novelinnhs Chapter 71 What a real funeral!
Chapter 71 What a real funeral!
The cemetery is located on a hillside near Seoul, backed by a pine forest.
The sky was overcast, and the clouds hung low, as if it were about to snow at any moment.
This kind of weather is perfect for funerals; even the heavens have set a filter for you.
Outside the farewell hall, the gray granite exterior walls are flanked by two rows of white chrysanthemum stands at the entrance.
From afar, Li Zhengyi saw a row of black luxury cars in the parking lot: Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Genesis, with license plates shorter than the last.
He had attended several family funerals in his life and knew the etiquette of such occasions well.
The darker the car, the more expensive it is; the colder the face, the more affectionate it is.
When he reached the main entrance of the cemetery, two bodyguards in black suits were already blocking his way.
The one on the right reached out and stopped him.
"Sir, this is a private funeral. Please show me your invitation."
Li Zheng looked at him but didn't say anything.
The bodyguard's expression remained unchanged, clearly indicating that he did not recognize him at all.
He had lived in this house for over twenty years, and had been away for less than three years. Even the gatekeeper didn't recognize his face anymore.
"I am Li Zhengyi."
The bodyguard's expression changed.
It wasn't respectful; it was the kind of look that said, "So you're the one."
He exchanged a glance with another bodyguard next to him, then whispered something into his earpiece.
A few seconds later, he turned back, his attitude even colder than before.
"Third Young Master, the Chairman has ordered that you are not allowed to enter."
"I can't go into my second brother's funeral?"
"This is the chairman's order. Please don't put us in a difficult position."
Li Zhengyi stood at the door, not forcing his way in.
His gaze passed over the bodyguard's shoulder, through the glass doors of the farewell hall, and onto the crowd inside.
Black suits, black hanbok, and familiar faces.
Then he started shouting.
"Second brother! Why did you jump down?!"
The bodyguards exchanged bewildered glances, while the guests who had been exchanging pleasantries turned to look at each other, their eyes questioning each other.
Who is this person?
What is he shouting?
Li Zhengyi took two more steps forward, and the bodyguard reached out to stop him in the chest, but did not make a move.
His voice rose even higher.
"You gave me the parachute! You said you owed me! You said you'd rather die than let me live! What do you owe me? What do you owe me that's worth paying with your life for!"
There was a moment of silence in the farewell hall.
People started whispering among themselves.
"Who is that? Someone who was stopped outside?"
"Li Zhengyi? The one who got kicked out of his home?"
"How dare he come here?"
The core members of the entire CJ family sat on the benches in the farewell hall.
The front row consists of direct relatives, followed by collateral relatives, and then the company's senior management.
The seating arrangement precisely reflects the power hierarchy.
Anyone who has worked at CJ for more than two years can draw the entire group's organizational chart from the seating arrangement.
Li Chenghao stood at the front of the farewell hall. As the eldest son and the master of ceremonies, he was dressed in the most standard black mourning clothes, with a white flower pinned to his chest.
His facial expressions are perfectly controlled.
His brows were slightly furrowed, the corners of his mouth were downturned, and his eyes were heavy but restrained.
He displayed all the expressions one would expect from an elder brother who has just lost his younger brother.
Standing next to him is Li Zhihui, the eldest daughter, who is actually the second oldest.
She wore a gray shawl over her black mourning dress.
The material is clearly top-quality.
It is both appropriate for the solemnity of a funeral and stands out just right among all the black colors.
She stood in the second row of the relatives' section, at the far end, instead of choosing the front row in the center, next to two senior executives from the CJ Group.
From her vantage point overlooking the farewell hall, diagonally opposite Li Chenghao, she could see every expression on her elder brother's face, as well as every move of the old man.
When Li Zhengyi's voice came in from outside the door, her eyebrows twitched.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't curious.
It's like watching a play that you already knew would happen, but you're not sure exactly when it will start.
Lee Jae-hyun sat in a wheelchair in the center of the first row, facing Lee Woo-bin's portrait.
A dark blanket covered his legs, revealing no emotion.
Li Zhengyi's voice came from outside the door. His eyes were still looking ahead. He didn't turn around, didn't speak, and didn't even move a finger.
Long Zhangzhu sat next to him.
Vice Chairman and CFO of CJ Group, a veteran figure.
He was probably in his early sixties, with gray hair, but he was in high spirits, and his eyes behind his glasses were always scrutinizing.
When Li Zhengyi's voice came from outside the door, he didn't whisper to each other like the others.
He merely tilted his head slightly, his gaze lingering on the doorway for a few seconds before returning to Li Chenghao's face, waiting to see how the top heir would handle this unexpected situation.
Li Zhengyi's voice grew louder.
"Second Brother! You said you knew who did what happened two years ago! You said you had evidence to prove my innocence! You said you were going to tell me a secret, why didn't you tell me sooner! Why did you wait until you were about to die to say it!"
Lee Sung-ho's composure finally cracked.
It was very subtle, just a fleeting twitch at the corner of the eye.
He quickly regained his composure, but the pause itself was enough to attract the attention of those who were interested.
Li Zhihui noticed it.
She picked up her teacup and covered her mouth.
Whispering sounds came from the guest area.
Several distant relatives sitting in the back row were whispering among themselves, while the company executives in the front pretended not to hear anything.
"Two years ago? Was it that incident?"
"He said Lee Woo-bin knew the evidence?"
"How could Lee Woo-bin have evidence...? Doesn't he never get involved in these things?"
"If there really is evidence..."
Li Chenghao finally spoke.
He waved to the bodyguard at the door.
"Please take him out. The funeral is in progress; do not disturb the guests."
His tone was calm, but the command itself was vague.
"Take him out" instead of "kick him out," and "Don't bother him" instead of "Don't listen to him."
The most obvious characteristic of a person who lacks decisiveness is that their orders always leave room for maneuver, so that if something goes wrong, they can blame it on their subordinates not following the instructions correctly.
The bodyguard hesitated for a moment, then began to push Li Zhengyi backward.
The action wasn't considered rough.
A bodyguard whispered, "Please leave."
At this moment, Lee Jae-hyun, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
"Let him in."
The voice wasn't loud, but the entire farewell hall fell silent instantly.
The bodyguard stopped.
Li Chenghao turned to look at his father, his mouth opening and closing.
"Since he's here, let him see. Let him see the person he killed with his own hands one last time."
Lee Jae-hyun's voice was devoid of any emotion.
The bodyguard released his grip.
Li Zheng straightened his collar, which had been pulled askew, and walked into the farewell hall.
The first thing he saw was the portrait of the deceased.
Lee Woo-bin's photo hangs in the center front, black and white, smiling.
Below the portrait was a black coffin with its lid tightly closed.
White chrysanthemums and an offering table were placed in front of the coffin, on which were some of Li Yubin's personal belongings.
He walked to the coffin and knelt down.
"Second brother, why did you save me? You said you owed me, is this what you owe me? You're paying me back with your life, what use is your life to me?"
His tears were truly falling.
This surprised even himself.
He thought he would have to force himself to kneel down in front of the coffin, but the moment he knelt down, tears started flowing.
Could it be that I'm a born actor?
Why don't you try acting yourself?
He might become a movie star.