Chapter 2

Seonghwa Group, the number one company on the Korean Peninsula, was structurally destined to have enemies.

Competitors trying to drag it down from below.

The political sphere ready to bite at the slightest opening.

Internal executives who could live like kings for life off a single subsidiary.

Even brothers who shared the same blood eyed each other with suspicion over the succession structure.

It was a family where having no enemies was the abnormal thing.

So I figured someday, some big incident was bound to happen.

But usually, there’s a line, right?

“Damn… mass poisoning in 21st-century Korea? And targeting corporate executives at that.”

Even as I said that, I hated myself for thinking it could happen since this was a heavenly drama world.

Anyway, what’s the motive?

Management control?

Or simple grudges?

My head was boiling like steam when—

Beep beep—!

As I exited the gym and was frantically making my way back to the orphanage, the blare of a car horn right beside me made my body flinch.

Then the driver’s side window slowly rolled down, and a familiar face began to come into view.

“…Department Head Kim?”

“Young Master!”

It was Department Head Kim, my designated handler for the illegitimate child, a man I’d built a considerable connection with.

With a hurried voice and a grave expression, he continued.

“No time to explain! Get in, now!”

The moment I heard those words, something blazed hot in my chest.

What should I call it—a situation and a line no man could ever resist…

Like, the moment I step into that car, I turn out to be someone insanely important in the world?!

I let my imagination soar, but instinctively, I gulped.

I had no choice.

My intuition was roaring violently.

If I get in that car now…

I will definitely die.

And on top of that, I’m picking up an ominous vibe from Department Head Kim that I’d never felt before.

As if—up until now, things were fine, but from this point on, they weren’t.

I swallowed hard.

Then, reflexively, I took a step back from the sedan he’d brought.

“…Young Master?”

My action made Department Head Kim’s expression harden almost imperceptibly.

I did my best to act casual and opened my mouth.

“I forgot my wallet! Just need to grab it!”

With that, I immediately turned my back on him.

But.

“Young Master.”

Department Head Kim said in a low voice.

And then.

For the first time.

“Leave the wallet. Get in the car right now.”

An order had crept into his tone.

Thanks to that, a certainty I didn’t have before took root.

Because that man had never once used that kind of tone with me.

So I ran, and from behind me came Department Head Kim’s urgent shout.

Naturally, I didn’t stop.

I only sped up.

I never thought I’d be this grateful that boxing had built up my stamina.

But what I heard right behind me was…

VROOOOM—!!

“…Huh?”

My head instinctively turned toward the sound, and goosebumps erupted all over my body.

Because the black sedan Department Head Kim had brought was charging straight at me.

That’s not a threat.

Not a warning either.

He’s trying to run me down and actually kill me!

I spat out a curse and barely hurled my body to the side to dodge the incoming car.

At the same time, the screech of urgent braking followed as his car jumped the curb and slammed clean into the bus stop behind me.

“Ahh!!“

“Wh-what the hell is wrong with that man?!”

Screams erupted from the people around.

After tumbling across the asphalt several times, I finally managed to push myself up.

My elbow was stinging, and my knee felt thoroughly scraped.

But none of that mattered right now.

What mattered was that Department Head Kim had thrown open the crumpled driver’s door and come charging out.

Blood was streaming down his face from a gash on his forehead, and his suit was covered in dust.

Anyone could see he needed to get to a hospital first.

But that man didn’t look back.

Not at the wrecked car.

Not at the screaming people.

He saw nothing.

Only…

He was staring at me.

With an expression that was somehow terribly sad.

And then, another vehicle moved into the space between us.

More accurately, “vehicles.”

Four SUVs slid into formation, blocking off the street front and back, and at their center sat a car that anyone could tell was far from ordinary.

The windows were tinted so dark it might as well have been bulletproof, and even the license plate looked deliberately special.

That was when it happened.

Men in black suits poured out of the SUVs and began securing the perimeter around me. Some of them were even holding guns.

Damn…

This isn’t presidential security, so how the hell are they armed?

Things were already going sideways one after another, and seeing this scene made my blood pressure spike even higher.

Just as I was thinking that, the door of the central vehicle opened.

“Hoo… Thank goodness you’re alive, Young Master Kang Geon. It seems the Imperial Family’s blessing hasn’t abandoned us after all.”

A woman stepped out, letting out a sigh of relief.

An ivory blouse and a black H-line skirt.

Her hair was pinned up but somehow disheveled, and behind her glasses, her face was openly lined with exhaustion.

Then the employee ID hanging around her neck caught my eye.

Seonghwa Group, Office of the Secretary, Operations Team Leader…

Choi Yuna…?

I’d never seen her face before in my life, but given that someone who looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties had already reached the rank of Operations Team Leader, I could tell at a glance how capable she must be.

The problem was why someone like her had suddenly appeared before me with what looked like a security unit.

Still, one thing was clear.

My intuition was telling me these people weren’t a threat.

So I let out a deep breath and spoke.

“Ha… Let’s just talk inside the car first. Your entrance was flashy enough that we’ve drawn quite a few eyes.”

“…You would trust us?”

“Better than Department Head Kim, who rammed his car into me like a madman and then fled in a panic. Though I will need an explanation for how you knew my location and showed up at such a perfect moment.”

Choi Yuna nodded, and I got into the central vehicle with her.

And immediately, I was impressed.

Seriously… how is the inside of this car this luxurious?

I’d sensed something even from outside, but the interior was even more absurd.

The moment the door closed, the noise from outside vanished like a lie. It felt like being separated from the world itself.

