887

 [Chapter 221]

[From the Lowest Place (2)]

The misconduct of power holders and business groups reported the previous night continued to burn fiercely without signs of dying down.

[Exclusive] Galaxy Group, known to have used some illegal methods in succession process... Internal document whistleblowing to Financial Supervisory Service

[Column] Sirius Group, misconduct in the process of acquiring Dangun Market...

[Breaking] Galaxy Bio, accounting fraud. Including Sirius Textile and others...

Evasion of law, violation of law, illegality.

Embezzlement, breach of trust, tax evasion, accounting fraud, etc.

All sorts of negative issues they had committed since this country was rebuilt from destruction were reported one after another.

[Exclusive] Anonymous tip, "Sirius Group's chief secretary pressured my company..."

Anonymous tip.

People weren't unaware of who that anonymous person was.

The only one who could do this was <King of Darkness> Baek Seo-jin.

They knew this, yet they were angry at the issues that kept popping up incessantly.

[Breaking] KK Tire direct descendant, "There was unfair admission to Seoul National University, solicitation"

[Breaking] Samra Shipping, suspicion of stock price manipulation

[Breaking] YH Group's Choi Ye-jang, sexual function...

[Breaking] Pine Drone direct descendant, belatedly revealed to have committed hit-and-run while drunk driving...

Breaking, breaking, breaking...

It kept coming out no matter how much was revealed.

Every time they encountered such news, people raged, asking if there really were no clean people in this country.

Among them, they were greatly disappointed in <Lord > Noh Eun-ha's father.

[Column] Just what kind of person is <Lord >'s father...

[Column] About Mr. Noh, the chief secretary who is virtually Sirius's second-in-command...

<Lord > Noh Eun-ha.

People had considered his defeat of Armageddon and rise as a national hero as their own achievement.

They respected Noh Eun-ha.

As such, they couldn't help but respect his family members as well.

But from last night, the flood of news began to focus on criticizing his father.

"How can a person be like this! Now that I think about it, wasn't that Noh Eun-ha also wielding his father's power!?" "In this situation, he should explain. Shouldn't we thoroughly investigate whether the person who is <Lord >'s father really didn't commit any misconduct?" "Let's wait for an official statement for now. Then we'll know. Until then, put it in neutral gear." "Hmph! What's the use of an official statement coming out? It's obvious. 'It's groundless.' Or 'We're sorry.' 'It's an old matter.' 'We'll do better in the future.' What else would they say?"

Baek Seo-jin's defection had somehow slipped from their attention.

Subjugation wasn't the issue.

What they wanted most now was an official statement from <Lord > Noh Eun-ha and his father.

""""...."""

While people were glaring.

Even after two days, they didn't make an official statement.

☆

Various corruption cases were throwing society into chaos.

Pandora Clan, which received support from five groups - Sirius, Luminous, Alice, Hana, and Donghae Group - couldn't escape the flow of controversy.

Especially among the people belonging to Pandora Clan, there were many related to business groups.

To protect the clan members, they had to suspend operations and lock the doors of their headquarters.

How could this happen...

To think they would aim like this, damn it.

On the other hand, Eun-ha couldn't properly deal with the unfolding situation.

It's obvious.

It's Baek Seo-jin's scheme.

Although he knew this, he had no immunity to this kind of attack.

Moreover, what Baek Seo-jin spread to the world was all true.

He couldn't dismiss it as lies, nor could he ignore it.

Either way was the worst option.

Because people in the world would want sincere punishment for the negative things hidden by darkness.

That's why it was even more problematic.

He's not attacking me... Could it be he's attacking my father?

The misconduct related to Sirius Group.

Many of them had deep connections with his father.

His father was the chairman's right-hand man.

As such, he couldn't help but be deeply involved in Sirius Group's affairs.

If sincere punishment were to be given, it was clear his father wouldn't be safe.

Eun-ha felt his blood boiling at Baek Seo-jin's cowardly act.

"For now, stop any more unnecessary rumors from coming out. Let's collect them before they break out."

"We're doing that by sending out the kids. We're also tracking down the source of the whistleblowing by backtracking."

As soon as he noticed the controversy, he went to meet Twenty-five.

An abandoned house deep in Sungin-dong.

Twenty-five, who he met there, looked quite tired.

There were dark circles under his eyes.

He too had immediately started investigating after noticing the signs.

"Chang-jin hyung."

"Oh, Eun-ha."

"There was no one following, right?"

"As far as I know, there wasn't."

At that moment, Eun-ha called Han Chang-jin.

Then Han Chang-jin, who had been hiding in his shadow, revealed himself.

The three of them discussed the current situation as they were.

"A considerable amount of the information leaked this time was what darkness had been storing. It seems that person... no, he probably made copies of the information stored by darkness."

The darkness handled by Han Chang-jin and Twenty-five had different characteristics.

Han Chang-jin was managing darkness related to law violations and evasions, while Twenty-five was managing everything related to law violations and illegalities.

The two combined could be called Eun-ha's darkness.

Eun-ha listened to Han Chang-jin's story and decided to point out something important.

