Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Jaseong Hotel 1st Floor Coffee Shop
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Jaseong Hotel, first-floor coffee shop.
Lee Dae-hyuk was leisurely sipping his lemonade.
Slurp—!
Time passed, and he'd drunk about half of it.
The coffee shop door opened, and two men with sturdy builds entered.
At a glance, the middle-aged man appeared to be Park Jung-ki, president of Haemyeong Construction.
The subordinate trailing a step behind had a sharp impression and a lean frame.
But his slightly bulging chest suggested he was a knife man.
‘Ha, I've been running into knife guys a lot lately.’
Somehow, he was encountering them more often than when he lived as Kim Geon-woo.
Lee Dae-hyuk let out a chuckle and waved to the men.
“Are you from Haemyeong Construction by any chance?”
Park Jung-ki's face twisted at the sound of Lee Dae-hyuk's voice.
‘This damn brat!’
On the surface, Lee Dae-hyuk looked every bit the spoiled young master from a wealthy family.
Probably some big shot's kid messing around with his parents' money.
‘You picked the wrong guy to mess with, punk.’
Thud, thud—!
Park Jung-ki approached with irritated footsteps and sat down in front of Lee Dae-hyuk.
“You're younger than I expected.”
“You're older than I expected, President.”
“…….”
Stung by Lee Dae-hyuk's provocation, Park Jung-ki just blinked in stunned silence.
Instead, Jeong Hyeok-su, standing behind him, raised his voice.
“What? You rude little shit, you really want to di—.”
“Enough.”
As Jeong Hyeok-su started to curse, Park Jung-ki raised a hand to stop him.
“But, President.”
“Get out.”
Park Jung-ki dismissed Jeong Hyeok-su.
He appreciated the loyalty.
But with eyes watching, they couldn't afford a scene here.
“Nothing will happen, so go wait outside.”
“…Understood.”
Jeong Hyeok-su backed off without a word.
Even as he walked away, though, his glare at Lee Dae-hyuk burned with hostility.
‘Cute.’
Lee Dae-hyuk smiled faintly at Jeong Hyeok-su's sharp gaze, then turned to Park Jung-ki.
He immediately extended his right hand.
“That was a joke. Sorry if it offended you.”
It was provocation disguised as an apology.
Still, with Lee Dae-hyuk offering his hand, Park Jung-ki had no choice but to shake it.
“…….”
And then.
Flash—!
Psychometry activated, and Park Jung-ki's information flooded in.
A mid-40s gangster who'd made his money in private gambling dens and hired thugs, then founded a construction company.
Fawning before the strong, bullying the weak.
He'd spread money from gambling profits to cops and lawyers, building connections.
And right now.
He was furious enough to want to kill him.
If the deal fell through here.
The moment he left, his waiting subordinates would ambush him at the first opportunity.
‘Childish.’
Deals are made with brains and money.
Threats or force lead to one of two outcomes.
Fail the deal and take a loss, or meet someone stronger and lose everything.
“Grinning like that, you must find this situation amusing.”
“Not bad at all.”
Lee Dae-hyuk released Park Jung-ki's hand, leaned back on the sofa, and said.
He held all the cards anyway.
No need to rush, naturally.
In contrast, Park Jung-ki's face was full of anxiety.
He'd even broken his promise to the "top dogs" to rush here to the coffee shop.
Failing to deliver results would spell trouble.
‘Ugh… hold it in. Just hold it.’
Deep down, he wanted to drag Lee Dae-hyuk to a mountainside and force him to hand over the land.
But after meeting countless people and honing his eye, Park Jung-ki sensed Lee Dae-hyuk was no ordinary guy.
At least on par with the power players lording over him.
He needed to treat him with respect.
“Where'd you get the information?”
“I have a lot of acquaintances around.”
Park Jung-ki's mouth twisted at Lee Dae-hyuk's reply.
‘Which bastard….’
His lips trembled.
But Park Jung-ki suppressed his anger.
He could track down the bastards blabbing his info anywhere anytime.
More urgent was reclaiming the land from Lee Dae-hyuk.
“Land hoarding for 9 billion? That's big scale.”
“A man should live big. And it's not land hoarding—it's investment.”
“Investment… You just bought up worthless land willy-nilly, and you call that investment?”
“People create the value in land, don't they? And if those plots were truly worthless, you wouldn't have rushed here to see me at this hour.”
Lee Dae-hyuk hit the nail on the head, leaving Park Jung-ki speechless.
As he'd said, the Jaesong-dong land held hopes to change his life and many others'.
“How much do you want?”
Even as he asked, Park Jung-ki calculated the max he could pay Lee Dae-hyuk.
Combined with Seojin Construction, maybe 100 billion.
Plus, big investors in this deal.
Beg them, and he could scrape another 100 billion.
Total 200 billion.
That should be enough.
‘Whew. Can't just take it by force.’
Snapping up 9 billion in land hoarding meant solid backing, like rich parents.
Can't mess with that lightly.
‘Even if I take a hit….’
Developing Jaesong-dong would return hundreds of times the investment.
200 billion was pocket change.
But the amount from Lee Dae-hyuk's mouth exceeded Park Jung-ki's imagination.
