Lee Sung-hwan + Jung Eun-chae (8)
April arrived in the blink of an eye.
Jung Chang-ho has gained considerable popularity among voters due to his previous campaign activities. Coupled with the support of his party and several major conglomerates, he is the most likely candidate to win his constituency, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Lee Sung-hwan hasn't seen Jung Eun-chae for several days. It's said she's also busy with election matters.
Since their engagement, Jung Eun-chae has gained a voice in the Jung family. She is no longer controlled by Park Geun-hye and can freely enter and leave the Jung family home at any time. Therefore, Lee Sung-hwan no longer needs to visit her every day.
When Li Shenghuan received the call, he still had an hour before he was supposed to get off work.
Jung Eun-chae said, "Brother Sung-hwan, come find me after get off work."
Then she sent him the name of the restaurant. It was the barbecue restaurant where they first ate together.
When he rushed over, Jung Eun-chae was already sitting at the dining table.
He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Didn't we say we'd meet after get off work? You're here so early, aren't you afraid of having to wait a long time?"
"I'm not afraid. Because I know that Brother Shenghuan will definitely not wait until he gets off work to come over."
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"I'm treating Brother Shenghuan to dinner today."
"What good news is there?"
Jung Eun-chae didn't answer his question, but pointed to the menu that the proprietress handed over. "Brother Sung-hwan, why don't you order first?"
Li Shenghuan ordered some meat and vegetables, just like they had when they last came to eat here.
He wanted to pour Jung Eun-chae a drink, but she shook her head and pointed to the rice wine on the next table.
"I've had that before, it was delicious."
Are you sure?
Jung Eun-chae smiled and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."
Li Shenghuan asked the proprietress to bring over two bottles of rice wine. He poured a cup for Zheng Encai and one for himself, and Zheng Encai picked up her cup and took a sip.
"It really tastes great."
Li Shenghuan laughed; it seemed she had never drunk it before.
The barbecue was served quickly. Just like last time, Jung Eun-chae stuffed her mouth full, looking very satisfied.
Li Shenghuan poured a glass of water and handed it to him. "Eat slowly, drink some water."
Jung Eun-chae reached out to take it, and when she touched Lee Sung-hwan's fingers, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. By the time she put the water in her mouth, the tears were already streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Lee Sung-hwan quickly stood up, took a tissue, and bent down to wipe Jung Eun-chae's tears.
"What's wrong? Is the water too hot?"
"No, it's just that the meat is too delicious. The thought of not being able to eat meat with Brother Shenghuan anymore makes me want to cry."
"We'll come and eat here whenever you want, so don't cry."
"But I'm going back to the US tomorrow, so I can't come."
Lee Sung-hwan's hand froze in mid-air. Right, tomorrow is election day. After Jung Eun-chae finishes what she wants to do, she'll be returning to the United States.
Jung Eun-chae said, "Sung-hwan, you must eat well and live well even if you're alone from now on..."
Lee Sung-hwan sighed, walked around the table to Jung Eun-chae's side, and pulled her into his arms.
Jung Eun-chae rested her head against his chest, her voice muffled as she spoke.
"The press release about our engagement said that I fell in love with Shenghuan at first sight at the airport. But that's not entirely true, because I really did fall in love with Shenghuan at first sight that day at the airport. The way he looked with his red, teary eyes made me want to protect him."
She knew of Lee Sung-hwan before, when he was listed as Jung Eun-ah's fiancé in the US. His photos were all of him working as a model in France and appearing in the news as the executive director of ST Group. She never imagined she would have any connection with him.
That day at the airport, while she was looking for a taxi stand, her suitcase bumped into Li Shenghuan's suitcase. Having seen so many photos of him, she recognized him at a glance.
But he was completely different from the photos; his eyes were red from crying, yet he made no attempt to hide it. He was no longer a handsome male model, nor a domineering executive; he was simply a man who needed protection.
Jung Eun-chae heard her own heartbeat getting faster and faster. She took off her sunglasses and put them on his face, and then had the taxi follow him for a full hour.
Knowing that Lee Sung-hwan didn't want to get engaged to Jung Eun-ah, he appeared in her plan. She wanted to help him escape the constraints of an arranged marriage, she wanted to give him his freedom, and she wanted to protect him.
Jung Eun-chae released her arms from Lee Sung-hwan's waist and stuffed a file bag from the empty space next to her into his hand.
"This is my last gift to Brother Shenghuan. Goodbye, Brother Shenghuan."
Jung Eun-chae wiped away her tears and smiled at Lee Sung-hwan. It was the same smile with dimpled dimples he had seen when they first met.
