Into The Thrill

Haewon laid on the bed, pretending to be unaware of the effect he had on Woojin, even spreading his legs slightly as he looked up at him. Woojin's brow furrowed. He was contemplating whether to go meet Chairman Kim Jeong-geun or not.

It was a situation requiring careful judgment. Ignoring Haewon, who was sucking on his fingers like a popsicle, Woojin left the apartment. Haewon's voice, shouting, "You're impotent, brother, you really are!" faded into the distance.
Arriving at Kim Jeong-geun's residence, Woojin headed straight to his study. The atmosphere was tense, and the staff seemed nervous. Woojin knocked on the door, and the secretary opened it for him. After a brief exchange of nods with the secretary, Woojin entered and bowed to Kim Jeong-geun, who was smoking a cigar on the sofa.
"You’re late."

"Sorry, I got held up in traffic."
"Sit."
Woojin sat down in front of him. The secretary closed the door, leaving them alone with a heavy silence in the room.

"Who is it?"
"We're still tracking."
"It doesn't seem like it's from our side. Who’s behind this?"

Kim Jeong-geun seemed to have already completed his investigation of his advisors and close associates. Woojin responded mechanically.
"We're looking into it."
"By the way, Park Hyung-soo, that guy, I've raised him too much. He’s telling me to step into the Supreme Prosecutor's Office."

Kim Jeong-geun took a deep drag of his cigar. He swallowed his breath, his chest expanding noticeably. The sharp and potent smoke of the cigar filled the air.
"The prosecutor currently investigating this case, Kim Han-se, is quite a hardliner, famous within the prosecution for being a headache. Even Director Park Hyung-soo must be having a tough time. Just make a visit."
"You want me to go to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office for questioning?"

"That’s the situation."
Woojin was stared down disapprovingly as Kim inhaled on his cigar and blew out a plume of smoke. Woojin’s figure blurred momentarily from the smoke before the air purification system kicked in, quickly clearing the air to almost Hawaiian levels of purity.
Lee Seung-min was mistaken. Kim Jeong-geun wasn’t Woojin’s Take 2 but rather Take 3. Take 1 had been arrested, and Take 4 had died. There were up to number 5, and number 5 had some variables but was nearly complete.

The Take 2 Woojin had been cultivating for years was still ambiguous whether it was linked to the Blue House or the prosecution. Any rash moves against Kim Jeong-geun without knowing who’s behind him could spoil the plan.
Woojin knew all of Kim Jeong-geun’s corrupt dealings, and Kim Jeong-geun wanted Woojin to marry his daughter and imprison him if possible.
The reason Woojin chose the path of a prosecutor over a doctor, disappointing his family, was also because of Take 3.
Kim Jeong-geun had once started a new business that suffered astronomical losses. At that time, Woojin was a university entrance exam student. It was when Kim Jeong-geun had just begun to take over the group actively after his father, Chairman Han Kyung, retired due to chronic illness.

It was a personal misjudgment by Kim, and a loss that Han Kyung should have borne, but the government took it over as national debt and repaid it with taxpayers' money. Kim Jeong-geun didn’t suffer a single penny of loss. He was supported nationally not to fall behind in the global economy, but he expanded his domain domestically, pushing work to his affiliates and killing off local small businesses.
The unjust act and Kim’s insensitivity and lost direction in it had awakened Woojin. That’s when he decided to become a prosecutor. He could tolerate injustice, but not irrationality and illogicality.
Kim Jeong-geun solved everything with money. He grew his business with money, changed the governance structure of Han Kyung with money. There wasn’t a single National Tax Service employee who hadn’t eaten Han Kyung's money, no politicians who hadn’t received Han Kyung's political donations, and no prosecutors who hadn’t received Han Kyung's hospitality.

Of course, Woojin also received untraceable laundered funds from Han Kyung, which he used for undisclosed investigations. He had been tracking Kim Jeong-geun with the money given by Kim Jeong-geun.
There was one prosecutor known to Woojin who hadn’t taken money, Kim Han-se, the kind of person Woojin hated most in the world. Kim couldn’t stand injustice and made a big fuss about implementing justice, typically naive like those people, and didn’t bother to understand or strive to understand the giant physical forces that made the world go round. Ultimately, capital and power were above the law.
Kim had capital, and Woojin had the ability to seize power on his own. Adding capital to that, Woojin could achieve what Kim Han-se couldn’t.

That was the power Woojin pursued. If you were good but lacked a desire for dirty power, the world would run irrationally and unfairly. Without colluding with capital, there was no way to control this rotten group.
Woojin took an envelope from his bag and handed it to him. Kim, with a cigar in his mouth, took the envelope and opened it. It contained details of Park Hyung-soo’s corruption, one being a potentially fatal sexual scandal, and another, his son’s military service scandal. If the military scandal broke, it could end his dreams of becoming Attorney General, but it wasn’t enough to pull him down from a Director at the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office. If the sexual scandal broke, it could bury him.
"Are there photos?"

