The Genius Grandson Of The Cash King Becomes A Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 165

The news of Lee Heon’s death sent shockwaves through the political and business spheres.

The legacy left by the old gentleman, always impeccably dressed in a suit and white fedora, was astounding.

The extent of his wealth, particularly in real estate, surpassed ordinary comprehension.

His officially assessed land value alone reached 20 trillion won [approximately $15 billion USD], with the actual market price estimated to be between 50 and 100 trillion won [approximately $37.5 to $75 billion USD].

If inherited through normal channels, the inheritance tax alone would amount to tens of trillions of won, an astronomical sum.

It was poised to be the largest inheritance tax payment in history.

The securities industry, which had only a vague awareness of his immense wealth, reacted swiftly.

Star Group’s stock prices surged, hitting their daily limit [the maximum price increase allowed in a single trading day].

And this occurred for three consecutive days.

This influx of capital could resolve the issues stemming from poor performance since the sale of Star Electronics,

a rapidly escalating debt ratio, and
a severely depleted cash flow, problems that had been plaguing the company.

The death of one man proved to be a significant boon for Star Group.

Suddenly, Jung-hoon found himself wondering about Lee Seok’s reaction.

Was he smiling because the stock price had reached its daily limit for three days straight,
or was he grieving the loss of his father?

Lee Heon was discovered deceased at his home due to a heart attack, and the funeral was scheduled for the following day.

Jung-hoon contemplated whether he should attend Lee Heon’s wake to pay his respects.

Pacing around the chairman’s office, Jung-hoon reached a decision.

‘Even so, he was still a father. I should go and offer my condolences.’

Just as Jung-hoon reached for his car keys on the desk, his secretary buzzed him.

“Chairman, Ms. Ha In-seon is on the line. Should I connect you?”

‘What could this be about?’

Could it be related to the funeral?

“Yes, connect me.”

“…”

The woman on the other end remained silent.

“Speak.”

“Tell Eun-soo to attend the funeral.”

“Is there a specific reason why Eun-soo should attend?”

“Don’t you know?”

Jung-hoon didn’t respond to Ha In-seon’s question.

“It’s not my place to interfere. I’ll ask Eun-soo if she wishes to attend the funeral of someone she barely knew.”

“Please. It’s the last request of the person who gave birth to your friend.”

“Understood.”

Jung-hoon replied curtly and ended the call.

‘Parents who abandoned their son…’

He had initially intended to persuade Eun-soo to accompany him, but after receiving Ha In-seon’s call, he felt a sense of unease and hesitated.

Despite his apprehension, Jung-hoon decided to proceed as he had originally planned.

‘Still, it’s her husband’s funeral.’

He grabbed the car keys from the desk and left the chairman’s office.

Jung-hoon’s Bugatti roared out of the underground parking lot.

With a powerful surge, he headed towards Shinwha Entertainment.

As soon as he arrived at the underground parking lot, Eun-soo appeared.

Cha Boa was with her.

“Where are you going? I thought we were supposed to have a date today…”

“I have to go to Star Group Chairman Lee Seok’s father’s funeral.”

“What? Why would we go there?”

Jung-hoon didn’t really have a good explanation.

“It’s awkward to go alone.”

“No, why would you go there when you’re practically enemies, ready to stab each other in the back?”

“That’s precisely why you need to come with me, you punk! You have to be there to protect me.”

In truth, Eun-soo was also conflicted.

They had met once and shared a pleasant conversation.

The memory of that brief encounter lingered in her mind.

She never imagined he would pass away so suddenly.

“Okay. A one-month free pass for the Bugatti.”

“Deal. S5 banned for one year.”

“Ugh, you little… Let’s go, let’s go. Boa, let’s go together.”

“Me too?”

“Of course, you have to come since I’m going. And he said he was sorry he couldn’t buy you a meal.”

Cha Boa was taken aback.

Lee Seok’s face flashed in her mind, and she anticipated an uncomfortable situation.

“No, I have other commitments and I’ll stay here.”

“No, you have to come with me. If you don’t go, I won’t go either.”

Jung-hoon’s forehead creased in annoyance.

‘Ugh, this kid is such a handful.’

“Boa, let’s go together.”

“This is a two-seater, so let’s take my car.”

The trio switched to Eun-soo’s car and set off for the funeral hall where Lee Heon’s wake was being held.

