A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 57

The following night, Jeong Tae-jun sat alone in a hotel room where darkness had fallen.

In the wide space, only the city lights seeping through the window faintly illuminated his silhouette without any lighting.

That appearance was like a ghost.

On the table, several scattered newspapers and a liquor bottle rolled around.

It was written in the newspapers as follows.

[Jeong Tae-jun, Suspected of Murder, Falls into the Abyss]

[The Fall of the Taeseong Family’s Son-in-Law, Where is the End]

[Universe Games Representative Ma Sang-woo Death Case, Countdown to Investigation of Jeong Tae-jun]

He slowly lifted the glass and swallowed a sip.

His gaze was already blurred, and his mouth was full of dried bruise marks.Only the bitter taste of alcohol spread in his mouth.

Last night, he asked an acquaintance to help him, but what returned were only rejection and curses.

Lawyers, friends, money, and family were no longer by his side.

Everything had disappeared like a mirage.

As the night deepened, his eyes became increasingly empty.

He occasionally muttered to himself.

“I just wanted to live a little better.”

It was beyond pitiful.

A moisture, which he could not tell was tears or sweat, spread around his eyes.

He felt a premonition that it was the end now.

He did not want to live in a miserable way until he died of old age in prison.

Unable to endure it any longer, he slowly went up to the hotel rooftop while heavily intoxicated.

As he pushed open the emergency exit door, the cold night air brushed against his face.

It felt like the touch of death.

The city he looked down upon from a high place was still shining brilliantly.

During that time, he had thought all those lights were his own.

But now, everything belongs to someone else.

Jeong Tae-jun slowly walked close to the railing.

The cold wind shook his collar.

Numerous voices were heard in his ears.

‘The fellow who killed a person.’

‘He climbed up like that, and eventually, is this the result?’

‘A mistress and even an illegitimate child.’

Jeong Tae-jun closed his eyes.

An emotion, whether it was resentment or regret, swept through him like a wave.

At the moment he was about to step forward with a bitter smile.

“Jeong Tae-jun!”

I, Lim Hyunjun, shouted.

Jeong Tae-jun, who flinched at the sudden shout and looked back, was horrified to see me walking toward him.

“You… how are you here….”

I approached quietly and said coldly.

“You don't want to die right now. You just want to run away. Until when are you going to live like that.”

Jeong Tae-jun’s face distorted with anger and despair.

I spoke firmly for the last time.

“A fellow who doesn't even have the courage to jump off….”

The hotel rooftop entrance door opened with a bang, and police officers ran in.

Jeong Tae-jun was caught just like that.

“Let go, let go!”

The police held his arms firmly and struggled to calm him down.

“Mr. Jeong Tae-jun, please calm down. Let’s go to a safe place.”

“A safe place? Is there a safe place for me! It’s all over!”

The man’s voice, shouting as he resisted as if screaming, scattered into the air.

At that moment, a cold voice flowed from my mouth as I stood on one side of the rooftop.

“The real hell starts from now.”

Jeong Tae-jun’s gaze turned toward me.

His gaze, a mixture of confusion and despair, looked at me intently, and his face was pale.

Then, a woman walked out with long strides from among the police.

It was Prosecutor Son Yu-jin dressed in a neat suit.

In her hand was an arrest warrant.

“Jeong Tae-jun, I arrest you on charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, and solicitation of murder. You have the right to remain silent and….”

Cutting off Prosecutor Son’s words, Jeong Tae-jun shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Solicitation of murder?! What are you talking about? I didn't kill anyone.”

I, standing beside Prosecutor Son Yu-jin, slowly shook my head.

“You didn't kill anyone? Then how will you explain Ma Sang-woo? He died because of the people you sent to silence him.”

Jeong Tae-jun’s face turned from pale to white, as if he were someone about to die.

Only then did all the puzzle pieces begin to fit together.

‘All of this was planned.’

He only now understood how I had known to come to the rooftop.

Jeong Tae-jun moved his body roughly while screaming as if making a final desperate struggle, but several grown men were holding him tight.

“You… who on earth are you?”

A cold smile brushed past my lips.

“It won't be important who I am. Don't you already know. Who I am….”

The wind became even stronger.

It was to the extent that everyone shrank back.

Prosecutor Son Yu-jin stepped forward and continued the words she had not finished.

“…You have the right to appoint an attorney, and all statements you make from now on can be used against you in a court of law. Now, since the notification is finished, let’s move quickly.”

Jeong Tae-jun’s legs seemed to lose strength and went limp.

If the police had not been holding him, he probably would have collapsed on the spot.

“Ma Sang-woo… for Ma Sang-woo to be dead. I only told them to threaten him.”

The trembling voice sounded desperate.

Jeong Tae-jun had only told the person he entrusted with the job to simply threaten him.

Since the man knew about his corruption, it was necessary to silence him firmly.

But he never thought he would actually die.

Prosecutor Son Yu-jin urged while looking at her watch.

“Let’s move now. It looks like it’s going to snow soon.”

In fact, white snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Jeong Tae-jun shouted as if making a final struggle, but no one listened to his words.

Prosecutor Son Yu-jin looked at me and said,“Thank you for everything during this time.”

At her words, I bowed my head and replied.

“It is early to hear a thank you. It has not ended yet.”

I lifted my head and looked up at the sky.

Cold snow fell one by one onto my face.

“It is only the beginning.”

Prosecutor Son Yu-jin stared at me for a moment and then left the scene.

