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Chapter 54




< Even beasts don't kill their own family. >
#54
Even beasts don't kill their own family.
Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.
Indeed, you know something.
The lighting in the lawyer's meeting room flickered uneasily.
“No matter how I think about it, it seems strange, so I did some investigation. Don't you think it's strange too, Uncle? There's no news about Grandfather. It sounds like someone intentionally blocked the information...”
Chun Shuhan's eyes wavered sharply.
Sure enough, you know something.
The lighting in the lawyer's meeting room flickered uneasily.
“No matter how we cut ties, my mother is Grandfather's youngest daughter. It's strange that the police and prosecution didn't notice such a simple fact. If they knew, they would have contacted us.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange, Uncle?”
“How can I know something that happened over a decade ago just because it’s strange?”
He nodded at that.
“You’re right. I thought the same thing. But, coincidentally, someone who knows about that incident appeared.”
“What?”
Chun Shuhan's voice rose.
“Yes.”
“Who is it? Who knows about that incident?”
The question was wrong.
It should be, "Who killed my brother?" if it were his older brother.
“Is that important? The content is more important. The target was my mother, and the people who carried it out were two men. The name they mentioned was Mr. Biao. That’s all for now? And...”
As I trailed off, Chun Shuhan's expression turned ashen, thinking I knew more.
“You say you didn’t know... It sounds like you knew something.”
“That’s...”
“Sit down.”
Chun Shuhan sat back down weakly.
“Tell me what you know. Prove that you weren’t involved. If my mother’s death really involved you, it would be... too pitiful.”
My voice trembled slightly.
I prayed it wasn’t true.
Even though I was certain, I still prayed it wasn’t true.
But Chun Shuhan, stammering, revealed the truth he didn’t want to believe.
“I really didn’t know. I found out after Misook died. Yes, I found out too late. If I had known, I would have done anything to stop it.”
My hands under the table trembled.
Chun Shuhan, now rambling, seemed to no longer see me.
“It was Mr. Biao who killed her. I really didn’t know. Brother, he blocked the information from reaching Father... I found out too late and fought with my brother. It’s true. By the time I knew, it was already over.”
Chun Shuhan, this bastard, is just a fool. Just a puppet for Chun Shuman, nothing more and nothing less.
Seeing his pitiful state, my anger boiled over, and I shouted.
“You should have told Grandfather. If you were my mother’s brother, you should have told him! Damn it, are you even human? Even beasts don’t kill their own family, you bastards!”
My whole body began to tremble with rage.
I understand why I was killed.
Would a nephew who ignored his brother’s death not have killed me?
“How could you even think of killing your own brother? You left to live quietly, away from Grandfather’s wealth. Why did you have to find and kill him? Why? Why!”
Chun Shuhan bowed his head, trembling, and said nothing.
I spat at him.
“I hope what you said is true. If you’re lying to me now, I’ll kill you. Parole? Pardon? Don’t even think about it. I’ll take away everything you have. I’ll make sure of it.”
I stood up abruptly.
As I stumbled, Manager Ma caught me.
“...Manager, let’s go. Home.”
Supported by Manager Ma, I left the meeting room.
* * *
Chairman Chun looked at Chun Jiyuan with a disapproving gaze.
Chun Jiyuan couldn’t meet Chairman Chun’s eyes and only bowed his head.
“Tsk, you useless son. Are you still living like this?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry! As the eldest grandson, are you still living like this? How long do you plan to disappoint me?”
Chairman Chun sighed deeply at Chun Jiyuan, who remained silent with his head bowed.
“So, what do you want to do?”
“Father wants me to join Il Sung, but I don’t have the confidence. Grandfather.”
“Lack of confidence? You useless son. Giving up without even trying?”
“But...”
“Stop making excuses. Your brother Jisu is planning to join the company and start from the bottom. Are you going to be an older brother and do nothing? Do you plan to continue living like this, doing nothing?”