Jung-hoon turned to Eun-soo and asked,

“Eun-soo, what was that about earlier? About him not being able to buy Boa a meal?”

“Ah, I met him once a while ago. I went to Grandma’s and he was there.”

“What? Grandma and Lee Heon?”

“Yeah, they were discussing something.”

“What were they talking about?”

“I don’t know, she said it wasn’t important.”

What kind of conversation had transpired between them?

Jung-hoon felt a surge of curiosity, bordering on obsession.

However, he outwardly maintained a nonchalant demeanor.

“Really? I guess it’s nothing then.”

As they continued their conversation, Eun-soo’s car arrived at the university hospital funeral hall.

Influential figures from the political and business worlds were in attendance at Lee Seok’s father’s funeral.

Wreaths lined the exterior of the funeral hall.

As they entered the hall, Jung-hoon grasped Eun-soo’s arm.

“He’ll be there. Don’t be surprised.”

“…He?”

Eun-soo’s eyes glazed over and she began to tremble.

“Hey, you son of a bitch! How could you bring me here?”

Jung-hoon couldn’t reveal the whole truth.

That his biological father and mother had abandoned him.

No one could truly accept or comprehend such a thing.

Jung-hoon himself struggled with it.

He had no choice but to offer a fabricated explanation.

“He’s trying to target me.”

“Who?”

“Lee Seok, that bastard. So I came today to send him a warning. So Eun-soo, you need to stay by my side and protect me. Got it?”

Eun-soo, who had been biting her lower lip until it bled, slowly nodded in agreement.

With a determined expression, she took the lead and entered the wake.

The wake was less crowded than expected.

And Jung-hoon noticed individuals radiating an intense, almost menacing aura.

‘Could it be, are they really planning an attack? …No, that’s impossible.’

Jung-hoon shook his head slightly and led Eun-soo and Cha Boa into the wake.

Ha In-seon greeted them with a blank expression, concealing her true emotions deep within.

Displaying the proper etiquette of a grieving widow, she guided Jung-hoon’s group to Lee Heon’s portrait.

Lee Seok’s face was contorted with a chilling, murderous intent as he saw Jung-hoon enter the wake.

His gaze then shifted to Eun-soo and Cha Boa, who were holding hands.

He glared at Eun-soo, who possessed what he could never attain, with a look that could kill.

And Eun-soo returned his gaze with daggers, resenting Lee Seok for making a vulgar proposition to her friend.

Eun-soo’s face was flushed red, like a simmering volcano.

“Please offer a drink,” Ha In-seon said, breaking the palpable tension in the air.

She gently pushed Eun-soo forward.

Eun-soo, unaware of what was happening, instinctively took the glass.

Lee Seok poured her a drink with a trembling hand.

She swirled the glass three times over the burning incense.

Eun-soo stepped back a few paces.

She raised her head.

The death of a man who had laughed heartily, claiming to prefer poetry over novels.

Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

‘Little one, should I buy you some candy?’

She recalled the voice of the man who would appear out of nowhere and carry her on his back when she wandered around the neighborhood.

She remembered drifting off to sleep peacefully on that man’s back.

What was that man doing now?

‘Why am I suddenly thinking about that man?’

Was it because their voices were similar?

The kind voice that she couldn’t forget, even after so many years.

She had noticed the similarity when she spoke with Lee Heon in the car that day.

‘Rest in peace.’

Eun-soo bowed twice, wishing Lee Heon eternal peace, and then exited the wake.

Ha In-seon followed her out and urged her to have a meal before leaving.

Without responding, Eun-soo simply nodded and took a seat.

Ha In-seon personally brought rice and soup and placed them on the table.

She then took a spoon and chopsticks from the cutlery container and arranged them neatly in front of Eun-soo.

She was preparing her son’s meal for the first time.

Eun-soo sighed deeply and said softly,

“Thank you.”

“Eat plenty, everyone. My husband told me about Eun-soo. He said he enjoyed meeting her.”

“Yes.”

After delivering that dry, emotionless statement, Ha In-seon returned to the wake.

Lee Seok, who had been radiating a chilling, murderous aura from within the wake, was now glaring at the three of them as if he wanted to kill them.

As they were finishing their meal, Boa glanced around and spoke up.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“Okay.”

