LM 112

[Woo Jung-ryeol Video, Male College Student Claims “It Was Unwanted Sexual Encounter”—Shock Spreads]

[Exclusive: Sex Entertainment at Villa, Did the Party Know About Woo Jung-ryeol’s Video? House Leader’s Dream Gone]

[Person in Video Confirmed as Seogwang Construction CEO Min Won-sik, Suspicions of Personnel Favors]

[Who Are the People in Woo Jung-ryeol’s Video? ‘Drug-Fueled Party at Villa’]

The media was busy churning out sensational headlines, and reporters had already swarmed like bees around the mansion. The news of his father’s hospitalization due to a car accident didn’t even make it to the news because of the magnitude of this incident.

“It was you, wasn’t it? The one who spread the video.”

Personally, he had tried to find the video distributor, but the registered phone owner was suspiciously untraceable. However, Woo Gibbeum couldn’t shake the feeling that Woo Hyunse was behind all of this. There couldn’t be two people in the world capable of such a crazy act.

“Don’t accuse an innocent person.”

Woo Hyuse shrugged it off. Even without physical evidence, Woo Gibbeum knew. The culprit was none other than Woo Hyunse.

Suppressing the urge to hit him by pulling her own hair, Woo Gibbeum let out an anguished scream. Even as she yelled “Aaargh!”, Woo Hyunse merely frowned slightly.

After venting her anger for a while, Woo Gibbeum sighed heavily and slumped onto a nearby sofa. Her head throbbed thinking about how to handle this situation. Already, quite a few reporters had turned their attention to the gallery, where she worked at.

“Let’s at least know the reason. What’s the cause? What sin did Father commit?”

Her father’s hospitalization wasn’t the reason for her anger. Rather, it felt satisfying. If he were to pass away quietly like this, she felt like she wouldn’t even shed a single tear.

Familial love—she had abandoned such notions long ago. She had only played her part as the filial daughter while waiting for the scraps to fall.

The source of her anger was that reporters were sticking to her like flies. As soon as she heard from a journalist friend that the video had been leaked, Woo Gibbeum quickly sent her husband and children abroad. She was planning to follow soon.

“I told you, I didn’t do it.”

“Stop lying, you bastard. Who else would do this if not you?”

“The old man has plenty of enemies? That’s why people should live kindly. What is this? A man aiming to be the next floor leader is involved? Wow, the victim is a college student? What a disgraceful end.”

Woo Hyunse spoke nonchalantly while scrolling through Internet articles. Woo Gibbeum glared at him fiercely.

“You’re really going to deny it to the end?”

“What answer are you looking for by continuing to ask like this?”

“The truth.”

“What you see is the truth, sis.”

His smug attitude triggered a headache, and she pressed her fingers to her temples. Perhaps due to the head stimulation, a memory suddenly flashed by.

Although she usually didn’t pay much attention to Woo Hyunse’s private life, there were things she’d hear about even when she didn’t want to. Recently, there was talk that Woo Hyunse had a new lover, but unlike before, it wasn’t a woman but a young, handsome man. When she heard it, she had clicked her tongue, thinking he had stooped so low as to pursue a young boy. She hadn’t paid much too attention to it, thinking it turn out to be another brief fling.

“…Don’t tell me.”

It seemed to fit as a reason for breaking off the engagement, if nothing else. Could it be that their father had meddled with that boy? It was entirely possible. Woo Gibbeum had experienced something similar before. She had even lost her unborn child.

“Did you break off your engagement and lash out at Father because of the person you’re seeing now?”

Woo Hyunse glanced over at her. He didn’t deny it. Wow, Woo Gibbeum rubbed her face vigorously with both hands. She couldn’t believe it. Woo Hyunse was the type of greedy person to never let go of anything beneficial to him. He actually was capable of this?

“Just because of that.”

It was a completely different choice from hers. Back then, she had ignored the humiliation suffered by the person she loved, and swallowed her resentment and sorrow even after losing her baby. She didn’t have the courage to go against her father. She had been living exactly as her father had planned, waiting for the inheritance that would eventually fall to her.

“Just because?”

Woo Hyunse, who had been ignoring everything else, reacted to the dismissive modifier. Indeed, the culprit was Woo Hyunse, and their father must have known it too. It was the moment Woo Hyunse’s name would be erased from the will.

