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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Illegitimate Son's Secret
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"Ugh!"
Kim Geon-woo grimaced as a sharp pain shot through him while sifting through his memories.
From Lee Dae-hyuk's recollections, the current time was 2006.
Three years before Lee Dae-hyuk's original death, and a staggering fifteen years before his own demise in 2021.
"Ha. Haha. I can't believe this."
Kim Geon-woo touched his face.
The sensations on his face and fingertips made it clear this was no dream.
He had awakened as Lee Dae-hyuk, the youngest son of the Daehan Group.
'Is this body the new flesh that woman gave me?'
Kim Geon-woo couldn't make sense of it.
For a new body, it felt far too... frail.
And there was one more puzzling thing.
'Why would a transcendent being capable of performing the miracle of regression and revival choose a human with such a fate...?'
He knew all too well about Lee Dae-hyuk and the Daehan Group's destiny.
The Daehan Group had once vied for the top spots in Korea's business world alongside the Seojin Group, a global powerhouse.
But after Chairman Lee Myung-guk died of a heart attack in the summer of 2009, the Daehan Group began its rapid decline.
It started with infighting among his children over control of the company.
Seojin Group exploited those cracks.
In the end, under Chairman Yoo Jae-man's schemes, the Daehan Group was slowly dismantled and devoured whole by Seojin.
Its affiliates and talent all funneled into Seojin under Yoo Jae-man's command.
In April 2013, the Daehan Group officially vanished from Korea's corporate history.
"And this guy killed himself."
He—the man in the mirror, no, Kim Geon-woo—muttered.
Lee Dae-hyuk hadn't even properly joined his siblings' battle for control.
He took his own life that same year, 2009, in the winter after Lee Myung-guk's death.
That marked the point when Yoo Jae-man of Seojin began his covert maneuvers for acquisition.
He secretly bought up Daehan shares and poached key talent to Seojin.
He also fabricated vile rumors and scandals to attack Daehan.
Incidents like phenol spills, industrial accidents, and fires at Daehan affiliates were spun as "orders from headquarters"—utter nonsense spread through the media.
Think about it. Why would a massive conglomerate like Daehan spit in its own face?
The public didn't buy the rumors at first.
But Seojin's media blitz wore them down, leading to boycotts of Daehan products and even a national audit.
If Lee Myung-guk had been alive, he could have mounted some defense.
But he wasn't.
'The fool was gone. His idiot kids were too busy fighting each other.'
None of Lee Myung-guk's three legitimate children had what it took to be chairman.
Blinded by greed, they vied for the throne without a care for the business.
They leaked each other's scandals and private lives to the press, spawned rumors, and even had their bodyguards brawling. Total chaos.
While the siblings scrapped, Daehan affiliates' stocks plummeted.
Without a decisive leader, major projects domestic and abroad fell through one by one. The board fractured into factions, squabbling as the company's foundations crumbled.
Unable to counter Seojin's hostile takeover, Daehan lost all its talent and assets before vanishing.
'And back then... I helped Yoo Jae-man poach Daehan's people.'
Kim Geon-woo stroked the face of this body—no, Lee Dae-hyuk's—recalling his past.
He had led the effort to siphon off Daehan's talent on Yoo Jae-man's orders.
'It was surprisingly easy. Like tossing life vests to rats fleeing a sinking ship.'
Some even volunteered extra Daehan intel to boost their value.
That's when he learned about Lee Dae-hyuk.
'I never cared about the details of his suicide...'
From what Kim Geon-woo heard, Lee Dae-hyuk was Lee Myung-guk's illegitimate child from an affair.
A royal family member in name only, with no real influence in the company.
But it turned out he was neglected at home too.
Kim Geon-woo looked bitterly at his left wrist.
Several long scars etched across it.
'He tried to die multiple times.'
In the memories, Lee Dae-hyuk was a fragile soul.
For ten years, under Lee Myung-guk's indifference, he endured abuse from his half-siblings and his father's wife.
A child's heart shattered, and even as an adult, the pieces never healed.
Was that why?
The physical abuse stopped when he grew up, but severe depression led to repeated suicide attempts.
'They said he suffered from serious depression... After Lee Myung-guk died, he finally succeeded.'
Kim Geon-woo felt the sorrow lingering in Lee Dae-hyuk's memories.
A boy broken by abuse, never able to grow up.
Without that weak mind, even as a bastard son, he could have claimed some inheritance and lived in luxury.
Even after Daehan dissolved, Lee Myung-guk's other children lived lavishly.
