Tell only the truth
Chairman Cho was unable to respond to the unfamiliar atmosphere he was experiencing for the first time.
In your entire life as Minister Yoon's estate manager, you have never once experienced such an oppressive atmosphere.
This man's grandfather and father were both servants of Minister Yoon's family.
The caste system was abolished during the Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese colonial period, but what could a nobleman who had been living as a servant do after leaving his household?
It would not have been a welcome event for them to leave the side of Minister Yoon and his family, who were among the most prominent landowners in Gyeongsangbuk-do.
"Are you Chairman Cho Pan-deuk?"
When I called his name, Chairman Cho flinched. He seemed to have instinctively figured out who was in control of this situation.
What could be the reason why he, who has been the warehouse keeper of the Yun family for generations, changed his mind?
"Why on earth did you try to run away? The manager told me that he would support me so that I could live comfortably even after I settled the estate."
"······."
"Well, human greed is such that even if you have a hundred in your hand, it's frustrating when one disappears······ But isn't that something that wasn't originally yours?"
Perhaps Chairman Cho, while managing real estate in Gangnam, was mistaken in thinking that it was all his.
When Minister Yoon was at the center of power, he bought land in Chairman Cho's name to avoid being caught, and after retiring from politics, he missed the opportunity to bring the land under his name due to the real-name financial and real estate systems implemented by the president who ended the military regime.
In this way, Chairman Cho ended up managing the real estate for longer than expected.
Even after Minister Yoon died of old age, Yoon Hyun-joo never asked to transfer his name.
"If you have a mouth, say something. Do you know how shocked Director Yoon Hyun-joo was because of you? Aren't you sorry?"
Despite the strong criticism, he kept his mouth shut. I think we need to be a little more aggressive about this.
"Sir. Tell the manager to come in."
After Director Ma left, I folded my arms and looked down at him as if I was looking at trash.
"Is this old man Chairman Cho, who pays the most real estate tax in Gangnam?"
When I nodded, Yoon Jae-ha said with a surprised expression on his face.
"It doesn't look like that at all. I've met so many rich people over the years. But your face doesn't look like it's full of greed."
As Yoon Jae-ha said, the people who came to Yoon & Jang were rich. Most of them were people who did not hide their desires and showed them openly.
The people that Yoon Jae-ha, the successor to the law firm that deals with such people, has seen are different from those of Chairman Cho.
"So you wouldn't have been more suspicious."
If he had been spending money lavishly or showing off his vast wealth, the media or whatever would have definitely highlighted him.
However, he did not evade taxes or avoid taxes, but paid his taxes on time, and his actions did not attract people's attention at all.
If people had been paying attention and digging deeper, the source of the wealth could have been revealed.
So I didn't understand it anymore. If he had been spending money thoughtlessly, I could understand his greed.
Why would a man who had lived a frugal life for decades make this choice?
At that time, Director Ma, who had gone to pick up Yoon Hyun-joo, brought her in.
She stood behind Director Ma and quietly looked at Chairman Cho.
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Yoon Hyun-joo's face, looking at Chairman Cho who was on his knees, was filled with complicated emotions.
Chairman Cho, who turned his head toward the sound of the door opening, seemed to see that face as well.
"Oh, Miss."
Chairman Cho, whose eyes met Yoon Hyun-joo's, crawled toward her like a dog.
"Young lady. It's all a misunderstanding. I don't know what you heard, but how could I betray you? This is all a conspiracy."
It wasn't a very pleasant sight to see the old Chairman Cho cowardly clinging to Yoon Hyun-joo, who was just entering middle age.
"Sir, why did you do that?"
But Chairman Cho's desperate excuses didn't even make sense to Yoon Hyun-joo.
Yoon Hyun-joo naturally treated Chairman Cho, who was much older than her, with contempt.
"Misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding could there be when a man heads to Incheon Airport with the seal and seal certificate that I asked him to bring?"
I could sense the hidden dagger in her reaction, which was calmer than I thought.
I raised an eyebrow at his determined appearance, unlike when he first came to my office.
'Surprisingly, Chairman Cho's betrayal may have a good result for Yoon Hyun-joo.'
