novelnext Season 3: Chapter 134: Pass It On (4)
Season 3: Chapter 134: Pass It On (4)
Season 3: Chapter 134: Pass It On (4)
"... What?"
Faced with an unexpected answer, Lee Kyung-Ho had no choice but to question it.
"Hand over the company?"
He had anticipated demands for compensation or an apology, but handing over the company? What was their intention behind that?
"Pay off the remaining debt and transfer the company shares to us. Then, you'll walk away unscathed. In fact, it's the only way."
Of course, that made sense. What value did a company that never generated any profit have?
"Sell it to Ji-Ah?"
Was that all? For all the threats, it seemed like they actually offered him a way out for the benefit of Ji-Ah. What was in it for her?
Lee Kyung-Ho, unaware of the internal situation, found it perplexing.
The business had more value to Ju-Hyeok.
‘It's cheaper than borrowing a name.’
Registering a business in cultural arts planning required several years of experience in the relevant industry.
Ju-Hyeok lacked sufficient experience to meet the criteria. He needed another two years and had no intention of spending those two years stuck in his manager role.
“You either borrow a name to register the business or someone who already has a business transfers their company to you.”
A legal consultant had told him this. Other methods existed, but were borderline legal. The proper and stable method was this one.
For Lee Kyung-Ho, it was the same.
"Ah... I understand. Let's do that."
In the end, Lee Kyung-Ho decided to pay off the remaining debt and transfer the company.
"You will no longer be a representative or a shareholder."
Swoosh.
Ju-Hyeok presented the already-prepared documents.
With trembling hands, Lee Kyung-Ho took the pen.
‘Fine. Let’s just forget it and move on.’
He had no other option. If they really started making profits with that company, he could lose his job and even face a lawsuit for damages.
Individuals would not pursue the issue that aggressively, but big companies could not be underestimated. They would go to great lengths to warn others.
‘I saw the preview earlier.’
He thought about the fake audit from earlier and considered this as getting off lightly.
With that thought, Lee Kyung-Ho signed the documents.
‘Wait?’
Why, after years of working, did it feel like this? Before signing any document, everything always seemed suspicious.
‘Wait a second. This isn't for selling it to Ji-Ah?’
The name on the document was Kim Ju-Hyeok.
"Hold on... Is this your name?"
"Yes."
"You said to sell it to Ji-Ah."
"Ji-Ah's side."
Ju-Hyeok pointed to himself and shrugged. He was implying that he represented Ji-Ah’s side.
"This... doesn't make sense. Did Seo Ji-Ah agree to this?"
‘What?’
Ju-Hyeok found this reaction odd. Whether Lee Kyung-Ho sold it to Seo Ji-Ah or him, wouldn’t Lee Kyung-Ho feel fortunate to get out of the business?
Lee Kyung-Ho was only paying half the debt, yet he seemed bewildered.
"This isn't right. Honestly, I can’t trust you. You deceived me from the start. I... I can't believe Ji-Ah would agree to this. It's strange."
Ju-Hyeok sighed and nodded.
"Then take your time to read it. Confirm it with your own eyes. I was going to get confirmation on a call anyway."
Ji-Ah was a co-representative, so Ju-Hyeok needed her mutual confirmation officially. He had already discussed it with her.
‘I didn’t expect him to be so suspicious.’
Ju-Hyeok hadn’t anticipated such skepticism regarding selling the company to him. He began explaining the situation to Ji-Ah via message.
Meanwhile, Lee Kyung-Ho read through the documents. However, he couldn’t fully grasp anything in this situation. Despite that, he forced himself to calm his racing heart and read the words.
The contract itself had no issues, but doubts lingered.
"... Sigh."
Was this correct? In this situation, could he read properly with a trembling heart?
‘Signing here would be madness.’
He thought about having at least a lawyer review the documents to ensure everything was in order.
"Have you been so deceitful that you suspect everything? Do you think everyone is like you?"
"... What?"
"You don’t have a choice anyway. I’m just speeding up the process to help. There’s nothing more."
With that, Ju-Hyeok picked up his phone.
A familiar voice came through the speaker, “I agreed to it.”
Hearing that voice, Lee Kyung-Ho’s mind went blank.
Sang-Hyeon had become much more proficient since his first advertisement.
"Ah, looking good! I think we can nail it in one go!"
This ad featured Sang-Hyeon alone, so there was no waiting time.
Lee Kyung-Ho came in during the shoot and sat quietly with a vacant expression.
A colleague couldn’t stand it anymore and asked, "... Mr. Lee, what happened?"
"Nothing. It's nothing."
He didn't explain. Who could he possibly talk about this with?
"Everything seems to be going well with the shoot. Sorry, but can I leave early?"
"Oh, sure. I have an appointment nearby, so I’ll stay a bit longer."
Seeing his utterly deflated state, the colleague readily agreed.
"Yes, then..."
Thanking him, Lee Kyung-Ho gathered his things and left. He massaged his stiff neck and got into the back seat of his car.
Thump.
"Ha..." he sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment.
"The Harrison Hotel. The usual place."
“Heading to the Harrison Hotel parking lot, your frequently used destination.”
The car started on its own and headed to his favorite hotel.
After parking, he retrieved his golf bag from the trunk.
"Hello, sir."
"Yes. A day pass, please."
He nonchalantly pre-paid everything with his company card at the counter and headed to the sauna.
After a long soak, he took his golf clubs and went to the indoor golf range.
"Oh, Mr. Kyung-Ho, you’re back! You’re getting better every time."
"Ah, yes. If I lack talent, I must work hard. Haha."
"How’s business these days?"
"Not well~ I came here to relieve some stress."
"Come on, there’s no one who frequents this place whose business isn’t doing well. Haha."
He chatted with familiar and friendly acquaintances about otherworldly matters. Soon, he forgot all about it.
Afterward, he peacefully returned to his office. About a week passed like this.
"What? What’s going on!? What is this?"
He was having a peaceful morning at the office.
"We’re from the audit team. We need to take some things."
"What, what?"
The real audit team began dismantling his desk. This was the real face of an audit team.
"No..."
Only then could Lee Kyung-Ho distinguish between the real and the fake... He never could have made such distinctions in the first place, but facing the real thing was even more disastrous.
"No, no, you can't!"
Thunk.
A slightly older man grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
"We received a report and it checks out. Please come with us. Or should we discuss everything here?"
His subordinates, colleagues, and seniors all stared in their direction.
"What’s going on? What did Mr. Lee do?"
"Didn’t he join not long ago?"
"Something must have come up. Oh dear..."
"Man, don’t drag us into your mess..."
Few could endure such scrutiny.
"... Let go. I’ll go."
With his head hung low, Lee Kyung-Ho followed the audit team almost like he was fleeing.
***
"What? He was dragged away? How?" Sang-Hyeon asked.
His eyes sparkled with curiosity.
The green bottle on the food stall’s red table remained untouched.
Since a while ago, he had been listening intently to the story of Lee Kyung-Ho and forgot to drink. He thought everything had ended with the company transfer, but felt surprised to hear that it ended with disciplinary action.
Could this have been Ju-Hyeok’s doing?
"Was it you?" Sang-Hyeon asked again.
Ju-Hyeok nodded.
"Yes, it was me."
He grinned with his face flushed with alcohol.
"Leaving it like that would’ve been too lenient. We were just cleaning up his mess. I had to teach him a good lesson."