Chapter : 10
“Yes, I understand. I’ll get them for you.”
Park So-eun nodded as she spoke.
“Wait a second, So-eun.”
I called out to stop her.
“Yes?”
She tilted her head in curiosity.
“The thing is… I’ve never been abroad,” I said, the words coming out slowly.
“Pardon?”
Her eyes grew wide.
“I’ve never even been on a plane,” I said honestly. “I haven’t even visited Jeju Island,” I added.
“Then…”
Her voice trailed off.
“I dropped out of high school because we were poor, and honestly, because I hated studying with a passion,” I said calmly.
“You couldn’t study because you were poor?”
She asked with a look of pure confusion.
‘To be fair, anyone would find it hard to believe,’ I thought to myself.
Seeing me staying in this VIP suite for months—where the room charge alone exceeds several million won a month—and then hearing me say I couldn’t study because of poverty… her confusion was only natural.
“Yes, I couldn’t do it because I was poor,” I nodded. “And I didn’t do it because I didn’t want to.”
“You’re remarkably honest,” she said, sounding almost impressed.
“I felt like I should be.”
I scratched my head as I spoke.
“Why is that?” she asked, clearly curious.
“Well…”
I avoided her gaze, my voice trailing off.
“I see. I’ll go get them for you,” she said with a nod.
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head slightly toward her.
“Now that I think about it, you’re always full of surprises. Hohoho!”
Park So-eun covered her mouth and let out a laugh.
“Am I?”
I tilted my head.
“Hohoho! Yes. You have a talent for making people look forward to things and stay curious about you.”
“Me?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Yes. Let’s call it a ‘mysterious charm,'” she said, giving me a meaningful look.
At that moment, I didn’t know quite how to take what she said.
I received the GED (High School Equivalency) workbooks from Park So-eun and began my studies.
‘If not now, when else would I ever have the time to study and take an exam?’
I made a firm resolution. I would pass the GED before I finally threw away these crutches. I held my breath and gritted my teeth.
Seven Star Construction, President’s Office.
It seemed Eun Chil-seong wanted to move into the “sunny side” of society, just like President Kim Dae-myung; he had established a construction company and was now playing the role of a CEO.
“As you know, Dae-myung and I started from the same place,” Eun Chil-seong said, as if reminiscing about the past.
“I am aware, sir,” Hyeon-su said cautiously.
“Right. Dae-myung took Seoul, and I took Busan!”
Eun Chil-seong nodded and continued.
“We were pretty famous with our fists back then.”
He clenched and unclenched his hand.
“Yes, that’s true,” Hyeon-su chimed in.
“But here’s the thing.”
Eun Chil-seong’s expression crumpled into a scowl.
“Yes?”
Hyeon-su asked tentatively.
“That bastard is called ‘President’ now, and even though I have a construction company just like him, people still call me a ‘thug.'”
Eun Chil-seong spat the words out with resentment.
“That’s…”
Hyeon-su let his voice trail off.
“Does this make any sense?”
Eun Chil-seong slammed his hand on the desk.
“No, it doesn’t make sense at all,” Hyeon-su replied, bowing his head.
“Right, it makes no sense,” Eun Chil-seong gave a bitter smile.
“You’re running a legal business now, too…”
“Exactly. I’m the president of a construction company,” Eun Chil-seong nodded.
“That’s right.”
“But the world still looks at me like a gangster.”
He gritted his teeth.
“It’s just because people don’t know the truth,” Hyeon-su flattered.
“Hyeon-su!”
“Yes, Boss!”
Hyeon-su bowed deeply.
“From now on, don’t call me ‘Boss.’ Call me ‘President,'” Eun Chil-seong ordered, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Yes, President!”
Hyeon-su bowed again.
“And… I really want Dae-myung Construction. I want it so bad I can taste it.”
Eun Chil-seong clenched his fists tight.
“Dae-myung Construction?”
“Yeah. Dae-myung Construction. I want to take everything he has and crush it into pieces.”
His eyes turned predatory.
“Understood, sir.”
