I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 265

The ruling party of Incheon, the Constitutional Party for Equality and Freedom, and the Better Future Party, the number one opposition, announced the introduction of a special prosecutor.

From the outside, it might have looked like a decision reached through a complicated and heated process of gathering opinions—

but in truth, the internal decision-making structure was far simpler.

In the end, things usually moved according to the will of a few power-holders who held the party’s hegemony.

Especially in the case of Incheon’s ruling party, the influence of the mayor’s office was simply too powerful to ignore.

“The City Rep (referring to the party's representative in the Incheon region. The official title is 'Incheon City Party Leader,' but commonly shortened to City Rep. One rank below Party Leader.) asked what you think we should do next.”

“Hmmm...”

A hulking man puffing on three cigarettes at once.

For the past few days, he hadn’t gone a moment without a frown. He was under massive stress.

And with good reason—his unexpected conflict with the Koryo Group’s young master had only gotten worse.

All because he didn’t attend the banquet. Not even without a reason—he’d made it clear he was busy and couldn’t help it.

And yet, Go Muyeol flew off the handle and slaughtered fifteen district mayors.

To Choi Cheol-kyu, Go Muyeol wasn’t just some maniac—he was something far worse. A bona fide psychopath.

The problem? That raving, lunatic psychopath was at the center of an absurd amount of power and vested interests.

Go Muyeol himself might be nothing on his own, but the Koryo Group behind him was a monstrous force.

If Choi Cheol-kyu's Constitutional Party for Equality and Freedom had taken the reins of political hegemony in Korea alongside Incheon,

then the Koryo Group was holding the reins of Asia—and even engaging in discussions of global dominance.

So much so that there were people who believed even the ruling power enjoyed by the Constitutional Party was only possible because the Koryo Group allowed it.

That made things even more of a headache.

Once a sword is drawn and bared, you can’t just sheathe it again.

The moment you try, you’re getting your head chopped off. Even if Go Muyeol forgave him, the party would throw him out.

“Like hell I could’ve known he’d go full psycho over not attending a goddamn banquet...”

Strictly speaking, he hadn’t even drawn the sword.

He’d just touched the hilt, and suddenly the other guy went, “You trying to draw that? Huh?” and swung first.

Before he could even react, several of his men were already dead.

Now, he had no choice but to draw his sword.

And what came next—that’s the terrifying part.

“Eight district mayors dead already... There’s no backing out now.”

Eight of the dead mayors were from the Constitutional Party for Equality and Freedom.

If this ends badly, the party will definitely hold Choi Cheol-kyu responsible.

“Aren’t you the one who pissed him off with your dumbass decision and got our mayors killed?”

It’d go down exactly like that.

And no doubt the Better Future Party would launch a fierce offensive as well.

To be fair, the lawmakers who boycotted the banquet shared the blame,

but it had all started with Choi Cheol-kyu, so there was no way around it.

In the end, there was only one way to survive.

While he still had the most power, he had to bulk up and force a negotiation,

wrap this up through mutual agreement—end it before it spiraled further.

Even that wouldn’t be without scars, but it was the best-case scenario.

“What do they mean by ‘next’? It’s just about who’ll be appointed special prosecutor, right? Or... Don’t tell me the young master plans to reject the special prosecutor itself?”

“There’s been no reaction so far. But considering his aides must’ve anticipated the special investigation, and there’s been no pushback, I think it’s safe to assume he’ll accept it.”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like they singled him out like ‘We’re investigating you, sir.’

This is about an incident where fifteen district mayors got killed. Opposing that would just look wrong.

Unless you’re an idiot, you can’t oppose it.”

What mattered was the detail.

Who, how, what methods, and what kind of result.

In a normal situation, no matter what the Koryo Group's young master did, it would’ve either been swept under the rug or completely ignored.

Even if it was serious enough to warrant a special investigation, it would’ve fizzled out.

But this time, it was different.

As explained earlier, the young master and Incheon’s political world were locked in a vicious psychological battle.

“Did the Party Leader respond yet?”

“...Not yet.”

“Pfft. It’s been forever since we sent our opinion. Still no word?”

“They must be... thinking a lot, too.”

“Hmph.”

He exhaled smoke with clear irritation.

But even Choi Cheol-kyu knew.

This wasn’t something that could be decided easily.

If they made the wrong move, the tiny spark that started in Incheon could spread across all of South Korea.

