A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 139

After dropping Yena off at home, Jiheon returned to Seryun Group headquarters to meet with Jitae.

“The information about Max Planning isn’t something ordinary reporters could easily find. But any businessman running a company of a certain size could access it. It’s likely someone who tried to do business with us at least once.”

As Jiheon organized the information he had gathered in a few hours, meaningful clues emerged.

“The numerical data in the article is from around this time last year. It’s from when Daegun Corporation was considering advertising and testing the waters with Max Planning.”

Jitae nodded in agreement with Jiheon’s assessment.

“Listening to you, it seems like the construction company information is similar? The information from when Seryun Construction and Daegun Corporation were in contact was used as numerical data.”

“It looks like they prepared to attack from various angles, but when you dig into it, it’s not thorough at all. It’s a scheme that was quickly put together in a short amount of time.”

Jiheon’s opinion seemed plausible, but he couldn’t be certain.

“Still, we need to approach this with various possibilities in mind. Your hypothesis might be correct, but there’s also a high chance it’s not.”

“What if we make it a big media issue to get more people interested? That way, he’ll get even more excited and run wild. When the stakes get higher, he’s bound to get caught.”

Both Jiheon and Jitae were bold and driven individuals, so their opinions aligned well. It was the first time the two had joined forces.

“The day before the incident, Chae Eunyeop came to see me. He asked me to drop the charges, and I refused. He might have vented his anger there. Since he can’t directly get involved due to his father’s confirmation hearing, he provoked Ham Daegun to act as his henchman.”

It was just a hypothesis, but Jitae quickly agreed. He had never met Ham Daegun in person, but he knew his personality from rumors. He was known to act easygoing most of the time, but once he got angry, he would act like a madman.

“I overheard that Chae Eunbi was obsessed with you. It seems like she turned one person into a vessel of jealousy.”

“Nothing ever happened with Chae Eunbi.”

Jiheon said sternly, annoyed by Jitae’s teasing.

“Be careful. Jungo might not like hearing that.”

“Even in the midst of all this, are you still scared of your wife?”

“You’ll understand how I feel once you get married, *hyung* [older brother or senior male acquaintance],” Jiheon retorted.

Jiheon cut the joke short and renewed his determination.

“Chae Seobok’s confirmation hearing is next Wednesday. We need to wrap things up by then.”

* * * * * * *

Seryun Group responded to the flood of rumors by disclosing all the facilities and sanitation processes of its food factory. They also released an official statement, announcing their full cooperation with any future investigations.

Internally, they were also trying to appease reporters, collecting and analyzing information from online forums, and hiring professional hackers to track down those spreading the rumors.

As the verifiable slanders were being dealt with, the rumors about the Seryun Group owner’s family’s private life became the biggest issue. This was because it was the most sensational content. Jiheon fought against the rumors all night and finally returned home on Sunday morning.

Jungo, Yena, and Guksun came to the front door to greet Jiheon.

“Oh my… our son-in-law has been through so much. Are things getting better now?”

“Not yet. I’ve come to change and wash up. I have to go back out.”

At Jiheon’s answer, Jungo turned away with a gloomy face. Jiheon asked Guksun,

“Is Jungo sick?”

“She’s just upset.”

Only then did Guksun tell Jiheon about what had happened on Friday. Jungo had found Eunbi collapsed near the OB-GYN clinic [Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic] and took her to the emergency room, where she stayed by her side like a guardian for several hours.

Hearing the story, Jiheon became worried that Jungo might have been harmed, but Guksun laughed as if it were nothing.

“She did all sorts of good deeds for Chae Eunbi and now she’s upset about it.”

Last night, Jungo had heard from Jiheon that Chae Eunbi and her brother might be involved in all the slanders against Seryun Group. Since then, she had been so upset that she couldn’t sleep.

If she had gotten that information sooner, she would have treated Chae Eunbi more harshly. She would have questioned her more fiercely.

Jiheon approached Jungo, who was curled up on the sofa. Jungo lamented as if she were ill.

“I didn’t know. That it was related to Chae Eunbi…”

Jiheon sat down close to her and gently stroked Jungo’s hair.

“If I had known, I would have never been so kind…”

“Even if you had known, wouldn’t you have been kind? If it were you.”

Jungo flared up and jumped to her feet.

“No! What do you take me for?”

“Really?”

“Of course! I’m a person too! Aaaargh. I’m so frustrated.”

“It’s okay. It could happen.”

“I don’t need your sympathy.”

She was still lovely as she brooded over what could not be undone and could not be taken back.

After being upset for a while, Jungo quietly said in a voice of remorse.

“I’m sorry. That I couldn’t be of help.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry.”

“…”

“I’ll win it all.”

Jiheon answered confidently.

Now, Chae Seobok’s confirmation hearing was only three days away.

* * * * * * *

Time passed, and on Wednesday morning,

A piece of news flashed on the internet news boards that had been plastered with stories about Seryun Group: It was the day of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Chae Seobok’s appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

10 a.m. All sorts of reporters gathered at the National Assembly. Prior to the hearing, the chairman of the Special Committee on Confirmation Hearings stated that today’s confirmation hearing would be broadcast live on more than 10 broadcasting stations.

