1440 - Chapter 63
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 63
The individuals identified as the perpetrators of stalking are none other than Cha Jihee, the CEO of Maxmode—called the pinnacle of Korea’s fashion industry—and her husband, Gu Wondeuk. The allegation is that this wealthy couple sexually harassed and stalked Hong Jayun, and moreover subjected her to repeated death threats.
What makes it an even bigger sensation is that the tool of harassment was none other than a curse conducted through shamanism—an outlandish method indeed. Hong Jayun, commenting on this as a negative example of the Korean Shamanism trend, has been sharing her ordeal like a horror story through SNS live broadcasts. With photographic evidence added to the mix, a massive controversy has erupted.
Particularly among young people sensitive to corporate abuse of power, this video has sparked considerable outrage and is spreading rapidly as it’s re-uploaded across various social media platforms.
The comments largely read as follows: “They look like idiots.” “If someone claiming to be a company chairman harassed me like that, I’d really want to die.” And similar reactions.
The police have summoned the couple on charges of sexual harassment, stalking, intimidation, and assault. However, regarding the attempted murder via curse, there is an opinion that the constitutive elements of a murder charge cannot be established, making the application of charges difficult.
Following this, reporter Hong Jayun announced an upcoming press conference, stating that there are numerous cases of sexual crimes committed by Gu Wondeuk.
We will continue to bring you follow-up reports on how this curse murder solicitation case develops. This has been reporter Kim Sowon.]
[A commotion at the shareholder meeting of Wens Group has become a topic of discussion. Amid rumors that chairman Park Myunghyun has fallen into a coma, the long-whispered “successor legend” regarding Wens Group has set the internet ablaze throughout this summer.
That legend concluded with the assertion that successor Park Gunhu uses shamanism to curse rival heirs in order to eliminate them.
As if that rumor were gospel truth, executive director Park Gunhu was dismissed at yesterday’s Wens Group shareholder meeting. While the precise reason has not been made public, it is said to be due to Park Myunghoo—fresh blood at Wens Group—providing detailed accounts of Park Gunhu’s attempts to harm him.
The claim is that Park Gunhu bribed Park Myunghoo’s personal physician to administer psychotropic drugs, inducing delirium and mental disturbance. Supporting this allegation, the police have summoned executive director Park Gunhu on charges of violence against a relative and attempted murder.
The problem, however, is that this legend does not remain mere rumor. The police have discovered suspicious withdrawal records from Park Gunhu’s accounts, and have secured testimony from his associates that he periodically visits famous shamans to conduct rituals. The police are planning additional investigations accordingly.
This makes us reconsider the recent problem of excessive belief in shamanism that has infiltrated our society—.]
“That news is absolute garbage! Turn it off right now!”
When Inim bellowed, Miju grabbed the remote in a panic and switched off the television. The screen went dark, and silence fell over the room.
Inim stood heaving, his massive frame trembling with rage.
“How dare you. How dare you insult our family like this?!”
As he began hurling everything within reach, Miju let out a small cry and stumbled backward.
Crash! The sound of objects colliding and shattering did not cease. Inim’s curses accompanied each impact. He bellowed Yeonsu’s name even though she wasn’t present.
“Yeonsu! You ungrateful wretch! All of that—all of that was work you took on!”
“Please, calm down. Agh—!”
“Get off me!”
Inim shoved away his own wife, Miju, as she tried to restrain him, and continued his rampage. Miju landed hard on the floor, then looked up at her husband in disbelief.
Yeonhyung watched his father’s outburst from a distance, unable even to think of intervening, only grinding his teeth.
The Maxmode matter was indeed Yeonsu’s doing, but the Wens Group situation—that had been his responsibility.
Where had things gone wrong? Yeonhyung, who never imagined that Yeonsu was protecting Myunghoo, felt anxiety welling up as his eyes darted about.
Since yesterday, Yeonhyung’s phone had been ringing nonstop—all because of calls coming from Park Gunhu.
―I’m going to kill you, you bastard! You useless piece of shit! I told you to trust only me, and this is how you make a fool of me?!
You find me funny, don’t you? Huh? Park Myunghoo, that damn brat—and you too. You all find me funny?! I won’t let this slide. You think I’m the only one going down? Just wait. You’re finished soon too.
For the first time in his life, Yeonhyung had felt overwhelmed and frightened by someone other than his father. Park Gunhu seemed capable of cursing him through sheer force of will alone, not through flesh offerings or rituals. Such rage and murderous intent emanated from his words.
Gripped by fear, Yeonhyung began avoiding his calls, and in response, threats flooded in through text messages. Of course, Yeonhyung did not so much as glance at them.
His phone rang through the entire night until the battery finally died. But the thought of turning it back on never crossed his mind.
Yeonhyung was terrified. No matter how much power they possessed through curses, it was only supernatural force. It required days upon days of devotion and ritual offerings to manage even the slightest harm against a single person.
But Wens Group was one of Korea’s largest corporations, wielding power that none dared challenge.
Even if Park Gunhu had lost the succession struggle and was currently under police investigation, he remained the eldest son of that group. Did he truly lack the power to overturn the Baek family? Could he really?
And in this crisis, was Park Gunhu alone in harboring resentment toward Baekga?
Once Baekga’s existence had made the news, every politician and tycoon who had ever visited would be watching anxiously, wondering if evidence of their presence might surface.
They absolutely did not want their secrets exposed. After all, they had chosen curses as an underhanded method precisely to avoid leaving evidence. It was obvious as daylight that such people, upon witnessing this scandal, would move heaven and earth to silence Baekga.
“Father, um. Wouldn’t it be better to silence Park Gunhu first? We could strike him down right now—”
“What?! If that bastard suddenly dies, don’t you think things will get even more suspicious?! Do you have no brain?! What exactly do you know how to do properly?!”
“Father…”
This time, Inim chose Yeonhyung as the target for his fury.
“No matter how much I teach you, your skills don’t improve, and you fall short of your younger brother! You call yourself the firstborn, yet do you act like one?”
Yeonhyung’s fists clenched and trembled. Of all people to be compared to—Yeonsu—fresh resentment boiled up even as fear gripped him.
How could his father place him and that bastard on the same level? His father had arbitrarily brought that creature home from outside and demanded he accept him as a brother, and now he was being told he fell short even of that creature.
Yeonhyung felt resentment toward his father. Part of him just wanted to flee this place with Miju, to let Baekga burn.
As he began carefully stepping backward toward the door with such thoughts, the main house courtyard suddenly grew chaotic.
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Screams of servants rang out from a distance, drowned out by the rough shouts of men and the sound of things being smashed. Startled, Yeonhyung’s wife cried out softly and clung to him.
“Tsk, what is all this commotion?!”
Inim’s face, which had been scowling as he shouted, gradually stiffened. The same was true for Yeonhyung. Unlike Miju and Yeonhyung’s wife, who could see nothing, the two men could faintly sense a malevolent force pouring in from outside.
What approached from beyond the door was something deeply ominous and terrifying—the most virulent form of malice one might call.
“Father, this is—!”
Bang!
The main house door was kicked open violently, and a throng of men poured in. Each wielding batons or blades, they bore sneering grins as though their own violence were something to boast of.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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