CHAPTER 76

The VIP ward, accessible only to authorized personnel, is typically quiet and serene. However, the top floor where Chairman Kwon stays was quite bustling with people dressed in formal attire. In the midst of it, Taegyeom spotted a familiar face.

Prosecutor Moon Sungtae from the Prosecutor’s Office was one of the individuals to whom Taegyeom had sent documents regarding Chairman Kwon. Once delving into Kwon Kyungrok’s personal corruption, he had been restrained and demoted to a provincial position after facing pressure from higher-ups. Rising back up, he was known for his stern character mixed with personal grudges and one that does not yield to the authority and influence of the GK Group.

Recently, an investigation into Chairman Kwon’s embezzlement had commenced. Considering the nationwide uproar caused by Shin Joo-ah’s scandal and the driver-switching news, the prosecutors chose to keep the investigation private.

While the group’s communications team was doing its best to control the media, with the chairman down and out, it was only a matter of time before the barely contained information leaked out.

The prosecution established a special investigation task force and initiated an investigation into Chairman Kwon’s undisclosed accounts, involving over a hundred executives from GK Group.  Amidst this, the prosecutor in charge seemed to visit the hospital directly to determine if it was a genuine investigation or a show to avoid the inquiry since the subject of the prosecution was hospitalized.

While engaged in conversation with the elderly medical staff, Prosecutor Moon Sungtae noticed Taegyeom and gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment. Taegyeom, in return, lowered his head in greeting and passed by them.

There were a total of five bodyguards guarding the front of the hospital room. If you count those who occupied the entire top floor of the ward and controlled access at the entrance, there were more than ten men guarding the bedridden chairman. Even in the midst of illness, Chairman Kwon’s vigilant demeanor was evident.

As Taegyeom approached, the security guards respectfully opened the door and bowed deeply. Once he entered, the hospital room’s door quietly closed behind him. The space revealed a reception-like area, and the inner section was divided by walls, with the door closed.

Taegyeom passed through the dimly lit reception area and slid the sliding door to the side. On the spacious bed at the far end of the room, Kwon Kyungrok was visible.

Contrary to the expectation of him lying down, he was sitting halfway up the bed, leaning against the headboard, examining something on his lap. When Kwon Kyungrok sensed his presence, he looked up and gazed at Taegyeom.

In the span of a few days, he seemed to have lost strength, appearing noticeably gaunt and exhausted. However, his gaze was as sharp and clear as ever.

“You’re here. I was waiting,” 

Kwon Kyungrok gestured to the chair beside the bed.

“Take a seat.”

As Taegyeom awkwardly settled into the chair that seemed to have been occupied just moments ago, Chairman Kwon adjusted it to give him a better view of what he had placed on his lap.

It was a photo printed on A4-sized paper. The man in the photo was tied up with a gag in his mouth. Even though his head was tilted downward, it wasn’t difficult to recognize who he was.

“This is what the person who betrayed me has to say.” 

His torn shirt was stained with blood in various places. The rope binding the man’s upper body was soaked in red, making it impossible to gauge its original color.

“The audacity to deceive me and try to escape overseas, thinking he can survive somehow. Foolish bastard! How could he think he could survive overseas when he knows me better than anyone!”

Kyungrok spat out the words. Taegyeom looked down at the photo with indifferent eyes, observing Kyungrok’s hands, wrinkled and half-clenched, gripping the photo tightly.

In the picture, Hwang Incheol’s mouth was half agape. Blood dripped from his tongue, which dangled outward with his lower teeth knocked out.

Behind the gentle and mild facade of the conglomerate leader, Kyungrok wore a disguise and pretended to be courteous. However, beneath the surface, he had unabashedly committed various illegal and cruel crimes. There were plenty of ways to deal with annoying and troublesome matters without directly dirtying one’s hands.

Knowing his true nature, Taegyeom was not surprised. He had seen firsthand, twenty years ago, how despicably he had erased his wife from the world.

“A woman who played with such a dirty scumbag should rest next to that scum, but the fact that she brought my blood into the world saved her life. I am so lenient towards women. Even your dead mother knows that well.”

Taegyeom’s eyebrows twitched, but Kyungrok, deeply engrossed in his own emotions, continued to glare intensely at the photo, gritting his teeth aggressively.

“Thinking of that insignificant, low-born woman as a precious gem, I’ve been indulging her luxuriously all this time. She doesn’t even know her place, opening her legs for some lowlife scrub who cleans up under me. It’s nauseating, even to think about…”

He finally crumpled the photo in frustration.

