Chapter 20: The Dark Rose

Letting out a deep sigh, Yoosun pressed her forehead firmly.

It was highly troublesome for the tedious past to crash over her like a wave.

‘I must divert their attention.’

“Secretary Park.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Contact JBS. Tell them Representative Yoon Leehyun’s wife has been hospitalized. The headline should be Yoon Leehyun’s domestic discord.”

“Pardon? If that happens, it will affect Gayun’s stock price.”

“I don’t care.”

What was needed right now was to sever the public’s focus.

Make sure all attention is focused on Yoon Leehyun, not on the Gayun of thirty years ago.

They say all kinds of rumors are circulating—mercenary, lobbyist, killer.

Yoosun intended to exploit that thoroughly.

The labels she wanted to stick to him were domestic violence and assault.

“You can manage that, right?”

“I will look into it.”

As Yoosun closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, the golf ball rolled in her hand.

Buzz.

As the vibration rang, Yoosun lifted her eyelids.

The Blue House.

At those words, Yoosun flinched.

Biting her lip hard, she flipped her phone over, not wanting to look at it.

***

One lap, two laps, three laps.

She had thought walking around the garden would clear her mind, but it was an illusion.

Her mind was tangled like a messy web of vines.

“I brought it, Madam.”

Upon entering the garden, Seohee had asked Aram to compile information on Kang Dohyung.

“Kang Dohyung, thirty-five years old. He majored in Computer Engineering at T&A University.”

Handing the tablet to Seohee, Aram began her report in a polite manner.

“Are there any other notable details?”

“Usually, Korean students enter through a branch campus and transfer to graduate from the main campus, but Chief General Manager Kang Dohyung has no record of transferring.”

‘Did he barely even graduate?’

“It seems his school life was not particularly diligent.”

“But he did graduate, right?”

At this point, she couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes. That is likely why he was able to work in J International’s research department. However……”

“Is there another problem?”

“He caused a few problems in the United States.”

‘Problems? Am I connected to Kang Dohyung’s problems?’

‘Is that why Jin Heeyoung said, “About Dohyung’s matter”?’

All kinds of thoughts crowded into her mind.

“There was one assault dispute, but it was a minor incident, so he didn’t receive any legal punishment for it. And the other is a drug problem.”

“Drugs?”

When Seohee asked back in surprise, Aram nodded her head.

“Yes, Madam. He reportedly went over to New Mexico to do it. It has become legal now, but back then, New Mexico considered it illegal except for medical use. Because of this, it is difficult for him to escape legal responsibility.”

“Drugs……?”

“Yes, it was marijuana.”

Even if it might have been legal in New Mexico, wasn’t it still illegal in South Korea?

He would surely face punishment for violating the law.

Recalling that fact, Seohee let out a sigh.

“……Haa.”

In the end, it meant he had committed an illegal act and returned to Korea.

Her head was already beginning to throb.

“What about his punishment?”

“Since prescription use was not illegal at the time, they reportedly appealed that it was for medical use.”

She added that they cited the fact that he was not a dealer and, although there was no record of a medical prescription, medical records did exist.

Aram added to the explanation.

“Did he end up not being punished?”

“It’s not that, but he was given a light fine. And since New Mexico recently legalized recreational marijuana, his past records were automatically expunged.”

To think such a person was J International’s Chief General Manager.

Her prospects looked bleak.

As Seohee closed her eyes and shook her head, Aram leaned down closer to her.

“Shall I take you inside, Madam?”

“No. How was he punished in Korea?”

“He received a suspension of indictment.”

“Did CEO Jin Heeyoung help him?”

She didn’t believe Heeyoung had rushed to the hospital out of concern for her.

Her somewhat exaggerated actions, her hands tightly gripping her shoulders, and her furious reaction to the news of the marriage registration were proof of that.

‘Did she come to ask me for a favor?’

She had said, “About Dohyung’s matter.”

Deducting what followed, it must have been to cover it up, to understand, or to make as if it never happened.

Only such words would fit between the lines.

Given that she brought up her son’s business to her while she was hospitalized, it was obvious how much she normally doted on him.

“Yes. That is correct. They reportedly actively appealed the facts that he had undergone heart surgery as a child, suffered from panic attacks after going abroad to study, that the amount of marijuana purchased was small, and that the frequency of smoking was low.”

“So that’s how he was able to finish his studies.”

It meant that since he had a student visa, re-entering Texas was possible.

But even as she nodded, she couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

“Is that matter already completely resolved?”

“Yes.”

Aram explained that even after finishing his studies abroad, he was investigated for marijuana once more, but contrary to expectations of heavier punishment, he received a suspension of indictment then as well.

“What is going on?”

What could be the secret I know about Kang Dohyung?

Something so major that Jin Heeyoung had to rush over.

Exhaustion suddenly hit her.

As they entered the building, she heard a bodyguard’s voice.

“You cannot come in.”

As she approached the firm voice, she heard a young voice.

“Well… um…”

Mmm.

He must have been scared, but the little child hesitated, showing no intention of going back down.

“Go back down quickly.”

‘How on earth did a little child climb up the emergency stairs?’

‘He must have climbed up out of curiosity.’

As she took a few more steps closer while listening to the bodyguard’s quiet whispers, a small shadow flickered.

Perhaps he was about five years old.

The little child was frozen in place, looking terrified.

