Taeseong Electronics headquarters grand auditorium.

The last agenda item was brought forward.

The chairperson carefully turned the documents and spoke with a tense voice.

“Next is the motion for the removal of Chairman Lim Man-seok. This item was submitted by Representative Spencer Ashford of Ashford Holdings.”

In an instant, a commotion arose.

The submission of the removal motion appeared in thick letters on the large screen.

Agitation spread slowly among the shareholders in attendance.

I looked around.

‘Did Nam Jae-heon’s failure change people's thoughts... .’

My gaze slowly moved to the side.

In a seat not very far away was my younger uncle, Lim Do-hyun.

He looked very relaxed.

It was as if he knew all these things.

And my eyes met his.

At that moment, the corners of Lim Do-hyun’s mouth rose slowly.

At a glance, it looked like a smile, but that was not a laugh.

The face of someone blatantly certain of victory.

It was the expression of someone intoxicated by the fact that the process of someone’s downfall had begun at his own fingertips while watching it.

I instinctively knew while looking at that gaze.

He was not waiting for the agenda to be brought forward through Spencer Ashford’s mouth, but was already watching after setting up the entire board.

An unknown cold sensation rose within my chest.

The hall was still buzzing, but a completely different air flowed between the two of us.

I bit my teeth.

Now is the time to stay sharp.

The voting began.

After the moderator’s voice echoed like an echo, familiar letters appeared on the large screen.

The shareholders placed their fingers on the terminals held in each of their hands.

The chairperson spoke in a calm tone.

“I ask the shareholders to exercise their voting rights.”

As those words ended, Lim Man-seok looked at the faces of the people instead of the screen without saying anything.

He could guess just by their expressions.

“...It is already over.”

He muttered briefly and then raised his head and slowly closed both eyes.

The screen stopped and the chairperson’s voice echoed heavily.

“I announce that the motion for the removal of Chairman Lim Man-seok has been passed.”

The entire meeting hall became quiet as if frozen.

While only silence flowed, I felt a tightening sensation in my throat and turned my head away from the screen.

Chairman Lim Man-seok still had his eyes closed.

He looked as if he were trying to endure something.

The old tiger opened his eyes quietly without letting out any cry.

His gaze turned somewhere.

Lim Do-hyun.

No words were exchanged between the two, but one could tell what was being said just by their gazes.

Chairman Lim Man-seok rose from his seat.

At that moment, he quietly clutched his left chest.

A sharp pain surged from deep within his heart.

He bit his teeth.

However, the pain quickly spread to his right shoulder and continued to the back of his neck.

A heavy pressure as if his breath were being cut off.

The surroundings turned dark in an instant.

I felt something strange and rose from my seat, running toward my grandfather.

Chairman Lim Man-seok’s body slumped forward.

“Chairman!”

Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo also ran over at the same time as his shout.

I urgently called the medical team.

A commotion swept through the grand auditorium in an instant.

One axis that had been leading the Republic of Korea was breathing thinly while collapsed on the floor.

Focus was faint in his half-closed eyes.

Spencer Ashford watched this scene and then walked toward Lim Do-hyun.

Despite his father having collapsed, he was still sitting in his seat and maintaining silence.

Perhaps he was waiting for such a thing.

Ashford shook his head toward the cruel man, but soon thought highly of his coldness.

Two doctors ran over carrying a stretcher, and I followed by their side.

Kang Cheol-woo continuously raised his voice.

“To Taeseong Hospital immediately!”

The response was fast thanks to Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo moving directly with the on-site security personnel.

I grabbed Lim Man-seok’s hand.

Irregular pulse.

Cold hand.

I looked at him and repeated like an incantation.

“Grandfather, it is me. You will be okay soon. Please endure just a little.”

While they were moving to the hospital, the chairperson said in a trembling voice.

“Due to Chairman Lim Man-seok's health abnormality, we will suspend today's meeting as of this point. The appointment of an interim chairman and future management plans will be announced later.”

As the chairperson’s words ended, the commotion in the grand auditorium quieted down in an instant.

Everyone directly witnessed the scene of an era coming to an end before their eyes.

The siren of the ambulance wailed as if it would tear the eardrums.

It was to the point that I felt the illusion that everything in the world was collapsing.

I boarded the ambulance as a guardian.

I looked at Chairman Lim Man-seok with my head lowered.

The sound of breathing heard through the oxygen mask continued irregularly.

I tried hard to stay calm.

However, my trembling hands were telling exactly how much I was shaking right now.

Meanwhile, at the Taeseong Hospital emergency room, the medical staff moved systematically at the news that Chairman Lim Man-seok had collapsed.

Doctors and nurses in white gowns ran busily, moving equipment and preparing medications.

I was staring inside from the guardian waiting room.

Following after, family members, including Vice Chairman Lim Do-kyung, arrived one after another at the hospital.

Kang Ji-yeon also turned pale after hearing the news.

She ran to me and asked.

“What happened? To think he suddenly collapsed... .”

I held my mother's hand without a word.

After time passed, the busyness inside the emergency room subsided little by little.

The doctor in charge came out with his head bowed.

