Chapter 303: Death and Birth, Mourning and Celebration: Black Funeral Garments and Pure White Wedding Dresses

Death and birth, mourning and celebration, black funeral garments and pure white wedding dresses.

Funerals and weddings are such opposing ceremonies, yet they share common ground.

Many people gather, offering a chance to see how much those you’ve lost touch with have changed.

The colder reality is that you can also ascertain your own social standing.

At funerals and weddings, the individuals people rush to bow deepest to aren’t the chief mourners or the parents of the newlyweds.

It’s the most successful, the most powerful person present.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Jin Do-jun’s wedding brought together figures from the business and legal worlds. Power was assembled here, ranked by its degree.

In the legal field, of course, you had the tripartite alliance of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the President of the Constitutional Court, and the Prosecutor General, alongside representatives from major law firms. The business world was a little more nuanced.

HW Group, which had grown solely through mergers and acquisitions without building a single factory on its own, was in no way inferior to Daewoo Motors Group’s Chairman Joo Tae-shik or Soonyang’s Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi.

When Chairman Lee Hak-jae appeared, most of the figures from political and business circles bowed their heads, and Chairman Joo Tae-shik even rushed over to guide him to their table.

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi, isolated, consoled himself with the plausible excuse that he belonged at the family table.

“Chairman Lee, there’s a strange rumor going around. Is it true?”

Daehyun’s Chairman Joo Tae-shik lowered his voice, as if whispering a secret.

“What rumor are you referring to?”

“That Jin Do-jun, the man of the hour, is the real owner of Miracle?”

“Who’s saying that? And owning an investment firm isn’t very substantial. No matter how big an investment firm is, the money it handles belongs to the investors who entrusted it, doesn’t it?”

“If it were just that, I wouldn’t have brought it up. A financial company founder is no different from a fund manager. But… I heard that most of Miracle’s operating funds belong to Jin Do-jun himself.”

“Do-jun is probably a significant player at Miracle, but as you said, Hyung-nim, would it really be to that extent? Isn’t Oh Se-hyun the founding CEO? And there’s a separate head of the US headquarters.”

Chairman Joo Tae-shik raised his hand and pointed to a large, round table some distance away.

“That foreign woman sitting over there is said to be Miracle’s CEO. They say she has so much money she even meets with the President.”

News had also broken about a series of high-profile meetings with financial figures, starting with the Blue House.

“She was invited to the Blue House luncheon tomorrow, wasn’t she? It’s understandable. Have you forgotten? During the last financial crisis, she sent a whopping 10 billion dollars to Korea. Thanks to that, our country’s banks were safe and the exchange rate was protected. That’s about the level of an IMF president.”

“Didn’t you benefit greatly from that as well, Chairman Lee?”

Chairman Joo Tae-shik nudged Chairman Lee with his elbow.

“They say Do-jun was the one who coordinated all of that?”

“That’s true. He worked hard in the middle, acting as a bridge.”

Chairman Lee Hak-jae feigned ignorance and continued the conversation, but he sensed that Jin Do-jun’s secret wouldn’t remain hidden for long.

Plausible rumors are easy for anyone to imagine, making them easy to create. That also means many false rumors circulate.

But there are also rumors that are simply hard to believe. Unbelievable because they’re neither plausible nor easy to imagine.

That’s why no one creates them with a purpose. They assume no one would believe them.

The real owner of Miracle, the owner of most of the investment funds—this means his wealth is literally astronomical. It’s hard for anyone to believe that one person owns that much money.

The harder a rumor is to believe, the higher the chance it’s true—a fact known to anyone who deals with a lot of information.

The people gathered at this wedding are those who receive information faster than anyone and use it.

For them, the fact that rumors about Jin Do-jun’s true identity were circulating meant that it had become impossible to hide any longer.

‘

Do-jun will be going to the next Blue House luncheon. It’ll be hard to hide any longer. Then again… is there even a reason to hide anymore?’

Chairman Joo’s gaze swept over the CEO of Miracle USA.

“Damn it, the world has changed.”

“Doesn’t it always?”

“No, it feels like the era of us who turn factories and sell manufactured goods is over. It seems like it’s the era of those who play with money now. I’ve never had a private meal at the Blue House.”

“Aigo, Hyung-nim. That’s because you’d face accusations of receiving special favors.”

“No. Look at America. Wall Street controls the economy.”

He’s comparing two completely different situations. And this man leads one of Korea’s top companies.

Lee Hak-jae was close to sighing.

The one who holds the money always holds the reins. In Korea, the chaebols hold the money, so they always hold the reins.

Do-jun also holds the reins of a very sharp knife. Is Do-jun a chaebol? Or just someone who plays with money?

The question suddenly arose.

* * *

“Aigo, I’m exhausted.”

Seo Min-young collapsed onto the bed the moment they entered the special suite prepared for them at the hotel after the wedding.

He lay down beside her and she snuggled into his arms. He stroked her hair as he spoke.

“Let’s take a nap before we go.”

“The flight time is… Ah, it’s a private jet, right?”

“Yeah. It won’t take off until we’re on board, so you can rest as much as you need.”

She seemed relieved and closed her eyes, but she shot up just a few minutes later.

“Let’s go.”

“Already? You can rest more.”

“No, not to the airport.”

“Then where?”

“Gunsan. We need to pay our respects to Grandfather.”

He sat up, unable to lie down any longer.

“You can go to pay your respects after the honeymoon. It’s not too late to see the elders then.”

