Chapter 1522 Caught (2)

Inside MK’s conference room...

The company’s executives had gathered here, their attention locked on Lee Hyeon-Su.

He addressed the crowd while scratching his head rather roughly. “Everyone, we received news from the investigators, and... Well, it seems they have uncovered the mastermind.”

“Already?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju’s eyes widened in shock. Here she was, wondering why everyone had been summoned to the conference room. However, as it turned out, it was to announce the unmasking of the mastermind?

“But it hasn’t been that long since the investigations had begun?”

“I told you, didn’t I? You should never underestimate the capabilities of our country’s police officers. If they set their minds to it, they can catch most criminals in a matter of days.”

“But that’s even worse when you think about it.”

“Well, you have a point there.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked deeply. If he was being honest, even he had been taken by surprise at how quickly the police had tracked the mastermind down.

Unraveling the complicated web of lies several layers deep should have taken quite a while, at least that was what Lee Hyeon-Su thought. However, as if South Korea’s police officers wanted to prove how competent they were, they practically took no time at all in figuring out who was behind this whole thing.

“But the problem is with who the culprit is,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while placing freshly faxed-in documents on the conference table.

“Is that the guilty bastard?” Lee Hyeon-Ju icily asked.

“Yeah, according to the investigators, at least.”

She quickly reached out and picked up the documents. While scowling, she perused its contents.

“Taegwang? Are you saying Taegwang Group was involved?”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned a little. “Technically, it’s not Taegwang Group, but its subsidiary, Taegwang P&D.”

“That’s splitting hairs, though.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju grew more and more dismayed while reading through the culprit’s personal details. “My goodness, it really was a large corporation? But, why? What madness drove them to target a competitor as tiny as us? With such an underhanded scheme, to boot!”

“The culture of stopping at nothing to achieve good results is even worse in such corporations,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a hollow chuckle. His expression while saying that couldn’t be described as good, either.

Taegwang Group was one of the top ten corporations in the country. However, it was a little tricky to say Taegwang itself was involved since the culprit was from its relatively tiny subsidiary, Taegwang P&D.

“So, this man is the culprit?” Lee Hyeon-Ju asked while pointing at the photo on the document.

“That’s what the investigators say. Apparently, the funds had come from his bank account.”

“What? Where would a mere team leader come up with such a large sum of money for an operation like this?”

“And that’s why he’s been charged with embezzlement, as well.”

“Embezzlement?” Lee Hyeon-Ju grew even more dismayed. “What? Are these people seriously claiming that a mere team leader embezzled the company funds and used that money to hire a group of people to interfere with our business?”

“Yup, that’s precisely it.”

“Hah...?!” Lee Hyon-Ju bit her lip, hard. “These bastards! Do they take us for fools?!”

“Easy now. Don’t forget that our chairman is in the room. Let’s take it down a notch, shall we?” Lee Hyeon-Su lowered his hands slowly as if to calm the situation down, then turned his attention to Hwang Min-Su next. “What do you think, Mister Hwang?”

Hwang Min-Su frowned slightly in disgust. “Without a doubt, that team leader is a sacrificial pawn.”

“Yes, a pawn that has already been sacrificed.”

“Indeed. The way I see it, those who planned this whole thing must’ve been the higher-ups. It had to be at least above the paygrade of the directors, which means... Mm, maybe executive directors, or even the vice president of operations?”

Gu Jeong-Beom chuckled when he heard that. “Don’t be absurd, sir. Considering the amount of money involved, mere directors couldn’t have pulled the trigger on this operation. And this scheme was a bit too petty and small-minded to be something cooked up by their directors, either.”

“Then, someone lower on the totem pole?”

“No, sir. It’s the opposite. We should look even higher up. For one, directors wouldn’t dare make a case for an operation this petty to their higher-ups. That’s because it’d be too demeaning and embarrassing. They don’t want to ruin the president’s mood, you see?”

Noh Tae-Gwang immediately chimed in. “I agree with Jeong-Beom, sir. Mere directors wouldn’t dare put out a proposal like this.”

“Huh?”

Hwang Min-Su furrowed his brow. Although he disagreed, maybe he should concede this one since the people who had been directors in the past and were still directors even now said as much.

“Especially if it’s Taegwang, sir.”

