Jeong Seong-pil's voice filled the meeting room.

A weight was carried in every single word of his voice, which was full of conviction.

“It is linked to the organization you mentioned, Representative. Locally, it is called Onyx Crow.”

At that moment, Choi Seo-jun’s face turned pale in an instant.

His eyes widened, and embarrassment was clearly revealed.

“Representative, is Onyx Crow not the name of the organization Elina belonged to?”

Jeong Seong-pil nodded calmly and answered instead.

In his expression, the coolness of one who revealed the truth after a long chase was permeated.

“That is correct. Looking at the transaction details, they paid the remittance amount in three installments. It was very tricky to trace the source, but anyway, after going around and around, the actual owner of the account was indeed President Lim Do-hyun.”

The air in the meeting room froze rapidly.

Silence flowed as if time had stopped.

Only the breathing sounds of the three people filled the space.

It was a moment when what was suspected based on circumstances until now came out as clear evidence and turned into conviction.

I slowly lowered the envelope containing the documents onto the table and closed my eyes with a deep sigh.

Extreme fatigue washed over me like a wave.

In one part of my heart, I still had hope inside that my uncle would not go this far.

However, reality was cold.

“As I thought, it was so.”

Choi Seo-jun nodded with a heavy expression and asked cautiously.

“Representative, what are you going to do now?”

A cold smile slowly spread across my mouth.

In that smile, a sharp energy like ice lingered.

“Now the time has come for us to decide when to draw the sword as well.”

Jeong Seong-pil spoke carefully while tidying up the documents placed on the desk.

In his voice, a realistic judgment derived from long experience was stained.

“With this much evidence, it will be handed over to the prosecution investigation. However, there is a high possibility that President Lim Do-hyun’s side will conversely destroy evidence.”

I slowly leaned my body against the back of the chair and fell into deep contemplation.

My gaze was toward the empty air, but numerous calculations were spinning rapidly in my head.

“That is why I will not swing the sword right away.”

Choi Seo-jun’s gaze full of curiosity was focused on me.

“Then what will you do?”

My gaze turned cold.

It was just like a beast of prey aiming for its catch.

“When they are most off-guard, I will make them lose everything in the blink of an eye. Until that moment comes, I shall quietly collapse them from beneath their feet.”

Jeong Seong-pil’s eyes flashed keenly.

It was an expression as if he had accurately grasped my intention.

“Those words mean you will shake them from the foundation.”

“That is right. In a way, it is easy to bring down one person. But making it so that person can never rise again must be done meticulously.”

I muttered while lightly tapping the table with my finger.

At that moment, the desire for revenge that was dormant inside me quietly raised its head.

“I have no intention of ending it easily.”

***

It was in the afternoon when the sun began to tilt that Lim Do-hyun returned to Taeseong Construction.

His footsteps were heavier and more somber than usual.

As soon as he entered the office, he headed straight for the huge glass window.

He did not move for a long time in this place where the view of the city center could be looked down upon at a glance.

Normally, he would have looked down as if appreciating the landscape with a relaxed smile, but today was different.

His tightly closed lips and rigid jaw were revealing his heart clearly.

Only after a lot of time passed did a low and dry voice flow from his mouth.

“Managing Director Lee.”

“Yes, President.”

Lee Tae-jun answered quickly, perhaps due to tension, but Lim Do-hyun was still staring out the window.

“I thought that if Father collapsed, the interim chairman position would naturally become mine.”

President Lim Do-hyun crossed his arms and kept biting his lips.

That small habit only appeared when he was extremely neurotic.

“But for Nuna Hye-seon to be greedy for that position.”

Lee Tae-jun managed his expression with effort while looking at the back of Lim Do-hyun’s head.

While assisting Lim Do-hyun until now, he had never witnessed him being so tense and shaken.

For him, who was always cool-headed and calculating, to reveal his emotions like this.

This was proof that Lim Do-hyun himself also recognized the seriousness of the situation.

“Still, would it not be fine if you take the lead again, President?”

Despite Lee Tae-jun’s cautious consolation, Lim Do-hyun merely gave a bitter smile.

“It is not easy.”

A heavy silence dominated the office.

Lim Do-hyun’s gaze was still seeing the city landscape beyond the window, but his eyes were losing focus.

“As you also know, if the things you were involved in are revealed to the world….”

Lim Do-hyun, who stopped talking, slowly turned his head and looked at Lee Tae-jun.

At that moment, Lee Tae-jun felt his spine go chilly.

It was because Lim Do-hyun’s gaze was threatening like a sharply honed blade.

Cold sweat flowed down his back.

Lee Tae-jun asked cautiously while smoothing his voice.

“President, you have a countermeasure, right?”

Lim Do-hyun’s gaze moved to the pile of documents placed indifferently on the table.

How many secrets and conspiracies would be hidden in those documents.

“I have a countermeasure. But a more troublesome matter has arisen than that.”

Managing Director Lee Tae-jun’s eyes widened.

For a more troublesome matter to occur, even now it was dangerous enough.

“Is something the matter?”

