The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 42

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 42. Steal (6)

“Why are you lying?”

The back of the halfway house at Shale CC.
Otherwise known as Geuneuljip’s rear grounds.

A cluster of adults sharing drinks.
And gathered around cups of instant noodles for a quick bite—the future royalty of the Oh Group.

They had huddled together, passing the time.

Only the eldest grandson, Lee Jeong-guk, was absent today due to an overseas business trip.

Among those present were Lee Hyo-eun, the daughter of Lee Seok-pil, the eldest son of Chairman Lee Do-jung.
And Lee Hyo-ju, the only daughter of the second son, Lee Seok-jun.

The rest were Lee Jeong-ho and Lee Jeong-hun, the two sons of the third son, Lee Seok-jong.

Lee Jeong-ho, who had just received his grandfather’s cold stare in front of everyone, turned to Lee Hyo-ju with a confrontational tone.

Both were second-year students at Cheongwha High School.
Yet they didn’t so much as make eye contact at school.

Their parents weren’t particularly close either.

Grandfather Chairman Lee Do-jung was approaching eighty.

The moment he passed, the group’s shares would be carved up into pieces.

Depending on who inherited the prime businesses in that process, their futures would diverge.

It wasn’t an immediate concern.

But the children had each grown intensely attuned to possibilities that could erupt at any moment.

A petty problem that most major Korean conglomerates faced.

“A lie? Me?”

Lee Hyo-ju, who had just taken a sip of iced coffee, shot Lee Jeong-ho a cold look.

Lee Jeong-ho had no interest in academics whatsoever.
He was aiming for a top university as an Athletic Scholarship Student, banking on his family’s wealth.

Given his poor temperament as well, Lee Hyo-ju shared not a shred of affection with this cousin of hers.

“Yeah. You.”
“What lie are you talking about?”

Lee Hyo-eun and Lee Jeong-hun watched the bickering cousins with interest.

‘Is this finally happening?’

Lee Hyo-eun, with the jealous face of a catty feline, narrowed her eyes and smiled with quiet satisfaction.

She too had a history of attending Yeonkuk University as an Athletic Scholarship Student.

Her envy of Lee Hyo-ju, whose academic achievements were always top-tier, was something of a fate for her.

The sight of her younger cousins clashing was oddly entertaining.

She had no intention of stopping them.
They were competitors—people with whom she would one day have to fight for what was hers.

“A friend? Ha. What friend would you have?”

Being in the same year, Lee Jeong-ho knew Lee Hyo-ju’s circumstances well enough.

Among the kids at school who actually studied, Lee Hyo-ju had a reputation as a bookworm.

That fact alone made her difficult for others to approach.

Most of the students in attendance came from prestigious families.

But children from the top hundred conglomerates were exceedingly rare.

The select few from major family groups all knew each other’s business, one way or another.

Especially Lee Hyo-ju, who shared his family and would be his future rival.
So Lee Jeong-ho knew her precisely because of that.

Certain popular kids at school frequently asked him for updates on Lee Hyo-ju’s every move and word.

“What makes you so sure I have no friends?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Who’d want a bitch like you as a friend? Keke.”
“Pfft!”
“Come on, that’s harsh, isn’t it? Kiki.”

The three cousins besides Lee Hyo-ju became one united front, laughing in unison.

Lee Hyo-ju’s mother, Han So-eun, played a role in this difference in tone.

She was a woman from a properly educated family background.
Her origins differed entirely from the mothers of her cousins.

The differences in how the children had been raised were painfully evident.

Lee Hyo-ju’s maternal grandfather was a former Chief Justice.

Moreover, her mother Han So-eun had graduated from Seo Guk University’s School of Business Administration.

The biggest reason a kindhearted father like Lee Seok-jun could become CEO of Chemical!
It was all thanks to his wife Han So-eun.

Naturally, she couldn’t escape the jealousy of the other daughters-in-law in the family.

Growing up hearing all the petty changes that rippled through such a household, these cousins understood the landscape.

So it was only natural that they disliked the second son’s branch, Lee Seok-jun’s family.

The one consolation was that they had no sons—only a daughter.

Though Grandfather Lee Do-jung openly doted on the granddaughter, she would inevitably be pushed back in the line of succession.

“Sigh.”

Lee Hyo-ju exhaled sharply.
If not for Grandfather’s stubborn insistence, she would never have attended such gatherings.

Every time they met, she felt it—childish and pathetic.

Lee Jeong-ho, a semi-delinquent who’d been drinking and smoking for ages.

Recently, he’d even forged an ID to frequent nightclubs.

Still, she treated it as someone else’s problem and pretended not to know.

But today he seemed determined to pick a fight with her.

“Second Elder Sister does the same thing. No matter how much your mother lies for your sake in front of Grandfather, it doesn’t change anything… Ha ha.”

Lee Jeong-ho was crossing a line.
He thought he’d found solid ground to stand on.

‘Lee Hyo-ju, you’re done today!’

Two people the same age who had been constant points of comparison within the family.

“Lee Jeong-ho!”

Lee Hyo-ju called out his name like a threat.
A chill gleamed in her eyes.

‘What are you staring at, you bastard? Hehe.’

Lee Jeong-ho swallowed a double curse, having tried to provoke her into responding.

