Chapter 191 Even the Almighty is New to Being a Dad Chapter 192
Absolute One is Also a First-Time Dad Chapter 192
Industrial Steel Manufacturing.
The spacious CEO office occupying the top floor of the headquarters building, standing tall amidst the forest of buildings in Cheongdam-dong.
"W-what do you mean by that—?"
The elderly man in a pristine suit, his white hair neatly combed, was shouting into the phone receiver at someone on the other end.
"We've maintained this transaction for over twenty years! There must be a substantial reason for suddenly suspending dealings like this!"
Several major clients who had been receiving annual shipments exceeding 100,000 tons of steel from Industrial Steel had one after another declared suspensions in their transactions.
"At least tell me the reason—!"
The strange thing was that none of these clients who abruptly suspended dealings would clearly state their reasons.
"What kind of thunderbolt from the blue is this...?"
Just as Chairman Jang Yong-chul of Industrial Steel finished the frustrating call and was loosening the tie that had been choking his neck—
Knock knock.
After a brief moment, there came a knocking sound.
"Sir Chairman..."
The executive secretary abruptly opened the firmly shut office door and entered.
"What the hell do you think you're doing—!"
Chairman Jang suddenly slammed the phone receiver he'd been clutching onto the desk and began shouting.
"What could possibly be so urgent that you'd barge in without waiting for a response—!"
Though the secretary had suddenly become the target of his outburst, he delivered his message in a hushed tone, as if accustomed to such situations.
"My apologies, but we have a visitor..."
"A visitor? What visitor—?"
"From the Assembly of Shadowed Capital..."
The moment the secretary mentioned the name "Assembly of Shadowed Capital," Chairman Jang's attitude changed completely.
"W-well? Why aren't you bringing them in immediately?"
As he spoke, Chairman Jang frantically began straightening his disheveled appearance and smoothing his messy hair with trembling hands.
"Why now of all times...?"
Just when his mind was already in turmoil, this was the last visitor he wanted to see.
Only a few months prior.
Industrial Steel had borrowed hundreds of billions from their bank to expand business operations.
'They couldn't possibly have noticed that our clients are cutting ties and come rushing here, could they...?'
If those profit-obsessed, sharp-witted, and cunning goblins discovered that a major client relationship was deteriorating...
'There's no way they'd let that slide...'
They'd undoubtedly classify Industrial Steel as insolvent and demand repayment through unimaginably aggressive means.
In truth, entrepreneurs often referred to the goblins of the Assembly of Shadowed Capital as "money-crazed green devils."
Those who took their investments but failed to deliver adequate results would have their companies seized without even a chance to resist...
'And even if you tried to resist...'
The moment you fell out of their favor, all funding would be cut off, and a perfectly healthy company could instantly face bankruptcy.
This was the predetermined fate of those who accepted investments from the Assembly of Shadowed Capital but failed to produce results.
Despite knowing this, Chairman Jang had borrowed from them because the goblins were deeply embedded in the heart of the monetary system.
No ordinary bank could match their financial resources, and there were clear differences in credit limits and interest rates.
'Damn it, if I'd known things would go south like this, I never would've borrowed from those bastards...'
As he took deep breaths to calm his nerves and violently tightened the loosened tie around his neck with a "Squeeak!"—
"Chairman, it's been a while."
A goblin with a diminutive frame and spindly limbs entered the CEO office with leisurely steps.
"Why come without any prior notice?"
The goblin's immaculate suit, perfectly fitted from head to toe, was so impeccably pressed that not a single wrinkle could be seen.
Moreover.
The shoes he wore were polished to such a mirror shine that they practically gleamed...
"Does my visit displease you?"
His perpetually condescending attitude and tone, as if he always considered others beneath him, combined with his appearance to create an intimidating presence.
"H-how could that be?"
Even the chairman of a mid-sized steel company generating annual revenues in the hundreds of billions couldn't help but freeze under this goblin's charisma.
The identity of this goblin was...
"Kazan-nim."
Kazan.
"Actually, one of our VVIP-tier members has expressed a desire for a private meeting with you, Chairman."
At those words, Chairman Jang's eyes widened involuntarily.
'Wait, VVIP tier...?'
Even he, with deposits approaching trillions, only fluctuated between silver and gold status.
'Just how much...'
"astronomical wealth" must someone have to be VVIP?
Chairman Jang quickly nodded repeatedly as he continued speaking.
