The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 67

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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 67. The Crown Prince (6)

“Pacific Fisheries? What’s this about?”

A single office on the seventh floor of the Jo & Chang building.

Kim Gyeong-min asks the attorney Ayura, who sits across from him.

“Right? Why would the Young Master suddenly ask us to look into a fishing company in Sokcho?”
“At first glance… it just looks like some ordinary seafood business…”

It was a special directive from the Young Master.
The instruction had come by text.

They had cleanly disposed of Yi Jang-yong, the Cheonghwa High School teacher.
Multiple lawsuits had been filed against him.

He would face such damage that returning to society would be difficult.

Immediately after, the Young Master had requested an investigation into Pacific Fisheries in Sokcho.
It wasn’t a difficult task.

The information division of Jo & Chang had capabilities rivaling the National Intelligence Service.

Former investigators, police officers, and retired intelligence agency personnel worked there—all recognized for their skill.

As long as their salaries were guaranteed, they could identify the spoon count in a target family’s home.

“There must be a reason.”
“Of course. The Young Master must have a plan for everything! Hehe.”
“Attorney…”
“What?”
“That… Young Master honorific…”

The way Attorney Kim Gyeong-min used that title made Ayura uncomfortable.

She didn’t deny that she’d joined Jo & Chang hoping for social success.

But she still had her pride as an attorney that she wanted to preserve.

The client was still a high school student.

It bothered Ayura how her mentor attached that honorific to every sentence when addressing him.

“Ah, rookie.”

Kim Gyeong-min looked up and called out to Ayura.

“Yes, Attorney?”
“You don’t know the world yet, do you?”

His mentor’s question hit hard.

“…”

Ayura’s eyes widened, but she kept her mouth shut.

Of course, she hadn’t known before.
But after joining Jo & Chang, she’d learned roughly how South Korean society operated.

The lives of the upper class that ordinary citizens could never know.

They were fundamentally different from what people generally thought of as wealthy.

They wielded money and power as casually as if it meant nothing.

They didn’t resort to direct violence the way they might have in the distant past—they eliminated their enemies through far more insidious methods.

Especially the top ten conglomerates…

“Remember that chairman who threw money around and beat people?”
“Yes.”
“That’s nothing. When I first joined Jo & Chang, back then—”

Kim Gyeong-min trailed off, lost in thought.

Jo & Chang had maintained connections with major organizations since its founding.

They managed everything through a cell structure so that damage wouldn’t reach the top tier.

Anyone with sense knew that when problems arose, only the lowest-level organization would be cut off.

“What can you do? That’s just how the world is. Petty pride? What’s wrong with calling him the Young Master? My wife’s luxury handbags and expensive tutoring for my kids—all paid for. I’d be willing to lick his shoes.”

Kim Gyeong-min spoke with a half-joking laugh, but his heart was serious.

“…”

Ayura found herself speechless, as if witnessing the fate of a married man.

Jo & Chang never missed the top ranks of the legal profession in South Korea.

The counsel of her mentor, a senior attorney active at such a firm, was never light.

“You’re young and don’t understand yet… The more you work, the more of it you’ll see. When that moment comes, you have to choose.”
“…??”
“Success or pride. You have to pick one.”

There was substance in Kim Gyeong-min’s words.

Abandon your pride for success.
Or hold fast to your pride and sacrifice success.

Several clients she was still managing revealed base desires when dealing with her.

Jo & Chang, where starting salaries exceeded a hundred million won.
Within its walls, a fierce battle was waged every day.

“And right now, I’m on a leash held by the Young Master.”

Though he spoke that way, Kim Gyeong-min was a sharp man.

He’d returned to the office and confirmed key information.

The Young Master was definitely the son of a blood relative who’d been cast out from Haryun Group long ago.

“A hundred million won a month in legal consulting fees. You saw—that Young Master from Cheonghwa, the one bragging about money… suspicious. We ended up getting played too.”

The light in Kim Gyeong-min’s eyes flickered as he spoke of being played.

“He’s someone who understands the power of money. Not some green kid.”

The figure that had growled quietly on the main auditorium stage was unmistakably a lion cub.

He’d suppressed the elite heirs of South Korea’s upper class with sheer force.

“You heard it too, right?”
“Heard what?”
“The students whispering.”
“What…?”
“The Crown Prince!”
“Ah!”

That was right.
Ayura had heard it too.

But she still didn’t understand exactly what it meant.

She’d lived an ordinary school life like most people.

“Crown Prince. It’s a title only given to the heirs of South Korea’s top ten conglomerate families.”
“…”
“Doesn’t seem to mean much, does it?”
“No…”
“Pro. Those people… they’re going to become billionaires on a trillion-won scale at minimum. If they do well, they’ll be the crown princes of chaebol families holding tens of trillions in assets.”

Trillion-won scale!
Tens of trillions?

