A child who looks like me

After dropping Ye-na off at her home, Ji-heon returned to the headquarters of Saerun Group and met Ji-tae.

“The information about Max Planning isn’t something ordinary reporters could easily find. But a businessman running a company of considerable size would have access to this information. This is likely someone who has attempted to do business with us at some point,” Ji-heon explained, organizing the information he had gathered over the past few hours, revealing meaningful clues.

“The numerical data mentioned in the article is from around this time last year. It was when Daegun Resources was deliberating whether to advertise and was testing the waters with Max Planning,” he continued.

Ji-tae nodded in agreement. “Hearing that, it seems the information regarding the construction company is similar. The numerical data used was from when Saerun Construction and Daegun Resources were in contact.”

“It looks like they were preparing to attack from various angles, but if you look closely, it’s not very well thought out. It’s a plot that was hastily prepared in a short time,” Ji-heon assessed.

His opinion seemed plausible, but he couldn’t conclude with certainty.

“We still need to approach this with various possibilities in mind. Your hypothesis might be correct, but there’s also a good chance that it isn’t,” Ji-tae replied.

“What if we make it more newsworthy to attract people’s interest? That way, he might get even more excited and act recklessly. If the stakes are raised, he’ll inevitably get caught,” Ji-heon suggested.

Both Ji-heon and Ji-tae were bold and proactive individuals, so their ideas aligned well. This was the first time the two had collaborated so harmoniously.

“The day before everything exploded, Cha Eun-yeob came to see me. She asked me to withdraw the lawsuit, but I refused. It’s possible she took it out on me. Because she couldn’t get directly involved due to her father’s confirmation hearing, she might have provoked Ham Dae-geun to act as the ringleader,” Ji-heon speculated.

Though it was just a hypothesis, Ji-tae quickly agreed. Although he had never met Ham Dae-geun directly, he knew his reputation through rumors. He was known to be easygoing most of the time, but once provoked, he could go completely berserk.

“I heard that Cha Eun-bi was obsessed with you, and it seems that was true. She turned someone into a complete embodiment of jealousy,” Ji-tae remarked.

“I didn’t have any involvement with Cha Eun-bi,” Ji-heon replied, frowning as Ji-tae teased him.

“Be careful. If Jeong-o hears this, he’ll be displeased too,” Ji-tae warned.

“Even in the midst of all this, are you still afraid of your sister-in-law?” Ji-heon retorted.

“You’ll understand my feelings once you get married,” Ji-tae responded.

Ji-heon dismissed the banter and steeled his resolve. “The confirmation hearing for Judge Cha Seo-bok will be held next Wednesday. We need to wrap this up before then.”

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

In response to the flood of rumors, Saerun Group decided to publicly disclose the facilities and sanitation processes of its food factory. They also issued an official statement, declaring their intention to cooperate fully with any future investigations.

Additionally, within the organization, they sought to sway journalists, collected and analyzed information from online forums, and hired professional hackers to track those spreading the rumors.

As they organized the verifiable defamations, rumors about the personal lives of the Saerun Group’s owner family grew the loudest, due to their sensational nature. Ji-heon fought against the rumors all night and returned home only on Sunday morning.

Jeong-o, Ye-na, and Guk-soon were waiting at the entrance to greet Ji-heon.

“Oh dear… Our son-in-law has been working so hard. Are you feeling better now?” Jeong-o asked.

“Not yet. I just came to change and wash up. I have to go back out,” Ji-heon replied.

Upon hearing Ji-heon’s response, Jeong-o turned away with a glum expression. Ji-heon then asked Guk-soon, “Is Jeong-o sick?”

“She’s just feeling wronged,” Guk-soon replied.

It was then that Guk-soon explained to Ji-heon what had happened on Friday. Jeong-o had found Eun-bi collapsed near the obstetrics and gynecology clinic and had taken her to the emergency room, sitting vigil for several hours like a guardian.

Upon hearing the story, Ji-heon grew worried that Jeong-o had been harmed, but Guk-soon laughed as if it were nothing.

“She brought Cha Eun-bi over and acted all saintly, and now she’s getting upset,” Guk-soon remarked.

The night before, Jeong-o had told Ji-heon that the Eun-bi siblings might be involved in all the defamation against Saerun Group. Since then, she had been unable to sleep, feeling wronged.

“If I had received that information sooner, I would have treated Cha Eun-bi even more harshly. I would have confronted her aggressively,” Jeong-o lamented.

Ji-heon approached Jeong-o, who was curled up on the sofa, expressing her frustrations. “I had no idea it was related to Cha Eun-bi…”

Ji-heon sat next to her and gently brushed Jeong-o’s hair away from her face.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have offered any kindness…”

“Even if you had known, you probably would have still helped, wouldn’t you?” Jeong-o shot back, standing up abruptly.

“No way! What do you think of me?”

“Are you really saying that?”

“Of course! I’m a person too! Argh! This is so frustrating!” she yelled.

“It’s okay. It happens,” Ji-heon reassured her.

“Enough! I don’t need your sympathy,” she replied.

Despite her despair over something irreversible and unfixable, she was still endearing to him.

After a moment of expressing her grievances, Jeong-o quietly said, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to be of any help.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry,” Ji-heon reassured her.

“…”

“I will win it all,” Ji-heon confidently responded.

Now, the confirmation hearing for Cha Seo-bok was just three days away.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

As time passed, it was now Wednesday morning.

