Chapter 698: D-Day

Choi Eun-Tae spoke with a grave expression, "If something happens to me... I want you to be my executor."

An executor was someone who carried out the wishes in a will after the testator's death.

"Mr. Chairman, isn't that something a lawyer should do?"

"Usually, yes. But an executor doesn't have to be a lawyer. So please, do me this favor."

Choi Eun-Tae was putting everything on the line for this matter. As Korea's loan shark king, he wanted to be prepared for the worst by entrusting all matters of his estate to me. Last time, he only spoke about his slush fund in Japan, but now he was talking about his entire estate.

"Don't worry. For the Korean slush fund, you can ask Yung-Ho. And for the Japanese one, you can ask Suzuki."

I felt the role was far too much for me, so I was about to refuse.

But at that moment, Choi Eun-Tae spoke first. "I know it's a burden. But there's a reason you have to take this on."

"A reason, sir?"

Choi Eun-Tae nodded. "If something happens to me, I plan to leave a will recognizing Eun-Gi as my son. Then the executor can file the paternity acknowledgment on my behalf. But who else could I entrust with such an important task besides you?"

Paternity acknowledgment was when a biological father or mother recognized a child born out of wedlock as their own. And voluntary acknowledgment meant the parent could do this unilaterally without the child's consent.

Choi Eun-Tae had agonized over it many times ever since finding out about his lost son. Recognizing an illegitimate child as a son could be done by him alone without anyone's agreement. However, he felt that if he proceeded without Kang Eun-Gi's consent, he might never be able to see his face again. So he couldn't bring himself to do it.

However, circumstances had now changed. Some of his bitterness eased after seeing his son's face, and with me present, he had decided to at least make the acknowledgment in his will. This was also to prevent all his assets from falling into Choi Man-Sik's hands if something happened.

The desperate sincerity in his eyes made it impossible for me to refuse.

In the end, I took a deep breath and nodded. "All... right."

At once, Choi Eun-Tae grabbed my hand. "Thank you so much. Now I can die in peace!"

Choi Eun-Tae smiled in relief, saying all his worries were gone.

I grumbled. "Why are you talking about dying? You have to live until Yoon-Soo and Eun-Soo get married."

"

Hahaha

, I wish I could. Anyway, I have to go. There's a lot to prepare to get rid of the human trash, right?"

Choi Eun-Tae had changed, now that he could make plans for his succession. The strength in him was now mixed with gentleness, making him look much better. With hope in his heart, even his weary and regret-filled eyes seemed livelier.

I even felt that as his relationship with Kang Eun-Gi improved, his remaining days might increase.

***

In the living room of the massive three-story home in Sangdo-dong, easily a thousand pyeong in size, Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon, called the next president, was holding his head.

Last night, he had used his connections with the Vice Minister of Justice to send an urgent order to release a man named Kang Eun-Gi on special parole. It was something both his daughter and Choi Man-Sik desperately wanted.

But contrary to his daughter's confident assurances, reports came in that every plan to deal with Kang Eun-Gi after his release had failed one after another. On top of that, an ally in the prosecution told him that the attackers had even mentioned Choi Man-Sik's name.

Because of the upcoming by-election next month, Park Sang-Gon had been too busy and had left the matter to his daughter and secretary. However, he never expected such a simple task to end in failure.

Knowing his daughter's ruthless and meticulous nature, it didn't make sense to him that she had failed in something so important. But for now, he was more curious about who this man was that they were so determined to target.

So Park Sang-Gon called his daughter in and began questioning her. "Sang-Ah, what on earth happened here?"

"Dad..."

When Park Sang-Ah couldn't answer, Park Sang-Gon burst out angrily. "Failure is one thing, but who exactly is this Kang Eun-Gi that you're so obsessed with?"

Park Sang-Ah didn't know how to respond. Only she and Choi Man-Sik knew that Kang Eun-Gi was Choi Eun-Tae's son. If she told him, there was no telling how Choi Man-Sik would react.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I can't tell you the reason."

At that moment, Park Sang-Gon quietly asked, "Why? Is someone blackmailing you over a man problem or something?"

Park Sang-Ah's eyes widened. "D-Dad, how did you know that?"

"You think I wouldn't know at least that much? I didn't interfere until now because you've been fairly thorough, and I let it be since you kept an appropriate distance from Choi Man-Sik. But it seems you've underestimated your father."

As the ruling party's leader and the man closest to becoming the next president, Park Sang-Gon had countless eyes everywhere. Those eyes had even 'cleaned up' the mistakes his daughter had made.

"So all this time, you..."

"That's right. I can't help you much anymore, but when you were inexperienced, I gave you a little help."

