The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 44

Becoming a Billionaire Villain – Victoria Corporation 02 –

***

Chief Hong Won-ik frowned at the phone call he received on Sunday.

“Who called?”

“Master Jung Hyun-woo called from Boston.”

Section Chief Moon was on duty in the secretary’s office today.

“So?”

“He said he wanted to speak with you, so I told him to wait. Chief, should I give him your home number?”

Chief Hong Won-ik sighed briefly.

“No. Tell him I’ll go to the office.”

He decided it wasn’t a call to take at home.

“Understood. I’ll let him know.”

Thirty minutes later.

Chief Hong Won-ik arrived at the Daewoon Group’s secretary office. Immediately after, he received a call from Jung Hyun-woo.

“You want to buy a house?”

“Yes, I like the house I’m staying in now.”

Chief Hong Won-ik sighed deeply.

“Haa… Is someone threatening to take away the house you’re in now?”

“It’s company property.”

“Daewoon Group is your house too.”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“Daewoon Group is Grandpa’s house.”

Chief Hong Won-ik thought Jung Hyun-woo wouldn’t give an inch.

‘Even after entering MIT, his personality remains the same.’

He knew that Jung Hyun-woo’s status in the Jung family had greatly increased with his admission to MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. Still, he couldn’t let him do as he pleased.

‘I need to establish control from the beginning.’

Jung Hyun-woo was like a ball that could bounce anywhere if left unchecked.

“You’re being stubborn again.”

“You can call it stubbornness if you want. I want to buy this house.”

“Hyun-woo, where would you get the money to buy that house? It’s not a house you can buy with a thousand or two dollars.”

If they traded a Boston house for an outrageous amount, the US tax authorities would surely investigate.

‘If this blows up, the foreign exchange authorities will get involved, and it’s bound to become a headache.’

Jung Hyun-woo raised his voice again.

“Why wouldn’t I have money? You’re managing my money, Chief.”

He was saying he wanted to use the money inherited from his father to buy the house in Boston.

Chief Hong Won-ik’s voice grew heavy.

“That money isn’t easy to use like that. Rather…”

He was about to suggest that it would be better to receive the money as a gift from Chairman Jung Woo-sun and buy it that way.

At that moment, Jung Hyun-woo cut him off.

“If I can’t use that money, I’ll buy it with the money I’ve saved.”

“What?”

“I have money I’ve saved.”

Chief Hong Won-ik narrowed his brows.

“What are you talking about? You have money you’ve saved?”

He had cut off Jung Hyun-woo’s access to funds to prevent him from buying drugs like stimulants.

“I can’t tell you the source, Chief, but I have money.”

Chief Hong Won-ik thought it was obvious.

‘Tsk, it seems the Chairman has been sending his grandson money separately.’

The money used within the household was managed by the housekeeper, not him. It wouldn’t be strange if Chairman Jung Woo-sun had sent a large sum of money to Jung Hyun-woo, who had been accepted into MIT.

“If it’s pocket money from the Chairman, you should use it carefully.”

“Are you saying I can’t buy it even if I have the money?”

Chief Hong Won-ik frowned deeply.

“You’re still being stubborn.”

“Isn’t there any reason why I can’t?”

Jung Hyun-woo, in turn, felt that Chief Hong Won-ik was being stubborn.

‘He’s always been a rigid person.’

He never glossed over things, even if it wasn’t strictly against the rules.

“And the money I have isn’t pocket money.”

“Not pocket money?”

“If you doubt it, you can ask Grandpa.”

Chief Hong Won-ik didn’t want to go that far.

‘There’s no need to stir up trouble over something like this.’

He sighed inwardly.

‘Hoo, am I losing again?’

He always felt like he was being led around whenever he talked to Jung Hyun-woo.

“Alright. If you really want to buy it, I’ll have the US branch send you the exact amount.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s voice softened as he surrendered.

“Thank you for listening to my stubbornness, Chief Hong.”

“Hyun-woo.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“You need to study hard.”

Chief Hong Won-ik thought it would be a disaster if Jung Hyun-woo were to fail a grade.

‘I can’t let my guard down until that guy graduates safely.’

He didn’t know when or where he might bounce again.

“I will study hard.”

Chief Hong Won-ik hung up the phone and turned his gaze to Section Chief Moon, who was on duty.

“Contact Daejeon Trading.”

The term “Daejeon Trading” referred to the Daewoon Trading’s Daejeon branch.

“Understood.”

Section Chief Moon hurriedly dialed the phone.

***

John River’s skills were beyond doubt. He demonstrated excellent skills not only in coding but also in functions.

‘If he’s from MIT, he should be able to do this much.’

He skimmed through John River’s work and nodded.

“It’s good.”

John clasped his hands together.

“Then, the advance payment…”

“I’ll give you the advance after you finish one more test.”

Jung Hyun-woo used a different tone than yesterday. This was the same for John.

“Understood.”

He had to get a job no matter what.

‘Game development companies are collapsing here and there, so I should at least get a job here for now.’

Moreover, if Jung Hyun-woo paid the promised $4,000 salary, there would be no reason to get a job elsewhere.

“The next test is this.”

John tilted his head after looking at the test paper Jung Hyun-woo handed him.

“Hmm, this is…”

These were problems used in schools, not in practical work.

“Can’t you solve it?”

John thought it would be a disaster if Jung Hyun-woo were to take back his words.

“No. I’ll do it.”

The moment he picked up the pen, Jung Hyun-woo handed him a calculator.

“You can use a calculator. But you have to write the formulas correctly.”

John smiled.

“I can solve it faster with a calculator.”

He was faster than expected.

Swish. Swish.

Jung Hyun-woo was slightly surprised to see that he never hesitated even once.

‘MIT graduates are really skilled.’