She rose from her seat and headed to the restroom, where she looked at herself in the mirror and muttered,

“Ugh, it’s suffocating in there. Why are they all acting like that? They don’t even seem that close.”

She thought of Lee Seok, who had been glaring at her.

She hoped that if he saw Eun-soo, he would leave her alone.

After drying her hands, she exited the restroom and was confronted by an unexpected face.

***

Ha In-seon was gazing at Lee Heon’s picture with a peculiar expression in the wake.

He was a man she hated more than the years they had spent together.

She had taken his life with her own hands, yet she felt a sense of unease.

His final moments were etched in her memory.

She shook her head violently, attempting to banish the thoughts.

“Is your husband dead or something?”

Ae-wol entered the room and stared at her.

“I didn’t realize you harbored any lingering feelings for that bastard?”

“No, Mother. I’m just tired because I haven’t been able to sleep for days.”

“You’re a bitch who can’t sleep even on a normal day.”

“There are two good baits outside.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Or do you think I’m oblivious?”

Ha In-seon remained silent.

“…I’m sorry, Mother.”

“An opportunity to eliminate two people at once doesn’t come often. You must get rid of them today.”

“Yes? Get rid of two people?”

“You stupid bitch!”

As Ha In-seon pondered the meaning of her mother’s words, her eyes widened in horror.

“No. This is a funeral hall. How can you do something like that here?”

-Slap.

Ha In-seon’s head snapped to the side.

“How dare you, you bitch? You just need to stay put. Two bastards… The spirits are on our side today.”

“No.”

When Ha In-seon vehemently refused, Ae-wol gestured to a man standing at the entrance.

He dragged Ha In-seon into a small room behind the wake.

She pounded on the door from the inside, but her efforts were futile.

***

“Let’s go.”

Despite having already eaten, Eun-soo finished every last grain of rice and drop of soup.

Not a single morsel remained.

“Why isn’t Boa back yet?”

At Jung-hoon’s question, Eun-soo looked concerned.

“Lee Seok, that bastard, followed her… I hope he doesn’t cause trouble at his father’s funeral.”

“Well, whether he’s really his father or not…”

“What?”

“It’s nothing, let’s go.”

Jung-hoon and Eun-soo stood up from their seats.

Eun-soo headed towards the restroom.

There, she found Cha Boa and Lee Seok in the midst of an argument.

“Hey, Cha Boa, why did you reject my offer?”

“Did you really think everyone would accept such a proposition?”

“It was an offer that guaranteed money and success.”

“Ha, I have no desire to speak with someone like you.”

“What? Someone like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A piece of trash that can’t even be recycled.”

“What? How dare you…”

Lee Seok’s pride was wounded.

Overwhelming anger consumed him.

His hand shot up into the air.

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”

Eun-soo launched herself forward and kicked Lee Seok in the face.

His body, reeling from the impact, slammed against the wall.

-Thud.

It was a day when her mood was disgustingly sticky, like taffy.

Eun-soo relentlessly stomped on Lee Seok’s body, which was slumped against the wall.

“If you ever do this again, you bastard, I’ll kill you!”

Eun-soo roared.

She unleashed her pent-up anger, kicking him repeatedly.

“Eun-soo, let’s go. We can’t do this here.”

Jung-hoon attempted to restrain Eun-soo.

Eun-soo grabbed Lee Seok, who was writhing on the floor, by the collar and issued a final warning.

“If you bother me one more time, I swear I’ll kill you.”

She punched him squarely in the philtrum.

-Ugh.

She stood up, leaving Lee Seok lying limp on the floor.

Jung-hoon grabbed Eun-soo and hurried out of the funeral hall.

Men with menacing expressions were blocking the stairs leading to the ground floor.

The voice of an elderly woman echoed from within the funeral hall.

“Hey, young people, there are still two empty coffins waiting.”

Eun-soo turned her head.

An old woman with a slightly hunched back stood there, leaning on a cane.

It was difficult to discern her true intentions, hidden behind her small, rat-like eyes.

The corners of her lips were upturned in a sinister smile.

Jung-hoon met her gaze and replied calmly,

“Did you really think I wouldn’t see through this charade? Ms. Kim Ae-wol.”

“What?”

She looked flustered by Jung-hoon’s unexpected words.

‘Does he know who I am?’

The old woman’s face twisted in a grimace.