Chapter 101: Grasping the Fading Edge of Consciousness, My Mind Was Filled with Injustice

As I clung to the fading edge of consciousness, my mind overflowed with injustice.

I couldn’t even remember the exact year the real Jin Do-jun died. Was he not twenty years old then?

And I was furious at God’s plan, abruptly ending my second life after only ten years. It was no joke.

There was more.

I had just prepared for the long battle ahead, but it hadn’t even begun. And thinking about the money piling up in my account made the injustice feel like it would kill me. Or was it already killing me?

Finally, my biggest regret was failing to bring the Jin family to their knees before me.

Damn it.

How could my life turn out like this?

Both my deaths were unexpected, and now I had to carry only unfair and resentful memories with me.

# # #

“Are you conscious?”

Bright light made it impossible to open my eyes properly.

The clicking sound of fingers snapping echoed in my ears.

Was I alive? Or had I just undergone major surgery and was still teetering between life and death?

But I felt my body lurching. Moreover, what I could vaguely see in my blurry vision was familiar.

It was exactly what I’d seen in TV shows and movies.

Was this an ambulance?

“Haa… Grandpa….”

I had to let them know. If I revealed the identity of the Soonyang Group chairman, wouldn’t they pay a little more attention?

“Ah… don’t… speak… I’m… okay….”

There was only a buzzing in my ears; I couldn’t hear clearly. Did that mean I was okay?

“Soo… Soonyang… Group….”

“Excuse me? Soonyang Group?”

“Chair… Chairman….”

I lost consciousness again.

“Hey! Did he just say Soonyang Group Chairman?”

“Yeah. That old man, he looked familiar somehow.”

The paramedics looked at each other before immediately pulling out their cell phones.

“What’s the patient’s condition?”

– You’ve got time for this! Hang up, you bastard.”

“That old guy looks like the Chairman of Soonyang Group. Double-check.”

– Whoa!”

A gasp came from the phone, followed by another burst of annoyance.

– That’s right. It’s the face I saw on TV. Damn it. This is no ordinary situation….”

“I’ll call the hospital. Keep a close eye on his condition. If anything goes wrong, our lives are over too.”

Ambulances filled with unease, anxiety, worry, and fear sped towards Gongju Medical Center in South Chungcheong Province.

Outside the emergency room, the medical staff waiting were filled with dismay as they checked the condition of the patient brought in by the ambulance.

“His breathing is faint, and the bleeding is severe. It looks like his chest is crushed. And his pelvis….”

“Got it. Go, quickly.”

Before the doctor could finish speaking, the medical staff rushed towards the operating room.

A hospital employee who didn’t go to the operating room spoke to a paramedic.

“What’s the condition of the other patients following behind?”

“Two are in good condition, and two are worse, but not seriously.”

“Okay. Thanks for your hard work.”

A sigh of relief escaped him at the thought that they only needed to save the critically injured patient who had just entered the operating room.

* * *

When I regained consciousness, the bright fluorescent lights made it difficult to open my eyes properly.

I wasn’t dead.

In fact, I felt surprisingly okay. How could this be?

I had no idea what happened while I was talking to my grandfather. Only that it was a car accident.

Once my eyes adjusted to the bright fluorescent lights, the first thing I did was scan my body. There was just an IV drip hanging there.

My body ached all over, covered in large bandage patches.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

A nurse with a warm smile full of goodwill touched my forehead, wrist, and neck.

Soon after, a doctor in a white coat appeared and shone a penlight into my eyes.

“Follow my finger with your eyes.”

I swatted away the doctor’s moving finger.

“How’s my grandfather? Is he badly hurt? What’s his condition?”

“Alright, seems like you’re fine?”

The doctor turned off the penlight and put it in his coat pocket.

“Is the person who came with you your grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“He’s fine too. It looks like he’ll wake up soon. Out of the five people involved in the accident, only one is in surgery. Don’t worry too much.”

Five? How many cars were involved?

My curiosity could wait; I needed to take care of the important things first.

“Doctor, my grandfather is the chairman of Soonyang Group. Please take measures before the hospital becomes chaotic.”

“Measures?”

“Yes.”

The doctor frowned.

“The chairman of Soonyang Group? So what? You think you deserve special treatment for a minor car accident? We need to call the police and investigate the cause of the accident. This is a local national medical center, we don’t have VIP suites here.”

The doctor seemed to have misunderstood me. He probably thought I was a privileged member of society demanding special treatment.

“I’m not asking for VIP treatment. He’ll look for me first when he wakes up, so I need to be by his side. And… no, never mind. There’s no way to stop it anyway… Anyway, thank you, doctor.”

The doctor glanced at the nurses, who then pulled back the curtains and moved the bed.

“We’ll start with some tests.”

“Can I get the guardian’s contact information? We need to inform them about the accident….”

The nurses spoke one after another.

“That’s difficult right now. Let’s see my grandfather first.”

Informing the family about the car accident was up to my grandfather’s discretion. It was a normal matter for ordinary people, but my grandfather’s car accident had the power to shake the Korean stock market.

It couldn’t leak out unless it was an official announcement.

“You’re really stubborn… Alright. We’ll send you to the same room after the tests.”

* * *

As soon as Chairman Jin regained consciousness, he spoke to the nurse fiddling with the IV drip on his arm.

“Hey, miss, can I have a phone….”

“Oh, Grandpa, you’re awake. Just a moment. I’ll call the doctor….”

