Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All-Chapter 597: Moral Laws in Family Relationships (2)

"Can family ties really be cut off and reattached at your whim, father?"

Han Joon-Tae, Han Yoo-Sik's eldest son and a successful plastic surgeon in Gangnam, said with a sneer. He had become the head of a famous plastic surgery clinic and a building owner in Gangnam at the young age of 36 solely thanks to his parents' devoted support.

After receiving all that support, he turned his back on them in their time of need, and now that Mirinae was recovering, he shamelessly showed up pretending to care.

Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun's faces hardened like stone at their eldest son's disrespectful attitude.

Then the second child, Han Joon-Hee, spoke. "Mom, I couldn't help last time because my finances were a mess, but it wasn't my intention to not help. Isn't it too much to say that's why we're cutting ties? Don't you think so?"

Lastly, the youngest, Han Joon-Sik, also started making excuses. "Now that I have my own family, it's been hard to move money around, that's all. I didn't do it on purpose. And really, I thought Mom might have kept a piece of land from her side of the family."

With every word from their children, Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun's expressions grew more strained. They had given endlessly for their children, yet all they received in return were thoughtless words.

I didn't have parents, so I didn't fully understand the parent-child bond. But even I could see that those words were nothing less than a betrayal of their blood bond, rubbing salt into wounds and digging into them with fingers.

Because of this, Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun trembled uncontrollably, unable to say a word.

At that moment, the eldest son Han Joon-Tae spoke again. "Anyway, I've prepared a house, so don't stay in this shabby place. Move there instead. Since you're restarting your company, I'll help where I can. I'll even give you the car I used."

This time, Han Joon-Hee chimed in. "Yes, Dad. If you're reviving the production company, I'll help. I'm not as influential as you, but you know I have a lot of contacts at the stations."

The youngest, Han Joon-Sik, spoke with a glint in his eye. "I'll handle all the legal issues with the production company."

Their reasons for visiting became unmistakably clear. Haze had been confirmed for a KBC timeslot with Ju Yung-In cast as the female lead, and now all that remained was for Mirinae to thrive.

The three had come to reap the benefits that Mirinae was bound to bear. If ever there was a time to use the phrase 'damn brats,' this was it.

At that moment, Jung In-Ji struck the living room floor with the massage stick she had been holding.

Smack!

She hit it so hard that the stick snapped instantly.

"I've heard enough. You really don't know when to stop!"

Han Joon-Tae turned his eyes. "I don't know who you are, but this is a family matter. Please don't interfere."

Jung In-Ji pointed the broken half of the massage stick at Han Joon-Tae's face. She was so furious her hand shook.

"I'm like a family to Ah-Eun—we're sworn sisters! And you call yourselves family? Bullshit! When your parents were thrown out onto the street in the middle of winter, starving and near death, not one of you showed your face! You're worse than beasts, and you dare talk about family?"

Fire flared in Jung In-Ji's eyes, and her voice thundered through the living room. It was the first time anyone had seen the usually warm and kind-hearted Jung In-Ji this enraged.

At that moment, heavy tears began to fall from Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun's eyes. They looked grateful and ashamed as someone finally shouted at their ungrateful children.

Hearing Jung In-Ji's scolding, the three stood blankly for a moment before their expressions twisted with annoyance.

Then the youngest, Han Joon-Sik, said, "Hyung, noona, don't talk to that lady. No matter what she says, legally, we're still the family and the children. Let's get Mom and Dad out of here first and talk outside."

Jung In-Ji pointed at Lee Ah-Eun and Han Yoo-Sik and cried out as if spitting blood. "If Chief Jung hadn't gone to find Ah-Eun and President Han, did you know they were going to end their lives that very night?"

At that moment, Lee Ah-Eun covered her face with both hands, bowed her head, and began to cry. "Sob.. ugh."

The sorrow that had been boiling deep inside Lee Ah-Eun burst out in a painful wail.

Only then did I understand why Jung In-Ji had been so furious. It was because when I went to get the couple who had been abandoned by their children, Lee Ah-Eun had told her they had planned to die together that night.

Jung In-Ji, having shouted herself hoarse, now spoke with almost no strength left. "They were going to collect scraps, save up just enough for a final meal, and die. That's what became of the people you used to call your parents. So... leave. The parents you knew no longer exist in this world..."

Tears streamed down Jung In-Ji's cheeks. Seeing that, I too was overwhelmed with complicated emotions. If I had been even a day late, Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun might no longer be in this world.

Jung In-Ji, gasping for breath, approached the sobbing Lee Ah-Eun and gently rubbed her back. "Ah-Eun. It's okay. It's okay. You did nothing wrong. You gave your flesh and blood, and loved them so dearly—you've done all that you could."