“Madam.”

Although she doubted a child could pose any threat, an uninvited guest was still an uninvited guest, so the bodyguard blocked the way with his body.

“Wait a moment.”

“He’s just a child.”

As Seohee lowered her body and approached, the bodyguard had no choice but to step aside.

“Your parents must be looking for you. Go back down quickly.”

“Someone told me to give this to the big sister.”

The hesitating child’s eyes finally lit up, as if he had been found his purpose.

“Hmm?”

The child held out the rose he was holding in his hand.

It happened before the bodyguard could intervene, and since it was just a single flower, Aram did not block him either.

The child, having handed the rose to Seohee, turned around and walked down the emergency stairs without looking back.

“……Ah.”

As if untouched by artificial hands, a dark red black rose exuded its noble charm.

“……Representative. ……Madam.”

Beep.

Through the high-pitched ringing in her ears, a familiar voice echoed.

While she slowly opened and closed her eyes repeatedly, the rose slipped from her hand with a soft thud.

She felt an illusion of a black shadow brushing past the falling rose.

“……Madam. Madam.”

A sharp sensation pierced her brain from far away.

Her vision cleared and blurred repeatedly.

The afterimage of being in a dark red field of flowers clawed at her nerves.

‘No. I don’t want to see it.’

Even when she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, it didn’t get any better.

‘Ah, please stop.’

Even though she could see nothing and there was no one there, an inexplicable terror washed over her.

‘Is this what it feels like to fall beneath a frozen river in the dead of winter?’

Seohee looked incredibly precarious.

While Aram hesitated, not daring to touch her carelessly, her breathing grew rapid.

“Madam, are you alright?”

Lowering her body, Aram hurriedly grabbed Seohee’s shoulders.

She startled violently, like someone who had been shaken awake.

Focus slowly returned to her brown eyes.

The hand that had held the rose trembled violently.

Though no scene formed in her mind, her breath was so suffocated she found it hard to speak.

‘I want to run away. No, I must run away.’

‘I shouldn’t stay here.’

It was an instinctive reaction.

She sprang up and took a few running steps, but the strength in her legs gave out.

‘No. I must run. I must not stop.’

Even when she clenched her teeth and balled her fists, her strength kept draining.

“Please…….”

“Take me away.”

Aram firmly supported her faltering body.

“Madam, I will carry you.”

She scooped Seohee up in an instant.

Her expression suggested that carrying someone of Seohee’s small frame was of no difficulty.

“Please take me out.”

Murmuring weakly, Seohee lost consciousness.

The first Wednesday of every month.

The day Song Yoosun received reports on executive meeting results.

It was also a day when executives occasionally visited Yoosun’s art gallery or her residence to flatter her.

Leehyun had summoned the Gayun Electronics presidents’ meeting on that very day of all days, and the executives became certain that Gayun’s balance of power had shifted completely from Song Yoosun to Yoon Leehyun.

‘If I line up behind the wrong person now, it’ll be the end of me.’

Those entering the meeting room quickly exchanged glances.

There was no separate inauguration ceremony.

President of Gayun Electronics, Yoon Leehyun.

His attendance at the head office was decided by a single line of appointment.

Sitting at the head of the table while looking at the lined-up executives, Leehyun silently flipped through the reports.

How much could this crown prince of Gayun, who appeared after nearly thirty years, actually know?

Aside from a shareholders’ meeting and a few executive sessions, his practical experience in Gayun was non-existent—had he grasped the current ongoing situation at all?

Leehyun completely suppressed such concerns of the executives in one stroke.

He took the initiative to point out matters the management would be curious about, and silenced the executives with sharp questions that caught them off guard every time.

One page, two pages, three pages.

The executives swallowed hard and turned their reports in unison, preparing for any questions that might fly their way.

“The revenue decline is over three percent.”

Meanwhile, their competitor, ST, saw its sales increase over the same period.

When Leehyun pinpointed the current situation, an executive quickly added an explanation.

“As for that part, it is because ST maintains such a solid market share globally—”

“Then how would you explain Gayun experiencing a drop in market share of nearly 1.5 percent?”

‘Are you going to gloss over this part too with the excuse that ST’s market share is solid?’

Leehyun’s black pupils were completely indifferent, but his critiques were razor-sharp.

“To claim a target of achieving twenty percent global market share without even presenting a clear basis for the decline in our current share—do you honestly think that is possible?”

The executives stared at each other’s faces and swallowed hard.

Since Chairman Yoon Junghwan collapsed from illness, Gayun had failed to close any major M&A deals for over five years.

First, the absence of the final decision-maker was the reason; second, because Song Yoosun, acting as the surrogate chairman, had blocked the expansion of the business on various cost grounds.

“It is not just Gayun, but the entire industry is struggling, so it is difficult to conclude that Gayun is falling behind.”

“A 1.5 percent decline in market share is not considered falling behind?”

Leehyun murmured, as if to himself.

It was an exceptionally chilling voice.

“Do you have a basis for that?”

“If you are referring to the basis, at the bottom of the report—”

‘I didn’t see a single numerical figure regarding the industry’s status anywhere in the report I reviewed.’

‘And yet you cite a pessimistic industry situation without any basis?’

His low voice cut off the executive’s answer like a blade.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Gaze at the Tip of the Sword

BLFantasyPsychological

Read Now →
Not interested