A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 140

140. The Weakness of Love

Jaekwang came home only once that week. News about Seryun Group dominated the headlines. Youngmi never directly asked Jaekwang about the company’s situation, and he didn’t offer any information, but she couldn’t suppress her worries.

Initially, in her ignorance, she’d hastily concluded that all the misfortunes had struck at once. However, after overhearing Jaekwang’s phone call during his brief visit, she began to suspect that someone might be orchestrating these events. Immediately, Chae Eunyeop flashed through her mind.

Chae Eunyeop, Chae Eunbi. Youngmi had once been the biggest supporter of these siblings, but she now had to acknowledge that they were exceptionally cunning.

All the past events brought belated regret.

If only I hadn’t been so fond of Chae Eunbi, if only I hadn’t consulted Chae Eunyeop on every legal matter, if only I had tried harder to understand my son’s feelings, if only I hadn’t pushed for that marriage, none of this would have happened, she lamented.

And today, Youngmi saw the news report about Ham Daekeun’s arrest. Seeing Ham Daekeun mention her son as he was led into the police station, Youngmi collapsed on the spot.

Youngmi didn’t believe the accusations Ham Daekeun was making. That’s precisely why she felt so devastated.

My son is in danger because of me. I drove my son into a corner…

“Madam!”

The house employee rushed to Youngmi, who had collapsed, and helped her up. Youngmi’s legs were already covered in dark bruises.

“Oh my goodness. Look at these bruises… Are you alright?”

Youngmi, once she was back on her feet, was assisted by the employee into her bedroom.

Youngmi had been a wreck throughout the week of Seryun Group’s troubles. She had been suffering from body aches, as if her whole body had been beaten, but Youngmi couldn’t even bring herself to go to the hospital. It felt like divine retribution.

* * * * * * *

The employees of Max Planning, still largely in the dark about the full situation, flocked to Production Team 1 to confirm the rumors they had been hearing.

“Is it true? That Daekeun Corporation’s CEO is Section Chief Chae Eunbi’s fiancé! What’s going to happen to Section Chief Chae Eunbi now?”

“Did Mr. Ham really terrorize Seryun Group because he was blinded by jealousy? Because he thought Director Jung had done something terrible to Section Chief Chae?”

“Her father is preparing to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but the man she’s going to marry is jeopardizing his future.”

The employees gossiped about Chae Eunbi and clicked their tongues. The online attacks against Seryun Group had been relentless for almost a week, leaving the employees quite drained.

Even after the article clarifying the relationship between Chae Eunbi and Jung Jiheon was released, negative sentiment persisted in online communities for a couple of hours. A torrent of crude criticism targeted Jiheon. Jungo also felt frustrated, but she persevered and continued her work.

Deputy Manager Go Eunju called Jungo over.

“Deputy Director Lee.”

“Yes?”

Eunju summoned Jungo and simply stared at her without saying a word.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to check on you.”

*I was wondering if my colleague, who is having such an eventful day, is doing okay.*

But she couldn’t bring herself to say that, and Eunju instead voiced a complaint.

“Having someone you love seems to be a troublesome thing. It’s like having a weakness.”

“Do you think it’s a weakness?”

“Not being able to think only of myself is a huge weakness.”

“That’s true, really.”

Jungo nodded in agreement with Eunju’s opinion and smiled.

“But, Deputy Manager Go, there are weaknesses, but you also become strong enough to overcome and resolve those weaknesses.”

Eunju was taken aback by Jungo’s answer. To the staunch individualist Go Eunju, Lee Jungo was a truly fascinating person. She knew very well that Jungo had gone through a difficult time, but she had never shown any signs of exhaustion and was always full of energy.

*Is that really the power of love? Do you really become stronger when you have someone you love?*

Jungo’s perspective was always refreshing to Eunju, who disliked being tied down to anyone and even found dating bothersome.

Just then, Jungo’s phone vibrated. The smile on Jungo’s face widened slightly.

“I’ll take this call for a moment.”

“Is it Director Jung?”

“How did you know?”

“I can tell by your expression.”

“Ha ha. What’s with my expression?” Jungo smiled awkwardly, clutched her phone, and left her seat. It was a welcome call from her husband, who had even stayed out overnight because there were so many things to resolve.

“Hello.”

[Did Yena go to daycare okay?]

As soon as Jungo answered the phone, Jiheon asked about Yena first.

“Yeah. Of course, she did.”

[I was too busy this morning to call.]

“Yena will understand everything. It’s okay.”

A sigh came from the other end of the line. His voice was gentle, but Jiheon sounded very tired.

[It’s too noisy. My dream is to live a simple and harmonious life with my family.]

“You have to give up on simplicity since you were born as Jung Jiheon.”

“……”

“Finish everything quickly and come home to sleep.”

[Will my wife put me to sleep when I get home?]

“Pfft. How should I put you to sleep?”

[Well, in a sexy way?]

She had expected him to ask her to read him a fairy tale like she did for Yena, or even sing him a lullaby, but even in this brief moment, he revealed his playful side. It was undoubtedly a mischievous joke, but hearing it in Jung Jiheon’s voice made it sound entirely plausible, and Jungo’s face flushed.

Jungo quickly changed the subject.

“Ahem, the fact that Ham Daekeun said that to the reporters means he doesn’t know about the existence of the recording file, right?”

[Not only that, but it’s highly likely that Ham Daekeun got the wrong information through Chae Eunbi or Chae Eunyeop.]

“That’s right! I think so too! Chae Eunbi acted as if the child in her womb…”

She was about to say that the child in her womb was Jung Jiheon’s child, but Jungo stopped herself. She didn’t feel comfortable discussing Eunbi so carelessly.

