IRLPLBIO Chapter 13 Part 1

Chapter 13 #3. Let’s Settle, And Cooperate (3)

Perhaps he’s trying to demand a higher settlement?

Lee Su-seong thought of the maximum settlement amount set for such incidents.

Having to clean up after the Dae-yeong scions, this wasn’t the first or second time he’d seen problems like this. Most cases ended at less than a quarter of the maximum amount, but sometimes, if they got caught by the wrong person, the amount would gradually increase.

Seeing that the other party wasn’t easy to deal with, he figured a considerable sum of money would be spent this time too.

It wasn’t his own money, so he didn’t feel bad about it. However, it was a shame that the opportunity to prove his competence by reaching a settlement with the smallest possible amount had vanished.

Im Ho-sin, who had been quietly listening to Lee Su-seong, extended a mobile phone. The phone, which had gone from Jae-gu to Han Ga-yeon, and then back to Im Ho-sin, belonged to Han Seong-cheol.

“Take a look at this.”

It was a screen displaying text messages. Lee Su-seong naturally read the short messages listed before his eyes.

[Bring Yang Jae-gu.]

Click, Im Ho-sin pressed the next button. The message shown this time had a photo attached. It was a picture of Jae-gu looking elsewhere.

Connecting it with the previous message, the conclusion was immediately clear.

“This is…?”

“It’s evidence of incitement to kidnap.”

Im Ho-sin’s voice dropped sharply. He was trying to prevent the police from hearing.

Startled, Lee Su-seong quickly glanced around and also lowered his voice.

“Where is the proof that Master Seong-cheol sent that!”

“Your reaction is the proof right there.”

“Come on, don’t play word games…!”

“This is your young master’s phone. The time and location it was sent can be further confirmed by requesting a check from the telecommunications company. Well, does that answer your question?”

“…”

Lee Su-seong fell silent. Every time he thought of saying things like ‘How did you get Seong-cheol’s phone?’ or ‘If the messages are fabricated, they have no evidential value,’ a counterargument immediately came to mind.

Forget a settlement; in this situation, just preventing a lawsuit would be a good defense.

“How can you confirm that the young master wrote it himself…?”

“If you keep this up, I’ll reveal that your young master is also a financial backer for a violent organization. Conveniently, this is a police station, so couldn’t I just grab anyone and tell them?”

“What, a financial backer! What a terrible thing to say!”

“Oh, would you like to verify that too? Your young master naively left all the evidence, neat and tidy.”

Im Ho-sin pressed the buttons, showing him a few more messages.

The term ‘financial backer’ was an exaggeration, but it was true that Han Seong-cheol had given money to a violent organization. If they were to properly pursue this, both Han Seong-cheol and Lee Su-seong would be in considerable trouble.

With vacant eyes, Lee Su-seong slowly turned his head. It was then that he met Han Yun-cheol’s troubled face.

Realizing that Lee Su-seong’s situation was not good either, Han Yun-cheol’s face momentarily turned blank. In the young master’s life, which had never encountered disadvantage, an alien substance named Yang Jae-gu had suddenly appeared. He had thought it was a small pebble he could kick away, but it turned out to be a surprisingly large and heavy rock that halted Han Yun-cheol’s steps.

Originally, Han Yun-cheol’s reason for coming here was simple. He wanted to meet his younger brother directly, curse his foolishness, and use this incident as a weakness against him. Since there was Dae-yeong’s image to uphold, he would give the victim appropriate money to smooth things over, but his plan was to stomp on Han Seong-cheol to prevent him from getting too cocky.

However, the ‘victim’ who was supposed to take the money and keep quiet spoke confidently right in front of Han Yun-cheol.

“If you keep pushing your luck, forget a settlement. I’ll spill everything everywhere. If this really blows up, you’ll go to jail even with a settlement.”

Jae-gu glared menacingly, threatening the half-stunned Han Yun-cheol.

If brought to the surface, it was a case of such a scale that an investigation would begin regardless of any settlement. Naturally, he had no intention of being satisfied with just any amount of money.

Suddenly, Jae-gu felt a grip on his hand. It was Kwang-cheol. From beginning to end, without even knowing what was happening, he held Jae-gu’s hand, sharing his body heat and comfort, as if showing his unwavering support.

Since this was a Dae-yeong matter, Kwang-cheol could have been a party to it. If Kwang-cheol had just found his place, this incident could have been an opportunity to increase his influence…

At that moment, Jae-gu remembered.

Han Yun-cheol was Han Seong-cheol’s strongest rival. Currently, he even held an overwhelming advantage over Han Seong-cheol.

Therefore, Han Yun-cheol’s position would be helpful to them. At least until Kwang-cheol grew up, Han Yun-cheol had to keep Han Seong-cheol in check and suppress him.

Didn’t they say the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Jae-gu admired himself for coming up with a suitable analogy.

Han Yun-cheol heard the high school student, who had just moments ago been spouting vicious curses, suddenly light up his eyes and say something absurd.

“Hyung-nim.”

He hadn’t answered out of sheer disbelief, but the brazen high school student, who had suddenly changed his attitude, babbled on as he pleased.

“Let’s get rid of that bastard.”

Han Yun-cheol was silent for a moment.

There were many points to address: Who is your Hyung-nim? Do you know that ‘that bastard’ refers to my younger brother? What does ‘get rid of’ even mean?

However, Han Yun-cheol, who had quickly surmised much of the situation, remained silent instead of scolding Jae-gu. His silence was a clear expression of his desire to get rid of Seong-cheol.

Han Yun-cheol was not particularly fond of Han Seong-cheol. The thought that the brat might take many of the achievements he had made so far, just because he was an Alpha, made the back of his neck stiff. It was absurd that he, an established figure, had to personally keep an eye on Han Seong-cheol, who wasn’t even an adult yet.

But now, this guy, who had fought with Han Seong-cheol, was offering to scratch the itch that bothered him most. It was a very, very, very tempting offer.

“Deal?”

The moment Jae-gu smirked, Han Yun-cheol realized his thoughts had been read. He had thought Jae-gu was just talking without thinking, but it seemed he had actually put quite a bit of thought into it.

“Hey, kid. What are you talking about?”

An oblivious police officer intervened. He seemed to be eyeing an opportunity to make an impression on Dae-yeong, now that a relevant topic had finally come up, but that only stopped the conversation that was going so well.