The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 71

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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 71. Whisky Bar J&W (2)

“The Fallen Crown Prince?”
-Mi-ju, you really don’t know?
“What?”
-Dong-hui. You’ve seen him before.
“Dong-hui? You mean Ha Dong-hui?”
-Yeah. That guy who looks like actor Seol Do-hyun.
“So Ha Tae-ung is that Dong-hui’s son?”
-That’s right. I heard he was exiled to Sokcho, but his son was attending Cheonghwa High School.

‘So that bastard was Dong-hui’s son all along?’

More than twenty years had passed since then.

In those days, the name Ha Dong-hui was shared like a legend among the upper-class youth, especially among the women.

The youngest son of Ha Chul-gon, chairman of Ha Ryun Group.

Though his position in the succession hierarchy had been weak from the start.

Yet because of his handsome face, the affection women harbored for him bordered on lovesickness.

And his academic credentials were quite respectable too.

He could have easily gotten into Seo Guk University, but he chose Yeon Guk University instead.

A scholarship student in the business administration program at Yeon Guk University.

His story had even made the newspapers back then—quite the issue.

Ju Mi-ju had seen him a few times at certain upper-class social gatherings.

They’d exchanged only a few words, but the impression he’d left was quite vivid.

“Is it really true?”
-Mi-ju, it’s me. Oh Hye-sook.

Oh Hye-sook—known as an all-around information gatherer on Gangnam’s upper-class elite.

Her family had once ranked within the top twenty of the nation’s business community in construction.

They’d handled major projects and numerous national infrastructure works in Saudi Arabia and Libya.

Now, Donglyu Construction—a once-glorious name buried in history.

Oh Hye-sook was the eldest daughter of the Donglyu Construction chairman.

Though her family had only the name left, their influence in their heyday had been considerable.

Oh Hye-sook actively worked as a well-connected figure and information broker throughout Gangnam with her natural charisma.

Her husband was a former high-ranking official of the National Intelligence Service.

Overseas slush funds her father had established while serving as chairman amounted to hundreds of billions of won.

That was the biggest reason her word still carried weight.

“Sorry.”
-Don’t be. Just remember me when your kids get married.

Oh Hye-sook—managing her network by trading in gossip and scandal.

It was her method of directly and indirectly involving herself in the marriages of upper-class youth.

When a marriage was properly arranged, the fees both families paid amounted to at least hundreds of millions of won.

Oh Hye-sook had an uncanny nose for money; rumor had it she’d even dabbled in stock manipulation.

“So of course. Who else would I ask but you?”

Marriages between conglomerate heirs weren’t centered on love.

Most were transactions between companies.

Ha Dong-hui had chosen love and been cast out by his family precisely because he’d refused the deal.

-The incident must have been pretty big?
“Why?”
-The Gangnam upper-class crowd has been buzzing about it nonstop.
“Really?”
-You know the Cheonghwa parents—they all know who everyone is. They went to the kids’ houses and told the whole story. My phone’s been ringing off the hook. Oh, and by now… the Ha family has definitely heard about it.
“Has it?”

The story had reached the Ha household!

Mi-ju’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

The older brother she’d quietly harbored a crush on.
Though he meant little to her now, he’d once made her heart race.

But now her son was all that mattered!

-I have a feeling something big’s about to blow up. You know what the Ha family’s like—notorious for being ruthless.

Chairman Ha Chul-gon—the man who cast out his own bloodline for refusing to obey his wishes.

His remaining children shared much of the same temperament.

But now the cast-off blood relative’s son was using the Ha family name?

A thin smile.

An enigmatic smile bloomed across Mi-ju’s lips.

Ha Tae-ung was definitely an outcast.
A method to finally and conclusively dispose of this thorn in her side had just occurred to her.

‘That’s right—why dirty my own hands?’

This incident had already brought Lee Jang-yong down.

The academic affairs director was terrified before the Ha Ryun Group name.

“Thanks, Oh. I’ll buy you dinner soon.”
-Make it a good one. Haha.
“Count on it. It’s Ju Mi-ju.”

Mi-ju’s mood had brightened considerably.
Scenarios beyond imagination began sketching themselves through her mind.

* * *

A shiver.

A-yu-ra trembled as goosebumps rose along her skin.

‘Something was off from the very first time I saw him…’

The bartender’s gaze that regarded customers not as a means of profit but as objects of curiosity.

A spacious establishment decorated with heavy, tasteful interiors.

Yet there were no other customers.
The reason had now revealed itself.

The elderly bartender who was both building owner and bar operator.

His true identity was a shaman.

That penetrating gaze, as if he could see through a person’s soul, had made her deeply uneasy.