Even if he could make a living without the inheritance, having built himself up from scratch, to give up on the massive gold mine that would allow generations to live without working if he just kept quiet—it was beyond Woo Gibbeum’s comprehension.

Had he suddenly gone mad? Even resentful affection was still affection, so as his older sister, she advised, “Woo Hyunse, is this really just temporary? I know right now you can’t hear what anyone else is saying. No, how can someone your age, who’s eaten more than enough salt, cause such a mess because you can’t control one emotion?”

Woo Hyunse remained silent. He stared at Woo Gibbeum as if waiting to see how far she would go.

“And are you at an age to be singing about love? Grow up. What’s love anyway? It doesn’t put food on the table.”

Despite her frank advice based on experience, Woo Hyunse remained indifferent throughout her lecture. Feeling it was futile to keep talking, she dejectedly touched her forehead. As soon as Woo Gibbeum closed her mouth, her counterpart’s lips curved up into a smile.

“Well, well.”

Lowering her hand from her forehead, she looked at Woo Hyunse. He took off his glasses perched on his nose and clicked his tongue somewhat exaggeratedly. It was as if he was imitating someone. He raised his index finger and pointed it at her.

“You have no romance.”

His words were outrageous. It went on to grate on Woo Gibbeum’s nerves. Her fist clenched at his smooth retort. Her voice rose sharply even though she tried to keep it even.

“Hey, you bastard. Don’t you understand the situation? Who do you think Father will go after first when he wakes up? You? No. Don’t you know? That mistress you’re hanging around with will be buried alive in the mountains!”

Whether Woo Gibbeum hurled insults or not, Woo Hyunse listened quietly and then calmly called out, “Sis.” Woo Gibbeum rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a cigarette pack. Ready to slap anyone with a banknote for the fine if they tried to stop her from smoking indoors.

“What, you ungrateful son of a bitch?”

“Do you think you can get a badge just by selling a few paintings?”

The hand turning the flint stopped. She didn’t think Woo Hyunse wouldn’t know about the slush fund she had siphoned off.

“Who are you to bring that up?”

“You…”

The heat that had risen to her head slowly cooled. Woo Gibbeum observed Woo Hyunse with the filter in her mouth. His smiling face looked like a devil about to make an offer she couldn’t refuse.

“I’ll back you.”

“…”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t tempted. Woo Gibbeum judged coldly. Given how tough their father was, she had planned to run for office after his passing, but at this rate, even if she was lucky enough to get a badge, she’d be as white-haired as some island nation’s royalty. In such a situation, if Woo Hyunse helped both materially and emotionally, there was definitely hope.

But.

“I’ll be labeled as the daughter of a pervert. How are you going to handle that?”

“How long do you think that influence will last? The public forgets more easily than you think. By the time you run for office, they probably won’t even remember who Woo Jung-ryeol was.”

“…”

“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you take your grandmother’s surname? Changing your name would be good too. Woo Gibbeum doesn’t really suit politics.”

It was bait too precious to kick away without regret. If he offered to remove their father, who would be both the biggest help for election and the biggest obstacle for running…

The answer was already decided, but Woo Gibbeum pretended to think some more about it. Just by not telling him to stop talking nonsense, Woo Hyunse would have guessed what decision she had made.

“What do you get out of this?”

There was no way Woo Hyunse, a businessman to the bone, would give her anything without conditions. As expected, he grinned as if he had been waiting for just those words.

“Be my shield. Keep that old man from touching Kwon Siyul.”

It was a somewhat tricky request. But not impossible. Although her mind was clearly leaning one way, she didn’t immediately agree. It was a matter of pride. Woo Gibbeum sneered.

“Why? Can’t you protect him yourself?”

“Of course, I can. It’s just a matter of taking out an insurance policy.”

And then, Woo Hyunse added, in a slightly exasperated tone, “He’s not a mistress. Not a kept man either.”

“Crazy…”

She looked at Woo Hyunse up and down in utter disgust. He put his glasses back on and turned away.

“Anything else you want to ask?”

His face and attitude clearly showed he wanted her to leave if she was done. Thinking it wasn’t a bad deal, Woo Gibbeum shook her head.

“That’s good then. Take care. I won’t see you out.”

Woo Gibbeum gave him the middle finger as a goodbye and left the office without another look back. The short and unpleasant meeting ended with her slamming the door shut as if nothing would make her happier than to break it.