Divorce in Bed Chapter 41

“…What?”

“Logically speaking, do you really think something like that could exist? It’s all a lie. I just talked a good game. You’re as easy to string along now as you were back then. Easy.”

Gye Sanghun stared intently at his phone screen, as if he couldn’t care less about the shock Yeohwi felt. His nervously wrinkled monolid eyes blinked as he kept tapping the screen to refresh.

“Transfer… I sent the photo. Hurry, transfer the money…”

Yeohwi’s head went cold.

It felt as though the blood flowing through his veins had frozen in an instant. What came before the sense of betrayal or sadness was a chillingly clear and cruel realization of reality.

I was played. It’s a trap.

After being victimized like that his whole life, he had walked into a snare with his own two feet, blinded by the sweet bait of family and the hope of truth.

“…You deceived me? Again?”

The sound of rain and ragged breathing mixed in the empty concrete abandoned factory. His heart hammered irregularly against his ribs.

“Tsk, tsk. What ‘vicious deeds’ would Chairman Seong do? That man paid hundreds of billions in taxes while he was alive. He was a stuffy old fogey. But seeing how even someone who lived that virtuously ended up with dementia, unable to even handle his own business in his final years—don’t you think it makes you feel like it wouldn’t be a problem to live a life committing a few sins instead?”

“…”

“Well, that’s all in the past. I was just terribly unlucky. I had worked so hard to set the stage, but of all days, his mind had to snap back to clarity that day.”

Ding! At that moment, a clear and cheerful notification sounded from Gye Sanghun’s phone. It was a terrifyingly bright sound that didn’t suit the eerie atmosphere of the abandoned factory at all.

Checking the screen, Gye Sanghun’s mouth split into a grin that reached his ears.

“Oh, it’s in! It’s done!”

Yeohwi’s eyes sharpened. Veins popped on his clenched fists.

Instead of standing there dazed, his mind raced.

“Ha! I guess you got the money? Who told you to do this?”

Gye Sanghun was a man who had lived like a ghost, ruined after serving his prison sentence. He hadn’t done this alone. Someone had instigated it. Someone with a motive strong enough to lure him here, take a photo, and demand a report. And someone accustomed to using people with money.

There was only one answer.

“Do Jingyu.”

Yeohwi spat the name out lowly.

“The President of KD, I assume. How much did you ask for as the price for luring me out?”

Yeohwi pressed him, glaring at Gye Sanghun. His gaze was no longer that of a clear, innocent young master. Gye Sanghun gave a fishy laugh and stepped back.

“I suppose I have no loyalty to answer that. My job ends here, you see. And son, you ought to fix that habit of trusting people. Even though your father left you with such a harsh lesson, you’re still in this state… tsk, tsk…”

“…You piece of trash!”

Yeohwi snapped.

His grandfather’s legacy, his parents’ deaths, and his own desperation had been sold off for money yet again. He was a fool for wavering, thinking he might have been a person worth his affection. He was naive. How could he have been deceived so easily?

Reason severed, Yeohwi lunged at Gye Sanghun like a beast, screaming internally that he would never repeat such a mistake again. He immediately snatched his wrist and grabbed the phone.

“Hey! Give it back! That’s my money!”

Gye Sanghun struggled and pushed Yeohwi, but he was no match for the grip of the enraged Yeohwi.

Yeohwi finally checked the deposit screen.

NH Bank 11/19 23:58

Deposit 50,000,000 KRW

Gold Number Co., Ltd.

Balance 50,000,000 KRW

It was clear. A shell corporation he had seen on Do Jingyu’s slush fund laundering chart. A ghost company.

Furious to the core, Yeohwi hurled the phone against the wall. The screen shattered into pieces as muddy water splashed everywhere.

“And you call yourself a father. For a mere 50 million won… you sell me out?”

Yeohwi growled. His whole body shook like an aspen tree, trembling with the shiver of betrayal.

“My grandfather’s will, the price of my parents’ lives—is that all they’re worth?”

“Shut up! That’s my money!”

