Free Web Novel“How’s it going lately? I heard your debut date’s been set?”
“Yeah.”
It had been a while since Jiyoung came to visit.
“Are you feeling confident?”
“I did my best. Even if I fail, I don’t think I’ll regret it...”
“Why are you talking about failing already?”
“After prepping for debut for about two years, I figured it out. Talent isn’t everything here.”
“It’s the same everywhere. If you’d told me—or even Grandpa—from the beginning, it wouldn’t have taken this long.”
After that incident, I started keeping a closer eye on how Cheon Jiyoung was living.
Fortunately, she had no serious financial issues. But Cheon Suhan had been committed to a mental hospital, and her mother seemed to be suffering from severe depression.
Still, Cheon Jiyoung never showed it.
“I just wanted to do it on my own. Not as someone’s daughter or someone’s granddaughter—just as me.”
I couldn’t tell if she was naive or just a fool.
I didn’t ask any further about the sponsor incident.
“Anyway, do your best. The agency will give you as much support as possible.”
“Thanks.”
Jiyoung smiled brightly.
Could debuting really make someone that happy?
She was thanking me for something so small, but for me, I was just grateful that the only family I had left in my past life, Cheon Jiyoung, was living well and free of burdens.
“Everything else is fine, but I’m worried about Grandpa. He looked like he lost a lot of weight.”
I felt the same.
Compared to the last life, his health was deteriorating faster, and the prognosis from the doctors wasn’t optimistic.
He had deep regrets about his family. Maybe after witnessing the carnage among his children, he had let go of any will to live.
“You should visit him often. Even if you’re busy.”
“Why are you stating the obvious?”
“Bring your debut album when it’s out. I want him to hear it.”
“Okay.”
Cheon Jiyoung soon left—she must have been really busy preparing for her debut.
“Make sure you tell those creeps to stay away from her. If anything like that happens again, make them pay.”
I’d given that order to Chief Ma a few days ago.
And Myungsoo immediately sent a summons to Kim Seonghak. Of course, he didn’t comply voluntarily.
I started leaking reports about Kim Seonghak’s slush funds through Koryeo Daily.
At the same time, an arrest warrant for Chairman Kim Seonghak was issued.
“You bastards! Do you have any idea who I am?! You all wanna lose your jobs?!”
Even in the Seoul Prosecutor’s Office interrogation room, Kim Seonghak caused a scene.
I watched from behind the one-way mirror.
“I’ll go in and start the questioning.”
Myungsoo patted my shoulder with a grin and entered the room.
“Everyone out. I’ll handle this.”
At Myungsoo’s words, the other prosecutors and investigators all stepped out.
“Mr. Kim Seonghak, when is your attorney arriving?” freewebnøvel.com
“Hey! Who the hell are you?! Bring me the Chief Prosecutor!”
Myungsoo shook his head, looking exasperated.
“Mr. Kim Seonghak, do you still think you’re a chaebol chairman? Hyeonhwa Group has filed charges against you for embezzlement and breach of trust—with full documentation. If these are proven, no matter how much you squirm, you’re looking at at least ten years in prison.”
“What?”
“That’s why you should’ve come when you were summoned. It would’ve spared you the humiliation of being dragged here like a dog in front of the cameras, despite once being a corporate boss.”
“Are you out of your damn mind?!”
“Watch your mouth.”
“You little—!”
Seonghak trembled all over with rage.
Right then, his defense team arrived.
Upon seeing them, Myungsoo quickly stood and bowed his head.
“Chief Prosecutor, it’s been a while.”
“Oh? You’re handling this? Long time no see since Busan.”
“About a year, sir.”
“Haha, good. Glad you made it to Seoul.”
“Yes, I heard you joined Daeseoyang.”
They exchanged some casual greetings—it seemed Myungsoo had worked under him in Busan. «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Most of the lawyers left shortly after; only two stayed.
“So, what are the charges you brought Mr. Kim in for?”
The former Chief Prosecutor sat down and asked.
“Hyeonhwa Group filed charges for embezzlement and breach of trust. On top of that, we have allegations of slush funds, foreign exchange law violations, tax evasion...”
Myungsoo began listing off charges one after another.
The lawyer cut in, face pale.
“Can you prove all that? Do you know how rare it is for a chaebol to get arrested for these things in Korea? If you can’t take responsibility, step back. I’m only saying this because I used to be your boss—I’m concerned.”
“I’ll be fine. Thank you, but I’ll take care of it. Let’s begin the questioning.”
Calmly, Myungsoo resumed the interrogation.
The lawyers kept trying to refute him and find loopholes, but the material from Hyeonhwa Group was so airtight they were forced to hesitate again and again.
I left after watching Kim Seonghak’s face steadily collapse in real time. There was no need to stay for the whole prolonged session.
As I walked out of the prosecutor’s office, I asked Chief Ma,
“What about Kim Hyunjik?”
“He’s still in Las Vegas.”
“...He hasn’t heard the news?”
“That part, I’m not sure.”
If he knew and was still gambling, then he really was insane.
He’d return once the arrest warrant dropped. Assuming he was human.
By the time the overnight investigation ended, not even Daeseoyang’s elite legal team could stop the arrest warrant.
The charges were overwhelming, and the judge reviewing the warrant was Han Minkyung.
Ultimately, Kim Hyunjik boarded a flight back to Korea upon hearing of his father’s arrest.
Little did he know he’d be arrested at the airport the moment he landed.
I just wanted to see his face once he was dragged into the prosecutor’s office.
The next day, Kim Hyunjik was dragged into the Seoul Prosecutor’s Office, arrested at the airport.
Officially, it was for habitual gambling and foreign exchange violations, but I’d already handed photos of him smoking weed in the U.S. to Myungsoo.
