Before the regression, NK Construction's President Noh Sang-Jin revealed that he had hidden fraternal twins in the United States and announced that they would be joining the management of the company.

However, Noh Tae-Soo believed NK Construction belonged to him, so he immediately joined hands with his mother and exposed his father's corruption. He did it to drag his father down from the president's seat and seize NK Construction for himself instead of letting his younger brothers have it. But President Noh Sang-Jin struck back as well, and all kinds of ugly things tied to NK Construction were exposed.

On top of that, Noh Sang-Jin's affair partner was Lee Jong-Hee, a star from twenty-five years ago, so the sordid scandal linking the entertainment world and a chaebol family became a nationwide sensation.

Thinking back on what had happened then, I told Noh Tae-Soo that he had other brothers.

Noh Tae-Soo, who had gone blank for a moment, ground his teeth and glared at me. "Don't talk shit! I'm the only son who's going to inherit NK Construction!"

'Right. Of course he'd want to deny it.'

It really did sound like the kind of train wreck that shouldn't even exist.

But it was the truth.

"Well, you probably don't want to believe it, but what can you do? Ah, and it's not just one. It's fraternal twin boys. And unlike you, those geniuses are in the Ivy League studying for MBAs."

"Holy shit... that's... impossible."

"Hey, think about it carefully. Doesn't it seem strange that your father goes to inspect NK Construction's U.S. branch several times a year? Even HK Construction, the main family company, hasn't managed to properly expand in the States, so doesn't it seem odd that some minor branch company has been growing its business there for twenty-five years?"

"Th-that just means my father is determined!"

"Sure. Keep denying it. Then you'll take the fall alone and go to prison. But your father probably won't even try to get you out. He'll probably ask that you be judged strictly under the law. That would make it easier for him to pass his wealth on to the children who are actually worth something."

"Fuck! That's not true!"

The only reason Noh Tae-Soo had lived like he owned the world until now was because he was under the illusion that no matter what he did, he was the sole heir to the presidency of NK Construction. However, the moment he learned there were younger brothers who could replace him, he fell into a panic and had no idea what to do.

At that moment, Park Jung-Jik asked me, "Yoon-Ho. That story about the twins in America... is it really true?"

I nodded. "Yes. Twenty-five years ago, actress Lee Jong-Hee became a flash-in-the-pan star with Secret of the Villainess and then retired right away. She's the twins' mother."

At the height of her fame, Lee Jong-Hee got pregnant through an affair with Noh Sang-Jin. Then, trusting in Noh Sang-Jin's backing, she went to America and lived an absurdly luxurious life, throwing her weight around however she pleased. The twins in America were top-tier on paper too, but their personalities were trash.

I remembered their stories as well, because they had been covered in real time during the succession war.

"This is a complete train wreck of a morning drama."

Even then, Noh Tae-Soo kept trembling and desperately denying reality. "Th-that can't be true... it can't be... My dad... no matter what I did, he always got me out of it......"

"Up until now, sure. He needed a shield until your little brothers were old enough."

Noh Tae-Soo glared at me. "A shield?"

"Yeah. While everyone's attention was focused on you, your brothers got to grow up without public scrutiny. Come to think of it, you're such a good older brother and such a devoted son, huh? You'll hand NK Construction over to your brothers and even go to prison in your dad's place~"

At that moment, Noh Tae-Soo, driven mad with rage, clenched the bed sheet in his fist and screamed. "Aaaargh! Fuck! Fuck!"

Noh Tae-Soo had always been jealous and petty, so there was no way he could swallow this.

"So what are you going to do, Noh Tae-Soo? Are you still going to take the fall alone and go to prison?"

That was when Noh Tae-Soo, veins bulging in his face, shouted at me. "Why the hell would I take the fall by myself? My father told me to do this today! He said the elders in the main family would be pleased if I crushed you! And if I pulled it off, he said he'd even buy me the latest Ramborghini model this time!"

