Chapter 1539 Reconsidering (4)

“Ahhhhhhk! Aaaaahhk!”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol thrashed around violently on a hospital bed. Nurses rushed at him from almost all sides and tried to pin him down.

If an “ordinary” patient struggled like this, the hospital would have resorted to tying the problematic patient to the bed or even placed them in a straightjacket. However, with Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s background being what it was, doctors and nurses dared not do anything so risky.

Worse still...

A certain icy glare burrowing into their backs was making them even more cautious.

“...”

A doctor restraining Jeong Myeong-Cheol sneakily glanced behind him. And that was when he spotted an old man with a head full of white hair, standing just behind the glass wall with the assistance of a walking stick.

The doctor hurriedly averted his gaze when it met with this old man’s glare, then resumed restraining Jeong Myeong-Cheol.

“Sir! Sir! Mister Jeong! You need to calm down!”

“Aaaaaahhk! Ahhhhk!”

“Hey! Restrain his arms properly!”

“Yes, doctor!”

The medical staff tried their best to restrain Jeong Myeong-Cheol without harming him.

The old man continued to watch this scene in silence before coldly addressing Kim Sang-Ho next to him. “Did he go insane? Is that it?”

“N-no, chairman, sir.”

A thick layer of cold sweat coated Kim Sang-Ho’s forehead. This old man might be small in stature, but no one sane would ever dismiss him for that. That was because he was none other than the chairman of the Taegwang Group, Jeong Hong-Geun!

His aged but still sharp glare locked on Jeong Myeong-Cheol, his grandson.

“Then, how do you explain his current state?”

“T-that... We are also unsure...”

Jeong Hong-Geun’s glare grew even icier. “I told you to look after the kid, but you turned him into an invalid instead.”

Kim Sang-Ho bowed deeply. “M-my apologies, sir!”

“Pathetic. All of you!” Jeong Hong-Geun glared in sheer disappointment at Jeong Myeong-Cheol. “I figured he’d grow up eventually, but no. Maybe a mistake can never be salvaged, after all?”

Kim Sang-Ho nervously swallowed his saliva. Obviously, he had no desire whatsoever to defend Jeong Myeong-Cheol in this situation. However, he had no choice but to do so.

The sad truth about Kim Sang-Ho was that his worth in the group was practically nonexistent. If Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s family cast him aside, Kim Sang-Ho would also get dragged into the boiling pot of water with his former president.

“Sir, the physician in charge diagnosed President Jeong’s case as temporary psychosis brought on by severe mental stress. He reassures us that the odds of him developing long-term or chronic ailments are almost zero.”

“That’s what stinking doctors always say.” Jeong Hong-Geun grunted while narrowing his eyes. “Mental stress? Psychosis? Fine. However, what I want to know is if that fool can return to normal once his episode subsides. Can anyone say that with a straight face after looking at that wretched state?”

“He... President Jeong will recover, sir.”

“So what? What will change even if he recovers?”

Kim Sang-Ho clamped his mouth shut, because he knew. He knew the chairman wasn’t asking about whether Jeong Myeong-Cheol could fully recover physically or not. No, he was merely asking rhetorically here. Would Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s stupid nature be “fixed” if he recovered from his psychosis? Probably not.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk...!” Jeong Hong-Geun tutted in clear disappointment. “Being born from a human womb doesn’t automatically mean you’re human. No, you need to act like a human being first. How did our proud Jeong family produce a wastrel like that and give us all these unnecessary headaches?”

“But, sir. Your blood still courses through his veins. As long as he’s motivated enough, President Jeong is fully capable of producing excellent results.”

“Hmph. That goes without saying.”

Kim Sang-Ho subtly clenched his fist.

Agreeing with the chairman of Taegwang in this situation was truly foolish. Why? Because, Jeong Hong-Geun’s pride regarding his family, his clan, verged on absurdity, after all! And his obsession with protecting the prestige of his bloodline was second to none, too.

Even if he spoke ill of his family members, those not from his family must praise his bloodline, regardless. That was his belief. That was his unchanging philosophy.

The corners of Jeong Hong-Geun’s lips twitched upward slightly, perhaps as a sign of Kim Sang-Ho’s ass-kissing being effective.

“Only if he finally wakes up, that is,” Jeong Hong-Geun replied gruffly. “Yes, when he finally wakes the hell up! Let’s be honest here, Kim. Do you think that fool will ever wake up?”