“You say that, but deep down, you’re pleased, aren’t you? Don’t you want to go? He’s the one you care about the most. I thought about how wonderful it would be if Grandfather were here today so many times.”

“Am I smiling right now? How do you know me so well?”

“Stop smiling and pack your things. Let’s go quickly. If it gets too late, we can leave tomorrow. We can use this room tonight, right?”

“I’ll show you how useful a private jet can be. Look forward to it. Hehehe.”

Leaving Seo Min-young with wide, confused eyes, he called the staff member in charge of the wedding and honeymoon arrangements.

“We’re going to Gunsan to see my grandfather now, so make preparations. And have the private jet moved so it can take off directly from Gunsan. There’s an airport in Gunsan, right?”

“I’ll check and let you know immediately, sir. You’ll be traveling to Gunsan by car, won’t you?”

“That would be easier, wouldn’t it?”

“I’ll inform you as soon as everything is ready. Please, rest.”

As the staff member left, she gave a thumbs-up.

“Oho, now it really hits me that I married a chaebol.”

She sat down next to him again, her eyes sparkling.

“My parents told me something very interesting a few days ago.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you know that a famous matchmaker was trying to set us up in Gangnam?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“As soon as you got into university, your grandfather started looking for a bride for you. I was his top pick.”

“Really?”

Seo Min-young nodded emphatically.

“Yeah. These days, matchmakers don’t arrange formal meetings outright. They create opportunities for people to naturally develop feelings for each other before suggesting anything formal. The matchmaker must have thought it would be easy since we were in the same department at the same school.”

“Hehehe. Miscalculation.”

“Exactly. They wouldn’t have known you wouldn’t be at school.”

He finally understood why she insisted on going to Gunsan first.

She wanted to show that it had worked out according to his grandfather’s wishes.

Just then, the staff member carefully entered.

“Preparations are complete, sir. However, using Gunsan Airport is difficult. We can use Muan International Airport nearby. Would that be acceptable?”

“That’s fine.”

They departed discreetly to avoid the reporters’ eyes.

“How does it feel?”

She smiled as he aimlessly stroked the tombstone.

“If this was how it was going to be, I should have married you when Grandfather was still alive.”

“Regret is always too late, no matter how early it comes. That’s why you should live without doing things you’ll regret.”

“Oh, are you already lecturing me? Is that part of the baggage?”

Yes, one should live without regrets.

“Let’s go. Since we’re here, let’s go pay our respects.”

“Pay respects? Where?”

“He’s someone like my grandfather’s sworn brother. I used to come down to see him sometimes, but he didn’t come today. I sent him an invitation too… Grandfather always told me to visit him often.”

He took her hand and headed to the home of Joo Byung-hae, who was like a great-uncle to him.

* * *

“My, what a thoughtful young man. Postponing your honeymoon to pay respects to your grandfather first! You, young man, have chosen well for a wife.”

He kept smiling and clapping his knees.

After offering pleasantries for a while, he looked at him and asked quietly.

“I hear you chased out Dong-gi? And took everything he had?”

Though he lived far away in the provinces, his ears were clearly in Seoul.

“He stepped down to take responsibility for poor management.”

“That’s the official story, I suppose. Your brother always said you were the only one whose ability matched his ambition, and he wasn’t wrong.”

“Has Grandfather ever been wrong?”

“Plenty of times, you rascal.”

The great-uncle laughed heartily before saying.

“But he always turned things around to be right. He made it so that he was right and everyone else was wrong. You’ll have to do that much to take over Soonyang.”

“I will keep that in mind, Great-uncle.”

The smile didn’t leave his face, pleased with the title.

“Oh, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“Leave your grandfather’s grave as it is for now.”

He even knew that he had that much power now. With his grandmother gone and only his uncle, who had taken over half of Soonyang, remaining, no one could stop him if he decided to relocate the grave.

“When I get too weak to tend to the grave myself, I’ll tell you. Move it to Seoul then.”

“Yes. And I will lay Great-uncle to rest there with him.”

“You’ve even learned to say pleasing things. You sly dog. Hehehe.”

He stood up, chuckling.

“Go on now. An old man has kept you too long on your wedding day.”

“I’ll visit again, Great-uncle.”

Seo Min-young bowed politely, and he grinned broadly again.

* * *

“Hey, newlywed! Congratulations on your wedding!”

Oh Se-hyun, who was waiting for them in Kota Kinabalu, gave him a bear hug.

“Your spectacular rise has finally reached its peak. Now it’s all downhill from here. Hehehe.”

Whispering in his ear, he guided them to the resort.

If Seo Min-young hadn’t glared at him and chased him away, their first night of their honeymoon would have been spent drinking.

They rested for exactly one week, without any regrets.

It felt like the first time he’d completely pushed thoughts of work and shares out of his mind.

After a week, they returned.

He went to the battlefield, and his wife, Seo Min-young, went to her workplace.

* * *

On his first day back at work, he greeted a few people before sitting down with Chairman Lee Hak-jae.

He tossed dozens of business registration certificates in front of him.

“Are these all the guys who had straws in the honey pot?”

“Yeah. Construction, heavy industries, machinery, chemicals, and so on. There are a lot of them.”

As Chairman Lee was more familiar with the group’s internal affairs than anyone, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to find the places where money was being siphoned off under the guise of unnecessary subsidiaries or partner companies.

“And this is a list of people in companies connected to these leeches.”

He handed over a list, glancing at him to gauge his reaction.

He knew why he was looking at him like that.

He was sorry, but this time, he couldn’t fulfill Chairman Lee’s wishes.