The Peninsula chaebol started by rescuing Samsung's little princess.

"Huff... huff..."

Inside a cramped prison cell, a middle-aged man is doing squats with his upper body bare.

This cell, number 1616, is only about 6 square meters. It contains only a bed and a toilet, and there is no place to take a shower. It is very rudimentary.

There's a TV by the bedside; it's probably an L brand.

The person in front of me is none other than Lee Jae-yong, the former heir to Samsung.

During my time in prison, my life was worlds apart from the villa I lived in back home.

But Lee Jae-yong did not give up on himself. In order to maintain his health, he ran shirtless on the sports field every day, rain or shine.

When he can't go out occasionally, like today, he'll do squats in his room.

Spending 30 minutes a day doing 10 sets is a level of perseverance that most people don't have.

Finally, having finished his exercise for the day, Lee Jae-yong slumped onto the bed, panting heavily.

He is already over 40 years old, so his physical strength is naturally not comparable to that of young people.

After all, even the executive vice president only runs at full speed when launching a fast break, right?

"Lee Jae-yong, dinner's ready!"

At that moment, a prison guard brought in a food tray.

Lee Jae-yong glanced at it; there were three dishes of kimchi, a bowl of rice, and a seaweed soup.

There wasn't even a speck of fat, let alone meat.

Lee Jae-yong would never have even glanced at such a meal before, let alone eaten it.

However, at this moment, he struggled to get up and took the plate over, picking up his chopsticks and constantly putting rice mixed with kimchi into his mouth.

His ravenous eating made it hard to reconcile his past as a chaebol heir.

Lee Jae-yong finished eating in less than ten minutes.

Even so, he was still very hungry and was essentially losing weight passively every day.

He has been locked up for more than two months and has lost more than ten kilograms. His beer belly is gone, and his face has become smaller.

Just as he was looking at the television on the wall, hesitating whether to turn it on, the prison door rang again.

He assumed it was a prison guard coming to collect the dishes and didn't pay any attention, still staring at the L logo in deep thought.

"Lee Jae-yong, come out here!"

Upon hearing this, Lee Jae-yong looked over and found that a prison guard was standing at the door waving at him.

"come out?"

"Yes, you've been released on bail!"

"What? I can go out now?"

Upon hearing this, Lee Jae-yong trembled.

If he could be released on bail, he would have been gone long ago. The reason he's being kept here is because nobody wants him to leave.

He didn't know how long he could live like this, so in order to avoid breaking down, he chose to train himself in prison.

However, when I suddenly heard that I could leave, I felt like I had been hit hard, and I was filled with mixed feelings.

"hurry up!"

However, the prison guards didn't give him time to be sentimental. Hearing the guards urge him again, Lee Jae-yong finally came to his senses and quickly followed them out.

"Lee In-jae, is that you?"

When Lee Jae-yong changed into his suit and arrived at the visiting room with the prison guards, he saw the person who came to pick him up, none other than Lee In-jae, Samsung Group's private lawyer.

"Director Li, you've been released on bail. Come with me!"

"director?"

Lee Jae-yong was taken aback when he heard this title.

"Uh, this isn't the place to talk. Let's go outside and discuss it!"

Upon hearing what Lee In-jae said, Lee Jae-yong temporarily suppressed his good intentions and followed the lawyer out of the prison.

The reporters, far more informed than he was, had already been waiting outside the door. When they saw Lee Jae-yong being released, they immediately surrounded him.

"Excuse me!"

However, Lee Jae-yong's bodyguards quickly stopped the reporters, preventing them from having an interview.

"You've been locked up for so long, what are your thoughts?"

"You've been ousted from the board. What would you like to say about that?"

"Director Li, I heard that your release this time was due to a deal between your sister and the new president, is that true?"

"..."

Hearing the reporters' questions, Lee Jae-yong was completely bewildered, but he remained silent until he got into his car.

"What exactly happened?"

"Director, yesterday the group passed a shareholders' meeting resolution formally removing you from your position as vice president. Your position has been changed to director!"

"..."

Although Lee Jae-yong knew this day would come while he was in prison, he was still somewhat dazed when it actually happened.

"I know you have many questions. Let's go to the hospital now, and the former chairman will answer them for you!"

Lee In-jae is Lee Kun-hee's man, so Lee Jae-yong naturally wouldn't object. In fact, he also had a lot of questions he wanted to ask his father.

Upon arriving at Samsung Hospital, Lee Jae-yong stepped out of the car and sighed as he looked at the empty space in front of him.

His release from prison was supposed to be a big deal, but in the end, only Lee In-jae came to pick him up.

My father was hospitalized, my mother abandoned me, my sisters even hurt me, my wife divorced me, and my children are still young.

Suddenly, he found himself to be a lonely old man.

With mixed emotions, Lee Jae-yong followed Lee In-jae to the ward and knocked on the door to enter.

"You're back? Have a seat!"

On the hospital bed, Lee Kun-hee, who was originally sitting on the headboard watching TV, turned off the TV with the remote control after seeing Lee Jae-yong enter, and pointed to the stool next to his bed.

"Father, are you feeling better?"

"I won't die for now!"

Lee Kun-hee's recent illness has severely weakened him; he's only alive now thanks to his wealth!

Although he looks much better now than before, he will spend the rest of his life on his sickbed.

"At the shareholders' meeting, you agreed to remove me from my position?"

"This is on the condition that you get out of prison!"

Lee Kun-hee spoke slowly.

"And what about from now on?"

"I'll give you some of the group's peripheral businesses; you'll have to manage them well!"

"..."

Lee Jae-yong fell silent again.

"What? You're not satisfied?"

"some!"

"What do you have to be upset about? You still lost even with my help. Do you really expect to defeat them all by yourself in the future?"

Upon hearing Lee Kun-hee's hurtful words, Lee Jae-yong fell silent once again.

He had spent his entire life preparing to inherit the Samsung Group, but after more than 40 years of preparation, just when he was about to succeed, everything suddenly vanished.

This blow was almost devastating for him, and it also caused him to lose his future goals.

Seeing Lee Jae-yong's dejected appearance, Lee Kun-hee couldn't help but shake his head.

His son wasn't stupid; among the three generations of conglomerates, his abilities were above average.

The problem is, he encountered two monsters, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Ho-young!

If I hadn't gotten this illness, I could have put up a fight with them.

Unfortunately, now that I'm ill, I've lost the last ability to stop them!

Even if one's own son retires from public life at the peak of his career, he can still maintain a life of wealth and comfort.

If you really refuse to admit defeat and fight to the bitter end, you might end up outliving your child!

Having survived this serious illness, Lee Kun-hee was no longer able to withstand any further setbacks, so he decided to personally nip his son's ambitions in the bud.

"I see!"

Lee Jae-yong adjusted his glasses and finally answered.

"I understand. Go back and check on the children. I'm tired!"

After giving Lee Jae-yong his instructions, Lee Kun-hee ordered him to leave.

After Lee Jae-yong left, Lee Kun-hee slumped against the headboard as if deflated.

Lee Jae-yong is not one to admit defeat, and of course, neither am I!

The idea that an old horse in its stall can still gallop a thousand miles is just a fairy tale; no one can defy the passage of time!