Before learning of Chairman Cho's betrayal, Yoon Hyun-joo was an indecisive and cruel person.
She said that divorce was absolutely unacceptable and that she would take away management rights from her husband, and she took her husband's side, asking to avoid arrest.
But that Yoon Hyun-joo now seemed to have disappeared.
When I see her in front of me, looking down at Chairman Cho with poisonous eyes.
"Sir. Tell me. Why on earth did you do that? You said that you would support me so that I could live comfortably even if I sold all my real estate in Gangnam. And you know very well that the assets under another person's name are not only in Gangnam. You said that you still have land in Seoul and other parts of the metropolitan area, so you only trust me. But… What on earth is the reason? Why are you doing this to me?"
Yoon Hyun-joo, who had been speaking calmly, eventually raised her voice in anger.
Chairman Cho seemed quite embarrassed and flustered at the sight.
"Oh, Miss."
Chairman Cho, who closely watched Yoon Hyun-joo grow up, and Yoon Hyun-joo, who considered Chairman Cho a trustworthy adult since childhood.
The two people must have known each other very well.
And during that long time, Chairman Cho probably never once saw Yoon Hyun-joo yell at him.
"Cho Pan-deuk! Answer my question. What on earth is the reason?"
Yoon Hyun-joo's tone of voice became increasingly fierce. She shook off Chairman Cho's hand that was holding her foot.
"Speak! Speak!"
Chairman Cho looked up at Yoon Hyun-joo blankly, unable to answer.
"You have nothing to say? I'm sorry, I made a mistake. Can't you say those words?! Instead of making excuses like it was a misunderstanding, apologize instead!"
Yoon Hyun-joo shouted sharply. If you leave me like that, I'll collapse.
I calmed down Yoon Hyun-joo, who was very excited.
"Director, first, take a deep breath. You seem too excited. Let's sit down and talk."
Yoon Hyun-joo, who had been breathing heavily at my words, took a deep breath and nodded her head with difficulty.
"······Thank you. If it weren't for Mr. Kim, I would have just been foolish and not knowing anything."
Yoon Hyun-joo expressed her thanks in a tired voice.
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Yoon Jae-ha and I sat on the sofa, supporting her as she stumbled.
"Sir, bring him here."
Director Ma dragged Chairman Cho, who was standing there blankly, in. He seemed to have completely lost his mind, and he didn't respond even when he was roughly dragged in.
"Chairman Cho. I don't think there's any benefit to talking at length. It looks like he was caught trying to run away overseas with his master's property. It's no use holding on to him until the end. Now is the only chance. It's a chance to apologize to the director and tell him the truth."
Chairman Cho ignored my suggestion and just looked at Yoon Hyun-joo.
"It would be easier if you just said the four words, 'I was wrong.' Those kids who have done wrong are always like that. They don't even know what they did wrong."
He chuckled at Yoon Jae-ha's monologue and asked Yoon Hyun-joo.
"Director. If you want, I can force you to open your mouth. Would you like that?"
At my question, Yoon Hyun-joo, who was looking at Chairman Cho, and Chairman Cho, who was looking at her, looked at me at the same time.
"The staff here are experts. Give them 30 minutes and they can make anyone open their mouth. They can even make up stories that didn't exist before. If that's what you want, I'll do it."
Yoon Hyun-joo hesitated as if she was thinking about it. When he didn't hear a "no" from her mouth, Chairman Cho opened his mouth urgently.
"I went to Incheon Airport to see my family. You know, don't you? My children all live in the United States. I was planning to come back after seeing them for a bit. It wasn't a sudden schedule, it was a plan I had made originally······."
"Ha······. Jo Pan-deuk. Do I still look like a child to you? Do I look that stupid? You're saying that now."
Similar things tend to hang out together.
I felt like it was too much of a waste of time to watch a farce that wasn't even funny.
"If you are worried, I will do as I please. Director. Tell me everything that Chairman Cho was thinking."
At my direction, Chief Ma called his subordinates who were guarding the door.
As the men approached with brisk strides, Chairman Cho's face turned pale.
Chairman Cho, who was being dragged away by them with both arms held, called out desperately to Yoon Hyun-joo.
