Chapter 139: White Knight (3)

Next morning.

Soft sunlight seeped through the curtains of the hotel suite.

Since it was an early hour, a quiet silence was filling the space.

As usual, I woke up in the early dawn and finished exercising, then returned to the room, washed simply, and had just finished breakfast.

On my desk, organized documents and a tablet were placed neatly.

In the reception room, Hong Jang-gun was sprawled on the sofa playing a phone game.

He muttered and got angry every now and then.

“Ah, I died again….”

Across from him, Choi Seo-jun, who was not fully awake, sat holding a coffee cup.

He rested his chin on one hand, and his eyes were blankly looking into the air.

I spoke to him as I watched that sight.

“Director Choi, did you sleep well?”

“I don’t know why I’m tired no matter how much I sleep.”

“I will have some restorative medicine made for you later.”

“If you’re going to do it, please make it something good.”

While we were sharing various jokes, the doorbell rang.

Hong Jang-gun stopped his game, and his gaze turned sharp.

“Is there someone supposed to come?”

I shook my head.

Who would come all the way to India at this hour to find me.

Looking at the clock, it was just past 8:00 AM.

Therefore, it was not time for a hotel employee to visit either.

Hong Jang-gun checked to see who it was while being wary, and an unexpected person was standing there.

It was the person we met yesterday evening.

Choi Seo-jun muttered with surprised eyes.

“Arjun Rajan?”

The complexion of his face was very dark.

A dark blue bruise was spreading below his left cheekbone, and deep fatigue was evident around his eyes.

It was as if he had been beaten thoroughly by someone.

Arjun bowed his head when he saw me.

“I am sorry. I know it is rude to visit at such an early hour, but I could not wait. Could we talk for a moment?”

Unlike yesterday, his voice was very cautious and soft.

I wore a calm smile without a single sign of surprise.

“Of course. Come in.”

As I gestured, Arjun hesitated then slowly came inside.

Hong Jang-gun sensibly led Choi Seo-jun and went into the room.

I asked Arjun.

“Shall I give you a cup of tea? What do you like?”

“Just a glass of water is enough for me.”

I poured water into a glass, brought it, and placed it in front of Arjun.

As if his throat was dry, he wrapped his two hands around it and only opened his mouth cautiously after drinking it all.

“Representative, actually… The reason I came to visit like this today is because of Tara Steel.”

My gaze immediately became serious.

“Speak slowly. There is plenty of time.”

Arjun lowered his gaze.

There were scars here and there on his face.

I could guess what had happened.

“The company is in a truly dangerous situation right now. Father has already taken his hands off it… and the government is also practically ignoring it. But I cannot just leave the company alone.”

He caught his breath for a moment and added with a trembling voice.

“Actually, I have one friend. One who grew up together since we were young… the only friend to me. That friend's father is the president of a subcontractor for Tara Steel. If Tara Steel collapses… that company will also collapse.”

I looked at Arjun and asked.

“What is the name of that subcontractor?”

Arjun answered without hesitation.

“Darvish Engineering.”

Upon hearing that name, my gaze shook for a moment.

“Darvish Engineering….”

I quietly repeated it and fell into thought for a moment.

It was not that I did not know the name of that company.

I had seen it a few times while investigating Tara Steel.

Among the suppliers of medium-sized steel companies, its technical prowess was on the solid side.

Of course, the scale is on the small side.

Rajan and Darvish.

If one were to simply compare the two, should it be called David and Goliath.

I leaned against the chair, lightly swept my chin with a finger, and asked.

“If it is President Darvish, was it Rahim Darvish?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I knew that person’s child was only a daughter.”

Hearing those words, Arjun lowered his head further.

The tips of his ears were dyed red.

A very subtle smile brushed the corners of my mouth.

Only then did I feel that all the puzzles were being fitted together.

“I see.”

Arjun raised his head with eyes like a surprised rabbit.

“Pardon?!” ℯℯ𝑙.

I wore a quiet smile and opened my mouth.

“I understand what it means that you want to save the company.”

Arjun could not give any answer for a moment.

Instead, as if he had been caught in a secret by someone else, his fingertips trembled and his face felt hot as if it were burning up.

He moved his dry lips and said in a small voice as if admitting it.

“That friend is the whole world to me. We were always together since we were young. But if Tara Steel collapses, that child's family will lose everything as well. On top of that, getting married to some loafer from another family… just thinking about that makes me unable to do anything.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and then slowly nodded my head.

My gaze contained warmth, not pity.

“I do understand. The heart that wants to protect someone, that sometimes becomes the strongest motivation.”

Arjun’s pupils shook slightly.

At that moment, the air between the two of us changed.

A young passion that began to move due to love.

However, one cannot resolve work with just that.

I was silent for a moment.