She couldn’t comprehend it at all.
Ayura could only blink at a sum of money she couldn’t grasp.

“With that kind of money, you can kill people. Using underlings like us…”

Kim Gyeong-min spoke his honest feelings, gained from experience, in a calm voice.

“Even a cast-out crown prince wields real power. As we witnessed today.”

Then Ayura felt a chill.

Their client, Ha Tae-ung—who’d radiated an overwhelming aura before hundreds of Cheonghwa High School students.

“The Crown Prince…”

Ayura repeated the words to herself without realizing.
The image of Ha Tae-ung she’d witnessed today was truly…

a conglomerate’s crown prince.

* * *

“…!!”

A power struggle had begun.

Crown prince wars had erupted before among past Cheonghwa alumni.

If they were from competing subsidiaries, the conflict grew especially vicious.

At this point, there was only one crown-prince-level rival: Kang Jun-woo.

Jang Ji-yu of the Shindo Group wasn’t worthy competition.

The Doa Ilbo and Oyang Group had the most family members enrolled.
Their heirs were mid-tier at best.

But direct descendants of Haryun Group were different.

Kang Jun-woo was indeed connected to Il-seong Group—but only through marriage.

His mother, Go Mi-hee, was the true Il-seong bloodline.

So Ha Tae-ung’s arrival meant a seismic shift in the power structure within Cheonghwa High School.

The arrival of a true crown prince to rival Kang Jun-woo!

Kang Jun-woo sending Yi Jeong-ho was a signal that the power struggle had begun.

If Ha Tae-ung meekly followed Yi Jeong-ho’s summons, he’d be admitting his lower rank.

But Ha Tae-ung had directly challenged him.

If you have something to say, come here yourself!

An impossibly arrogant declaration.

“The… the chairman’s calling?”
“He’s insane…”
“Isn’t that a challenge?”

A quiet upheaval swept through.
Like a new lion cub appearing just before the old one, who’d dominated the safari as king, was set to leave.

There couldn’t be two suns.

“You…”

Yi Jeong-ho’s face went pale.
He realized he was now in a screwed-up situation.

‘Damn it!’

He wielded power like a wolf elsewhere, but in front of a lion, his nerve broke.

When the Management Research Society president Kang Jun-woo graduated, that’s when his status would rise.

Yi Jeong-jun, who was a second cousin, didn’t interfere in Yi Jeong-ho’s affairs.

The two shared grandfathers who got along well.
They wouldn’t tolerate disputes among the brothers or their grandchildren.

When Kang Jun-woo left and Yi Jeong-jun took his place, it would all be over.

And now a new lion had arrived…

“Mind your manners. Your senior is eating.”

Ha Tae-ung picked up the chopsticks he’d set down and looked at Yi Jeong-ho.

‘This bastard’s gaze…’

It was similar to when looking at Kang Jun-woo.
The aura radiating from beings that couldn’t be opposed.

“I… already delivered the message. The responsibility is… yours.”

Yi Jeong-ho lowered his eyes and tucked his tail between his legs.

The students were currently sharing real-time footage of the scene on their phones.

“…”

As Yi Jeong-ho stepped back, the cafeteria returned to silence.

But no one had picked up a spoon to continue their meal.

These students had just witnessed the prelude to a storm about to sweep through Cheonghwa.

“Rice gets cold.”

Only Ha Tae-ung, befitting a crown prince, continued eating without a care.

“Tastes even better today, somehow. Haha.”

Park Ji-ung, the Outcast’s friend, laughed openly.

“You… you alright?”

Yi Hyo-ju looked at Ha Tae-ung with a concerned gaze.

“What?”
“Kang Jun-woo. He’s serious.”
“So?”
“Sigh… never mind.”

At Ha Tae-ung’s response, Yi Hyo-ju shook her head.

Things had progressed beyond what she could handle.

Yi Hyo-ju was a member of the Management Research Society.

By now, Yi Jeong-ho would have passed the word…

The research society would be in chaos.

* * *

“Pahahahahaha!”

The Management Research Society officers waiting for news.

“Why?”

Officers without an informant in the second year asked what was wrong.

“Kang Jun-woo. How embarrassed are you right now?”

Kang Jun-woo, who’d been waiting silently for Yi Jeong-ho, looked toward Jang Ji-yu.

“He says come find him.”
“Give me subject and object.”

Kang Jun-woo’s cold gaze fixed on Jang Ji-yu with displeasure.

Letting emotion cloud judgment was fatal to management.

“The Haryun Group Young Master said… if you have something to say, come yourself. Like you’re his senior. Pahahaha!”

After delivering the message, Jang Ji-yu burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“Huh.”

Kang Jun-woo exhaled briefly and composed himself.

He regulated his emotions through mental discipline, quietly closing his eyes.

And then.

“If he wishes…”

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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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