Page 110 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
‘Soljighi,I have nothing against Rodrigo. I don’t think much of him, that’s for sure. I think he’s a selfish delinquent, but it isn’t him that I’m after. I’ve only, geunyang, used him. He was a soft target. In my game, he’s but just a pawn.’
‘Then what or who is it that you are after? Me? I’m sure we can come to some sort of understanding!’
‘Hoejangnim,hoksi, would you remember this name, Kang Minhyun?’
Mr Ri stays silent as he tries to recall if he’s heard the name. He tries to put a face to the name but is unable to.
‘Can’t remember, Chairman Ri? Do you need a hint?’ His tone is now taunting.
‘Appa, Rodrigo-ssi’s assistant.’ Mina speaks softly so only her father would hear but Yoojin does too.
‘Wrong!’ Yoojin thunders.
He grabs sheaves of paper out of his satchel and throws them at a stoic Chairman Ri who doesn’t seem to bat an eyelid or movean inch. Mina quickly bends and picks up a sheet. It’s an old newspaper article about the prodigious talent of footballer Kang Minhyun, a reserve squad player at Seoul Stealers FC, and how a life-threatening spinal injury had cut it short. But what the article does not mention is that he had been mercilessly beaten up by a drunk senior, one of the stars of the main squad and a midfielder on the national team during a party organized by the club. Only because the senior player’s girlfriend had posed for photos with Minhyun.
‘YOU, Hoejangnim, and your little coterie of minions did this to Minhyun!’
It was true. The incident had been hushed up by Mr Ri and his cohorts.
Geuronde, how did HE know about it? It’s been a while and nobody outside the club knows.
‘I don’t understand, Yoojin-ssi. Why are you bringing up an incident from the past? How is it even connected to you?’
Chairman Ri is still defiant, exactly how a first-generation chaebol is expected to be.
But Mina has been joining the dots.
Kang Minhyun … Kang Yoojin … Seolma! Could they be related?!
‘Minhyun is mychindongsaeng. I saw him suffer for years. Poor guy still can’t walk without support. Who do you think is responsible?’
‘I beg your pardon! It was not an injury he sustained on the field. Despite that, we got him the best treatment, the best doctors, the best rehab, a hefty severance pay … heck! I even gave him a job at the club!’
Chairman Ri is showing no signs of backing down, infuriating Yoojin even further.
‘The guy, that senior team footballer you saved and protected, did he serve you well? Or do I need to remind you?’
Mr Ri has finally been shut up. He needs no reminding. A year after the incident involving Minhyun, Shin Jaemin had been caught in a drug bust at a Seoul nightclub. Disgraced, he was removed from the national team as well as Seoul Stealers FC and was currently still on trial facing charges and an impending five-year prison sentence from the prosecution.
‘Did you think making him Rodrigo’s assistant absolved you of your fault? Rodrigo ruined someone’s life and career just like your player did to my brother!’
Oh, so this is why he used him… Mina is finally able to surmise.And Haneul just got caught in his revenge plan.
‘You picked the wrong side, Hoejangnim. You saved the wrong guy.’
Having said his piece, Yoojin storms out of the cabin.
Nearly a minute has passed since Yoojin’s departure. Mina is the first to break the awkward silence in the cabin.
‘Appa, perhaps, we ought to—’
‘Don’t talk, Mina. I’m thinking,’ her father cuts in.
Mina clicks her tongue in annoyance at being rudely interrupted and goes back to biting her already bitten and reddened lower lip.
‘Mina-ya, I have a plan. But I need you on this. Your 100 per cent support. Without you, this plan won’t work.’
It has been a day of revelations, and Mina is still reeling from the allegations Yoojin has just levelled at her father. But she’s still consumed by guilt for having caused the matter to snowball by trying to manipulate Yoojin into revealing the history between Rodrigo and Timira. She holds herself responsible for causing this mess in the first place and is eager to make up for it.