“In the old days, I would have carved the word ‘adulterer’ on her chest and kicked her out, making her the target of public humiliation. I’d want to strip her naked from head to toe and chase her out in the middle of Gwanghwamun to be judged by the entire nation.”

Currently, Shin Joo-ah is said to be confined in the bas*ment of the mansion. She may have avoided public execution, but there was no doubt that her state was miserable.

“Being born in this polite era is just frustrating.”

Kyungrok grunted under his breath. The graph on the machine screen connected to his fingertips blinked, and a beeping alarm sounded as the oxygen saturation level fluctuated. After a quick check of the screen, he took a deep breath, trying to control his agitation.

Taegyeom let out a silent chuckle. It seemed amusing to him to see someone who had roamed freely in the lower realms of society throughout his life, now struggling and passionately defending his own domain.

Apparently afraid of dying in the meantime, Kyungrok rubbed his stiff back neck, puffing up and down his chest several times, and the graphs that had been flickering precariously gradually returned to a normal trajectory.

As the tightening in his chest eased, Chairman Kwon, who had released a relieved sigh, narrowed his eyes and glared at Taegyeom.

“So, you’ve isolated me in the back room like an old man. I can’t stand not knowing what you’ve schemed with that old man Gong Jihoon, that stubborn blockhead.”

His thin lips quirked, showing his teeth in a vicious grin.

“How long did you think you could deceive me?”

In response to the chairman’s question, Taegyeom shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“When I saw that you didn’t realize it until after everything had happened and seeing you only catching on and making a fuss, I realized there wasn’t much to you either, Chairman. It was too easy, and not very fun. You should try a little harder, don’t you think?”

Kyungrok shouted in frustration.

“Fun? Did you say fun? You crazy bastard. Do you know how much you’ve been able to live luxuriously all these years thanks to me? Know your damn place! Instead of quietly doing your duty until your share comes, you repay my kindness with s**t?”

“I may be obsessed with money, but I’m not desperate enough to eat what falls from a filthy pit.”

“What, what? What pit? How dare you speak like that in front of your father… Ugh.”

Kyungrok rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his blood pressure rise. Reddish veins stood out on his contorted forehead. The color slowly drained from his twitching cheeks. The chairman’s eyelids fluttered shut and opened, and he spoke in a voice of suppressed anger.

“Where did you hide Director Gong? As a father, I’ll kindly explain the path to your survival out of consideration. Hand over Director Gong to me, and you’ll clean up the mess you’ve made without a second thought. Just thinking about what you’ve done makes me shudder, but this is the last mercy I can offer.”

“You’re so generous, I’m flattered. As your son, I have something for you, too.”

Taegyeom opened the envelope he was holding and pulled out a document. He held them out for the chairman to read, and with a wary glance, Kyungrok accepted the stack of papers.

A moment of silence settled in the hospital room. Taegyeom leisurely savored the brief silence. The longer the silence, the better, as he watched the enormity of the shock wash over the chairman’s old, shabby face like a tidal wave.

The paper in Kyungrok’s hand began to flutter and shake. His wrinkled hands trembled convulsively. His ragged breathing filled the quiet hospital room.

“This, this is, what…”

With a confused expression, Kyungrok raised his head, meeting Taegyeom’s silent gaze before turning his face fiercely sideways. It was a stage of denying reality.

“You think I’m going to believe this bullshit……? You’re lying, it’s all lies! You think I wouldn’t know that this kind of document can be fabricated at will?!”

The documents he was holding fell onto the bed. The first page revealed the results of a genetic test between Chairman Kwon and Jingyeom. At the bottom of the document, bold letters were written.

[Genetic markers do not match, indicating no biological father-son relationship.]

The chairman’s jaw slackened at this harsh reality. He pounded his chest, covered in a hospital gown, stubbornly shouting.

“Jingyeom! Jingyeom is my son!”

After giving birth, it was customary to confirm the biological relationship through genetic testing before entering the child’s information into the family register. Jingyeom was undeniably Kwon Kyungrok’s son. The chairman widened his eyes and shouted as if trying to convince himself.

“I confirmed it with my own eyes the moment he was born!”

“As you have said, these kinds of papers can be fabricated easily. Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”

Taegyeom replied dryly, retorting while tapping a paper beneath the documents that had fallen near the chairman’s knees.

“Take a look at the rest. The back page is the most interesting part.”