Do you think I can't do it?
The smile on Choi Woo-shik's face, which had been trying to welcome me, however hypocritically, completely disappeared.
"It won't be easy to get out. The moment the title of CEO falls off Choi Woo-shik's shoulders, he will be nothing more than a common economic criminal."
I turned my head towards the head of the legal team who was standing blankly at the entrance.
"Isn't that right, Chief Legal? If you lose your position as CEO at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, it would be illegal for the legal team to act at the group level. So, are you going to throw away your position as Chief Legal and go back to being a wild man?"
"······."
This man was someone who took off his clothes from the prosecution and chose to become a dog of a conglomerate.
It meant that he was a person who decided to follow money thoroughly.
Would such a person really return to being a wild man and defend Choi Woo-shik?
I could be sure that would never happen.
Looking at the legal team leader who is unable to give any answer.
I chuckled and turned my gaze back to Choi Woo-shik.
"You know what I'm saying, right?"
"······."
I walked slowly and sat down facing him.
We've come too far to engage in petty socializing like handshakes or greetings.
But the reason I came to see Choi Woo-shik was simple. I was curious about what he was trying to say in this situation.
"Please take a seat, Mr. Choi Woo-shik."
I now removed the title of Chairman from Choi Woo-shik and called him that.
Choi Woo-shik stopped glaring at the head of the legal team and looked down at me again.
"I told you to sit down. Or should I stand up? It was not me who wanted to talk, it was Choi Woo-shik. I took time out of my precious time to come see you. If you have nothing to say, should I go back?"
"······no."
Choi Woo-shik sat down with his lips pursed. But his face was still stiff.
"Did I do something to upset President Kim Mu-hyeok? Why did I collude with Yoon Hyun-joo······."
I raised my hand to stop him, feeling that he would just keep talking nonsense if I left him alone.
"I know what you're trying to say, but there's no reason for me to tell that to Choi Woo-shik."
"······I have been very cooperative with President Kim Moo-hyeok's North Korea business, as well as other things. So why are you doing this to me?"
"You said you didn't spare any cooperation? In the end, didn't you reluctantly cooperate under my pressure? You should speak clearly."
At the word cooperation, one corner of my mouth lifted and I smiled.
Choi Woo-shik was the one who particularly found fault with the business I was doing.
I don't know if it's his nature or if he just doesn't like me, but he's always been like that. But the reason I left him alone was because he ended up joining me.
If Yoon Hyun-joo hadn't reached out to me in a way that would benefit me, I wouldn't have bothered spending my time and effort to chase her away.
If that was the case, they would have joined hands with the Sovereign Fund and kicked them out from the beginning.
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"And I always paid a fair price. I negotiated with the Sovereign Fund to protect the management rights of the KS Group. So what did I get in return? When I asked to sell the smartphone manufacturing plant because I needed it, you asked for an outrageous price. Is that the kind of behavior you would give to someone who protected the management rights?"
Choi Woo-shik couldn't say anything and just kept biting his lips.
I put my elbows on the table, then leaned forward slightly to meet his eyes.
"I gave Mr. Choi Woo-shik enough opportunities. Of course, it is true that I moved because the benefits that Director Yoon Hyun-joo offered me were greater. If Mr. Choi Woo-shik had acted properly, I would not have thought of taking away his management rights."
Choi Woo-shik's eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you trying to destroy the KS Group for just that reason? Just like I did with the Ilseong Group, your family······."
"Watch your mouth. Unless you want to go to the grave, not prison. How dare you bring up your family in front of me… Do you really want to die? Do you think I can't do it? Isn't it time you knew that I couldn't do it? You have absolutely no learning ability."
When I, who was formally respectful, started talking, Choi Woo-shik opened his eyes wide in surprise.
Respect is only shown to people, and there is a separate treatment appropriate for insects.
"There is no system here that protects you. Even if I kill you right here, you will end up dying from despair. You are really nothing when it comes to testing my patience. So I will warn you one last time. Whatever you do, don't mention my family and stay quiet."
