novelraw Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Chapter 46
A Genius Speaks with Money
Whether looking at his age or his career, Jeong Yu-chan was not a man who was easily shaken.
From his days in the rough activist movement through his time active in civic groups not affiliated with political parties, he was a figure famous for not being swayed by the logic of those in power even after entering the National Assembly.
He was a person who spoke his mind without blinking an eye even in front of giant politicians….
However, right now, he was catching his breath unconsciously in front of a young man.
No successful entrepreneur or any great politician had ever shaken him this much.
He found himself finding it difficult to even breathe, pushed back by the momentum rather than words, as if standing before a giant current.
What made this young man different?
To be precise, it was not because of the words he spoke.
What overwhelmed him was not the content or the pitch of the speech, but the momentum.
I did not provoke him.
I did not force him either.
But my words, every single one of them, pierced the center accurately like a blade, and my composure, without a single flicker of expression, made me look like someone who already knew the results.
Strangely, Jeong Yu-chan felt like a person who had fallen behind in front of me.
In the numerous battles and negotiations he had faced until now, he had always stood at the center and held the initiative.
But that was not the case now.
The young man before his eyes was clearly young in age and had nothing to do with the political arena.
Yet why did he feel like he was being looked down upon from above.
Jeong Yu-chan picked up his teacup reflexively.
However, the hand bringing it to his mouth stopped in midair.
As his faintly trembling fingertips became soaked with sweat, he quietly put down the teacup.
"This matter…."
He tried to speak but bit his lip for a moment.
How long had it been since his voice almost cracked, suppressed by someone else's momentum.
For a moment, he felt very unfamiliar with himself.
He tried hard to manage his emotions by coughing lightly.
"It is a more dangerous issue than you think. Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is at the center of the business world and is closely linked to political circles."
I slightly nodded and gave a smile.
"That is why I am meeting with you, Assemblyman. It is not just for the sake of exposure. It is about correcting what is wrong."
Jeong Yu-chan's expression darkened.
‘Correcting what is wrong.’
It was one of the phrases numerous politicians had shouted their entire lives.
However, it was also something that no one dared to realize despite knowing.
He could not help but be surprised that a young-looking youth was saying such words without even blinking.
I opened my mouth again.
"Assemblyman. I cannot give you this opportunity for long. Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will soon collapse. If you say you cannot do it, we have no choice but to give the opportunity to someone else."
Jeong Yu-chan inhaled.
The weight of my words felt as if I were placing the last Go stone.
He took a long breath and lowered his head.
The reality before his eyes felt like the edge of a cliff.
The impulse to avoid it pulled at the back of his neck.
He felt like he wanted to hide in a small gap if there were one anywhere in the air.
However, he knew.
Nothing changes by turning away.
It would only mean the opportunity would be stolen by someone else.
He thought he would surely regret it if that happened.
‘Really, can I look toward the top….’
As difficult as it was, it was not impossible if it could be achieved.
Assemblyman Jeong Yu-chan raised his head and looked at the young man before him.
"Representative Lim, how far do you plan to go?"
I replied firmly.
"I plan to go all the way."
"Does that mean you are even considering the level of dismantling the company, including the National Audit?"
I looked at Jeong Yu-chan and spoke as if it were natural.
"I plan to do that. No, to be precise, if it has to be that way, I will do it."
Jeong Yu-chan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Can I take that to mean your goal is the dismantling of the company?"
I slowly shook my head.
"If the company is dismantled, the employees working inside will also end up on the streets."
"Then…."
I explained calmly.
"Then wouldn't it be enough if only those who need to take responsibility do so. It is the share that the management who committed internal corruption and those who aided and abetted them should bear. It is not the responsibility of the employees."
Jeong Yu-chan's eyes flickered for a moment, but he could read my intentions.
I opened my mouth again.
"I am not someone who wants the company to collapse. Rather, I am saying let's do the necessary cleanup to prevent it from collapsing."
Jeong Yu-chan could understand my intentions more clearly.
Actually, it did not particularly matter to him what happened to the company.
He had only asked because he needed to know clearly what I was thinking.
Only then could Jeong Yu-chan lift his teacup again and swallow his first sip.
The bitter taste spread throughout his mouth.
Perhaps because he was used to the bitter taste of reality, the tea felt rather sweet instead.
After putting down the teacup without showing any emotion, he spoke again.
"Do you know why I am contemplating this much?"
I waited, nodding my head without a word.
Jeong Yu-chan slowly continued his words.
"I have been fighting alone all this time. Against power, chaebols, and the wrong system. At first, I stepped out to try and change the world and pushed forward in my own way. But at the end of those fights, only a sense of futility always remained."
I still listened to his story with quiet eyes.
"So that is why. When a person who seems to have no interests at stake like you steps forward to change something, honestly, the first thought I have is whether it is childish. Perhaps it is hypocrisy, or a hollow ambition, or maybe even both."
Jeong Yu-chan gave a smile as bitter as the taste of the tea.
"But you see through the essence of this board better than I do."
It was the moment his decision was finally solidified.
It was ironic that he, who had not broken despite numerous persuasions until now, was being persuaded by the words of this young man.