"There’s a video."
"Where is it?"
"I have it well kept. I'm giving this to you for negotiation, not for blackmail. It would be easier later if you were promoted to Attorney General."

"So you’re saying I should take the fall alone?"
"No chaebol head has ever not been to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office."
"So you're telling me to take the fall."

"I'm just suggesting. It’s better for you to hold onto this."
"Why not promote someone else? Isn’t there anyone else on our side?"
"..."

Woojin didn’t respond.
The scenario he was aiming for was to use this corruption detail to blackmail Park Hyung-soo and establish a confrontation between Kim Jeong-geun and the prosecution. Once the prosecution targeted Kim Jeong-geun, things would become easier. To do that, Park Hyung-soo needed to be removed first.
It was faster to instigate discord between the two than to track them down. By pushing the Park Hyung-soo case, he could find out who had been covering for Kim Jeong-geun, and then he could strike both at once and more easily consume Han Kyung. If one side was left unchecked, they would try to cover it up.

Even if it went to a special investigation, it was likely to come out with no charges or a suspended sentence. Woojin was wary of Take 2 because, like him, they were targeting Han Kyung. For either side, Han Kyung was a juicy part, tasty to eat and good for the body.
"Or I will prosecute Han Kyung."
"You, Woojin?"

"I’ll also try to minimize damage to Director Park within non-damaging limits."
"Okay, I’ll think about it."
"Don’t consult with a lawyer. The moment you open it, it loses its value."

"Who is it anyway? Park Hyung-soo must be blabbing about it?"
"It's a commendable amount."
"Always those without money..., I should never have dealt with them from the start."

Disappointed as if Park Hyung-soo had let him down by trying to dominate the prosecution, he shook his head. As long as Woojin was a prosecutor, it was impossible for him to dominate the prosecution. Previously, he had merely defended and obstructed, but now
it was time to attack. He no longer wanted to hear the harsh criticism from Haewon that he was Kim Jeong-geun's dog.
Kim snuffed out his cigar and stood up. Woojin followed suit, arranging his place.

"Have you had dinner?"
"It's quite late, haven’t you eaten yet? I have."
 

"I just got off the plane. I was going to have dinner together."
Like a close father and son, Woojin walked with Kim Jung-geun. As they left the study, Seok Hwa, who seemed to have just returned home, spotted Woojin and approached him. Before Woojin could even greet her, Seok Hwa asked,
"Woojin, your junior, Haewon, he's taken [N O V E L I G H T] sick leave, right? I heard he hasn’t been to the orchestra lately?"

"Is that so? I haven't been in touch recently."
"I went to see him but he didn’t show up. Have you eaten dinner?"
"Yes, I have. It seems like your father hasn’t eaten yet."

"You haven’t had dinner yet? Why haven’t you eaten?"
"I just got off the plane an hour ago."
Woojin watched Seok Hwa hurry to the kitchen to prepare Kim Jung-geun's meal. It was hard to guess why she was so concerned about Haewon.

"Looks like she took a liking to him. Is she trying to make something happen?"
Watching Woojin’s puzzled look, Kim Jung-geun raised his pinky finger. Woojin knew about Kim Jung-geun's young lovers, though Seok Hwa had always been clean in that regard. And she didn’t know that Kim Jung-geun had girlfriends all over Seoul who had received houses from him.
"I doubt it."

"No, she sometimes talks about that violinist. He’s got a good physique and is handsome. The kind of face women like."
"Really."
"I’m going to eat dinner, so if you have work, go ahead. You’ve worked hard."

"Make your decisions carefully."
Bowing slightly, Woojin’s shoulder was patted by Kim Jung-geun as he walked towards the direction where Seok Hwa had disappeared.
Standing still for a moment, Woojin slowly walked out of the mansion.

The guards greeted him as he walked towards the parking lot, where Kim Soyoung's white car was pulling in. Soyoung parked her car next to Woojin’s, turned off the engine, and got out.
"Are you leaving now?"
"It’s late."

"I had a dinner with the professors. Is dad here?"
"He’s having dinner. I'm leaving."
"Wait a moment."

Just as Woojin unlocked his car, she grabbed his arm. She walked him to a dark corner of the parking lot, out of reach of CCTV and prying eyes. Woojin sighed softly.
"Why."
"Did that get resolved well?"

"What."
"That junior. It works when you talk like that, doesn’t it?"
Woojin nodded briefly instead of responding. Soyoung seemed relieved.