[Huh?]

“No. It’s nothing.”

Jiheon didn’t press Jungo about why she had stopped talking. They had so many stories to share, things they hadn’t had time to discuss because they hadn’t been able to meet.

[I also found out who the employee at the genetic research center that Chae Eunyeop bribed was. The employee switched our Yena’s blood with someone else’s blood.]

“Was that person caught too?”

[The way I found out wasn’t exactly legal, so I can’t put him in jail. But I can use it in other ways.]

“Then are you going to bribe that person?”

[No. I can never do that.]

“……”

[I’m going to squeeze him dry until he’s a husk. Then he’ll take revenge on Chae Eunyeop on his own.]

Jungo felt goosebumps rise on her arms as she listened to Jiheon’s answer.

*I’m so glad I decided to spend my life with this man. If he were someone else, if he were an enemy, he would have been truly terrifying.*

To persistently harass and get what you want. That was Jung Jiheon’s way.

* * * * * * *

The night before.

Jiheon gathered all the data related to the online attacks and went to the police station.

Thanks to hiring professional hackers, he was able to trace the origin of the attacks and roughly pinpoint the location of the operation through reverse tracking.

The criminals had set up an office in Seoul and were systematically carrying out their online campaign. Now, all he had to do was get help from the police to raid the location.

After carefully planning the operation, the police raided the scene at dawn.

In the meantime, Jiheon encountered an unexpected person at the police station.

“Jiheon.”

Detective Kwon Baeil appeared.

“Oh, Suil… Baeil.”

Surprised, Jiheon hesitated before saying his name. Baeil’s previous police station was the Gwangjin Police Station, and he had mentioned being transferred to a rural area. Now he was here at the Yongsan Police Station, and Jiheon wondered why.

“Didn’t you say you were transferred to a rural area?”

“Yeah. I was transferred to Jinju, but I’m here on business for a while.”

“To the Yongsan Police Station?”

“Yeah. I used to work here a long time ago.”

“Ah…” Jiheon nodded silently. He was happy to see him, but he couldn’t help but feel awkward because of the years they had spent out of touch. Baeil spoke first.

“I saw the news. Did you come because of the Seryun Group case?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I hope it gets resolved well. If you need any help, let me know anytime. I’ll be staying in Seoul for a while.”

Unlike before, Baeil’s attitude was quite friendly. Jiheon felt a sense of reassurance from Baeil for the first time.

The start of this crucial day was promising.

At the time Ham Daekeun entered the police station, Jiheon was also there. Jiheon clearly heard what Ham Daekeun was saying about him in front of the reporters. And Jiheon smiled.

He claimed that all of this happened because of Jung Jiheon, and that he committed the crimes because of it. That was practically an admission of guilt.

Personally, Jiheon didn’t care at all about public opinion, so he wasn’t affected by whatever lies Ham Daekeun told.

He didn’t feel wronged, and he didn’t feel the need to correct the record and restore his reputation. He simply didn’t care what happened as long as he could use the situation to pressure Ham Daekeun.

His father’s advice to be careful in everything for the sake of Jungo and Yena belatedly came to mind, causing him a moment of worry, but even that quickly passed.

The employees of Max Planning reportedly rushed to report the truth to the reporters. The employees had known about the past relationship between Jiheon and Eunbi for a long time.

This was because the details of the conversation between the two had been revealed to all the employees. He would face public criticism for a few hours, but he didn’t care because the reporters would eventually correct the facts.

* * * * * * *

Eunyeop heard about Ham Daekeun’s news after the morning session of the confirmation hearing was over.

“You crazy bastard.”

He couldn’t help but swear when he saw the news article. Ham Daekeun had recklessly thrown out bait that would attract reporters. *To think I was going to marry my sister to such a guy.* He even felt like it was a disgrace to the family.

While he was seething with anger at Ham Daekeun’s insane behavior, he received a phone call. It was Ham Daekeun. Eunyeop also needed to warn Ham Daekeun, so he answered the phone.

“Hello.”

[Lawyer, you need to come quickly.]

But before Eunyeop could say anything, Ham Daekeun made the first move. Eunyeop pretended not to know and asked.

“What’s going on?”

[As you can see in the article, I’m in a tight spot right now. Come right away.]

“I’m afraid that’s difficult right now. You know I have a confirmation hearing today.”

[I’m sure my father will do well. This is an emergency!]

“Mr. Ham, you lose if you get agitated.”

Eunyeop calmly advised Ham Daekeun, who was demanding that he come immediately.

“If you just wait a little longer, I’ll bring you good news. This is the most important moment in my father’s life right now. If you just hold on for a few more hours, my father will have absolute power.”

“……”

“First, call the company’s lawyer. Don’t be shaken, and you must exercise your right to remain silent. I’ll finish things here safely and go there in the evening. I’ll take care of everything then. Got it?”

Eunyeop told him what he needed to do and quickly hung up the phone.

*What’s important now is my father.* It’s not too late to worry about Ham Daekeun after his father’s confirmation hearing is over. The leverage that Ham Daekeun had on him was something that couldn’t be proven. Eunyeop acted meticulously every step of the way.

He received the money in cash. And there are no remaining text message records, documents, or files.

It’s difficult to investigate the creation of slush funds [illegal funds]. A search and seizure is not possible until the charges are proven.

Even if Ham Daekeun tells them everything, they can’t do anything. The money is hidden in a place where no one knows, so even if they search Eunyeop’s house, they won’t find anything.

*There’s no need to rush. So, let’s act confidently.*

Eunyeop had a quick meal with his father, drank tea, and calmly prepared for the questioning.

1 p.m. As planned, the afternoon session of the confirmation hearing began smoothly.