Back at the office, I went to find the Director of Planning.
Perhaps because he already knew I had visited the high school concerning Chun Min-jung's younger sibling, he entered the Vice Chairman's office with a slight smile on his face.
"So, how was your first visit to a high school?"
"It made me glad I never attended one. There's someone named Cho Young-hee—apparently the daughter of a mid-sized company chairman. Do you know which company that is?"
"It's Hwa-won Precision, an auto parts manufacturer located in Yeongcheon, Gyeongbuk. They operate five factories nationwide and have annual sales reaching 3 trillion won. While they're not a conglomerate, they're well-known among mid-sized enterprises."
It certainly was a scale worthy of pride.
In today's world, a mid-sized company with 3 trillion won in revenue isn't all that common.
"If they manufacture auto parts, do they also do business with Taewoo Motors?"
"In Korea, any mid-sized company involved in the auto industry is inevitably tied to Taewoo. There are a few with exclusive contracts with Hyundai Motors, but if they want to expand, they have no choice but to work with us."
The Korean auto market was essentially split between Taewoo and Hyundai.
While Hyundai held the number one spot in terms of individual company market share, Taewoo Group had not only Taewoo Motors but also Kia Motors under its umbrella. Combined, we had the larger market share.
"Would it be a problem for us if we cut ties with Hwa-won Precision?"
"At this very moment, it would cause some inconvenience. A new company would need to create custom molds and produce replacement parts, which takes a minimum of six months."
"So it should be possible to exclude Hwa-won Precision from our new product development plans, correct?"
"Absolutely."
"Start the process immediately."
Cho Young-hee—Chu Young-taek's mother.
Her confidence stemmed from her father, the chairman of a mid-sized company.
So wouldn't it be quite effective to go after Hwa-won Precision?
*
Meanwhile
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun.
He had been summoned by Chief Prosecutor Park Myung-deok, his senior from school and a key figure he relied on.
He had hurried to the office, rubbing his hands together as he greeted him—but was taken aback by the cold reception.
"What the hell have you been up to?"
"I haven't done anything, sir. I swear I've done nothing that would displease you."
"Then why are you being mentioned at the upper levels? Get your act together!"
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun was frustrated.
No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong.
Yet his senior was more fired up than ever, pressing him hard.
"I really don't know what mistake I've made."
"Sigh… Well, I suppose it's not exactly your fault. Parents can't always control their children."
"Children… Are you talking about Young-taek?"
"That's right! Your brat messed with someone pretty serious. And your wife? She went all out trying to cover it up with her connections."
It was something he hadn't even imagined.
His honor-student son had caused trouble?
And now even his wife had gotten involved?
"Do you know who exactly he messed with?"
"I don't have all the details yet, but the word is he tangled with someone connected to Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae of Taewoo Group."
"You mean the heir to Taewoo Group?"
"Exactly. They've already secured evidence, and Taewoo Group is stepping in—brazenly and publicly!"
"No matter how powerful Taewoo Group is in the business world, the prosecution can't just bow to them, can we?"
At that time, the prosecution held immense power.
With ongoing investigations into illegal campaign funds, it wasn't uncommon for major conglomerate chairmen to be summoned almost daily.
That's why Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun didn't take Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae too seriously.
"You still don't get the situation, do you? If Taewoo was only doing this for business gains, sure, we could squeeze them. But this is about a prosecutor's kid involved in a school violence scandal! It's dragging the entire prosecution's name through the mud! What happens if Taewoo unleashes the media? Can you take responsibility for that?"
"I didn't think it through. I'll handle this personally."
"Handle it, punish your kid, break his damn legs if you have to—but get this sorted!"
"I won't let this issue cause any more problems, sir."
Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun got into his car and headed home at once.
He needed to speak with his wife and son—figure out exactly what had happened.
But when he arrived, he found his father-in-law, Chairman Jo Doo-il, already waiting for him.
"Father, what brings you here without notice?"
"That's my question! What the hell have you been doing? It's gotten to the point where it's hurting the company!"
"Did something happen?"
"Taewoo Group just unilaterally informed us they're cutting ties. You do know that they account for 50% of our sales, don't you? We're talking about losing half our revenue overnight!"
Only now did Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun begin to grasp the severity of the situation.
The deputy chief prosecutor was involved, and now even his father-in-law—a chairman of a mid-sized company—was being dragged in.
Taewoo Group was clearly going all in on this.
"I'll take full responsibility and handle this matter."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that? Can you at least tell me what's gotten Taewoo so riled up?"
"Well… it seems Young-taek got into a fight with a kid connected to Taewoo Group."
"Kids fight. That happens. But to go this far? How bad was it, exactly?"
"I still don't know all the details yet."
At that moment, Jo Young-hee returned home with her son, Chu Young-taek.
Seeing both her husband and father—her two strongest sources of support—she burst into tears and pleaded with them.
"Dad! Why are they treating Young-taek like this? Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae of Taewoo Group even came to the school himself and threatened him!"
"Hmph. I do have a personal connection with Chairman Kim Tae-jung. I'll try speaking with him. Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae may be competent, but he's still inexperienced—this sort of thing might be due to his lack of judgment."
