Kang Jihoon
I didn't sleep.
My apartment felt too quiet and too exposed, even with plainclothes officers supposedly watching the building. Every sound made me tense—footsteps in the hallway, the elevator dinging, someone's TV through the wall.
At 3 AM I gave up trying and sat by the window watching Seoul's lights, thinking about Father sitting in his office or his house, probably not sleeping either.
Did he know what was coming? He had to. His security team would have reported everything—the evidence delivered to prosecutors, Secretary Ahn's testimony, his son working against him.
He had to know this was the end.
My phone buzzed at 6 AM. Unknown number.
I answered. "Hello?"
"Don't go to the office today." Father's voice, calm as always. "Whatever they've told you, whatever you think you know, stay home."
My chest tightened. "It's too late."
"It's not too late. You're still my son and I can still protect you, but only if you stay away from this." A pause. "Please, Jihoon-ah."
The please broke something in me. "You admitted to killing seven people."
"I did what was necessary to protect our family's legacy. One day you'll understand—"
"I'll never understand murdering people to hide embezzlement." My voice shook. "You killed Jiwoo's brother. Her father. Six other people who were just trying to do their jobs."
"They were trying to destroy everything we built—"
"No, you destroyed it. You spent seven years stealing and killing and now it's all coming down." I stood up, needing to move. "They're arresting you today. Multiple counts of murder, embezzlement, fraud. The prosecutors have everything."
Silence on the other end.
Then: "I see. Secretary Ahn's testimony."
"And mine. I told them everything you said in your office."
"You testified against your own father." His voice hardened. "Do you have any idea what you've done? To yourself? To the company?"
"I did what you should have done seven years ago. Told the truth."
"The truth." He laughed, bitter and cold. "The truth is that power requires difficult choices. The truth is that maintaining a company like Haneul Group means getting your hands dirty sometimes. You'll learn that when you're sitting in my chair trying to hold everything together."
"I'm already in your chair. And I'm going to do it without killing people."
"We'll see how long that lasts." Another pause. "When they come for me today, remember—everything I did was for you. To give you power, position, a future. That was all for you."
"I didn't ask you to kill people for me."
"You didn't have to ask. That's what fathers do." His voice softened slightly. "I love you, Jihoon-ah. Even if you can't see it right now."
The line went dead.
I stood there holding my phone, shaking.
That was goodbye. Father saying goodbye because he knew what was coming and knew there was no way out.
Part of me wanted to call him back. Wanted to hear his voice one more time before everything changed forever.
But I didn't.
At 7 AM Prosecutor Yoon called. "The arrest teams are moving into position. Chairman Kang is at his residence in Seongbuk-dong. We'll have him in custody within the hour."
"What should I do?"
"Stay away from Haneul Group headquarters until after the arrests are complete. We're taking three executives into custody simultaneously and it's going to be chaotic."
"The media—"
"Will be everywhere, yes. We're holding a press conference at 10 AM to announce the charges." She paused. "You should prepare a statement. As CEO, people will want to hear from you."
"What am I supposed to say? Sorry my father was a murderer?"
"Say whatever feels right. But say something, because your silence will be interpreted a thousand different ways."
After she hung up I tried to think about what statement I could possibly make that would help, but my mind was blank.
At 8:47 AM my phone lit up with news alerts.
BREAKING: Haneul Group Chairman Kang Daejoon arrested on multiple charges
EXCLUSIVE: Chairman Kang facing murder charges in connection with 7 deaths
DEVELOPING: Massive corruption scandal rocks Haneul Group
My phone started ringing immediately. Board members, executives, reporters, people I hadn't spoken to in years suddenly desperate to know what was happening.
I turned it off.
At 9:15 AM there was a knock on my door. I checked the peephole and saw Jiwoo standing in the hallway, plainclothes officer visible behind her.
I opened the door. "You're supposed to be at the safe house."
"I was. They said I could leave after the arrests were complete." She walked in and I closed the door behind her. "Your father was arrested an hour ago. No resistance, very calm. Like he'd been expecting it."
"He called me at 6 AM. Said goodbye, basically."
"Are you okay?"
"No." I sat on the couch. "Are you?"
"No." She sat next to me. "But we did it. He's in custody, the evidence is with prosecutors, and it's finally over."
"This part is over. Now comes everything after."
My phone—still off—sat on the coffee table between us like a bomb waiting to explode with messages.
