The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary-Chapter 126

“Not just me and Lee Hyuk, but everyone else too—we were all scared of Hyesung, in different ways.”

Sungjin’s words were hard for Yoo to comprehend. He knew Hyesung was exceptionally capable—he’d heard plenty about him from other secretaries. But being scary? That didn’t quite add up.

“I’m having a hard time understanding.”

“It’s natural. But there’s something solid about Hyesung. No matter how strong we were physically, Hyesung was on a completely different level in other ways. Honestly, it might seem odd to call back a former employee and entrust him with such an important task, but…”

Sungjin paused in the hallway.

“Hyesung has always been truly dedicated to Taesung, even after he quit. That’s still true now. He would have done this on his own, even if I didn’t ask him. And sometimes… Hyesung acts so fearlessly that you think he might be a little crazy.”

“What?”

At that moment, someone familiar approached them in the hallway.

“D-Director…”

It was Kim Hyuntae, Executive Director Choi’s personal secretary.

“Secretary Kim? What’s wrong? Have you been in contact with Executive Director Choi?”

Sungjin asked, and Kim shook his head vigorously.

“No, that’s not it… About 30 minutes ago, Secretary Chun suddenly came to Director Choi’s office…”

Both Sungjin and Secretary Yoo’s eyes widened. Did Hyesung visit Choi’s office before going to his house?

“He tried to go in, but since he’s no longer with the company, I told him he couldn’t… But he was so insistent…”

“What did Hyesung… Secretary Chun say?”

Kim hesitated, looking around nervously, before speaking quietly.

“He said he was there to find some evidence of the misconduct Executive Director Choi had committed… He wanted to search the office.”

He said it that bluntly? Sungjin and Secretary Yoo blinked in disbelief. Kim, shifting uncomfortably, recalled what Hyesung had said to him.

"Secretary Kim, you know as well as I do that Executive Director Choi is a rotten root, don’t you?"

Of course, Kim knew. His initial joy at being chosen as an executive secretary had quickly faded. Choi Sungchan was the worst boss he had ever encountered—casually corrupt, treating his secretaries like errand boys, and even forcing them to take care of his family’s needs.

Verbal abuse and belittling remarks were part of his daily routine.

"Let me cut that root for you. I won’t say much—just cooperate with me."

Kim had no idea what was happening or why. He was just a regular employee, going to work regardless of what big incidents were unfolding. If Taesung went under, he could always find a job elsewhere. In fact, he had even thought it might be a relief not to have to deal with that terrible boss anymore.

But after hearing Hyesung’s words, his perspective changed. Even if he left the company, he suddenly wanted to see that awful boss get what he deserved. And Hyesung seemed like the person who could make that happen.

After all, back when Hyesung was still with Taesung, he was the only one who had ever stood up to Choi on Kim’s behalf.

“I felt like I should tell you, Director… Ah! I’ll keep this from the others, of course.”

So, not only did Kim step aside to let Hyesung in, but he also told him where the evidence was hidden.

“Alright. Go back to your desk.”

Kim bowed his head and quickly left.

“Just as you said, Director… He’s not your ordinary person.”

“Right?”

Sungjin gave a wry smile.

“Recently, you were even entertained by the president of Saebom Entertainment, weren’t you?”

Hyesung connected a USB drive to his tablet and reviewed its contents. The drive contained evidence of the misconduct Choi had committed over the years.

“You were planning to push a particular celebrity from that agency into a Taesung commercial?”

“H-How did you… Secretary Chun…”

Choi was dumbfounded, his face pale.

“You’ve been quite busy, I see. In addition to that, you’ve been accepting bribes and using the company card to fund family vacations. You know that’s embezzlement, right?”

“S-Secretary Chun!”

“Bribery, embezzlement, assaulting your personal secretary, abuse of power… I can’t believe I didn’t notice any of this while I was at Taesung. It’s almost depressing.”

“W-Why are you doing this? Huh?”

Choi glanced around, worried that his wife might overhear.

“What about you, Executive Director? Why did you do this to Director Kwon? Are you still not willing to tell the truth?”

Choi’s eyes darted back and forth, as if weighing his options and trying to determine the safest course of action.

But Hyesung didn’t have time to wait. So he chose a more aggressive approach.

“Executive Director, you have a daughter, don’t you?”

“…What?”

“She just started university, right? A prestigious one, too. You must be so proud.”

Choi’s eyes widened in shock. It was sickening to see someone who had conspired to nearly kill a man care so deeply about his own child.

“Think about it. What would happen if I told your daughter all of this? How would she feel, knowing her father accepted bribes, embezzled funds, and nearly killed someone? Oh, she’d be devastated.”

Hyesung hadn’t wanted to go this far, but thinking about Lee Hyuk lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life, made his blood boil.

For a moment, there was silence.

Choi, who had stood up in a rage, suddenly collapsed back onto the sofa.

“…Jung Sejin from Daehyun Construction contacted me a few days ago.”

Hyesung’s eyes widened in surprise. He had suspected there might be someone pulling the strings, but he hadn’t expected it to be Daehyun.

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With resignation, Choi explained how he had met with Sejin, what they had discussed, and why he had gotten involved in these schemes.

“Secretary Chun, I swear I didn’t know Director Kwon would get hurt this badly. I really didn’t…”

“Why don’t you try saying that in court?”

Hyesung said calmly as he packed up his tablet.

“P-Please, don’t tell my family. I know I made a mistake. I regret it.”

“…If you truly regret it, then show it through your actions. I’ll pretend we never had this conversation.”

“H-How can I make it right?”

“I’m going to be busy with other things now. Go approach Daehyun and gather evidence.”

As he spoke, Hyesung placed something on the table.

Hyesung returned to Taesung, specifically to Sungjin’s office, late in the evening. Sungjin, who had been running around all day, looked utterly exhausted.

“So it was all orchestrated by Director Jung from Daehyun?”

“It seems so.”

Although surprised, Sungjin could understand it. After all, the two companies had been in fierce competition over the redevelopment project in Haein City, with Daehyun even fabricating scandals to undermine Taesung.

Hyesung knew how things worked in this industry.

Daehyun was on the decline, while Taesung was on the rise.

Of course, it was hard to believe that a competitor would go so far as to attempt murder, but Hyesung had always felt uneasy about the man named Jung Sejin, whom he had occasionally encountered at external events.

Despite his smiling face, there was something empty and hollow about him.

“But can we really trust Executive Director Choi to get the evidence? He could get caught, and if Sejin catches on, he might frame everything on Choi. After all, Choi is still a part of Taesung, so if things go wrong, we might be the ones who end up destroyed.”

“Director, you said it was the Yushinpa who stabbed Lee Hyuk, right?”

Sungjin nodded.

“Executive Director Choi was just a pawn… If Director Jung is the one pulling all the strings…”

Sungjin suddenly clapped his hands as if he had figured something out.

“Are you saying that Jung Sejin has ties to the Yushinpa?”

“That seems likely.”

Hyesung’s brow furrowed as he became lost in thought. The air around him seemed to grow colder, and Sungjin watched him nervously.

“It’s true… Taesung was started by gangsters. You guys were gangsters.”

“What?”

“Maybe the criticism we’re getting right now isn’t entirely off the mark.”

“H-Hyesung…”

“There’s only one way to deal with this.”

Hyesung suddenly stood up. Sungjin looked up at him, confused.

“We need to bury our scandal with an even bigger one.”