“Sir, Ziang Ziya had to wait his entire lifetime before finally getting his chance to shine during his twilight years. The mythical bird, the roc, is said to remain crouched for a thousand years, but can still travel a thousand li with one flap of its wings. Men who are destined for great things tend to suffer from inauspicious starts, sir.”

“Hah. You sure know how to talk, don’t you?” Jeong Hong-Geun glanced at Kim Sang-Ho in slight disapproval, then resumed glaring at his grandson. By then, Jeong Myeong-Cheol had calmed down sufficiently enough. “Have you found out where that fool was?”

“We’ve already ordered the police to look into this matter, but President Jeong is so good at avoiding CCTV cameras, so...”

“Hmph. No way of knowing until the fool wakes up, in other words.”

“My apologies, sir.”

“Hmmm...!”

Jeong Hong-Geun didn’t criticize Kim Sang-Ho any more than this. His reason was simple enough, however. Criticizing the latter for being unable to retrace Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s steps was akin to criticizing him for not monitoring a member of the Jeong family properly, which was completely unacceptable from Jeong Hong-Geun’s perspective.

How could a mere executive director of a division dare keep Jeong Myeong-Cheol under surveillance? Even if that fool was at the bottom of the family hierarchy and wasn’t even considered as a possible successor, he was still a member of the Jeong dynasty.

His status was in another realm compared to Kim Sang-Ho, who was basically a servant to the family. How dare a servant monitor his master’s movements? That would be unthinkable.

Jeong Hong-Geun glanced at Kim Sang-Ho. “Deliver this message to the physician in charge.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I don’t care even if that fool’s mind remains muddled. Just fix him enough so that he can hold a conversation.”

“I... Sir?”

“We need to figure out what happened, at the very least.”

Jeong Hong-Geun’s eyes coldly flickered.

“Even if he’s a dog, he’s a dog of the Jeong family. There’s an old saying about knowing who the master is before kicking the dog. What happened here is, at minimum, a challenge to Taegwang. And more importantly, an insult to the Jeong family!”

Kim Sang-Ho held his breath.

Since Jeong Hong-Geun said it, it could only mean he intended to expose the ones behind Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s current state and make them pay, no matter what!

Worse still, the Jeong family name was brought up, too. That pretty much meant that this affair would never end peacefully. Jeong Hong-Geun wouldn’t have said it unless he genuinely intended to utterly obliterate the enemy by any means possible.

Jeong Hong-Geun glanced sharply at Kim Sang-Ho. “What are you waiting for?”

“Sir?”

“Have you become senile with age? What are you doing here instead of delivering my message to the doctor?!”

“M-my apologies!”

Jeong Hong-Geun scowled deeply while watching Kim Sang-Ho rush toward the doctor.

Whether it’s him or that fool, neither of them is trustworthy!

His glare stabbed into Jeong Myeong-Cheol beyond the glass. His expression contained various emotions. A hint of regret, maybe rage, even contempt and affection, flickered in and out of his wrinkled face.

No one in his family could make him feel this way. Jeong Hong-Geun was sure of it.

A prodigal grandson, a piece of trash that should be thrown away immediately; obviously, Jeong Hong-Geun was well aware of Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s public perception and criticism. And he certainly didn’t hold any expectations of Jeong Myeong-Cheol cleaning up his act, either.

However, knowing that and throwing him away were two very different things.

How many people were capable of not even batting an eye when it came to severing their own rotting finger? Besides, to Jeong Hong-Geun, Jeong Myeong-Cheol was no mere rotting finger, either.

No, that fool was... the worst failure in Jeong Hong-Geun’s life.

However, as long as that fool cleans up his act, then...!

Then, Jeong Hong-Geun’s life, his legacy, would be complete.

That was why he couldn’t simply stop caring about that little fool. But this event threatened to wrestle his control away over the matter he had been working on for so long and produce an outcome he did not desire.

Jeong Hong-Geun simply could not stand the idea of that happening.

I do not know who you are, but...!

Icy killing intent began leaking out from Jeong Hong-Geun’s eyes.

You shall soon learn how costly it is to come after me in this country!

***

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “The... old man?”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Yes, sir. He’s a senile old fart.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Choose your words more carefully.”

“Sorry? ...Oh.”

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly clamped his mouth shut after noticing Kang Jin-Ho’s expression. However, his trembling cheeks amply demonstrated that he was trying desperately to suppress his laughter.