"Fine, Representative Lim. I will help Mr. Kim Jongseok. And the National Audit as well."
I reached out my hand.
My expression was still solid without a single tremor.
"Thank you, Assemblyman. You will definitely not be disappointed."
Jeong Yu-chan took Lim Hyunjun's hand.
Choi Seo-jun had been by my side and watched me through many tasks until now, but there had never been a day as chilling as today.
To be honest, it was hard to believe even having seen it directly from the side.
What kind of person was politician Jeong Yu-chan.
He was a poisonous man who had risen from the bottom to his current position.
I handled such a person skillfully and achieved what I wanted.
Watching me, Choi Seo-jun became very curious about how far I would go.
Around the time he had that thought, Jeong Yu-chan stood up from his seat.
I and Choi Seo-jun also stood up.
After exchanging a final greeting, Jeong Yu-chan was about to turn and leave when he suddenly stopped.
Then he threw an out-of-the-blue question.
"Representative Lim Hyunjun. By any chance, how old are you?"
"I am eighteen this year."
"What?!"
At my answer, Jeong Yu-chan even adjusted his glasses as if he could not believe it.
"Are you teasing me?"
"Not at all. How could I make a joke to the Assemblyman. It is true that I am eighteen."
As if defending my words, Choi Seo-jun opened his mouth.
"That is correct, Assemblyman. Representative Lim Hyunjun is indeed eighteen this year."
"Ahem. I, I see. I understand well."
Jeong Yu-chan nodded with a face that seemed to have swallowed some complicated feelings, then the corners of his mouth went up.
"I don't know what I've just done. I wonder if I will regret it tomorrow morning."
I spoke with a broad smile.
"When you see the media reports coming out tomorrow morning, that thought will vanish completely."
Only then did Jeong Yu-chan smile and truly turn away.
After he disappeared, Choi Seo-jun asked.
"Representative, you really are eighteen years old, right?"
"Now even you don't believe it, Representative Choi? Ahahaha."
I laughed out loud with a full smile as if I were truly enjoying myself.
Only Choi Seo-jun spoke with a dazed expression as if his soul had left him.
"Who does this kind of thing at eighteen. Even I can't believe it."
I blurted out a word jokingly.
"They say age is just a number."
"Isn't that meant in a different sense."
"Well, is it?"
"……."
Before anyone knew it, I was humming a tune while preparing the next move.
Only then did Choi Seo-jun come to his senses.
***
The next morning.
Jeong Yu-chan went to work early in the dawn and moved busily through the day.
As soon as he sat down, he took the tablet his aide handed him.
The moment the headline of the article entered his field of vision, he quietly exhaled.
"Assemblyman, this is the press release that came up this morning. I don't know how this happened, but suddenly you are doing a National Audit…."
"That is how it turned out."
He looked at the screen and scanned the article.
[
Just looking at the article, it was flowing like a pre-planned script.
Below that, portal real-time search terms were appearing.
From the 1st place, it was packed with contents about Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Assemblyman Jeong Yu-chan's name, and the push for National Audit witnesses.
Jeong Yu-chan slowly looked at that screen and went through the articles one by one.
It was clear to anyone that this was a meticulously planned job.
Only then did he recall the words I had said the day before.
"When you see the media reports coming out tomorrow morning, that thought will vanish completely."
He could only now clearly understand the meaning of those words.
This was not just an issue level; it was no different from an explicit declaration of war.
He put down the tablet and muttered to himself quietly.
"This fellow didn't just have preparations ready…. He persuaded me after finishing everything already."
The aide standing next to him spoke up.
"Assemblyman, Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering says they will release a statement. It seems they will claim the whistleblower is a spreader of false information."
Jeong Yu-chan slowly shook his head.
His eyes shone exceptionally bright.
"That is actually better. It is more advantageous for us if they come out that way. Now, only the task of them self-destructing in front of the people remains."
The aide's expression hardened at the increasingly incomprehensible words.
Just yesterday, Jeong Yu-chan, who had gone somewhere without his aide saying he was meeting someone, suddenly drew his sword toward Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
"Hey, snap out of it. We are going to be busy now. Oh, and here is Kim Jongseok's contact information, so tell him let's meet within today."
With that, Jeong Yu-chan gave a contact number to the aide.
He received the contact information with a bewildered face.
Jeong Yu-chan was writing something after turning on the computer.
He was concentrating more than ever.
It was because he now knew where to go without having to hesitate.
He was very excited at the thought of facing a giant power from now on.
Recently, Assemblyman Jeong Yu-chan had been having internal conflicts about whether he had become a mere politician.
At such a time, he met an entrepreneur named Lim Hyunjun and gained an opportunity.
For him, who was experiencing confusion in his identity as a politician, the resolution from the day he first stepped into the political world was reviving from deep within his heart.
It felt as if he had returned to the Jeong Yu-chan of his younger days, who believed he could change the world.
No, perhaps this very moment was truly the beginning of a fresh start from the very beginning.
On the afternoon of this day, a completely different tension was flowing in the meeting room of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Without even knowing that the storm no one had expected had already begun.