“Want to go in first?”
“Yeah. I’ll wrap it up quick. Thanks.”
This time, I entered the interrogation room.
As I walked in, Kim Hyunjik was glancing around like a confused child—clearly unfamiliar with the room.
“Why the hell did you bring me here?”
He was grown, yet his first reaction was to bark out informal speech at a stranger.
Definitely Kim Seonghak’s son.
“Do you even know who I am?”
“What does that matter? Why the hell did you drag me in?!”
I slapped him across the face without a word.
The shock must’ve been real—he just stared blankly at me, stunned. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
“Your dad got ousted and thrown in jail because of your shit, and you’re seriously asking why you’re here?”
At the mention of his father, something flickered in his eyes. He started to focus.
“Who the hell are you?! You’re not a prosecutor, are you?!”
“All of this happened because of one arrogant little punk who didn’t know his place.”
I kicked over the metal chair he was sitting in.
The sound of it clattering and the sight of him falling on his ass filled the room.
“Shut up. I’m holding myself back from killing you. Don’t test my patience.”
“...”
He didn’t say anything. Maybe he was finally getting a feel for the situation.
I leaned in and whispered each word.
“Everything you enjoyed will be gone. All those people who used to suck up to you because of your dad will now call you a disgrace. Don’t worry. You’ll get probation on appeal. You just won’t have anything left.”
Kim Hyunjik’s face turned to stone.
As I turned to leave, he finally spoke from behind me.
“Who... the hell are you?”
“Jiyoung’s older brother.”
Without looking back, I left the room. Myungsoo was waiting outside.
“Nice job. Let him off with probation on the second trial or so.”
“Seriously?”
“People who had everything suffer more when they lose it all. That’s a pain you can’t imagine unless you’ve lived it.”
I knew that feeling well.
The helplessness of being unable to do anything.
It’s a far worse punishment than simply sitting in a jail cell.
As I passed by Myungsoo, I threw out a casual jab.
“Oh, by the way—you look great on camera.”
Myungsoo had been all over the front page and national broadcasts during his briefing the other day. His name was finally starting to circulate.
To the public, no matter how much he’d fallen, Kim Seonghak was still a chaebol chairman.
Seeing someone like that in handcuffs was cathartic enough to please the nation.
“Don’t laugh...”
Myungsoo gritted his teeth.
He’d gotten flustered during the press briefing—his dialect slipped out more than once, and his friends had roasted him with texts all night.
I chuckled, remembering how red his face had gotten with each slip-up.
After leaving the prosecutor’s office, I headed to Hyeonhwa Group’s headquarters.
Chairman Kim Seonghyuk personally came out to greet me.
“Long time no see, Chairman Kim.”
The chairman’s office had a new owner now—none of its old traces remained.
“This place has changed a lot too.”
Kim Seonghyuk smiled.
“I got rid of everything Seonghak touched.”
“Is the group fully under your control now?”
“Thanks to your help, yes. I’ve taken control of the boards for all remaining subsidiaries. Everyone on Seonghak’s side has been removed.”
“That’s good.”
“Please, have a seat.”
He motioned naturally to the head seat.
I shook my head.
“Sitting at the head while the real owner is here would be rude. I’ll sit over here.”
With an awkward smile, Kim Seonghyuk sat across from me.
“No resistance about transferring Hyeonhwa Life and Card?”
“There’s been some, of course. But a promise is a promise—we’ll hand them over.”
The tangled ownership structure between subsidiaries had to be unraveled before Ilseong could take over.
“I spoke with Chairman Seo recently. He didn’t say it outright, but I could feel the pressure to keep my word.”
“He’s no ordinary man.”
“When I met him as a kid with my father, he wasn’t like that. I don’t know if it’s time that changed him or the man himself.”
Kim Seonghyuk seemed frustrated, recalling the call with Chairman Seo.
“How’s the damages suit against Kim Seonghak?”
“Going well. I’m also moving to reclaim the inheritance that was meant for my youngest sibling. It’s been a long time, and I probably can’t find evidence proving the incident was staged by Seonghak... but I’ll do my best.”
“Between the tax evasion penalties and the corporate lawsuits, Kim Seonghak is probably losing his mind. Sure, he still has money, so firms like Daeseoyang cling to him, but once the cash dries up, they’ll vanish too.”
“True.”
A complex expression crossed Kim Seonghyuk’s face.
Did he still feel some guilt for his brother?
“You need to be ruthless. If you let him off too easily, he’ll try to eliminate you. The first time’s hard—but the second and third are easy.”
With this, I was stepping away from Hyeonhwa Group.
The bonus from this incident was securing a chaebol chairman who could always be a future ally.
After wrapping up with Seonghyuk about handling Kim Seonghak, I left Hyeonhwa HQ.
That evening, I got a call from Russia.
—“This is Putin.”
A familiar, welcome voice.
—“Thanks to your advice, I was able to make a quick decision. I’m grateful.”
“You made the choice yourself, Director. Even without me, I don’t think you would’ve chosen differently.”
—“In politics, even a few days can make a world of difference. Thanks to you, I’ll soon be appointed Prime Minister.”
That was over six months earlier than in the original timeline.
“Congratulations, Prime Minister.”
—“Next time you’re in Russia, come visit me.”
“Of course. Oh, and next time, just speak casually. I’m much younger—it feels awkward. That’s how things are in Korea. There’s this sense of distance...”
—“I’ll think about it.”
“Hahaha. Alright.”
I’d earned the favor of the man who would soon become Russia’s Tsar.
Chief Ma entered to give his report but paused when he saw my expression.
“Good news?”
“Putin’s about to be appointed Prime Minister. Anyway, what’s up?”
“HS Venture Capital’s incorporation is nearly complete.”
My smile deepened.