"You need to make a statement," Jiwoo said. "The prosecutors are holding their press conference at 10. You should speak right after, before the narrative gets away from you."
"What am I supposed to say?"
"The truth. That you didn't know, that you're cooperating fully with the investigation, that you're committed to cleaning up the company." She pulled out her own phone. "The media is going to tear you apart if you stay silent."
"They're going to tear me apart either way."
"Probably. But at least this way you control part of the message."
I turned my phone back on and it immediately exploded with notifications. Texts, calls, emails, all demanding explanations I didn't have.
One text stood out, from the board chairman.
Emergency meeting. 11 AM. Your attendance is mandatory.
"The board is convening," I showed Jiwoo. "They're probably going to try to force me out."
"Can they do that?"
"They can try. I'm CEO but Father owns forty percent of the company. With him in custody, those shares are in limbo." I stood and walked to my bedroom. "I need to get ready."
I showered and put on my best suit, the one I wore for important board meetings and major announcements. In the mirror I looked like a CEO, professional and composed.
I didn't feel like either of those things.
When I came out Jiwoo was watching the news on my TV. Footage of Father being led out of his house in handcuffs, head down, surrounded by prosecutors and police. The house I'd grown up in, now swarming with investigators.
"They're searching his home and office," Jiwoo said. "Looking for additional evidence."
On screen, reporters were shouting questions at Father but he didn't respond, just walked calmly to the waiting car like he was heading to a business meeting instead of jail.
The news cut to a reporter standing outside Haneul Group headquarters.
"—shock waves through Seoul's business community. Chairman Kang Daejoon, one of the most powerful men in South Korea, is facing seven counts of first-degree murder along with embezzlement and fraud charges. Sources say the investigation has been ongoing for months—"
"Not months," I said. "Five years. Kim Taejoon's been investigating for five years."
"They probably can't say that yet. Legal reasons." Jiwoo muted the TV. "Are you ready?"
"No."
"Good answer." She stood. "I'm coming with you. To the office."
"You don't have to—"
"Yes I do. Because when the board tries to throw you out, you're going to need someone who actually knows what your father was doing." She grabbed her bag. "Besides, I still technically work there. They fired me but they never processed the paperwork."
"That's probably not how employment law works."
"Do you want my help or not?"
I looked at her—Han Jiwoo, who'd spent three years undercover investigating my father, who'd lost her brother and her father to his crimes, who had every reason to hate me and Haneul Group and everything connected to my family.
And she was offering to stand beside me anyway.
"Yes," I said. "I want your help."
We took a car to headquarters with the plainclothes officers following in another vehicle. The streets were full of morning traffic and everything looked normal, like the world hadn't just shifted on its axis.
But when we got to Haneul Group, normal ended.
News vans surrounded the building, reporters everywhere with cameras and microphones. Security was trying to keep them back from the entrance but it was chaos.
"CEO Kang! Did you know about your father's crimes?"
"Mr. Kang! Will you resign?"
"Is it true you testified against your own father?"
I kept my head down and pushed through with Jiwoo beside me and security clearing a path. We made it to the elevator and I pressed the button for the forty-third floor.
"That was a preview," Jiwoo said. "It's going to be like that for months."
"I know."
The elevator doors opened and the executive floor was in controlled chaos. Staff rushing around, phones ringing constantly, executives huddled in worried groups that went silent when they saw me.
Secretary Ahn's desk was empty—he was still in protective custody. A temporary secretary I'd never seen before sat there looking overwhelmed.
"Sir, the board is waiting in the main conference room. They said—"
"I know what they said." I walked past her with Jiwoo following.
The conference room doors were closed. I could hear voices inside, angry and overlapping.
"Ready?" I asked Jiwoo.
"Are you?"
"No. But I'm doing it anyway."
I opened the doors and walked in.
All twelve board members were seated around the table, and every face turned toward me with expressions ranging from anger to fear to barely-concealed contempt.
"Jihoon." Board Chairman Kim stood. "We need to discuss—"
"I know what we need to discuss." I sat at the head of the table, in Father's usual seat. "You want me to resign. You think my connection to Father makes me a liability."
"Your father has been arrested for multiple murders," another board member said. "The company's stock is already down eighteen percent and the market hasn't even opened yet. This is a catastrophe."
"I agree. My father committed terrible crimes and now we're all dealing with the consequences." I looked around the table. "But forcing me out won't fix anything. It'll just signal to the market that we're in complete disarray."