When Li Shenghuan returned home, he opened the "last gift." Inside was a certificate of annulment of the engagement signed by Zheng Encai and a small USB drive.
Tomorrow, all he has to do is release that certificate to the public, and he will have no further connection with Jung Eun-chae or the Jung family.
The USB drive contained various pieces of evidence related to Chairman Lee and Jung Chang-ho's illegal activities, which Jung Eun-chae had collected.
During his time as a member of parliament, Jung Chang-ho repeatedly accepted bribes from Chairman Lee and did things that violated the law in order to protect the interests of the ST Group.
Furthermore, Zheng Changhao, with the help of ST Group, bribed members of another candidate's team to fabricate scandals to frame him, and almost caused his death.
If this evidence is made public, it will not only ruin Jung Chang-ho, but also Chairman Lee and ST Group.
Li Shenghuan knew that because of him, Zheng Encai did not want ST Group to be buried with Zheng Changhao.
*
The next day was election day.
It started raining heavily early in the morning. Jung Eun-chae, wearing a raincoat, stood at the entrance of the polling station in Jung Chang-ho's constituency.
She held up a sign that read: Wrongful conviction, deception, Jung Chang-ho, get out of the parliament!
Even before the polling station opened, long lines of voters had formed outside, and television and newspaper reporters surrounded the entrance, waiting to conduct interviews. Seeing her holding a sign, they curiously gathered around.
Jung Eun-chae shouted at the crowd, "Jung Eun-chae, the illegitimate daughter of the Jung family, begs for justice. Jung Chang-ho is a womanizer, get out of the council!"
"Quick, quick, take pictures!" Not only reporters, but ordinary voters also raised their phones to take pictures.
After shouting like this for more than ten minutes, the internet was filled with news related to Jung Eun-chae and Jung Chang-ho.
She should receive the materials she sent to the election commission yesterday soon, right? The paparazzi she hired will also soon put the scandals and evidence she wants to reveal on all the online platforms.
Jung Eun-chae stood stubbornly in the heavy rain, holding up her sign, enduring the stares and whispers of the crowd. Until a large umbrella sheltered her from the rain.
She turned her head, and Li Shenghuan was standing beside her. He gently took her hand, then opened his palm so that her slender fingers could slip between his fingers.
Tears streamed down Jung Eun-chae's face along with the rain. "Brother Sung-hwan..."
"Don't cry, Brother Shenghuan will always be with our Cailin."
"Yes." Jung Eun-chae nodded in agreement, then continued to address the voters who had come to cast their ballots: "Jung Eun-chae, the illegitimate daughter of the Jung family, begs for justice. Jung Chang-ho is a womanizer, get out of the council!"
Before it was clear whether Jung Eun-chae's solo demonstration would get Jung Chang-ho out of the council, Chairman Lee called.
He yelled at Li Shenghuan over the phone, his voice hoarse, "What are you doing? Come back here right now!"
"good."
After calmly agreeing to Chairman Lee's angry demand, Lee Sung-hwan put his phone back in his pocket and continued to stand with Jung Eun-chae in the heavy rain.
The ST Group heir accompanied his fiancée to a protest in the rain to oppose her father's candidacy, which became a more talked-about news story than the election itself. Some media even set up equipment in front of them to broadcast the event live.
Around noon, the Election Commission issued an emergency announcement through the media, stating that it would conduct a formal investigation into the allegations made by Jung Eun-chae.
Afterwards, Lee Sung-hwan took Jung Eun-chae home.
He handed her the pajamas he had bought for her during the last New Year. "Go take a shower and change your clothes. Don't catch a cold."
When Jung Eun-chae came out after taking a shower, Lee Sung-hwan was already dressed in a sharp suit and standing in front of the mirror tying his tie.
"Is Brother Shenghuan going out?"
"Yes. I have something very important to do." Li Shenghuan took Zheng Encai's hand and led her to sit down on the bed. "Cover yourself with the blanket and get some sleep. Your brother will be back when you wake up."
"But……"
But she had already booked her flight and was going back to the United States that afternoon.
Lee Sung-hwan knew what Jung Eun-chae wanted to say. He knelt before her and held her hand. "Don't go, wait for your brother to come back, okay?"
Zheng Encai stared at Li Shenghuan for a while before nodding in agreement: "Okay."
*
In Chairman Li's study.
Before Chairman Lee could even get angry, Lee Sung-hwan placed the evidence on his desk.
"Please, Chairman Li, withdraw from ST Group. Otherwise, ST Group will perish along with Zheng Changhao."
