Mount Cheongunsan.
It was a place where anyone could freely hike, but it wasn’t exactly a famous tourist spot.
Located on the outskirts, a bit of a distance from the city center.
Besides, a significant portion of the mountain area was under Seonghwa Group’s management.
The hiking trails themselves were open, but certain sections were often restricted for safety management and facility protection.
Thanks to that, foot traffic was fairly light.
To the average person, it was just seen as a quiet mountain.
At least.
That was the case until now.
“Ch-Chairman! Why are you doing this to me?!!!”
But not for Jeong Mincheol right now.
“I’m pretty sure I said I wouldn’t take any questions.”
Thud!
A heavy impact followed the icy voice.
“K-Keugh…!”
Jeong Mincheol clutched his stomach where the fist had struck and dropped to his knees on the floor.
Then, catching his breath, he looked up.
At Kang Geon, who was looking down at him while wearing boxing gloves.
Jeong Mincheol swallowed hard instinctively at the sight of the boy’s eyes, filled with blatant hostility.
Those eyes didn’t belong to the innocent boy he had spoken with in the car earlier.
No, looking at the current situation, he was certain of one thing.
That innocent act had all been a performance to lure him here.
Then why…?
Why drag him to such a secluded place and beat him like a dog?
Jeong Mincheol had only one guilty conscience.
The poisoning of the owner’s family, planned by Yun Changseop, and his own deep involvement in it.
But the more he thought about it, the bigger the questions grew.
Look at the hostility in that boy’s eyes right now.
He was practically declaring it outright.
That Jeong Mincheol was the culprit behind the owner’s family poisoning case.
‘But how the hell did he find out?!’
Jeong Mincheol barely managed to swallow the rage burning inside him.
Only a single day had passed since the incident.
Wasn’t he just probing the executives yesterday to find out who the culprit was?
On top of that, he hadn’t heard any news of some low-level employee being caught, and there had been no warnings from Yun Changseop’s side either.
From the young chairman’s perspective, arriving at the conclusion that Jeong Mincheol was the culprit made no sense at all.
Though, he did recall that former Chief Secretary Yun Changseop had been acting strangely since yesterday.
Wasn’t he the one who had designed the current situation and executed it more meticulously than anyone?
If so, at this point where the plan had fallen apart, it would be normal for him to be desperately seeking countermeasures together.
But he hadn’t.
As if he had nothing to do with this matter, he stepped back and simply watched the situation unfold.
At that moment, a single possibility flashed through Jeong Mincheol’s mind like lightning.
‘Could it be… he abandoned me?’
Nothing else explained this situation, but Jeong Mincheol had no choice but to deny that thought as much as possible.
Because it made no sense.
He was his key ally.
The person most likely to open his mouth first if betrayed.
And he’d discard someone like me so easily?
A man like Yun Changseop wouldn’t fail to calculate that.
‘…Wait a moment.’
Suddenly, the conversations they’d had began flashing through Jeong Mincheol’s mind one by one.
Come to think of it, Yun Changseop had been strangely careful never to say anything directly.
He always spoke in vague, roundabout terms.
He’d never given direct orders.
Never left behind any words he’d have to take responsibility for.
Even his contacts were mostly indirect.
Burner phones.
Middlemen.
Methods that left no trace.
The moment he realized that, Jeong Mincheol’s face turned pale in an instant.
‘No way….’
Even if he managed to get out of here alive and went to the police or the media…
What could I possibly prove?
Evidence that Yun Changseop directly ordered it?
There was none.
Recordings?
None.
Messenger logs?
None.
Stupidly… all he had were circumstances and speculation.
‘Goddammit…!’
A chill ran down his spine.
Yun Changseop hadn’t abandoned him.
He had been using him as a disposable pawn from the very start, keeping him reassured.
The moment he reached that conclusion, Jeong Mincheol spoke up urgently.
“Ch-Chairman! I’ll explain everything! Yun Changseop… he’s the one who orchestrated all of this!”
At Jeong Mincheol’s desperate plea, Kang Geon paused for a moment.
Then.
“I know.”
Thud!
With Kang Geon’s flat statement, Jeong Mincheol went tumbling across the floor this time.
“Ghh….”
Gripping his fading consciousness, he barely managed to push himself up.
A metallic taste of blood spread through his mouth, and he looked up at Kang Geon again with trembling eyes.
“Please, just hear me out! I was merely manipulated!”
“So what?”
“…Huh?”
“Let’s say former Chief Secretary Yun Changseop is the root cause of all this.”
Kang Geon crouched down in front of Jeong Mincheol and let out a scoff.
His smile carried absolutely no warmth.
