For a mont, Jung-ho hesitated, unsure how to introduce himself—or even whether he should. His instincts seed to be screaming an answer at him, but his mouth refused to form the words.
“She’s, uh… my coworker.”
“Oh? So you’re not going to tell
his na right away, either?”
The woman arched a neatly shaped eyebrow, then extended a hand first.
“Nice to et you. I’m Yoon Junyoung.”
Her gaze was strikingly clear and sharp, devoid of hesitation or uncertainty. The mont their eyes t, Jung-ho found himself unconsciously lowering his head.
“Yes. I’m Lee Jung-ho…”
Sothing about her na triggered a vague sense of familiarity in his mind. His subconscious was already putting the pieces together. His wide eyes darted toward Samdu, who gave him a aningful look.
Oh, shit.
The mont of realization hit Jung-ho like a truck.
Now he understood why Samdu had called her nuna.
Now he understood why he had swallowed so hard.
The na Yoon Junyoung.
That ant—!
“JBK Financial employees sure have a strange way of introducing themselves. Lee Jung-ho, ha?”
Junyoung smirked, amusent flickering in her gaze.
Jung-ho, feeling a sudden pressure in his throat, cleared it and spoke more firmly, correcting himself.
“I’m Lee Jung-ho. It’s a pleasure to et you.”
Junyoung grinned and sank deeper into the couch, looking completely at ease.
“Will the eting take long? If I wait here, will I be able to see him?”
“The eting should’ve ended by now, actually…”
Samdu’s voice held a trace of concern.
“Nuna, is sothing going on? Do you need help with sothing?”
Junyoung shrugged.
“It’s nothing. I just really wanted to see hyungnim.”
Both Samdu and Jung-ho stiffened at that.
The hyungnim she was talking about—was that really the sa man they knew? The one who barely showed warmth to anyone?
Just imagining their boss as the object of soone’s affection made Jung-ho feel like a cold shiver had crawled up his spine.
“What’s this?” Junyoung tapped the papers on the table. “Interest rate calculations?”
Scratching the back of his neck, Samdu nodded.
“Yeah… This is my area, but every ti I do it, the numbers co out different. So I’m trying to figure out the right calculation.”
Junyoung snorted and picked up the papers.
Jung-ho hesitated for a second, debating whether he should stop her. But before he could, she was already marking numbers with a pen, drawing quick, confident lines like she was solving a simple puzzle.
“3,300? Not 2,820?”
Jung-ho blinked in disbelief at the final number she wrote.
“2,820? How did you even get that number?”
Within seconds, all three of their heads were huddled together over the papers. Junyoung explained the calculations as if she were tutoring them.
Jung-ho’s mouth slowly fell open.
He had missed sothing in the cumulative calculations.
anwhile, Samdu—who had been following along at first—eventually just sat there blankly, absorbing absolutely none of it.
After glancing between the two n, Junyoung sighed.
“Is JBK really okay?”
“Ah—normally, this kind of thing is handled by a separate departnt…”
Samdu trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly springing to his feet.
He had spotted two people stepping out of the elevator.
Junyoung, who had still been explaining sothing to Jung-ho, lifted her head.
It was Beomjin.
“You don’t need to see
off. Head inside,” Beomjin was saying.
“Understood.”
The man, dressed in a well-fitted suit, nodded and left the building.
Beomjin, who had kept his gaze on the departing figure, suddenly seed to sense sothing. He turned his head sharply.
The mont his eyes landed on Junyoung, his gaze turned razor-sharp.
“Yoon Junyoung! What the hell are you doing here?”
“Part-ti job?”
Junyoung wiggled the pen in her hand and grinned playfully.
Beomjin’s frown deepened as his eyes darted toward the exit, clearly trying to gauge sothing. Seeing that, Junyoung leaned back against the couch and lazily draped her arm over the backrest.
“If you’re free, spare
a mont, Executive Director Kwon. I think we have so things to discuss.”
Did she figure it out?
Beomjin inhaled deeply, pressing his lips together.
Across from him, Junyoung’s smile widened.
***
Beomjin’s office was much larger and more comfortable than Junyoung had expected. The space was neat, minimalistic, and slightly cold due to the monochro furniture that filled it.
She scanned the massive bookshelf covering one wall, packed tightly with books. If this were any other day, she would have spent hours just talking about the selection. But today, there were more pressing matters.
“Did everything go well? Just today, Han Kyung’s stock went up by twelve points.”
Beomjin walked in and casually started closing the open files on his desk as if the topic was insignificant. Junyoung narrowed her eyes, watching him.
As he finished tidying up, he glanced at her and spoke.
“Did sothing happen at work? I tried calling—”
“I know who he is.”
Beomjin’s hands stilled.
Junyoung unfolded her arms and slowly approached him.
