The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 60
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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 60. Kneel! (12)
Young Master?
An unfamiliar form of address.
Typically, it was a girl calling her younger stepbrother.
In another sense, it referred to the sons of wealthy families in general.
Among Cheonghwa High School students, only a select few were called by such a title.
One had to be among the top-ten conglomerates’ royal families to earn such an honorific even once.
Yet a lawyer from Joainjang had just bowed his head to the pariah and unmistakably called him Young Master.
“…….”
Everyone with ears and eyes fell silent.
The Joainjang lawyer wouldn’t have used such a title carelessly.
All eyes fixed on Ha Tae-ung, the pariah standing on the platform, now clouded with suspicion.
The principal and the third-year homeroom teacher, however, showed little surprise.
They knew something about Ha Tae-ung’s true status.
‘Interesting.’
Lee Hyo-rin’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Even her arrogant older brother, Lee Jeong-jun, who flaunted his superiority constantly, had never been addressed as Young Master.
He carried the bloodline of a Korean conglomerate, but only through marriage on the maternal side.
The Doahilbo wasn’t prestigious enough to warrant such a title.
Yet this pariah, whom she’d seen for the first time today, had just been called Young Master.
Both the speaker and the addressed showed perfect naturalness—no awkwardness whatsoever.
His response to the title was seamless.
Standing on that platform, he resembled a crown prince surveying the subjects of Cheonghwa.
Hundreds had gathered, yet no one dared object.
It wasn’t only because of the Joainjang lawyer’s address.
An invisible but palpable force radiated from him, dominating the assembly.
He felt like the kind of person who deserved respect by birthright.
Noble blood?
There was something about him—an innate grace that nouveau riche with all their money could never fake.
Lee Hyo-rin, born with a silver spoon in the world of the elite, sensed an affinity in him.
Upper-class society was as ruthless as the savanna.
Those born into it grew accustomed to the aura of apex predators and internalized that power.
It was an instinct systematically cultivated and awakened within Cheonghwa High School’s ecosystem.
“Hah.”
Lee Hyo-rin let out an involuntary laugh.
Intense curiosity filled her eyes.
A boy who’d dealt her brother—bound by blood yet inferior in every way—a crushing blow.
‘……He was from a conglomerate family all along.’
Han Yu-bin, the Student Discipline Committee vice-chair, took the hit hard too.
The vague discomfort she’d felt in the cafeteria now had a name.
No pariah could possibly exude such presence.
She’d confirmed its true nature on the spot today.
Standing in the front row, she’d studied Ha Tae-ung more carefully than anyone.
The watch on his wrist was a luxury brand worth tens of millions of won.
The glimpses of belt and the casually worn slippers.
Ordinary-looking, yet anything but.
‘Has he been deceiving everyone this whole time? Why?’
Now she understood why O Seo-ra hadn’t made a peep.
It was clear that Ha Tae-ung possessed the power to keep O Seo-ra in check.
O Seo-ra was the daughter of a Gangnam nouveau riche family.
No pedigree, but plenty of wealth.
If Ha Tae-ung could suppress such a family…….
‘At minimum, a top-ten conglomerate.’
The top-ten groups were those whose histories ran parallel with Korea’s entire development.
The power they wielded operated in unseen places just as forcefully.
Their influence reached into politics, government, and society at large.
‘If his surname is Ha……. Could it be?’
A single group flashed through her mind in an instant.
“Hareum…….”
The name spilled helplessly from Han Yu-bin’s lips.
“If his surname is Ha?”
“Could it really be??”
“The Hareum Group?”
“Oh my!”
“Good heavens…….”
Cheonghwa High School students were naturally well-versed in political and economic affairs.
The surname Ha was exceedingly rare in upper-class circles.
If Ha Tae-ung was a member of a conglomerate family, it could only be the Hareum Group.
At the very least, his family would be connected to one of the Hareum Group’s subsidiary enterprises.
‘Ha, Hareum? This pariah bastard??’
Lee Jang-yong’s ears caught the whispers rippling through the students.
His spine suddenly went cold.
The Hareum Group was not an entity he could tangle with.
No matter how skilled, if a top-ten conglomerate marked you, survival in South Korea became impossible.
The world had changed much, but money and power could still starve you out completely.
