TSG 103

The company was thrown into chaos due to Ha Jin-woong’s kidnapping of Yoo Jin-ha.

Images of the two bound kidnapping victims with their faces blurred, appeared on various news outlets. While those familiar with Yoo Jin-ha could recognize him, the identity of the other person remained hidden.

It seemed as if someone had deliberately intervened, as all articles refrained from mentioning the other person. Almost as though a hand was at play behind the scenes…

Instead, along with sensational phrases like “assault with a metal pipe,” much criticism was directed at Ha Jin-woong.

Despite being directly targeted, Ha Jin-woong couldn’t do anything to counter it.

A flood of articles emerged, starting with the true nature of the owner family’s past and targeting Ha Jin-woong and his illegitimate son, Ha Min-hyuk.

Chairman Ha Chul-gyu was reportedly furious about the fight between his grandchildren, and a board meeting was held with heated arguments about how to quell the situation.

With his face plastered all over the media, it was uncertain if Ha Jin-woong could ever set foot in the company again. Especially since Chairman Ha Chul-gyu himself had slapped Ha Jin-woong and declared cutting ties with him.

“Hyung, please help me. Everyone’s saying I should go to jail.”

Ha Jin-seong, who had come for a visit at the detention center at Ha Jin-woong’s request, sighed at his plea.

“You have lawyers.”

“That’s what the lawyers said. They say going to jail is the best option. None of them will protect me.”

As Ha Jin-woong’s voice grew louder, Ha Jin-seong pressed his temples as if a headache was coming on. As he pressed his temples, Ha Jin-woong grabbed onto Ha Jin-seong’s clothes.

“Can’t you step in, hyung? Right now, all the lawyers are puppets moving on grandfather’s orders. So if you use your people…”

“Jin-woong.”

Ha Jin-woong trembled at Ha Jin-seong’s quiet call.

“You should have stopped before all this happened. Don’t you think?”

“Y-yes. You’re right. I should have listened to you.”

Ha Jin-woong nodded vigorously. Stuck in the detention center with nothing to do but focus on the trial, he desperately needed Ha Jin-seong’s help.

“So please help me just this once.”

Ha Jin-woong clung to Ha Jin-seong’s clothes as if they were his last lifeline.

“Now, after all this?”

However, Ha Jin-seong’s dry voice cut through Ha Jin-woong’s desperate plea.

“You’re the one who came at me with a stick after I hit you once.”

“…”

“And now you have the nerve to ask for help.”

This was why Ha Jin-seong wouldn’t act on Ha Jin-woong’s behalf.

“I wasn’t mad at you, Hyung. It was all Ahn Se-hyun.”

Seeing Ha Jin-woong’s eyes darting around, Ha Jin-seong leaned back in his chair as if daring him to continue.

“Don’t you see? Ahn Se-hyun pushed you aside. That’s why I did it.”

Having found an excuse, Ha Jin-woong quickly continued.

“At that time, Ahn Se-hyun clearly chose Shin Tae-oh. He betrayed you. That’s why I tried to punish him myself.”

Ha Jin-woong’s voice grew louder as he insisted it wasn’t due to any resentment towards Ha Jin-seong. What started as an excuse seemed to become truth in his mind, and his voice grew increasingly firm.

“Now it’s your turn. Get me out of here. I’ll go abroad and never come back.”

“You resisted when I told you to leave, and now you’re suddenly willing.”

Ha Jin-seong chuckled as if amused, then let out a conflicted groan. He seemed to be considering whether Ha Jin-woong’s proposal was tempting.

“I’ve always cared for you a lot as a brother.”

“That’s right. I’m your only brother.”

Hope began to dawn on Ha Jin-woong’s face, and a smile started to form.

“Hyung, you know those people, right? If you use them, getting me out will be easy. You could dig up dirt on the judge or investigate the prosecutor…”

They were specialized in such tasks, so it would be more than possible.

“Just capturing a scene of a judge and prosecutor having coffee together could be enough to implicate them.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Thinking about interfering with the trial by targeting the judge and prosecutor… Ha Jin-seong nodded, then suddenly stood up.

“But what can I do, Jin-woong.”

Ha Jin-seong looked down at Ha Jin-woong with the same expressionless face as before, hands in his pockets.

“Those people have other jobs to do. It’s a shame you didn’t think of another way.”

“What? Hyung. Wait. Hyung.”

“Visiting time is over.”

Ha Jin-seong turned toward the door and spoke, without sparing a glance at Ha Jin-woong.

“Are you really not going to get me out? Hyung!”

Ha Jin-woong struggled against the police officer holding him. As if his desperate pleas had worked, Ha Jin-seong turned around leisurely.

“Because of you.”

Though Ha Jin-woong was the one shouting, it was Ha Jin-seong’s voice that heavily struck the visiting room.

“I didn’t even get a chance to try before I was rejected.”

Just when he was about to make a move. In the past, he hadn’t known Se-hyun well and had resorted to threats. Now, he had wanted to try being a little kinder.

But because Ha Jin-woong attacked Se-hyun, Shin Tae-oh took the blow in his place, leaving Ha Jin-seong without any footing.

“So don’t rely on me. You have to live on your own now.”

“Hyung, don’t do this… Hyung!”

Though Ha Jin-woong tried desperately to change his mind, Ha Jin-seong had already left the visiting room.