“Yes, sir. Taegwang’s corporate culture pretty much makes it impossible for the subordinates to do something independently. Directors there should be too focused on saving their own skin, so they would never propose an operation like this.”

“Really now? That means someone even higher up the hierarchy, then? Who is Taegwang P&D’s president now?”

“Uhm, that’s... Who was it again?” Gu Jeong-Beom frowned while tilting his head as if he couldn’t immediately remember the name. But then, his eyes abruptly widened. “Holy cow. No wonder...!”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Jeong Myeong-Cheol, sir. Yes, that Jeong Myeong-Cheol!”

“Wait, what? Jeong Myeong-Cheol?” Hwang Min-Su’s jaw fell slightly as if he had an epiphany just then. “What the... Are you sure? That thug is in charge of Taegwang P&D? Did the Taegwang Group chairman go senile or something?”

That was when Lee Hyeon-Su interjected while pouting slightly. “Excuse me, but... I know you’re all super excited and stuff, but do you mind cluing us in, as well?”

“Oops... Sorry about that. That news took me by surprise, you see?” Hwang Min-Su chuckled sheepishly. “Jeong Myeong-Cheol is the Taegwang Group chairman’s grandson, and... He’s pretty infamous for being a thug and utter garbage of a human being.”

“Really?”

“Yes. How should I put this... If you search for the absolute worst kind of third-generation chaebol online, you will find his pictures as the top search results. He has done various deplorable things over the years. He fled the country in his teens to avoid the draft, only to get arrested for doing drugs. However, when he came back home, he caused all kinds of other problems, starting from women troubles and various other issues that... I’m sure you can probably imagine what they are already.

“Because of how bad his personality was, I figured he’d never have a place in the group’s hierarchy, so to hear that he’s now the president of a Taegwang subsidiary...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes. “Then, could it be this guy...?”

“If it really is the Jeong Myeong-Cheol I know, then yes. It’s definitely him. Only a punk like him would’ve resorted to a petty operation like this. Haaah. If only I had known this bastard was at Taegwang P&D! I would’ve picked him out as the most likely suspect on the spot!”

Hwang Min-Su smacked his lips ruefully. His expression alone was enough to help Lee Hyeon-Su guess how much of a wastrel this Jeong Myeong-Cheol was.

“Then... Was this guy behind everything, Mister Hwang?”

“Most likely. No, I’m certain that it was him who gave the order, even if the ones who did all the heavy lifting were the executives under him. And now, with the situation not looking good for them, they must be using an exit strategy they had in place already. Which is to throw some poor bastard under the bus as their sacrificial pawn.”

Kang Jin-Ho received the documents from Lee Hyeon-Ju and perused their contents. “Hmm... Isn’t this way too sloppy? No one will believe an attempt like this, after all.”

“No, sir. It will work.”

“Really?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“Yes, sir. Just take a look at the news and you will see. Anybody with a brain can see that this team leader guy is not the mastermind. But once the announcement is made, people will criticize Taegwang for a bit before moving on with their lives. It’ll be several months to years before this matter ends up in court, and more light is shed on what really happened. By then, I promise you, no one will be paying attention anymore.”

“Mm...!”

Hwang Min-Su continued to explain. “Even if the court proceedings uncover the true mastermind, it’d be treated as nothing more than some stale, years-old gossip at that point, sir. You could say it’s pretty much standard practice by now.”

“The intention is not to fool, since they don’t care whether or not we know the truth?”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled wryly. He couldn’t understand the logic behind certain things people in this society did. Didn’t he think he had gotten more or less acclimatized to the modern era? But the recent events made him doubt whether he really had done that.

“A president of a company did this, but it’s his subordinates who must take the fall?”

“Yes, sir. It’s a common occurrence in this neck of the woods.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply. “Then what did that president even do?”

“Well, you could say he planned it.”

“Planned it?”

“Yes, sir. He was the one who got the ball rolling, so to speak. If the operation had succeeded, he would have hogged all the glory for himself. But now that it failed, the blame lies with his underlings instead.”

Gu Jeong-Beom smirked deeply. “Things must’ve been an utter pandemonium for their directors after the news reached their ears.”

Noh Tae-Gwang smirked as well, as if to say he was in sync with Gu Jeong-Beom on this matter. “Yup. Considering Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s personality, quite a few directors must’ve gotten utterly destroyed by now. Gee whiz. I feel for those guys, if I’m being honest. It sure is hard to make a living these days, no?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju tried to organize the situation. “Then... Is this team leader person already in custody?”