“We will now consider the motion for approval of the appointment of Supreme Court Justice nominee Chae Seobok.”

Soon, the chairman, announcing the start of the confirmation hearing, introduced Chae Seobok’s resume at length. Then, Chae Seobok rose from his seat, raised his right hand, and recited the oath in a solemn voice.

“Oath. As a public official nominee, I swear that I will speak the truth, without hiding or adding anything, in accordance with my conscience.”

Chae Seobok was not very nervous because he had already experienced this during his Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearing several years ago.

“Now, we will hear the Supreme Court Justice nominee’s opening statement.”

Guided by the chairman, Chae Seobok stepped onto the podium and opened his mouth with a more virtuous and impartial impression than anyone in the past.

“As a servant of the respected people, my legal career over the past 30 years has been guided by the principles of fairness and justice, constantly asking myself whether everyone can be happy before the law. In order to ensure that the law is not harmed and the people are not harmed, studying alone was often not enough. I wanted to create a court that understands the sorrow of the wronged and speaks to them with comfort.”

Chae Eunyeop almost teared up at his father’s touching words.

How meticulously he had prepared for this day!

Eunyeop had grasped the tendencies of all 13 members of the Special Committee on Confirmation Hearings. He had selected two members of the National Assembly who were easy to deal with and asked them to lead today’s hearing.

The script was already complete, and his father had perfectly memorized it. Everything was going well according to the scenario. It was a moment of deep emotion.

* * * * * * *

No one is free from dirt if you dig hard enough. That was what Ham Daegun believed like a creed.

Everyone has a weakness, and if you seize that weakness, they can’t breathe. This was how Ham Daegun had reached his current position. If you hold the lifelines of the weak and pressure them from all sides, they soon shed tears of blood and beg for their lives.

“This time, I fought against a large corporation, and it’s more than half a success. I’ve made those bastards unable to move. Now they’ll be raided one after another and investigated by the prosecution.”

*Taste some pain, you bastards.*

He was so excited about all the things happening in the world that he forgot that his future father-in-law’s confirmation hearing was being held at 10 a.m. today.

Daegun belatedly turned on the live broadcast of the hearing but soon turned it off. The talk coming out of the confirmation hearing was predictable and would only give him a headache, so he didn’t want to listen intently. It was boring.

Instead, he decided to do his best in what he could do: pressuring the companies to put even more pressure on Seryun Group. The work of anonymously making a group unable to do anything was very interesting and rewarding.

At the age of forty, he felt the joy of playing with toys. Determined, he decided to visit the company and encourage the company’s CEO a little more. He hoped they would create a more exciting incident.

As Daegun got out of the car in the company’s parking lot and entered the building, he called the company’s CEO. He had been able to reach him well last night, but today he was so busy that he didn’t answer the phone. Then, a man approached him and spoke.

“Are you Mr. Ham Daegun?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m a police officer. Mr. Ham Daegun, I’m arresting you on charges of obstruction of business.”

Two police officers showed their IDs and read him his Miranda rights, grabbing Daegun’s arms. Daegun struggled in the unexpected situation.

“Why me? No, why me!”

“You used an illegal viral marketing company, right? All the company’s employees have been caught on the spot.”

“…”

“We need to investigate urgently. Let’s go.”

The police had raided the crime scene.

* * * * * * *

The news that an even more interesting story than Chae Seobok’s confirmation hearing had broken spread inside Max Planning.

[The mastermind behind the all-out online terror incident that occurred against Seryun Group from last Friday to today was arrested as a flagrant offender at 11 a.m. today. The perpetrator has been identified as Ham Daegun, CEO of Daegun Corporation.]

There were so many reporters that it was as if all those who couldn’t attend the confirmation hearing had gathered in front of the police station. Soon, a man got out of the police car. The man denied his guilt and threw another bait to the reporters.

[It’s not me, you need to arrest Jung XX of Max XX Planning! That bastard did something terrible to the person who’s going to be my bride!]

Among the words Daegun was spouting, the personal information of others was muted, but everyone at Max Planning could understand.

*It’s not me, you need to arrest Jung Jiheon of Max Planning!*

The employees who understood the meaning scoffed as if they were dumbfounded.

“What nonsense is he talking about.”

“Seriously, what nonsense is he talking about?”

“Right. What nonsense is he talking about? Our director is the real victim here.”

The employees of Max Planning were naturally angry. Insulting Director Jung Jiheon felt like insulting themselves. The employees moved to protect Director Jung Jiheon, who had gone from being disliked to liked due to the Remi Remi incident and the drama-like wedding announcement.

They had a weapon.

The recording file that was exposed to the company when Chae Eunbi resigned.

Director Jung Jiheon had sent an email to all employees asking them to delete the file, but they would not have deleted information with collectible value without complaint.

The employees rushed to report the recording file of the conversation between Chae Eunbi and Jung Jiheon to the reporters.

The counterattack had begun.

Jungo also quietly shouted inwardly from her seat.

‘Chae Eunyeop, you wait.’

11:50 a.m. The morning session of the confirmation hearing was coming to an end.