RB - 42

42. For the Aging Beast, Death Comes Before Pity

Assistant Manager Kim Min-a, overwhelmed by an unbearable headache, groaned softly as she clutched her head with both hands. She mustered what little strength she had left.

“We’re in this together. If I go down, you’ll take a big hit too, Jin-hyuk. You bought over 1.2 billion won worth of stocks, didn’t you?”

The dazzling sunlight streaming through the window shattered against Jin-hyuk’s broad shoulders. His face was still handsome, but the coldness in his voice sent chills down her spine.

“Oh, are you worried about me now?”

Jin-hyuk stubbed out his cigarette on the cake plate. The decorative piece atop the slice of cake now bore the mark of a cigarette butt, and Kim Min-a felt a wave of terror wash over her. The sharp contours of Jin-hyuk’s eyes were no longer familiar to her. He was terrifying.

Who exactly is Shin Jin-hyuk? What do I really know about him?

“I’m warning you. Don’t make things harder for Assistant Manager Han Seo-yeon, and don’t mention our conversation to anyone. Live quietly like a mushroom stuck to the ground. It might be good for you to try atonement while you’re at it.”

With that, Jin-hyuk rose smoothly from his seat. Left alone, Kim Min-a eventually collapsed to the floor, retching violently. Her vision blurred, and the pitiful image of someone cornered flickered before her eyes.

---

When Jung-hyuk received the early morning call from his father, Chairman Shin Tae-myung, he thought to himself, Finally, the moment has come. The fact that “Madame Bovary” was playing her part perfectly brought a wry smile to his lips.

“What kind of nonsense are you up to? Get back to the main house immediately.”

Even Jung-hyuk, who feared nothing, felt uneasy around one person—his father, Chairman Shin Tae-myung.

A few hours later, Jung-hyuk’s sedan glided into the chairman’s estate. After turning off the engine, Jung-hyuk lit a cigarette and strolled slowly through the garden. Filling his lungs with smoke and exhaling it slowly felt satisfying. He remembered Seo-yeon’s scolding when she told him he’d have to quit smoking if they were to kiss, but nicotine was unparalleled in its ability to relieve stress instantly. Especially before meeting his father, a nicotine recharge was essential.

The faint morning mist still cloaked the greenery of the garden. Jung-hyuk checked his watch—it was just past 6 AM.

“Chairman Shin never sleeps, does he?”

Thinking of the impending confrontation with his father, Jung-hyuk took a deep drag on his cigarette.

“Where is Father?”

As soon as he entered the mansion, Jung-hyuk asked about the chairman’s whereabouts. Park Yeo-wan, his stepmother, flinched at his curt tone and replied in a sorrowful voice:

“He’s in the study. Have you had breakfast?”

There was no response from Jung-hyuk, her stepson. Once a sweet child who would cling to her and speak warmly, why had he changed so much? Park Yeo-wan awkwardly smoothed her well-maintained hair and hesitantly spoke.

“Have you been well? It’s been so hard to see you.”

But Jung-hyuk ignored his stepmother completely, heading straight for the study. Instead, he gave a brief nod to the nearby housekeeper. Park Yeo-wan clenched her fists tightly, suppressing her frustration and hurt, while the housekeeper bowed her head in embarrassment.

“Still alive and kicking, Father.”

The sound of the study door creaking open revealed Chairman Shin Tae-myung to Jung-hyuk. The room, shrouded in blackout curtains, was as dark as midnight, and at its center stood the chairman, immovable like a stone statue. His piercing gaze gleamed like that of a devil ruling the darkness. Jung-hyuk felt a sinking sensation and craved another cigarette.

“Disappointed that I’m still alive, are you?”

Thus began the clash between Jung-hyuk’s cutting sarcasm and the chairman’s biting remarks. Jung-hyuk rubbed his dry eyes and said:

“These days, people hate that kind of tone. Fix it. Aren’t you the guy who loves media interviews? Keep up with the trends.”

Chairman Shin chuckled and sat down at his work desk, while Jung-hyuk lounged casually on the guest sofa. The thick silence between them filled the vast emotional distance.

It wasn’t Jung-hyuk but Chairman Shin who found the silence unbearable. Unable to hold back any longer, the chairman finally spoke as Jung-hyuk crossed his legs leisurely.

