Chapter 139
“That’s right. I always thought he was just a timid, cautious scholar, but who would have guessed CEO Yoo Siwoon would do such a thing to me? Don’t you agree? No matter how refined he pretends to be, that man is still blood of that crazy family.”
There wasn’t even a glass of water on the table. Director Nam asked, trying to change the subject away from badmouthing Yoo Siwoon, “What would you like to drink?”
“I can’t handle hot drinks anymore. I developed trauma from that incident.”
“…Then would you like an iced americano?”
“…”
Director Nam frowned slightly with pity, as if wondering why a detective from the violent crimes division would keep bringing up such a matter.
Facing the man who just stared at him without answering, Director Nam sighed and stood up. He ordered two iced americanos and placed a glass in front of Lee Joon-seung.
“I heard Chairman Yoo was arrested. The power structure there is changing now. Chairman Yoo and his son are completely finished, and Yoo Oseon was never qualified to begin with.”
Lee Joon-seung spoke with a mushy pronunciation while crunching on ice.
“How did you know?”
“What, did you think I would actually stay crushed just because Yoo Siwoon ordered it? Why would I? Did he think I’d really stay quiet after giving me a mere pittance to live on? If so, he should have given me more!”
“Are you crazy? If the CEO found out…!”
It seemed Lee Joon-seung had continued digging into Seongha Group behind their backs, despite being told to stay quiet. Director Nam anxiously looked around, though no one was listening, and urgently lowered his raised voice.
“Director Nam, do you still believe in Yoo Siwoon?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That guy… I heard he’s the ‘Great Rift’ mentioned in the prophecy. Was he deceiving us?”
They hadn’t revealed Eunseong’s identity even to their own allies. This was not only to protect Eunseong from danger but also to preemptively block them from trying to use Eunseong.
“That… we concealed it only because we judged that revealing it would put him in danger.”
“I heard you were going to smuggle him abroad, was that a lie too? I heard Yongse Pacheon Church is in chaos now. They say the ‘Great Rift’ has appeared.”
“…”
Lee Joon-seung grimaced as if just thinking about that kid, the Great Rift, made him sick.
Although he was the one who first proposed using a fake to somehow take on Seongha Group, it was merely a test to discover the true intentions of Yoo Siwoon, who rarely revealed his inner thoughts. He never had the slightest intention, nor desire, to actually put forward someone who would revitalize the Yongse Pacheon Church.
The supernatural being that he had been so concerned about was now igniting the flames of faith like wildfire among those ridiculous cult followers, giving symbolic miracles to a community that previously had only doctrine and worship. The discovery of the Great Rift made it impossible to condemn the immoral acts that Yongse Pacheon Church had been committing.
“You said you’d hide him somewhere, but did Yoo Siwoon use him to take over Seongha Group?”
“There were reasons why that became necessary.”
“That’s such a convenient logic. ‘It was necessary.’ That’s really a phrase I hate.”
“There were reasons. We had prepared everything for escape abroad, but because someone who knew Eunseong’s identity appeared… we had no choice.”
Director Nam tried to explain why Yoo Siwoon had publicly revealed Eunseong’s existence. However, Lee Joon-seung showed no intention of listening to anything from the start.
“Fine, let’s say all that is true. Let’s say there were reasons you couldn’t avoid, that you lied to us for unavoidable circumstances, and for unavoidable reasons you made your community more unified and legitimate by exposing him.”
“…”
Realizing that no rational persuasion would work on the sarcastic Lee Joon-seung, Director Nam decided to listen to him instead of making arguments that would fall on deaf ears.
“Did you tell him the truth?”
“What truth?”
“Did you tell him the truth that he’s that ridiculous ‘Great Rift’ or whatever from the prophecy?”
“…”
When Director Nam remained silent, Lee Joon-seung curled his lips in a sneer, as if he’d expected as much.
“I knew you would do that.”
“Sigh, how could we tell him such a thing? Team Leader Lee Joon-seung, you’ve been investigating Yongse Pacheon Church for so long and even you didn’t believe it. If I can’t believe it, how could someone who’s lived a normal life believe it? Since such a thing won’t happen anyway, why give him unnecessary shock? His parents were involved and harmed too.”
“So you didn’t tell him?”