And the aftermath... would be utterly catastrophic.

In a situation like that, granting Choi Cheol-kyu’s request was virtually impossible for the Party Leader.

Choi Cheol-kyu understood that, too.

“No chance in hell.”

And yet—

He couldn’t just sit back and watch.

Screw the party—wasn’t his own survival the most important thing?

“When people are cornered, that’s when they get strong. Brutal, even.”

With a determined look on his face, he stubbed out the cigarette.

Watching him, the chief of staff suddenly had a bad feeling and offered some advice.

“...Mayor, wouldn’t it be better to just apologize to the young master... even now?”

It was heartfelt, genuine counsel.

A suggestion to back off, even now.

To admit the decision back then was a mistake, and that there had been no malicious intent.

But Choi Cheol-kyu shook his head.

“He killed fifteen district mayors over missing a banquet,

and now he’s murdering city councilors just because we held an assembly.

You think saying ‘Sorry~’ and bowing your head is gonna save us?

He’d just take the chance to kill me too and replace me with someone he likes.”

“....”

He looked at his chief of staff with clear disdain.

“Get your head on straight, man. You and I—we’re already out on the rope bridge. There’s no going back.”

****

I am a generous man.

Even if someone once stood against me—

as long as they didn’t do me any serious damage and later genuinely reflected on their actions and changed course—

I’m more than willing to put them to good use.

Of course, I have no choice but to keep them under surveillance... but still, that’s my stance.

A prime example is the current Chief Prosecutor of Incheon.

Name’s something like Jong Jin-hyuk, I think.

Despite the massive flaw of being a middle-aged man, I’m still letting him stay on as Chief Prosecutor.

Even though I already have Yang Soyu picked out as his replacement.

I bring this up because a few lawmakers finally figured out how things stood and came running to me.

Honestly, even I didn’t expect this.

But I’m guessing they made their decision after hearing the news that I’d killed a city councilor too.

Once they realized I was a completely insane bastard beyond imagination, they probably thought they couldn’t afford to keep resisting.

If you think about it, that’s the right judgment.

The clearest, most effective way to show someone the difference in position is by pulling out a series of extreme moves.

And I’d already killed fifteen district mayors—now even a city councilor.

Every time they tried something, I responded with an even heavier move.

If they wanted to respond to my power moves, they’d need a power move of their own.

But [N O V E L I G H T] really, is there any move that could match mine, when I’m the eldest grandson of the Koryo Group?

There isn’t. That’s why the lawmakers with sharp instincts started crawling out.

They realized there was no winning this.

In other words, the right move would’ve been to figure things out as soon as I made my first drastic play.

But people... they think too much, they have too much to weigh.

They always miss that crucial timing.

Anyway, thanks to them, I had to pause what I was doing and deal with the visiting lawmakers.

“I’m sorry, Young Master! I had my priorities all wrong! This is all because of my incompetence! Please forgive me just this once!!”

One male lawmaker who canceled all his appointments and went straight into a full dogeza the moment he arrived.

“It’s all entirely my fault. I don’t even know how to begin to atone for this mistake...!”

A female lawmaker who begged for forgiveness like she’d staked her entire life on it.

“I don’t ask for much from any of you. All I wanted was for us to get along. Just that one thing.

But then you go and spit on my sincerity—do you think I’m gonna feel good about that or not?”

“Oh god, I was completely wrong!! I was wrong, I was wrong, I was so wrong!! Please forgive me, Young Master!!!”

“...So, can we get along now?”

I forgave all of them.

I chatted with them for a bit to let the mood soften, then even gave them the gifts I’d prepared for the banquet guests before sending them on their way.

Oh, and obviously—I slept with the female lawmaker.

She was hot.

The next day, five more lawmakers showed up.

I forgave them too.

Pardoned their so-called “crimes” with grace and handed them gifts before sending them off.

And then, after that, more and more lawmakers started coming to me—over a dozen a day.

“The hell, man. When I told you to come, you didn’t. Now you’re showing up like this?”

The banquet had long since ended, and yet every day started feeling like another damn banquet.

It was absurd.

Since I couldn’t possibly meet them all at once, I had to impose a daily cap on visitors and arrange them by order.

But the schedule just kept piling up endlessly.

“But wait a sec... They’re all from the Better Future Party or some other minor opposition parties.

What the hell is the Constitutional Party for Equality and Freedom even doing?”

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freew𝒆(b)novel.c(o)m Only