The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 75
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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 75. Whiskey Bar J&W (6)
Screech.
“We’ve arrived, sir.”
A private villa with its own garden, nestled in the heart of Gangnam.
A large foreign luxury car came to a halt in front of the villa—worth well over twenty billion won.
“Damn it.”
A man in the back seat, reeking heavily of alcohol, barely opened his eyes and spat out a curse.
His slack form showed no intention of getting out.
He hesitated like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.
Through the darkly tinted window, the villa was visible.
With unfocused eyes, he gazed at the terrace where soft light seeped through.
“Director…”
“Shut your mouth, you bastard! I got it!!”
Twisting his heavy body, he unleashed another string of curses before wrenching the car door open.
The driver quickly threw open his own door and moved fast—but—
Bang!
The man slammed the door shut and walked toward the house.
“Rest well, sir.”
As if this wasn’t his first time dealing with such behavior, the middle-aged driver bent his back ninety degrees toward the departing figure.
Whoosh.
Several checks fluttered through the air and landed at the driver’s feet as he bowed.
The bent frame of the man who had just lowered his head trembled.
Every time he gripped the steering wheel, he endured verbal abuse, but he couldn’t quit.
His eldest daughter had just enrolled in university this year—her tuition had to be paid, and there were endless expenses.
As long as he dutifully played the role of an emotional dumpster, he pocketed tips that exceeded his monthly salary.
“Sigh.”
Though it happened from time to time, adapting never got easier.
The driver swallowed a short sigh and picked up the fallen checks.
Straightening his back, his gaze followed the man who had opened the door and disappeared.
A bitter smile crossed the driver’s lips.
No matter how grueling the day, when he returned home, his virtuous wife and rabbit-like children greeted him with smiling faces.
But the man he served, despite commanding unimaginable wealth…
“Life—what’s so special about it? A warm back and a full belly are enough.”
Every time he watched his boss struggle to avoid going home when work ended, this was the thought that came to him.
Even in poverty, his own happiness was worth more than his boss’s miserable soul drowning in wealth.
Without hesitation, the driver turned away and drove back toward home.
* * *
Click.
Crash!
A man threw the front door open and entered the house with violent force.
The spacious living room emanated no warmth.
Every day the housemaid managed it meticulously—not a thing out of place, not a speck of dust.
An Italian leather sofa worth hundreds of millions held court like its master.
Expensive paintings were scattered across the walls, welcoming him with their luster.
Tens of billions had been poured into the interior design in pursuit of a warm sanctuary.
Yet the reality was utterly desolate.
A house where no one welcomed him when he returned from work.
“Damn it.”
Ha Dong-gun’s face twisted in irritation.
For him, home was not a place of happiness.
Originally, Ha Dong-gun had loved a woman.
A musician—the type his father despised.
An active singer, no less.
From an educator’s family, her life had been ordinary.
Ha Dong-gun loved her with genuine devotion.
He received solace from her whenever he bore stress from family matters or business.
In those days, he would have given his life for her.
But the group faced many pressing difficulties at that time.
An apartment building under construction by Haruen Construction collapsed due to substandard work.
Over a dozen construction workers lost their lives at the site.
It was what the opposing politician wanted.
He’d thought the room was empty.
Serious business.
But afterward, she discovered his entire past.
He could not forget the woman he had loved.
One day, while living with their two children—
She witnessed him weeping in his study over things he had hidden away.
Photos of his former lover and letters they had exchanged.
He was never a man she had loved from the beginning.
But the moment she saw her husband shedding tears of anguish over the other woman, the affection she had carefully built up crumbled entirely.
But that wasn’t all.
Her husband openly met with women frequently.
Song Jin-hee had lived relatively freely during her years as an international student in America.
Since they were essentially a showroom couple anyway, she didn’t endure it either.
Like someone running to the finish line, she too began seeing men.
One night, after the relationship had run its course, they spoke seriously over drinks.
Divorce was impossible due to family circumstances.
Instead, they drew up a contract agreeing not to interfere in each other’s private lives.
Over ten years had passed in this manner.
Because eyes were always watching, they still lived as a couple in the same house, but they never discussed anything that would intrude upon each other’s lives.
Both children left for abroad to study early.
Only their daughter had returned to Korea to attend university.
Of course, she fled the cold atmosphere of the home and lived alone in an officetel.
Plop.
Ha Dong-gun stumbled onto the seat across from the woman who bore the name “wife.”
Smooth.
As her husband sat, Song Jin-hee in her mid-forties gazed at him with an indifferent look.
In one hand she held a beautifully curved glass containing blood-red wine.
Her eyes held no emotion.
A bottomless gaze—devoid of love or hatred.
‘Damn woman.’
The look in her eyes was not unfamiliar to Ha Dong-gun.
