章 17: Chapter 17: I Want to Learn Your Business
Have you looked into Mi-suk's case? Anything suspicious?"
Chairman Cheon suddenly asked, gazing out the window.
The unexpected rain had darkened both outside and inside the study.
Chief Ha's voice came through the gloomy darkness.
"There aren't many records left."
"No matter how I think about it, it's strange,"
Chairman Cheon muttered in a heavy voice.
It was close to a lament. But in the room where only the soft sound of rain could be heard, his voice seemed particularly loud.
"My daughter died, and I didn't hear about it. That's impossible unless someone interfered."
"I'll keep looking into it."
"…It wasn't the first or second child who interfered, was it?"
Chairman Cheon's face looked pained as he asked the question.
"There's nothing we can confirm yet. I've sent people down to Busan and instructed them to meet with the police who investigated back then and look into it."
"I'm the sinner. I'm the sinner."
"Chairman…"
"Selling my daughter… What kind of wealth and glory did I think I could enjoy…"
"…"
Raindrops slid down the reflection of Chairman Cheon's face on the glass window.
"Look into it properly. We need to clear up any injustice. Make sure I can at least catch the culprit before I die, understand?"
"Yes."
The butterfly effect can lead to unpredictable consequences.
Chairman Cheon had started to question his daughter Cheon Mi-suk's death.
Something that hadn't happened in Kim Mu-hyeok's previous life wasabout to unfold.
* * *
After arriving in Seoul, I dropped off Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong at the house Myeong-su had found.
I headed to the Pyeongchang-dong house where my grandfather lived.
After putting my luggage in my room and coming down, my grandfather spoke as if he'd been waiting.
"Let's go to the study."
"Pardon?"
"Why? We need to set the prize for the bet, don't we? We should discuss such things in the study. There, treat me as a business partner, not your grandfather."
"…Yes."
In the past, I had first entered this place only after graduating from university.
I stepped into my grandfather's study, feeling a strange sensation.
The study was exactly as I remembered it.
Chairman Cheon, seated, opened his mouth.
"Well! Now tell me what you want as the prize for the bet."
Chairman Cheon looked at me with interest, as if curious about what I would say.
"I want to learn your business, grandfather."
"Do you know what my business is when you say that?"
A sharp gaze scrutinized my expression.
"I don't know the details. But I know it can give me great power."
"Great power? What would you do with power?"
"I'll tell you that later."
I had thought about it a lot.
What should I ask for?
Money? People?
After much deliberation, I thought the best option was to pretend to learn the business while staying close to my grandfather, manipulating him to my will.
"Is that all you want as a reward for the bet? Is that really enough? You could ask for something much bigger."
"I've heard that excess is as bad as deficiency. I thought learning how to earn money and gain power with my own hands would be more helpful than excessive greed."
Satisfaction was evident in Chairman Cheon's expression.
"Ha ha! That boy… Chief Ha! Are you outside?"
Chief Ha, who had been waiting outside, opened the door and entered.
"Yes, Chairman. Did you call?"
"Mu-hyeok says he wants to learn the business. What do you think?"
"Isn't it too early? I think it would be enough to do it after he graduates from school."
"Right? But this boy wants it as a reward for the bet."
Chief Ha looked at me with newfound interest.
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, grandfather gave instructions.
"For now, teach him bit by bit whenever you have time. I was planning to start him from the bottom after he graduated, but since he wants it as a reward… Do you understand what you do?"
"Yes, Chairman."
"You may go. I need to talk more with Mu-hyeok."
"Yes."
Chief Ha bowed and left.
Grandfather glanced at me.
"Is this satisfactory?"
"Yes, thank you."
"But why did you apply to law school? Were you thinking of taking the bar exam?"
"No, I went to law school to build connections. I considered business school, but it seems law school alumni still wield more power for now."
"Oh? Don't you regret all the studying you've done so far?"
