The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 65

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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 65. The Crown Prince (4)

“Damn it. What do we do now?”
“Why us?”
“Huh??”

Go Jun-yeon drew on his cigarette and furrowed his brow.

Kim Woo-joo asked the reason from the side, his eyes full of doubt.

“Listen. It’s not us who’s in trouble—it’s O Gwang-jun who’s screwed. Hehehehe.”
“That’s true. The Outcast and us, we’re fine.”
“We just gotta watch whatever ceremony those old geezers do and eat some rice cakes.”

In the Physical Education Preparation Room, separated from the main building by some distance.

Three student athletes had gathered to skip lunch and burn through a cigarette.

They turned over in their minds what they’d witnessed that morning.

“But damn, that Outcast bastard looked cool, didn’t he? Saying he’s only got money…… Hehehehe.”
“Shit. That line got me a little shook. How much money does he have to brag about it in front of Cheonghwa kids?”
“If he’s really a Hayun Group brat, he must have something. I mean, look at the class of dragging those Jo & Jang lawyers that even my old man is nervous about to school…….”
“Did you hear the lawyer call him ‘Young Master’?”
“So the Outcast suddenly became a second-year Crown Prince…….”
“When I think about it, it pisses me off to hell.”
“Hehehehe. So we in for drinks tonight?”

Yang Cheol-gyu, who was smoking off to the side, flicked his wrist and mimed drinking.

“Hell yeah, we’re in!”
“Drinks are on me tonight! Hehehehe.”

Go Jun-yeon, whose monthly allowance exceeded ten million won.

A few drinks were always within his means to cover.

Of course, all three of them carried a parent’s credit card at all times anyway.

Creak.

The door to the Physical Education Preparation Room opened.

“Oh, you’re here?”
“You’re late today.”

The moment O Gwang-jun appeared, all three of them wore stiff, awkward expressions—their laughter vanishing in an instant.

“Goddamn it. This sucks.”

O Gwang-jun opened his mouth and immediately let out a stream of profanity.
From morning right up to this moment, the whole place had been buzzing about the Outcast.

Throughout class, even the teachers had been eyeing Ha Tae-ung.

The Outcast, sitting at the very back, carrying himself like a sovereign.

O Gwang-jun felt his stomach turn at the way everything had flipped overnight.
The very sight of him twisted his guts.

‘I knew something was off back then…….’

Until recently, that guy was barely able to breathe in class.

But after the holiday break, when he returned to school, he changed completely.

A guy who couldn’t even look him in the eye started resisting, started throwing punches.
A beating so brutal it made O Gwang-jun want to retch.

In that moment, the trauma from when he’d been beaten one-sidedly by his prosecutor father came roaring back.

He’d been terrified.

And today, O Gwang-jun had finally met his match—a massive wall he couldn’t get past.

When he’d first enrolled at Cheonghwa, he’d been full of confidence.
But it hadn’t taken long before he’d faced the hard reality in front of him and crumbled.

At Cheonghwa, even with a father who was a senior prosecutor, he was barely commoner-level.

Most of the students there were children of the top hundred conglomerates, chief justices, prosecutors general, government ministers, and directors of major hospitals.

His father—the one who lorded over everyone at home like a king.

But whenever he crossed paths with other Cheonghwa parents, he wagged his tail like a hunting dog.

O Gwang-jun had picked up on countless instances of corruption his father was involved in, and unsavory favors.

Since O Gwang-jun’s enrollment at Cheonghwa, the requests had grown more brazen—favor after favor, case after case to sweep under the rug.

But whenever his father complied, the household finances improved dramatically.

One day the car changed to a luxury sedan. His mother started decking herself out in designer brands.

Looking back, it wasn’t something that had happened just once or twice.

Perhaps O Gwang-jun had learned early on the sordid logic of a cruel world.

His father had pushed him relentlessly.

Rising above these people was impossible anyway.
So go to a prestigious university and then on to law school.

A future laid out by his father’s intentions.

Through middle school, he’d been treated well because of his prosecutor father.

At Cheonghwa, it was hopeless.
The only person he could push around was the Outcast.

It was the only line O Gwang-jun could manage to hold.

Until early May, everything had been valid, everything had been happy.

He’d vented the stress from school and home by grinding the Outcast under his heel.

Everything went wrong just recently.
The whole situation had flipped on its head.

Getting beaten out of nowhere had made him wary of the Outcast.
His stress level was past the lethal dose.

His heart felt like it was about to burst under the mounting pressure.

There wasn’t no way to relieve it, though.

The target was the Outcast.
He could normally handle that on his own, according to plan.
But.

“There’s something about him. That bastard…….”

O Gwang-jun’s instincts were sharp.
It was possible that the Outcast was really part of the Hayun Group.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

“What is it?”
“Who? Ha Tae-ung?”

The moment O Gwang-jun’s eyes took on a sinister glint, the three asked.

“Look into that bastard’s background. Ha Tae-ung…… he’s hiding something. I’m sure of it.”

Ha Tae-ung, the Outcast, who until not long ago had worn the hollow eyes of a loser.

If he really were Hayun Group blood, he would’ve never resisted, would’ve just taken it.

“Something he’s hiding?”
“You mean he has secrets?”
“That’s what I think too. When did he become a Crown Prince anyway!”
Grit.