At last, he admitted that Noh Sang-Jin had put him up to it.

At that moment, Park Jung-Jik standing beside me smiled and took out his phone. "Tae-Soo, want to say that again?"

"M-my father..."

Consumed by anger, Noh Tae-Soo began spilling everything step by step. He even talked about things I hadn't known. Watching him, I clenched my fist tightly.

'President Noh Sang-Jin. If you're going to mess with someone else's family, you should be ready for your own to be destroyed too. Wouldn't you agree?'

***

In the president's office of NK Construction headquarters in Gangnam, Noh Sang-Jin was clutching his phone, pacing anxiously.

An hour earlier, his eldest son Noh Tae-Soo had called, confident that he had cornered Coach Han Dae-Man and would soon secure false testimony. But since then, all contact had been cut off.

"Why the hell isn't that idiot Tae-Soo answering? He's not even picking up his phone!"

Chief Secretary Byun Jong-Tae, who had been making calls on his phone, spoke with a pale face. "Sir. The security company staff who went with the reporter aren't answering either."

"All of them?"

"Yes. What should we do? Should I contact the madam from the main family and tell her we'll have to reschedule the meeting set for tomorrow morning?"

The reason Noh Sang-Jin had orchestrated all of this was to curry favor with the main family of HK Inc. If he could drag Jung Yoon-Ho's reputation into the gutter, the same man who had gotten HK Inc.'s third and fourth sons arrested, it would count as a major contribution.

"No. Let's look into it a bit more first. If we still can't reach them within thirty minutes, then make the call. Deploy people right away and find out if something happened to Tae-Soo."

"Understood, sir."

At that moment, a voice was heard from the door.

-President Noh. He's inside, right?

-Yes, ma'am!

The voice from outside belonged to Noh Hyun-Hee, the matriarch of the main family and his aunt. Cold sweat ran down Noh Sang-Jin's back.

"Sir. That's Mrs. Noh's voice."

"We agreed to meet tomorrow morning, didn't we?"

"Yes."

"Then why is she here?"

Bang.

The door swung open, and Noh Hyun-Hee, the matriarch of HK Inc., walked in with Director Hong Ah-Yoon, the youngest daughter.

"Sang-Jin!"

"Yes, Aunt. What brings you here so suddenly...? We were supposed to meet tomorrow..."

"Oh, I couldn't wait until morning after hearing you'd crush Jung Yoon-Ho. So I came right away. How's it going? Hm?"

Noh Hyun-Hee's face was filled with anticipation as she looked at Noh Sang-Jin. On top of that, Hong Ah-Yoon—who usually didn't treat him particularly well since he wasn't Noh Hyun-Hee's direct nephew—was unusually warm as well.

"I was curious about how things were progressing, so I came too. Please tell us in detail."

The color drained completely from Noh Sang-Jin's face. He realized he had contacted them too hastily. Moreover, HK Inc. was notorious for discarding anyone who wasn't useful to the royal family. Thinking that one wrong move could ruin him on the spot, Noh Sang-Jin decided to at least explain what had been done so far.

"Ah, well... You know I'm the vice president of the Boxing Association, right?"

Noh Hyun-Hee sat down on the main seat of the sofa with Hong Ah-Yoon. "Yes, I know."

"It turns out Jung Yoon-Ho was involved in match-fixing nine years ago. So I'm working with a reporter I have a good relationship with, but it's not fully wrapped up yet. I was planning to report it tomorrow."

A sly smile spread across Noh Hyun-Hee's lips as she leaned back. "Tell me in more detail."

"Actually, Tae-Soo has already secured the coach of Chief Jung. He's the one who took the money back then. By tomorrow morning, Jung Yoon-Ho will be branded as a criminal who accepted money to fix boxing matches."

Noh Hyun-Hee's lips curled upward in delight. "No wonder my nephew called me here!"

