Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chairman Cha’s Intention (2)

Watching the grandson moving away, Chairman Cha smiled contentedly.

“You raised the kid smartly. The guts are good, the momentum is good, and there’s backbone.”

Whether Secretary Kim made a bewildered expression or not.

Whether Go manager didn’t know what to do seeing the neglected pile of gifts or not.

Chairman Cha tapped the photo of Cha Jeong-hyeok that was attached to the report and smiled broadly.

“Everyone tries to match my mood somehow when they see me and struggles, but this guy doesn’t even fear me much. He just treats me like a neighborhood grandfather.”

“So are you disappointed?”

“No way. It’s not that the guy lacks sense. It seemed he fully gauged what kind of person I am while watching his mom struggle, yet despite that, he boldly spoke out.”

That was the reason Chairman Cha was smiling pleasantly.

“The boldness is big. The gaze is also extraordinary. The way of speaking is quite spicy. Seong-jun has obtained a decent child. This is all Seong-jun’s fortune. Hahaha!”

Chairman Cha recalled the report that Secretary Kim had submitted.

“He lived renting in a Guro-dong shanty, right? The clothes he’s wearing are also shabby, and the haircut is quite countryside-like. It doesn’t suit the elegantly handsome face. Contact the department store and have them issue a membership card first.”

“Yes, understood.”

The smell of a poor person vibrated from everything the grandson was wearing.

“He almost died from coal gas, so I can roughly guess the hardships in the meantime. Yet he doesn’t even utter a crying sound or a dying sound once. Unlike the guys who are busy reaching out their hands as soon as they see me, he didn’t even mention money at all?”

Secretary Kim wanted to add a few more words but kept his mouth shut tightly.

Because Chairman Cha raised his hand and blocked him.

“It doesn’t seem like he doesn’t know what a chaebol means. Yet look at him leaving without lingering while holding his mom’s hand. Hahaha!”

Chairman Cha slapped his knee.

“Yes, if you’ve become a man, you need this much guts!”

So it’s fortunate, but.

“But he’s still young. To give up his future so easily like this.”

Chairman Cha clicked his tongue.

“If he was a smart guy, he should have entered this family somehow and then looked for an opportunity and clung skillfully asking to accept his mother too.”

“He’s not a person who can’t judge the situation to that extent.”

“Huh?”

Chairman Cha raised his head and looked at Secretary Kim.

“There are times when you say such things. Is it that much?”

“It’s more than that.”

“Hmm.”

Secretary Kim took out a black document folder from the paper envelope.

“It’s the bribe ledger that U-gwang distributed. A top-secret item that came from inside the KCIA.”

“What?”

“As I reported yesterday, the item that U-gwang is searching for with eyes blazing is exactly this.”

Chairman Cha also knows from receiving the report.

That U-gwang is flipped upside down and cooking the media and politicians.

That even the upper ranks of the KCIA are intervening and thoroughly searching for something.

‘What on earth is this that U-gwang is rampaging like a crazy woman······ Umm!’

Rustle.

The more he turned the ledger, the more Chairman Cha’s complexion hardened.

‘U-gwang had reason to rampage. What kind of bastard shot in the head clung to U-gwang this much? Quite skilled.’

It was a neatly organized ledger.

Whoever created something like this, the ones who put their names on this ledger would sweat cold sweat quite a bit.

Chairman Cha’s mind spun busily about how to use this ledger.

“Secretary Kim, where did you obtain such a precious item?”

There’s no way Secretary Kim obtained such an item for free.

This was clearly a gift and goodwill sent by someone.

It was also a secret proposal wanting to join hands with Taeseong.

“Samcheong? Geumsan? Private loans or gangsters? Or an opposition party assemblyman? A spy planted in U-gwang?”

Unlike expected, Secretary Kim brought out a completely different name.

“It’s Young Master Jeong-hyeok. The young master handed this to me saying it was a bribe to the chairman.”

“What?”

No, earlier he corrected that it wasn’t a bribe but alms.

Secretary Kim made a bitter smile.

“I’ll report. So today Young Master Jeong-hyeok······.”

Secretary Kim briefly summarized and reported what he saw and heard while following Jeong-hyeok.

How he bought the house, how he manipulated the elder of the Songgolmae Pawnshop.

In fact, there was a sense of greatly reducing it when reporting, but even with that alone, Chairman Cha opened his mouth wide.

“How old is our Jeong-hyeok this year?”

“······He turns seven.”

It was a similar question to the elder of the Songgolmae Pawnshop.

But while the elder only let out empty laughs continuously with a face as if he chewed shit, Chairman Cha burst into hearty laughter with a very excited expression.

“Hahaha, as expected my child, indeed my bloodline! Of course!”

So, but.

“Chairman, if you send Young Master Jeong-hyeok back like this, you will regret it later while stamping the ground.”

Chairman Cha was silent for a moment.

Originally a person who didn’t even have dreams in mind let alone superstitions.

For some reason, the scene seen in the dreams of the whole family at the same time kept appearing before his eyes from time to time.

‘That Jeong-hyeok guy is the one who flew in the sky riding a yellow dragon as big as Namsan in the dream. With one gesture, the ground flipped, the river turned into oil, and a money rain fell. They say a dream of pregnancy of that level means not an ordinary extraordinary person is born.’

I don’t believe in superstitions, but I believed in my own eye for detail.

The grandson I faced directly earlier was a material that was very coveted.

“Secretary Kim, you’ll have to step up directly. Bring my grandson.”

“Chairman, surely you’re not trying to forcibly separate him from his mother?”

