Living with an Ex-Husband - Chapter 73:  Resolving the Knot (3)

Chapter 73:  Resolving the Knot (3)

The atmosphere in the shareholders’ meeting room was equally chaotic. As Lee Joon entered, whispers filled the air and people sat with tense expressions on their faces.

Before taking his seat, Lee Joon scanned the room. As he had expected, the members of the Small Division and the Seoryeong Group family were sitting together.

It was clear that they were all in for this meeting, as even Mrs. Hong Min-ja’s relatives had come in large numbers to support her.

“The shares accumulated through the proxy accounts have all been absorbed by Mrs. Hong’s family.”

 Director Kwon reported in a low voice, causing Lee Joon’s lips to curl into a sardonic smile.

“There was no need to hide their identities anymore, so it was only natural.”

Having expected this, Lee Joon showed no reaction. His cold, focused gaze fell on So-hyun and Lee Jin-cheol, the head of Dongyang Textile. Father and daughter sat close to the Seoryeong group.

Seeing the victorious smiles on their faces, Lee Joon couldn’t help but scoff.

Just as he was about to sit down, he spotted someone and frowned. Sitting alone in a corner, away from the others, was unmistakably Kim Woo-sung.

Ha… You made it this far, didn’t you?

A confused smile escaped Lee Joon’s lips. He had only asked Woo-sung to play the role of a brother, but here he was playing the role of a cruel and cunning stepbrother.

With one hand in his suit pocket, Lee Joon shot a fierce look at Woo-sung, who met his gaze unflinchingly. The two men locked eyes, their icy stares clashing with intensity.

Then, unexpectedly, Lee Joon broke into a grin and gave Woo-sung a nod. The unexpected gesture left Woo-sung momentarily stunned, his eyes widening in surprise.

Amused by Woo-sung’s bewildered reaction, Lee Joon took his seat, while Woo-sung, still confused, could only blink in response.

A moment later, as everyone took their seats, the doors to the meeting room closed. The host then announced the start of the meeting.

“But why hasn’t Grandfather arrived yet?”

Young-jun asked confusedly as he turned to Tae Seong-min,

“I heard your grandfather was so shocked that he took to his bed.”

Tae Seong-min said with a smug grin.

“Always doting on his eldest son’s family, and now he’s been blindsided.”

“So, has Grandfather ever taken the test?”

“Most likely. Otherwise, he would have already called us over to give us a scolding.”

“Now that you mention it, that does make sense.”

Agreeing with his father’s opinion, Young-jun nodded with a satisfied expression.

“The fact that my father isn’t here already means the game is over. That brat Lee Joon is just like a kite with its string cut now.”

Tae Seong-min sneered at Lee Joon with a malicious gleam in his eye.

“I hope so. Look how arrogant he is for someone of such questionable origins.”

Young-jun also raised his chin arrogantly as he mocked Lee Joon.

At that moment, the host moved on to the main agenda.

“Given that this is such a sensitive issue, I will present the agenda right away. Do you have any objections, CEO Tae Lee Joon?”

As the host directed the question to Lee Joon, all eyes turned toward him. The room fell silent, filled with palpable tension.

After exchanging a glance with the host, Lee Joon spoke.

“I have an objection.”

His response stirred the room into a buzz of whispers. Tae Seong-min and Young-jun both looked visibly surprised.

“In that case, would you please come up and make your statement?”

“Sure.”

In response to the host’s request, Lee Joon nodded and walked up to the podium. Curious and confused eyes followed him.

“Hello, shareholders. I am Tae Lee Joon, CEO of Geumyoung Electronics.”

After bowing slightly to the audience, Lee Joon gestured to Director Kwon. When asked, Kwon handed over the documents he was holding.

“The reason I’m being dismissed is that I’m not a blood relative of the Tae family. Do you have any evidence to support that?”

“Of course we do!”

Tae Seong-min shot up from his seat, shouting. All eyes turned to him.

“Look! Do you see this? It proves that Tae Lee Joon is not the child of my brother! The DNA does not match!”

Tae Seong-min pointed emphatically at the screen behind the podium and made a strong statement. As the DNA test results appeared on the big screen, gasps of disbelief echoed around the room.

“Is this for real?”

“I can’t believe it, what’s happening?”

People muttered, their eyes darting between the screen and Lee Joon, their mouths open in shock.

“Shareholders, you saw it clearly, didn’t you? Tae Lee Joon is not a member of our family! He has been deceiving both our family and the entire Geumyoung Group all this time!”

Young-jun chimed in, ridiculing Lee Joon by calling him a cuckoo chick.

Watching the excited father and son, Lee Joon couldn’t help but scoff. They reminded him of piranhas charging at a piece of food.

“I see that many of you are surprised by the test results. I was quite shocked as well. I couldn’t believe how such absurd results could come about.”

After admitting his own disbelief, Lee Joon added, “To prove that I am indeed a blood relative of the Tae family, I also requested a DNA test.”

Before anyone could react, another DNA test result appeared on the large screen.

“As you can see, this test shows that the genetic markers match. This is evidence that I am the legitimate heir of the Tae family.”

“What… how is this possible?”

Tae Seong-min’s face turned pale as his eyes widened in disbelief.

“This can’t be happening…”

Young-jun also stared with his eyes wide open, struggling to find the words.

“Young-jun! What is this? Huh? What’s going on?”

Kim So-young, with a similarly pale face, grabbed her husband’s arm and shook it anxiously.

It wasn’t just Tae Seong-min’s family who were stunned. So-hyun and her father, as well as the Seoryeong family, were also shocked, their faces reflecting the gravity of the situation.

