Having let the conversation flow this far, Young-ran had to make a deal with him.
When faced with the same questions during the next interrogation, he could either pretend not to know until the end, throw someone else’s name in to shift the blame, or ask for a favor by choosing one between Prosecutor Jo and Young-ran.
Young-ran’s lips, however, remained sealed for quite some time.
Scratching his forehead with his hand, Ju-hwan spoke first.
“The assigned prosecutor seems unusually ambitious. It looks like he wants to grab a big case to advance in his career. So, Chairman Moon, it might be good for you to monitor your subordinates carefully.”
“What should I monitor?”
With a short laugh, Young-ran continued.
“In situations like this, sacrificing one person is the best conclusion.”
“What?”
“It would be best if someone else, not me and President Oh Ju-hwan, takes responsibility.”
“If it’s someone else, are you referring to Vice President Ha Jae-yoon or Manager Sung Ki-chul?”
“I don’t touch my people.”
Ju-hwan couldn’t grasp who might be sacrificed.
Could it possibly be Chairman Moon?
“Well, it can’t be that. Even if he’s on the edge of a cliff, he wouldn’t push his brother in as a substitute.”
Ju-hwan shook his head inwardly, denying such a possibility.
Hesitating, he mustered the courage to ask Young-ran.
“Whom are you considering…?”
“Hyuk-joo.”
“What?”
His pupils widened in surprise. For a moment, he thought he had misheard.
“Why are you so shocked?”
“Oh, well… How could you possibly… Chairman Moon…”
Stuttering, Ju-hwan stared at Young-ran, who responded with a questioning expression.
“What’s the problem with Chairman Moon?”
“Your husband… How could you…?”
Observing Ju-hwan’s hesitant expression, Young-ran spoke with a look as if to say, ‘What’s the big deal?’
“If you’re lucky, you might come out without charges. Even if not, we can arrange for a suspended sentence.”
“Isn’t Chairman Moon the one to lead Myungjin Group in the future?”
“So, going through a trial once wouldn’t be too bad.”
Ju-hwan found it incredibly difficult to understand Young-ran, who spoke casually as if discussing someone else’s affairs.
“Chairman’s words… Are you telling me to say that Chairman Moon ordered this?”
“I’m not telling you to express it so directly.”
“If it’s not expressing it directly, then indirectly, what do you want me to do? It seems like you’re talking in circles. Just speak straightforwardly, without beating around the bush.”
Eventually, Ju-hwan’s patience ran out.
He expected that Young-ran would ask him to cut ties with her, promising to secure his future. So, in return, he was calculating how much compensation she would offer.
However, the words that came out of her mouth were something he had never imagined.
With a meaningful smile, Young-ran said, “Hyuk-joo is not directly involved. So, you don’t need to look so surprised.”
“Then, what should I say?”
“I mentioned before that there are accounts under Eun-soo’s name, right?”
“Yes, you did.”
Ju-hwan nodded.
For convenience, Young-ran had opened several accounts under Eun-soo’s name.
“She said there’s an enormous amount of money in the account under our daughter’s name. You just need to say that.”
“Is that all I have to do?”
“Yes.”
With a furrowed forehead, Ju-hwan, who had been contemplating for a moment, narrowed his eyes.
“As you mentioned, if I talk about it like Chairman Moon suggested, Eun-soo might end up being questioned as a witness, right?”
“Even if she gets questioned, what’s there to worry about? It’s just a witness interrogation.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
“Is there something to think about?”
About to get up from his seat, Ju-hwan raised his eyebrows as he looked at Young-ran’s smiling face.
Although he didn’t know what was on her mind, a warning rang loudly in his head: blindly following her words might not be a good idea.
About to say something, Ju-hwan hurriedly left the restaurant.
Alone, Young-ran sipped on the cold tea, raising one corner of her lips.
She had no interest in what would happen to Oh Ju-hwan.
The goal was to insert Eun-soo’s name into the prosecutor’s mind through him. The prosecutor was quite intelligent, so he wouldn’t casually disregard the name coming from Ju-hwan.
The prosecutor would deduce that Eun-soo’s account was connected to Hyuk-joo, and he would undoubtedly become obsessed with finding evidence.
“If that happens, he will probably beg me for help.”
Whether it was for Eun-soo or for himself, Hyuk-joo had no choice but to kneel before her.
Young-ran delightedly imagined the scene of Hyuk-joo coming to plead.
Ju-hwan kept walking, wanting to stay as far away from the restaurant as possible.
As he felt the cool breeze, his previously confused mind seemed to clear up.
“Who is Moon Young-ran? She clearly intends to sacrifice Eun-soo instead of Moon Hyuk-joo.”
Ju-hwan let out a bitter laugh.
Although he was told to make the prosecutor think that Hyuk-joo was involved in this incident for them to survive, Ju-hwan didn’t listen to it directly.
However, on the other hand, he also thought like this:
“If something goes wrong with Eun-soo, Moon will not stand still…”
If Hyuk-joo finds out about Eun-soo being discussed in the prosecution investigation, he would do whatever it takes to save his daughter.
So, following Young-ran’s words might be the right thing to do.
“But the prosecutor has his eyes on Moon Young-ran.”
The face of the prosecutor who asked for his cooperation came back to him.
There were two choices:
Whether to do as the prosecutor said or to mention Eun-soo’s name as Young-ran suggested.
Both ways were advantageous for him. Of course, the issue was that the benefits were not overwhelmingly significant.
The embarrassed expression on Ju-hwan’s face as he pondered which side to choose revealed his inner struggle.
“This is like choosing between the lesser of two evils.”
Muttering to himself, Ju-hwan felt a vibration and took out the phone he had put in his pocket.
“The timing is really incredible.”
Seeing Hyuk-joo’s number on the screen, a bitter smile crossed Ju-hwan’s face.
He answered the call, “Hello?”
—Hello, Moon Hyuk-joo.
“Why are you calling me? What’s going on?”
In a blunt voice, Ju-hwan asked.
—I’d like to meet you now.
“Me?”
Surprised by the sudden contact to meet, Ju-hwan cocked his head.
Following Moon Young-ran, now Moon Hyuk-joo.
His mind was in chaos, wondering how this day would possibly end.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
