Inside the VIP room of Moulin Rouge, a high-end hostess bar in Gangnam, Jeon Geon-woo and Yoo Seok-chan sat alone—without any women to accompany them.
Jeon Geon-woo slammed his glass down onto the table, irritation flashing across his face.
"That bastard Ho-geun! He made such a big deal about trusting him, and this is how he handles things? Damn it!"
Sitting across from him, Yoo Seok-chan's expression was equally grim.
With Boseong Telecom's stock trading suspended and the Financial Supervisory Service conducting raids and investigations, the money they had invested in the scheme was now as good as lost.
"If this keeps up, not only do we lose any profits, but we won't even get a single cent back! Shit, that's the end for us…"
"It's not about the money right now."
"Then what the hell is the problem?"
Yoo Seok-chan pulled out a cigarette, lit it with his lighter, and exhaled a cloud of smoke before speaking in a heavy voice.
"Didn't you hear? Two brokerage firm employees involved in the operation got arrested."
"..."
"If we're not careful, we could end up with a red mark on our records for stock manipulation."
Jeon Geon-woo, who hadn't considered that possibility, suddenly looked alarmed.
"The guys they caught don't know about us. There's no way that happens."
"But Ho-geun does."
Yoo Seok-chan replied, blowing out another puff of smoke.
"And if they trace the money's origin, we might get caught up in it by sheer bad luck."
"…!"
Realizing the situation was far more serious than he had thought, Jeon Geon-woo's face turned pale.
"Shit."
Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the whiskey bottle with a rough gesture and poured himself a drink.
There was no way he could get through this without alcohol.
"Where the hell is that bastard Ho-geun? He better not have run off on his own."
"Just wait a little longer."
"If he's going to be late, he should at least call! I never liked that guy from the start."
Just then, the door swung open, and Woo Ho-geun stepped in, carrying a Boston bag in one hand.
"You… You!"
"You really are an impatient guy."
Yoo Seok-chan leaned back lazily in his chair, eyeing him with a crooked smirk.
Without saying a word, Woo Ho-geun set the Boston bag down by his feet, grabbed the whiskey bottle from Jeon Geon-woo's hand, filled an empty glass to the brim, and downed it in one go.
"You bastard, why the hell are you so late?"
"I had some things to take care of."
Wiping the liquor from his lips with the back of his hand, Woo Ho-geun dropped into the empty seat with a thud.
Seeing that, Jeon Geon-woo, getting even more heated, was about to shout when Yoo Seok-chan raised his hand to stop him.
"Ah, what!"
"Shut up. You're too loud."
Staring directly at Woo Ho-geun, Yoo Seok-chan asked in a dry tone,
"What happened?"
Woo Ho-geun lifted his head, looked between his two furious friends, and opened his mouth to speak.
"As you all probably already know, An inspector got wind of our operation mid-way and busted us, ruining everything."
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
At the irresponsible response, Yoo Seok-chan furrowed his brows as he held a cigarette between his fingers.
At that moment, Jeon Geon-woo, furious, pointed an accusing finger and raised his voice.
"Hey! You said this was a sure thing!"
"I didn't know the inspector bastards would interfere and ruin everything."
"What do you mean you didn't know? Are you kidding me? 'I didn't know' is your excuse?"
Jeon Geon-woo slammed his foot against the table and shouted.
"You're acting like this is no big deal! What about the money we invested? And if we're unlucky, we might get dragged into this too!"
As Jeon Geon-woo continued to corner him with accusations, Woo Ho-geun's face twisted with irritation.
It was bad enough that his plan to make a fortune had crumbled, but on top of that, his father had caught him attempting stock manipulation, and he had already endured a severe scolding.
And now, his so-called friends were acting like it was all his fault. The sheer unfairness of it made his insides churn.
If it were up to him, he would've snapped back, asking when he had ever forced them to invest. But he held it in.
Of course, it wasn't out of friendship. It was because of their powerful connections—one had a father who was a heavyweight in Myeong-dong's private loan market, and the other's father was a four-term senior ruling party congressman.
