Corporate Villain
Copyright© 2025 by K.W
Chapter 29
“If we go again today, Cinderella lost her parents when she was young, and she was mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo ... She’ll probably do that.”
Inside the car heading to Pyeongchang-dong.
Joo Yeon-hee, sitting in the back seat of the luxury limousine with her husband Kang Young-jin, already seemed tired and frowned as she spoke.
“You’re always the same, miss. Your repertoire never changes.”
“Where are the sisters to Moon-jeong? There’s only one brother.”
“Why did grandfather have to invite people from Hansung Newspaper of all places?”
Hansung Newspaper, a formidable opponent if turned into an enemy.
Joo Yeon-hee was uncomfortable with the fact that the owner’s side of Hansung Newspaper was attending.
“It’s a natural invitation. It’s rather the part where even the presidents of the affiliated companies were invited that’s a bit too much. You might not know, but until a few years ago, people would come to the main house with baskets of fruit to greet us during the holidays.”
Why wouldn’t Yeon-hee know?
It’s been a decade since she became connected with Kang Young-jin and Kang Moon-jung, the half-siblings from Daeyoung Group.
During a brief return to Korea in her Paris study-abroad days, she reluctantly attended a gathering of chaebol heirs due to her parents’ insistence.
Back then, her now-husband was still an unseen figure within Daeyoung Group, and as an American student, her connection with Daeyoung’s princess, Kang Moon-jung, came first.
She thought to herself, “This is what they call someone who has it all...”
Background, charisma, looks, figure, style, and even concept—Moon-jung was the complete package, lacking nothing.
As a woman, Yeon-hee felt no envy or jealousy towards her.
Perhaps envy and jealousy are reserved for those who are somewhat on par with you.
To Yeon-hee, Kang Moon-jung was in a completely different league.
More precisely, it was the league of Daeyoung and VR.
Just like there are idols among entertainers, Kang Moon-jung, whom Yeon-hee met for the first time, shone the brightest even among the gathered heirs of the chaebol, monopolizing the spotlight.
The impression from their first meeting was so strong that it still lingered.
Other heirs, always followed by their entourage, vied to be even a background presence to her.
Men, who had lived in self-importance, would stutter or blush in front of Moon-jung, and if they were lucky enough to share a table or clink champagne glasses with her, they would don a mask of humility in an attempt to curry favor.
Yeon-hee’s complex towards Kang Moon-jung paradoxically began after she became part of the Daeyoung family.
A subject of comparison.
Not a superior, but an inferior one.
Ever since joining the Daeyoung family, Yeon-hee had been constantly compared to Moon-jung, the so-called “sole legitimate successor” of Daeyoung—a comparison she loathed.
Even at her own wedding, where she should have been the protagonist, it was not the ceremony but Moon-jung’s guest outfit, shoes, handbag, and jewelry accessories that became the issue.
Kang Moon-jung, who shattered the self-esteem Yeon-hee believed to be the center of the world.
Now, marrying the son of a local kimbap shop owner with no name or background, she was dragging down the image of VR Group to the level of a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall.
Their marriage was the romance of the century.
In contrast, her own marriage was based on a business partnership, a strategic alliance.
Even if Kang Moon-jung hadn’t intentionally created this frame, Yeon-hee, as the victim of it, couldn’t feel good about the situation.
“Why is Director Yoon making such a fuss? To an outsider, it would seem like he’s developing a revolutionary phone that will turn the electronics world upside down, not just renewing a contract for an olive oil brand. Why all the noise over such a trivial matter...”
“Dear, mind your titles. And don’t make a careless mistake in front of grandfather again.”
“Ah, he’s not here right now. Do I have to mind his title even in front of you?”
“Why are you so sharp?”
Would Kang Young-jin not know the reason for his wife’s sharpness?
He’s just pretending not to.
“The ugliest thing in the world is the underlings’ jealousy of others’ success.”
“Underlings?”