“If necessary.”

“Chairman!”

“How could I leave that as is when he’s my precious child I obtained? I can’t watch my bloodline wandering outside like that!”

Secretary Kim shook his head.

“I won’t recommend that method.”

“Why?”

“If you forcibly bring him, you’ll see a harsh sight later. If you carelessly try to cut the heavenly bond, you’ll only create a bad connection. Young Master Jeong-hyeok is not ordinary.”

Chairman Cha frowned his eyebrows.

Hadn’t he personally experienced the end of a bad connection created by trying to cut the heavenly bond.

Chairman Cha’s gaze sank.

Along with it, his voice also lowered.

“What would you want me to do?”

“If you bring Ms. Lee Su-jin, Young Master Jeong-hyeok will also come in together.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Chairman Cha tapped the table with his fingertips.

“How about the position of a concubine?”

“Ms. Lee Su-jin is not a woman who would accept the position of a concubine. If she was, she would have long since received the money envelope of course, and tenaciously followed Young Master Seong-jun.”

“I know. From talking earlier, I could tell. That child is not some flower snake that stuck on aiming for our Seong-jun’s money.”

But even so, he couldn’t nullify the engagement with U-gwang.

It was a matter with a full 30 billion won business at stake.

“What kind of family is that child’s natal family, Lee Su-jin?”

“Nothing special. It’s a family of independence activists from a powerful family, they wasted a lot of property supporting military funds, and now they have about 60,000 pyeong each in Bundang, Pangyo, and Suseo-dong, a total of 190,000 pyeong of land.”

“If it’s there, it’s all tied up as green belt now and practically dirt cheap?”

“Yes.”

“So what does the father do?”

“He farms.”

“They have some farmland, but it’s a family that can’t touch big money.”

The government established the five-year economic development plan and pointed to manufacturing as the foundation for enriching the country and strengthening the military.

Accordingly, they lowered workers’ wages and also restricted agricultural and marine product prices.

To make money in this era, you had to run a factory, not farm.

“Land worth only a few hundred won, a few thousand won per pyeong! Even if you sell all that land, it can’t be compared to U-gwang.”

Chairman Cha sighed softly.

“It would have been better if that child named Su-jin was a bit softer. Wouldn’t it be nice if she just quietly played the role of a concubine?”

Then a group of people entered the Taeseong Hotel coffee shop.

“Isn’t that Chairman Cha?”

The president of U-gwang Construction greeted with a smile.

The faces visible behind were familiar.

The person in charge of Seoul City development plan, the subway construction advisory committee, high-ranking officials of the Japanese transportation bureau and the president of the Japanese Imperial Government Railways were all gathered.

“You’re a busy person, what brings you all the way to the hotel?”

“Do I need an important business to come to my own hotel?”

The president of U-gwang Construction glanced at the table where Chairman Cha was sitting.

There are a total of four coffee cups.

Double flower tea, milk coffee, espresso, and even cocoa.

Even if Chairman Cha said that, it was clear he had met someone until just now.

‘A person that the gentleman who is pushing with full force preparing the subway construction plan around now is meeting while splitting time.’

Chairman Cha extended his hand to the Japanese person.

“This is after a long time, Mr. Yoshimoto.”

“Yes. It’s been a long time, Chairman Cha.”

“What business brings a person working at the Tokyo Metropolitan Transportation Bureau to Korea? You should have contacted in advance at least once. Then I would have emptied the Taeseong Hotel suite room.”

“It’s nothing special.”

“When our Taeseong went to Japan, you flatly refused saying you were busy. This is very regrettable. Anyway, regarding the subway construction······.”

“Ahem! As you can see, there’s business. Then I’ll take my leave.”

The Japanese person deliberately headed to a table far from Chairman Cha.

Then the president of U-gwang Construction and the high-ranking officials went that way in a group.

Chairman Cha returned to his original seat and sat down heavily.

‘As expected, it’s because of the Subway Line 2 construction. Has U-gwang firmly resolved this time? To heat up the lobbying this much.’

Chairman Cha’s irritation boiled up.

‘But our Taeseong is one level above U-gwang. Taeseong is a notch higher in technology, civil engineering experience, and construction performance.’

Not only that.

‘Thanks to Seong-jun bringing in many overseas construction orders, we even have ample funds. There will be no way we’ll lose in the bidding price competition either.’

But seeing that sight with my own two eyes, my insides seem to turn over.

If we could have won the subway construction bidding through fair competition, U-gwang wouldn’t have put effort into lobbying behind like that either.

‘Damn!’

Chairman Cha raised his hand high.

“One more cup of double flower tea here! And cold water filled with ice too!”

I have to watch carefully with my own two eyes what kind of scheme these guys are plotting!

“Chairman.”

Secretary Kim pushed the black file folder in front of Chairman Cha.

It was U-gwang Construction’s bribe ledger.

Rustle!

The hand of Chairman Cha who was roughly flipping through the pages quickly stopped.

U-gwang Construction’s holding funds are far insufficient, so the funding needed for lobbying is not U-gwang but Taeseong’s······.

The report was cut off at that part.

Only a trace cleanly cut as if cut with a knife against a ruler remains.

Pages cut so blatantly, exactly 3 pages!

‘What did U-gwang cover the bribe funds with? Taeseong’s what?’

It felt like gasoline was poured into the already boiling insides.

“Secretary Kim!”

I definitely have to see specifically what content is recorded on the cut pages!

Even if it costs some money, even if I suffer some loss!

I have to check the problem of my household where money is leaking right away first!