’m talking to someone else.”
I set the teapot down and smiled.
Kim Seonghak stared at me in silence, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Just the other day, you were practically ready to offer up your liver and gallbladder begging me for a loan. But now, you’re talking to me like I’m beneath you. Sure, I may be young, but I’m not that easy to push around.”
You came all the way to Pyeongchang-dong, threw away your pride, and begged me.
But now that things are looking up for you, your true colors are showing.
After flapping his lips for a while without sound, Kim Seonghak finally asked in a suppressed voice, barely holding back his anger.
“Why the hell are you doing this? What did my son do to you?”
I set the teacup down and asked him in return.
“Chairman, do you think I spent that kind of money to buy Hyeonhwa Group’s shares because I had nothing better to do? A mistake? You think I’d go for a hostile M&A just over a slip-up your son made?”
“Then why? Chairman Cheon wouldn’t handle things like this. President Kim, maybe you’re just too young to understand how the world works...”
“Chairman Cheon? If he knew the facts, he’d go further than I ever would. Frankly, you should consider yourself lucky it’s me stepping in because of his health.”
“Then what the hell happened to make you go this far?!”
Kim Seonghak shouted again.
Suppressing a smirk, I asked,
“Do you know someone named Cheon Jiyoung?”
“Cheon Jiyoung? You mean Chairman Cheon’s granddaughter?”
“Yes.”
Kim Seonghak looked genuinely puzzled.
“I’ve never seen her face, but back when Assemblyman Kim was active, he wouldn’t shut up about his granddaughter, so I’ve heard the name.”
“She’s a sweet girl. Chairman Cheon dotes on her. You probably know the situation in our family. Out of everyone, she’s the only one Chairman Cheon still seeks out regularly.”
“Okay... but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Jiyoung dreams of becoming a singer. Recently, she’s been working hard at an agency to achieve that dream on her own.”
“Okay, but why are you telling me this...?”
“Just listen.”
My tone turned cold, and Kim Seonghak flinched.
“Her debut got delayed, and lately she’s been doing chores for other ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) trainees. I only found out recently and took steps to fix it, but it still left a bad taste.”
“...”
“And here’s where the real problem begins. Your son, Kim Hyunjik, apparently offered to sponsor her. Whether he knew who she was or not, I don’t care.”
Kim Seonghak had been about to speak, but froze, jaw hanging open.
After a few seconds of silence, he asked in disbelief,
“What?”
“He made a sponsorship offer. She turned it down, but that’s not the point. The fact that he said it is what matters.”
I shrugged and added,
“I get that rich brats messing with celebrities is just part of the chaebol DNA, and normally, I wouldn’t give a damn. But I never imagined it’d happen to Chairman Cheon Taesan’s granddaughter—my cousin.”
Another silence filled the room.
I looked at Kim Seonghak, who was completely speechless, and smiled.
“Even I was dumbfounded at first. It was so absurd. Who the hell would say they want to ‘sponsor’ the granddaughter of Cheon Taesan from Myeongdong?”
“...”
“Now you understand why I’ve been quietly buying up Hyeonhwa Group shares and why I made sure the rumors got to your ears. I don’t care about owning Hyeonhwa. Just hand over your son.”
I said nothing more and waited for his response.
By the time the tea had gone cold—
After sitting silently for a while, Kim Seonghak let out a heavy sigh.
“I’m sorry. He must’ve said that without knowing. If he were in his right mind, he’d never...”
“If an apology fixed everything, life would be so easy. But this is about your reputation, Chairman. If I had said something like that to your daughter, wouldn’t you have come at me swinging a bat?”
Kim Seonghak was absolutely the type.
He once mobilized gangsters to beat someone for laying a hand on his son.
“I’ll make that bastard kneel and apologize. Isn’t that enough?”
“No, it isn’t.”
It wasn’t even worth considering.
Kim Seonghak frowned deeply.
“Then what the hell do you want?”
“I already told you—just hand over Kim Hyunjik. I’ll even leave the shares I’ve bought so far as friendly holdings.”
“No matter how much you buy, it won’t threaten management rights.”
“We’ll see. But I already have enough to cause trouble. I even have convertible bonds I can turn into shares. You know, the ones you brought yourself when you begged me for a loan.”
At that, Kim Seonghak looked incredulous.
“Chairman Cheon said he’d never let those be converted to shares. Are you going to break your grandfather’s promise? That kind of threat won’t work.”
“Usually, you’d be right. But this isn’t a matter a ‘promise’ can cover. Who crossed the line first?”
The conversation went in circles.
Eventually, Kim Seonghak slammed the table and yelled.
“So you’re really going to push this all the way?! I said I’d apologize! Why are you being so damn stubborn?! No matter what you do, I will NEVER hand over my son!”
Hearing the crash, Manager Ma opened the door and looked in.
I shook my head, and he closed it again.
Looking coldly at the seething Kim Seonghak, I said, fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
“Chairman, I asked you to be respectful. I’m not some Hyeonhwa Group employee. Even Chairman Song of Daehyeon doesn’t talk to me like this.”
I could see Kim Seonghak grinding his teeth.
“If you won’t hand him over, then it’s simple. I’ll request emergency shareholder meetings whenever I please, demand full accounting access and audits, and use every right a major shareholder has to get in your way at every turn.”
“What...?”
The murderous look on his face made my brow furrow.
“Don’t act like I’m the villain here. Just hand over your son and this ends.”
“That’s enough. President Kim, I’ve got nothing more to say to you. I’ll speak with Chairman Cheon directly.”