“No, not yet.” Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged helplessly. “From what the NIS told me, it sounded like the prosecutors were still evaluating the case. But it’s reliable info. This guy will get arrested.”

“Hold on...? Are they going to believe what these Taegwang bastards are saying? And close the case like that?”

“I think they will.”

“But that’s nonsense!”

“Yeah, I agree. But in the eyes of the law? It’s not nonsense.”

“What about common sense, and...”

“Unfortunately,” Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “The law and common sense aren’t always on the same page. In the end, the law is all about proving one’s guilt or innocence beyond reasonable doubt. The judge can logically sense something is wrong, but without irrefutable evidence or eyewitnesses, they can’t punish anyone based on suspicion alone.”

“Yes, I already know that. But this is still wrong, is it not?”

“That’s power for you,” Lee Hyeon-Su tutted unhappily. The truth is that other people abusing their power would always look worse to you.

Even MK wouldn’t hesitate to throw someone under the bus if the situation required it, after all!

South Korea’s chaebols established their own little kingdoms and lived by their own little rules. All the while spitting and trampling on the law governing the land... Sometimes, even people, too.

As long as they were supported by power, this set-up would not see a shake-up anytime soon.

Lee Hyeon-Ju asked, her voice getting sharper. “Then, what about news coverage?”

“What you see is what they will report,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Really? They will really say a mere team leader was behind everything?”

“Nah. I’m sure they’ll add more meat to this bone. Like how difficult his family situation is. And how much pressure he was under to deliver results. His poor work performance evaluations and various other circumstances forced him to do something illegal to improve the company’s revenue.”

“Huh...?”

“And then... The head office acknowledges its failure to manage its employees and offers its unreserved apology, but the company is also the victim in this case. One person’s indiscretion has impacted our brand image negatively. On top of that, he even embezzled us as well. You see how unfair this is? Pity us, please~.”

Lee Hyeon-Su shuddered playfully.

“That’s how this whole thing will play out. I guarantee it.”

“Seriously?” Lee Hyeon-Ju asked back, clearly incensed. “Are you saying they will get away with this?”

“Well, what can the cops do about it? They must find credible proof of the Taegwang P&D president giving orders to his underlings, but where will they find something like that? Do you think they will break into Taegwang and steal its CCTV footage? Or hack into the executives’ chatroom and download their messages?”

“If all else fails, yes!”

“Sorry, but illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible in court. Remember, this is a criminal case. Which means you must strictly follow the legal procedures while collecting evidence.”

“How can the law be so skewed toward the wealthy and powerful and help them get away with their crimes? Doesn’t this unfairly favor the ones at the top giving out the orders?”

“That’s because the ones with the power make the rules, Miss Lee. In that case, why would they make the rules that disadvantage them?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju bit her lip, hard, as if this whole thing vexed her. “Then... After getting attacked like this, are we supposed to do nothing?”

“Of course not,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, the corners of his lips curling up. “Ever since our current Assembly Master took over the leadership, the Assembly has stuck to its one and only rule. We will thoroughly trample on anyone daring to come after us first.”

“Yes, that goes without saying!”

Lee Hyeon-Su turned to look at Kang Jin-Ho, his smirk deepening. “Sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded back. “Speak.”

“There is a limit to how much we can retaliate through the law. The NIS also said that they won’t find much even if they keep digging at this point. Although unfortunate, it seems we should stop here.”

“On the surface, right?”

“Of course. Only on the surface.”

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su stared at each other while smirking away.

“Tell the media to forget about the team leader and emphasize this Taegwang P&D during their reporting. We need to protect the franchisees from the fallout, at least,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Understood, sir. I’ll take care of it. A few more rounds of non-stop news coverage should have a better effect than prime time ads, I’d wager. You could say we’ve turned this crisis into an opportunity. Because now everyone knows about our cafe franchise.”

Not only that, but even the once-falling revenue had begun recovering recently, as well. Barring any further mishaps, the revenue should fully recover to the pre-interference days by this weekend.

“It’s time we let them know, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su smirked deeply. “Let’s teach them who they were messing with.”

Kang Jin-Ho scowled deeply. Why did it feel like Lee Hyeon-Su was stealing his lines more often lately?

I must be imagining things. Probably?