“Boss, it is Ha Myeonghun.”
On his way to the ancestral burial ground, Ha Myeonghun pulled out his phone. He had not been instructed, but out of habit he called Kim Muhyuk to report.
― Is everything taken care of?
“Yes. I will stop by the Chairman’s grave and then head to Pyeongchang-dong.”
― Take your ti and be careful.
“Yes, understood.”
He briefly reported what had happened at the mountain lodge. Before ending the call, Kim Muhyuk spoke indifferently.
― Scatter the ashes over Grandfather’s grave. You do not need to bring them to .
After the call, he closed his eyes. He could still hear Cheon Sooman’s screams ringing in his ears.
“Everyone wait here. I will go alone.”
Arriving at the ancestral burial site, he ordered his subordinates to stay behind, then carried the urn up the mountain path.
Before long, he reached Cheon Taesan’s grave.
His face showed complex emotions as he set the urn down before the grave and stood there for a long while.
“Chairman······.”
He called out, but no answer ca. Only the cool mountain wind brushed across his face.
Lowering his head, Ha Myeonghun opened the urn.
He walked around the grave, scattering ashes bit by bit. The powder caught in the wind, swirled briefly, then scattered away.
“······Chairman, please rest in peace there. Until I join you, stay well. I will visit often.”
With a face filled with longing, Ha Myeonghun bowed deeply to Cheon Taesan’s grave, then turned and descended the mountain.
By the ti he reached the bottom, his face had returned to its usual expressionless mask.
“Let us go to Pyeongchang-dong.”
From now on, Ha Myeonghun would no longer live as Cheon Taesan’s man, but as Kim Muhyuk’s.
* * *
I put down the phone and sank into thought.
There was still a mountain of things to handle, but one matter had finally been resolved.
‘At last, the detestable Cheon Sooman is dealt with.’
He was the cause of my parents’ deaths, and in my previous life the one who ordered my execution.
I thought his death would bring relief.
But no—it only left a bitter taste in my mouth.
As I walked toward the study, I slowly organized my tangled thoughts.
Looking up at the photograph of Grandfather on the wall, the restless feeling in my chest eased sowhat.
Cheon Sooman was dead. There was no reason to waste thought on the dead. The past should be forgotten; only the future mattered now.
Turning, I sat down and summoned Manager Ma.
“You called for , Boss.”
Manager Ma opened the door to the study and stepped inside.
“From now on, you will take over all the duties that Chief Ha used to handle. First, recruit household staff. From now on, you should be addressed as Chief Ma.”
Manager Ma would have to fill the vacancy left by Ha Myeonghun. The load would be heavy, but Chief Ma would manage.
“Yes, understood.”
“And contact Jang Daeho. Tell him we will go into China together next week.”
I would start clearing things one by one, beginning with Jang Daeho.
“Also, get in touch with the Blue House and secure a eting date with Kim Hakgwon.”
I still felt no fondness for Kim Hakgwon.
But it was thanks to his help that I had made it in ti to see Grandfather’s last monts.
Had it not been for him, I would have had to co through China or Russia and would have missed it entirely.
Kindness must be repaid with kindness. I would hear what he wanted and, if possible, give aid.
Of course, I also had to warn him against helping Chairman Seo.
“And do not schedule any other appointnts today. In the afternoon we will visit Chairman Song’s ho, and in the evening I will have dinner with Grandmother and my friends’ parents.”
“Yes, I am aware.”
As I spoke, a sharp pain throbbed in my head. I pressed my temples with both hands.
“Are you unwell?”
“My head hurts suddenly.”
“Shall I call the doctor?”
I shook my head. I knew Chief Ma worried for , but sotis it felt like overprotection.
“No. It is just from too much thinking. I will take so headache dicine at ho.”
“Still, we cannot be certain.”
His stoic face betrayed concern. I gave a faint smile.
“If it continues, I will tell you then.”
“Yes, understood.”
“For now, step out. Confirm the ti again with Chairman Song’s side.”
“Yes.”
Chief Ma bowed and left.
Korean matters were handled well enough for now. I let out a breath and picked up my phone.
― Hello.
“Hey, it’s .”
― Muhyuk? Was the Chairman’s funeral properly held?
“Yes, thanks to you.”
― I should have been there······.
Han Kyungyeong’s voice faltered with guilt.
I knew why, so I deliberately brushed it off.
“You would have just stayed briefly and left. What for? You said things are unstable in the U.S., right? Tell properly.”
He had contacted when I was consud by Grandfather’s affairs, so I had not heard the details.
― Ah, that. The atmosphere has been strange lately. After ten years of a long boom, everyone is overly optimistic. Honestly, it makes no sense.
The Arican economy of the 1990s was unprecedented in prosperity. But the decade-long boom had also cast a deep shadow.
Investnt, stocks, consumption, the dollar, real estate······. Everything in Arica was a bubble.
In my past life, investors had sold to realize profits, which triggered panic sales.
That was the start. The bubble burst like falling dominoes.
But unlike the future I rembered, this ti the NASDAQ did not stop at 5,000 points—it kept rising until it hit 7,000.
An absurd bubble. Sheer madness.
“Yes. It is insane.”
― Just as you said, investors have started realizing profits. But they are selling slowly, trying not to shake the market.
No matter how slowly they sold, sharp-eyed people would see that investors were pulling out.
― But the founders are different. The mont the lock-up periods ended, they dumped their shares like mad. And sohow, the market absorbed it all.
Founders throwing stock into the market. Normally when whales fought, shrimps’ backs broke. This ti, the small investors would be slaughtered.
