Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Drinking Showdown
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Excluding Kang Dong-chul, who was laughing and chatting among the female interns, the others were solely focused on inhaling soju and meat.
‘They say company dinners are an extension of work… but why is everyone acting like this?’
Lee Dae-hyuk, puzzled by the employees who weren’t exchanging a single word, heard Park Min-chan’s voice in his ear.
“Lee Dae-hyuk, come over here.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Lee Dae-hyuk swallowed the chewy meat in one gulp and walked over to sit on Park Min-chan’s left.
“Drink.”
The moment he sat down, Park Min-chan picked up the soju bottle and nodded toward him.
‘This kid….’
Protruding belly.
Receding hairline.
From what he’d heard, Park Min-chan was forty-five years old.
And Kim Gun-woo’s original age was forty-eight.
From Lee Dae-hyuk’s perspective, it was a bit infuriating.
But his current body was that of twenty-six-year-old Lee Dae-hyuk.
Unjust as it was, he had no choice but to play along with Park Min-chan for now.
“Yes. Pour me one!!”
Lee Dae-hyuk picked up a soju glass and held it out politely with both hands.
But.
“Hey, hey, newbie. The drink I meant wasn’t the soju glass—it was the soda glass.”
‘Huh?’
Park Min-chan shook his head with a sullen expression.
Lee Dae-hyuk let out an awkward laugh.
Still.
‘…Endure it.’
Lee Dae-hyuk quickly grabbed a glass from the side of the table.
Glug, glug, glug—!
Park Min-chan filled the glass to the brim with soju and grinned.
“You know the drill, right? Newbies do it in one shot.”
At the end of Park Min-chan’s words, Lee Dae-hyuk’s brow furrowed and a vein popped on his forehead.
But summoning every ounce of patience, Lee Dae-hyuk began downing the soju in the glass.
Gulp, gulp, gulp—!
Thud—!
He slammed the now-empty glass on the table.
Seeing this, Park Min-chan clapped like a seal.
Clap, clap, clap—!
“Wow, looks like I’ve got a real drinking buddy today. Great, great. Perfect.”
“Drinking buddy?”
“Yeah. Drinking buddy. I do one shot, you do one. Mine’s soju glass. Yours is the big glass. Okay?”
Lee Dae-hyuk couldn’t help but chuckle.
Park Min-chan was trying to power-trip him with alcohol.
At that moment, a vein throbbed at Lee Dae-hyuk’s temple.
His patience ended there.
Now it was time to put the guy in his place.
Heh—!
Lee Dae-hyuk smiled meaningfully and dropped a name.
“President Yoo Jae-geun of Omyeong Construction used to drink soju from a glass like this too, right?”
“…President Yoo Jae-geun of Omyeong Construction?”
Park Min-chan flinched, about to pour soju into Lee Dae-hyuk’s glass.
The unexpected name coming from Lee Dae-hyuk’s mouth had startled him.
Yoo Jae-geun of Omyeong Construction, one of Daehan Construction’s subcontractors, had a very special relationship with Park Min-chan.
Whenever there were drinking sessions with Daehan Construction team leaders, Park Min-chan would naturally invite Yoo Jae-geun.
And Yoo Jae-geun would entertain the other team leaders to secure Daehan Construction subcontracts.
If that’s where it ended, Park Min-chan wouldn’t have been shocked to hear Yoo Jae-geun’s name.
The problem was that Park Min-chan had been receiving kickbacks from Yoo Jae-geun.
For the past two years, he’d taken 3 million won a month from him.
It wasn’t a burdensome amount for either.
Compared to the subcontracts Yoo Jae-geun landed, it was pocket change.
But if this got out, it would be a problem.
Park Min-chan, who’d accepted bribes, would be guilty of illegal activity.
The buzz from the alcohol vanished in an instant as Park Min-chan cautiously asked Lee Dae-hyuk,
“W-What’s your relationship with President Yoo Jae-geun?”
“My father is close with President Yoo Jae-geun. They’re on really good terms. Haha.”
At Lee Dae-hyuk’s words, Park Min-chan felt his heart sink.