"Miss! Miss! It was all my fault. Please save me! Miss!"
"Boss. Let's talk for now······."
Ironically, that desperate call resonated with Yoon Hyun-joo.
This is driving me crazy. If you're going to be poisonous, then be poisonous. If you're going to be mild, then be mild.
He was someone I couldn't understand at all. I eventually gave up on understanding Yoon Hyun-joo.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead.
"Sir, please bring him back."
As soon as Director Ma nodded, the subordinates who had been dragging Chairman Cho threw him down on the spot where he had just been.
Before Chairman Cho could even shake off his body, he gave him a warning.
"Chairman Cho. I'm giving you one last chance because I asked you to. If you talk nonsense one more time, you'll be talking to those people instead of me. Do you understand?"
Chairman Cho swallowed dry saliva and nodded absentmindedly.
"Please give me the official seal, seal certificate, and documents I got from the bank."
At those words, the subordinates who brought Chairman Cho found the relevant documents and handed them over to Director Ma.
I said this while giving the things that Director Ma had given me to Jaeha Yoon.
"Please check if there are any problems with the contract documents."
"okay."
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While Yoon Jae-ha was reviewing the documents, I started talking to him again.
"Chairman Cho. Now, just tell me the truth in response to my questions. If there is even a little bit of a lie mixed in, I think... Well, you can imagine what happens next."
"Oh, I understand."
"No. Don't just answer this question to get through this moment. I know you better than you think, Chairman Cho. Think carefully about why I was able to bring Chairman Cho here and then answer."
I asked the question on behalf of Yoon Hyun-joo.
"Where were you trying to run off to with those documents?"
"······I was going to go to America."
The answer came out immediately. As expected, people only open their mouths when you instill them with a certain amount of fear.
"America? Did you think that if you ran away to America, they wouldn't catch you?"
"I was going to meet my family and go somewhere else."
It was true that all of Chairman Cho's children lived in the United States.
"Why did you try to run away?"
"······."
No answer came back.
He hasn't come to his senses yet. He wiggled an eyebrow, and one of his subordinates grabbed the back of his neck.
Chairman Cho gasped in horror.
"Don't make me ask twice. Just answer the question. Why did you try to run away?"
"Oh, it's unfair to only receive the money you promised me······."
Yoon Hyun-joo's eyebrows furrowed. She exploded in anger before Chairman Cho could finish speaking.
"What? You're saying that now······!"
I interrupted her and continued asking questions.
"It's not like you can immediately dispose of the real estate by fleeing abroad. Who on earth is it? The person who incited Chairman Cho from the side. Who said they would help you dispose of the real estate or buy it for you?"
"There is no such person."
Immediate answer. But it was strange that the answer came right away.
People like to share their sins with someone. It is their instinct to find someone to blame for their mistakes.
But if you answer right away without even thinking about it, there was definitely something wrong.
"You're still acting like a fool even though I gave you the chance. Do you really think I don't know? I told you to tell the truth. Do you know how many people are watching Chairman Cho and are lying?"
I clicked my tongue and shook my head exaggeratedly.
Actually, I don't know anything. This was some kind of bluff.
But I started to get annoyed when there was an easier way.
"Let's take it easy, easy. Who is it? The person behind you. I'm asking this question because I want to hear it directly from Chairman Cho's mouth."
Chairman Cho, who had been rolling his eyes, met Yoon Hyun-joo's eyes.
Yoon Hyun-joo, who was already in shock, was looking at Chairman Cho with astonished eyes.
Perhaps she would rather have Chairman Cho make his own decisions.
The person who came to Yoon Hyun-joo's mind right now is probably the person who instigated Chairman Cho.
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Chairman Cho, who had been hesitating for a while, finally opened his mouth.
"Your husband······."
Yoon Hyun-joo suddenly got up from her seat, as if she couldn't hear any more.
She approached Chairman Cho, raised her hand, and slapped him on the cheek.
match!
A loud bang echoed through the office.
Tears were streaming down Yoon Hyun-joo's eyes as she slapped Chairman Cho on the cheek.
As expected, the person who incited Chairman Cho was Choi Woo-shik.
< It's more human and better >