“In the end, the fact that you were his willing accomplice doesn’t change. And manipulated? You’re the one who couldn’t resist your own greed and eagerly joined up with Yun Changseop. What are you talking about?”
Jeong Mincheol’s face stiffened.
Was this boy truly aware of everything…?
That was when it happened.
“Still, I’m a generous person, so I’ll give you one last chance.”
Kang Geon casually flexed his wrist.
“Spill everyone involved in this incident.”
“Ch-Chairman.”
“The people who worked under you.”
“…….”
“Every last one of the remnants hiding inside the company.”
Kang Geon slowly lowered his gaze.
It wasn’t the look of someone observing a person. It was the look of someone observing an insect.
“But I’d recommend not lying.”
The boy grinned widely as he tightened the Velcro on his gloves even harder.
“Up until now, I was just holding back to blow off some steam.”
Jeong Mincheol’s shoulders flinched.
His punching power was already at a level you wouldn’t believe from a high schooler, and that was him holding back?
“Ah, and one more thing. If even one thing differs from what I already know, just know you won’t be coming down from this mountain again.”
Jeong Mincheol bit his lip hard.
Honestly, he didn’t have any other option.
With security guards surrounding the area, escape was obviously impossible.
On top of that, if he took more of those punches that seemed to target every painful spot like a professional, he might actually die.
Most of all.
‘This little bastard… he really has the nerve to bury me right here.’
The boy in front of him was clearly not a normal high schooler by any stretch.
From orchestrating this whole situation to threatening him outright without so much as a change in expression.
In the end, Jeong Mincheol spoke with a trembling voice.
“…First, there’s one in the Management Support Office.”
Kang Geon’s eyes narrowed.
“Name.”
“D-Deputy Manager Park Jaeseok. He cooperated with organizing internal documents and scheduling. There’s also one in the Future Strategy Planning Office where I work.”
“Keep going.”
“There’s one in the Secretary’s Office as well. Department Head Kim Taejin, whom you know well.”
And so, the names of those involved in the poisoning of the owner’s family began spilling from Jeong Mincheol’s mouth one by one.
Who played what role, and how they operated.
And then.
“…That’s truly all of them.”
He racked his brain, wondering if there was anyone he’d missed, but there was no one else.
At least, not as far as he knew.
“Really, that’s all?”
“……Yes.”
Jeong Mincheol nodded cautiously.
He hadn’t lied.
He knew better than anyone that getting caught lying in this situation would be the end of him.
Kang Geon, on the other hand, quietly looked down at Jeong Mincheol.
“Surprising. I didn’t think you’d actually tell me everything.”
“W-Would there be any reason for me to lie in this situation?”
Realizing that the information he knew matched what Kang Geon knew, Jeong Mincheol let out a sigh of relief.
And slowly, a glimmer of hope began to fill his eyes.
The boy in front of him had clearly said it.
That he would give him one last chance.
Jeong Mincheol hadn’t wasted that chance.
So…?
“Good decision.”
The positive words flowing from Kang Geon’s mouth brought a small smile to Jeong Mincheol’s lips, and a faint sense of relief that he might live began to seep in.
“Chairman—”
However, Jeong Mincheol’s words never reached their end.
Step- step-
Because he heard the sound of someone slowly walking up from behind.
Jeong Mincheol instinctively turned his head toward the sound.
And his face went completely pale. As if he had come face to face with someone he absolutely could not encounter right now.
“…Department Head Kim?”
Kim Taejin.
For some reason, he was walking toward them, and Jeong Mincheol couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Given his current position, Kim Taejin absolutely could not afford to be caught, so he had been under orders to stay put.
Besides, his daughter’s life was being held as collateral, so he of all people should know he couldn’t act rashly—
But the moment his eyes met Kim Taejin’s, who was glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him, Jeong Mincheol felt chills run down his entire body.
Because Kim Taejin right now looked far more dangerous than the young chairman.
Jeong Mincheol urgently looked back at Kang Geon. And before he could even say a word.
“Since you kept the chance I gave you, I’ll stop taking my stress out on Director Jeong here. Well… that’s for me, at least.”
“Ch-Chairman!!!”
With those words, Kang Geon turned his back on Jeong Mincheol without a hint of hesitation.
The boy walked over to Kim Taejin.
Then naturally placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Department Head Kim.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Don’t kill him. I’m sure you understand what I mean, right?”
Kim Taejin was silent for a long while.
Veins were visibly bulging on the back of his hand as he slowly clenched his fist.
“…Yes.”
The moment he heard Kim Taejin’s short reply, Kang Geon nodded in satisfaction.
Now, leaving the rest to the father whose daughter had been kidnapped.
‘Time to go meet the mastermind behind all of this.’
With a slightly lighter step, Kang Geon made his way down Cheongunsan.