“Of course, underlings. Is Yoon a superior to me? Inside or outside. And to anyone’s eyes, it’s clear that Yoon ... has handled the matter quite cleanly. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds to wrap things up so neatly.”
“...”
“Anyway, I did what needed to be done. No matter how much Moonjeong struggles, she’s just a flower that looks good on the surface.”
Juyeonhee squinted her eyes at her husband, who let out a snicker.
“A flower blooming on the tree called Daeyeong, flowing with the blood of the Kang family from root to stem, trunk to branch. A flower that must fall off when the time comes.”
Only then did Juyeonhee understand her husband’s metaphor, comparing her half-sister to a mere decorative flower.
“No matter how hard they try, some things can never change. They can’t turn grandfather’s or father’s hearts. And since I have that, they’re naturally underlings.”
“...”
“Look at the aunts. They’re grateful to grandfather, an old-fashioned man sensitive about titles, who gives his daughters a large inheritance but no management rights, and they’re careful not to make mistakes in front of him.”
Juyeonhee, who hated being taught or corrected more than anything, found her husband’s criticism as sweet as fluffy cotton candy at this moment.
“Today, we’re just the supporting cast, here only to offer congratulations, maintaining the dignity of those above us.”
“Have I ever not done that? I only act that way in front of you, but I face off when the situation calls for it.”
“Hardly. Please, just don’t clash with Moonjeong today.”
“Clash? Who’s clashing? Am I someone who plays games with the young lady?”
“That’s why I’m telling you not to clash.”
“What?”
Chairman Kang Kiyoung was in a good mood for once.
He kept a smile on his face in front of his children.
His son-in-law.
He was very pleased.
“Yoon, when did you arrive?”
“We’ve just arrived.”
Chairman Kang Kiyoung watched his grandson and his wife greeting the son-in-law who had just arrived.
Where did such a person come from?
And where did that scoundrel Moonjeong pick up someone like that, to polish and refine so well?
Chairman Kang Kiyoung thought.
How could the handling of matters feel so much like it came from within me, more than my own blood-related children, fitting so perfectly to my liking...
Where in Spain was it?
Andalusia?
The olive farm’s contract renewal.
It must have been no easy matter.
Yet, not only did he renegotiate the terms favorably for Daeyoung, but he also managed to do so unilaterally to his advantage.
And he used his honeymoon, of all things, which the young ones fuss over so much these days.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
He uncovered embezzlement within Baekmajin.
Finding the exact circumstances and evidence before the group’s headquarters audit division could.
By using the president of Mulsan, Min Byung-jin, he not only saved him but also solidified his position within the entire group.
It was a masterstroke to have Min Byung-jin request a targeted audit from the audit division, thereby dispelling any doubts about the president’s organizational management skills.
At the same time, by calling for the audit on the misconduct, he forced all the subsidiary presidents to meticulously re-examine their own household affairs.
It was by no means an easy feat.
Yet, he handled this difficult task in such a way that to the uninformed, it seemed effortless, a testament to his skill reaching new heights.
That’s precisely why he invited all the subsidiary presidents and their spouses to today’s party.
Once today’s event concludes, Kang Ki-young, the grand chairman, was curious about what changes would occur within the group.
Whether it would still be meaningful to receive reports on his grandson-in-law’s life in Mulsan through Min Byung-jin.
After all, with that one move, Min Byung-jin had already decided to pledge his loyalty to his grandson-in-law...
Min Byung-jin.
A capable friend indeed.
How could he have given the president’s position at Mulsan, a pillar of Daeyoung, just because of a personal favor to a relative’s bachelor?
Yet, he thoroughly ‘cooked’ Min Byung-jin in just two months.
The product is solid.
Now, how should he use this ‘product’?
To what extent should he allow it...
“You’ve done a great job.”
Kang Ki-young, the grand chairman, is a man who clearly rewards and punishes.
Before the guests arrived home,
He had his son, Chairman Kang Man-ho, and his family, along with the grandchildren and their spouses, all seated.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.