Hong Ah-Yoon also smiled brightly. "Exactly."

Noh Hyun-Hee grinned as she spoke. "Just make it happen. If you handle this well, I'll hand over the entire Guro redevelopment project to you. That should be a fair reward, right?"

The redevelopment project in Guro that HK Construction was undertaking was worth a trillion won. If it succeeded, the profits alone would amount to hundreds of billions.

"Aunt, is that really true?"

"Of course~ You'd be pulling out a thorn in my side, so a reward like that is only fair. You know I'm generous, don't you? Right?"

Excited, Noh Sang-Jin nodded repeatedly. "Of course! No one in this country matches your scale, Aunt. You can just trust me. I'll make sure to drag that bastard Jung Yoon-Ho straight into the abyss!"

"Good, good. If Jung Yoon-Ho falls into hell, I promise you'll rise to heaven, Sang-Jin."

"Thank you! I'll continue to serve you with everything I have!"

Noh Sang-Jin quickly shot a glance at his chief secretary. Realizing it was an order to find Noh Tae-Soo no matter what, Byun Jong-Tae hurriedly picked up his phone and moved to leave the office.

Just then, his phone rang.

[Caller ID: Noh Tae-Soo]

Byun Jong-Tae exclaimed with delight, "It's Mr. Tae-Soo!"

Noh Sang-Jin nodded. "Answer it. Put it on speaker."

"Yes, sir!"

Byun Jong-Tae placed the phone on the table and switched it to speaker mode.

Noh Sang-Jin called out eagerly, "My eldest son! How did it go? Did you handle it well?"

-Yes. Just like you told me, I held a knife to Coach Han Dae-Man's throat and threatened him real nice.

"A knife? What the hell are you talking about?"

-You know, the knife. You told me to get testimony that Jung Yoon-Ho was involved in match-fixing nine years ago with those gambling bastards, even if it meant killing Coach Han Dae-Man!

Noh Tae-Soo's voice was filled with unrestrained fury. Not understanding why his son was so angry, but mindful of his aunt's presence, Noh Sang-Jin tried to calm him down.

"Right, right. That's not what matters. What happened? Did you take care of it? Did that stubborn Han Dae-Man agree to give false testimony?"

-Check the portal news.

"Oh. You already got the article up? Good job."

Noh Sang-Jin glanced at Byun Jong-Tae. Byun Jong-Tae nodded and turned on the office's smart TV, pulling up the portal site. However, what appeared on the large screen was a shocking headline.

[Former Asian Games gold medalist Mr. N. kidnaps and assaults a boxing coach under orders from an association president. The coach is currently fighting for his life.]

[Vice President Noh Sang-Jin of the Boxing Association received massive bribes in exchange for biased judging.]

...

Noh Sang-Jin shouted in panic, "Tae-Soo! Wh-what is this? Why are articles like this suddenly—"

At that moment, Noh Tae-Soo's cold voice came through.

-Your precious eldest son? You said you trust only me? Bullshit. What a joke. Thinking about it, I was the idiot here. What kind of parent makes their son do this kind of crap? Ryan and Brad in the States—those bastards are the sons you hid, right? I'm going to spill everything! I already told Mom too! About how you set up another household with that actress Lee Jong-Hee who disappeared 25 years ago!

Noh Sang-Jin began to stammer. "Y-you... h-how did you find that out?"

-Does it matter how I found out? What matters is whether it's true or not! And from today on, I'm not your son!

Click.

The call ended.

Noh Sang-Jin's vision went dark, but he focused on calming Noh Hyun-Hee first. "Th-this... I can explain. Aunt."

At that moment, Noh Hyun-Hee spoke in a cold, mocking tone. "You really do excellent work. Managing your son so well too, huh?"

