Unaware of what Seong-ho Kim was thinking, Tak-hyeon Lee continued speaking.

"So, how do you intend to sort this out?"

"As it happens, there's something I wanted to discuss regarding exactly that."

Tak-hyeon Lee, who had been leaning back against the headrest of his chair with his eyes closed, opened them. He turned his head toward Seong-ho Kim and asked.

"What is it?"

Seong-ho Kim took a step closer to Tak-hyeon Lee before opening his mouth.

"I believe there will need to be a personal contribution from your private assets."

"A personal contribution?"

It seemed to be something he had not anticipated at all, for Tak-hyeon Lee straightened his body up from where he had been leaning against the chair. He swiveled the chair around to face Seong-ho Kim and spoke.

"A personal contribution? Why is it that I should have to give up my own fortune?"

Uncharacteristically, Tak-hyeon Lee showed himself to be severely shaken. For a man like Tak-hyeon Lee, who had spent his entire life watching only as his fortune swelled, the experience of losing wealth was an unfamiliar and alien one.

Seong-ho Kim looked at the shaken Tak-hyeon Lee and said.

"The people who resented Ilhyeon are using this opportunity to try to rattle it, so the atmosphere is completely different this time. The government, too, seems to be leaning toward wrapping up this affair by pinning all the blame on Ilhyeon rather than letting the entire industry be shaken."

Bang!

"Ilhyeon is practically the Republic of Korea itself. Do they think the Republic of Korea can come out of this unscathed if they pin the crime on us?"

"You are right. But the government, the press, and public opinion are all, without exception, trying to handle this affair by making Ilhyeon out to be the criminal. With the scars of the foreign exchange crisis still lingering, they don't want the entire nation to bear the blame."

Having heard Seong-ho Kim's words, Tak-hyeon Lee let out a great sigh.

"Haaah……."

Anger surged within him, but it wasn't that he failed to understand what Seong-ho Kim was…