Blood runs thicker than water.
Seeing his precious daughter cry, the father's heart softened immediately.
He opened his arms to embrace Jo Young-hee.
At that moment, one of the secretaries came rushing into the house.
"Chairman! A courier just arrived from Taewoo Group addressed to you."
"From Taewoo Group? Open it."
The secretary opened the envelope that had arrived by express courier.
Inside were photos—meticulously organized by date—documenting Chu Young-taek's despicable actions.
A photo of him spitting into another student's lunch tray.
A photo of him stabbing a pen between someone's fingers.
A photo of him cutting off another student's hair with scissors—and more.
With every photo the chairman flipped through, his expression hardened.
"What the… What kind of monster is this! How did you raise your child? I took you in as my son-in-law thinking you'd be a respectable prosecutor, but your bloodline is about to ruin our entire family!"
"I… I had no idea until today. Young-taek! Is this really you? Say something, anything!"
"Ugh, why is everyone coming down on me? You're the ones who always told me that as long as I got good grades, I could do whatever I wanted. And isn't this world survival of the fittest? What's so wrong about picking on the weak?"
Smack!
For the first time, Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun slapped his son across the face.
Still furious, he raised his hand again, but Jo Young-hee stepped in to block him.
"Why are you hitting him! This kind of thing happens while kids are growing up!"
"You're not the problem, Chu Doo-hyun—you are!" Chairman Jo roared. "I spoiled you just because you were my only daughter—and now look, I've raised a monster!"
Smack!
This time, Chairman Jo slapped his own daughter across the face.
Seeing this, the secretaries hurriedly escorted Jo Young-hee and Chu Young-taek into a separate room, worried the situation might spiral out of control.
Now only Chu Doo-hyun and Chairman Jo remained in the living room, collapsing onto the sofa as they tried to make sense of what came next.
"Could that student possibly be a hidden child of Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae? Otherwise, why would he react so sensitively?"
"You're a prosecutor, and that's the logic you're using? Kim Min-jae is in his twenties! If he had a high school-aged kid, he would've had to get someone pregnant before he even started preschool! Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"
"Then why is Vice Chairman Kim going so far to protect that student?"
"How can you ask me that? You're the one in the prosecution—shouldn't your intelligence network be better than mine?"
Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun frantically made a series of phone calls.
Chairman Jo Doo-il also mobilized his own network of contacts to get a clearer picture of the situation.
And what they uncovered left them both stunned.
"Father-in-law! It turns out that the student's older sister works for Taewoo Group. But even so, I don't understand why they'd go this far over just an employee."
"You fool! With that level of insight, how do you even function in the prosecution? She's not just some regular employee at Taewoo Group!"
"Then what is she—Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae's secret lover or something?"
Chairman Jo Doo-il clicked his tongue in frustration at his son-in-law's constant nonsense.
He hadn't realized until now just how incompetent Chu Doo-hyun truly was.
"Tsk, tsk. You know Apple just released phones with built-in AI, right?"
"Yes. Some of my juniors showed me how they're operating iPhones with voice commands now."
"Well, apparently that student's older sister was one of the core developers behind that AI. Companies all over the world are trying to recruit her, and Taewoo Group is doing everything it can to keep her from moving to a competitor."
Everything finally clicked for Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun.
Now he understood why this matter hadn't been handled by the planning division at Taewoo Group—but by Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae himself.
"They're putting on a whole show just to keep a key developer."
"That's exactly it. And we have no choice now but to play along with Kim Min-jae's tune."
"I'll send Young-taek over to the victim's house right away and have him kneel and apologize."
"You think that's enough? You need to kneel with him. And tomorrow, start preparing for Young-taek's transfer to a different school."
"Understood. I'll move immediately."
Chu Doo-hyun went into the room and dragged his son out.
Jo Young-hee tried to cling to them and stop them, but he coldly shook her off.
Together, father and son headed toward Cheon Min-woo's house.
*
The next day.
Early in the morning, I received a call from Captain Kang and stopped by his office before heading to work.
"Chu Young-taek and Prosecutor Chu Doo-hyun knelt and apologized. Here's the video evidence. Also, I've confirmed that Chu Young-taek will be transferring schools within the week."
"Quite the humbling experience for our prideful prosecutor, huh?"
"It seems we have his father-in-law, Chairman Jo Doo-il, to thank. Chu Doo-hyun only made it to deputy chief prosecutor because of the support he received from Chairman Jo."
"I suppose this should be enough, right? Or do you think we should push further?"
"In my opinion, it's more than enough. In fact, it might already be excessive."
A prosecutor had gone down on his knees.
Chu Young-taek was transferring schools.
That was enough to close the matter.
"You've done well. Keep close watch on him until he actually transfers."
"Understood. But... I can't help but worry we may have made an enemy out of a prosecutor. I know we did this to protect one of our employees, but the cost may outweigh the benefit."
"Captain Kang, you really aren't cut out to be a businessman. This was a deal where the benefit far outweighs the cost."
I'd go up against a hundred prosecutors if it meant keeping Chun Min-jung at Taewoo Group.
Because of her, we were able to release our AI technology faster than anyone else—and we would continue to need her brilliance in the future.