Chapter 601
Restoration was underway at the Ares Guild headquarters.
The air in the conference room was heavy.
Seated around a large circular table, over thirty men and women stared intently at one speaker with solemn expressions.
“…And so, this is why I called an emergency meeting.”
As soon as Vice Guild Master Park Daewon, visibly agitated, finished speaking, reactions erupted from all corners of the room.
“Hah, unbelievable. We were completely underestimated. And by a brat not even thirty?”
“That intent is blatantly obvious and laughable. Isn’t this just a ploy to swallow up Ares entirely?”
“No, seriously. Why are we holding an emergency meeting at the request of some outsider with no authority? Even if you are the Vice Guild Master, this isn’t right.”
Voices of criticism poured in from all directions, and Park Daewon wiped his half-balding forehead with a handkerchief.
Now approaching sixty, he was simply baffled by the situation.
‘Hoo… What the hell is going on here?’
He had shined in war but was utterly lacking in political maneuvering.
Thanks to his non-confrontational nature, he had managed to keep the title of Vice Guild Master—barely.
But just ten days ago, while on vacation ahead of retirement, he heard something unbelievable.
He was told that Ares Guild HQ had been destroyed and Vice Guild Master Seok Go-jun had been killed—by a single person.
‘No way.’
That’s what he thought—at least for the first ten minutes.
But it was all true. The fortress built painstakingly over thirty years had collapsed, and the newly appointed Guild Master had lost his head.
And now, the few remaining executives who barely escaped prosecution were voicing their grievances.
“This is ridiculous! We shouldn’t even entertain such nonsense.”
“We built the name Ares, and we defended it. What right does some snot-nosed outsider have to interfere?”
“Vice Guild Master Park, this really isn’t right!”
Park Daewon silently downed a glass of water.
The people in this room had been with the guild for ten to thirty years—senior executives holding real power.
Even if many of Ares’ influential members had been summoned by prosecutors, these people still wielded significant influence.
‘…But even so, I can’t just ignore him.’
He knew all too well who Choi Minwoo was.
It was impossible not to know. While Cheon Taemin’s personal life and family were kept under strict protection, a select few close aides knew more.
As one of the founding members, Park Daewon was among them.
‘I first saw him at his first birthday. The last time was at the funeral.’
The child who had slowly faded from his memory had grown up and returned.
Having passively gone along with everything in life, Park Daewon now felt a pang of guilt for turning a blind eye to Choi Minwoo, who had been completely excluded from the guild.
‘What should I do…’
As Park Daewon was deep in thought, a single sharp voice cut through the clamor of complaints.
“I wanted to see how far this would go, but this is just too ridiculous.”
Silence instantly fell over the conference room. Dozens of sharp gazes turned to one person.
“Executive Kim, what kind of nonsense is that?!”
“Executive? My ass. Hey, Kim Gwangpil! What kind of bullshit are you spewing?!”
After a moment of silence, angry shouting erupted. Executive Kim shrugged his broad shoulders.
“Did I say something wrong? It’s ridiculous, so I called it ridiculous. And Executive Baek, mind your words. Even if I’m your junior, I’d prefer not to be talked to like that.”
“You traitorous bastard…! If it weren’t for traitors like you, we wouldn’t be in this damned situation!”
“Wasn’t it your people who acted like dogs? Just look who’s in jail now.”
“What was that?!”
“You all seemed pretty bothered that I and some other executives sided with Jin Taekyung, but what exactly was Seok Go-jun doing, huh? Or did you have a hand in it too, Executive Baek?”
“You—you little bastard…!”
“Hey! Executive Kim! Watch your mouth!”
“You’re the ones who should be watching it!”
“He’s right!”
“How dare you!”
The room was filled with yelling, voices raised from both sides. It was then that Park Daewon, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke.
“Strictly speaking, he’s not an outsider.”
That one sentence stopped the shouting executives in their tracks.
“…What?”
“Vice Guild Master… what do you mean…?”
“I’m talking about that young man, Choi Minwoo.”
Looking over the thirty-some executives one by one, Park Daewon continued.
“He is none other than Guild Master Cheon Taemin’s only grandson.”
The statement hit the mark and silenced the room.
Bright expressions appeared on the faces of Executive Kim’s group, while those who had been voicing their dissatisfaction turned pale.
“Th-That’s just a rumor, isn’t it?”
“Y-Yeah. That’s just hearsay, sir.”
Rumors about Choi Minwoo’s identity had been spreading quietly since the minor upheaval.
Their reactions were more about pretending not to know than actual ignorance.
But at least Park Daewon was certain.
“No, it’s true. I remember clearly—he’s definitely the grandson. And…”
Before anyone could try to refute him, Park Daewon placed his smartphone on the table and continued.
“It seems he’s now ready to make it public.”
“What do you mean by that…”
“You’ve all been too busy shouting. None of you even checked what’s happening outside. Not a single secretary was allowed in here. Isn’t that right?”
Realizing something, people quickly pulled out their phones.
And in less than a minute, gasps echoed throughout the room.