O Gwang-jun ground his teeth at the mention of Crown Prince.

Being called Crown Prince at Cheonghwa meant being recognized as someone utterly untouchable.

A position too high even to glance at—the son of some mere prosecutor nobody!

“No way! Absolutely not!!”

O Gwang-jun’s eyes went bloodshot as rage reached its peak.

* * *

Big brother!

A female student approached the table with a bright smile.
She stood right beside me, tray in hand.

The table seats six.

Ji-ung was sitting on the right, and the left was empty.

“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”

A cellist who looked shy at first glance.

But unlike her appearance, she had backbone and resolve.

“…….”

Lee Hyo-ju, sitting across from me, stares hard at Kang A-ri, who takes the seat next to me.
Her gaze is unkind.

“Senior, I’ll sit here.”

An A-ram, Kang A-ri’s shadow, takes the seat next to Lee Hyo-ju and speaks.

“What are you two doing?”

Lee Hyo-ju looks between them, asking.

“We wanted to eat with Senior Tae-ung.”

Kang A-ri answers with a bright smile.

“Me too.”

An A-ram follows suit, answering boldly.

“Sigh.”

A short sigh escapes Lee Hyo-ju.

I’m a little taken aback by their sudden behavior too.

In the past, everyone had refused to sit beside the Outcast.

Now the atmosphere feels like I’ve suddenly become the most popular person around.

“…….”

The six-person table falls silent.
Students at other tables, who’d been chatting while eating, freeze mid-sentence.

“What is it? Lee Hyo-ju isn’t enough, so you need Kang A-ri too?”
“He’s definitely Hayun Group blood.”
“I’m jealous…….”

The brief silence breaks, and murmuring starts from all sides.

Of course, I’m not crushed by the overwhelming atmosphere.

It feels natural, even inevitable.

It’s as if a caged beast’s heart has awakened.

The bloodline of the Ha clan—something that once felt like it had to be hidden!

This is Momentum.

The power to overwhelm your opponent with nothing but breath and gaze.

The me of the past couldn’t have even dreamed of a day like today.

But now it feels completely natural.

Is this the pleasure that arrogance brings?

The Cheonghwa High School students who’d utterly looked down on me and given me insult for so long.

Now they all looked like underdeveloped children.

A man’s life in his thirties is fully equipped inside me.

Perhaps that’s why I don’t clash with them emotionally.

On top of overwhelming wealth!

Among current Cheonghwa students, no one holds more liquid cash than me.

My crypto accounts are multiplying infinitely even now.

“Let’s eat.”
“Yes!!”
“Okay…….”

I feel like the head of a household leading his family.

We eat lunch together under the sharp gaze of those around us.

“Brother.”

Kang A-ri calls out to me while eating her salad.

“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you contact me on the weekend?”
“……??”
“You got my number…….”

Kang A-ri grins innocently.
Most people, seeing only her looks, might assume she’s meek and gentle—but that’s far from it.

To become a world-class cellist at such a young age, she must have sweated blood.

Playing long pieces without missing a single note.

Fingers bruised and bloody from fatigue, melting those feelings into the music to move audiences and judges alike.

The fact that she’s placed in international competitions proves how relentless she is.

“I was busy.”
“Tae, Tae-ung helped me find a place for my move on Sunday.”

Ji-ung chimes in.

“Ah, so that’s what it was.”

Kang A-ri immediately understands.

“And I was with him at the golf course on Saturday.”

Lee Hyo-ju, who’d been counting and popping rice into her mouth, cuts in.

It sounds like something that could be misunderstood.

“Brother, do you play golf?”
“Yeah.”
“Then next time, go with me. My grandfather owns a golf course in Gangwon Province—the view is amazing. You can even see the sea~”
“…….”

‘Right. You’re not from an easy family either.’

I still don’t know exactly what Kang A-ri’s background is.

Of course, I’ve heard rumors that she’s from an extraordinary family.

“Sure.”
“Did we make a promise?”

I turn to look at Kang A-ri.
The girl who’d shared an umbrella with me on that day when the rain poured down, leaving her one shoulder soaked.

Her eyes are smiling, but deep in her pupils, I can see the scars left by sorrow.

It feels like I’m facing the past me.
Maybe that’s why she caught my eye that rainy day.

“I’m going home this week. Let’s set it for next month.”
“Okay~”

Kang A-ri breaks into a full smile.
She’s very different from Lee Hyo-ju, who has a calm, intellectual image.

Kang A-ri’s bubbly, refreshing personality is charming.

It’s no wonder she’s the first-year queen.

“Do you play golf too?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because you’re cool. And you’re rich~”

Kang A-ri answers Lee Hyo-ju’s question without hesitation.

She’s openly saying he’s rich, but Kang A-ri wouldn’t actually care about money.

It’s clear her family isn’t bound by financial concerns.

Pop.

A small spark flew across the six-person table.
I shake my head gently.

Back in my college days, there were a few situations similar to this.
I’d deliberately turned away—it was when I was living a miserable, bottom-of-the-barrel life.

If not for my girlfriend, I would’ve lived single my whole life and died a lonely ghost.

Thud-thud.

Someone was approaching our table.

I felt their gaze directed clearly at me.

And then.

“Ha Tae-ung…….”

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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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