“I was thinking about it the wrong way,” Eun Chil-seong sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought if I just took Kim Dae-myung’s head, the company would be mine. But that wasn’t it.”
His clenched fists trembled slightly.
“Is that so?”
Hyeon-su tilted his head.
“No, that wasn’t the way,” Eun Chil-seong shook his head.
“Then what should we do?”
“Do you know what a ‘Stock Operation’ is?”
Eun Chil-seong glanced at Hyeon-su.
“Huh? An operation?”
“Yeah, an Operation!”
“What kind of operation are you talking about?”
Hyeon-su looked confused.
“They say it’s the trend these days. Hahaha!”
Eun Chil-seong laughed with a strange, sly expression as if he’d just had a brilliant idea.
“President, I’m not quite sure what you mean…”
Hyeon-su scratched his head awkwardly.
‘What kind of operation is he planning?’ he wondered. ‘Is it another assassination attempt on Kim Dae-myung that failed before?’
As Hyeon-su was speculating, Eun Chil-seong waved his hand.
“There’s something like that. Let’s run an ‘operation’ of our own.”
“Yes, I understand, President!”
Hyeon-su bowed, agreeing even though he had no idea what was being discussed.
“Just make sure you pamper these guys on this list and bring them here.”
Eun Chil-seong pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Hyeon-su.
“Yes, sir.”
“And especially this guy, ‘Charlie Kim.’ You must bring him in.”
“Charlie Kim?”
“Yeah. I heard he’s the absolute best at the dirtiest operations,” Eun Chil-seong nodded.
“Understood.”
“Those ‘black-haired foreigners’ (overseas Koreans) are going to take Dae-myung Construction from Kim Dae-myung and hand it to me.”
A sinister smile spread across his face.
“Black-haired foreigners?”
“Exactly.”
“How are they going to take the company?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
Eun Chil-seong waved him off.
“Yes, sir.”
“When that happens, it won’t be Dae-myung Construction anymore. It’ll be our Seven Star Construction.”
He laughed boisterously.
“Our Seven Star Construction?”
Hyeon-su’s eyes went wide.
“Hahaha! Yes! Seven Star!”
“I understand, President!”
Hyeon-su bowed politely. “Seven Star… the name really is great.”
“Oh? You think so?”
Eun Chil-seong looked pleased.
“Yes. Doesn’t it sound as refreshing as a cold soda? Hahahaha!”
“I guess. But listen, if you want to understand what’s going on, you should read a few books.”
“Books?”
Hyeon-su’s face immediately crumpled into a frown.
“Yes, books.”
“What kind of books should I read?”
“Even thugs have to study these days to survive,” Eun Chil-seong said seriously.
“Study?”
Hyeon-su looked incredulous.
“Yeah. Specifically, study the stock market!”
“The stock market?”
“That’s the only way you can eat everything you want to eat in this world.”
“Stock market study, you said?”
Hyeon-su double-checked.
“Yeah. There’s a bestseller out lately called Turning 1 Million Won into 100 Million. Go get that one.”
“Turning 1 million into 100 million?”
Hyeon-su’s eyes sparkled.
“Yeah, go buy a copy.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll do that immediately!”
“You need to sharpen your ears, so make sure you read it.”
“Yes, President.”
“And when those black-haired foreigners join us, don’t go showing off how ignorant you are.”
“I won’t, sir!”
Hyeon-su paused, then scratched his head sheepishly. “But sir, I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“About that book… Turning 1 Million into 100 Million.”
“What about it?”
“If I read that, can I really turn one million won into a hundred million?”
“What?”
Hyeon-su looked at him with hopeful eyes, while Eun Chil-seong looked at him like he was an idiot.
“Because if so, then I could… hehe.”
Hyeon-su chuckled awkwardly.
“Stop talking nonsense and just do what you’re told.”
Eun Chil-seong scowled deeply.
“Yes, sir!”
Hyeon-su bowed his head.
Eun Chil-seong let out a heavy sigh.
‘Trying to do this with guys like him…’
He felt a deep sense of regret that there wasn’t a single intelligent soul in his entire organization.
End Of Chapter : 10