"What did you say?"
"This is evidence of Chairman Lee bribing Jung Chang-ho and framing Representative Cho. If Chairman Lee doesn't want to destroy ST, please step down and hand ST over to me."
Chairman Li sneered, "Ha, I'm actually being threatened by my own son?"
"Chairman Li, I am a special executive of ST Group. We are discussing the future and fate of ST Group."
"Have you been eyeing the chairmanship of ST for a long time?"
"Neither the position of chairman nor ST Group originally meant anything to me. However, Chairman Li forcibly brought me back and drove away the people I liked."
From that moment on, I learned that to control my own life, I needed power. Since Chairman Li called me back to prepare for me to take over ST Group in the future, then he might as well give it to me now.”
"So, it's all because of Song Yunxi. Did you think that by kicking me off the stage, you could be with her?"
"No, we can't be together anymore. But I can give her a gift."
The best gift you can give Song Yunxi is for him to be free.
Chairman Li sat in his chair, looking up at the tall figure standing before his desk. "What if I don't agree to step down?"
He never imagined that one day he would be threatened by Li Shenghuan.
“Chairman Li, this is not a discussion, but a demand. ST Group is of no importance to me, but it represents your life’s work, Chairman Li. If you want to see it destroyed, then please refuse.”
Li Shenghuan checked the time; he had been out for almost an hour. "I'm sorry, Chairman Li, my fiancée is still at home, I have to go back. If you've made a decision, you can announce it directly to the public; there's no need to inform me."
As Li Shenghuan stepped out of the study, he heard something heavy slam into the door behind him, accompanied by Chairman Li's roar.
He thought about it all night and chose to take over ST Group over handing over the evidence to the prosecution.
Handing the evidence over to the prosecution could indeed avenge Jung Eun-chae and completely destroy Jung Chang-ho. However, it would also destroy the ST Group and the tens of thousands of employees who depend on it for their livelihood.
ST is one of South Korea's largest conglomerates. While it may not collapse due to bribery and framing, it is enough to trigger social unrest. Damage to the group's reputation would lead to a boycott of ST's operations and products, and during the lengthy period of reputation recovery, a large number of employees would lose their jobs due to these chain reactions.
Rather than causing harm to more people because of the mistakes of one or two people, it is better to let the culprit pay the price before taking responsibility.
Therefore, Li Shenghuan had already contacted Zheng Changhao on his way to see Chairman Li.
If Jung Chang-ho only hopes to withdraw from the election and end his political career, rather than go to jail, then he should sincerely apologize to Jung Eun-chae and her mother, apologize to all the people who supported and trusted him, and donate all his illegal gains to society.
Of course, even if donations are made, they cannot be made in the name of Zheng Changhao or any member of the Zheng family.
After he takes over ST Group, he will also shoulder social responsibility, work hard to operate the company, actively engage in public welfare, and atone for his father's sins by helping more people.
If he cannot escape the fate of being a heir to a wealthy family, then let him lead ST Group onto a brighter path.
The rain outside had already stopped. Li Shenghuan drove to the hotel where Zheng Encai had stored her luggage to pick up her suitcase, then bought some food and drove home.
Jung Eun-chae was sleeping on the bed in the guest room. She had barely slept a wink last night in preparation for today's events. She had also spent most of the day standing in the rain and shouting, and was utterly exhausted.
Li Shenghuan knelt by her bedside and gently pried open her slightly furrowed brows with his fingers.
Jung Eun-chae felt warm fingers touch her brow, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Lee Sung-hwan.
She got out of bed and threw herself into his arms. "Brother Shenghuan."
Li Shenghuan then sat on the edge of the bed and held her tightly in his arms.
"I'm sorry, Chae-rin. I didn't tell you sooner that I also like you. From now on, I'll be all alone in this world, so Chae-rin, could you stay by my side and continue to protect me?"
Upon hearing this, Jung Eun-chae burst into tears again.
“Lately, Chae-rin has become more prone to crying.” Lee Sung-hwan smiled and wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry anymore, okay?”
"Mmm." Jung Eun-chae wrapped her arms around Lee Sung-hwan's neck and buried her head in his neck.
Li Shenghuan then lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead.
Zheng Encai quickly raised her head, keeping some distance from him as she looked at him, her voice trembling with tears, as if she were a little aggrieved.
"You don't have to kiss someone you like."
Lee Sung-hwan smiled and pursed his lips, then, under Jung Eun-chae's unwavering gaze, he lowered his head and kissed her lips.
Cailin, from now on, let Shenghuan protect you.
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