"Keeping you as CEO signals that we condone what your father did—"
"I'm the one who exposed what my father did," I interrupted. "I'm the one who went to prosecutors with evidence. I testified against him knowing it would destroy my own family."
Silence.
"You did what?" Board Chairman Kim sat down slowly.
"I gave prosecutors everything they needed to build their case. Testimony, evidence, recordings of Father admitting to the murders." I pulled out my phone and set it on the table. "I have statements from the prosecutor's office confirming my cooperation if you'd like to see them."
More silence as they processed this.
"Why would you testify against your own father?" someone asked.
"Because he killed seven people to cover up embezzlement. Because letting him continue was wrong. Because someone had to stop him." I leaned forward. "I spent three years not paying attention while he corrupted this company. I'm not making that mistake again."
"And her?" Board Chairman Kim pointed at Jiwoo. "Why is Lee Jiwoo from accounting in this meeting?"
"Her name is Han Jiwoo," I said. "Her brother and father were two of the seven victims my father had murdered. She's been investigating his crimes for three years while working here undercover."
Jiwoo stepped forward and set the evidence bag on the conference table. "I have documentation of every crime Chairman Kang committed. Transfer records, authorization documents, communications about the murders. Twenty years of evidence that shows exactly how deep the corruption goes."
She pulled out papers and spread them across the table.
"These executives," she pointed to names highlighted in the documents, "were complicit. They knew about the embezzlement and helped cover it up. If you want to clean up this company, you need to remove them too."
Board members leaned forward to look at the documents, and I watched their faces change as they realized the scope of what Father had done.
"This is..." Board Chairman Kim trailed off. "This involves fifteen executives."
"At least," Jiwoo said. "Possibly more that we haven't identified yet."
"If we remove fifteen executives the company will collapse—"
"If you don't remove them, the prosecutors will." I stood. "We can get ahead of this or we can wait for more arrests. Your choice."
The room erupted in arguments, board members talking over each other about damage control and market stability and legal liability.
I let them argue for five minutes before speaking again.
"Here's what's going to happen," I said, loud enough to cut through the noise. "I'm staying as CEO. We're cooperating fully with the investigation. We're removing anyone involved in the corruption. And we're being completely transparent with the public about what happened and how we're fixing it."
"That's suicide," someone said. "Admitting everything will destroy investor confidence—"
"Hiding it will destroy investor confidence when the prosecutors expose it anyway." I looked around the table. "Father spent seven years lying and covering up crimes. I'm not continuing that pattern."
"Even if it means the company fails?"
"The company won't fail. It'll be damaged, yes. The stock will drop, we'll lose contracts, some clients will leave. But we'll survive because we're finally telling the truth." I sat back down. "Or you can force me out and install someone who'll try to bury this. See how well that works."
Board Chairman Kim looked at the other members, then back at me. "You really testified against your father."
"Yes."
"Even knowing what it would cost you."
"Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment. "Then I suppose you've earned the right to lead us through this crisis."
Not quite the ringing endorsement I'd hoped for, but I'd take it.
"We'll support you," he continued. "But if this gets worse—if there are more revelations or more arrests—we'll revisit this decision."
"Fair enough."
The meeting continued for another hour, discussing logistics and legal strategy and damage control. By the time it ended I was exhausted and it wasn't even noon.
Jiwoo and I walked back to my office in silence.
"You did good in there," she said when I closed the door.
"I had help." I sat at my desk and looked at the photo on the shelf—me and Father at my CEO inauguration five years ago, both smiling.
I took it down and put it in a drawer.
"What now?" Jiwoo asked.
"Now I figure out how to run a company that my father spent seven years corrupting." I looked at her. "Think you can help with that?"
"Are you offering me a job?"
"I'm offering you whatever position you want. Chief Financial Officer, Head of Compliance, Internal Investigator. You know this company's problems better than anyone."
She was quiet for a moment. "I'll think about it."
"Take your time. But Jiwoo?" I met her eyes. "Thank you. For everything."
"Thank my brother. He's the one who started this."
"Then thank you for finishing it."
She left and I sat alone in my office, looking out at Seoul.
Somewhere in this city, Father was in a holding cell waiting for his arraignment.
Somewhere Jiwoo was trying to process three years of investigation finally paying off.
Somewhere seven families were learning that the person responsible for their loved ones' deaths was finally facing justice.
And I was here, trying to figure out how to fix everything Father had broken.
It was going to take years.
But at least now I was finally paying attention.