⍣⍣⍣

Ha Min-hyuk focused on spending time with Yoo Jin-ha. Regardless of how the company was doing, he did his best to comfort Yoo Jin-ha. He even thought that handing over the consortium project to Ha Jin-seong might have been a good decision.

Although Yoo Jin-ha was pretending to be fine, the trauma from the kidnapping was clearly visible. Ha Min-hyuk also had to approach carefully, releasing his pheromones gently, as even everyday contact could startle Yoo Jin-ha.

Occasionally, they would visit Shin Tae-oh to check on his condition and try to regain some normalcy. Ha Min-hyuk knew that their current state was all thanks to Shin Tae-oh and his secretary, so he couldn’t stop him.

Putting the company aside for a while, Ha Min-hyuk was caught off guard when one of his subordinates brought some unsettling news.

“I heard the project is being completely overhauled. Is that true?”

Ha Jin-seong, not surprised by Ha Min-hyuk’s sudden visit, calmly replied,

“Yeah. I’m dissolving the consortium.”

“At this point?”

“A consortium is only valuable when I’m trying to get what I want. It’s not like we can’t handle a large-scale project on our own.”

Ha Jin-seong was speaking frankly, but Ha Min-hyuk felt an odd tightness in his throat. He tried to loosen his tie to relieve the discomfort, but the tension, likely psychological, didn’t ease.

“You’re not dissolving it because you can’t handle it. The point was to create a new brand… Forget that. You’re undoing everything I’ve worked for. We don’t have the time to start over. You can’t just break it apart on a whim.”

“We can prepare and do it again.”

“What about the losses? Will you take full responsibility for compensation? It could even lead to lawsuits.”

Ha Min-hyuk tried to persuade him that a consortium between companies wasn’t a promise that could be broken so easily just because one didn’t want to do it, but Ha Jin-seong was immovable. It meant he had already made his decision.

“You don’t need to worry about that. There won’t be any compensation or anything like that.”

“Don’t say it so lightly. If you took on the project, take responsibility for it.”

“I will take responsibility.”

It wasn’t the reaction Ha Min-hyuk was hoping for. Realizing that Ha Jin-seong was set on dissolving the consortium, Ha Min-hyuk had no choice but to bring up someone else.

“Grandfather will hate this. The situation is already bad enough, and if the project falls apart too…”

“It won’t fall apart.”

Ha Jin-seong smirked and called his secretary. As soon as she entered, he took out a USB from the drawer and held it out.

“Take this to Manager Jo.”

“Understood.”

As the secretary left with the USB, Ha Jin-seong picked up a tablet to check today’s news articles.

“What was that?”

Ha Min-hyuk had a feeling it was connected to what was happening.

But Ha Jin-seong didn’t respond. Unsure of what to do, Ha Min-hyuk followed the secretary out and watched as she handed the USB to a man. He froze.

“The director asked me to give this to you.”

He wondered who Manager Jo was, but it was a face he’d seen a few times. Someone employed by the company but whose exact job was unclear… one of Ha Jin-seong’s men.

At least it wouldn’t be for anything good. Ha Min-hyuk hurried back to confront Ha Jin-seong and shook his head firmly.

“You shouldn’t do this out of personal feelings. We should proceed with this project as planned and…”

“Ha Min-hyuk.”

Ha Min-hyuk frowned at Ha Jin-seong’s low tone. The familiar hostility was evident in the voice calling his name.

“Do you want to act like my only brother? If that’s why you’re overstepping like this, it’s problematic. You’ve already handed over the project to me, so you have no right to exercise any authority.”

“You were the one who said you’d take good care of it.”

“Right. I will do well. By myself.”

From the natural response, Ha Min-hyuk realized why this conversation wasn’t going anywhere.

“…You were planning to scrap it from the beginning.”

Ha Min-hyuk’s expression hardened as he realized this wasn’t a situation that could be turned around by persuasion.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“…Ahn Se-hyun won’t like this either.”

Ha Jin-seong turned his head away without any response, and Ha Min-hyuk left the director’s office with heavy steps.

The secretary, returning from meeting Manager Jo, bowed slightly and passed by Ha Min-hyuk to enter the director’s office.

“Break the news right away. And use that as leverage…”

Ha Jin-seong’s voice leaked through the closing door. Ha Min-hyuk, who had made eye contact with the secretary, took a step back. Now that the door was fully shut and the sound sealed away, Ha Min-hyuk stood there, letting out a long sigh.

He couldn’t let Ha Jin-seong have his way. It would be a big blow not only to SR Construction but also to himself who had initially pushed for this.

And then…

“Jin-ha.”

Yoo Jin-ha’s face flashed through his mind. Jin-ha had taken on a new role in this consortium project. For someone who hadn’t fully returned to his normal routine, it was a chance for him to focus on something else.

How disappointed would Jin-ha be when he found out the consortium was going to be dissolved?

If he had known this would happen, he shouldn’t have handed it over in the first place.

If he hadn’t been hopeful about the changes Ahn Se-hyun brought to Ha Jin-seong, this wouldn’t have happened.

But had he really never thought this way before?

No. He knew exactly what kind of person Ha Jin-seong was, and it wasn’t like he trusted him completely. In the end, it was all his own fault.

Feeling the weight of responsibility pressing down on his shoulders, Ha Min-hyuk took out his phone and immediately called someone.

“This is Ha Min-hyuk. I’d like to meet now.”