“What kind of nonsense are you up to these days?”

The blind date and the party where Madame Bovary introduced Seo-yeon flashed in Jung-hyuk’s mind. Instead of answering, he bent over and chuckled. The chairman’s voice brimmed with anger.

“Is this funny? I asked what you’ve been doing.”

A long sigh escaped Jung-hyuk’s lips.

“I thought Ethan was your only spy, but now you’ve hired Madame Bovary too?”

“Does it matter? Did I ever say you couldn’t meet women? Keep it discreet, I said. Why are you parading around with some girl without proper lineage?”

Lineage? Jung-hyuk’s previously indifferent demeanor shifted abruptly. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and stared at his father. If his father knew that two of his sons were utterly smitten with that “girl without lineage,” what expression would he wear?

“Did you investigate her? Doesn’t it embarrass you, Chairman Shin, to act this way? Isn’t moral integrity the foundation of ESG management?”

“Since when is it surprising that I investigate people? Stop dodging and answer me.”

Jung-hyuk wanted to ask why his father’s investigation of his stepmother, Park Yeo-wan, had been so sloppy. But instead, he questioned something else.

“Where did you get this ‘lineage’ nonsense?”

“You don’t know? How dare you flaunt some girl raised in an orphanage as if she’s special! What’s so great about her?”

Jung-hyuk fell silent. Chairman Shin misinterpreted his son’s silence as shame and burst into laughter. Then, in a surprisingly lenient tone, he tried to console him.

“If you really like her, have a child with her. Even if marriage is difficult, I’m willing to give her shares for my grandchild.”

A wicked smirk spread across Jung-hyuk’s face. By now, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and gleamed even brighter than his father’s.

“Are sons really that precious to you? Look at the men in the Shin family. Is there even one decent man among them?”

Chairman Shin realized his son’s critique included himself, but he didn’t react angrily. There was no alternative for the chairman. It was fate for the eldest son to inherit Taesung Group, an unchangeable law of nature.

“If it were Jin-hyuk dating such a girl, I’d leave him alone. Whether through free love or arranged meetings, Jin-hyuk is freer than you. But you’re not.”

Jung-hyuk’s brow furrowed. Now that he thought about it, if his father had investigated thoroughly, he should’ve known that Jin-hyuk worked at the same company as Seo-yeon. Why hadn’t his father reacted? Something was off.

Jung-hyuk traced his jawline with his finger and suddenly exhaled deeply. Jin-hyuk must have already gotten to their father first. Realizing this, Jung-hyuk felt a pang of pity for his aging father.

That once-mighty tiger, now reduced to an old man in the shadows. How had he ended up this way?

Chairman Shin continued to press his son.

“It’s natural for the eldest son to inherit Taesung Group. To wear the crown, you must bear its weight.”

For a weakened beast, a blade is more fitting than pity. Jung-hyuk stared at his father’s nape like a predator eyeing its prey. Then, he delivered a painful truth.

“Don’t make me laugh. If we’re being technical, I’m even less qualified to inherit.”

As his words sank in, his father’s face contorted strangely. With a sharp jab, Jung-hyuk drove his metaphorical fangs into the old beast’s neck.

“Have you forgotten? We already have an eldest son—Jun-hyuk.”

A long slash marred Chairman Shin’s face.

If Jung-hyuk’s biological mother had lived, his childhood might have been warm. She was elegant, loving, kind to everyone, and above all, she was called Chairman Shin’s “one true love.”

But tragedy struck when she passed away shortly after giving birth to Jin-hyuk. Jung-hyuk grew up acutely aware of her absence.

Though born into a wealthy chaebol family, the one thing missing was parental care. After losing his wife, Chairman Shin transformed into a violent tyrant, cruel and merciless toward his sons. He subjected them to harsh education and tested their IQs whenever they struggled.

It was torture for the children. Jung-hyuk constantly had to prove his worth just to earn a sliver of his father’s attention. Jin-hyuk’s situation wasn’t much different. The chairman treated his youngest son almost like a ghost, as if blaming him for his wife’s death.

Jin-hyuk tried everything to win his father’s approval but never received full attention. Instead, he often saw disappointment and disdain in his father’s eyes. By the time Jin-hyuk turned eight and gave up seeking his father’s affection, he was already emotionally drained and diagnosed with a lack of empathy.