Chapter 1

Log

I may be the son of a chaebol, but I'm not a chaebol heir.

I don't like getting involved in power struggles within the chaebol family.

So what do I want to do as a chaebol heir?

Isn't it obvious? YouTube.

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“Absolutely don't talk back to your brothers. Got it?”

“...”

I didn't answer my mother and walked out the door.

She's a person who will carry the guilt of what she did to me for the rest of her life. She never argues with me, knowing I don't listen to her.

“Hyunjun, got it? Just listen quietly and respectfully.”

Oh, what's this?

Today, my mother mustered up some courage.

It was an important day, and she seemed determined to get a clear answer from me.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her.

She was startled, putting her hand to her chest.

She looked so pure and beautiful.

Even though she's now 45, she looks like she's in her early to mid-30s.

Genetics are truly amazing.

She's been a single mother and hasn't really taken care of herself, yet she still maintains a face that makes me marvel.

Well, that's why...

I quickly stopped the bitter thoughts and looked at my mother.

Then, I gave her a slight smile.

“Got it, Mom.”

She seemed pleased with my compliant answer.

“I'll do well. Don't worry. I'll be respectful.”

I think I saw her eyes glisten a bit.

“Yeah, thank you. And... I'm sorry for putting you through this.”

“It's fine. I'm just getting the money, after all.”

I smiled again and walked out through the small, well-maintained garden.

The garden was beautiful.

The arrangement and care of the flowers were impeccable.

This was partly because my mother, who had no career, had nothing else to do but tend to the garden.

“Please get in. We've been delayed.”

A man in a black suit urged me.

“I'm sorry for keeping you waiting.”

I bowed slightly and spoke respectfully.

“...”

He seemed a bit unsure of how to react.

“No, please get in.”

He opened the door to a car, a top-of-the-line German sedan.

I had seen this car many times, as it often came to our house and my mother used it.

‘Do you say you “ride” in such a car, or do you “get in”?’

I smiled wryly.

But this was the first time, as far as I can remember, that I had sat in the backseat of a car with a chauffeur opening the door for me.

I might have ridden in one when I was little, but I don't remember.

– Vroom

The car started with a heavy yet smooth sound.

The destination was Seongbuk-gu.

The headquarters of L Group.

* * *

“Hey, how are you?”

On the 33rd floor of a 33-story building.

The chairman's office is located here.

Seongbuk-gu, where the building is located, doesn't have many tall buildings.

Even though it's only 33 floors, the view is surprisingly good.

“Hello.”

I bowed to greet him.

“Hmm, it's been a while since you've been here, right?”

“Yes.”

Ko Hyun-wook.

The legitimate successor of the second-largest chaebol, L Group.

The man who, according to TV, paid the third-highest inheritance tax in Korean history.

I haven't seen him in a long time, but I saw him on TV yesterday, so he's familiar.

“...”

“...”

His younger brother, Ko Hyun-seok, is giving me hostile glares instead of greetings.

Ko Hyun-wook is 29, and Ko Hyun-seok is 26.

Korea still has a strong eldest son culture.

Even though Ko Hyun-seok will inherit a significant amount, the media focuses solely on the eldest son, Ko Hyun-wook.

Is it because of this upbringing from a young age?

Ko Hyun-wook can at least put on a good act. He's pretending to be glad to see me.

But Ko Hyun-seok, who doesn't have to appear in public, doesn't need to maintain such an image.

‘Chaebol brat.’

That's exactly the image.

“It's been a while, hasn't it? Five years?”

Ko Hyun-wook said.

“Actually, I saw you at the funeral not long ago.”

When I said this, Ko Hyun-seok got annoyed.

“How many people were there? I don't even remember seeing your face. You're counting that as seeing me?”

Ko Hyun-wook intervened.

“Hey, stop it. If he saw you, he saw you.”

“No, you're just responding to him, brother. It's annoying...”

Ko Hyun-seok glared at me as if he wanted to eat me alive.

I'll hold back. I promised to be respectful and not respond.

‘But if he makes a fuss over a single word, it's going to be a problem.’

“...”

But since Ko Hyun-wook is trying to calm him down, I stayed silent.

“You're starting to look more and more like your mother. You can really charm women. Your face is just...”

Ko Hyun-seok said.

“Stop it. I didn't call you here to say that. Just be quiet.”

