Chapter 291: Charging Towards Us

As I turned my head at Han Gyeong-yeong's panic, I spotted the bus crossing the center line, speeding directly at us.

A vehicle ahead was trying to protect us, but it was no match for the approaching bus.

"Boss, hold on tight!"

The driver shouted urgently as he spun the wheel, crossing over the center line.

After a short stretch of driving against traffic, we managed to get back on the road.

I finally straightened up and turned to check the road through the back window.

It was chaos behind us. Cars were all tangled up, and flames were erupting from some.

"What kind of lunatic drives like that? Has he been drinking since this morning?"

While Han Gyeong-yeong joked to calm his racing heart, his voice trembled slightly.

I turned to Han Gyeong-yeong with a stern voice.

"Could this be just a coincidence?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That bus came straight at us. There's no way that's a coincidence, Manager Ma."

"Yes, I understand. I'll look into it right away."

Manager Ma replied as if he already knew what I was going to say.

"There's no way this is just a coincidence."

"Damn it. Are you saying they actually tried to ram us? In broad daylight in the city?"

"It seems likely. We'll need to investigate further."

He responded coolly while glancing back at the disaster on the road.

"Boss, what should we do? Should we head back to the hotel?"

The driver asked from the front seat, shaking his head.

"No, let's head to the clubhouse as planned."

Some cars assigned for our protection were damaged, but thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.

We swiftly exited the main road where the accident had occurred and arrived at the clubhouse on the outskirts.

Aili was waiting for us in the parking lot.

"Welcome!"

She greeted us with a bright smile like usual.

"Everyone's inside waiting. The chairman is here, along with the other shareholders. And the guests have already arrived as well."

We began to walk towards the conference room under Aili's guidance.

"Have you been well?"

"Of course. How about you, James?"

As Han Gyeong-yeong chatted with Aili, I couldn't shake thoughts about the recent traffic incident.

'Who could it be? The CIA sending Murdoch after me? Or was it an intelligence agency who warned me just days ago?'

It seemed too clumsy a scheme for an intelligence agency.

But for the CIA, it was a risky move that could endanger its own citizens.

Lost in thought, we arrived at the conference room.

"Mr. Han."

I snapped back to reality at Peter's voice calling Han Gyeong-yeong.

"Did you need to speak with me?"

"Yes. Can we talk privately for a moment?"

"Is there something we need to discuss?"

"About the club's operations…"

"As I've mentioned before, I'm not interested in club management."

Han Gyeong-yeong said with a sly smile, draping an arm over my shoulder.

"This guy will handle everything related to the club."

"…Mr. Kim?"

I stopped him before he could say anything more.

"Let's sign the contract first, and later I'll have the board members join us for discussion."

I smiled while glancing at the board members standing outside, waiting to get in.

"Let's go in, brother."

"Okay."

Ignoring the other executives, Peter and I opened the conference room door.

On one side of the long table, older individuals sat, while on the other, members from the law firm handling Han Gyeong-yeong's purchase of the club faced them.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tony, the head of the UK branch of LK Law Firm."

The man named Tony reached out to me, not Han Gyeong-yeong.

He seemed to know I was the true owner of Dream High Investment.

"Nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you."

"Don't worry. Legally, there won't be any issues at all."

I shook hands with him lightly, while Han Gyeong-yeong exchanged greetings with Chairman Peter.

"Have you been well, Chairman?"

"Of course."

After exchanging greetings, everyone settled down to face each other. The gazes of those sitting across from us were intense.

"Those present today hold shares in Leeds United, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. We all grew up in Leeds and have a deep attachment to the club."

After briefly introducing everyone, we dove straight into business.

"We've prepared the contract on our side."

Tony received the contract from another lawyer beside him and placed several pages in front of me.

"Since there are multiple shareholders, you'll need to sign several times. I thought it would be better this way than signing everything at once."

He spoke in a low voice to me before turning to address the shareholders.

"And the total price has been adjusted to $10 million in proportion to the share quantity. Please take a look."

Chairman Peter and the shareholders received their contracts and passed them to their personal lawyers for review.

"May I ask a question?"

An elderly man to the left of Chairman Peter spoke up.

"Yes, go ahead."

"I heard from Chairman Peter, but it's hard to believe. Are you really going to invest such a large sum in our club?"

They seemed curious about the amount that would be invested compared to their share prices.

I understood their feelings well, given their strong attachment to the team despite the potential losses.

"Of course. While money can't directly buy trophies for the Premier League or the Champions League, I believe we can increase our chances significantly."

"Oh!"

As I spoke firmly, joy spread across the shareholders' faces.

"We won't just be recruiting superstars. We'll completely revamp the youth system step by step. You can trust that if they receive proper training and show their talents, in five years—no, ten years—our youth talent will attract attention from clubs worldwide."

I explained my vision for the club to them.

