Chapter 5
—
Chairman’s Office, Lee Do Group.
Lee Sang-byuk adjusted his glasses slightly, staring at the strange creature before him.
“You… Your appearance…”
Lee Shin was an absolute sight to behold.
Slippers, sweatpants, and a shirt that looked like it had been pulled straight out of a laundry basket.
He looked like a beggar. Was this supposed to be the latest youth fashion? Or a new form of rebellion?
Lee Sang-byuk seriously contemplated whether to send this grandson of his back to the psychiatric hospital.
“It’s a bit shabby, isn’t it? I just threw something on and came out in a hurry. Here, try this. It’s still warm.”
“What… is this?”
“Fish-shaped bread. I felt bad about coming empty-handed, so I bought some. But man, inflation is no joke. They only give you two for a thousand won now.”
As Lee Shin handed over the bread and lamented the high cost of living, Lee Sang-byuk couldn’t help but let out a stunned laugh.
“How did you even get here? Aren’t you supposed to be under house arrest?”
“I filmed a movie. Title? Knock, and It Shall Be Opened!”
A week of endless smiling, winking, and charm-building had been combined with methodical, painstaking hacking—solid evidence that programming is a manual labour job.
“With the dazzling charm I inherited from you, I opened the doors to people’s hearts. And with a little bit of coding trickery, I opened the doors to your security systems. By the way, having a CCTV in my room was a bit much. I do have a right to privacy.”
Lee Shin joked with a grin, but Lee Sang-byuk didn’t find it funny.
So, opening doors to hearts? That’s just a fancy way of saying he manipulated people with his good looks, isn’t it?
Fine, that could slide.
But what’s this about coding trickery? How does he even know about the CCTVs?
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Lee Sang-byuk finally asked, and Lee Shin replied nonchalantly.
“That’s… a trade secret.”
“What…?”
“Trade. Secret.”
The rest will cost extra, dear customer.
Lee Shin flashed a sly grin and bit into the fish-shaped bread.
“Huh, trade secret? Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.”
“Hehe~”
“You’re laughing?”
“Should I cry instead?”
Lee Sang-byuk’s face twitched as his incredulity turned into a frown. Meanwhile, Lee Shin kept up his playful demeanour, completely at ease.
Lee Sang-byuk couldn’t fathom how this grandson dared to banter with him. Yet, strangely enough, it felt new.
‘Since when did he act like this?’
Normally, when Lee Sang-byuk frowned, everyone would bow their heads, avoiding his gaze altogether. Even Lee Shin—at least, the Lee Shin from a few months ago—hadn’t been any different.
But now, this kid was standing tall, meeting his gaze head-on. The gaze of none other than Lee Sang-byuk himself.
Knock, knock.
“Excuse me, I’m coming in.”
At that moment, Yoo Cheol-ong entered the room. On the tray he carried were two steaming cups of coffee.
“Cheol-ong? What’s this? I didn’t ask for coffee.”
“I requested it. My throat was dry.”
“This brat?”
“Here you go~”
Seeing Lee Shin casually munching on a snack while gesturing toward the coffee made Lee Sang-byuk feel his veins bulge.
Yet, at this point, his curiosity began to outweigh his irritation.
Meanwhile, Lee Shin’s attention was drawn entirely to Yoo Cheol-ong.
Or more precisely, to the numbers floating above his head—“(179/181).”
Numbers visible only to him as a manager and player. The numerical representation of awakened individuals’ current and potential abilities.
This meant Yoo Cheol-ong was an awakened being, with enough latent talent to become a hunter.
“Ho…?”
“??”
“You’re a ‘specialist,’ sir. Wow~ Let’s be friends!”
For a moment, sharp gazes darted between Lee Sang-byuk and Yoo Cheol-ong.
“You. How do you know about Cheol-ong’s abilities?”
“Did you forget? I lost my memories.”
“Then why did you call him a specialist?”
“Just a feeling. A gut instinct, you know? If the opportunity arises, please lend me a hand.”