"What's the possibility that Baek Seo-jin is still looking into darkness now?"

"It's not impossible. I don't know the thoughts of all the people who have entrusted themselves to darkness. But the possibility is low."

"Why do you think so?"

"The information leaked this time. It was all old stuff that darkness had been storing. That alone might not be enough to be certain, but I think there's a high possibility. I deliberately leaked some fake information to see if that would be spread too..."

"That's enough. I'll consider the possibility extremely low for now."

Eun-ha cut off Han Chang-jin's words.

He decided to believe what he was saying.

The important thing was where on earth Baek Seo-jin was hiding.

"If it was Baek Seo-jin who sent the whistleblowing, we should be able to track the mana emanating from it. What was the result?"

"It's certainly sent by Baek Seo-jin, but there's a high probability it was sent by those under him. Checking a few, the people who sent the whistleblowing were homeless people without fixed residences. They didn't even know they had sent whistleblowing, as if they had been affected by magic."

"Chang-jin hyung, do you have anything with Baek Seo-jin's mana on it? Or anything stored in darkness?"

"No, there's nothing. When that person erased his traces last time, he erased all traces necessary for tracking him."

Eun-ha frowned.

Baek Seo-jin must have planned this for a long time, anticipating this situation.

It seemed difficult to find Baek Seo-jin even with Twenty-five and Han Chang-jin's information network.

If we could find Baek Seo-jin's location, we might be able to somehow turn public opinion towards the need to subjugate Baek Seo-jin...

At this rate, it looks like it'll just take a long time to find him.

The operation to eliminate Baek Seo-jin and his subordinate forces.

Given the situation, the operation was showing little progress.

Moreover, with Baek Seo-jin's documents breaking out, the situation became awkward for electing new Twelve Seats.

Somehow, they needed to find out Baek Seo-jin's whereabouts and guide public opinion to focus on Baek Seo-jin.

"Then for now, both of you prioritize finding Baek Seo-jin's whereabouts. Twenty-five, you..."

"I'll try to quickly find information related to the Master's father and prevent it from appearing in the media."

"Yes, please do."

"I'll look into places related to darkness scattered across the country. He might be in one of those places."

In the end, that day the three of them didn't gain much beyond exchanging opinions.

☆

Meanwhile, as soon as the meeting ended, Eun-ha visited Sirius Device headquarters.

It was to meet his father.

He said he was fine on the phone, but...

He must be under a lot of mental stress. I should at least see his face and comfort him.

After his father's misconduct broke out.

His father had been staying at the company, eating and sleeping there, lest he become a burden to his family.

As a result, his mother and Eun-ae were very worried.

They were so worried that they even called Eun-ha, asking him to go meet his father.

"Oh, Eun-ha, you came?"

It had been a while since he saw his father.

Eun-ha met his father after a long time.

What entered Eun-ha's eyes as he stepped into the chief secretary's office, guided by an employee, was his father with a haggard appearance.

"...Haven't you washed for a few days?"

"I haven't washed for about two days. There's so much work to do, I didn't even have time to wash."

"Papa..."

"Ugh..."

His father smiled awkwardly.

Eun-ha looked around.

It was a mess.

All sorts of documents were scattered on the floor, and his father's desk was piled high with papers.

It seemed clear he had been working all this time.

"Ugh, the smell... You even smoked? What are these bottles rolling around on the floor?"

"I drank and smoked with the chairman. No, with my in-law. We drank back and forth." "Father-in-law really..."

The more he stepped into the room.

Eun-ha could guess how his father had lived for the past few days.

Not only did he smoke cigarettes he had quit long ago out of consideration for his mother, but he smoked so much that the office reeked of tobacco.

As for alcohol, there were so many bottles rolling around on the floor, it was hard to tell how much he had drunk.

"Let's ventilate first."

Eun-ha opened the window.

Cold air came in.

Only then did it feel livable.

Then he sighed looking at his father's appearance.

"Mom was so worried, and it seems she had reason to be."

"Haha, you know this is a secret from mom, right?"

"Noona said she's going to video call later, so get ready to be scolded."

"Ugh..."

Eun-ha pulled up a chair and sat down.

He could see his father forcing a smile.

Probably his father too couldn't think of a solution to resolve the current situation.

So his face was clouded with worry.

Eun-ha opened his mouth.

"If we can find Baek Seo-jin's location, we should be able to change public opinion towards the need to subjugate Baek Seo-jin."

"..."

"In the meantime, quickly deal with things that could become problematic. If you want, Dad, I can assign people to help you."

"Is that why you came?"

"And..." "Stop there."

His father chuckled.

Eun-ha didn't need to continue.

His father had already guessed what he was going to say.

"You're telling me to cut off the people under me and run away pretending not to know, right?"

"..."

"I've thought about it too. When this incident broke out, I thought of all sorts of things to survive. But even so, I don't want to struggle and flounder like that."

His father asked for understanding.

He lit a cigarette and moved to the window.

Then he exhaled smoke beyond the window so it wouldn't reach Eun-ha.