The seats were so plush they seemed to swallow you whole, and up front there was a small refrigerator and even satellite communications equipment.

Anyone could tell this wasn’t an ordinary vehicle.

Once I’d taken that in, I couldn’t help but wonder who exactly this car was meant for.

And maybe it was because I’d been staring at the interior with such a stunned expression.

“Young Master, this vehicle is the Seonghwa Group emergency protocol vehicle.”

Choi Yuna kindly explained its purpose.

But the explanation only made me more confused.

“Emergency protocol vehicle?”

“Yes. It’s operated in preparation for emergency transport situations involving the owner family. It’s fully equipped with bulletproofing, emergency medical kits, and even a satellite communications system.”

“Uh… then why did you bring such an incredible car for me?”

“……”

For some reason, my question made Choi Yuna take a small, deep breath.

Like she was about to say something incredibly important.

“First, let me explain how we confirmed your location. It was thanks to the tracking function on the phone you carry, as well as Department Head Kim’s suspicious movements as he tried to slip through the surveillance network.”

“I’ll let the Kim thing slide for now… but don’t tell me you’re saying there’s a location tracking feature on my phone that I didn’t even know about?”

“…Sharp as always. Seonghwa Group actively utilizes location tracking on phones to ensure the safety of the owner family. Even given Young Master Kang Geon’s special circumstances, you are not an exception.”

Special—that’s putting it a little nicely.

Well, I suppose it’s not easy for a company employee to call the owner family’s illegitimate child an illegitimate child to his face.

And well…

Fine, the location tracking, I’ll let that slide.

Compared to a mass poisoning or what I just went through, this is practically a slap on the wrist.

“First, would you hand me your phone, Young Master?”

“My phone?”

With a skeptical expression, I handed my phone to Choi Yuna.

Then, perhaps feeling the air was a bit stuffy, she rolled down the window.

…That’s what I thought she was doing.

Swish—

Until she threw my phone right out of it.

She tossed it out so cleanly without a moment’s hesitation that I almost felt like I had nothing to say on my end.

Choi Yuna bowed her head apologetically and continued.

“My apologies for the rudeness. I judged that, given the current situation, your phone posed too great a risk. So please bear with the inconvenience and use this for now.”

She handed me a phone that looked brand new.

And this is…?

‘This is that new Seonghwa Electronics phone that’s scheduled to launch next month.’

……

What can I say.

Ms. Choi Yuna is really good at her job.

“Normally, the location information of the owner family is managed exclusively by SH1—in short, the Seonghwa Group security team. However… the current situation is one where we cannot fully trust the people there.”

“It sounds like something’s gone wrong inside the company. Don’t tell me it’s connected to this poisoning case?”

“…Yes. And that brings us to the main point.”

I nodded.

From my perspective too, the more I heard, the more questions seemed to pile up.

Let’s say this poisoning case is an internal company problem.

But if that were true, wouldn’t now be the time to be scrambling to contain it?

Not to mention, the Office of the Secretary’s Operations Team Leader and the security team were pretty important positions.

Then again, waiting for her to continue wasn’t all that nerve-wracking.

Because my intuition wasn’t giving me any ominous signals. That thing always pointed me in directions that benefited me.

The fact that it was staying quiet… probably meant this whole situation was in my favor.

But every once in a while, I’m reminded that I shouldn’t trust my intuition too blindly.

“At approximately 1:03 PM today, the son of Vice Chairman Kang Dohyun, the second son of the family, was pronounced dead. He was the final survivor among the owner family members who had attended the inauguration ceremony for the 3rd Chairman.”

“Th-the final one? Haha… you’re joking, right?”

“……”

“You’re telling me not a single person survived?”

“Yes. Vice Chairman Kang Junhyuk, who was set to be inaugurated as the 3rd Chairman, Vice Chairman Kang Dohyun, the second son of the 2nd Chairman, President Kang Seoyun, the eldest daughter, as well as their spouses and children… all have been confirmed deceased.”

……

They say when people hear something too absurd to process, laughter comes before panic.

That’s exactly where I am right now.

The inauguration ceremony meant to herald a new era for Seonghwa Group had, in an instant, turned into a funeral for the entire family.

And now I was slowly starting to understand why Choi Yuna had rushed to find me with precious security personnel in tow.

Along with why Department Head Kim had tried to kill me—and why he’d shown up in that kind of car in the first place.

Of all the owner family members, I was the only one who hadn’t attended the 3rd Chairman’s inauguration ceremony.

Because I was the illegitimate child whose existence was never supposed to be known.

But thanks to that, I’d dodged the poisoning, and ironically, I was now the only person alive carrying the Blood of Seonghwa.

And Seonghwa Group…

“Seonghwa Group has an ironclad rule of bloodline succession. And if the Chairman passes away or becomes incapable of sound judgment, the blood relative with the highest succession priority holds the right to inherit.”

“…Originally, that would have been my uncle, Vice Chairman Kang Dohyun.”

“Yes. But as of now, that is no longer the case.”

Not as of now.

Choi Yuna’s words were a death sentence.

A scenario I had never once imagined.

No—a scenario that should never have come to me.

“As of this moment, Young Master Kang Geon, you are the sole individual with succession rights.”

“……”

“In accordance with the ironclad rule, from today onward, you are the Chairman of Seonghwa Group.”

Just like that—the stain of Seonghwa Group, the illegitimate child, was rising to the seat of Chairman.

At the age of a high school student, no less.

And as she delivered the news, Choi Yuna’s expression darkened sharply.

So she too knew how deeply problematic this fact was…

“The problem is, the Board of Directors won’t want that.”

……

Damn.

So that was the problem all along.