"I plan to hire experts for club operations. We'll retain ownership but leave management to professionals—this will greatly benefit the team. I intend to give substantial authority to the manager and coach, though I won't fully trust them like Chairman Peter."

Chairman Peter's expression shifted awkwardly, likely due to having reviewed club accounting materials for days.

He must have realized the truth in my words, so it was natural he'd be shocked.

"We had no idea Mr. Taylor was involved in such wrongdoing. I felt furious hearing that someone was draining the club's finances while we were trying to rebuild after a long dark period; I can never forgive Taylor for leading the club to financial ruin."

"I won't forgive him either."

Chairman Peter nodded in agreement.

"I too initially hesitated to bring it up, thinking of the ties we had with Taylor. But this is no longer a matter we can overlook. The finances are leaking everywhere, and I'm thinking of reporting it to the police."

"That's a good decision."

The review of the contracts took a considerable amount of time.

Throughout the lengthy process, the shareholders asked me questions, and I kindly answered them.

Finally, once all the lawyers completed their reviews, they whispered to their clients, and soon everyone was signing the contracts.

"You all have worked hard to protect the club until now. It's time for us to make proper changes."

"We'll believe you."

I shook hands with each shareholder as we exited the conference room.

The acquisition would be finalized by LK Law Firm.

Now it was time to investigate this morning's accident.

"Wait a moment."

I heard Taylor's voice calling after us, but I kept walking forward without looking back, my tone cold.

"I'll be summoning everyone in a few days. Until then, don't take any action, just stay put. Make sure any documents are accessible for my agent to collect. If there's even a hint of foul play, return everything to the way it was. This is a warning."

I felt a tingling sensation in the back of my head but ignored it as I walked towards the parking lot.

"Now they must be sweating bullets."

"They've definitely exploited us for far too long."

Upon reaching the parking lot, I spotted Aili watching us from a distance.

I nudged Han Gyeong-yeong in the side while looking at her.

"Brother, you should take her out on a date."

"Huh?"

"As the chairman's secretary, she must have some awareness of the club staff. Even if she doesn't know finances, she should understand their character. You should find out more about her."

I had already delegated the investigation of the employees elsewhere.

Though it wasn't necessary for Han Gyeong-yeong to learn anything from her, it served as a brief moment of respite.

Han Gyeong-yeong seemed to get the message, and a smile bloomed on his face.

I patted him on the shoulder again and said, "I need to look into what happened this morning. I'll tell LK Law Firm and the accounting firm to dig deep into this club. For now, just enjoy yourself."

"Thank you, Boss!"

Only now he calls me boss.

I watched Han Gyeong-yeong approach Aili with a smile as I climbed into the vehicle.

The car carrying me slowly drove away from the clubhouse.

I wiped the smile off my face and turned to Manager Ma.

"Manager, have you found out anything?"

"Yes. The police seem ready to close the case as just a drunk driving incident."

"Drunk driving?"

"They said the driver was heavily intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level over 0.2%."

A blood alcohol level of 0.2% was equivalent to being extremely drunk.

"What about the driver?"

"He's currently in the hospital. He'll likely be arrested after treatment. Unlike Korea, the UK has strict penalties for drunk driving."

"Will we be able to meet him?"

"It seems unlikely. I've instructed the Black Bear branch to conduct a more thorough investigation."

I closed my eyes, lost in thought as I listened to Manager Ma's report.

If he was heavily intoxicated, it was hard to believe he could have been following orders to target us.

However, dismissing it as mere coincidence felt unsettling for some reason.

'He definitely came running straight at us…'

It was difficult to ascertain exactly in this brief moment, but it definitely seemed he rushed towards the vehicle I was in.

Could a drunk person do that? Questions began to bubble up, but there was no concrete evidence.

"For now, investigate more. There must be something there."

"Understood, Boss."

Soon we arrived at the hotel, got out of the car, and headed to the suite.

Laid out on the table was a newspaper from the afternoon detailing the traffic accident from earlier.

[Roadside Lawbreaker: A Countless Casualty Incident.]

It was indeed the work of British reporters.

The face of the perpetrator and all his detailed personal information were clearly printed.

Most of the articles focused on drunk driving.

While I read the newspaper for quite a while, Manager Ma entered the room.

"Boss."

I set the newspaper down and turned to him.

"The police have contacted us, requesting your presence as a witness regarding this morning's incident. How should I respond?"

"A witness? What's this about all of a sudden?"

When I questioned further, Manager Ma bowed his head and replied.

"It sounds like they reached out through the hotel."

"The bodyguards who were present at the accident are all in police custody as witnesses, right? And now, they want me, who suffered no harm, as a witness?"

"No, it's not just you. They've summoned both you and Boss Han."

The fact they were openly calling out Han Gyeong-yeong and me made this situation hard to comprehend.

"Let's hold off on our response for now. Let's see how this unfolds."