"Your mom probably knew from long ago that I wasn't just a good person. So with this incident, as the things I've done break out, she'll probably be very heartbroken. How could she not be heartbroken when I've ruined several people's lives using power?"

"..."

"So you comfort your mom. It's a bit awkward for me to see her now."

"Then what are you going to do, Dad?"

"...I'm thinking about what to do."

"Are you going to pay for your crimes? Are you going to be locked up for decades?"

"..."

"How about confessing that it was the chairman's orders to reduce your sentence?"

"He's your father-in-law... How could I do that?"

Eun-ha wasn't serious either.

That's why he said to cut off the tail.

Because that was the only way to resolve the situation his father was in.

His chest felt tight.

And he felt sorry.

This situation is completely created because of me.

Baek Seo-jin is attacking people around me to mentally corner me...

Eun-ha gritted his teeth.

If it were his own matter, he would have done anything to survive, even cutting off the tail.

But because it wasn't his own matter, there wasn't much he could do.

"Dad, you're not..."

Then Eun-ha couldn't continue his words.

Suddenly, one possibility came to mind.

A possibility that could be considered the worst for himself or his family.

Eun-ha couldn't bring himself to say it and examined his father's expression.

His father chuckled.

"I'm not dying, I won't die. I don't have the slightest thought of dying, so don't make that face."

"Is that really true?" "Yes, there's nothing more shameful than running away by dying. Even if I end up paying for my crimes, I won't do that, so don't worry."

"Then what are you going to do now?" "Well... I'll keep looking for a way. The chairman and people around are busy moving because of this incident, so I have to wait. They're the smartest people in Sirius Group, so if we wait, a way will come out." "..."

"Or as you said, somehow buy time while public attention is focused on the subjugation battle. If it's hard, well, I'm thinking of maybe leaving for another country with your mom. You deal with the charges against you on your own."

So don't worry too much, he emphasized several times.

In the end, Eun-ha had no choice but to believe what his father was saying.

The two spent time exchanging conversations about the current situation like that.

"Then I'll be going now."

"Alright, take care."

Night had fallen before they knew it.

Eun-ha decided to go up to the building's rooftop and fly to the clan headquarters using Buldak's power.

Because reporters were still camped out at the bottom of the building.

It would be troublesome if he got caught unnecessarily.

His father saw him off.

It was just as Eun-ha was about to go out the door.

"Eun-ha."

"Yes, what is it?"

His father called.

Eun-ha turned around.

His father, wearing glasses, was waving his hand.

"I just wanted to call you once, you rascal." "...What's with the sudden joke? I'll be going." "Alright, take care. Be happy. Your mom, Eun-a, and Eun-ae. You know you have to protect them while I'm gone, right?"

"Of course. Don't worry. I'll make sure the family doesn't worry."

At that time, he should have doubted those words.

☆

It was all lies.

There was no such thing as a way out.

Even if he fled overseas, would he really be able to receive good treatment?

Is it even possible to leave a country where he was born and raised, where he spent more than half his life?

Even if he could do it to survive, what wrong did Eun-ha's mother do?

Could she live well in a country with different language and culture?

 "I'm sorry for lying. If that boy finds out later, he'll be shocked..."

After sending Eun-ha off.

His father gave a bitter smile.

He smoked cigarettes until the pack was empty.

He stared at the night engulfed in darkness for a long time after the sun had set.

"Power doesn't last ten years, flowers bloom for ten days..."

Power doesn't last ten years.

Flowers are bound to wither someday.

His father uttered the words that Galaxy Group's first chairman Choi Yun-han reportedly often said in private.

What was it he said again?

Did Chairman Choi Yun-han say to live with all your might until that time comes?

He thought that fit perfectly.

His father looked back on the life he had lived until now.

He was an orphan without family.

He became a tenacious person to survive alone, then met Eun-ha's mother, and came to this position now.

Looking back, it was an enjoyable life.

"I should end it at my level. If I end up being punished, the chairman and others will get involved too."

There were no clean people in the world.

His father never thought for a moment that he was a clean person.

In the worst case, he had a premonition that this kind of situation might come to him.

So his father was accepting the situation he was in more calmly than expected.

Click

He opened the drawer.

A gun kept for self-defense.

He never thought the day would come when he would point that gun at himself.

"I told Eun-ha that only people who lived a shameful life do this, but now I've become that person."

He couldn't help but laugh.

And he felt sorry for Eun-ha.

He worried that Eun-ha might feel guilty towards him.

It was bound to come out someday anyway.

There was no need to feel guilty.

But he was worried that his son might live regretting this day for the rest of his life.

"...That won't happen. I should just hope it doesn't."

Then his father smiled.

It's okay.

Now there were many people around Eun-ha.

His daughters-in-law will comfort him.

His father put the gun to his temple.

"..."

He closed his eyes.

His hand trembled.

Still, he tried to smile.

He recalled pleasant memories while looking back on his life.

All memories related to family.

Even to protect them, he had no choice but to make this decision.

This was the best option.

So Eun-ha─

"─Take care of the family."

No matter how many times he looked back.

It was a happy life.

There was nothing to regret.

It seemed this place was indeed where he should die.

"It was a life without regrets."