As I blurted it out, I felt the atmosphere change all of a sudden.
The head of the legal team standing at the entrance where I came in and the prison guard standing at the entrance to the prison both swallowed their saliva.
I stepped back again and opened my mouth without any emotion.
"Mr. Choi Woo-shik. Let's not cross the line. If I had wanted to, Mr. Choi Woo-shik would be lying down behind a screen, smelling incense, instead of sitting in the detention center."
Choi Woo-shik just smiled and said nothing.
Maybe it's because you've never heard such abusive language in your life. Maybe you're doubting your own ears.
But for someone so insignificant to dare bring up the subject of family in front of me was tantamount to saying that they would see it through to the end.
Even as time passes and memories fade, that was an unyielding Maginot Line.
"The reason I came to see Mr. Choi Woo-shik today is because I wanted to tell him to give up hope. What would I gain by letting go of my hand with Director Yoon Hyun-joo and taking Mr. Choi Woo-shik's side now? What can you give me? If you like the offer, I'll think about it."
Choi Woo-shik's stiff expression slightly relaxed.
"I'll give you everything that woman, Yoon Hyun-joo, promised to give you. If I just get out of here······."
"Are you saying that you can sell me real estate in Gangnam, Seoul? Or do you have land in all eight provinces of the country? Director Yoon Hyun-joo gave me those real estates. And I bought them with fair money. You are insisting that you can give me something that you can't even give me."
"That group gave away all of its mobile phone manufacturing plants for free······."
"It's not worth listening to," I said, cutting him off.
"Don't make promises you can't keep. The moment you accept it for free, you'll cause enormous damage to the company, and you'll be investigated by the prosecution for breach of trust. I'm not a beggar, I'm a businessman. I like to give and receive fairly. Is there anything else I can do to get you to do it?"
Since then, Choi Woo-shik kept telling me things he could give me, but I refuted them all.
As I refused several times, Choi Woo-shik's face became darker and darker.
"What do you want to do?"
"Aren't you haggling?"
"KS Group is mine. How can you do this while bargaining over what is mine?"
I still don't get the point. How on earth did Yoon Hyun-joo live with this annoying person?
"Hah······. Do you know how many percent of KS Group stocks Mr. Choi Woo-shik owns? How can you act like the owner with just that small amount of shares?"
"It was an inevitable choice to grow the company."
"I don't know what kind of innovative company KS Group is growing. If they had completely converted to a holding company instead of a circular investment method as I advised them before, they might not have ended up like this. Think of it as the price you pay for ignoring my advice."
I checked the watch on my wrist.
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"If you don't have anything else to give me, I'll get up now. I have a dinner appointment with Director Yoon Hyun-joo."
As I got up from my seat, Choi Woo-shik also jumped up.
"This son of a bitch······! You never had any intention of talking to me from the beginning! Who the hell are you to try to take away from me the business my family worked so hard to build!"
Choi Woo-shik suddenly ran towards me like a crazy person.
But he wasn't afraid at all, because Chief Ma immediately stopped him.
Director Ma, without using much force, used the strength of Choi Woo-shik who was rushing towards him to knock him down.
"Oh, really. You need to tone down your temper. Don't you know how much the courts will dislike that kind of behavior? If you step down from the top position, none of the top 10 law firms will be able to represent Choi Woo-shik. So grit your teeth and hold out."
I spoke coldly and took my eyes off Choi Woo-shik, who was lying on the floor.
Then he spoke to the guards guarding the door leading to the prison.
"Prison officers. This is the end of the visit. Take him away."
At those words, Choi Woo-shik jumped up again and ran towards me again.
"What are you?
They say that in a fight, the losing dog barks louder. That saying is exactly right.
Director Ma picked up Choi Woo-shik, who was running towards him with his eyes rolled back, and threw him down.