MIT was one of the top schools in the world, not just in the United States.

If he had gone through the proper admission process, these kinds of problems would be nothing.

A moment later.

John handed the test paper forward.

“I’ve solved everything.”

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t think he needed to grade it.

‘Everything was correct up to the middle.’

He put down the test paper and said.

“Good.”

John’s eyes lit up at his words.

“The advance.”

John was desperate for money.

Jung Hyun-woo gave a faint smile and placed an envelope on the table.

“It’s a thousand dollars.”

Since the monthly salary was 4,000, the weekly salary was slightly less than 1,000 dollars. However, he filled the remaining amount and gave him 1,000 dollars.

John quickly took the envelope and checked the amount.

‘It’s really a thousand dollars.’

He was overjoyed and bowed his head.

“Thank you.”

Jung Hyun-woo put his right hand on the table and said.

“The first salary will be 3,000 dollars, excluding the 1,000 dollar advance.”

Even 3,000 dollars was the same as the salary he received at his previous job.

“I know.”

“Good. Then I’ll tell you what John needs to do in the first week.”

John was slightly nervous.

‘It would be troublesome if he asked for too much.’

He wondered if it was related to the development of a sequel to the Zero Space series.

“What John needs to do by next week is this.”

John blinked after receiving the document Jung Hyun-woo handed him.

“This is?”

“It’s to secure as many past test problems as possible from the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.”

What Jung Hyun-woo wanted to create was a collection of past exam questions from his department.

‘It would be nice to read all the textbooks for the undergraduate courses, but I don’t have time for that.’

He was planning to secure points first with summaries and past questions.

John raised his eyebrows slightly.

“How is this work?”

“Don’t you want to?”

“Ah, no.”

This was easier than writing program code.

‘There are still many classmates left in school.’

Moreover, John had been in school for more than two years. He knew quite a few problems.

“But what are you going to do with this?”

Even if he sold it to MIT students, it wouldn’t fetch a high price.

“Do I have to tell you that?”

John lowered his tail at Jung Hyun-woo’s prickly reaction.

“No.”

“John.”

“Yes, Mr. Jung.”

“Let’s work hard together.”

John bowed his head and accepted his words.

“I will work hard.”

Age and experience were not important. The person who gave the money was the employer and the boss.

***

Monday morning.

After the Daewoon Group executive meeting.

Daewoon Construction Executive Director Jung Min-seok tilted his head at the man who came to his office.

“What’s going on?”

The person who came to him was not an employee of the affiliate he managed.

“I remembered what you said last time, so I came to see you.”

“Last time…?”

Executive Director Jung Min-seok nodded as if he remembered.

“Ah, you mean Hyun-woo’s matter.”

The employee who came to him was the one he had investigated Jung Hyun-woo’s MIT acceptance.

“So, did Hyun-woo really get into MIT?”

“Yes, he officially passed and is attending school.”

“Really?”

“I confirmed it with the Daewoon Trading US branch.”

Executive Director Jung Min-seok asked casually, but his insides were boiling.

‘He really got into MIT?’

If so, even if he received donations or recommendations, he had at least some skill.

‘At least he should have the skills to go to a state university.’

If he had the skills to enter an American state university, he could also enter a prestigious university in Korea.

‘Hyun-woo’s skills are that good?’

Frankly, he couldn’t believe it.

Jung Hyun-woo was just a troublemaker when he entered the Boston drug rehabilitation center.

‘Hmm, something is going wrong.’

He couldn’t tolerate the situation turning against his intentions.

Executive Director Jung Min-seok was frowning deeply.

“And there’s one more thing.”

Executive Director Jung Min-seok returned to reality at the employee’s words.

“Is there another matter?”

“Yesterday, Chief Hong came to the company to receive a call from Boston.”

Yesterday was Sunday.

‘If Chief Hong came to the company on a holiday to receive Hyun-woo’s call, something is going on.’

He asked reflexively.

“Do you know what it was about?”

“Not up to that point…”

It was unreasonable to expect too much from a deputy-level employee.

“Alright. Go back.”

The secretary’s office employee left the executive office with a somewhat disappointed face.

‘Tsk, is there nothing?’

At that moment, Executive Director Jung Min-seok’s secretary approached and handed him a small envelope.

“This.”

“What is this?”

“It’s an envelope with no giver or receiver.”

The secretary’s office employee realized what her words meant.

‘Since it wasn’t directly exchanged, there’s no problem even if it gets caught.’

Executive Director Jung Min-seok was a thorough person in every action. He quickly took the envelope.

“Then I’ll be going.”

The secretary bowed slightly.

“Take care.”

At the same time.

Chief Hong Won-ik was meeting with an employee who had come up from Daejeon.

“Chief Choi, how have you been?”

It was Choi Kyung-min who faced him.

“I’m doing well thanks to your consideration.”

Choi Kyung-min said he was doing well thanks to your consideration, but his face was not good.

As promised, he was promoted to chief, but he was assigned to Daejeon instead of the headquarters.

Depending on the person, his promotion could be seen as a demotion rather than a promotion.

“Don’t be too upset.”

“I’m not upset.”

Choi Kyung-min’s voice was stiff.

‘This friend is upset.’

Chief Hong Won-ik sighed briefly.

“Hoo…, there was someone who changed your 인사 [personnel appointment] in the middle.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t try to find out who that person is.”

Choi Kyung-min bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

He knew that he shouldn’t be interested in the stories of high-ranking people because he was from the secretary’s office.

‘The person who changed the 인사 might be Chairman Jung.’

Chief Hong Won-ik raised his right hand and said.

“The reason I called you here is because there’s one thing I want to ask.”

Choi Kyung-min raised his head and asked first.

“Is it about the young master?”

He seemed to know why Chief Hong Won-ik had called him.

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