“From now on, call me by a respectful title.”
“Rrrrespectful? You?”

For a moment, Lee Jeong-ho found himself stunned.

“Grandfather said so himself. Even among cousins, there’s hierarchy based on a single minute of difference in birth.”
“Hierarchy? That’s nonsense. Kekeke.”

At Lee Hyo-ju’s counterattack, Lee Jeong-ho only scoffed more loudly.

“Hyo-ju, I don’t think that’s right. Just because you were born a few months earlier doesn’t make you my senior. What would your friends at school say?”

Lee Hyo-eun, who had been watching, jumped in with covering fire for Lee Jeong-ho.

“Right. Hyo-ju, that’s not it. You’re the same age, not older.”

Lee Jeong-hun, Lee Jeong-ho’s younger brother, sided with him as well.

These three had never once taken Lee Hyo-ju’s side.

Knowing this well, Lee Hyo-ju rose smoothly from her seat.

She no longer wanted to sit among them and trade words.

“Hyo-ju, go tell Grandfather that you have no friends. If you have any conscience. Keke.”

As Lee Hyo-ju turned to leave, Lee Jeong-ho hurled final barbs at her back.
Just then.

“Hyo-ju~!”

An unfamiliar male voice called her name from somewhere.

* * *

“Damn it! How does this make sense? Why is my Putting suddenly falling apart?!”

Park Do-jun stood in front of Geuneuljip, venting his fury.
His temper was about to make him lose his mind.

Though he’d been outdriven, long hitters were surprisingly common even among pro players.
So he never pushed greedily for distance.

His real strength was the putter!

Park Do-jun rarely lost in the Short Game either.
Yet today he fell completely apart.

His Approach shots held up well, but even three-meter putts wavered.

He barely made any birdies.
His pride wounded, he even recorded the notorious three-putt that only amateurs score.

What was shocking was that pars were rare too—he played almost nothing but bogeys.

He shot 43 on the 9-hole, 36-par course.

Shale CC was a course he regularly played and found comfortable.
Which made the shock all the greater.

A pro of Park Do-jun’s caliber should shoot at least 72 to break even.

But… 43?
This was barely mid-80s amateur territory—humiliating.

“Who the hell is Ha Tae-ung? And what about An Hyun-ju?”

Choi Yu-rin was even angrier than Park Do-jun.
An Hyun-ju, who had barely been on the course since the scandal.

Yet her driving distance and accuracy were astonishing.

Her Approach and Putting were up to tour-level standards.
She’d lost by three strokes on the back nine.

Choi Yu-rin was in a mental collapse worse than Park Do-jun’s shock.

Today’s round was designed to crush An Hyun-ju utterly.

But Park Do-jun and Choi Yu-rin, the very architects of this trap, had their mental states shattered.

“Should we bail?”

Choi Yu-rin’s voice suddenly let slip something unexpected.
This went beyond a matter of pride.

One million won per stroke!
Park Do-jun had already lost over ten million.

“You mean it?”

For Park Do-jun, it wasn’t about pride either.

It just so happened they were taking a break at Geuneuljip.

An Hyun-ju and Ha Tae-ung had gone to the restroom.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Choi Yu-rin was already a loser.
She didn’t want to continue the game and be humiliated further.

Even if An Hyun-ju bragged about today later, no one would believe her.

“Ugh. This is so damn embarrassing.”

Park Do-jun, having lost his feel for the green and his dignity along with it.
He approached the caddie with an irritated expression.

“Caddie.”
“Yes?”
“An urgent matter has come up. We’ll need to head out first.”
“Well then…”

Swiftly.

He counted out six fifty-thousand-won notes and pressed them into the caddie’s hand.

“Thank you.”

The caddie, having read the situation, accepted the bills without question.

It wasn’t her place to get involved anyway.

“Take us quickly.”

Choi Yu-rin looked around, climbing into the cart urgently.

Park Do-jun boarded the cart like a criminal making a midnight escape, glancing back at Geuneuljip.

Whirr-click.

The cart soon pulled away from Geuneuljip, growing steadily distant.

The caddie wore an awkward expression as she drove.

She had no idea that Ha Tae-ung was watching them disappear from a distance.

* * *

The world has far too many people who lack basic decency.

Those who dodge and flee when circumstances turn unfavorable are always present.

Of course, none of them end well in the end.

What cannot be escaped, heaven knows—and they themselves know it too.

As the gap widened, their faces twisted like demons with each passing moment.

In the end, the choice they made was escape.

But there was something they failed to consider.

Pro An Hyun-ju would become the lifetime trauma of both.

The aftermath of losing his life’s talent would weigh heavily.

The winnings he would have collected I’d treat as a theft fee.

“T-Tae-ung?”

Lee Hyo-ju spotted me and gasped.

The startled expression on her face—as if she’d seen a goblin in daylight—was adorable.

I’d never imagined meeting her here, at this exact moment.

By accident, I’d overheard their conversation coming out of the restroom.

Cousins bickering among themselves.

I wondered if this was the hidden truth of the royal family.

Turns out it was no different from how ordinary people lived.

Only the content of their fights and the unit of their wealth differed!

Even conglomerate heirs fought over money until their faces turned red.

Pretty enough, but the aura emanating from her was dark and dense.

Young punks already exuding murky gray.

I recognized one of them.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————