Lee Shin chuckled as he rubbed his palms together mischievously.
Both men tried to discern any hidden intentions from Lee Shin’s expression but ultimately gave up. How could they read a guy whose emotions bounced around like someone under the influence?
“So why did you cause this ruckus just to come here?”
“I wanted to see you, Grandpa.”
“I’m warning you. This is as far as I’m willing to tolerate. Say one more vague thing, and I’ll throw you out immediately.”
“It’s about the guild you’re planning. Let me take part in it.”
“…Guild? What are you talking about?”
Lee Sang-byuk feigned ignorance, but Lee Shin smiled knowingly.
“A guild, Grandpa. The very one you’re thinking about right now.”
He wasn’t bluffing. He knew for sure.
The nonchalance on Lee Sang-byuk’s face vanished, replaced by a frown.
“How do you know about that?”
It wasn’t exactly a classified secret.
Given the nature of the matter, departments like Strategic Planning and Crisis Management, as well as the family members designated for “dispatch,” were already aware.
Still, what annoyed Lee Sang-byuk was that his strict order to keep Lee Shin uninformed had been disobeyed.
Yoo Cheol-ong lowered his head in silent apology.
“Was it the Vice Chairman who told you?”
“Does my dad seem like that kind of person to you?”
“Answer me.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m your grandson. A man of irresistible charm.”
A week was a long time, and people’s mouths spilled more information than they realized—especially if they were charmed by someone. Say, for example, Lee Shin’s admirers among his younger siblings’ friends.
“So you’re saying you extracted information? Not just from the staff, but even from your siblings’ friends?”
“My dad’s been busy traveling to the provinces. He seems really interested in hunters these days. Statements like that aren’t exactly top secret, are they?”
“Hah…”
“And honestly, I figured the ‘guild’ event would pop up soon. GM doesn’t have a tutorial, after all.”
“What?”
“Never mind, just talking to myself. Anyway, when I pieced the information together, the answer came to me like a flash of lightning.”
“This is absurd…”
With his handsome face, he won over the employees and even coaxed my younger sister’s friends.
He deduced the situation with just a few trivial words.
And because of those deductions, he used every means necessary to escape and ultimately managed to stand before me, Lee Sang-byuk.
Above all, considering that all of this was done while he was completely tied up, it was impressive in many ways.
“So, you want to work in the guild?”
“Yes! I’m confident I’ll do well.”
“I see.”
“That’s how it is.”
“Hoho.”
“Hehe.”
The grandfather and grandson exchanged smiles.
Lee Shin grinned with a servile expression, while Lee Sang-byuk nodded repeatedly and chuckled.
But then, when he picked up the receiver.
“Secretary’s office. Tell them to prepare my…”
“Grandfather―!! Please give me just one chance!”
As if waiting for this moment, Lee Shin leapt like a frog, kneeling on the desk.
He’s fast…
Lee Sang-byuk stopped mid-motion as he picked up the receiver, stunned by the knee-drop faster than light. However, his gaze remained cold.
“A chance, a chance… That’s not something you have the right to ask for, is it?”
“I understand. I know that I’ve already received more chances than I deserve.”
“And you’re still asking for one? Are you hoping to be excused because of some memory loss nonsense?”
“No, I’ve committed far too many sins for that to be an excuse.”
“At least you have some shame.”
Lee Sang-byuk pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth.
Lee Shin quickly reached out, grabbed the lighter on the desk, and lit it for him. Not stopping there, he even held up the ashtray with both hands.
Well, well, he even knows how to flatter. Lee Sang-byuk smirked.
“You’re perceptive but lack pride, huh?”
“If I were to name the thing I hate most, it’d be ‘pride.’ I don’t nurture such things.”
“A man who takes pride in not having pride.”
Although he made a disappointed face, deep down, Lee Sang-byuk was satisfied.
That was the answer he wanted.
Pride only has value when you reach the top. Until then, pride? It’s utterly useless. Lee Sang-byuk lived by that philosophy and reached his current position.