“Oh, uh... M-my apologies, sir. I didn’t think things through. It was stupid of me to utter such a term in front of you. A term like an old fart, of course.”

Why, you...! Kang Jin-Ho’s cheeks twitched a little.

“Of course, I meant physically, sir. Physically. Not mentally.”

There were plenty of reasons to call Lee Hyeon-Su out on what he said, but Kang Jin-Ho still changed the topic, since he didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

“I need details. Details. What were you saying?”

“It’s about Taegwang’s chairman, sir.”

“Its chairman?”

“Yes, sir. Jeong Hong-Geun, turning eighty-three this year.”

“He lived a long life, then.”

“He’s the chairman of Taegwang Group, which ranks within the top ten companies in the country. In some aspects, he is similar to Chairman Hwang Jeong-Hu. But that aspect is about exercising absolute authority within his company.”

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. “Hmm...? Is that right?”

“Of course, Chairman Hwang would’ve thrown an ashtray at my face after hearing me compare him to Jeong Hong-Geun.”

“...”

“They are similar only on the surface, sir. While Chairman Hwang is a true self-made success story who started from the bottom, Jeong Hong-Geun simply used his family’s wealth accumulated during the Japanese colonial rule to set up his company.”

“When you say colonial rule...?”

“It is as you suspect, sir. His family was pro-Japan and supported colonial rule.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow deeply. “Despite that background, his company still ranks in the top ten?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned wryly. “We shouldn’t blame the citizens for it, sir. It’s just that Chairman Hwang has been exceptionally free from scandals, that’s all. If we get technical about it, it’ll be easier to find a needle in a haystack than finding a chaebol family who weren’t pro-Japanese back in the day.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression remained scrunched. In reality, he didn’t care about someone being pro-Japan in the past. There was only so much a person could do against the tide of history, after all.

So, he had no desire to criticize someone who chose to be pro-Japan and sold his pride just to survive during that difficult era in Korea’s history. However, the descendants of such people acting all high and mighty and throwing their wealth around in this day and age was another matter altogether.

“That doesn’t make the situation any better, though.”

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded. “Indeed, sir. But you know how challenging things used to be back in the day. If a squeaky-clean company sold a bag of sugar for a hundred won, and a pro-Japan company sold a similar bag of sugar for half that amount, which one would most people buy, sir?”

“...”

“A handful of people who cling to their ideals might not have a problem with buying the expensive bag. But that’s not the whole picture. Back then, there was no way to figure out if the owners of various companies were pro-Japan or not. And, by the time Koreans began caring about such things...”

Lee Hyeon-Su formed a large circle with his arms.

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Are you trying to say they had become too big to take down by then?”

“Yes, sir. They have become too big to fail, even if some people stop buying their wares. In a way... Rather than blaming the citizens, it’s more to do with the politicians.”

“Right. The sorrow of the weak.”

“Well, I guess that’s also applicable in this case,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a contemplative nod.

Kang Jin-Ho was right. Such a history could only have come about because the country and its people didn’t have the strength in those years.

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho frowned and nodded. “So? What happened?”

“I’ve heard that Jeong Myeong-Cheol was treated as a black sheep, a problem child, by his family, and that Jeong Hong-Geun didn’t even like the punk, sir. That was the popular theory, but... He canceled all of his prior engagements and rushed to the hospital after receiving the news of his grandson’s hospitalization.”

“Sounds like you didn’t anticipate this.”

“No, not exactly, but...” A strange smirk formed on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face. “But his response is more visceral than I had bargained for. This could mean the matter might escalate even further, sir.”

“Hmm? You think it’s going to be a problem for us?”

“No, not really.”

“...Huh?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled softly. “If it comes to that, we’ll just crush them, sir. The likes of Taegwang are no match for the Martial Assembly now, after all.”

“Hmm...!” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled after noticing Lee Hyeon-Su’s confident attitude. “It sounds like you actually want them to come at us.”

“It’s not like I have a grudge against Taegwang, sir. My closet is filled with skeletons, after all. Even then, there’s no need to back down if they come looking for a fight, no?”

Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged while smirking.

“I think this news will delight Chairman Hwang, sir. He and Jeong Hong-Geun are enemies, after all.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho got another reminder that the people in his circle of acquaintance were all villains. Every single one of them!