Free Web NovelAt Han Kyungyeong’s panicked cry, I turned my head and saw a bus crossing the center line, barreling straight toward us.
The escort vehicle ahead of us tried to block it, but an SUV was no match against a full-sized bus.
“Boss, hold tight!”
At the same time the subordinate gripping the wheel shouted, he swerved across the center line.
We drove the wrong way for a stretch before finally returning to the road.
Only then could I raise the body I had been keeping low. I turned my head and checked the road behind us through the rear window.
It was pure chaos. Countless cars tangled, some even in flames.
“What the hell, what kind of lunatic is that? Drunk driving in the morning?”
Han Kyungyeong tried to play it off with a joke, but his voice was trembling thin.
I told him firmly,
“Do you think this was a coincidence?”
“Huh? What?”
“It charged straight toward us. No way it was random, Chief Ma.”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”
Even before I finished, Chief Ma replied as though he already knew what I was going to order.
“There’s no way this was a coincidence.”
“Damn it. You mean they tried to ram us? In broad daylight, in the middle of the city with everyone watching?”
“Most likely. We’ll have to look into it.”
I answered in a cold voice as I glanced back at the devastated road.
“Boss, what do we do? Should we go back to the hotel?”
The man driving asked. I shook my head slightly.
“No. Head straight to the clubhouse.”
Some of the escort cars were damaged, but no one had been seriously hurt.
We quickly left the central road where the accident happened and arrived at the clubhouse on the outskirts.
Waiting in the parking lot was Ailee.
“Welcome.”
She greeted us with the same smile as before.
“Everyone’s waiting inside. The chairman as well as the other shareholders. Your companions have already arrived too.”
Following Ailee’s lead, we started walking toward the conference room.
“Have you been well?”
“Of course. How about you, James?”
While Han Kyungyeong chatted lightly with Ailee, my thoughts went back to the car crash earlier.
‘Who could it have been? CIA acting on Murdoch’s request? Or an intelligence agency that warned me a few days ago?’
If it were intelligence, the operation was too sloppy.
If it were the CIA, the risk of harming their own citizens was too high.
While lost in thought, we arrived at the conference room.
“Mr. Han.”
Peter’s voice pulled me back to reality.
“Were you calling me?”
“Yes. Could we talk separately?”
“Do we even have anything to talk about?”
“About the club’s operations...”
“I told you before, I’m not interested in operations.”
With a sly smile, Han Kyungyeong slung his arm around my shoulder.
“This guy will be handling everything related to the club.”
“...Mr. Kim.”
I cut Peter off before he could say more.
“Let’s sign the contract first. Later, we’ll call in the board separately. That’s when you can talk.”
I smiled, looking at the board members still waiting outside the conference room.
“Let’s go in, hyung.” freёweɓnovel.com
“Okay.”
Ignoring the board, I entered the conference room with Peter.
On one side of the long table sat older men, on the other, the law firm Han Kyungyeong had hired to review the takeover.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tony, head of LK Law Firm’s UK branch.”
Tony extended his hand to me, not to Han Kyungyeong. Clearly he knew I was the real owner of Dreamhigh Investment.
“Nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”
“Don’t worry. Legally, there won’t be a single issue.”
I shook his hand lightly. In the meantime, Han Kyungyeong shook Peter’s hand.
“It’s been a while, Chairman.”
“Indeed.”
After greetings, we sat down facing each other. The eyes across the table were sharp and persistent.
“So, these are the ones who hold Leeds United shares?”
“Yes. All born and raised in Leeds, very attached to the club.”
After the introductions, we went straight to the point.
“We’ve prepared the contract.”
Tony received the documents from another lawyer and placed several sheets in front of me.
“Since there are multiple shareholders, you’ll have to sign several times. We figured this would be better than doing it all at once.”
He whispered to me quietly, then addressed the shareholders.
“The price has been set at a total of ten million dollars, divided according to each shareholding percentage. Please check.”
Peter and the shareholders handed the contracts to their own lawyers for review.
“May I ask a question?”
An elderly man sitting to Peter’s left spoke.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Peter told me about it, but it’s hard to believe. Are you truly going to invest that much money into our club?”
It seemed what they really cared about was the investment amount into the club itself, more than their own share price.
Understandable. These were people who had loved the club enough to accept losses.
“Of course. Money alone can’t buy the Premier League trophy or the Champions League big ears, but it certainly raises the odds.”
“Ohh!”
At my firm words, joy spread across their faces.