I came down from the rooftop where I was left alone and got into the car.

I watched until the appearance of Jeong Tae-jun being carried away in a police car disappeared.

An indescribable emotion rushed from deep within my heart.

That beginning was from the moment I had made eye contact with Ma Sang-woo a few months ago.

At that time, the ability I possessed had activated.

In the scene I saw briefly but clearly, it was the appearance of Jeong Tae-jun dealing with Ma Sang-woo.

After that day, I followed the two people tenaciously.

While investigating Universe Games, I learned a new truth.

Jeong Tae-jun was not the only problem.

A complex investment structure through companies that were formally separated as affiliates.

However, in that fund flow, I discovered the path through which none other than Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering siphoned off overseas slush funds.

President Nam Jae-heon was utilizing Universe Games as a window for creating slush funds.

Ironically, Jeong Tae-jun was being used without even knowing such a fact.

I quietly bit my lip.

Anger and pity rushed in at the same time.

Although Ma Sang-woo had committed a crime, he had no reason to die.

The real main culprit who manipulated him and made him meet his end was someone else.

Jeong Tae-jun was merely the one holding the hilt of the blade.

The one who made him draw and wield the blade was Nam Kun-ho, the head of Daehan Group.

Through Strategic Planning Chief Shin Jung-woo, he knew long ago that his son was playing around illegally using Universe Games.

He grasped exactly how those funds flowed in and through whom they were siphoned out.

But he did not blame his son.

Rather, in order to settle the situation and cover it up quietly, he decided to sacrifice one person.

The blade he chose was Jeong Tae-jun, and the scapegoat was Ma Sang-woo.

Among the people Jeong Tae-jun employed was a henchman of Strategic Planning Chief Shin Jung-woo.

“We must make him clean up Ma Sang-woo. And make it so that Jeong Tae-jun was the one who did it.”

The one being manipulated followed without even knowing why he was moving.

He fell into a trap without even knowing what was happening.

I knew the entire story.

Every time Jeong Tae-jun moved, I became increasingly certain.

About who the real mastermind of this situation was.

But I could not strike Nam Kun-ho right now.

"Evidence is lacking."

I clenched my fist tightly and grit my teeth.

The method of using a person like a chess piece or a tool and then discarding them.

The appearance of passing the crimes they committed to others and laughing with an unbothered face was vivid before my eyes.

Anger boiled up quietly from deep within my heart.

The things I had built up until now fit together like a puzzle in my head.

The slush fund flow of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the investment in Universe Games, and the person named Shin Jung-woo.

However, even if I knew it right now, it was a frustrating matter as there was no certain evidence to strike Nam Kun-ho.

The power they had built up was as solid as an iron fortress.

I looked out the window.

Snow began to fall on the street.

My forehead was hot.

It was past midnight.

Perhaps because the tension was released, fatigue rushed in.

Still, the anger that bloomed in my heart did not easily subside.

Rather, my will became even firmer.

‘Nam Kun-ho. I will let you know that there is certainly an end for you too.’

My gaze did not waver.

Within my firm will, I sincerely hoped that someone’s name would collapse quietly into history.

***

Going back in time, it was an afternoon when the autumn wind blew coolly.

In the electronics sales department of Taeseong Department Store, a student in ordinary clothes was standing.

Wearing a thin knit cardigan over a white shirt, he was Lim Hyunjun.

‘What should I buy as a gift for my friends?’

I was lost in thought while looking around the store.

Although I had inherited Taeseong Electronics stocks from my grandfather a while ago, I still had not escaped the appearance of an ordinary student.

My gaze stopped in front of one product.

It was an electronic book reader.

“Oh! This is fascinating.”

When I was admiring the electronic book reader on display while touching it here and there, a store employee approached.

“Customer, how can I help you?”

The employee, Park Seong-ho, looked me up and down and swallowed a sigh internally.

‘Ah, starting again. They always do that even though they won’t buy it anyway.’

I had never used an electronic book reader in my life.

Because of that, I had many questions.

“Is this the latest model? How is the charging speed? How much does it weigh? How many hours can it be used with one charge?”

At the continuing questions, irritation seeped into Park Seong-ho’s eyes.

He forced the corners of his mouth up, but that soon disappeared as well.

‘Please just go. You’re not going to buy it anyway.’

Then, the employee said to me in a voice clearly mixed with irritation.

“That is for display, so please do not touch it too much.”

Park Seong-ho crossed his arms, kept his distance, and looked down at me with a crooked gaze.

“You’re a student, right? Did you not come with your parents?”

My expression changed in an instant.

There was no way I didn't know the reason why the employee’s attitude suddenly changed.

Such a thing was a very familiar occurrence to me.

Park Seong-ho glanced at his watch and calculated internally.

‘I have to fill about 500,000 won by this week…. I’m just wasting time because of this kid. Ah, seriously annoying. Why do kids come so much?’

An explicit displeasure was revealed in the employee’s expression.

I calmly looked at the store and hid my emotions.

But on the other hand, I was uncomfortable.

“This model is the latest one released, right?”

At my question, Park Seong-ho’s patience reached its limit.

Finally, he got irritated.

“Yes, I told you it is. Why do you keep asking the same question? It’s not like you’re going to buy it….”

The employee’s voice echoed loudly.

He muttered in a voice loud enough for the surrounding customers to hear.

It was a scheme to make me embarrassed so that I would run away quickly.

But I was not someone who would yield to that level of treatment.

‘He judges a person only by their outward appearance.’