― The volu that retail investors are absorbing is huge, but it is not enough to support prices. Most of what is being dumped is swallowed by institutions. I cannot make sense of it.
His voice rose, as if suspecting another force at work.
“So······ who is buying the most?”
― UT Investnt Bank is the most aggressive. Several other investnt banks are joining in. JP Morgan and the other giants are staying on the sidelines.
UT Investnt Bank, huh······. I tapped my finger on the desk.
They had no choice but to defend prices. Because of their option contract with Dreamhigh, a crash would an their bankruptcy.
But if other banks were also joining, that ant collusion.
And yet JP Morgan and the big houses were only watching. Which ant soone powerful was holding them back.
“There has to be a limit. How long do you think they can hold the line, hyung?”
― That, I do not know. It depends on when giants like JP Morgan flip to short positions.
His voice cald as he organized the situation.
― Their money is not infinite. I give it less than a month.
Less than a month······. To stand against giants, their capital must be vast.
“What if their funds are greater than we imagine? What then?”
― Even if unexpected, they cannot stop it. Unless they can print dollars at will, no one can bear this weight.
“······Is that so?”
Quantitative easing—Arica’s reckless money-printing—had not yet begun.
“Got it. Let us prepare to collect when the ti cos.”
― Honestly, if not for your warning, I might have acted just like them. You are the only one betting against this madness. But in the end, bubbles always vanish.
His words were full of trust. I laughed aloud.
He had seen every step of my moves so far; it was only natural.
“Hyung, the experts, the institutions, they all know. The only difference is whether they act on it or not.”
The hyenas of Wall Street had no reason to prick the bubble.
In fact, they swelled it further, drawing in small investors to feed on.
The FRB only issued verbal warnings about the NASDAQ’s rise. No rate hikes, no real asures.
The U.S. governnt, the FRB, and Wall Street’s moral hazard ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) had created this disaster.
“Call the mont the fall begins.”
― Okay, Boss. You will co to the States, right?
“Yes. As soon as I finish things here. Hold on a little longer. Eva is busy running all over Asia too.”
Han Kyungyeong was busy, but Eva was no less so. Asia was as turbulent as the U.S.
― We talk every day. If Arica falls, Asia will not survive it either.
“Right. I will call again.”
I ended the call and pressed my forehead. Tired, yet oddly invigorated by the work.
‘I wonder how they will co out.’
If, as Putin had warned, they were watching , then they would make a move soon enough.
Whether they ca as allies or enemies—I would decide then.
A knock sounded at the study door.
“Boss, it is Ha Myeonghun.”
“Co in.”
Ha Myeonghun entered, his face tense.
His mind must have been heavy. Rather than offer hollow comfort, I asked quietly.
“Was it handled well?”
“Yes.”
“Not very satisfying, was it? For as well.”
A bitter smile flickered on his stiff face.
“From now on, transfer everything to Chief Ma, and prepare to take the Chairman’s seat of Taesan Finance.”
“Yes, understood.”
I had only heard the outline by phone, not the details.
“That matter—it was ordered by Chairman Seo, was it not? Cheon Sooman could never have done it alone.”
“Yes. It was on Chairman Seo’s orders. Cheon Sooman seems to have been used.”
“Used, huh······.”
At the hint of pity in his words, I shook my head.
“His own greed ruined him. Without ability, he leaned on Cheongpunghoe and Chairman Seo. He is not even worth pity.”
Whether used or not, his actions were unforgivable.
The image of Grandfather lying in his sickbed surfaced in my mind.
“What about the drug?”
“He did not know the details. He said it was handed over by Gong Seungyeon of Atlantic Law Firm.”
“Atlantic Law Firm?”
“Yes. It was the firm handling Cheon Sooman’s lawsuits. Likely passed under Chairman Seo’s orders.”
So he dirtied no hands of his own, only using others.
Seo Yonggeon truly could not be left unchecked.
“······Even if not Seo Yonggeon, that bastard must die. Understood. Good work.”
“Boss, let handle it.”
I had promised to entrust Grandfather’s matters to Chief Ha, but this job was different.
“No. There is no need to soil your hands over such scum. Leave that bottom-feeder to Chairman Lee. It is ti to open his way.”
Because of the prosecution’s sweeping investigation, Geukseong Group’s key n were already under scrutiny.
They desperately needed my help, but Lee Sanggeun had never once reached out. In that, he resembled Park Dongsu—straightforward and steadfast.
It was ti to give them so relief.
“Stay here until your inauguration. Settle everything in the anti.”
“Yes.”
“Go on.”
After Ha Myeonghun left, I remained in the study and muttered Gong Seungyeon’s na.
“Gong Seungyeon. Gong Seungyeon······.”
How to kill him most painfully?
Simply cutting his breath would not be enough.
For soone who had effectively killed Grandfather, a fate worse than death seed more fitting.
“Boss, it is ti.”
Chief Ma entered the study. Enough ti had passed.
“Did you confirm the schedule?”
“Yes, they said now is fine.”
I rose, put on the suit jacket he handed , and left the study.
After about thirty minutes, we arrived at Chairman Song’s residence.
“Chairman, thank you for coming.”
“Ha ha, thank you? This was natural. Co in.”
Chairman Song led to his study. It looked much the sa as before.
“Sit.”
After seating , he rummaged through his bookshelf and drew out a worn photo from an album.
“This is and that Cheon fellow in our younger days. The only one left.”
My gaze naturally fell on the photo in his hand.
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