Chapter 201: Visitation
[KTalk Feed] - @Kang Tae-joon | Followers: 83,742,102
Sometimes, people make decisions so stupid it’s hard to understand.
When they made those decisions, they must have believed the world would go their way.
But life always has exceptions.
And I’m always the exception.
Now, it’s my turn.
#Cheon Ho-tae #Choi Ha-rim #Kwon Seok-tae
Less than ten minutes after Kang Tae-joon posted on the feed,
s tens of millions of followers went wild reposting it,
and various media outlets poured out speculative articles based on the post.
‘Kang Tae-joon’s meaningful words.’
‘Is he pointing to the mastermind behind the kidnapping?’
‘Arrest of Representative Kwon Seok-tae and Choi Ha-rim, Head of Strategic Planning at Ahsung Group… What’s the connection?’
‘Choi Ha-rim faces the biggest crisis just a month into his tenure.’
‘Ahsung Group in chaos, what’s next for Chairman Cheon Ho-tae?’
…
…
…
“You’re saying I dealt with North Korea? What the hell are you talking about!”
At Choi Ha-rim’s outburst, Prosecutor Jung Woo-min placed a document on the table with a cold expression.
“This is the communication and transaction records we’ve secured. It includes not only the conversation records with the North Korean side but also detailed funds flow charts. You might want to take a look.”
Choi Ha-rim’s face paled as he opened the document.
“How… how is this even…”
The complexly intertwined funds flow chart of Ahsung Group’s affiliates—something only a key insider would know—
and the transaction records with overseas shell companies connected to North Korea’s Room 39.
It even included funding routes that even he wasn’t fully aware of, presumably managed by his predecessor, Director Kim Seong-jae.
“Your surprise suggests the information is accurate.”
Prosecutor Jung Woo-min was just as shocked.
Information of this level would be difficult to grasp unless you were someone like Chairman Cheon or the Head of Strategic Planning.
Dojin had provided him with such information.
“…The evidence is sufficient, so further denial won’t help you, Director Choi. The same goes for Representative Kwon Seok-tae.”
At Prosecutor Jung Woo-min’s firm words, Choi Ha-rim pressed his lips together tightly.
The atmosphere was heavy.
“Isn’t it unfair to take the fall for everything less than a month into your role as Head of Strategic Planning?”
Prosecutor Jung Woo-min’s low, steady voice echoed in the room.
Choi Ha-rim said nothing.
He maintained a blank expression, but cold sweat trickled down his neck.
Prosecutor Jung Woo-min organized the documents with his fingertips and continued.
“Do you remember how Director Kim Seong-jae was discarded during the last presidential election funds scandal? Chairman Cheon will do the same to you.”
Choi Ha-rim’s eyes flickered slightly.
He knew it well.
Cheon Ho-tae was the type to use people generously when needed but discard them without hesitation the moment they were no longer useful.
Maybe… I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison.
At that moment, a question crossed his mind.
The complex funds flow from the K-Star Partners account in Luxembourg to Macau and then to the Dubai Trust Company… How did the prosecution find out about that?
That was top-tier information known only to him and Chairman Cheon.
The route was designed so complexly that even the FBI would find it difficult to trace.
Information the prosecution couldn’t possibly uncover.
Doubts piled up.
“By the way… who provided this information?”
Jung Woo-min’s eyes flickered for a moment, but he quickly returned to a blank expression as he answered.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose the identity of the informant.”
Choi Ha-rim’s pupils dilated noticeably.
Not missing his reaction, Jung Woo-min closed the document with a gentle smile.
“But how could we know something even you, Director Choi, didn’t know?”
It was an indirect way of saying an insider had informed them, and Choi Ha-rim couldn’t miss the implication.
They’re really going to make me the scapegoat…
Choi Ha-rim’s lips trembled as he finally spoke.
“…This wasn’t my doing.”
“Then whose orders were you following?”
He maintained a blank expression, but inside, he had swallowed dry several times.
And finally, the name he had been waiting for came out of Choi Ha-rim’s mouth.
“…Chairman Cheon Ho-tae.”
[Breaking News] Ahsung Group Chairman Cheon Ho-tae’s involvement with North Korea revealed… Emergency arrest
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Jo Seong-hwan’s kidnapping, prosecution secures statements from Choi Ha-rim and Kwon Seok-tae.
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Illegal political funds provided to the National Unity Party during the last presidential election were ordered by Chairman Cheon Ho-tae.
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Head of Strategic Planning Choi Ha-rim confesses, “Everything was ordered by Chairman Cheon Ho-tae.”
27,418 comments
└Wow… This will go down in history, right?
└Conspiring with North Korea to kidnap a competitor?
└lol, this isn’t some movie.
└And in the interview, he claimed to know nothing lol. Shocking.
└The previous director, Kim Seong-jae, must’ve been so wronged. He just followed orders and took the fall.
└In the end, Choi Ha-rim spilled everything.