“That doesn’t make sense! I took Tae Lee Joon’s hair for testing! If you doubt it, get it tested again!”

“Of course, I’m more than willing to do that. If you’d like, my uncle can personally take a strand of my hair for testing.”

Tae Seong-min’s neck stiffened at Lee Joon’s over-confident attitude. A shiver ran down his spine, sending goosebumps all over his body.

“Could it be…?”

His curses caught in his throat as he looked at Lee Joon’s calm smile.

This was not the face of someone trying to clear his name. It was the expression of a predator hiding its claws, toying with its prey before sinking its teeth into its neck.

“Damn it…”

Finally grasping the situation, Tae Seong-min cursed again.

“I can’t… I can’t believe it! The test results could have been manipulated; I absolutely won’t accept it!”

Young-jun’s face turned red as he shouted. He had personally taken the hair and submitted it for testing, and the result hadn’t shown him to be the biological child.

But why…?

“If I had requested the test, it would of course raise suspicion. But this test was not ordered by me”.

Lee Joon’s relaxed explanation only added to Young-jun’s frustration as he shouted.

“Then who did it?”

“I ordered it!”

The doors to the meeting room swung open and a commanding voice echoed through the room. Everyone turned their heads towards the entrance.

“Oh? It’s Honorary Chairman Tae Moo-jin!”

“Is it him?”

“I thought he wasn’t going to be here today!”

With the unexpected appearance of Tae Moo-jin, the atmosphere in the shareholders’ meeting became chaotic once more.

Assisted by his secretary, Tae Moo-jin walked cautiously, his expression heavy.

The more he thought about how this situation had developed, the more disgusted he became with his younger son. Not only had he disgraced the family name, but he had also brought shame to their household and made the whole country sit up and take notice.

“Ah… Father.”

“Grandfather.”

“You foolish children. How dare you bring such disgrace to our family!”

Tae Moo-jin scolded his younger son and grandson, who stared at him in shock. He glared at them angrily before accepting the support of Lee Joon and his secretary and stepping up to the podium.

Even at over eighty years of age, Tae Moo-jin’s charisma and presence were remarkable. He immediately captured everyone’s attention. As the room fell silent, all eyes turned to him.

“I am Tae Moo-jin, honorary chairman of the Geumyoung Group.”

Despite his physical discomfort, he bowed slightly, causing others to awkwardly rise from their seats in respect.

“First of all, I apologize for having to greet you under such unfortunate circumstances.”

After expressing his understanding and apology, Tae Moo-jin took Lee Joon’s hand and began to speak.

“I must have lived too long. After hearing such absurd claims, I ordered a DNA test for Tae Lee Joon, despite the shame it brought to the family. The result, of course, confirmed that he was the biological son of Chairman Tae Seong-yeol.”

As Tae Moo-jin gave detailed information about the test, he continued with a solemn look.

“It was I, the head of this family and the leader of Geumyoung, who ordered the test! Who dares to question that?”

His booming voice echoed through the meeting room, causing those present to instinctively shrink back into their seats.

“Why on earth would I lie about my own grandchild’s bloodline?”

With a loud thud, Tae Moo-jin slammed his staff down on the floor, leaving those present almost breathless. Feeling the weight of defeat, Tae Seong-min squeezed his eyes shut.

“But… I clearly collected my brother’s hair…”

Young-jun, with a face full of indignation, suddenly blamed So-hyun.

“What’s going on here? You said Tae Lee Joon wasn’t your biological son!”

“Are you kidding me? Now you say it’s my fault? I just told you what I heard! Say something, Kim Woo-sung!”

With the arrows of blame aimed at him, Woo-sung was at a loss and visibly nervous.

“I… I heard clearly that I witnessed CEO Tae Lee Joon directly claiming that he wasn’t the biological son of Chairman Tae Seong-yeol…”

“Who on earth made such a ridiculous claim?”

Lee Joon asked incredulously, causing Woo-sung to stammer out his answer.

“It was the housekeeper who worked at Yoon Eunchae’s house… that aunt.”

“Are you saying that you created this absurd situation based on such an uncertain testimony?”

“……”

“Then we should bring the aunt here to hear her exact account.”

“Isn’t that right?”

Lee Joon asked with a grin, leaving Woo-sung speechless.

“He already knows everything and is prepared for it.”

Woo-sung was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. He swallowed hard and raised a trembling hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

“The chances of the test results not matching are very small, but it’s not impossible. Tae Young-jun, I suggest you ask for a repeat test. I’m not worried about hair loss, so I’m more than willing to donate my hair.”

Lee Joon smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow. Only then did Young-jun lose all motivation and collapse.

“As you, the shareholders, have seen, the reasons for my dismissal have been removed, so the proposal itself is no longer viable. Are there any objections?”

His question was met with silence. With Lee Joon now confirmed as Geumyoung’s rightful heir, there was little more anyone could say.

Interpreting the silence as approval, Lee Joon launched his counter-attack.

“Then let me propose an agenda item: the dismissal of Tae Seong-min, CEO of Geumyoung Construction.”

At Lee Joon’s suggestion, the collapsed Tae Seong-min shot to his feet.

“What?! How dare you…! What reasons do you have?!”

“There are… way too many reasons!”

Lee Joon said with a grin as he watched Tae Seong-min’s face turn red with anger.

“As you can see here, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence of tax evasion and embezzlement committed by CEO Tae Seong-min and executive Tae Young-jun.”

Lee Joon pointed to the screen and showed the meticulously prepared evidence.