From dozens of smartphones, the same news broadcast was playing, the reporter’s urgent voice filling the room.
— “Mr. Choi Minwoo! Can you please confirm your grandfather’s name one more time for the record?!”
Then a voice followed, resounding through the conference room.
— “Cheon as in ‘Cheon,’ Tae as in ‘Tae,’ and Min as in ‘Min.’ Cheon Taemin. He was my grandfather.”
Even the sound of camera flashes and reporters murmuring stopped.
Not just in the press conference, but inside the conference room too.
Everyone had suspected it. But once that suspicion turned into fact and was announced to the world, the impact was immense.
Especially when it concerned the only known bloodline of the mysterious Cheon Taemin.
And so, everyone in the room realized it at once.
‘He finally drew his sword.’
After twenty years of exile, the royal heir had returned—at the most decisive moment, with the sharpest blade.
To reclaim what he had lost by his own hand.
But the most important question was: where would that blade be pointed—and at whom?
‘gulp’
No one could speak easily. The room was taut with tension as whispers filled the silence.
Then came a faint electronic beep, and everyone turned their heads simultaneously.
The source was a digital wall clock.
Its red LED display flashed as if sounding an alarm.
6:00PM.
The reason they had all gathered. The moment that signaled someone’s arrival.
‘Tap, tap’
The sound of shoes echoed from the hallway outside the door. Instinctively, everyone stood up.
And then—
‘Click.’
The door opened softly, revealing two people.
“You’re all here early.”
“Oh, they fixed this already? I think I broke it last time.”
A polite yet audacious entrance. The arrival of an unavoidable conqueror.
—
When I was young, my father always used to say:
‘Son, if a man draws his sword, he better at least slice a radish.’
And by that standard, Team Leader Choi was the manliest of men. He came here not to slice radish—but to slice up the Ares Guild.
Well, technically, I already sliced them once before, but still.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Minwoo.”
As Team Leader Choi bowed politely, the Ares executives standing around the round table awkwardly returned the gesture.
Three seconds later, some wore deathly grim expressions, while others had wide grins—familiar faces who had sided with me during the headquarters raid.
And then there were those with ambiguous expressions.
The older man sitting in the highest seat—Vice Guild Master Park Daewon—was one of them.
“You’ve arrived, Team Leader Choi Minwoo.”
Team Leader Choi nodded, looking quietly at him.
“I hope I’m not late. The press conference ran longer than expected, so I may have been inadvertently rude.”
As expected, judging by their faces, most had been watching the broadcast in real time.
Though half of them probably regretted paying their subscription fees.
“Of course not. Before we proceed, please take a seat—”
“No need.”
Stopping Vice Guild Master Park from offering a seat, Team Leader Choi added calmly.
“This will be over soon. For now, you all still see me as an outsider, don’t you? If this drags on, it’ll just make things uncomfortable.”
“…Ahem.”
At his pointed words, a few people let out awkward coughs.
Ignoring their reactions, Team Leader Choi suddenly glanced around and spoke.
“I see five seats are empty. The three advisors, and the U.S. and France branch managers—where are they?”
A middle-aged man with a stern expression replied sourly.
“You seem quite interested in our people.”
“I just have a good memory. Executive Baek.”
As Executive Baek clammed up, one of the executives who had sided with me ten days ago quickly answered.
“They didn’t show.”
“I suppose they had their reasons, yes?”
“The three advisors claimed illness, and the two branch managers refused to attend.”
“I specifically asked them to be here. It seems my message wasn’t delivered properly.”
Just as Team Leader Choi murmured indifferently, Executive Baek spoke up again.
“This isn’t an official meeting. It was convened at the request of an outsider. There’s no obligation to attend. Even if that outsider is…”
He hesitated, then lowered his voice.
“…the grandson of that man.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Team Leader Choi nodded and pulled out a small note from his inner pocket, handing it over.
“What’s this?”
“Prescriptions for the three advisors who are reportedly ill. As for the other two branch managers, they’ll be receiving something different.”
Most likely, the moment those no-shows saw what was on that note, they’d miraculously recover from all illnesses.
Because it listed every crime they’d committed in detail.
Executive Baek gulped as he read the note.
“T-This…”
“Executive Baek, you don’t look too well yourself. Should I prepare a prescription for you too?”
“N-No! What are you saying! I-I’m fine!”
Watching all this, I muttered with my arms crossed.
“‘I’m fine’—that’s casual speech, isn’t it?”
“I-I meant, I’m fine, sir!”
‘101 Silent Ways to Kill Someone, by Jin Taekyung.’
“I-I’m fine, really!”
Mm. Seems like he’s a quick learner.
As he stood there gulping dryly, I glanced at Team Leader Choi.
“Can we sit and talk? My legs hurt.”
“Well… I don’t think there’s a good spot…”
As he trailed off, I kindly pointed to the head seat.
“Right there. It’s empty.”
“Oh. Right. May I?”
“Let’s vote. Majority rules. Anyone opposed? Raise your hand.”
No one raised a hand.