"We're already handling things on our end, so you guys won't get caught up in it."
"Are you sure?"
At Yoo Seok-chan's calm question, Woo Ho-geun replied reluctantly, his expression still sour.
"It'll be wrapped up as if it was just two arrested employees messing around with client deposits."
Only then did Yoo Seok-chan give a small nod.
If they could cut off the loose ends and contain the situation, there wouldn't be a huge problem.
Jeon Geon-woo, who had been restless, finally let out a sigh of relief after seeing Yoo Seok-chan's reaction.
"Shit. If my old man finds out, I'm dead. At least we made it through."
Trying to get a piece of the action had nearly landed them in deep trouble.
"Ha... But still, what about the money?"
Jeon Geon-woo, still unable to let go of his grudge, spoke with a sulky expression.
At that, Woo Ho-geun grabbed the Boston bag he had placed at his feet and set it on the table.
"Three hundred million won. This is all that's left for now, so split it however you want."
At the mention of three hundred million won, Jeon Geon-woo's face contorted in displeasure.
"Hey, we entrusted you with a billion won, and you expect us to make do with this measly amount?"
"Be grateful you're getting anything. You think you're the only ones who took a hit?"
Woo Ho-geun shot an irritated glare at Jeon Geon-woo, who had been snapping at him nonstop.
At that moment, Yoo Seok-chan, who had been smoking, stubbed out his half-burnt cigarette in a crystal ashtray and spoke up in support of Jeon Geon-woo.
"Still, this isn't right. We both trusted you and put our money in. If this is how it ends, that's a problem."
"Yeah, exactly!"
Jeon Geon-woo quickly chimed in, looking at Woo Ho-geun as if demanding an explanation.
As the two of them pressed him, Woo Ho-geun finally clicked his tongue in frustration and said,
"I'll sort out the rest after I leave the country. For now, just take this."
"You're leaving the country?"
"Yeah, I'll be staying at the Hong Kong branch until things quiet down."
"Did Chairman Woo order that?"
"Yeah."
With Chairman Woo Yong-gap handling the cleanup, things probably wouldn't get any worse.
Thinking that, Yoo Seok-chan's expression relaxed significantly as he said,
"Alright. But just words aren't enough—I need it in writing."
"Do we really have to go that far?"
When Woo Ho-geun frowned in displeasure, Yoo Seok-chan simply shrugged.
"It's always better to have things in black and white."
"Exactly. Who knows if you'll turn around and deny everything later?"
Jeon Geon-woo added with a smirk.
The humiliation of being treated like some kind of debtor made Woo Ho-geun's veins bulge in anger.
But he knew that even now, cleaning up this mess was barely enough—getting into a fight with these two would only make things worse. So instead, he bit his lip and held back.
"Fine. Have it your way."
As he wrote out the promissory note just as they demanded, Woo Ho-geun clenched his teeth in silent fury.
Whoever had ruined his plan and put him through this disgrace—he would track them down and make them pay.
'I'll make sure they pay for this.'
***
Holding his phone in one hand, Seok-won stood in front of a large floor-to-ceiling window, looking outside as he spoke with Choi Bok-rak.
[I'm really sorry about this.]
"If that's what the higher-ups decided, there's nothing we can do."
[We wanted to expose everything and punish those responsible, but the Director personally intervened and gave us instructions, so we had no choice.]
Hearing the genuine regret in Choi Bok-rak's voice, Seok-won responded in a calm tone.
"If the Financial Supervisory Director got involved, that means Donghae Group pulled some strings."
[That seems to be the case.]
"It's unfortunate, but if we push too hard, you could end up in trouble. Let's just go along with their decision."
[Thank you for understanding.]
Choi Bok-rak apologized, sounding ashamed.
"The invitation to the company's anniversary ceremony that I mentioned—I'll have it sent to your house sometime next week."
[Thank you.]
With a noticeably brighter tone, Choi Bok-rak continued.
[I feel ashamed for not being able to wrap things up properly. If you ever need any help, please don't hesitate to reach out.]
"I'll do that."
His attitude had changed significantly compared to when they first met.