"Sob... U-unnie... Sob."

While Lee Ah-Eun wept uncontrollably, Han Yoo-Sik sat beside her with his eyes closed, shedding silent tears. Seeing the three in such terrible condition, I could no longer sit by and watch.

I looked at the three children and said coldly, "You three. Please leave."

Han Joon-Tae gritted his teeth and glared at me. "Jung Yoon-Ho. You bastard. Do you think pulling this will make all the shares of the production company yours, huh?"

Even with a ten-story building in Gangnam to his name, his greed for shares in Mirinae was staggering. He was lucky enough to have parents others could never earn, no matter how hard they tried. But he was the kind of man who would never understand the true value of anything, even if he were reborn.

Then Han Joon-Hee, the second child, spoke to me with a vicious look. "Jung Yoon-Ho. If you keep aiming for the production company's shares like this, I can talk to PDs and make sure your celebrities never appear on TV again."

I wondered if she even knew who the entertainers under me were.

The youngest, Han Joon-Sik, also glared and said, "Hey, talent agent. Coaxing frail old people into handing over their inheritance like this is called undue influence. It's a crime. Are you aware of that?"

If I didn't back down, they were probably planning to claim their parents as mentally incompetent.

Though all three tried to threaten me, I scoffed and replied, "Why don't you give it a try?"

As their threats intensified, Han Yoo-Sik suddenly burst out through his tears. "Even if I drop dead right now, I won't give you the shares of Mirinae. So you'd better go!"

Han Joon-Tae gritted his teeth and asked, "Then... are you really giving them to this bastard, Chief Jung?"

"The only issue is that he's not willing to take them. But if he did, I'd give him everything. My wife and I both feel the same way."

"You're giving that huge fortune to someone who doesn't even share a drop of your blood? Are you out of your mind, Father?"

Han Yoo-Sik glared at Han Joon-Tae and shouted, "No! I'm perfectly sane! Chief Jung may not be related by blood, but we share a bond of heart and affection! If it weren't for Chief Jung, your mother and I wouldn't even be alive today. So why shouldn't we give him those shares?"

At his thunderous voice, the three of them flinched. It felt like the father of their youth had returned.

"So get out! I'll count to three. If you're still in this house by then, I'll call the police."

With his finger poised over the call button, Han Yoo-Sik was ready to press it at any moment.

Han Joon-Tae trembled and glared at me. "If you think this is over, you're dead wrong, Chief Jung!"

With Han Joon-Tae leading the way, Han Joon-Hee and Han Joon-Sik stormed out behind him.

Bang!

The front door slammed shut violently. At the same time, Han Yoo-Sik staggered.

I rushed to support him immediately. "Mr. Han!"

"I-I'm okay, Chief Jung."

Though he said he was fine, it was obvious he wasn't. Lee Ah-Eun beside him was also breathing heavily. She didn't look well at all.

I turned to Jung In-Ji, the only one still standing strong. "Mrs. Jung. Could you please look after them for a moment? I'll go get some medicine."

"Y-Yes."

I ran out quickly and headed to the house next door. Climbing to the third floor, I grabbed three packs of calming pills and rushed back to Han Yoo-Sik's house.

"Please, take these first."

As I handed out the calming pills, the three, still struggling to breathe, slowly chewed them. As the medicine began to take effect a short while later, the three finally began to recover.

I said, "Mr. Han. Please don't worry. I'll take care of the problem threatening Mirinae."

Han Yoo-Sik tried to stop me when he realized I meant to deal with his three children. "No, don't do that. They're barely human, but they're still quite powerful. You could get hurt. I don't care what happens to them, but you're different."

Lee Ah-Eun also looked uneasy as she tried to dissuade me. "That's right, Chief Jung. Especially the youngest—he's a really nasty lawyer. What if something happens to you? I couldn't bear to see that."

No matter how influential they were, they couldn't match the connections I had. And since this was something that had to be dealt with anyway to stabilize Mirinae, I welcomed the timing.

Until now, I hadn't fully believed that Han Yoo-Sik and Lee Ah-Eun had cut ties with their children, but now I was sure. They were more worried about me than their own children.

Thanks to that, the burden of dealing with the three had lightened considerably.

"It's all right. Just trust me."

I immediately called Bank President Choi Yung-Ho in charge of Mirinae's restructuring. If anyone tried to seize shares of Mirinae, it would disrupt the work of Daeheung Savings Bank as well.

Choi Yung-Ho picked up right away.

-What's going on?

"Mr. Choi, do you happen to have any information on Mr. Han Yoo-Sik's children?"

-I looked into it roughly, just in case.