"Even if I pass the bar exam, I don't intend to become a judge or prosecutor, and studying to become a lawyer…"
"Ha ha ha."
I smiled at Chairman Cheon, who was chuckling.
"Still, be diligent in your school life. Whether it's building connections or whatever, that time won't come back."
"Yes, I'll do my best to manage my time and learn."
Nodding in satisfaction, Chairman Cheon thought for a moment before continuing.
"You should still have a car though. A foreign car might be too much right now, but I'll give you a Grandeur for now. Use it to go to school. Do you have a license?"
"Yes."
"Good preparedness. Studying while getting your license, you've done it all. Ha ha ha."
I had quite a long conversation with my grandfather in the study.
As I came out of the study, Chief Ha was waiting.
"Young master, let's go to your room. I'll explain what you'll be doing."
"Alright."
I went up to my room with Chief Ha.
After closing the door, Chief Ha got straight to the point without even sitting down.
"Do you know exactly what the Chairman does?"
"I don't know the details."
Of course, I did know, but I pretended not to.
"The Chairman's business is money lending. Some might call it loan sharking. But currently, the Chairman only meets with CEOs of major domestic corporations."
"Ah…"
In the past, I had started from the very bottom after graduating from university.
When the IMF crisis hit and money lending businesses were popping up everywhere, I learned the trade starting from the lowest position.
But this time, I would be dealing with major corporations from the start.
"Generally, I meet with the working-level staff to coordinate everything, and then the Chairman meets with the CEOs of major corporations to talk before lending money. What you'll be learning is the preliminary coordination process that I do. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
Chief Ha nodded and explained further.
"There's a lot to learn: how to read ledgers, collateral, relevant laws, and so on. Don't think money lending is easy. Since we're dealing with large sums, the collateral must be solid."
"I see."
I nodded as I sat on the bed.
In fact, watching Chief Ha stand so straight while explaining, I was thinking, 'Wow, he stands so upright without even leaning on anything.'
"The Chairman doesn't like to take stocks as collateral. He says stock prices are too volatile. The only times he takes stocks as collateral are when they're important shares that can influence management control. For example, the Daehyeon shares we received as collateral three years ago…"
It was the first time I'd seen Chief Ha talk this much.
I looked at Chief Ha's face with renewed interest.
Thinking I was listening intently, Chief Ha explained quite passionately.
"The directors deal with other businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises, general self-employed people. They usually call it Myeong-dong business."
I pretended to listen attentively to the basic information Chief Ha was providing.
"Besides the two of you, there are four other Myeong-dong members. The Chairman is the principal, and he's lending money to all the employees who worked hard under him after making them independent. You'll need to know all of this later, young master."
I know, those four Myeong-dong members were the ones who sided with Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han to oppose me.
"Viper, Twin Blades, Hammer, and Bandit. These four are directors who've worked in the Myeong-dong loan shark world for a long time. They won't be easy to deal with."
I smiled slightly at Chief Ha, who looked a bit worried.
"Don't worry. If they're people I'll have to deal with someday, it's better to face them sooner rather than later."
"That's admirable."
The loan shark world is truly a dirty place.
People who would do anything to collect money.
There were bastards so vicious that even organized crime groups would back down.
Chairman Cheon was also a legendary figure who had survived that world to reach his current position.
Among loan sharks, there were many who weren't gangsters but acted like them.
'Well, they're no match for someone who's already died once.'
In the loan market, where money is power and everything, currently a proud dragon named Chairman Cheon rules.
But when that dragon ascends, a warring states period will begin.
In this life, I planned to settle everything before the warring states period arrived.
"For now, let's have you come along to the next meeting. Still, I hope you'll enjoy your school life a bit while taking things slowly."
"Yes, don't worry too much. I'll hang out with friends and do everything I need to do."
Chief Ha gave a faint smile at those words, then bowed and left the room.
Lying on the bed, I organized my thoughts about what to do.
'First, I need to win grandfather's heart and slowly bring the four Myeong-dong organizations under my control.'