"If you could arrange a meeting with such a person, I would be nothing but grateful..."
Kazan tilted his head slightly, as if intrigued, and asked briefly in response.
"Is that so?"
Chairman Jang continued eagerly.
"Even a brief conversation would be immensely educational for me. Of course I'd be grateful for the opportunity."
Kazan curled the corner of his mouth and murmured in his characteristically thin, reedy voice.
"Hmm, we'll see about that..."
Then he immediately added.
"By all means, let's have that conversation."
"Huh?"
"Since you'll be accompanying me."
At that moment.
"So you're the chairman?"
A young man dressed head-to-toe in matching athletic wear suddenly strode confidently into the CEO office...
"Well? Cat got your tongue?"
Chairman Jang, who had been staring blankly at the little girl in the young man's arms, finally snapped out of it and nodded.
"Y-yes, that's correct..."
The young man was none other than Kang-jun.
"Seol-ah."
Kang-jun gently set Seol down on the floor, then pointed with his fingertip to a desk and chair in the distance.
"Want to sit in that chair?"
"Seowi no sit chair too?"
"Of course not, because..."
Kang-jun's gaze shifted slightly to the utterly bewildered Chairman Jang before continuing.
"From now on, this company belongs to Seol."
"Wewwy? Big place all Seowi's?"
"That's right. Daddy will buy it for you."
"But Seowi wike stickers more."
As she spoke, Seol plopped down into the chairman's ceremonial chair and began swinging her legs happily...
'What...'
Chairman Jang blinked rapidly.
'What kind of nonsense is this?'
It would be no exaggeration to say Industrial Steel was the culmination of Chairman Jang's life's work.
Founded during the steel industry boom of the 1960s, he'd overcome countless hardships to reach this point.
No matter how much money was offered, he had no intention of selling—the very idea was absurd.
"Haha, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're saying..."
Just as Chairman Jang was carefully wiping away the cold sweat beading on his forehead and attempting to respond—
"I meant exactly what I said."
Kang-jun took the prime seat on the reception sofa at the center of the office and added quietly.
"1.5 trillion to sell the company."
"Y-you must be joking..."
"Just dropped to 1.4 trillion."
"Wait, what kind of—"
"Now it's 1.3 trillion."
Chairman Jang's lips moved wordlessly for a moment, at a complete loss for how to respond.
Frustrated, he turned to Kazan with a pleading look.
"Kazan-nim, please say something..."
At that moment, Kang-jun interrupted again.
"1.2 trillion."
"Now—"
"1.1 trillion."
Finally at his limit, Chairman Jang's patience snapped as he shouted with veins bulging in his neck.
"What the hell are you trying to pull here—?!"
Startled by the sudden outburst, Seol's eyes went wide as she murmured softly.
"Dada...?"
Kang-jun shook his head.
"How dare you frighten the princess."
"Out of nowhere, what—"
"Price just got cut in half."
Kang-jun added again.
"Now it's 500 billion."
Chairman Jang roared in response.
"No matter how rich you are, you should at least maintain basic decency!"
"Interesting words."
"This company is like my own child—are you trying to steal it from me?"
Kang-jun murmured quietly.
"Like your own child, you say..."
Chairman Jang pounded his chest emphatically as he declared with solemn dignity.
"Yes! As precious to me as my own child!"
"So these are a parent's feelings?"
"Every bit as precious as my own flesh and blood!"
Kang-jun smiled bitterly at that.
"Then I'll definitely take it from you."
"What kind of—"
"If you were going to feel this wronged..."
A brief silence fell.
"...you should have considered how parents felt when their child fell into a vat of molten steel and melted away."
"Excuse me...?"
"You should have gone to those weeping parents and gotten on your knees. At the very least, you should have pretended to atone."
Chairman Jang Young-chul was left speechless, muttering "Surely not..." under his breath when—
"Do you tell grieving parents who've lost their child in molten steel to stay quiet if they can't afford compensation?"
After a strained pause, he attempted a composed reply.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding—we were actually reviewing compensation measures—"
Kang-jun tilted his head.
"Late, but let's hear it anyway."
"Pardon?"
"What exactly were you planning to compensate with?"
Chairman Jang licked his parched lips, stammering, "Well... first, a substantial monetary—"
"Enough."
Kang-jun cut him off.
"Then I'll compensate you the same way."
"Excuse me?"
"Let's start again from five hundred billion."
