Free Web NovelAfter finishing his call with Kim Muhyuk, Cheon Taesan slowly closed his eyes.
Ha Myeonghun, who was holding the phone in his place, quietly ended the call.
His face looked complicated as he gazed at Cheon Taesan without a word.
After a long silence, Cheon Taesan finally opened his mouth.
“······Myeonghun.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Who came by yesterday?”
The only outsider who had visited the hospital room yesterday was President Cheon Sooman.
Recalling the visitor, Ha Myeonghun answered truthfully.
“President Cheon Sooman came.”
“I see······ so it wasn’t a dream.”
With that, Cheon Taesan fell silent again.
A look of confusion crossed Ha Myeonghun’s face.
It was Cheon Taesan who broke the heavy silence.
“Myeonghun.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t tell anyone, and bring me a syringe. I need blood drawn.”
“······.”
The order came out of nowhere.
But without protest, Ha Myeonghun bowed his head and left the room.
Alone now, Cheon Taesan’s face took on a resolute expression, as if he had made up his mind.
A short while later, Ha Myeonghun returned holding a syringe.
“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to draw the blood?”
Cheon Taesan urged the aide, who stood hesitating with the syringe in hand.
“······Chairman, could you explain the reason?”
“The reason?”
“Yes. While I was fetching the syringe, I kept thinking about why you gave such an order.
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t make sense of it.”
“Ha! So there comes a day when you question my commands for reasons, Myeonghun. What is it that troubles you so much?”
For decades, Ha Myeonghun had never once defied Cheon Taesan’s orders.
He never even asked why.
No matter the situation, he carried them out.
But now, Cheon Taesan did not have much time left.
“Chairman······.”
“Draw the blood first. Hurry!”
At last, Ha Myeonghun removed the cap from the needle.
“······.”
His face twisted in anguish as he touched Cheon Taesan’s frail arm.
The sharp needle slid into the vein.
“It may hurt, sir.”
Though the words carried worry, Cheon Taesan felt no pain.
After all, his whole body was already numb.
Ha Myeonghun slowly pulled back the plunger, drawing blood, then withdrew the needle.
“Myeonghun, I may not be alive to see Muhyuk again.”
“Chairman······.”
Unlike Cheon Taesan’s calm tone, Ha Myeonghun’s face was filled with torment.
“I’ll tell you what you must do after my death. This is my last request.
No matter what happens, you must carry it out. I can trust you, can’t I?”
“Leave it to me, Chairman.”
As Cheon Taesan continued, Ha Myeonghun’s expression hardened further and further.
* * *
Several black cars pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop.
The man who stepped out was Chief Ha.
He looked around, let out a deep sigh, and began walking.
He glanced briefly at Cheon Sooman, then came toward me and bowed.
“Sir, I apologize for being late.”
“Have you come to terms with everything?”
Chief Ha gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Thanks to your consideration, I had enough time to prepare myself. But there is one last thing I must do.”
“Last thing?”
“Yes. I must carry out the Chairman’s final order.”
Grandfather’s last order?
Whatever it was, the determination on Chief Ha’s face made it impossible to guess lightly.
“Attorney Bae, please head inside first.”
The man behind him immediately entered the funeral hall.
It was Grandfather’s long-time personal lawyer.
“Ha Myeonghun! You bastard, what do you think you’re doing?!”
Perhaps feeling ignored, Cheon Sooman’s roar echoed through the hall.
“The one you should be bowing to isn’t that brat, but me! I am Cheon Taesan’s eldest son, Cheon Sooman!”
But Chief Ha didn’t even spare him a glance.
Instead, he continued speaking to me.
“The Chairman entrusted his funeral to President Kim Muhyuk.
And he ordered that every member of the Cheon family, except Cheon Sooman, must await President Kim Muhyuk’s decision.”
“What the hell kind of bullshit is this?!”
Cheon Sooman raged, veins bulging on his forehead.
“President Kim Muhyuk is the chief mourner, and he is the Chairman’s successor.
That is the Chairman’s will.”
I am the mourner.
I am the successor.
I was already Grandfather’s heir, but hearing that he left those very words behind made my chest tighten painfully.
“The Chairman knew that no matter how great his possessions were, they were still smaller than what you carry, Young Master.”
No one knew me better than Grandfather.
Even after I had long left his side, he only watched over me quietly.
And knowing that he foresaw all of this only deepened the ache in my heart.
“But he also said······ that no matter how small, you must never let it be taken away.
The details, you will hear in the will and in the recorded testament.”
Chief Ha bowed once more.
When he raised his head again, a deadly sharpness gleamed in his eyes.
“The Chairman never wished for you to become like Cheon Sooman.”
Never become like Cheon Sooman······
I bit my lip, imagining what feelings Grandfather must have had when he said that.
“You bastard!”
Chief Ha turned cold eyes toward Cheon Sooman.
“Cheon Sooman. From this moment on, you are no longer the Chairman’s son.” fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
“What did you just say? Are you insane?!”
Enraged, Cheon Sooman swung his fist—
Thud!
But it was Cheon Sooman himself who staggered back.
“You······ you crazy son of a bitch!”
He clutched his swelling cheek, trembling with fury.
“You damn dog, you dare to bite your master?!”
Chief Ha murmured, looking down at him.
“Master······? And why are you my master?
I belong to the Chairman. On what grounds do you claim to be mine?”
I had nearly forgotten who Ha Myeonghun was.