Hearing that her father knew all about her nightlife, Park Sang-Ah didn't know what to say. But at that moment, she realized she had to come clean. Now that Park Sang-Gon had taken a genuine interest, there was no way to blindside him.

"Actually, that man Kang Eun-Gi is said to be the biological son of Chairman Choi Eun-Tae, the Myeongdong loan king."

Park Sang-Gon's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? Choi Eun-Tae's son? That old man didn't have any blood relatives, so his adopted son, Choi Man-Sik, became his successor. That's why I even supported your marriage to him."

Park Sang-Ah nodded. "Honestly, I'm not completely sure Kang Eun-Gi is his son. But Choi Man-Sik seems to believe so. Otherwise, why would he go as far as trying to kill him?"

In that instant, Park Sang-Gon shook off his shock with his eyes gleaming sharply as his mind raced. "So you're saying that for us to take all of Chairman Choi Eun-Tae's inheritance, we need to get rid of this Kang Eun-Gi?"

Park Sang-Ah glanced at him cautiously. "Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I've been struggling with what the right thing to do was."

"Enough. Only fools dwell on the past. As long as you don't repeat the same mistake, we'll discuss everything together from now on." A smile crept across Park Sang-Gon's face as he advised his daughter.

"Dad."

"It's fine~"

Even though what his daughter and Choi Man-Sik had done was outrageous, he pretended to forgive them, all the while thinking only of taking all the inheritance for himself. With that money, he planned to ultimately seize control of South Korea.

"First, I need to talk to Man-Sik. Can you get in touch with him right away?"

Park Sang-Ah let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, her father referred to Choi Man-Sik by name instead of with the vulgar words he could have used. That meant Choi Man-Sik was still useful, at least for now.

"If I contact his lawyer in Japan, we can talk in about an hour."

"Then call him right now."

"Okay."

"And don't worry too much. I won't stand by and watch Chairman Choi Eun-Tae's money end up in some undeserving brat's hands. That's our money."

Park Sang-Ah didn't like how he said 'our' money, but now that her father knew, there was no way around it. Even if things went well, she would have to give him a large share.

At that moment, her anger shifted toward Jung Yoon-Ho.

'

Jung Yoon-Ho!! Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to block my path like this

?!'

The name Jung Yoon-Ho echoed in her mind, carving itself deep—even deeper than in Choi Man-Sik's.

***

Maybe because I hadn't slept and had been running around since dawn to save Kang Eun-Gi, I collapsed and fell into a death-like sleep the moment I got home.

When I opened my eyes, it was already 10 a.m. the next day.

"I've lost half the day...

Ah

, man~"

But as I stretched, I suddenly remembered.

"

Oh

, right. Today's Miso's entrance ceremony..."

I hurried to call Yoo-Jin, but a Kk Talk message was already waiting for me.

[Lovely♡Yoo-Jin: Oppa, you looked tired, so I came with Mrs. Yeon So-Hee and Mrs. Jung In-Ji. Get some good rest~ (Miso_Entrance_Ceremony_Photo) (Pretty)(Cute)(Adorable)(Excited)]

Along with the message, Yoo-Jin had sent a photo of Miso at her ceremony, decorated with every emoticon imaginable. In the photo, Miso had flushed cheeks and wide eyes as she listened intently to the teacher.

'

Aw, Miso's grown so much

~'

I couldn't help but feel proud that morning. After replying to Yoo-Jin's message, I got up to shower. Fresh and clean, I headed straight to the company to report yesterday's events to Kang Gam-Chan.

When I arrived, the place was buzzing. This was because Kang Gam-Chan had announced that Hoop Entertainment's stock market listing date was being moved up.

"Listing on April 1st?"

"Why move it up so much?"

"They kept saying it was coming, and now it's really happening. Those who prepared early are going to make a killing."

"I heard the Suhyaejong faction spent their year-end bonuses and could barely buy any employee stock."

"

Ah

, damn. I should've bought when the word spread that Chief Jung's people were buying."

Noticing me, the chattering employees started asking.

"Hey, Chief Jung, did you buy stock?"

"How much did you get?"

Most of the ones asking weren't even from Division Jung, so I kept my poker face.

"If the company has growth potential, you buy; if it doesn't, you don't. Right?"

I answered with that textbook line, gave a polite nod, and headed for the president's office.

Knock knock.

"Mr. Kang, it's Yoon-Ho."

-Come on in.

When I entered, Kang Gam-Chan was huddled with Jung Soo-Hyuk.

Since Choi Eun-Tae had announced the accelerated listing schedule yesterday, there was much to prepare. Thanks to Choi Man-Sik having already pushed the timeline, they barely managed to set April 1st as the date.