“Stop your yapping and get me a cell phone. Now!”

But the nurse ignored Chairman Jin and smiled brightly.

“You need to rest right now. The CT scan came back clear, so if you rest a bit….”

“For goodness’ sake, hurry!”

Startled by the thunderous shout, she pulled out the cell phone from her back pocket. She had heard he was the Chairman of Soonyang Group… maybe it was true.

Chairman Jin struggled for a while, seemingly not remembering the phone number, pressing buttons before finally connecting with the right person after receiving a few curt ‘wrong number’ replies.

# # #

“Yes, Chairman. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

I never expected the early morning call to be from the Chairman. And a car accident, no less. Cold sweat broke out all over me, but thankfully, he said he wasn’t seriously injured, which was a relief.

After ending the call with Chairman Jin, Chief of Staff Lee Hak-jae immediately started making calls.

“Get the twenty most elite veterans from Soonyang Security and send them to Gongju Medical Center in South Chungcheong Province right now. I’ll be there first, so tell them to follow my orders!”

“Find the director of Gongju Medical Center and connect him to my cell phone, quickly!”

Finally, he handled the most important instruction.

“Commissioner, this is Lee Hak-jae from Soonyang.”

After finishing a few requests with the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, he got into the waiting car.

“We need to get to Gongju Medical Center quickly. We’ll have a police escort before crossing the Han River bridge. Maximize our speed.”

As they exited Hannam-dong and the entrance to Banpo Bridge came into view, four motorcycles took the lead, their sirens wailing.

* * *

Director Yoo of Gongju Medical Center rushed to the hospital without even having breakfast.

This morning was so unusual, like a bolt out of the blue for someone who had lived a quiet life in the provinces.

Who would have thought he’d get a call from someone with the influence of Soonyang Group’s Chief of Staff!

What was even more shocking was the content of the call. Jin Yang-cheol, the wealthiest man in Korea and chairman of Soonyang Group, was admitted to his hospital’s emergency room.

As soon as Director Yoo arrived at the hospital, he gathered all the medical staff who had handled this morning’s accident, excluding those currently in the operating room.

“Everyone, maintain strict confidentiality. If this gets out, the hospital will be in chaos. Reporters will swarm us, and broadcasting stations’ cameras might even show up. Soonyang Group has requested absolute secrecy. And they’ve said they won’t cause us any trouble, so keep that in mind. I trust you all understand.”

After firmly instructing the staff to keep quiet, he immediately rushed to the hospital room.

“Chairman, how are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?”

Chairman Jin nodded at Director Yoo’s courteous greeting.

“Sorry for causing such a commotion this morning. The doctors say my condition is fine, so I guess it is. More importantly, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“Did you thoroughly instruct the hospital staff to keep their mouths shut?”

“Yes, I’ve taken steps to ensure complete secrecy.”

“Thank you. And soon my staff and my children will be arriving.”

“Have you already contacted them? We should have….”

“No. My hands and mouth are working fine, so who does it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes. And I heard your grandson wasn’t seriously injured. He’s undergoing some tests, and we’ll bring him here as soon as they’re finished.”

“I heard. More than that, I know it’s a lot to ask, but could you move me and my grandson to the intensive care unit?”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s pretend we’re both seriously injured for a few days. That we had surgery and we need to monitor the results, something like that.”

Chairman Jin even winked with a chuckle.

“Probably the first one to arrive will be my Chief of Staff, Lee Hak-jae.”

“Ah, yes. I received a call from him.”

“Right. He’ll explain the situation in detail, so please do as I ask. I’ll compensate you generously.”

“No, please don’t mention compensation. We’ll do as you ask.”

“Thank you. Oh, and when Chief Lee arrives, please let only him into the room secretly.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Director Yoo decided not to dwell on the reasons for these requests.

He only hoped that this commotion would end quietly and smoothly, and that he could quickly return to his peaceful routine.

* * *

“Grandfather!”

“Oh, my boy. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I just have a few scratches. How are you, Grandfather?”

“The doctor said I’m fine. Seeing you alright makes me relieved. Haha.”

My grandfather held my hand tightly and stroked my cheek.

“But why are we in the intensive care unit…?”

“Let’s just stay quiet for a few days. And I’ve taken care of everything, so forget about the accident.”

“But I heard there’s a seriously injured person. What if it’s the driver?”

“Don’t get worked up. It’s bad for your health. I’ll handle everything. They said he’s in surgery, so let’s wait.”

“Yes.”

It was truly a stroke of luck. I survived, and my grandfather is unharmed. God hadn’t taken back the opportunity he gave me.

We exchanged glances for a while without speaking.

I remembered trying to shield my grandfather during the accident. That action was purely instinct, without any calculation. I realized that my pretense of being a dutiful grandson to take over Soonyang had ended long ago.

This man is my real grandfather, and I am his real grandson.

There’s nothing more than that.

I understood my own heart now.

Just as I was holding back tears, there was a knock on the hospital room door, and the hospital director entered.

“Am I disturbing your rest?”

“No, come in.”

The director cautiously surveyed us before handing over a blood-stained ID card and a business card.

“We found the wallet of the person currently in surgery. This was inside… I brought it in case you recognized it.”

I froze at the name on the blood-stained business card. It was a bigger shock than the accident itself.

“Kim Yoon-suk, Deputy Director, Soonyang Group Strategic Planning Office.”