The family members, including Vice Chairman Lim Do-kyung, waited for the words that would come from his mouth while feeling anxious.

“The current state is very critical. There was a strain on the heart, and his blood pressure was usually on the high side, but symptoms of cerebral blood vessel contraction appeared due to a sudden shock. Fortunately, action was taken quickly so there is no danger to his life, but we must watch whether he regains consciousness for the time being.”

At those words, everyone closed their mouths.

I lowered my head.

Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo quietly approached me and led me toward a side where people's gazes did not reach.

The two of us stopped at a window corner at the end of the hospital hallway.

The dim winter sunlight was falling outside the window.

“Young Master, there are instructions the Chairman left in advance in preparation for such a situation.”

I quietly raised my head.

A heavy premonition took place in my eyes rather than surprise.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The Chairman has internally prepared an emergency proxy system for major Taeseong Group subsidiaries in preparation for a situation where he might be unconscious from a long time ago.”

Kang Cheol-woo took something out of the bag he always carried.

He took out a sealed envelope and held it out carefully.

Chairman Lim Man-seok’s signature remained on the envelope tied with a red thread.

“Inside here is the agreement on the designation of an emergency management proxy signed by the Chairman himself. And as the proxy, you, Young Master Lim Hyunjun, are designated.”

My eyes shook minutely.

I was silent for a while.

I was just looking at the envelope.

“Why... me.”

Kang Cheol-woo looked out the window for a while without a word, then turned his head back.

An honest weight of a loyal subject was contained in his gaze.

“The Chairman always said. That Taeseong can ultimately endure only if it has a heart. He said the person who has that heart is precisely you, Young Master Hyunjun.”

At those words, I caught my breath and opened the envelope.

The meaning of the single document now held in my hand was enormous.

A weight that could temporarily determine the fate of a company that influenced the Korean economy.

Kang Cheol-woo immediately sent out an official document to the entire Taeseong Group.

[Taeseong Group Emergency Management Proxy Appointment]

***

The representatives of each subsidiary gathered at Taeseong Electronics due to the notice of an emergency board of directors meeting.

Just before the board meeting was convened, I was quickly writing something down on a laptop in the office usually used by Chairman Lim Man-seok.

Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo was together by my side.

My hands, which had been moving busily, stopped.

As I rose from my seat, I walked ahead.

Kang Cheol-woo followed behind.

I entered the grand conference room.

Major executives of each subsidiary were already filling their seats there with tense faces.

The end of the long table.

It was the seat where Chairman Lim Man-seok would normally sit. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

However, the person sitting in that seat today was Lim Hyunjun.

Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo sat quietly beside me.

On the left side of the table sat Lim Do-hyun, his associate Managing Director Lee Tae-jun, and some outside directors who had been persuaded.

When the meeting began, I first opened my mouth carefully.

“I will now open the Taeseong Group emergency board meeting. The first agenda item is the report and approval of the board of directors regarding the activation of emergency management proxy rights.”

In an instant, a tight tension hung inside the conference room.

Gaze was concentrated on me, and I slowly continued my words.

“Yesterday, Chairman Lim Man-seok was urgently transported to the hospital from the general meeting of shareholders, and he is currently in an unconscious state. Accordingly, I formally submit to the board the document for the designation of an emergency management proxy authorized in writing by the Chairman in advance.”

I raised my head and placed the unsealed power of attorney on the table.

Chairman Lim Man-seok’s legal representative, Ju Yeong-gil, rose from his seat and proceeded with the verification process.

As he received the document, his eyebrows shot up momentarily.

It was a document he was seeing for the first time.

He soon began turning the pages with a calm face.

The directors' eyes moved carefully following the document he was holding.

“This appointment is a document notarized while the Chairman was in office, and its legal effect is complete. Even in content, there are no flaws whatsoever.”

At that moment, Lim Do-hyun raised his hand from his seat.

“Wait!”

His voice was unusually sharp.

“Even if that appointment is correct, Lim Hyunjun cannot be appointed to the position of interim chairman without going through the formal board approval process. Furthermore, at this point, considering age and experience, it is not appropriate for Lim Hyunjun to take charge of management directly. Is that not so?”

At those words, some directors agreed and nodded their heads.

Managing Director Lee Tae-jun then continued.

“In such an emergency situation, a seasoned manager should take the center. How can a student who has barely turned eighteen lead our Taeseong?”

I looked at them quietly and then opened my mouth.

“A seasoned manager... . As you all know, I have already directly grown a company called HJ Partners. Where is there a more certain result than this?”

Lim Do-hyun’s gaze flashed.

“That is correct. Lim Hyunjun is managing a company called HJ Partners. Do you think it makes sense for such a person to take charge of our Taeseong? Think about it. He could hand over Taeseong to HJ Partners in an instant.”

My gaze was fixed accurately on one person, Lim Do-hyun.

“President Lim Do-hyun, those words now sound to me like I am someone who could steal Taeseong.”

Lim Do-hyun lunged as if he had been waiting.

“Would anyone here be able to refute and say it is not so? And if Lim Hyunjun steals Taeseong, he will also have to take responsibility for it.”