“I’ve seen him a few tis at foundation events. I never knew his na or what he did, but I always rembered his face.”
She deliberately paused before adding in a whisper,
“He always stood half a step behind President Hong Inseop.”
Beomjin remained impassive, eting her gaze. But there was a flicker of resignation in his expression. Junyoung let out a short laugh.
“You were involved in acquiring Han Kyung’s shares under Director Hong Mihyang’s influence. So why is soone from President Hong Inseop’s side coming here? Did he figure out JBK was behind this and reach out to you? Or…”
Junyoung reached out and poked Beomjin in the chest.
“Was your real connection to Hong Inseop from the start?”
A brief smile crossed Beomjin’s lips as he caught her finger and kissed its tip lightly.
“Your instincts are sharp, Yoon Junyoung.”
“So this is what you were hiding? Double-crossing? Since when? Did President Hong’s side approach you first? Don’t tell
you were the one who reached out first.”
Junyoung’s voice rose, agitation clear in her tone.
Beomjin guided her to the sofa, urging her to sit.
“You don’t need to know this. Just let it go.”
“And what good would that do? Knowledge is power, don’t you know?”
“They might start suspecting you—Hong Mihyang, Na Seungwoon—”
“I don’t care. I’m leaving the company.”
“What?”
The rapid back-and-forth ca to a sudden halt as Beomjin’s brow furrowed deeply. Sitting beside him, Junyoung shrugged casually.
“I thought you’d be happy. Samdu seed thrilled. So he knew too, huh? Damn, I never pegged him as a good actor.”
“You did have a problem at work.”
Beomjin’s grip on her hand tightened. Junyoung let out a small sigh.
“Na Seungwoon reassigned
to the European branch. I refused. I won’t be able to stay at Han Kyung anymore.”
Beomjin said nothing, simply watching her in silence.
His patience gave her room to breathe, and after a mont, she exhaled deeply, lowering her shoulders.
“That’s why I ca to see you. I have to leave Han Kyung, but my mom is still there. You told
she’d be fine, but I need to know how. Before I rely on you, I need to understand what kind of burden you’re taking on.”
Her voice was steady, matter-of-fact.
Beomjin stroked the back of her hand gently. Junyoung arched an eyebrow at him, smirking.
“What I didn’t expect was that the one keeping my mom in that hospital wasn’t Hong Mihyang—but Hong Inseop.”
Instead of confirming it aloud, Beomjin simply gave a small nod.
Junyoung straightened her back and squeezed his hand.
“Tell
everything now, Kwon Beomjin. I’ve already made up my mind to leave. When did this start? How did it happen?”
There was no point in trying to stop her now. Beomjin knew that better than anyone. He t her gaze for a long mont before finally speaking.
“It was Hong Inseop who approached
first.”
“What?”
“When Director Lee Seongcheol’s health declined, we knew there would be a shareholders’ eting. It was obvious that Hong Mihyang would try to place Na Seungwoon as a board director. To do that, she’d need to acquire more shares.”
“…And she’d need a front company to hide the purchases.”
Beomjin nodded.
“We happened to be involved in a deal with DH Construction at the ti. The chairman’s wife was close to Director Hong Mihyang. Hong Inseop used that connection to make sure JBK’s involvent in Han Kyung wouldn’t seem unnatural.”
So Mihyang was ant to find out about JBK Financial.
Junyoung let out a hollow laugh.
For decades, Hong Inseop had been keeping Mihyang in check. There was no way he’d managed that with sheer luck alone.
“We decided that if we were going to pick a side, it made more sense to support the current leadership of Han Kyung. Hong Mihyang is skilled at growing assets, but that doesn’t an she can run a company. Han Kyung exists as it is today because of President Hong Inseop. As long as he remains in power, we’ll continue investing. A company like Han Kyung is wasted on soone like Na Seungwoon.”
Junyoung nodded slowly, processing his words. But then she frowned.
“Then you should’ve stopped Mihyang from buying those shares in the first place. But Na Seungwoon still beca a director.”
Beomjin’s gaze lowered. When he spoke, his voice was deliberate.
“This ti, President Hong plans to cut Mihyang off for good. So she’ll never challenge him for control again.”
His words carried an ominous weight.
Junyoung’s eyes widened.
“…You didn’t just help her buy those shares, did you?”
Beomjin held her gaze and continued.
“We secured evidence that Hong Mihyang engaged in illegal transactions. That she operated slush funds under borrowed nas. Specifically, 180 accounts created under the nas of foundation-sponsored international students—and proof that she funneled illegal funds through her gallery.”
A thick silence followed.
Junyoung’s lips parted slightly, stunned.
“…So that’s why there haven’t been any moves against you yet. You let the illegal fund transfers go through, let Na Seungwoon secure his board seat—”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“—so that you could blow everything up once the dust settled.”
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