And the next step was already decided.
Recalling the faces of the Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han brothers, I sharpened my resolve.
'Uncles, look forward to it. I'll be sure to repay you for my past life.'
And so, my first night in Seoul passed.
The next day
I drove the car grandfather had given me to Myeong-su's house.
Myeong-su had rented a place near the university and planned to live there while attending school.
It seemed Hyeon-seong would live in the dormitory and stay with Myeong-su on weekends. But with his sports major… it might not be easy to come up often.
I arrived at Myeong-su's house and rang the bell.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
Myeong-su opened the door, welcoming me.
"What? You're here early?"
"Yeah, I came by car."
I twirled the car keys around my finger.
"Oh! Did you buy a car already?"
"Grandfather gave it to me as a gift to drive around. It worked out well. I'll pick you up when you go to school."
"Oh! As expected of my friend Kim Mu-hyeok! Hey, come in quick Hyeon-seong and I were just about to cook some ramen."
As I entered the house, the smell of ramen greeted me.
"You're here?"
Hyeon-seong also greeted me casually from the kitchen where he was cooking ramen.
I sat on the floor, and Hyeon-seong brought down the pot filled with ramen.
"Wow, how many packs is this? Why did you cook so much?"
"Six packs."
That guy Hyeon-seong, since he started working out, his words have been getting shorter and shorter.
"What are you saying? Six packs is just enough for me and Hyeon-seong. There's leftover rice from yesterday, so we'll eat that later. Let's eat the ramen first."
At Myeong-su's words, the three healthy twenty-year-old men literally inhaled the ramen without a single word of conversation.
"Hyeon-seong, bring the whole rice cooker."
"Okay."
The noodles disappeared in 5 minutes, and Hyeon-seong brought the entire rice cooker.
He pushed that rice into the pot. Because he put in too much rice compared to the remaining broth, it turned into a thick porridge-like consistency.
Another round of furious eating began.
I was the first to raise my hand.
"I can't eat anymore."
Whether I stopped or not, the other two were busy eating like mad.
Hyeon-seong is an athlete with a big build, so it's understandable that he eats a lot, but what's with that Myeong-su guy?
"Where does all the food you eat go?"
"I don't know. I just don't gain weight. Don't talk to me while I'm eating."
That lucky bastard…
After finishing our meal, we were lying down staring at the ceiling, too lazy to clean up.
Myeong-su spoke first.
"Did you call Grandma?"
"Yeah, did you?"
"We all did yesterday. Man, I thought I was going crazy with my mom's nagging. She just rattled on without even taking a breath."
"I did too."
Somehow, I felt like sighing.
"I already miss Grandma's cooking."
"At least you'll eat proper meals at your grandfather's house, right? I'm just eating ramen or buying food. Yesterday, Hyeon-seong and I went to a restaurant nearby, but it was so bland, I just wasted my appetite."
"You'll have to get used to it."
"The future looks bleak."
"When are you moving into the dorm?"
This time, I asked Hyeon-seong.
Hyeon-seong tilted his head for a moment before answering.
"Next week."
"Will you have time to come up?"
"We'll see."
"If you have time, come up often and let's meet on weekends. If you let us know in advance, we won't make other plans. Call Myeong-su."
Hyeon-seong nodded silently.
"Did you guys buy pagers?"
"We're going out to buy them today. You're going to buy one too, right, Hyeon-seong? Mu-hyeok already has one."
"Yeah."
"Really? Where?"
"Apgujeong-dong? We should go and see."
"Why go all the way there just to buy a pager?"
"We're going to buy pagers and sightsee at the same time. Why? Do you want to come too?"
I shook my head.
"I have other plans today. By the way, about what I said we should meet for…"
"Oh, go ahead."
I looked back and forth between Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong's faces.
"It's a really important story."
"What is it?"
"Um…"
Even if not everything, these two are going to play important roles in my future plans.
"Can you help me"
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