The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 21

21. Becoming a Villain in a Chaebol Family – From Pyeongchang-dong 01 –

– From Pyeongchang-dong –

Pyeongchang-dong.

The government began developing this area in earnest after the Kim Shin-jo incident in 1968 [a North Korean commando raid on the Blue House, the South Korean presidential residence]. The purpose was to create a village to prevent infiltration by armed spies or pro-communist forces.

Responding to the government’s initiative were the chaebol families [large South Korean conglomerates] and the wealthy, who represented the affluent class at the time. They built mansions in Pyeongchang-dong, aligning with the government’s policy.

It was around this time that Chairman Jung Woo-sun moved to Pyeongchang-dong. His mansion was two stories high. The first floor housed his study, conference room, living room, and reception room. The living spaces for the chairman’s family were all on the second floor.

Therefore, even close aides like Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik were not allowed to enter the second floor of the mansion.

“He wants you to come up to the second floor.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun wanted to meet his grandson in his private quarters, not in the reception room or study.

“Okay.”

Jung Hyun-woo strode up the stairs.

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik watched him go, filled with worry.

‘I don’t know what that immature kid will say.’

He had been sweating profusely on the way here.

‘How can someone be so clueless?’

Each of Jung Hyun-woo’s remarks made Hong Won-ik’s chest tighten.

Usually, the third generation of a chaebol would be in awe of their founding grandfather. However, Jung Hyun-woo, despite not having his parents, showed no fear of his grandfather, the founder.

‘Could he be resenting his grandfather?’

Jung Hyun-woo’s parents had died in an accident while attending the groundbreaking ceremony for a power plant in Sudan.

Jung Hyun-woo might think that his father and mother died while furthering his grandfather’s business.

‘Is it defiance?’

Such blatant defiance would not work on someone like Chairman Jung Woo-sun.

He would only be kicked out.

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik sighed deeply.

‘Hoo, even if he gets kicked out of the family, it’s not my fault.’

He thought he had done enough.

‘I sent him to America, and I took care of all sorts of aftermath.’

If it weren’t for him, Jung Hyun-woo would have been ousted from the Jung family long ago.

‘Damn it.’

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik cursed inwardly.

‘It’s not my fault.’

Others didn’t know, but he felt guilty towards Jung Hyun-woo.

He was the one who sent his father, Jung Min-hyuk, to Sudan.

‘I didn’t send him knowing that would happen.’

He had no special feelings for Jung Min-hyuk. It was just something he did as part of managing Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s schedule.

‘If the father can’t go, it’s natural for the eldest son to go instead.’

He attended the power plant groundbreaking ceremony in place of his father, Chairman Jung Woo-sun.

He died there.

With his wife.

What if Chairman Jung Woo-sun had attended and become a victim of the bomb blast instead?

If that had happened, the position of Chairman of Daeun Group would have gone to Jung Min-hyuk, who died.

“Ha······.”

It was when Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik sighed deeply that a butler in a checkered suit spoke to him.

“Chief Secretary, please come this way.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s mansion had a dedicated butler to manage the residence.

He was in charge of the overall management of the mansion, as well as attending to guests like Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik.

Chief Secretary Hong Won-ik nodded at his request.

“I understand. I’ll go to the reception room.”

His steps towards the reception room were heavier than ever.

***

Jung Hyun-woo had never met a chaebol chairman before. It wasn’t that he was strange or special. 99.9% of office workers never get to meet a chaebol chairman.

To an ordinary office worker, a chaebol chairman was someone they could only see on TV news.

‘Even in a small company, how often do you get to meet the president alone? Maybe once every few years.’

If the company is somewhat large, most matters are handled at the executive level.

‘A chaebol chairman, what kind of monster could he be?’

Would he be a ruthless tyrant like in dramas?

Or someone who is more greedy for money than Shylock in *The Merchant of Venice*?

Or, as rumored, someone more skilled at strategy than a politician?

Since he had never met one, he couldn’t know at all.

‘I hope he’s at least a somewhat reasonable person.’

He hoped that at least they could communicate.

“This way.”

It was a housekeeper who guided Jung Hyun-woo. She was in her early 40s and had a very ordinary appearance.

‘Does this mean that people who work for chaebol families shouldn’t stand out?’

If they were more beautiful than the chaebol family’s wives, they would be dismissed, and if they were unattractive, they wouldn’t be hired either.

‘An inconspicuous appearance? Even being a housekeeper is difficult.’

From the moment he entered the mansion, he had many thoughts. The problem was that most of those thoughts were just idle musings.

Jung Hyun-woo soon realized that.

‘Let’s get a grip.’

He needed to concentrate, especially at times like this.