Kang-jun chuckled darkly.
"No—actually, I should follow your example and pay nothing at all."
"Are you saying you'll plunder the company I've built over a lifetime?!"
"Why pay premium price for worthless goods?"
"How is a company generating billions annually worthless—"
"Because I've decided to make it so. Shouldn't take long."
A terrible realization struck Chairman Jang.
"Don't tell me—"
The recent flood of suspended contracts from major clients—this had to be their doing.
"Caught on, have you?"
Kang-jun turned to Kazan.
"Take Seol outside for a while."
Kazan bowed to the little girl.
"Your Highness, might you know how to operate a vending machine?"
"Seol knows! You put coin in and press button hard!"
"Ah, this humble one is ignorant. Might Your Highness demonstrate?"
"Okay! But buy Seol juice too, 'kay?"
As Kazan led Seol out by hand, Chairman Jang collapsed to his knees, forehead pressed to the floor.
"P-please, just this once—"
He knew resisting would only invite bankruptcy through external pressure. What corporation could defy the Shadow Consortium that puppeteered global economies? Even groveling might not save him now.
"I've c-committed a capital offense—"
Kang-jun shook his head.
"Wrong." His voice turned glacial.
"Apologies aren't for me."
The locked office door creaked open.
"Y-you monsters—"
An old man entered—the father who'd lost his son to the furnace, now living on streets.
Chairman Jang's eyes trembled like aspen leaves as the skeletal hands gripped his shoulders.
"Sorry... so sorry..." The old man shook him weakly between sobs. "Was that... so hard... to say?"
Kang-jun asked softly,
"Do you want forgiveness?"
The old man rasped,
"Do I... have to?"
"Of course not."
"Then I never will."
"Understood."
Kang-jun rose.
"We'll do as you wish."
Next day, at a crosswalk.
"Papa, grandpa's gone."
The city's cries had vanished with the old man. None noticed his absence amidst the rushing crowds.
Kang-jun looked up at a news ticker:
[Breaking: Industrial Steel, facing sudden bankruptcy, acquired by Shadow Consortium...]
[Consortium pledges full restructuring...]
[Reveals concealed worker accident—youth fell into 1700°C furnace due to negligence...]
[Compensation package being prepared for victim Kim—]
The light changed.
"Let's cross."
As pedestrians hurried, Kang-jun's phone vibrated—a message from Dvergr Workshop:
[Your commission is complete.]
His smile was bitter.
After dropping Seol at daycare, Kang-jun visited the old man's shabby tenement.
"Who's there—"
The door opened to tearful gratitude.
"Thank you, thank you..."
Kang-jun asked gently,
"Might you spare me some time?"
"For the man who avenged my boy? Anything."
"There's somewhere we should go."
As the luxury car stopped before the steel mill, Kang-jun explained:
"The new management's preparing proper compensation. Is there anything you'd want?"
The old man whispered,
"Just... to see my boy again."
"...What was he like?"
"Stubborn as an ox, just worked and worked." The old man's voice cracked.
"Always brought groceries, asking—"
[Father, have you eaten?]
They arrived at the furnace that took his son.
"Sir," Kang-jun opened the door,
"Let's visit him."
Before them stood a bronze statue—cast from the very steel that had claimed his child.
"Ah—!"
The old man ran, arthritis forgotten, caressing the cold metal face.
"My Suhwan... why so cold...?"
He collapsed, clutching the statue's legs, wailing louder than he ever had on streets:
"My boy, my boy—!"
Kang-jun extended his hand.
Whoosh—
Threadlike mana seeped into the statue.
Too late to save, but not to gift closure.
The statue's lips moved:
[Father.]
"Y-you—!"
[Have you eaten?]
The old man wept anew.
"You rascal... worrying about my meals—"
[Don't skip meals.]
The statue fell still with that final plea.
Kang-jun watched silently as the father finally broke—having stayed strong through injustice, now crumbling before this artificial goodbye.
Epitaph for the Youth Consumed by Flames:
Don't use that steel.
Not for cars,
Not for beams,
Not for streetlamps,
Not for nails,
Not for needles.
How use metal forged from grief and tears?
Instead—
Call kind sculptors.
Shape his face in clay,
Pour that steel into rainwater to cool,
Carve it with care,
Erect it at the gates.
So mother may visit sometimes,
Touch her child's face once more.
Don't use that steel.
—Adapted from "Don't Use That Steel" by JEPETTO