Flustered, Noh Sang-Jin waved his hands. "Aunt! That's not it. It seems Tae-Soo misunderstood something. Originally, we were trying to expose that Jung Yoon-Ho was involved with gamblers in match-fixing—"

Just then, Hong Ah-Yoon clicked her tongue. "I'm the idiot for expecting you to capture Chief Jung here when even I couldn't handle him."

After glaring coldly at Noh Sang-Jin, she stood up. "Mom, let's go. At this rate, someone's about to barge in any second. That bastard Chief Jung is incredibly fast when it comes to things like this."

Noh Hyun-Hee nodded and stood as well. "Alright."

At that moment, the door to the president's office burst open with the commotion.

-Move!

Bang.

Men in black suits poured in through the doorway. And at the very front stood Prosecutor Seo Jae-Ill of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

"Well now, what are such distinguished people doing associating with a vicious criminal who ordered a murder? Wait... could it be that the real mastermind is HK—"

Noh Hyun-Hee ground her teeth and glared at him. Seo Jae-Ill was the very prosecutor who had sent her two sons to prison.

"Prosecutor Seo, watch your mouth. I have nothing to do with this! And of course, neither does HK!"

"Is that so? Hahaha. My mistake then. Seeing you here with the suspect must have led me to the wrong conclusion." Smirking, Seo Jae-Ill turned to Hong Ah-Yoon. "Then what about you, Director Hong? Everyone who's paying attention already knows you've been targeting Chief Jung Yoon-Ho."

Hong Ah-Yoon flared up. "Don't make things up, Mr. Seo. I could sue you for defamation."

"Yikes. If that's not the case, then fine. There's no need to get so angry."

After lightly provoking the two of them, Seo Jae-Ill smacked his lips and looked at Noh Sang-Jin. "Noh Sang-Jin. You are under emergency arrest on charges of commissioning murder and violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes." He then shouted to the investigators who had come with him. "What are you waiting for? Arrest him!"

"Yes, sir!"

At that moment, Noh Sang-Jin suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Noh Hyun-Hee and grabbed her hand tightly. "Please save me! Aunt!"

In the next instant, Noh Hyun-Hee clenched her teeth and slapped him across the face.

Smack.

"Ugh."

Noh Sang-Jin clutched his cheek and collapsed onto the floor. A red handprint remained on his left cheek.

"You filthy bastard, how dare you lay a hand on me? I've never had trash like you as a nephew!"

Noh Hyun-Hee then raised her high heel to stomp on him.

Startled, Noh Sang-Jin scrambled backward from where he sat. "M-ma'am..."

Seo Jae-Ill clicked his tongue and gave the order. "Investigators, what are you doing? Take that pitiful man away already."

"Ah, yes."

The investigators, who had hesitated momentarily at Noh Hyun-Hee's outburst, came to their senses and quickly handcuffed Noh Sang-Jin before dragging him out. Fuming, Noh Hyun-Hee collapsed onto the sofa.

Thud.

At that moment, Seo Jae-Ill casually popped a piece of fruit from the glass plate on the table into his mouth and smiled. "Both of you should watch yourselves so you don't run into me. Understood?"

With a grin, Seo Jae-Ill turned and left the president's office. Noh Hyun-Hee, furious to the very top of her head, grabbed the glass bowl on the table and hurled it.

Crash!

The office floor was instantly littered with shards of glass.

"Damn it! Why is it that nothing ever goes right whenever Jung Yoon-Ho is involved?! Aaaargh!"

Overcome with rage, Noh Hyun-Hee screamed at the top of her lungs.

Hong Ah-Yoon, too, clenched her teeth, swallowing a bitter sense of defeat. After all, the massive investment HK Inc. had poured into NK Construction was now going up in smoke. And so was her own personal money.

For both of them, it felt like there was no way they would be able to sleep tonight without a bitter drink.

***

In Woojung Hospital's VIP Room No. 2., Park Jung-Jik answered the phone politely.

"Yes, sunbae-nim. Thank you for your hard work."