Gye Sanghun lunged like a madman to pick up the phone fallen on the floor. He was in a frenzy, rummaging through the muddy water to find that one phone in the dark.

“You stupid brat. An old man with dementia and a ten-year-old kid possessing such a huge sum is a national loss. If I had that money, I would have used it much more usefully than a guy like you. Do you even know?”

“So in the end, it was always about money. Back then, and now.”

“Yeah, you bastard! Money! It’s money! Humans are all about money anyway! Who wouldn’t want to be the Chairman? Who would want to be the Chairman’s toilet-wiping lackey!”

Gye Sanghun finally found the broken phone and wiped the dirty water off with his sleeve. He held it dearly to his chest and snickered, mocking Yeohwi. It was a laugh filled with madness.

“Puhaha! It’s all over anyway. Do you really think you can walk out of here safely? Huh? Why do you think I called you here, son?”

At that moment, a roar echoed from the giant rusted iron doors at the factory entrance. From beyond the gates of hell that swung open, the blinding glare of headlights poured in, paralyzing Yeohwi’s vision in white.

The rain pouring outside reflected the light, looking as if tens of thousands of white arrows were falling.

Vroom!

Three black vans waiting outside burst into the factory with the rough sound of engines. The tires scraped the floor, kicking up spray, and the vehicles came to a stop in a semicircle as if surrounding Yeohwi. Then, the doors opened, and men in black suits poured out in a swarm.

Each wore a mask or had a hat pulled down low, and they held weapons like iron pipes or wooden clubs in their hands.

“Seong Yeohwi.”

A skinhead man, who appeared to be the leader, walked forward calling Yeohwi’s name. He looked back and forth between a photo in his hand and Yeohwi’s face; judging it was him, he tucked the photo away.

“Too bad for someone so young. You’ve upset the feelings of someone you shouldn’t have touched.”

He made a dull thudding sound by tapping the iron pipe against his palm. His rain-slicked bald head glistened. As he drew closer, he was very tall, and a black skull tattoo was etched onto the back of his head.

“Well then, I should be going. Good luck, gents.”

Gye Sanghun shamelessly slunk away toward the door where the shutter had been raised. Yeohwi glared at the skinhead with venomous eyes. A fierce light radiated from beneath his long eyelashes.

“You lot must be the ones Do Jingyu sent. What does that old man want?”

“Kid’s got a bit of a foul mouth.”

The skinhead laughed slyly.

“What he wants. What he wants… The President wants you to become well-behaved.”

As he flicked his finger, the men in suits narrowed the perimeter. A giant shadow swallowed Yeohwi. Yeohwi slowly stepped backward.

“Until you feel like moving with all your loyalty for him, you’ll have to receive some education from the hyungs today.”

“Loyalty?”

“You know, a spy? Something like that. Leaking some information the President needs, and conversely, planting some information the President wants…”

“You want me to betray Mister Dowon?”

“Betrayal? Man, you sure talk harsh. It just means let’s all work together for the President, eh?”

Yeohwi’s pupils shook. The form of violence visible before his eyes was too immense. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid. However, he did not collapse.

He couldn’t be a burden to Dowon. Never; he hated the idea of holding him back more than death itself. He would rather take a beating than have even a shred of intent to play the puppet Do Jingyu wanted.

“…Then tell the President. I’m a bit expensive.”

“What? You’re easier to talk to than I thought. How much?”

“The position of KD President.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Tell Do Jingyu I’ll think about it once he steps down from the President’s seat.”

If he was caught like this, it was the end.

His mind had become so hot that at some point it passed the critical limit, and he felt it turning cold instead. His focus sharpened to the limit due to survival instinct, and his vision actually cleared, making his surroundings vivid.

The structure of the factory, the abandoned machinery. And the old, worn-out iron ladder connected to the second floor caught his eye.

“Get him!”

As the skinhead flicked his finger, the men in suits began to draw closer. Taking advantage of the gap, Yeohwi kicked an old drum can next to him with all his might.