With a faint smile on his lips, Seok-won ended the call and lowered his phone from his ear.
As he gazed out the window at the cityscape lined with high-rise buildings, he muttered softly to himself.
"A conglomerate like them? Of course, they can sweep this under the rug."
From the start, he hadn't expected to take down Donghae Group—or rather, Woo Ho-geun—over an incident of this scale.
"Still, at least this will keep him from running wild for a while."
After taking such a hard hit this time, Seok-won hoped Woo Ho-geun would finally stop messing with stocks—but that seemed unlikely.
"If he refuses to learn his lesson and dares to push forward with a hostile takeover… then I'll make sure he regrets it deeply."
A cold gleam flickered in Seok-won's eyes.
***
By the time Seok-won got off work and arrived at his family's home in Hannam-dong, the sun had already set, and darkness had settled in.
After parking his car in the garage, he walked across the brightly lit garden. Just then, he stopped in his tracks—on top of a parasol table sat a family of cats, huddled together.
Noticing his presence, the cats, who had been grooming themselves, meowed as if greeting him.
"Meow."
Their tails raised high, the cats jumped down from the table and rubbed affectionately against his legs.
"Meow."
"Meow."
Bending down slightly, Seok-won petted each cat in turn, gently patting their backsides.
"Are you saying welcome back?"
As if pleased by his words, the cats meowed again and playfully nudged their faces against him. Some even flopped onto their backs, exposing their bellies.
After spending a long moment doting on the cats, Seok-won finally stepped inside the house.
Seated on the living room sofa, dressed in a home dress, Madam Jo Deok-rye was reading a book. She looked up as he entered.
"You came home a while ago, so why are you only coming in now?"
"I was playing with the cats for a bit."
"Oh? No wonder—they always run up to people as soon as they see them. It's touching how affectionate they are, knowing that they're being fed and given a place to rest."
"Exactly. Cats are usually picky, but these ones love human touch and are so affectionate. The mother and her three kittens are total 'dog-cats.—so affectionate and playful.'"
"Dog-cats? Is that a real word?"
Jo Deok-rye tilted her head in curiosity.
Realizing too late that the term hadn't come into use in this era, Seok-won inwardly cursed himself. Quickly, he forced an awkward smile and made an excuse.
"It's a phrase young people use these days."
"Dog-cats, huh? That really is the perfect way to describe them."
Fortunately, Jo Deok-rye didn't seem suspicious.
"Young people sure do come up with the funniest words."
"They really do."
Seok-won let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Did you have dinner?"
"I had a late meeting, so I grabbed a quick bite with the employees."
"Then stop by the study before heading up. Your father has been waiting for you."
Seok-won paused at the unexpected remark and asked,
"Is something going on?"
"You know how he is—he never talks much about work, so I wouldn't know."
"Got it."
Passing by Madam Jo Deok-rye, who had returned to her book, Seok-won made his way to the study.
After knocking, he stepped inside. Chairman Park Tae-hong, dressed in slacks and a lightweight cardigan, sat alone in the center of the sofa, reviewing some documents. Looking up, he greeted his son.
"You're home later than usual today."
"The meeting ran long."
Taking off his reading glasses and setting them on the table, Chairman Park gestured toward the seat across from him.
"Sit over there."
"Yes, sir."
As Seok-won settled onto the sofa to the left, Chairman Park leaned back against the plush cushions and asked,
"How's work going these days?"
"I'm enjoying it in my own way."
"President Go has been praising your performance. But the better you do, the more people will talk behind your back. Be mindful of your conduct and set an example for your employees by working diligently."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. You're a smart one—I don't need to lecture you too much."
Chairman Park wasn't one to hand out compliments easily, so his words caught Seok-won slightly off guard.
Perhaps feeling awkward after his own remark, Chairman Park cleared his throat and slid a file folder across the table toward his son.
"Take a look at this."
"What is it?"
Chairman Park's voice grew more serious.
"It's the corporate restructuring plan."
"...!"
The unexpected revelation made Seok-won's eyes widen as he looked at his father, seated at the head of the table.