“...”
Chairman Chun sighed deeply.
“Minghun, come in.”
At the chairman’s call, Manager Ha entered.
Chun Jiyuan glanced at him and turned away.
“Give this guy two buildings in Gangnam.”
“Which ones should I transfer?”
“Choose the most expensive ones.”
“I’ll prepare the transfer documents.”
Manager Ha left, and Chairman Chun sighed deeply again, looking at Chun Jiyuan.
“With those, you can live as you please without Wan’s help. Do what you want with them. This will be the last thing I give you. Go, I don’t even want to see you.”
“I’ll contact you in a few days. I’ll prepare the documents and transfer them without any issues. We’ll take care of the taxes.”
Chun Jiyuan left the chairman’s house, barely paying attention to Manager Ha. Given his usual behavior, this silent departure was unusual.
* * *
“Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
At my instruction, Manager Ma drove to a parking lot by the Han River.
We got out of the car by the Han River.
The cool river breeze brushed against my face, but my burning anger didn’t subside.
I stared at the frozen river, lost in thought.
‘It’s hard to believe that there was such a backstory to my parents’ deaths, but did Grandfather really not know? Or did he know and just let it happen because he couldn’t abandon his children?’
As my anger subsided, doubt remained.
‘If I told Grandfather and he already knew, what if he asks me to forgive them?’
I was confused.
Knowing that Grandfather still had feelings for his family, I had been putting off my revenge on the Chun Shuman brothers.
But after seeing Chun Shuhan tremble and confess, I couldn’t delay any longer.
‘If he knew and turned a blind eye, can I go against Grandfather’s wishes and seek revenge?’
It was a question without an answer.
How much time had passed?
“The wind is cold. Let’s go to the car.”
Manager Ma called out to me.
Standing in the cold river breeze, I was already chilled to the bone.
“Manager, what should I do?”
“Do what you want.”
“Even if it goes against Grandfather’s wishes?”
Manager Ma, who had been silently watching me, spoke.
“What are you afraid of? That the chairman knows? Or that you’ll lose everything? That you’ll be abandoned?”
His probing questions made me laugh bitterly.
Yes, what was I afraid of now?
After dying and coming back to life once.
Manager Ma, observing my expression, added.
“I’ll follow you wherever you go. Even if you part ways with the chairman. It’s also what the chairman wanted when I returned to Korea.”
Manager Ma’s supportive words moved me.
“You’re different from the chairman. You don’t need to be like him. I hope you become a different kind of boss.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry. I overstepped.”
“No, if you think I’m making a wrong choice, please stop me. Let’s go.”
I patted his sturdy shoulder as he bowed.
We drove to Pyeongchang-dong.
As I entered the house, Manager Ha greeted me.
“Where’s Grandfather?”
“He’s in the study.”
I stood in front of the study door, taking a deep breath.
“Grandfather, it’s Wu Hui.”
“Come in.”
I opened the study door to find Grandfather smiling warmly at me.
“Where have you been this morning?”
“I had some business to attend to.”
Grandfather, who had been nodding slightly, noticed my stern expression and asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“...Did you know? That my parents’ deaths weren’t a robbery but a planned murder.”
The smile on Grandfather’s face vanished instantly.
No matter how long I waited, the answer I was hoping for didn’t come.
You knew.
When did you know?
From the beginning? Or recently?
“Did you know and not tell me?”
In my previous life, I thought Grandfather was a cold-blooded man without a heart. I resented him and struggled to gain his approval.
But when I came back, seeing a different side of Grandfather, I thought I had been wrong. I thought Grandfather was just an ordinary person to his family and decided to take good care of him in this life.
But now, I’m not sure.
I can’t read Grandfather’s true thoughts.
“Tell me. Why did you keep it from me? When did you find out? Did you ignore it even before we met?”
Grandfather looked at me with sad eyes, saying nothing.
That was as good as an admission.
“What would you have done if I never found out?”
“...What could