Realizing this, Kim Geon-woo felt a flicker of pity for Lee Dae-hyuk.
The raw emotions from his residual consciousness were brutally stark.
Like being abandoned alone in a desert.
No—maybe being left in a desert would have been kinder.
He wouldn't have suffered such horrific abuse.
Sifting through the bitter memories, Kim Geon-woo's eyes widened.
But that wasn't the end.
'No...?!'
His mouth gaped open.
Lee Dae-hyuk's deepest secret, hidden to the end, flowed into Kim Geon-woo through the residual consciousness.
A secret he desperately concealed.
It was... a very peculiar "power."
A curse that amplified his torment, yet utterly unique.
Psychometry.
The ability to touch another's body or possessions and read their mind.
Kim Geon-woo knew it from movies and dramas.
'...No way. This power was real?'
Staring at his right hand, a hollow chuckle escaped him.
'Well...'
His own experiences—his very existence—defied logic.
Dead, then regressed into another's body.
Lee Dae-hyuk's psychometry seemed downright plausible by comparison.
'Accept it. Adapt to the unreal.'
Kim Geon-woo steeled himself.
He had to fight anew in this bizarre reality.
First, adapt to this body and its memories.
Hoo—
Deep breaths calmed his excitement as he began absorbing Lee Dae-hyuk's endless memories, one by one.
.
.
.
The psychometry manifested about a year after young Lee Dae-hyuk entered Lee Myung-guk's house.
At first, he thought he was going mad.
But repeated readings of memories and unfiltered emotions convinced him otherwise.
He realized the inescapable feelings from others were genuine.
Because.
When Madam—Lee Myung-guk's wife, who demanded he call her that—slapped him, her emotions came through raw.
- I want to strangle you dead right now.
His half-siblings thought the same.
They banded together to purge the "impurity" Lee Dae-hyuk.
Punish the impurity.
That was justice.
They beat and tormented the weak boy without a shred of guilt.
And.
- Filthy bastard.
- Mongrel from another bitch.
- Kill that trash.
- Concubine's spawn. Should've died with his whore mother...
Even the smiling servants despised him.
Their "servant" status forced polite faces, but inwardly they shunned the "bastard."
Layer upon layer of wounds built up in young Lee Dae-hyuk's heart.
Imagine it.
Everyone around you hating and despising you.
Enduring abuse and beatings for ten years—anyone would snap.
'Poor bastard.'
Kim Geon-woo scratched his chin.
An adult couldn't help pitying a child's pain.
But now wasn't the time for sympathy.
He needed a plan to survive.
'What now?'
Shaking off the rotten aura, Kim Geon-woo sorted his emotions and sighed deeply.
Revived, yes—but in an unexpected era, in an unexpected body.
No clue where to start.
But he couldn't sit idle forever.
Better to see for himself than rely on memories.
Step—
Rising from bed, Kim Geon-woo headed to the door.
.
.
.
Creak—
Easing the door open, he scanned the living room.
'Do I live alone?'
A house easily over 1,700 square feet. Yet no signs of life.
Dust-free floors suggested maintenance, though.
'Money isn't everything.'
Leather sofa, solid wood drawers and display, crystal piano that screamed luxury, imported stone floors.
Yet Lee Dae-hyuk felt lonely here.
"But loneliness is a luxury, too."
Gulping water from the fridge, Kim Geon-woo muttered like a response.
His old life was war every day.
Fists flying, biting noses and ears to survive.
'Fight to survive here first. Then get revenge on those bastards...'
Half a 500ml bottle down, a bitter smile tugged his lips.
Dead and reborn, yet his fate unchanged.
'If I have to fight, I'll do it right.'
A miraculous chance.
No dying pathetically like last time.
He'd use every means for vengeance.
'Even in Lee Dae-hyuk's body, not Kim Geon-woo's.'
Instinct told him.
He could never return to being Kim Geon-woo.
Then become the perfect Lee Dae-hyuk.
A chaebol bastard outpowered any gangster.
'Right. From now on, I'm not Kim Geon-woo. I'm Lee Dae-hyuk.'
With Kim Geon-woo's knowledge of the future.
Then, a chilling voice came from behind.
"Something good happen?"
Hearing it, Kim Geon-woo—no, Lee Dae-hyuk's smile vanished.
A stern middle-aged man stood by the entrance, exuding an intimidating aura.
Lee Dae-hyuk knew him well.
'Chairman Lee Myung-guk?'