The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 7

< Intro. A Once-in-a-Lifetime Life >

Lee Sanghyun was staring at her, his eyes blazing, as if trying to read her innermost thoughts.

‘What’s with the high schooler’s intense gaze…?’

Sanghyun slowly opened his mouth.

“Are you done talking nonsense?”

“Listen, Sanghyun. That’s a bit harsh…”

“Shut up!”

Sanghyun straightened up and leaned toward Oh Yeonju, his voice low and menacing.

“Shut your mouth.”

Yeonju was flustered, her body stiffening.

“I don’t know what your angle is exactly, but don’t use my parents’ death as a card in whatever game you’re trying to play. It’s not a joker, and it’s not a hidden trump card. For me and my brother, it was the collapse of our world, a devastating heartbreak. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Each of Sanghyun’s low words carried weight, lodging themselves in her mind.

Yeonju felt, for a moment, as if she had become Sanghyun, experiencing his emotions firsthand.

Sanghyun’s anger and confusion were perfectly conveyed. It was a truly strange feeling, almost like magic.

Oh Yeonju paused to catch her breath.

She felt sorry for Sanghyun, but also felt the immense pressure to make this deal happen.

“I’m sorry. I thought it would be difficult to explain the company’s organizational dynamics to a student who doesn’t know them well, so I appealed to your emotions. But I want you to know that there is definitely good intention behind my actions.”

“…I’ll try to understand the difficulties, so just tell me plainly.”

Sanghyun’s voice softened slightly. He also knew that morality in society often only comes into play when both sides’ interests align.

Sanghyun felt tired.

“As simply as possible, please.”

It felt like the emotions in his voice were piercing through her, not just words, but like hearing a magical incantation.

‘Could this actually be possible?’

Shaking her head at the unnecessary thought, Yeonju began to explain.

“Simply put, I need to bring down Chief Ko to become the vice president of the affiliate. And I’m sure you’ll agree that Chief Ko isn’t a very good person.”

“Are you after Chief Ko’s stock shares?”

“…You know it well. Even the chairman didn’t know. Who would have thought that the stock options from the failing affiliate eight years ago would lead to such a difficult situation now?”

Yeonju wondered why she was revealing so much. Did he even know what stock options were? He was just a high school student.

As Yeonju tried to gauge Sanghyun’s level of understanding, he was frowning deeply.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine. Do you have any aspirin… No, never mind. Okay. So, what do I get by filing a lawsuit?”

“A significant settlement and a just punishment for those responsible for your parents’ death. And an apology from those involved, though I can’t guarantee it will be sincere.”

“One more thing, I want you to arrange a financial lawyer who will be in charge of all my financial transactions until I become an adult. This includes everything from insurance claim reviews to stock accounts, bank transactions, over-the-counter futures trading, various taxes including inheritance tax, and accident handling with Ohkyung Group.”

“Free of charge, of course?”

Sanghyun was sure that this request was nothing compared to the value of resolving the equity stake issue, but it was a very beneficial deal for Sanghyun as well.

“The lawyer will be paid, but the money will come from Director Oh’s side.”

“Okay. Let’s draw up a contract for that along with the complaint.”

Sanghyun nodded.

He thought it was a very cheap price to pay for resolving the equity stake issue, but it was a very beneficial deal for Sanghyun as well.

A lawyer who came recommended by a chaebol [a large South Korean business conglomerate] heir would work diligently regardless of Sanghyun’s age. It was unexpected, but now he had a foothold to start investing.

‘I’m going to be rich.’

At that moment, he suddenly felt unbearably disgusted with himself.

‘Wasn’t I the one who used my parents’ death as a joker, as a hidden card?’

He knew from his past life that money and power inevitably become ugly once they exceed a certain limit.

Just as Icarus’s wings melted and he fell when he approached the sun, it was perhaps natural that he, who had dreamed of becoming a chaebol, would fall when he came close to money and power.

‘Doesn’t the dirt on my soul melt away in the sun?’

‘With that kind of background, you’re dreaming of becoming a chaebol again in another life? Only to fall again?’

He suddenly felt dizzy. He wanted to scream from the pain that felt like his head was exploding, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Or maybe he screamed but couldn’t hear it.

Oh Yeonju jumped up from her seat and shouted something.

Sanghyun stormed out of the room. A cool breeze swept through the darkening night.

And Sanghyun collapsed.

***

Waking up after a full day, Sanghyun was diagnosed with nervous breakdown and shock due to stress.

The doctor said it was a disease caused by the gap between understanding his parents’ death intellectually but not fully processing it emotionally.