‘This guy knows. I don’t know how much, but he knows about my connection with President Yoo Jae-geun.’
Park Min-chan’s hands trembled slightly from the shock.
Then, Lee Dae-hyuk, smirking triumphantly, opened his mouth.
“I’ll pour you one first. Oh, Team Leader. Which glass should I use?”
‘Ugh, this bastard….’
Park Min-chan grimaced as he met Lee Dae-hyuk’s smile.
But what could he do?
From now on, he was the underling.
Lee Dae-hyuk was the boss.
“Y-Yeah. Guess I’ll drink from the big glass like back in my newbie days today? Ha. Ha. Ha.”
“Then I’ll pour you one.”
Before Park Min-chan’s awkward laughter finished,
Lee Dae-hyuk filled the glass to the absolute brim with soju.
Glug, glug—!
.
.
.
The PR team employees couldn’t believe their eyes.
They’d expected the usual newbie hazing from Park Min-chan.
Most of them had passed out after chugging multiple glasses of soju poured by him at their first company dinners.
That’s why making Park Min-chan drink from a glass was everyone’s dream.
And yet.
The newbie who’d just joined yesterday was making that dream come true.
Glug—!
Gulp—!
Glug—!
Gulp—!
Without any special conversation, Lee Dae-hyuk just kept pouring soju into Park Min-chan’s glass.
And Park Min-chan, downing shot after shot,
“Fuck. Is the team leader everyone’s punching bag? Am I the fucking punching bag?!?!”
Finally started drunkenly slurring and drooling.
At his outburst, the employees—excluding Kang Dong-chul—felt rage.
Wasn’t Park Min-chan the one who’d mentally and physically abused them?
Even drunk, this was shameless beyond belief.
But their anger didn’t last long.
Thud—!
Park Min-chan, dead drunk, slammed his head on the table and passed out.
“Alright, now let’s toast.”
At that moment, one of the employees raised his glass.
With Park Min-chan out, it was time to celebrate in their own way.
The others, agreeing, raised their glasses with smiles.
Meanwhile, Lee Dae-hyuk, who’d knocked out Park Min-chan, fell into a new dilemma.
‘Ah, this guy. How do I get him home?’
.
.
.
Only after Park Min-chan collapsed did the dinner truly get underway.
Deputy Team Leader Im Soon-chul, who’d been waving his hand in front of Park Min-chan’s face, suddenly raised his glass high.
“Let’s have fun until the Team Leader wakes up.”
“Yeah. Let’s head to round two.”
“What about the Team Leader?”
Someone briefly asked about Park Min-chan’s well-being, but
“Cheers!”
It was drowned out by Im Soon-chul’s shout.
“It’s on the company card anyway. Let’s gorge on the most expensive meat and booze here. The Team Leader will foot the bill, right? Everyone, clap!!!”
Im Soon-chul said this while carefully tapping the tips of his fingers together a few times.
At his gesture, Joo Hyo-min and the other employees burst into snickers.
***
At that moment, on the road outside the samgyeopsal restaurant’s window.
Inside a black van, four sharp-featured men were watching the Daehan Construction PR team’s dinner with gleaming eyes.
They were members of the Cheonho faction, acting on ‘request’—no, ‘order’—from Cha Beom-seok, head of security for Daehan Electronics Director Lee Dae-hwan.
The leader of the group and their best fighter, Kim Min-gyu in the passenger seat, spoke up.
“Move out. Before the illegitimate son’s security team does.”
“Got it!!”
Illegitimate son.
That was the nickname for Lee Dae-hyuk within the Daehan Group.
To them, the true heir of the Daehan Group was Lee Dae-hwan.
These were men who would kill Lee Dae-hyuk on Lee Dae-hwan’s command.
Lee Dae-hwan paid them handsomely and rewarded them well.
If they ‘taught him a lesson’ just right, as he wanted, even greater rewards would follow.
Slide—!
Kim Min-gyu, with his cold gaze, and his men opened the van doors.
***
Amid the nonstop chatter over meat and drinks,
Lee Dae-hyuk amusingly felt a sense of accomplishment from taking down Park Min-chan.