Soon, the housekeeper stopped walking. She raised her voice slightly in front of what appeared to be the master bedroom door.

“Chairman, Hyun-woo has arrived.”

Finally, a deep voice was heard from inside.

“Tell him to come in.”

Daeun Group Chairman Jung Woo-sun.

Jung Hyun-woo took a deep breath and opened the door.

‘To catch a tiger, you have to go into the tiger’s den [a Korean proverb].’

He stepped in with the feeling of entering a tiger’s den.

“Sit down.”

It wasn’t the master bedroom.

The place he stepped into was Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s study.

‘Did he have another study besides the one on the first floor?’

If the one on the first floor was a study for meetings with close aides, this place was solely for reading books.

“I’m back.”

A slightly out-of-place remark.

However, after losing his parents, Jung Hyun-woo had lived here in Pyeongchang-dong for a short time.

‘Of course, I didn’t live here on my own.’

Anyway, he recalled that memory and made his first remark.

Chairman Jung Woo-sun did not get angry but calmly accepted the greeting.

“Your room has been cleaned.”

He was an old man with a stern impression, just like in the photos.

‘On the outside, he just looks like the presidents of companies.’

He didn’t know what he was like on the inside yet.

He thought that the first few minutes would be a probing period. But the other person seemed to have different thoughts.

“You’re not going to school?”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun came straight to the point. He seemed to have a straightforward personality, as rumored.

“I was advised to withdraw.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s eyebrows twitched.

“You’re saying you were advised, not expelled for causing trouble?”

Jung Hyun-woo replied in a clear voice.

“I haven’t caused any trouble.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s eyebrows rose higher.

“I heard you fought and ended up in the hospital?”

“There were quite a few of them involved.”

“There were many of them?”

“There were a lot of flies buzzing around.”

Without planning it in advance, the words came out smoothly.

Jung Hyun-woo thought it was irreversible now.

“Flies?”

“I think I swatted around five, but I couldn’t keep count after that.”

“You’re saying you knocked down five people?”

Jung Hyun-woo tapped his right arm with his left hand and replied.

“I sent them to the hospital.”

“And you went to the hospital too?”

“It wasn’t a situation where I could avoid the fight.”

Was Chairman Jung Woo-sun going to explode?

Even if he did, there was nothing he could do.

He had already spoken his mind.

The next moment, Chairman Jung Woo-sun laughed loudly and applauded.

“Hahahaha!”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed inwardly.

‘Did he like my story?’

Or was he applauding because he was dumbfounded?

‘I sent him to America to study, but he came back fighting.’

Chairman Jung Woo-sun slowly stopped laughing and said.

“Yes, that’s how a Jung family member should be. Back in the Japanese colonial era, I used to slam Japanese bastards to the ground.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun was someone who went to school before liberation [referring to the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945]. Back then, it wasn’t just about race but about class.

“They thought having a white face was some kind of privilege.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun nodded vigorously.

“You have to knock those bastards down. Good job!”

His actual actions seemed as fiery as his temper.

‘He doesn’t seem like a seasoned politician.’

He felt like a grandfather with a good sense of humor. Of course, behind that humor was the power that had grown Daeun Trading into Daeun Group after the Korean War.

“So, what advice did you receive?”

Jung Hyun-woo thought this was the main point.

‘I have to answer well.’

Even if he became a troublemaker for Daeun Group, he couldn’t do that to Chairman Jung Woo-sun.

‘Even if I can’t be a beloved grandson, I shouldn’t get on his bad side.’

He looked at Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s face and replied.

“I was advised by my American tutor. He said that with my grades, I could skip the regular course and take the university entrance exam.”

It was a lie.

Jung Hyun-woo’s scores on quizzes were decent, but he hadn’t taken actual school exams, and he certainly wasn’t good enough to skip grades and enter university.

‘But Robert said I could do it.’

With Activision’s recommendation letter, he could apply to a reasonably good university, if not Harvard or Yale.

Chairman Jung Woo-sun raised his eyebrows.

“What? You can take the university entrance exam?”

“I think the lessons I received from my tutor were effective.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun didn’t know much about the American entrance exam or education system.

Still, he knew that skipping grades wasn’t easy.

“So you’re saying you’re dropping out?”

“I’m thinking of taking the GED [General Educational Development test] and then taking the university exam. There are too many white-faced guys in high school, and it takes too long to graduate.”

“You can get into an American university by taking the GED?”

“It’s not that I’m getting into university by passing the GED, but I need the GED to be eligible to take the exam.”

Chairman Jung Woo-sun’s face brightened.

“Skipping high school and going to university. Good! Good!”

He seemed like an old man eager for good news.

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