CHAPTER 33 – Revelation (Part 1)

It was while Seo Jae-eun, the team leader at CNC Communication, was in the middle of his presentation that a member of the secretarial staff quietly approached Chief Secretary Kang Seungcheol.

“The Chairman is asking for the CEO to come to his office at the headquarters immediately.”

At the secretarial staff’s whisper, Chief Secretary Kang looked up at Dojun. Dojun was watching the next advertisement proposal dynamically moving on the screen. It was nothing out of the ordinary as he skimmed through the proposal, lifting his eyes once in a while to check the screen.

A summons to the Chairman’s office on a Monday morning.

Despite having been with Hwang Dojun for six years since the Hanseong Foods days, this was a first. Being called through the secretarial office during a meeting could only mean an urgent matter at the group level.

Chief Secretary Kang discreetly stood up and approached Dojun. Noticing the approach, Dojun turned his head.

“Sir, the Chairman has requested you come up immediately.”

“The Chairman?”

“Yes. We received a call from the secretarial office.”

At those words, Dojun exhaled a thoughtful “Hmm.” He looked at the screen for a moment and then asked Chief Secretary Kang.

“Was there anything else?”

“No. That’s all I was told.”

“Understood.”

Seungcheol carefully turned back. Dojun whispered something to the VP sitting next to him. Then, as he stood up, he gestured to Team Leader Seo Jae-eun, who was presenting, to continue, and walked to the back of the conference room.

“Prepare the car.”

“Are you leaving right away?”

“I’ll stop by the office briefly and then head down.”

Leaving the conference room, Dojun took out his phone as he walked toward the elevator.

“This is Hwang Dojun. Connect me to the Chairman.”

With a cheerful ding, the elevator door opened. Vice Chairman Hwang Yeongchan strode forward without hesitation. Next to him was the President of Hanseong Department Store, Sehyun’s father, Lee Jang-soo, who also walked with a very serious expression. Thus, Sehyun could hardly afford to take a good look at the Chairman’s office, which he was seeing for the first time.

Following his father and the vice chairman as one point of a triangle, Sehyun also put on a serious expression. High ceilings, marble floors, the secretarial office visible through translucent glass windows, the glass wall showing the view of Jongno, a long corridor. They walked through a large conference room again. And finally, the Chairman’s office came into view.

Feeling overwhelmed with each step, Sehyun stiffened his shoulders. This was a resolved and explosive situation. Today, in this place, Hwang Dojun’s vileness would be revealed to the world, and Seoyeon would see the truth about him.

Even so, he couldn’t help but feel his heart pounding. With his father, the vice chairman, and the chairman involved, the matter had grown too big. Still, having passed the point of no return, he had no choice but to brace himself.

Yoon Seoyeon had told him to expose it.

If Seoyeon had begged him not to, he would have obediently buried it. However, she had said herself that it was okay to expose it, so there was no other choice.

Although the matter concerning Haewon would also come to light, upon consideration, it didn’t seem to be a significant problem. It was just a conversation recorded where he asked to break up because he was in love. It could be explained as a momentary lapse of judgment.

In a situation where his engagement was widely known, Seoyeon’s scandal with Hwang Dojun and Sehyun, who had loved her for a long time but had made a brief mistake, would be exposed. Sehyun slightly lifted the phone in his front pocket. The recording app was working well.

At the door of the Chairman’s office, Chief Secretary Jang Jin-soo, the renowned right-hand man of the Chairman, was waiting and bowed when he saw the vice chairman.

“The Chairman is expecting you.”

“What about Dojun?”

Yeongchan scrutinized Chief Secretary Jang with sharp eyes.

“The CEO is not here yet.”

“That brat is still being disrespectful.”

Yeongchan remarked sarcastically, loud enough to be heard. President Lee Jang-soo standing next to him gave Sehyun a sharp look. 

Do well. Don’t make any mistakes. 

The message was clear in his eyes.

That look brought to mind the events of Saturday.

At the mention of Sehyun’s fiancée being stolen by Hwang Dojun, President Lee Jang-soo spewed the tea he was drinking. His face turned red from coughing as the tea went down the wrong pipe.

With a hoarse voice, he asked again what he just said, and Sehyun had thought he might get hit if he misspoke.

Still, he explained it calmly and well.

Sehyun felt proud of himself. Although he had tattled out of anger that Yoon Seoyeon was seeing Hwang Dojun, he wrapped it up cleanly. He concluded by appropriately handling the matter concerning Haewon.

‘This matter is not just about that shameless bastard Hwang Dojun toying with my fiancée. It’s about Seoyeon and Vice President Yoon, and me and you, father. It’s an insult to the two families who have dedicated themselves to Hanseong and a challenge to the Vice Chairman.’

His final remark was something he wanted to save and revisit forever.

If Chairman Hwang pressed Dojun on whether it was true, he would deny it. Dojun would claim that Sehyun and Seoyeon were over and that he had only been seeing her casually.

If asked about future plans, Dojun would say he would sort it out. Ideally, he would say it very lightly, as if it was nothing serious.

Then Sehyun would record everything and let Seoyeon know exactly what had happened, along with deep consolation. After all, women are most vulnerable when they are hurt.

“The Vice Chairman has arrived.”

Chief Secretary Jang said as he opened the door to the Chairman’s office. With a resolute heart, Sehyun walked into the meeting room with a determined stride.

While riding up the elevator, Dojun twirled a USB stick between his fingers like a cigarette. He looked down at the small black plastic device, about the size of two fingers, and chuckled.

For some reason, he had felt the need to bring it along.

Dojun smirked as he thought about Lee Sehyun, an utterly transparent man.

On Valentine’s Day, Sehyun showed up at Seoyeon’s apartment, left a gift, and posted nothing but a black photo on social media the next day with the caption, “I’ve made up my mind.” This was the report he had received about Sehyun while in the car.

He had hoped Seoyeon would handle it, but the soft-hearted Yoon Seoyeon was easily swayed and couldn’t properly confront the issue.

She must have thought Sehyun would give up if she just ignored him. Sehyun, in turn, likely threatened Seoyeon, saying he would reveal her relationship with Hwang Dojun.

This was the point where his anger boiled over.

Even after hearing such threats, Seoyeon had said nothing to Dojun. Instead, she was preparing to break up, keeping her mouth shut about something that could have been resolved with a single word.

“Is it true you’re seeing Yoon Seoyeon? How could I hear such absurd nonsense? Come up here immediately!”

His grandfather’s voice, shouting through the receiver, overlapped with the black plastic.

So impatient.

As the door opened with a ding, Dojun brushed his hair back. He slipped the USB stick, which he had been spinning at his fingertips, into his jacket pocket and walked toward the Chairman’s office. Standing at the door, Chief Secretary Jang saw Dojun and greeted him with a bow.

“Everyone is here.”

“My uncle, President Lee Jang-soo, who else?”

“Team Leader Lee Sehyun is here as well.”

Dojun laughed. 

Looks like everyone is here for a good show.

He asked one last question.

“What about Vice President Yoon?”

Reading the intention behind the question, Chief Secretary Jang replied to Dojun.

“He seems to be unaware.”

Dojun nodded. Chief Secretary Jang lightly knocked on the Chairman’s office door and announced Dojun’s arrival.

“CEO Hwang Dojun has arrived.”

The door opened, and Dojun walked inside with confident steps.