“Is the evidence collection complete?”
“Yes, sir! We’ve gathered all the evidence.”
Ha Tae-ung asked Kim Kyung-min the lawyer, who responded with confidence.
The Joainjang research team had moved quickly to collect documents, and Kim Kyung-min had verified them via text.
The content was staggering.
‘The youngest grandson of Chairman Ha Chul-gon…….’
Though currently entangled in some legal troubles, the Hareum Group remained rock-solid.
The family partnership forged thirty years ago with the previous generation had already been formalized.
While it had slipped from fifth-rank to tenth-rank among conglomerates, its underlying strength remained intact.
A hundred-year-old group’s capabilities influenced the entire economic foundation of South Korea.
To a member of such a family, a mere teacher had spewed unforgivable slurs.
An absolutely unpardonable transgression.
A grave insolence daring to assail a young master.
He resolved to show this man the scorching heat of the world.
“Lee Jang-yong.”
Ha Tae-ung called out to Lee Jang-yong again.
He maintained his courteous demeanor, but his voice had turned to ice.
“…….”
“Wh-what?”
“Simply kneel and apologize as promised.”
“……Shut it! You goddamned pariah bastard!”
Only then could he retire without incident.
But too many eyes were watching.
“Keke-keke-keke……. What horseshit are you spewing?”
He seemed to have resigned himself to utter recklessness.
The whites of his eyes consumed half his orbital sockets.
‘I’ll kill every last one of you bastards!!’
Unlike him, who’d endured a harsh childhood, most Cheonghwa High School students had grown up in comfort and privilege.
The fact that even a pariah possessed powerful backing filled him with self-contempt.
“I’ll get out of your way on my own, so you all keep eating well and living happily—nobodies that you are.”
Feigning cool indifference, Lee Jang-yong turned his back and descended from the platform.
No one moved to stop him.
Violence was prohibited; avoiding confrontation was expected.
“Lee Jang-yong!!”
But in that instant, an enraged voice called him to a halt.
The shout from right beside him made Lee Jang-yong turn.
Crack!
A searing heat blazed across Lee Jang-yong’s left cheek.
His head snapped right from the impact.
He nearly toppled but absorbed the full force of the blow to his face.
Thud!
But that wasn’t the end.
A kick drove into Lee Jang-yong’s abdomen.
“Ugh!”
The impact doubled him over, his torso folding.
Bang!
He collapsed to his knees.
Lee Jang-yong couldn’t believe the one-sided beating he was taking.
The attacker wasn’t the principal.
And it wasn’t Ha Tae-ung the pariah either.
Then who…….
“Good grief. A teacher, no less, making a fool of himself.”
The voice was sharp as a blade’s edge.
“Ahhhhh!”
“L-Lee Jeong-jun!”
“My God…….”
Female students screamed as the teacher assault unfolded.
Lee Jeong-jun had witnessed the entire situation and now intervened.
The sudden eruption plunged everyone into chaos.
Why Lee Jeong-jun?
“Shameful display.”
Lee Jeong-jun, second-year top student and son of the School Parent Association chairman.
The way he glared at Lee Jang-yong was as if he were looking at a loathsome insect.
Then Lee Jang-yong looked up at Ha Tae-ung.
“Satisfied?”
Lee Jeong-jun locked eyes with Ha Tae-ung and asked.
He’d just forced Lee Jang-yong to kneel as promised.
Spark!
The gazes between the two ignited.
“…….”
All eyes locked onto the pair.
Lee Jeong-jun, who’d been the top student yesterday.
And Ha Tae-ung, who’d seized the number-one ranking today with a perfect score.
Ha Tae-ung didn’t yield in the slightest even with Lee Jeong-jun backed by the Hankook Group and Doahilbo.
He carried the unmistakable aura of the Hareum Group heir.
Heh.
Ha Tae-ung smiled at Lee Jeong-jun’s question.
“From now on……. don’t interfere in my affairs.”
Ha Tae-ung’s words sounded almost like a jest.
“And if I do?”
Lee Jeong-jun challenged back, his pride on the line.
The two exchanged a few words in a fierce battle of presence.
Ha Tae-ung regarded him with a weary gaze.
And then…….
“You’ll get hurt.”
“……??”
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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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