Chapter 124
Yoo Siwoon, barely containing his anger, exhaled deeply and asked, “What is Lee Joon-seung doing?”
“As far as I know, he’s keeping a low profile. He’s quiet. He wouldn’t dare ignore your warning.”
“…”
Yoo Siwoon said nothing more, tightly closing his mouth as he sank into the backrest.
He would have committed suicide if he knew he was the prophesied one?
His feelings became even stronger knowing that Eunseong was “the great rift.” It wasn’t mere coincidence but a fate arranged from two thousand years ago. Yoo Siwoon was one of the few bloodlines that had inherited what he considered their dirty blood, and Eunseong was a miracle that appeared once in two centuries. It was natural for them to be drawn to each other, to love each other.
As they approached Chairman Yoo’s mansion, Yoo Siwoon told Director Nam to stop the car. Director Nam wasn’t someone skilled at hiding his expressions. Yoo Siwoon had Director Nam wait nearby while he drove the car himself to Chairman Yoo’s house. Recognizing his car, the garage door opened automatically, guiding him inside.
After parking in an empty spot, Yoo Siwoon deliberately loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. He opened the dashboard and put on a gaudy, thick gold ring that had been stuffed inside. It was a flashy, ornate ring that was exactly opposite of his aesthetic taste.
He ruffled his hair, got out of the car, and started walking toward the mansion when he suddenly stopped. Three black guard dogs rushed toward him. Their bulging muscles made them look more like bears than dogs.
“…”
Yoo Siwoon stopped walking and looked down at the beasts with bored eyes. They growled lowly, showed their fangs, and drooled, but they would never attack a person first without a command. He knew that threatening people was purely Chairman Yoo’s vulgar form of entertainment.
As he stood hesitating, not moving closer, a window opened as Yoo Siwoon had expected, and Chairman Yoo appeared. As he whistled with his fingers, the beasts that had been growling and drooling like rabid dogs, seemingly about to tear Yoo Siwoon apart, retreated instantly.
Chairman Yoo was a man who enjoyed watching lower beings get thoroughly trampled, crushed, and trembling in the cruel world he created. This was the character trait that Yoo Siwoon thoroughly despised.
If it became known that he was deceiving the council of elders and creating a false target to establish his son as successor, Chairman Yoo would be immediately excommunicated from Yongse Pacheon Church. It might not end with excommunication; he could face punishment as well. However, Yoo Siwoon didn’t want to deal with him by going through such troublesome steps.
He had only one desire.
To live happily with his companion. To love Eunseong freely without anyone’s interference.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t concerned about the welfare of Director Nam and others who had worked with him for their cause, but that slight pang of conscience couldn’t override Eunseong’s presence in Yoo Siwoon’s heart. That was all.
He was guided by a resident staff member to Chairman Yoo’s home office.
“He’s waiting inside.”
“…”
He nodded slightly to the staff member and went inside. Chairman Yoo, dressed comfortably, motioned to Yoo Siwoon. His son and Yoo Siwoon’s cousin, Yoo Seongil, was also there, and there was another unexpected person with them.
It was Yoo Oseon.
Surprised, Yoo Siwoon froze. He was prostrating himself before Chairman Yoo and his son, appearing to admit guilt. It was the exact same position and posture as when Seo Jeong-gi had knelt before Yoo Siwoon.
Yoo Oseon prostrated himself but turned his head slightly to look at Yoo Siwoon.
“…”
It was definitely the same Yoo Oseon whom he had trapped in the morgue of the abandoned medical center building by nailing the entrance shut. While kneeling and prostrated, Yoo Oseon glared at Yoo Siwoon with bloodshot eyes, then lowered his head submissively before Chairman Yoo and his son.
A tension unlike anything felt when the house-sized guard dogs rushed at him sent chills down Yoo Siwoon’s spine.
“You found him?”
Yoo Siwoon’s expression remained unchanged. As if this situation was familiar, as if it happened yesterday and was happening again today, he calmly bowed to Chairman Yoo. But soon Eunseong’s face flashed in his mind, and his heart began to pound silently. Yoo Oseon was the only person who knew Eunseong’s true identity.
That’s why he killed him, that’s why he killed him.