After I greeted them and sat down, Kang Gam-Chan said, "I heard from Mr. Chairman that you had a rough day yesterday. You almost got into big trouble."

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Most people wouldn't even think to do what you did," Kang Gam-Chan nodded, saying he heard about how I saved Kang Eun-Gi. "But safety comes first. If you get hurt, what's the point?"

The way Kang Gam-Chan looked at me reminded me of how Choi Eun-Tae looked at Kang Eun-Gi—full of concern. It struck me how grateful I was to have an elder, besides my mother, who gave me such a warm gaze. If I had a father, I imagined he might have looked at me the same way Kang Gam-Chan did.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm fine."

"Good.

Ah

, and I heard about the twins?"

"Yes, Eun-Gi and I each gave a character from our names, so they are Yoon-Soo and Eun-Soo."

"That's such nice names. Congratulate President Kang Eun-Gi for me."

"Yes, sir."

Smiling, Kang Gam-Chan pointed to the papers spread out on the table. "Now, let's talk about stock. We plan to finish taking employee stock subscription applications by the end of this week."

"I agree. We should move quickly while Choi Man-Sik's influence is low."

"Exactly. And the subscription results are looking very good for us."

Though it wasn't over yet, roughly 80% of applicants were from Division Jung and the actor and singer divisions 2, with only 20% from others. It was a much bigger gap than expected.

"That's amazing."

"I knew you'd been working quickly since last year, but I didn't expect this kind of difference."

Jung Soo-Hyuk smiled happily beside him, and Kang Gam-Chan looked very satisfied as he stood up. "Alright, let's continue this in the meeting room."

It was now March 2nd. Less than a month remained until the planned April 1st stock market listing Until then, countless tasks flashed through my mind.

I had to push Deok-Bae, who was already in the spotlight, even higher, and I also had to appear on broadcasts myself.

I needed to get Kang Eun-Gi on TV, turn him into a star, and once the regional preliminaries for

Project I.O.A

ended, begin the training camp starting March 14.

I had to help Yoo-Jin maintain the over-30% viewership ratings of

Hwaranjeon

, and Miso needed to gain popularity through her appearances in

Missing – The Lost Ones

and

Haze

.

For the newly launched

The Foodie Nomads

last weekend, Lee Tae-Poong, Haru, and Miso were filming together, and I had to manage the simultaneous MeTube comment stream.

Kang Ha-Na, whose MeTube subscribers were nearing two million, needed a fan event.

On top of that, Lee Tae-Poong's film

Jiri Mountain

had surpassed 8 million viewers, so I needed to help push it past 10 million.

Park Sang-Gyu, while caring for his wife's treatment, had to be supported in preparing for the filming of

Doppelgänger.

Managing everyone's career including Yoo-Jin's was no small burden, but in this life, I had no intention of ever putting that weight down. These people were already a part—no, the entirety—of my life.

And of course, Hoop Entertainment was one of them as well.

***

As soon as the team lead–level meeting began, Kang Gam-Chan announced the plan for employee stock purchase.

"You've seen the notice that we'll be listing on April 1. So the application period for employee stock purchase will only be open until the end of this week."

Kim Gwan-Woo blurted out in surprise, "Mr. Kang, you can't just spring this on us like this."

With their patron, Choi Man-Sik, detained in Japan, and the listing process moving far faster than expected, they were caught off guard. The team leads from the Suhyaejong faction and Gwanwoo Entertainment hadn't yet secured the funds to buy in.

Kang Gam-Chan smiled and replied, "Telling me that won't change anything. Mr. Chairman ordered us to move quickly. What's the point in dragging it out?"

"Even if it's the chairman's order, still..."

Clearly unwilling to hear more, Kang Gam-Chan swiftly shifted to the next topic. "Alright, enough of that. Next item—today Mirinae has auditions for

Haze

. Do we have the list of actors ready?"

Mirinae, which I had revived, was finally beginning auditions for its first production,

Haze.

Thanks to me saving Mirinae, Han Yoo-Sik had assigned many roles to us, and Hoop Entertainment was aiming to land as many as possible today.

However, I hadn't recommended any special actors aside from Miso because Division Jung's actors were already fully booked with other projects.

Just then, my phone vibrated and a notification popped up.

Buzz~

With the V13 update, not only Devoted members but also schedule entries for celebrities I managed were now appearing.

This time, it was for Miso.

[Notification: March 2, 2021 – A new schedule entry has been registered for Jung Miso.]

The moment I checked it to see what had happened, I shot up from my seat without realizing it. It was about Miso's upcoming

Haze

audition.

'

What on earth is about to happen to Miso?

'