Lim Do-hyun closed his mouth for a moment and hesitated, then spoke while shaking his head as if it were absurd.

“Contact came from the Onyx side. They told me to give them more money additionally. Shamelessly, that is.”

At those words, Lee Tae-jun’s face turned ashen and froze.

The worst-case scenario that was expected became reality.

“…How, how much?”

“Double!”

Lim Do-hyun uncrossed his arms and sat as if throwing his body into the chair and leaned against the back.

Anger and frustration intersected on his face.

“Those dogs…. I already handed over all the promised money, but now they are talking nonsense about the board becoming bigger. This is all a trick to rip me off by saying the risk burden has increased more.”

Uncontrollable anger and annoyance were mixed in Lim Do-hyun’s voice.

He clenched his fist tightly unconsciously.

“My weakness is completely caught. Those bastards also know that we are in trouble.”

Lee Tae-jun tightly closed his lips.

The seriousness of the situation was felt through his skin.

He also knew the nature of such organizations well.

Once they taste money, it is their nature to demand endlessly.

Lim Do-hyun’s cold gaze turned toward Lee Tae-jun.

“Cut off all the links connected with that side! You know that if we give as much as they ask, there will be no end, right?”

“What? Yes, of course.”

Lee Tae-jun answered while being flustered, but complex emotions swirled in his heart.

At first, he thought he was sympathizing with Lim Do-hyun’s anxious appearance and worrying together.

But suddenly, as he felt this cold and gloomy sensation seeping deep into his chest, he realized that it was actually his own anxiety.

The reality that he himself was now standing at an irreversible point on this dangerous road he had walked with Lim Do-hyun touched him painfully.

***

The corridor of the Taeseong Hospital VIP ward was quiet as if disconnected from the world.

On both sides of the ward door where Chairman Lim Man-seok was hospitalized, two bodyguards dressed in black suits stood like stone statues.

Their sharp gazes closely watched everyone coming and going in the corridor.

However, the moment I appeared in the corridor.

That strict guard was naturally lifted.

The bodyguards bowed their heads in silence and offered a greeting.

Opening the ward door, I quietly went inside.

A warm energy along with the faint scent of medicine seeped into the tip of my nose.

The sounds heard from various medical devices filled the quiet ward at least a little.

The appearance of Lim Man-seok lying on the bed was haggard to a pitiful extent.

However, that face which endured the hardships of time was still full of an unapproachable dignity.

Even the deeply carved wrinkles felt like traces of the inner strength accumulated over many years.

I cautiously walked to the side of the bed.

And I warmly wrapped the Chairman’s wrinkle-covered hand with my two hands.

That hand felt surprisingly cold and light.

However, it was still the most reliable support in the world to me.

“Grandfather… for the time being, Aunt has decided to lead Taeseong. I will go to the United States for a moment. It is not a big deal. You must stay healthy and well during that time.”

My voice was gentle, but an unwavering resoluteness was contained within it.

It seemed as if I were trying to reassure Chairman Lim lying on the bed rather than myself.

While stroking the back of that hand, where the weight of many years was felt intact, once more, I closed my eyes for a moment.

It was a short moment, but during that time, everything in the ward seemed to be stopped in silence.

I took my time slowly like a person who wanted to keep this moment deep in my heart forever.

Finally, I raised my body from the chair.

After bowing my head toward Grandfather, I turned around and moved my steps toward the ward door.

If not for the belly band I was wearing around my waist, I would have wanted to bend my body more, but I wanted to finish the work quickly and return to face Grandfather who had opened his eyes.

As I approached the doorway, the bodyguard opened the door for me.

Originally, Grandmother and Mother were said to be in the ward alternately, but because both of them had left their seats for a moment, I ended up leaving without even seeing their faces.

Even as I moved my steps, I kept looking back toward the ward.

I could not easily take my steps even in front of the hospital main gate.

Choi Seo-jun and Hong Jang-gun, who were waiting for me, called me.

“Representative, you must depart quickly.”

“Yes.”

The departure time for the flight to the United States was pressing.

The car they rode in left the hospital main gate and ran on the road.

My gaze was still toward the hospital where Grandfather was lying.

As my group went inside the airport, the person in charge who was waiting in advance met us.

While Choi Seo-jun and Hong Jang-gun followed behind me silently, the view of the runway was looked down upon at a glance beyond the huge glass window.

In the center, a private jet shining in the sunset glow stood boasting its dignified appearance.

As the cold and sharp wind characteristic of winter swept over me once after passing through the passage, my hair fluttered.

I swept up my slightly long hair with my hand and looked back once again.

As if someone were waiting for me, I kept looking back.

Choi Seo-jun, who could not bear to watch more, hurried me.

“Representative, you must hurry.”

“Yes, I am going.”

The flight attendant led me politely.

“Representative, I will escort you this way.”

According to the flight attendant’s meticulous guidance, I sat in the window seat.

Once all boarding procedures were finished, the plane flew powerfully up the runway.

Soon, the golden sunlight seeped through the gap in the window between the clouds.

Hoping that the schedule going this time would be without trouble, I quietly closed my eyes.