It was really just a small thing.
Yet the dinner atmosphere had completely flipped.
In that ridiculous situation, Lee Dae-hyuk quietly savored the moment.
The meat was delicious, and smiles hung on everyone’s lips.
‘This is fun.’
But Lee Dae-hyuk knew it too.
After this dinner, he wouldn’t have this kind of leisurely enjoyment anymore.
He needed to solidify his position in the company.
Rack up achievements at work, and on top of that, root out the spy.
He’d probably be swamped without a moment’s rest for a while.
Maybe that’s why?
He didn’t dodge the employees’ suggestion for karaoke as second round after dinner.
But there was still a problem.
Park Min-chan, passed out cold.
“Whew—.”
A collective sigh escaped the PR team employees.
“What are we gonna do with the Team Leader?”
One tactless female employee voiced everyone’s concern.
The others sighed again.
Karaoke was doable even without the company card if they chipped in.
But Park Min-chan, unconscious?
The employees just exchanged glances, mouths shut.
The best option was for one brave soul to take him home…
But moving him in his completely unresponsive state wasn’t easy.
While the PR team pondered,
Lee Dae-hyuk took action.
“Up you go.”
He hoisted Park Min-chan onto his back.
The shocked employees’ eyes went wide.
“Lee Dae-hyuk, what are you doing?”
At Joo Hyo-min’s question, Lee Dae-hyuk smiled brightly.
“Better to take him to karaoke with us. Sending him home right now would be awkward for everyone, so isn’t it best to keep him nearby until he sobers up?”
Of course, Lee Dae-hyuk was right.
A few male employees sighed in relief.
The female employees sent favorable glances his way.
Everyone had been in a bind because of Park Min-chan, but the newbie stepped up first.
Plus, even sweating buckets, Lee Dae-hyuk carried him.
The surprised Deputy Team Leader Im Soon-chul approached.
“You sure you can handle him alone? Our Team Leader looks light, but… well, he’s got some weight on him….”
“I’m good for now. But we should hurry to the next spot….”
Lee Dae-hyuk joked lightly.
Carrying heavy weight around was its own muscle training.
‘Athlete Choo Dong-hyun told me to find training in daily life.’
Lee Dae-hyuk comforted himself like that.
Meanwhile, Im Soon-chul, looking at him with worry-filled eyes, clapped his hands.
“Alright, let’s move quick. I’ll handle the bill, so Joo Hyo-min, take Lee Dae-hyuk and go ahead. Call me when you get there.”
“Okay, okay. Where to for karaoke?”
“Wherever they give us the most time.”
“Got it. Sun Karaoke it is. Lee Dae-hyuk, follow me.”
Joo Hyo-min, in a rush, bolted out of the restaurant without waiting for Im Soon-chul’s full reply.
‘That’s… consideration? Thanks.’
Lee Dae-hyuk smiled without realizing it.
***
Karaoke, about 100 meters from the samgyeopsal place.
Leading the way, Joo Hyo-min entered, and Lee Dae-hyuk felt a wave of nostalgia.
Creak—!
If not for the drunkard on his back, he’d have been lost in emotion for a while.
“Karaoke… It’s been forever.”
Joo Hyo-min tilted her head at Lee Dae-hyuk’s unintentional mutter.
‘How did he live to have this reaction? Are all chaebol kids like this?’
While Joo Hyo-min was baffled,
Thud—!
Lee Dae-hyuk set Park Min-chan down on one end of the sofa and approached the karaoke machine.
‘Ha, twenty years.’
About twenty years before Kim Gun-woo died.
He’d come to karaoke with his underlings.
It was thanks to a strict order from the former underboss, praising him for dismantling the minor ‘Gwangbuk faction.’
‘If you don’t have proper fun and rest today, don’t ever show your face to me again,’ the underboss had threatened.
Recalling that, Lee Dae-hyuk smiled.
That moment had been happy in its own way.
Singing let him forget, if only briefly, that he was a ‘gangster.’
Lost in memories, Lee Dae-hyuk scratched his cheek and turned to Joo Hyo-min.
“Mind if I sing one first…?”