-Don't mention it. I'm heading to the lobby now, so turn on the TV. I'm also tracking down Reporter Seo Dong-Man, so I'll let you know once we find him.

"Understood. I'll check on my father-in-law's condition and then head to work."

-Alright. Hang in there.

After Noh Tae-Soo's testimony ended, Park Jung-Jik had requested an emergency arrest from Seo Jae-Ill of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, someone he trusted the most. In the meantime, I told him that I was acquainted with Seo Jae-Ill. Thanks to that, the arrest had proceeded smoothly.

After ending the call, Park Jung-Jik turned on YTM TV, which broadcasts news 24 hours a day. On the screen, Noh Sang-Jin was being dragged away by prosecutors' investigators in a live broadcast.

-Mr. Noh! Is it true that ordering your son, a former gold medalist, to kill a coach is connected to illegal gambling?

-Is it true that you used your own son as a weapon in order to pass management control to your hidden sons in the United States?

-Could it be that Noh Tae-Soo isn't even your biological son? Mr. Noh! Please say something!

Once the shocking story broke—that the president of NK Construction, a branch of a chaebol family, had used his own son, a gold medalist no less, to attempt kidnapping and murder—reporters rushed in from everywhere, even waking from sleep to get there. And as even more scandalous details poured out, including actress Lee Jong-Hee and his illegitimate children, the reporters grew even more frenzied, firing off questions without restraint.

At that moment, seemingly enraged, Noh Sang-Jin lashed out and kicked toward a reporter.

-You all want to die? What kind of bullshit are you spouting?!

The reporters quickly dodged. Having missed his kick, Noh Sang-Jin lost his balance and fell flat onto the ground.

-Aaaagh!!

Clutching his tailbone in pain as he rolled on the floor for a while, Noh Sang-Jin was eventually helped up by the investigators and shoved into a van.

Only after seeing his father being taken away in custody did Noh Tae-Soo hold out both his hands. "Here."

Park Jung-Jik recited a different charge than before. "Noh Tae-Soo, you are under arrest for assaulting Mr. Han Dae-Man. You have the right to remain silent..."

After properly reading him his Miranda rights, Park Jung-Jik cuffed one of Noh Tae-Soo's wrists and secured the other to the bed.

Click.

"Once you recover, you'll be transferred to a detention center."

"Got it."

Park Jung-Jik turned to the investigators he had called in. "Keep a close watch on him."

"Yes, sir."

Then he asked me, "Yoon-Ho. That wraps everything up now, right?"

"Ah, once my hoobaes hold the press conference downstairs, it'll be over."

"A press conference?"

"I'm planning to drag Noh Sang-Jin all the way down this time."

I intended to finish it completely in one go. So I had told my boxing hoobaes, whom I brought from in front of the training institute, to testify about what kind of person Noh Sang-Jin was. And I told them to give interviews saying they were the ones who saved Han Dae-Man.

Just then, the TV screen switched, showing Reporter Lee Sang-Hee from YTM standing in front of Woojung Hospital.

-We are currently in front of Woojung Hospital in Gwangju. Behind me are former local boxing athletes who have come forward to testify about what President Noh Sang-Jin did, as this is the hospital where the victim, Coach Mr. H, is currently admitted.

My hoobaes were lined up in a row in front of the hospital. Then, I saw Han Dong-Hae and Han Dong-Mi standing at the very front with tense expressions.

'Huh? Why are hyung and noona here instead of in front of the prosecutor's office?'

At that moment, Lee Sang-Hee asked the two of them.

-And today, we also have the victim's son and daughter here with us. This must have come as quite a shock. I understand you have something to say?

Han Dong-Hae nodded with a stiff expression.

-Yes. We came forward today to expose why President Noh Sang-Jin of NK Construction targeted our father, a boxing coach. And also to restore the honor of our youngest brother.

'The youngest brother's honor... Wait. They came on broadcast to restore my honor?'