“We were concerned that acting rashly could lead to unmanageable consequences. We couldn’t just tell him everything without having a plan.”
“Does CEO Yoo Siwoon have the same opinion? Is that why you two are having such a good time together?”
“…”
Director Nam couldn’t hide his surprise as he stared at him. Lee Joon-seung had too much information, beyond their control.
Seeing Director Nam’s surprised reaction, Lee Joon-seung mockingly said, as if he’d expected it, “Well, as long as it feels good, you don’t mind deceiving about everything important? Has that bastard completely lost his conscience?”
“That’s…”
Director Nam fumbled for words, unable to answer Lee Joon-seung’s sarcasm.
“Does Yoo Siwoon say he had unavoidable circumstances for that too? They say that kid will get pregnant from that. If he really gives birth to a child, that would truly be a miracle.”
“…”
“If Yoo Siwoon didn’t deliberately set out to create a child, then what is this? No matter how much you defend Yoo Siwoon, saying he’s not that kind of person, this is what’s happening. Isn’t it?”
“…Team Leader Lee Joon-seung, you don’t understand. The CEO is destined to resonate with the prophesied being. You have no idea how hard the CEO tried to resist it, how difficult it was for him.”
When Director Nam had protested to Yoo Siwoon about not touching Eunseong, Yoo Siwoon had said the same thing. He told Director Nam that he wouldn’t understand. Just as Director Nam couldn’t understand him then, Lee Joon-seung likely wouldn’t understand Director Nam now, no matter what explanation was given.
“No matter how much he resisted then, he’s not resisting now, is he? What does it matter if he stabbed his thigh dozens of times with a needle? He’s not doing that now. He brought that kid in with this intention from the beginning. He lied to all of us too.”
“…”
“I always knew he was a devious person, but now it’s fully revealed. What kind of person Yoo Siwoon really is.”
Lee Joon-seung drank half of his iced americano and put it down roughly. He stared silently at Director Nam with distrustful eyes for a while, then took out his phone, unlocked it, opened his photo gallery and placed it on the table. Director Nam took the phone with confusion and checked the photo.
It showed Yoo Siwoon meeting someone, taken from a distance. Director Nam hadn’t been accompanying him lately. Protecting and guarding Eunseong was Director Nam’s most important and biggest duty, and the role of Yoo Siwoon’s secretary was being performed by the elder council’s executive.
“What is this? Isn’t this the CEO?”
“Yes, it’s CEO Yoo Siwoon. Do you know who he’s meeting?”
“Who is this person?”
“He’s a gangster famous for keeping his mouth shut. He’s known for cleanly cutting off people’s heads.”
“Why is the CEO meeting someone like that?”
“Are you being naive, or just pretending to be? Yoo Siwoon is trying to eliminate the breeding seeds of the Seongha family right now.”
That couldn’t be. Yoo Siwoon had no reason to do such a thing. Director Nam shook his head.
“…Those people have all been dealt with. Yoo Seongil was executed because he fabricated a fake Great Rift. Yoo Oseon also had all his Jeokdan confiscated and lost his qualification as a breeder. That was their fault, not something the CEO caused.”
“Aren’t there some boys under the age of ten?”
“What did you say?”
“I understand that there are several boys under the age of ten in Seongha Group who will qualify as breeders in ten years.”
“What kind of crazy talk is that? CEO Yoo Siwoon would never do such a thing!”
Director Nam felt his heart sink. He hadn’t realized Lee Joon-seung harbored such animosity despite his expressed hatred, and was now belatedly realizing that seeking him out had been a mistake.
Lee Joon-seung mocked Director Nam, who was showing fierce resentment.
“Just wait and see, soon someone will die. I don’t know who it will be. But from what I can see, it looks like Yoo Siwoon is trying to kill those children.”
“You’re really crazy. Team Leader Lee Joon-seung, what kind of conspiracy theory is this?”
“Why is this a conspiracy? It’s something that actually happened.”
“What are you saying? Who did such a thing?”
“The massacre of infants by King Herod, haven’t you read the Bible? Isn’t the root of Yongse Pacheon Church’s scripture the Vatican manuscript?”
Director Nam let out an exasperated breath. He roughly picked up his coffee and drank it. The cold liquid ran down his chest, making his stomach cool.
“Have you never found anything strange, never once doubted Yoo Siwoon?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