Ko Hyun-wook intervened again and added,

“You... didn't you just talk to me earlier?”

“Got it, got it.”

Ko Hyun-seok said and plopped down on the sofa.

It seems I'm not the only one who made a promise to be here.

Ko Hyun-seok must have also agreed with his brother to behave properly.

“Is Hyunmin doing well?”

Yes, it seems Ko Hyun-wook and I have the same goal.

To get through this meeting smoothly.

I should probably just talk to Ko Hyun-wook, but I had one question.

“Why isn't Hyunmin here? I was curious to see how he's doing.”

Hyunmin is the youngest of the three brothers.

“Hey, stop calling him Hyunmin. Just because you played together when you were little, does that make you brothers?”

“Since we're the same age, it's not like we only call each other by our names because we're brothers.”

I countered Ko Hyun-seok.

“...”

Ko Hyun-seok made an annoyed face and looked at his brother.

“Bro, look. This guy is trying not to say a single word. He must have come here with a plan today.”

“Be quiet!”

Ko Hyun-wook's voice rose.

Wow, is this the charisma of a chaebol heir?

It wasn't even that loud, but the sound was so powerful that even I flinched.

“...”

Ko Hyun-seok shut up.

“Hyunmin is in the U.S. I know. You guys are the same age, so you were close when you were young.”

“Yes, I just thought I might see him today. I was just asking how he's doing.”

“I know, I know.”

Ko Hyun-wook said, scratching his head, and continued.

“Actually, we were told not to meet you directly.”

When Ko Hyun-wook glanced over, his gaze landed on a man in a suit with glasses.

He might be from the legal team or a secretary.

In any case, he had been so inconspicuous that I didn't even notice he was there until Ko Hyun-wook looked at him.

‘People from large corporations have a certain sinister side, they say.’

I smiled wryly.

“Can I speak now?”

Ko Hyun-wook nodded, and the man in the suit asked me.

“Yes...”

He walked over with a business card.

– Park Sung-soo, Team Leader of the Legal Department of L Group

Indeed, he was from the legal team.

“Let me be direct. Our chairman has passed away, hasn't he?”

I barely managed to suppress a laugh.

‘Passed away’? How can he use such a term without feeling embarrassed?

Is the chairman an emperor?

Just from hearing a legal team member use such a term, it's clear how authoritarian L Group is.

“Yes.”

“At the age of 63. It was too early. So, he didn't have time to revise his will from before.”

Huh? Why is he saying this?

‘Is there something he doesn't like in the will?’

“The will also states that the beneficiaries should be shown the will directly. So, I will show it to you.”

Park Sung-soo handed me the will.

The other parts were covered.

I carefully read the part that wasn't covered, where my name was written.

– To my other son, Hyunjun, I leave 2% of the cash assets I had at the time of my death and 3% of L Group's shares.

What? Did he say 3% of L Group's shares?

I cleared my throat.

3% of L Group's shares?

Of course, it's not 3% of the entire company.

It's 3% of the shares my father, Chairman Ko Mu-hyuk, held.

How much would that be? He must have held at least 30% individually. So, 1%?

“... Damn.”

Ko Hyun-seok muttered from the sofa.

I heard it, even though it was a low voice.

But I didn't have time to pay attention to that.

I had expected to inherit a significant amount, something I had never touched before.

But to write the will in percentages?

The unit is different from what I expected.

“So, how much is that?”

I asked Park Sung-soo.

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“Hmm.”

Park Sung-soo glanced at the brothers, Ko Hyun-wook and Ko Hyun-seok, when I asked about the amount.

When Ko Hyun-wook nodded quietly, he read the figure on his phone.

“The cash assets are about 2.8 trillion won. So, 2% is about 56 billion won.”

2.8 trillion won.

It's a lower amount than I expected for a chaebol chairman's assets.

But it's not unusually low.

When it comes to inheritance, it's common to liquidate cash assets.

Or, more accurately, to convert them to cash and hide them from the government.

There must be a lot more unrecorded cash.

But I don't want to calculate all that.

However, the amount already exceeds what I had expected.

Father...

I felt a bit awkward calling him that, but I didn't expect him to write my name and specify a percentage for my inheritance.

Still, it was touching to see “my son Hyunjun” in the will.

He didn't visit me after I started middle school.

But it seems he still thought of me as his son when he wrote the will.

“And the shares...”

Park Sung-soo paused.

“Yes.”