What she felt in his eyes was the gaze of divinity.

It was only natural that those with questionable relationships didn’t patronize this whisky bar.

The bartender, like a gatekeeper, seemed to filter out customers with bad karma and turn them away.

Only those permitted by the divine could enter this place.

‘How long has he been coming here? They seem like they’ve never met before…’

Ha Tae-ung and the proprietor clearly had no prior acquaintance.

Yet their manner with each other was remarkably natural.

“Right here.”

The bartender selected two bottles of whisky from the display and showed them.

Then he set a glass in front of each of them.

A Cognac glass for A-yu-ra, a Nosing glass for the Fallen Crown Prince.

Occasionally when she met with clients, the conversation would inevitably turn to wine.

Because of this, A-yu-ra had studied wine and glassware to some degree.

She couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

Most clients were South Korea’s upper class or elites.
Even from brief exchanges of common knowledge, they assessed and analyzed their counterpart before making judgments.

One had to know at least the basics about wine to be a worthy conversation partner.

“The snack is here—Ulleungdo Grass Cattle Jerky that I personally sourced and prepared.”

‘Grass cattle?’

A type of jerky that ordinary people couldn’t easily taste.

The grass cattle raised on Ulleungdo were different even from Korean beef.

The dark crimson jerky looked quite different from ordinary beef jerky just by sight.

“A toast, then.”

Ha Tae-ung raised his filled glass to propose a drink.

“Yes…”

The distinctive sweet fragrance of distilled wine that is Cognac dramatically elevated the taste.

A-yu-ra wanted to calm her restless heart.

Her glass merely brushed against his in pretense.

The Fallen Crown Prince sitting beside her was exhaling a scent sweeter than the Cognac itself.

Intoxicated by his fragrance more than the liquor, her face buried beneath the dim lighting burned hot.

‘Why am I like this today?’

A-yu-ra feigned composure, calming herself as she sipped the Cognac.

She held a mouthful on her tongue, letting the tip roll gently.

…

The aeration had been perfect; the fruit notes bloomed fully across her palate.

Her eyes closed involuntarily at the smoothness and depth beyond expectation.

A fine Cognac savored in an atmospheric bar after a long while.

Dark chocolate and true vanilla flooded her mouth.

“How is it?”

The shaman—or rather, the bartender—asked with a smile, meeting her gaze.

“It feels like a fully ripened vineyard has melted into it. So smooth.”

A-yu-ra expressed honestly what she tasted.

“And you, sir?”
“Dalmore is love itself, as I understand it.”
“Haha! You’re a true Dalmore enthusiast. I feel the same.”

The bartender burst into hearty laughter at Ha Tae-ung’s response.

Now only three people occupied the spacious whisky bar.

Weighty jazz continued to drift through the room, and between the two of them sat their drinks.

‘This is fun.’

A-yu-ra didn’t dislike this strange atmosphere.

As she swallowed a few more sips of the high-proof Cognac, her tense body began to relax.

“Comrades should share camaraderie.”

With a cryptic remark, the bartender turned back toward the display.

He reached out and returned with an impressively labeled bottle—silver stag antlers catching the light.

“A 30-year?”
“This one’s on the house.”
“Thank you.”

‘That looks expensive… and he’s offering it free?’

A-yu-ra was bewildered by what was unfolding before her.

Even accounting for his being the building owner, a bottle that appeared to cost several million won was being offered complimentary—it made little sense.

The bartender produced a fresh glass and set it down.

“Don’t overthink it. It’s simply offering the first pour to one whose karmic fortune overflows so abundantly it could fill the Pacific itself.”

The bartender, as if reading her mind, explained his reasoning in his shamanic manner.

“I see…”

A-yu-ra felt oddly deflated.

‘What? How much money does someone need to fill the Pacific?’

Her client Ha Tae-ung was still a high school student.

No matter how much wealth he had hidden away as a conglomerate heir’s grandson, there were limits to wealth accumulation.

“You’re too generous.”
“I consider my words an understatement.”

The bartender’s tone toward Ha Tae-ung was quite deferential.

Markedly different from how he addressed A-yu-ra.

A glug.

The Dalmore 30-year filled the glass.

“Wow!”

A-yu-ra gasped involuntarily.

“And for the lady as well?”
“Yes!”

As the glass filled, wonder burst forth at the fragrance spreading through the air.

Cinnamon candy, cinnamon sugar, nuts, citrus notes—a complex blend that intoxicated the very soul.

A-yu-ra stepped into a new world of whisky.
Her glass too was filled with the ruby-red liquid.

“Before you raise your glasses… would you each care to draw a card?”

The bartender bent down and withdrew something from beneath the home bar.

“This is…”

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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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