└After seeing what happened to Kim Seong-jae, he must’ve been scared.
└Wow, an arrest warrant has been issued for Chairman Cheon Ho-tae?
└Really? Where did you see that?
[Breaking News] Arrest warrant issued for Chairman Cheon Ho-tae
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Emergency warrant issued due to severity of charges and risk of evidence destruction.
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Prosecution confident: ‘No issues with proving the charges.’
15,309 comments
└Looks like the prosecution is actually doing something for once.
└Good that Kwon Seok-tae from the National Unity Party was arrested too. Let’s get everything out this time.
└I had a feeling something was up when Kang Tae-joon mentioned Cheon Ho-tae’s name on his feed.
└Our Tae-joon wouldn’t mention a name without reason.
└I thought they couldn’t arrest Kwon Seok-tae since he’s a sitting representative, but arresting him as a perpetrator is so satisfying.
└Oh, Tae-joon’s feed is up again.
[KTalk Feed] - @Kang Tae-joon | Followers: 90,118,192
Justice always prevails.
#Justice #Truth #UntilTheEnd #JusticePrevails
└Wow… 90 million followers OMG
└A global celebrity is born lol
└He gains millions of followers with every post.
└Hey, but when are you releasing PRIME? It’s almost June, like you promised.
└If it’s delayed because of the kidnapping, I’ll be really disappointed…
└I bought in when the stock crashed. You have to release it.
└1,550 horsepower, 0-60 in 1.6 seconds, top speed 457 km/h? And you’re saying you’ll build this in six months? It doesn’t make sense.
└With the kidnapping as an excuse, I’m guessing there’s a high chance of a delay.
└No way ㅠ What about my stocks… Should I sell now?
└Tae-joon’s safe return already boosted it a lot. Stop being greedy and sell.
└No, I’m going to trust him until the end. He’s not someone who would lie.
└lololol you’ll end up crying.
└……
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Inside the prison, VIP visitation room.
A gaunt face, sunken eyes.
Cheon Ho-tae, now in prison uniform instead of his usual sharp suit, pushed open the heavy door and entered.
He saw me sitting in the chair, hesitated for a moment, then twisted his face.
“What brings you here, you bastard?”
His tone was furious, but beneath it was a hint of anxiety.
The nervousness hidden behind his arrogant words was palpable.
“Just… came to see your face.”
It was my first time meeting Chairman Cheon alone since the regression.
“Are you here to mock me?”
Seeing his quivering lip, he still had enough pride left.
Watching him, I couldn’t help but smirk.
“Once I get out of here, I’ll make sure you pay.”
“Will you get out?”
He said it like that, but he knew.
This time, it wouldn’t be easy to slip away.
“Could it be… you? You’re the one who gave the prosecution the information?”
“You were always the one who started it, Chairman.”
Cutting off Dojin Construction’s funding,
pressuring key partners like NexPower and NeoChips to disrupt production,
and using your market position to halt AP shipments whenever it suited you.
Recently, you even orchestrated the kidnapping of Seong-hwan, who’s like family to me.
“So this is just the beginning. Watch closely from inside. I’ll show you how I bring down Ahsung.”
Chairman Cheon snorted.
“Hmph, you think you can bring down my Ahsung? You must be arrogant after luckily getting Baek Moo-jin elected…”
“You’re still mistaken. Do you really think I’m here because I trust President Baek Moo-jin?”
If that’s what he thought, he was sorely mistaken.
Now, if I wanted to, I could make anyone president.
So the only one I trusted was myself.
“……”
“From the start, you shouldn’t have messed with me. But you’ve crossed the line, and now you’ll pay dearly.”
“How dare you…”
Chairman Cheon gritted his teeth.
But that was all he could do.
“First will be Ahsung Motors. Then Ahsung Defense, Ahsung Electronics, and Ahsung Bio—I’ll take them all. Watch closely.”
Standing up, I left him with one last remark.
“To do that, you’ll need to stay healthy… I’ll make sure you get your vitamins.”
Leaving Chairman Cheon fuming, I smiled and walked out of the visitation room.
Dojin Group weekly meeting.
“How’s the leg?”
“Much better, thanks to your care.”
Still in a cast, but it didn’t seem like a major issue.
“Good to hear it ended there.”
Not just Vice President Hong Chung-ki and Executive Vice President Oh Seong-hak, but many others had been deeply worried.
“Now that we’ve fully entered the defense industry, and with us outpacing competitors in various fields, I can’t guarantee this won’t happen again.”
The seriousness of the situation silenced the room.
None of the team leaders present raised any objections.
Park Cheol-jin broke the silence, speaking on behalf of everyone.
“We definitely need to establish some countermeasures.”
Thanks to the AGE-EX and SWAN drones, we were able to rescue Seong-hwan this time.
But if the enemies had slightly better equipment, we might have lost Seong-hwan, and even I could have been in danger.
“So, we need to strengthen our capabilities.”