“Didn’t I tell you she’s his favorite granddaughter? He’s not in good health—I can’t burden him with this. Hand over Kim Hyunjik. That’s your last warning.”
“Ha, a warning? President Kim, you really don’t know fear. You have no idea the power a chaebol holds in this country. Crushing a loan shark like you is nothing.”
Is this guy ostracized in the business world or just out of the loop?
Or has he not heard the rumors?
“Hah. This is ridiculous.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“Chairman, haven’t you heard anything about me? Hasn’t anyone warned you?”
“What are you talking about? That ridiculous rumor about you making the president back down? Or the one where no one can figure out your actual wealth?”
The fact that he knew but still acted like this was even more hilarious.
Where was this confidence coming from?
Standing up abruptly, Kim Seonghak pointed a finger in my face.
“If you thought I was some idiot who’d be shaken by a rumor, you’ve got another thing coming. Do whatever you want. I’ll fight back with everything I’ve got.”
He stormed out, making the floor of the hall tremble beneath his feet.
I didn’t bother stopping him. There was no point talking further.
Manager Ma looked at me with concern.
“Are you alright?”
“I was going to just give Hyunjik a good scare, but... looks like he wants to go all the way.”
I picked up the cold teacup and downed it.
If he’s picking a fight himself, then I’ll take it.
* * *
Leaving the restaurant, Kim Seonghak headed straight home.
He was shouting the moment he stepped inside.
“Where the hell is Hyunjik?!”
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Where is that bastard?!”
As the shouting grew louder, Kim Hyunjik opened the door to his second-floor room and peeked out.
The moment their eyes met, Kim Seonghak roared.
“Get your ass down here right now!”
“Wait, what’s going on—?”
“Don’t interfere! One of us is going to die today!”
Realizing things were escalating, his wife quickly signaled the household staff to leave.
“What happened? Did he get into trouble again...?”
But before she could finish her sentence, Kim Seonghak exploded again.
“Are you coming down or not?!”
Rushing down the stairs, Kim Hyunjik tripped and fell. He tumbled all the way down to the bottom with a loud crash.
His wife rushed over, panicked.
“Hyunjik! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?”
“Quit the act and drag him over here!”
His wife yelled in disbelief.
“Have you lost it?! He’s hurt! Whatever’s going on, this isn’t the time to yell!”
“Get out. Unless you want a divorce.”
“What did you just say?”
Breathing heavily, Kim Seonghak stormed over and yanked the dazed Kim Hyunjik off the floor.
“What the hell did you do?!”
“Huh?”
“Do you know Cheon Jiyoung or not?!”
Kim Hyunjik blinked, confused.
“Cheon Jiyoung? Who’s that?”
Before he could finish, Kim Seonghak slapped him with full force.
The blow from the burly man sent him flying.
His wife screamed.
“Oh my god, Hyunjik!”
“Get up!”
“His face is bleeding!”
“I said get out!”
“What the hell is going on?!”
“Get up, now!”
Hyunjik was in shock.
He’d been hit a lot as a kid, but never after becoming an adult. No matter what he did, his father had never raised a hand since then.
Still fuming, Kim Seonghak walked off and grabbed a golf club from the bag in the living room.
His wife ran up and grabbed his arm.
“What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill him?!”
“Stay out of it.”
He shook her off and started beating Hyunjik with the club.
Wham! Wham!
Screams echoed through the living room.
“Stop it!”
She tried again, but she couldn’t stop him.
“You can party and drink all you want, but you better damn well know who you’re messing with! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”
“What are you talking about...?”
He still had a sliver of sanity left—he didn’t hit Hyunjik’s head.
So he didn’t pass out, but he still couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
“Cheon Jiyoung! Chairman Cheon Taesan’s granddaughter from Myeongdong! You offered her a sponsorship—are you insane?!” frёewebnoѵēl.com
Seeing Hyunjik still look confused made Kim Seonghak even angrier.
He threw the golf club aside.
“The trainee, you moron! The one you offered to sponsor! You did that recently, didn’t you?!”
Finally regaining some clarity, Kim Hyunjik, now bruised and bleeding, dropped to his knees.
“I... I did. But I didn’t know—”
“You really didn’t know?!”
“Didn’t know what?”
“You met Ilseong’s Cheon Jiwon a few days ago! Cheon Jiyoung is his cousin!”
The memory finally clicked and Hyunjik’s face turned pale.
‘Who the hell did I just mess with?’
“You really didn’t know?!”
“Of course not! I just liked her photo and told someone to make her an offer!”
Kim Seonghak cursed nonstop before finally sighing deeply.
“You... go to the hospital. Get patched up and get on a plane to the U.S.”
“The U.S.? All of a sudden?”
“Because of you... God, how the hell did I end up with a son like this...”
Shaking his head in disgust, he turned to his wife.
“You go with him. I don’t want to see either of you.”
With that, Kim Seonghak stormed out again.
Hyunjik was left behind, unable to say a word.
* * *
“Kim Hyunjik left for the U.S.?”
“Yes, boss.”
“So he still ran off to protect his kid.”
What a loving father.
I wonder how he’s planning to clean up after this.
I sneered at the thought of Kim Seonghak.
“Just track where they’re staying. I’ll decide what to do later.”
“Yes, boss.”
A few days after Kim Hyunjik left the country,
The news broke that Kim Muhyuk had acquired over 5% of the shares in Hyeonhwa Corp and all its affiliates.