The doctor gave him some kind of injection, and unlike Sanghyun’s grumbling that injections were useless for mental illnesses, the injection surprisingly eliminated his headache and phantom pain.

“Junhyung, Sangmi will be here in a little while, so take her home.”

“I told Mom, so don’t worry. Mom is coming by car after work.”

“Okay. Junhyung, Woochul, thanks for coming.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Don’t even ask if I’m okay, since I’m getting so many texts asking that. Sangmi is the one with the problem, not me.”

Sangmi, who heard that her brother had collapsed, suffered from severe anxiety and slept in the hospital. Her agoraphobia seemed to have worsened.

In the end, Sanghyun asked Junhyung to have Sangmi sleep at Junhyung’s house.

“Have you guys eaten?”

“Junhyung ate, but I didn’t.”

At Woochul’s answer, Sanghyun got up from the bed.

“The hospital cafeteria is good. Let’s go together, Woochul.”

Jin Woochul, who was next closest to Junhyung, was also visiting Sanghyun in the hospital.

So, after eating and talking, Sanghyun, Junhyung, and Woochul spent the evening in the hospital room.

Soon, Junhyung took Sangmi, who had finished her performance evaluation, home with his mother, and Woochul went home a little later.

The noisy hospital room suddenly became quiet.

And through that silence, the cell phone rang.

-Director Oh Yeonju.

“Hello?”

-Ah, hello? Sanghyun, how are you feeling?

“I’m fine.”

-It will be processed as an aftereffect of the accident, so the hospital bill will be paid by the group. It won’t be right away, but I’ll make sure it’s taken care of, so keep the receipts.”

“Yes, thank you.”

-And… the lawyer will be going to Gwangju tomorrow or the day after. I gave him your phone number, so be sure to answer even if you get a call from an unknown number.”

“Yes.”

-Um… is there anything else you’re curious about?

“In the setup, how did we meet in the past?”

Yeonju, who had Sanghyun hospitalized, told him a few precautions as his condition improved and hurriedly left for Seoul.

The most important thing was that Sanghyun and Yeonju knew each other in the past. This was to secure the justification that Yeonju’s feeding Ko to the wolves was due to her relationship with the victim, Sanghyun.

No matter how bad Chief Ko’s reputation and personality were, this kind of equity theft would be problematic without justification.

It was like covering your eyes and saying ‘boo,’ but political rhetoric like justification is important in power struggles.

-I was at Ohkyung Entertainment until the end of last year. I’m going to manipulate the documents to make you one of the finalists in the audition program I planned at that time.”

“Won’t there be any problems?”

-No. It’s not a confidential document, I just need to insert your personal information.”

“I understand.”

-Is there anything else you’re curious about?

“No.”

-Okay. Get plenty of rest, and don’t worry about the hospital bill, get all the tests you can.”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll hang up now.”

Sanghyun hung up the phone and thought.

‘If I use Director Oh Yeonju, I might be able to achieve my planned goals more easily. I can also get high-level information.’

Director Oh Yeonju doesn’t seem to realize it properly because of Sanghyun’s young age, but if Sanghyun has bad intentions, he can definitely grab and exploit Director Oh’s weaknesses.

In other words, she threw him a chance to take advantage of her.

You could criticize him for being opportunistic, but he was a successful businessman. It is natural to generate profits in business.

Even if that material is human relationships.

It was at that moment. He started sweating and his heart started pounding. In an instant, Sanghyun’s face turned white.

‘With that kind of background, you’re dreaming of becoming a chaebol again in another life? Only to fall again?’

He felt dizzy. The wide hospital room seemed to be getting narrower and pressing down on him. The bed sheet seemed to be wrapping around his body.

Sanghyun staggered and grabbed the bed to stand up.

“Ugh… !”

He vaguely knew the source of this stress.

He needed to be sure that he wasn’t really crazy. The certainty that the secret of returning to the past, which he couldn’t tell anyone, was real, not an imagination!

’20 years of memories, experiences, knowledge. Is that not enough? I’m not crazy.’

Sanghyun gasped for breath and left the hospital room.

Fortunately, the symptoms quickly subsided.

Maybe he just needed time. Time for his mind and body to become one.

“Hoo…”

As he leaned against the wall and breathed heavily, he heard faint cheers in the distance, followed by the sound of drums.

Words were not conveyed, but the rhythm was conveyed in the distant song.

The sound was coming not from Sanghyun’s ward building, which consisted of special rooms and single and double rooms, but from the general ward, which consisted of four- and eight-bed rooms.

Sanghyun walked towards the sound of the song.

The sound grew louder and louder, and a banner could be seen in the distance.

[Hope Concert for Hospitalized Patients]

< Intro. A Once-in-a-Lifetime Life > End

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