He had thought Yoo Oseon would have died slowly, terrified by the fear of death in that place where no one would find him, entrance nailed shut. He had been relieved, believing he had dealt with him and could now go anywhere with Eunseong.
Chairman Yoo nodded toward Yoo Oseon prostrated on the floor.
“Do you know why I called you here today?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You really don’t know?”
“No, I don’t know.”
Yoo Siwoon calmly replied that he really had no idea what he was talking about. Chairman Yoo let out a mocking laugh.
“Are you going to say you didn’t know that interfering with breeding candidate is strictly forbidden, especially in your case?”
“…”
This time he didn’t answer. Everything was orchestrated by Yoo Siwoon, or rather, Yoo Seongil. It was because he believed that Yoo Oseon was trying to take the successor position by exploiting their corruption and wrongdoings. Yoo Seongil had acted according to Yoo Siwoon’s intentions. Yoo Siwoon had merely followed the clean sequence of dealing with a traitor as ordered by Yoo Seongil.
“It’s the law established by the council of elders that one breeder cannot arbitrarily punish another breeder. That’s because bloodlines capable of producing offspring are so rare.”
Yoo Siwoon knelt beside Yoo Oseon, just like him. He put both hands on the floor and bowed his head. As he knelt, he had the illusion that the cold from the floor penetrated to his bones.
Just knowing that Yoo Oseon had the spiritual sight to recognize Eunseong and knew his true identity made Yoo Siwoon’s hands and feet tremble with murderous intent. He tried to stay as calm as possible. First, he needed to deal with Chairman Yoo standing before him. He blamed Yoo Seongil as initially planned.
“I… thought it was an action approved by you, Chairman.”
“Hey, why are you talking like that again? Ah, Father, of course I did tell him to handle it… shit, this doesn’t make sense. Father, he was going to meet with a prosecutor with evidence of your corruption to make a deal! That bastard Oseon? Are you saying we should just overlook such insubordination? If we leave him alone, he’s the kind of bastard who would climb on top of your head and dance.”
Yoo Seongil hurriedly made excuses in response to Yoo Siwoon’s words. With his head bowed in prostration, Yoo Siwoon looked back at Yoo Oseon. Their eyes met.
“…”
“…”
Yoo Oseon stared at Yoo Siwoon with quiet but fierce and rough eyes, silently threatening that although he hadn’t revealed Eunseong’s existence yet, he would if things went wrong. Both men quickly lowered their gazes to the floor as Chairman Yoo moved.
“It was something Seongil ordered? Siwoon, tell me. Is that right? He ordered it and you just followed his orders?”
“I naturally assumed it was your directive, Chairman.”
Yoo Siwoon answered in a low voice. His hands had formed into tightly clenched fists. His knuckles turned white and trembled.
“You all know better what punishment awaits for killing a breeder. Siwoon, hmm? With your father gone, who do you think will stand up for you if you make such a mistake?”
Chairman Yoo spoke sternly. Yoo Siwoon responded without raising his head.
“…If following orders was my mistake, then I will accept the punishment from the council of elders.”
At Yoo Siwoon’s unexpected answer suggesting he would willingly accept punishment, Chairman Yoo turned his sharp gaze toward his son.
It was Yoo Seongil’s mistake from the beginning. It was done under his orders. If the council of elders dug into the matter to discipline Yoo Siwoon for his crime, Yoo Seongil’s wrongdoing would be revealed, and Yoo Siwoon wouldn’t be the only one punished.
If that happened, his Jeokdan would be confiscated, and he would lose his qualification as a breeder. For Yoo Siwoon, who had no interest in becoming the successor, having his Jeokdan confiscated or being prohibited from taking it wasn’t much of a punishment, but for Yoo Seongil, it was different.
A man born of the Seongha family lineage must take Jeokdan, which opens his spiritual eyes to recognize “the great rift,” and qualifies him to impregnate the target. Having Jeokdan confiscated meant that no matter how many sons Seongil might have through various women, none would be recognized as “the god who came through the shortcut.” The most irreversible and frightening punishment for a breeder was revoking his qualification. Moreover, they had a fake that looked real, and preparations were being made to deceive everyone smoothly.
“Haa, why is everything you do so sloppy? Hmm?”
Chairman Yoo exhaled with a sigh. He clicked his tongue at his son as if deeply disappointed.