Choi Woo-shik, who was hit hard on the cement floor with a heavy thud, suffered a great shock and was struggling.
The guards quickly grabbed Choi Woo-shik's arms and raised him up.
They dragged Choi Woo-shik, expressionless and barely able to breathe, out of the special interview room.
I turned around and was about to leave the interview room, but instead I asked the frozen head of the legal team.
"Don't you understand? A tycoon like Choi Woo-shik getting treated like this."
"······."
"What can I say? It's all about money. In this day and age, money is more valuable than anything else. But that's not all. Having a lot of money without any power is nothing. In that sense, the head of the legal team didn't make a good choice. You should have joined a big law firm instead. Then you would have made more money and gained more power."
I was about to finish speaking, but then I added a word.
"Are you going to keep holding onto the broken line here? It seems like it would be better to change the line even now. This is advice I am giving you as a senior at Korea University."
I left the legal team leader who couldn't say anything and headed out of the meeting room and toward the parking lot.
Before we got into the car and set off, the head of the legal team from the detention center came running toward our car.
Blocked by his bodyguards, he suddenly fell to his knees and shouted.
"Please! Please spare me. I can't let it end like this. Please spare me."
The bodyguards who had been guarding the perimeter surrounded the head of the legal team.
Director Ma, who was in the passenger seat, looked at me, and I shook my head, opened the car door, and got out.
"Everyone, get out of the way."
At my command, the bodyguards took a few steps back.
"Get up. People are all staring at you. What are you doing here?"
As expected, the eyes of people in the parking lot who were visiting the inmates were turned here.
Chief Ma, who had followed me down, forcibly stood him up.
"The person you should be asking for forgiveness from is not me, but Director Yoon Hyun-joo. She is the owner of the group. Although we still own the stock, we have already made a contract to transfer it all to her."
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"······."
"We'll have dinner together tonight and give you a little luck. So, please don't do this here. Follow us. Then, wait in the parking lot and come in when we call you."
"Thank you. I will never forget this favor."
When I told him to grab the rope to change, the head of the legal team seemed to be trying to grab my trouser leg.
The head of the legal team bowed his head several times and expressed his gratitude.
"Sir, please tell me where the restaurant is, and then we can leave."
Director Ma called one of his employees and gave instructions, and the vehicle carrying me quickly left the detention center.
* * *
When Yoon Hyun-joo told the story of her meeting with Choi Woo-shik, she burst into laughter.
I laughed so hard that tears welled up in my eyes.
"Oh, I should have seen it with my own eyes. What a shame."
"Haven't you already seen it once at the Central District Prosecutors' Office?"
She nodded and smiled.
"Once is not enough. I intend to ruin Choi Woo-shik. I will not be satisfied with this. I will take away all his assets. Not a single penny will go to that woman. I want to see if that woman will love Choi Woo-shik, who has nothing."
They say that if a woman harbors resentment, frost will fall even in May.
The Yoon Hyun-joo who first came to see me and the Yoon Hyun-joo who is now were so different.
I chuckled to myself and turned my gaze towards the man next to her.
"Oh, this is the group secretary."
Is this person Yoon Hyun-joo's eyes and ears? I nodded and said to him.
"I betrayed my friend. Are you okay with that?"
The chief secretary said nothing to my question.
"Mr. Kim, you too. You're already my person, so don't act so rudely."
"If that's what the director says. By the way, the head of the legal team is waiting outside. Would you like to take a look?"
"Are you the head of our company's legal team?"
I told her roughly what had happened. Yoon Hyun-joo, who had been thinking about it, nodded.
After a while, the door opened and the head of the legal team came in with his head bowed.
"Legal Team Leader. Raise your head. We need to talk while looking at each other's faces."
The head of the legal team raised his head at Yoon Hyun-joo's words.
But soon his mouth slowly opened.
The head of the legal team was shocked when he made eye contact with the chief secretary next to Yoon Hyun-joo.
"Da, how did you······."
< Do you think I can't do it? > End