He was Grandfather’s blade.
A man who lived only for him.
“I am Cheon Taesan’s eldest son!”
Cheon Taesan’s eldest son.
For this pathetic man, that was all he had.
Like a parrot, he only shouted Grandfather’s name.
A sneer twisted Chief Ha’s lips.
“Other than being called the Chairman’s son, what else do you have to your name?
All you do is dirty his name by dragging it around.”
“······.”
Cheon Sooman had no rebuttal. He shut his mouth tightly.
Without Grandfather’s name, he was nothing.
No heirship, no wealth, not even loyal men.
“If you hadn’t been the Chairman’s blood, I would have killed you already when the young lady died.
You worthless wretch, you dare defile the Chairman’s final journey?”
Chief Ha was a man who had served Grandfather his entire life with unshakable loyalty.
Though no blood tied them, he loved and respected him more than anyone.
Even when Grandfather had offered him the vast seat of Taesan Finance’s president,
he refused, insisting on remaining at his side instead.
No one could fault his wrath now—it was righteous.
“Ma Seokdae!”
At his call, Chief Ma looked at me, silently asking for my approval.
For a fleeting moment, I envied that Grandfather had such a man by his side all his life.
But then I realized—I had Chief Ma by mine.
I gave a small nod, and Chief Ma strode quickly toward Chief Ha.
“The Chairman asked me to tell you he was sorry.
He said, don’t hate him too much.”
“······I never once hated him.”
It seemed Grandfather had left Chief Ma with final words as well.
“Good. That’s enough.
We must never forget the Chairman’s grace.
No matter what others do, we cannot.”
Chief Ha patted his shoulder gently.
“Throw those bastards out. And tell them, if they dare disrupt the funeral again,
I’ll go to Ilseong Group myself. Chairman Seo will know what that means.”
At his signal, Chief Ma had the Ilseong security team dragged away.
Grinding his teeth, Cheon Sooman finally shouted, his voice trembling.
“You think you’ll get away with this, bastard? I know everything you did on Father’s orders!
I’ll make sure you rot in prison for life!”
Chief Ha chuckled coldly and stepped closer.
Cheon Sooman flinched and stumbled back.
Then, realizing his own cowardice, his face burned red.
“······.”
Chief Ha leaned in and whispered something in his ear.
The longer he spoke, the paler Cheon Sooman’s face grew.
“Jiwon.”
When he finished, Chief Ha turned to Cheon Jiwon, who was standing stiffly nearby.
His voice was flat, stripped of all emotion—almost more terrifying than rage.
“Guard the funeral hall.
This is the Chairman’s final grace to you.
Go inside and listen to the will.”
“······.”
Cheon Jiwon gave no reply.
All his earlier bravado had evaporated.
Cheon Sooman too was silent.
“Take him away.”
At a nod from Chief Ha, the men seized Cheon Sooman’s arms and dragged him out.
He offered no resistance.
Only then did Jiwon find his voice.
“Where are you taking my father?”
“Go inside and wait, Young Master.”
Chief Ha didn’t even look at him as he answered.
Though he used honorifics, his words cut like a blade.
Jiwon swallowed his protest and slunk inside like a beaten dog.
“So much to clean up. Haa······.”
Chief Ha sighed deeply as he surveyed the mess.
The car carrying Cheon Sooman slipped quietly out of the parking lot.
My thoughts tangled in confusion.
Chief Ha said he was carrying out Grandfather’s last order.
Could it have been to kill Cheon Sooman?
No, surely not.
I shook the thought away.
Time would tell.
“Sir, let’s go inside. The Chairman’s will is about to be opened.”
I followed Chief Ha in.
After removing his shoes, he entered the mourning hall.
He approached Grandfather’s portrait in silence.
Placing a white chrysanthemum and lighting incense, he stood for a long time, head bowed.
I did not disturb him.
At last, with his eyes still closed, he spoke.
“Would all the young masters and ladies gather, please?
We will open the Chairman’s will.”
We assembled in the family waiting room.
Standing next to Attorney Bae, Chief Ha remained silent.
“It looks like everyone is here.”
Cheon Jiwon, Cheon Jisoo, Cheon Jiyoung, and myself.
Attorney Bae looked around at us before speaking.
“This is the will Chairman Cheon Taesan wrote while fully sound of mind. freewёbnoνel.com
It has been notarized and carries full legal effect.”
Both Jiwon and Jisoo swallowed hard.
“The matters within the will were made strictly within the limits of the law,
and drafted in the form the law prescribes.”
He explained provisions of civil law, then continued.
“Of course, due to the compulsory inheritance share system, lawsuits could still be filed for more······.”
He went on to explain about the compulsory portion.
But even as he spoke, his expression was grim.
“The Chairman’s final request is that ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ all heirs here abide by it without dispute.”
It was clear enough why Attorney Bae’s face was dark—
Cheon Sooman and Chairman Seo of Ilseong Group were counting on exploiting the compulsory share.
“Then, let us open the will.”
He pulled a document envelope from his briefcase, holding it up for us to see.
“Please confirm the seal.”
Stamped upon it was the seal and signature of my grandfather.
“Do you all confirm?”
Everyone nodded.
“I will now open it.”
He sliced the seal with a cutter and opened the envelope.
“Here are the written will and the recorded testament.”
Inside were several sheets of paper—
and a tape recording of Grandfather’s voice.