The internet news boards, which had been flooded with stories about the Saerun Group, suddenly saw a bright new headline. It was the day of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Cha Seo-bok’s appointment as Chief Justice.

At 10 a.m., journalists from various outlets gathered at the National Assembly. Before the hearing began, the chairman of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearings announced that today’s hearing would be broadcast live by over ten networks.

“I hereby bring forth the confirmation hearing for the appointment of Chief Justice candidate Cha Seo-bok,” the chairman stated.

He then introduced Cha Seo-bok’s background in detail, and after that, Cha Seo-bok stood up and raised his right hand, solemnly taking the oath.

“I swear that I will speak honestly and without concealment or exaggeration, according to my conscience as a public office candidate.”

Having experienced a Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearing several years prior, Cha Seo-bok was not particularly nervous.

“Now we will hear the opening remarks from the Chief Justice candidate,” the chairman guided.

Cha Seo-bok approached the podium, exuding a dignified and austere demeanor as he began to speak.

“As a servant of the esteemed citizens, the past thirty years of my life as a legal professional has been a time of constant reflection, asking myself whether everyone can find happiness before the law, based on the principles of integrity and justice. It has often been insufficient to merely study to ensure that the law does not get hurt and that the citizens remain unscathed. I wanted to create a court that understands the sorrows of the wronged and offers them comfort through our words.”

Cha Eun-yeob felt tears welling up at her father’s touching words.

How much effort had gone into preparing for this day!

Eun-yeob had thoroughly analyzed the dispositions of all 13 members of the special personnel committee. She had chosen two relatively easy-going members of the National Assembly to lead today’s hearing.

The script had already been prepared, and her father had memorized it perfectly. Everything was going according to the plan. It was an emotional moment.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

No one is without their faults. This was a belief that Ham Dae-geun held firmly.

Everyone has weaknesses, and if you hold onto those weaknesses, they cannot breathe. This was how Ham Dae-geun had reached his current position. By holding the lifelines of the weak and applying pressure from all sides, they soon wept blood, begging for their lives.

“This time, I fought against a major corporation and was more than halfway successful. I’ve made them unable to move. They’ll soon face a series of search warrants and be investigated by the prosecution,” he declared.

Let them taste a bit of their own medicine.

He had so many exciting things happening in the world that he had forgotten that his future father-in-law’s confirmation hearing was taking place at 10 a.m. today.

Dae-geun turned on the live broadcast of the hearing but quickly turned it off. He figured the topics discussed would be predictable and would only give him a headache, so he had no desire to listen intently. It was boring.

Instead, he decided to focus on what he could do. He would pressure the contractors to increase the pressure on Saerun Group. The task of hamstringing a group under the cover of anonymity was both exciting and gratifying.

At the age of forty, he found joy in playing with toys. With renewed determination, he thought he should stop by the contractor’s office and encourage the representative just a bit more. He hoped to create an even more thrilling incident.

As he parked in the contractor’s lot and walked into the building, Dae-geun dialed the representative’s phone number. He had managed to reach them easily last night, but today they didn’t answer, seemingly too busy. Just then, a man approached him and spoke.

“Are you Ham Dae-geun?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Police. Ham Dae-geun, I am placing you under arrest for obstruction of business.”

Two officers, showing their badges, informed Dae-geun of his rights under the Miranda rule as they seized his arms. Dae-geun struggled in disbelief at the unexpected situation.

“Why me? No, why me!”

“You used an illegal viral marketing company, didn’t you? The employees of that company have all been apprehended on site.”

“……”

“It seems you need to be urgently questioned. Let’s go for now.”

The police had raided the scene of the crime.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

News of a more intriguing story than Cha Seo-bok’s confirmation hearing spread within Max Planning.

[From last Friday until today, the mastermind behind the all-out online terror incident against Saerun Group was arrested this morning at 11 a.m. The perpetrator has been identified as Ham Dae-geun, the CEO of Daegun Industries.]

As those who were unable to attend the confirmation hearing gathered outside the police station, many reporters were present. Soon, a man stepped out of a police car, denying his crimes while throwing another bait to the reporters.

[It’s not me, it’s that Jeong Ji-heon from Max Planning that should be arrested! That guy did something terrible to my fiancée!]

Although the names of others were muted in what Dae-geun was saying, anyone from Max Planning knew who he was referring to.

“It’s not me, it’s Jeong Ji-heon from Max Planning that should be arrested!”

The employees who understood the meaning of his words scoffed in disbelief.

“What nonsense is that?”

“Seriously, what nonsense is that?”

“Exactly. What nonsense is that? Our director is the real victim here.”

Naturally, the employees of Max Planning were infuriated. To insult Director Jeong Ji-heon felt like an insult to themselves. Recently, following the Remi Remi incident and the drama-like marriage announcement, they had turned their opinions of Ji-heon from negative to positive and were now ready to protect him.

They had a weapon.

The recorded files exposed in the company when Cha Eun-bi resigned.

Director Jeong Ji-heon had sent an email to the staff asking them to delete the files, but there was no way they would delete valuable information without a word.

The employees eagerly tipped off reporters about the recorded conversations between Cha Eun-bi and Jeong Ji-heon.

The counterattack had begun.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

Jeong Oh quietly shouted in her mind.

“Cha Eun-yeob, just wait.”

At 11:50 a.m., the morning session of the confirmation hearing was coming to a close.