When banks handled restructuring, they always did at least a basic background check on major shareholders' families, because they didn't know how family members might affect things.

"Then could you share what you found with me?"

-I can, but why so suddenly?

I told him about the incident just moments earlier, and Choi Yung-Ho's voice grew cold.

-Those rotten bastards. Chief Jung, leave it to me. I'll take care of it cleanly.

I grew concerned that if Choi Yung-Ho stepped in, things might escalate violently.

"If I can't resolve it myself, I'll ask for your help. But please let me try first."

-If it doesn't work, call me immediately.

"Yes, sir."

While waiting for the information from Choi Yung-Ho, I tended to the exhausted Han Yoo-Sik, Lee Ah-Eun, and Jung In-Ji.

And during that time, I was also able to hear detailed stories about the three I would be facing.

***

After leaving their parents' house, Han Joon-Tae said as they walked out past the neighborhood security post, "Hey. You both saw it, right? Father and Mother are completely siding with that guy."

Han Joon-Hee and Han Joon-Sik nodded.

Then Han Joon-Hee asked Han Joon-Tae, "But oppa, do you think it's true? What that lady said about them wanting to die?"

Han Joon-Tae snorted. "Come on. Do you actually believe that nonsense? Of course it's a lie!"

"Yeah... they're not exactly the gutsy type. But what do we do now? If that bastard Jung Yoon-Ho keeps clinging to Mom and Dad like that, we might not be able to get the shares."

At that moment, the youngest, Han Joon-Sik, smirked meaningfully. "No. I think the way he's acting actually gives us an opening."

"What kind of opening?"

"Dad and Mom are acting like they're about to hand all their assets over to a total stranger. So we could file for adult guardianship."

Adult guardianship referred to a legal designation for someone who couldn't make proper decisions due to illness, disability, or old age.

"What?"

"Think about it. After they went bankrupt, they lost their minds and started handing money to random people. If we play it right, this could work in our favor. Legally, we're still a family."

Finally, Han Joon-Hee grinned. "Hahaha. This is why you always need a lawyer in the family!"

Han Joon-Sik lowered his voice as he looked around. "Lower your voice. This is where it gets important. We'll need to act like devoted sons and daughter for a while. Gotta be careful not to let anyone catch on."

Han Joon-Tae nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."

Just as they finished making their plans and were heading toward their cars, Han Joon-Hee asked, "But oppa. If we push Dad out like that, who's going to produce the drama?"

Han Joon-Tae answered, "We'll have to get in touch with the current executive at Mirinae. And if that guy doesn't cooperate, President Yoo Kang-Seok at TNT Entertainment said he'd help us. So don't worry."

"Wow~ Oppa, you're not bad at all."

"That's nothing. And once we make the drama production company ours, all the actors will have their surgeries done at our hospital. Joon-Hee, I'll help you appear on variety shows with them. And Joon-Sik, you'll handle all the contract signings with them. That way, we'll make quite a bit. We'll split the shares evenly, a third each."

"Oppa, you're actually thinking of us too. That's kind of touching."

"Yeah, hyung. It's not like you at all to be so generous."

"If I tried to hog it all, you guys wouldn't let me off easy anyway. So until this is over, let's all stay in sync. No solo moves, got it?"

At Han Joon-Tae's words, the other two burst into laughter.

While their parents were shedding tears of blood, these three depraved children wore bright smiles.

***

Ding!

Not long after, a message I had been waiting for arrived from Choi Yung-Ho.

[Bank President Choi Yung-Ho: Here's the information we've compiled so far. I'll send more detailed updates as we get them.]

[Han Joon-Tae]

-Occupation: Director of Beautiful People Plastic Surgery Clinic

-Details: Owns a ten-story building near Gangnam Station Exit 7

-Assets: 27.5 billion won

-Notes: His clinic is frequented by many celebrities, including Baek Eun-Joo. There are rumors his surgical skills fall short of his reputation.

[Han Joon-Hee]

-Occupation: Professor of Media Studies at H University

-Details: Main panelist on MBS variety show Amazing Things All Around

-Assets: 3.2 billion won (Her husband is the president of Hyunsung Furniture, with assets exceeding 20 billion won)

-Notes: Very eager to appear more on television.

[Han Joon-Sik]

-Occupation: President and attorney at Law Firm Sincerity (actual founder and owner is CEO Oh Chan-Joong)

-Details: Ranks third at a large law firm with ten attorneys

-Assets: 5.3 billion won

-Notes: Known for charging excessive fees and frequently colluding with opposing attorneys.

The file I received revealed flaws in all three of them. But the moment I saw Han Joon-Tae's information, my fist clenched.

Because before the regression, a crime he committed had been recorded in my planner.