“We won’t just buy superstars. We’ll completely rebuild, starting from the youth system. If they’re properly trained and allowed to show their talent, in five years—no, in ten years—our club’s youth will be sought after by teams around the world.”
I laid out the plan I had in mind.
“And management will be entrusted to professionals. We’ll own the club, but leave operations to experts. That will also mean giving the director and the coach much more authority. Though, unlike Chairman Peter, I won’t trust them completely.”
Peter looked awkward. He had probably checked the club’s finances in the past few days and realized my words were true. The shock must have been heavy.
“We had no idea President Taylor was doing that. When we learned from the chairman that someone was bleeding the club’s finances dry, we were furious. After such a long dark age, just as the club is getting back up, Taylor drove it toward ruin. We cannot forgive him.”
“Neither can I.”
Peter nodded.
“At first, I thought of letting it go because of our years together. But this can’t be overlooked. Most of the finances were leaking away. I’m going to hand him over to the police.”
“You’ve made the right choice.”
The contract review dragged on.
During the long wait, the shareholders asked me all sorts of questions, and I answered them kindly.
Finally, when all the lawyers finished, they whispered to their clients, and soon everyone signed the contracts.
“You’ve all done well keeping the club alive until now. From here, we’ll truly transform it.”
“We trust you.”
After shaking hands with each shareholder, I left the conference room.
LK Law Firm would handle the closing process.
Now it was time to look into the morning’s car accident.
“Wait.”
President Taylor’s voice called out behind us, but I didn’t stop. Without turning, I said coldly,
“In a few days, I’ll summon everyone. Until then, do nothing. Leave all materials intact for our representatives to receive. If I find even one piece tampered with, put it back as it was. Consider this a warning.”
My nape prickled, but I ignored it and kept walking toward the parking lot.
“That bastard must be shitting himself.”
“As he should. God knows how much he’s stolen already.”
In the lot, I saw Ailee watching us from a distance.
I nudged Han Kyungyeong’s side.
“Hyung. Why don’t you take that woman out on a date?”
“Huh?”
“As the chairman’s secretary, she should have some grasp of the staff. Maybe not the finances, but at least their character. Find out what you can.”
I already had others investigating the staff.
There was no real need for Han Kyungyeong to pry information from her. This was simply me giving him a moment of leisure.
He understood and broke into a wide smile.
I patted his shoulder again.
“I’ll dig into this morning’s incident. Tell LK Law and the accountants to tear the club apart. You, enjoy yourself today.”
“Thank you, boss!”
Only at times like this did he call me boss.
Watching him approach Ailee, I smiled faintly and got into the car.
The vehicle slowly left the clubhouse.
Wiping the smile from my face, I asked Chief Ma,
“Did you find anything?”
“Yes. The police are closing it as a simple drunk driving case.”
“Drunk driving?”
“They say the driver was extremely {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} intoxicated. Blood alcohol content over 0.2%.”
That level meant total incapacitation.
“And the driver?”
“He’s in the hospital. Once treated, they’ll arrest him. Unlike Korea, the UK punishes drunk driving severely.”
“No chance we can meet him?”
“Difficult. But I already ordered the Black Bear branch to dig deeper.”
I closed my eyes, thinking.
If he was that drunk, it was hard to believe he was acting under orders to target us.
And yet, it was too suspicious to dismiss as coincidence.
‘He definitely aimed straight at us...’
It had only been a brief moment, but I was certain the bus had come fast, directly at my car.
Could a drunk pull that off? Doubt rose, but with no hard evidence.
“Keep digging. There’s something there.”
“Yes, boss.”
Soon, we reached the hotel. I got out and went up to the suite. freēwebnovel.com
On the table lay the afternoon newspaper, full coverage of the morning crash.
[Outlaws on the Road: Countless Casualties Left Behind.]
As expected of British reporters.
The driver’s face and personal details were printed in detail.
Most of the articles framed it purely as a drunk driving case.
While I was reading, Chief Ma entered.
“Boss.”
I set the paper down and looked up.
“The police called. They want you as a witness for this morning’s accident. How should I answer?”
“A witness? Out of nowhere?”
When I asked again, he lowered his head and replied,
“They contacted through the hotel.”
“Our guards already gave statements at the station, right? Yet they want me, who wasn’t even harmed, as a witness?”
“No, boss. They summoned both you and President Han.”
To openly call both me and Han Kyungyeong—this was baffling.
“Put off the answer for now. Let’s see how this plays out.”