"I'm glad. Anyway, Woojin, you're a genius. How did you think of that? I ended up looking foolish, but you made a man bring a girl who forcibly blackmailed him to a hotel and confronted him with her parents to make him come to his senses. It really sounds plausible."
Fortunately, Haewon believed the script Woojin had hurriedly concocted. Maybe he was waiting for some explanation, even if it didn’t make sense. It was lucky he believed it because if he hadn’t, Woojin would have had to act forcefully. If Haewon had continued to reject him, Woojin would have likely taken him to Yangpyeong.
Woojin could not understand Haewon's reaction. The way Haewon looked at him with contempt was exactly like how Kim Han-se saw him. It was a look that saw something less than a human. When Kim Han-se looked at him that way, he used to call Woojin human trash.

Recalling the expression Haewon had when looking at him and the look in Kim Han-se's eyes, Woojin furrowed his brows slightly.
"When should we talk? I'm about to graduate from grad school and my mom is pushing me to go matchmaking."
Soyoung wrapped her arm around his waist. Woojin just looked into the darkness, not embracing her back or turning to look at her.

"It's not time yet. Didn’t you see his reaction? In the eyes of others, we are less than trash. Dad and mom would be appalled too."
"Selling yourself to take over HanKyung Group, right?" Woojin’s face hardened as he recalled Haewon’s words.
"What can we do about it now? Is it our fault? The dead are dead. Should I mourn forever because my sister died?"

"Shut your mouth. Someone might hear."
"Why don’t you come to the apartment? You hardly come these days. Do you know how many times I’ve wasted my time?"
"I’ve been busy."

Woojin had to change his plans due to the unexpected reaction from Haewon. Instead of becoming a family with Kim Jung-geun and swallowing HanKyung, it was better to corner Kim Jung-geun and swallow HanKyung.
Haewon was shocked enough without knowing the situation, let alone Kim Jung-geun or Seok Hwa who knew well what Woojin had done.
They would never accept it, Woojin learned through Haewon that a conventional person could only feel that way about his relationship with Soyoung, and Soyoung was excluded from his plan.

Even though she was excluded, he couldn’t just settle it. If the plan failed, he had to move to a second or third option, and Soyoung was put in the third. If necessary, Woojin would sell his body however many times it took.
Soyoung, who was his fiancée and sister of the deceased Kim Ha-young, knew that Woojin did not love her. It was a loveless marriage, but if they got married, they would have children, and she wanted to be his family.
The innocent girl chose the path of a doctor to become a respected daughter-in-law in her family. She was more dedicated to Woojin than anyone and loved him more than anyone. Woojin acknowledged that.

He also saw her as a partner who could accompany him to the end, despite saying he disliked her to Haewon. Actually, he did not dislike her. Owning Kim Ha-young would bring limitless possibilities, and she was an essential element in his life.
She could not refuse Woojin’s demand to steal confidential documents and ledgers from Kim Jung-geun’s secret safe. If she had refused, Woojin would have found another way. Kim Ha-young brought her father’s corruption to her fiancé. Ha-young suffered from remorse and guilt for betraying her own kin and often argued with him.
Woojin had been targeting Kim Jung-geun for a long time, and becoming a prosecutor was part of his plan to trample him, which included their marriage. When she realized this, she collapsed. She drank heavily, something she had never done before, and drove her car.

Even after becoming paralyzed, Kim Ha-young tried to ruin Woojin’s plan. She demanded a breakup. Woojin ignored her opinion. It wasn’t worth listening to. He did not tolerate any deviation from the plan. He blindly pushed for the marriage. The way Kim Ha-young broke down, only he could have saved her.
That event was unexpected for Woojin. Even now, when he was tired, he dreamed of Kim Ha-young, and in his dreams, he saw a woman crawling in the garden attempting to commit suicide. Unable to move her legs, she dragged her white dress through the mud like an arthropod, crawling towards the lushly blooming black apricot flowers.
She ruined Woojin's plan by dying. Kim Ha-young’s demise caused delays. Though it took a long detour, Woojin was about to achieve what he wanted.

“I should go.”
“It’s been too long since we’ve been together.”
“Shall we do it here?”

Woojin turned to look at Soyoung. In the darkness, her eyes hardened with dismay. Woojin turned his body fully towards Soyoung, trapped in the darkness and by Woojin’s gaze, her eyes trembled.
“Will you?”
“Woojin.”

It was a distasteful affair. The sight of a woman begging with her body to her dead sister’s fiancé would be revolting in the eyes of ordinary people, and knowing such a fact would revolt her parents too.
As the first plan failed, Woojin intended to own the deceased fiancée’s sister to swallow HanKyung, which was not a common occurrence, so he couldn’t collect data on it.
There was no average for such cases. Unaware that he was ruining the plan by becoming human trash, he tried to proceed with the work. Therefore, common sentiment was a difficult area for him.

“Act appropriately depending on the time and place. This is against common sense.”
Continuing with meetings that defied common sense, Woojin despised his accomplice Soyoung and turned away. He got into the car and drove out of the parking lot.