“Your reason.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t make me say it twice. Give me a reason. A reason why I should give you a chance.”
Lee Shin reached out, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Toward a frame hanging on one side of the chairman’s office.
The frame, filled with text, contained the teachings left by Lee Sang-byuk’s father, the founder of Lee Do Group.
And there, on the third line.
“…Grant opportunities equally.”
“So, you want me to give you a chance because of my father’s teachings?”
Lee Sang-byuk laughed mockingly.
Bold, but ultimately just whining. He thought it wasn’t even worth listening to and was about to end the conversation.
“I will stake everything I’m set to inherit.”
“!!”
Those words stopped Lee Sang-byuk in his tracks.
He froze in place, then turned his head slightly to look at Lee Shin.
His expression turned icy cold, like a glacier. But Lee Shin didn’t avoid that chilling gaze. Instead, he stared directly into it, his reflection visible in the older man’s eyes.
“…Do you understand the weight of what you just said?”
“Yes, I understand it very well.”
Even if he was a scoundrel, he was still the eldest grandson of the family. His inheritance rights were by no means small.
Land vast enough to be difficult to see in one glance, dozens of buildings in prime locations in Seoul.
And lastly, shares in Lee Do Group, a pillar of this nation.
From a small fortune enough to live in luxury forever, to a vast, guaranteed future—
“I’ll bet it all. In exchange, give me a chance. If I fail, take it back. If I succeed, as successful as I am, it won’t be a loss for you.”
All-in.
A bet risking everything.
For the first time, Lee Sang-byuk stared blankly at Lee Shin.
To think this scoundrel had such audacity? The shock was enormous.
“…Does the vice chairman know about this?”
“No.”
“With stakes like this, wouldn’t going to the vice chairman have been more advantageous?”
“Deal with Dad? No way. Do you think I’d do this just to make money? If that were the case, I’d sell everything privately and leave the house.”
Ha, so it’s not about money? This thunderstruck brat, who always had his hand out?
And to think he made such a monumental decision not by his father’s wishes but through his own volition.
You could tell just by looking into his eyes. It was the truth.
A series of unprecedented events.
Now, Lee Sang-byuk was genuinely intrigued by Lee Shin as a person.
“Why me?”
“Easy.”
Because Lee Sang-byuk is Lee Do.
“You’re the king, and I should serve the king.”
It’s easier to move with one at the top than two above me.
“I’ve played around enough. Now, I want to finally make you proud.”
“So.”
“You like it, don’t you? Adventure, gambling, courage.”
“…!”
Lee Shin was right.
The reason Lee Sang-byuk could grow a single grain shop into a global empire was not by playing it safe but through guts that would risk even his heart when needed.
The original spirit he had forgotten.
To think he’d rediscover it in this scoundrel of a grandson.
“……”
“……”
The grandfather and grandson locked gazes, as if in a battle of wills.
Neither backed down. Lee Shin’s eyes were desperate, his determination fierce. Lee Sang-byuk could feel it entirely.
He was the real deal. He truly put everything on the line in this moment. Suddenly, Lee Sang-byuk felt his blood heat up.
“Fine, I’ll give you that last chance.”
“Yes!!”
Lee Shin clenched his fists and cheered.
Still kneeling, his pose looked ridiculous, but what did appearances matter?
Lee Sang-byuk’s sly smile was a bit unnerving, but what did that matter? He had succeeded!
“Don’t forget, this is your last chance. If you fail, not only will you be disowned, but you’ll be thrown out as a pauper.”
“Deal!”
Ha! What a funny guy. Lee Sang-byuk had to admit it.
His grandson.
The scoundrel of Lee Do family.
Had completely changed.
.
.
“Ah, right.”
Just then, the scoundrel opened his mouth.
“Please assign me just one person. He should be working as an intern at the logistics warehouse right now. His name is…”
—
Please rate this series at NOVELUPDATES.
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment