A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 43

Kim Jongseok’s eyes grew wide.

“...HJ Partners?”

“Shh! You must not speak loudly. This is a story that must not go outside the hospital.”

The couple nodded at the same time as if they understood.

After that, the hospital director spoke with a kind smile.

“Do not be too surprised. The hospital will provide the best possible treatment we can.”

Leaving those words behind, the hospital director leisurely left the scene.

Jung Yu-jin looked at her husband with a complicated expression.

He also stood for a long time with a bewildered face.

There was no way Kim Jongseok would not know HJ Partners.The face of the handsome boy he had encountered in the auditorium came to his mind.

That boy whom he had thought did not look ordinary even back then.

After a moment, the couple entered the hospital room.

Kim Jongseok held the child’s hand carefully and muttered to himself.

“Thank you…. I will truly never forget this grace.”

The autumn sun entered through the curtains of the ward window.

That sunlight was peace itself.

Everyone wished with one heart.

They wished more than anyone that this would last forever.

As the saying goes to strike while the iron is hot, Kim Jongseok moved immediately.

After going home and changing into a neat suit, he took out the business card he had kept.

Having gotten into the car, he entered ‘HJ Partners’ into the navigation.

Only after taking a deep breath did he turn the steering wheel and drive the car.

Soon he arrived at the building parking lot where the HJ Partners logo was engraved.

Since he had not made an appointment in advance, he headed to the lobby first.

All he had was a single business card.

He had come here based only on the hospital director’s hint.

Upon entering the 1st-floor lobby, a spacious information desk was visible.

An employee in neat attire approached him.

“How may I help you?”

Kim Jongseok hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth carefully.

“By any chance, is there someone wearing a school uniform in this company?”

“Pardon?”

The employee was flustered, but Kim Jongseok was the same.

“That is… if so, could I perhaps see the Representative?”

“Excuse me, but did you make a prior appointment with the Representative today?”

“It is not that.”

A visit from an outsider whose identity was not confirmed was normally a matter where a meeting itself was difficult to achieve.

The employee asked politely while maintaining a smile as much as possible.

“May I ask what your name is?”

“It is Kim Jongseok.”

As soon as they heard his name, the desk employee’s expression changed.

“Could you please wait for a moment? Center Head.”

The employee’s attitude changed as if they already knew who he was in advance.

They led Kim Jongseok somewhere.

“Please follow me.”

“...Thank you.”

Things for which the reason was unknown occurred continuously today.

Kim Jongseok only walked while following the employee.

While going up in the elevator, his hands became drenched with sweat.

He was not usually the type to be weak-hearted, but he was at a loss as to why he was trembling so much.

Soon the elevator made a sound and the doors opened.

The employee standing next to him spoke kindly.

“You may go in this way. The Representative is waiting for you.”

Kim Jongseok pushed the handle attached to the opaque glass door.

In the interior where subtle lighting lingered, a man who looked much younger than Kim Jongseok was waiting for him.

The man, dressed in a neat navy suit, looked calm yet had a smart impression.

Unlike his young appearance, a firmness that seemed to hold the center strangely stood out.

“Nice to meet you. Center Head Kim Jongseok, thank you for coming like this.”

Choi Seo-jun reached out his hand first.

Kim Jongseok bowed his head while holding the hand in a daze.

“Ah, yes. I do not know if it is okay for me to visit so abruptly. Thank you for making time.”

“It is fine. I was waiting as I thought you would come.”

The two sat facing each other in chairs.

Kim Jongseok brought up the words that surged from deep within his heart.

“Actually, I heard the story from the hospital. I heard that my child being moved to Taeseong General Hospital and being hospitalized in a good room were all the help of HJ Partners. I truly do not know how to express my thanks.”

At those words, Choi Seo-jun smiled quietly.

After that, he shook his head and politely raised his hand.

“I am not the one receiving the thanks.”

“...Pardon?!”

“To speak precisely, the reason our company moved was entirely the will of our Representative. You probably met him before. Because from that point on, matters related to Ms. Ha-yun’s treatment were carried out entirely by his will.”

Kim Jongseok was speechless for a moment.

The Representative of HJ Partners was clearly Choi Seo-jun.

However, hearing the content he spoke, it sounded as if there were a separate Representative.

“Is that person you call the Representative perhaps….”

Choi Seo-jun checked the watch on his wrist and answered.

“He will probably be here in a little while.”

At that moment, the notification on the phone Choi Seo-jun possessed rang.

He checked it as if it were familiar and uttered one more word.

“Haha. He certainly isn'

t a man you can talk behind the back of. He has just arrived now.”

Subsequently, the door opened and someone walked inside.

Choi Seo-jun stood up from his seat.

It was an attitude as if welcoming an important guest.

And the person who opened the door and entered was the person in Kim Jongseok’s memory.

It was I, Lim Hyunjun, the main character.

I was still in my neat school uniform, with eyes uniquely deeper than my peers and a calm expression.

I bowed my waist and greeted him with a bright and clear voice.

“Hello, Senior. I am Lim Hyunjun.”

Kim Jongseok doubted his eyes.

The word student and the word Representative did not seem to go together at all.

Nevertheless, Choi Seo-jun treated me, Lim Hyunjun, with a polite attitude as if it were familiar.

“Representative, this is Center Head Kim Jongseok. He hasn'

t been here long.”

At that one word, the air in the room changed.

I, Lim Hyunjun, bowed my head once more and greeted him politely.

“You must have worked hard coming a long way.”

Kim Jongseok slowly stood up from his seat while being dumbfounded.

“Did you say… Representative?”

At Kim Jongseok’s actions as if he had lost his spirit, Choi Seo-jun introduced me, Lim Hyunjun, as if he had predicted such a thing.

“Yes, this person is the actual owner of HJ Partners.”

It was a truly plain and neat answer.

I, Lim Hyunjun, kindly had Kim Jongseok sit and then sat down myself.

This was the first day the three of us gathered and sat in one place.

Kim Jongseok could not continue his words for a while, and then, as if he had realized late, he looked at me, Lim Hyunjun, with a face mixed with shock and bewilderment.

“...You are the student I met at the lecture hall that day, right?”

“Please speak comfortably, Senior. I am very much your junior.”

Choi Seo-jun laughed lightly as if he understood and added.

“At first, it was not easy for us to adjust either. However, if you spend time with the Representative, well, you will get used to this much quickly.”

It seemed as if a playful joke was mixed in there, but such things did not enter Kim Jongseok’s eyes at all.

He stood up from his seat and bowed his waist deeply.

At this moment, whatever form he used to express gratitude would be insufficient.

To that extent, his heart was overwhelmed and apologetic.

“Truly… Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Representative, hope has appeared for our child. To bestow such grace. I do not know how I should repay you….”

I, Lim Hyunjun, shook my head and said.

“I did not do this expecting a repayment. So please do not mind it too much. Ha-yun is Center Head’s child and at the same time a life we must all protect together. I only hope you will stay by her side until the day she is discharged in good health.”

At those words, the corners of Kim Jongseok’s eyes turned slightly red.

He sat back in the chair and took a deep breath.

Before coming to this place, there had been many worries and conflicts.

However, at this moment, he could clearly know.

That this young friend was not simply a third-generation member of a chaebol family.

This person was an existence with the power to truly move people.

Hesitating about what words would be good to say, he opened his mouth carefully.

“I am not a fool. Since I have received such great grace, I think there is surely something you want. Because that is also a person’s heart.”

At those words, Choi Seo-jun became quiet as if he had stopped breathing for a moment.

Only I, Lim Hyunjun, slowly nodded and smiled.

“It is not unreasonable for you to think so, Senior. I would have had such thoughts as well.”

Even while saying that, Hyunjun’s words did not sound like a joke or consolation to Kim Jongseok.

They truly contained sincerity.

I, Lim Hyunjun, continued speaking slowly.

“However, I did not do this expecting any price. On the contrary, there is something I would like to tell you now.”

The look in Kim Jongseok’s eyes changed.

As if he had made some unspoken determination, he waited for my words, Lim Hyunjun.

“If there is something you want to do, Senior, I plan to back you up entirely.”

“...Pardon?”

“Whatever goal you have kept in your heart while living until now is fine. Whether you conduct research or foster juniors, if you decide to do that work, I plan to take responsibility and support you with funds, manpower, and whatever else is necessary.”

Kim Jongseok was speechless at the nonsensical proposal.

This was the same for Choi Seo-jun.

Although there were things he had expected to some extent, he did not know at all that I, Lim Hyunjun, would speak like this.

I, Lim Hyunjun, continued speaking without minding.

“I believe. That when you help a person who works with sincerity, that person can change the world. Although it was a short connection, I hope you will start your real story from now on.”

Those words made the deep part of Kim Jongseok’s heart ring.

He had lived his whole life sweating while moving between the field and the office just because he was a technician.

It was a life he believed would never have a day where his philosophy was recognized.

However, now someone had reached out, saying they would believe in him and support him to this extent.

Kim Jongseok bowed his head and uttered words as if muttering.

“...I did not know such a day would come.”

I, Lim Hyunjun, said sincerely to the person before my eyes with a gentle smile.

“From now on, it will be your time, Senior.”

***

The next morning.

Kim Jongseok entered the Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering headquarters while dressed in a neat suit.

Unlike yesterday, determination was contained in his footsteps.

However, as soon as Kim Jongseok entered, security guards blocked his way.

“Center Head, why are you here again? Please have mercy on us. Please go back.”

Toward the security company employees who were acting as if they were in a difficult position, Kim Jongseok let out a snort as if to mock them.

“You must have been scared that I would come in.”

It was then.

Two people dressed in high-end suits appeared inside the headquarters.

They were Vice President Choi Dong-ryeol and President Nam Jae-heon, the powerful figures of Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering.

They stopped walking as soon as they saw Kim Jongseok.

Choi Dong-ryeol spoke first while twisting the corners of his mouth.

“Why, Center Head Kim. Why does a person who should go to Geoje come to the headquarters? Do you still have lingering attachments?”

At Choi Dong-ryeol’s sarcasm, Nam Jae-heon also let out a full sneer.

After slowly scanning the gazes of the two, an arc was drawn at the corners of Kim Jongseok’s mouth.

At that moment, a piece of paper went flying through the air with a swish.

Thwack.

It was a single resignation letter printed neatly.

And Kim Jongseok shouted with an uninhibited voice so that all the employees in the lobby could hear.

“I’m throwing this first. It’s a resignation letter, you bastards!”

Along with the sound of buzzing, the gazes of the employees who were on their way to work all turned toward that direction at once.

Kim Jongseok continued with a sharpened voice.

“From now on, you guys are screwed. You pieces of trash. Now, eat this!”

He laughed more refreshingly than anyone, slowly raised his middle finger, and leisurely walked out.