Their newlywed days had been rather pleasant.
They’d gained two beloved children together.
He had sometimes felt frustrated with domestic life, but he’d never wanted to be an obstacle to his father’s political career as a three-term congressman.
She too recognized that indulging in outside affairs as he pleased could bring disgrace to her father’s name.
The change in her came suddenly, on a particular day.
He still couldn’t forget the look in her eyes that day.
That piercing, contemptuous glare—still vivid in his memory!
After that day, she had withdrawn herself.
The questions went unanswered, and he endured as long as he could.
Eventually he took another woman into his life.
Back then, Ha Dong-gun was still young, blood still burning in his veins.
The walls of family slowly crumbled.
Now he knew that each of them was intimate with someone else.
They hid nothing, nor did they wound each other deliberately.
When Chairman Ha Cheol-gon passed away, the inheritance procedures would follow.
They had drafted a contract stipulating that they would maintain their marriage until those procedures were completed.
Of course, the condition was that neither would interfere in the other’s private affairs.
But there was one additional stipulation.
Sleep here at home.
“Are you an idiot?”
“What, what?”
“I asked if you’re an idiot.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
At Song Jin-hee’s mocking remark, Ha Dong-gun bristled.
His face, unable to conceal his expression, transformed into something demonic.
No matter how much he feared his father, he couldn’t endure such insult.
The long-suppressed volcano of rage surged upward.
“Ha Tae-ung!”
“……??”
As he struggled to contain his anger, Song Jin-hee threw out an unfamiliar name.
“You don’t know?”
“What the hell are you talking about! Who the hell is Ha Tae-ung!!”
“Your nephew.”
“Your… nephew?”
At her brief answer, Ha Dong-gun even stumbled over his words.
Song Jin-hee was a perceptive woman.
She didn’t casually drop words to someone with whom she shared a relationship worse than strangers.
“It’s all over high society today. Ha Ryun Group’s royal family enrolled at Cheonghwa High School as an outcast and lived like parasites until their identity was exposed.”
“What nonsense! There’s no such person in our family……!!”
Ha Dong-gun vehemently denied it, then suddenly stopped mid-word.
A memory suddenly surfaced.
A matter reported by his secretary early this month.
The identity of his mother’s hidden legacy.
And Kim Jung-ryul, the lawyer who had been attacked while secretly transferring it to Ha Dong-hwi’s son.
In the end, Kim Jung-ryul had delivered a billion won to Ha Dong-hwi’s son.
“…You know something, don’t you?”
Song Jin-hee, quick to read between the lines, pressed him.
“Well…”
“This will reach your father’s ears soon. What are you going to do? It’s exactly the kind of thing you’re supposed to handle!”
Song Jin-hee bore down on him accusingly.
Her father from her maiden family—retired as an elder statesman after his fifth term in the National Assembly.
The only power left to their family was her husband’s wealth.
The problem was that Ha Dong-gun was marked as a disfavored son by Chairman Ha Cheol-gon.
So despite his age and experience, he hadn’t received a single proper affiliate company; he was merely stuck in a director’s position at the construction firm.
Song Jin-hee’s pride was wounded, but she endured.
When Chairman Ha Cheol-gon died, there would be a considerable fortune left behind.
Until then, she would just be patient; afterward, they could each live their own lives coolly.
But the way her husband handled family matters had to be clean.
“That time… you should have dug him out of the family register and buried it.”
Regret flooded through Ha Dong-gun over past events.
His mother, while alive, had strongly objected, so he’d taken no further action regarding Ha Dong-hwi—now this crisis had erupted.
A long-festering sore had finally burst open.
“Seems like he’s got money.”
“Money?”
“Jo & Chang Law Firm is supposedly acting as his supporter?”
“Heh…”
At Song Jin-hee’s mention of money, Ha Dong-gun let out a bitter laugh.
“What is it? Tell me what you know.”
Song Jin-hee’s eyes gleamed like blades.
As long as Chairman Ha Cheol-gon lived, the two of them were bound as a common fate neither could escape.
“About a billion won was transferred from Mother’s estate.”
“A billion? That’s all?”
“I already know everything and have taken care of it. Don’t worry about it.”
“Really?”
At her husband’s confident attitude, Song Jin-hee’s agitated voice softened slightly.
Smooth.
Song Jin-hee crossed and twisted her legs, shifting her posture.
In that instant, the silk nightgown’s hem slipped to one side, exposing her pale thigh.
“…”
A glimpse of his wife’s bare skin, something he hadn’t seen in a long while.
Ha Dong-gun’s heart raced uncontrollably.
Though they disagreed on everything else, they had always satisfied each other in bed.
“Hm…”
Song Jin-hee, quick to notice his reaction, curved her lips into a subtle smile.
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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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