Chairman Tak-hyeon looked around at the children gathered in the living room and snorted.

"So this is why the company's been creaking along. With you lot this idle, how was it ever going to run properly?"

At Tak-hyeon's sneer, Mun-jong's face reddened slightly. But unlike Mun-jong, Jeong-eun paid it no mind and spoke to Tak-hyeon. "Father. Do you even know what state the company's in right now?"

"Your father may not know the state of the company well, but as chairman of Ilhyeon Group, I know it better than you do — so there's no need to worry."

Tak-hyeon glared at Jeong-eun and snapped it out. But she seemed unbothered even by that.

"Father. That man is ruining the whole group." Jeong-eun pointed a finger at Seong-ho and shouted.

Tak-hyeon followed her pointing finger to look at Seong-ho, then let out a short laugh. "Now that's a line I've heard plenty of times before. Isn't that so, second son?"

Tak-hyeon threw the sneering remark at Sang-jong, sitting quietly to one side. Sang-jong said nothing to it and only bowed his head. Through his lowered head, he glanced sidelong at Seong-ho.

Ever since Seong-ho had instructed President Hak-ju Park of Ilhyeon Securities to close out Sang-jong's accounts, the KOSPI index had kept its head down and continued falling. Part of it was the effect of Sang-jong's massive investment being pulled out all at once, pressing down on the market — but in any case, that the market as a whole had turned to a downtrend was something any market participant could plainly see. Because of this, Sang-jong had been able to keep his loss to a minimum. Of course, the loss taken in liquidating the account all at once had come to nearly 10 billion — but had he kept holding, the loss could well have swelled to 20 billion, even 30 billion, so it was more accurate to say the loss had been prevented.

Seong-ho gave Sang-jong a thin smile at his glance. Sang-jong pursed his lips bitterly at the smile and turned his head away again.

He must be…