Only after sufficiently reading the desperation contained in Arjun’s gaze did I slowly open my mouth.

“I understand your heart. However, you cannot change anything with just that heart.”

Arjun raised his head while wearing a surprised expression.

I spoke firmly with a calm attitude.

“The crisis Tara Steel is facing is not something to be resolved with emotions alone. You must look at it coldly. I also have a reason for visiting all the way to India. It is to meet your father directly. To save Tara Steel… the Rajan family must move, not me.”

My voice became a level lower and echoed heavily.

“Of course, I don’t mean that the Rajan family should take all the responsibility. However, the influence the Rajan family has in India is powerful. If they step to the front, the government, banks, and investors will move again. The recovery of Tara Steel is possible starting from then.”

Arjun looked at me without a word.

Complex emotions were entangled in his gaze.

I followed up and spoke calmly.

“However, you should have persuaded your father first instead of coming to find me.”

At those words, Arjun suddenly stood up from his seat.

Emotions mixed with anger and hurt spread across his face.

“Even though you won’t even help! You are no different from my father. You speak plausible words, but in the end, you are only tapping on a calculator!”

I slowly stood up from my seat.

My gaze changed fiercely.

“If you think that way, get out of this place right now. If you continue to be swayed only by emotions as you are now, then I can also just wrap up this work and return to Korea.”

At that one word, Arjun’s expression hardened.

After a moment, he shook his head as if flustered, then covered his face with his two hands.

Such a thing happened, and then he plopped down in his seat.

“You must not. Please, do not do that. I am sorry, I was rash.”

I watched that appearance for a moment and then let out a short breath.

“If you are sincere, prove it.”

Arjun raised his head.

My gaze was fierce yet overflowing with charisma.

“If you want to protect the person you love, gain power first.”

“Power?”

“Only then can you protect love, the person, and yourself. The current you is merely a young man swayed by emotions. However, if you truly want to protect that friend, you must make it so the world has no choice but to listen to your words.”

At those words, Arjun’s pupils shook.

My words sounded cold, but clear sincerity was contained within them.

“It is not too late, even starting from now.”

My last words made Arjun’s heart fluctuate.

The man before his eyes is clearly a person younger than him.

Until the moment we first met yesterday, that fact was situated in his consciousness.

However, at this moment, the age difference with him had no meaning at all.

The words spoken by the person named Hyunjun were unwavering.

They were cold-headed but warm, and firm but strangely comforting.

Arjun looked into my eyes without realizing it.

My appearance, sitting with the sunlight-seeping window as the background, looked like someone who had pierced through the world from long ago.

Ganesha, known as the god of wisdom and learning, came to mind.

Not a single waver was in his gaze, and every single word dug deep into his heart and shook it.

Arjun felt an emotion he could not understand even himself.

A sense of stability as if he could live if only this one person held out in a fierce storm.

Before such a presence, the pride that had collapsed and the anger that had been suppressed gradually disappeared.

Arjun slowly lowered his head.

A smile gradually dwelled on the corners of his mouth.

‘The God is helping me.’

His voice became calm for the first time.

His large frame stood up tall as he raised his body.

“I will not forget the words you gave me, Representative. I am still lacking, but I promise. I will become strong enough to protect that person and my world.”

The corners of my mouth naturally drew an arc.

As if I believed in Arjun.

At that moment, Arjun was certain.

If it were this person, if it were the person named Lim Hyunjun, it seemed he could really change the world.

Arjun still caught his gasping breath as confusion and anger vanished, filling that space with determination.

He looked at me quietly and said.

“Representative, I want to persuade Father. However, I do not know how I should do it.”

His voice changed from before.

I looked at him without a word then slowly opened my mouth.

“You just need to change.”

“Me?”

I sat on the sofa, leaned my body slightly forward, and put my two hands together.

“If you want to persuade a person like Ravindra Rajan, words are not enough. A person like him does not move with things like emotions or tears. He is a figure who survived in the ruthlessness of the world. To such a person, the greatest persuasion is none other than ability.”

Arjun carved in my words while holding his breath.

I followed up and added.

“Prove it yourself. Show it not with your father’s name, but with your own power. That you are a capable child, that you are a being who can judge for yourself and move people. Only then will Ravindra Rajan recognize you as a man.”

I slowly turned the glass on the table with my fingertip.

The ripples inside the glass shook and fluctuated.

“If that happens, you are no longer the son of Ravindra Rajan.”

My voice became a level deeper.

“You yourself will become the power of the Rajan family.”

Those words dug into Arjun quietly and deep into his heart.

The sunlight seeping through the window shone on the faces of the two.

One person looked at the other with the eyes of one who has already pierced through the world, and the other person looked with young eyes just about to stand before the world.

A small ember created somewhere inside Arjun became the start of change and burned fiercely.