“About 1,000 billion should do it.”
“What????”
Park Jung-ki freaked out.
1,000 billion?
“You crazy….”
He swallowed his curse.
The name Lee Dae-hyuk suddenly flashed in his mind.
Why hadn't it clicked sooner?
‘Lee Dae-hyuk? That Lee Dae-hyuk?’
The Daehan Group chairman's sore spot.
The depressive suicidal.
Park Jung-ki knew all about Lee Dae-hyuk, Lee Myeong-guk's weakness.
Not just as a gangster, but running a business, he needed intel on groups like Seojin or Daehan that could hand him jobs anytime.
‘Really this Lee Dae-hyuk, that one?’
Panic showed plainly on Park Jung-ki's face.
Seeing his trembling eyes, Lee Dae-hyuk smirked subtly.
‘Just figured me out, huh.’
Turns out this scrawny body might be famous.
Then he should show some decorum.
“Do you know who I am?”
“…Lee Dae-hyuk, right.”
Quick on the uptake?
Park Jung-ki avoided mentioning Lee Myeong-guk.
That sparked a question first.
“Why are you doing this?”
A chaebol third-gen land hoarding?
It made even less sense.
But Lee Dae-hyuk was the one baffled.
“To make money. Need any other reason?”
“Don't you have enough?”
“No.”
Lee Dae-hyuk replied calmly.
No need to show emotion.
No need for a long chat with Park Jung-ki either.
‘Puppet anyway.’
Real talks with Seojin Construction's President Min Seung-su and ex-Chief Secretary Kim Jin-taek.
“Let's end the talk here. Chatting more is just wasting time anyway.”
“Wasting time?”
“I want to speak to someone with decision-making authority.”
“I'm responsible.”
Park Jung-ki's voice trembled slightly as he answered.
Not anger or rage—shame.
He acted tough to underlings or outsiders like Lee Dae-hyuk, but he was just a pawn on the board.
A piece moved by the real players making the big moves.
No right to decide.
‘Damn it!’
Park Jung-ki swallowed his curse.
Emotions later.
Act professional now.
“Fine. To be honest, I don't have authority to decide right now. But neither do you. You're not enough to meet the people behind me.”
“Not enough. Not like the Joseon era—meeting people shouldn't involve so many calculations.”
Lee Dae-hyuk drawled on.
“No deal without 1,000 billion.”
“Lee Dae-hyuk. We're scary people. Pushing like this will make trouble for both sides.”
Lee Dae-hyuk sneered at Park Jung-ki's threat.
“Scarier than my father?”
Mentioning Lee Myeong-guk shut Park Jung-ki up.
No room for him anymore.
“…I'll get back to you.”
“Waiting for your call.”
Park Jung-ki rose quietly at Lee Dae-hyuk's cold reply.
Rage boiled inside.
But he couldn't touch the Daehan chairman's son lightly.
‘Hold it, hold it. Buddha, Jesus, Allah, grant me patience…’
Praying to every god, Park Jung-ki quietly left the coffee shop.
‘Fun.’
Watching him go, Lee Dae-hyuk finished his remaining lemonade.
He knew Park Jung-ki's next stop.
Tail him now, and blockers would appear, so he'd stay put and let things simmer a bit.
Plenty of headaches outside too.
Still.
1,000 billion on the line—night of pure joy.
***
Park Jung-ki got in the car and gave the order.
“To Myeongok.”
Myeongok.
Busan's top Japanese restaurant, where Seojin Construction President Min Seung-su and Secretary Kim Jin-taek waited.
Normally, he'd enjoy the meal and sake.
But now, it felt like heading to the execution ground.
Screech—!!!
The driver started the car before he finished.
Even in the moving car, Park Jung-ki's face stayed grim.
‘What to do?’
Raising 1,000 billion—selling Haemyeong Construction wouldn't cover it.
His head throbbed.
Then, Jeong Hyeok-su in the passenger seat glanced at Park Jung-ki's expression via the rearview.
Jeong Hyeok-su.
The organization's number two, once a feared knife man in Busan.
To him, Park Jung-ki was brother and father.
The man who'd saved his life multiple times.
And now, that Park Jung-ki humiliated by some young punk.
He wanted to go rip the guy's throat out.
But eyes closed, Park Jung-ki gave a low command.
“Don't touch that punk. Tell the boys to go home and sleep it off.”
“What?!”
“Didn't hear? Don't touch him!”
“…Got it.”
Only then did Park Jung-ki close his eyes again.
“Wake me when we reach Myeongok.”
Park Jung-ki rested with eyes shut.
But he didn't know.
Jeong Hyeok-su's eyes twisted fierce and gleamed.
And.
‘…Sorry, boss.’
That Jeong Hyeok-su planned to defy him for the first time.
Time passed, and exactly 30 minutes later.
Having dropped Park Jung-ki at Myeongok, Jeong Hyeok-su told the driver.
“Head back.”
***
Jeong Hyeok-su hadn't always loved knives.
Just no talent for fists.
But give him a knife, ballpoint, or fork, and he'd drop several men.
Still, couldn't live seeing blood forever.
Lately, he sliced more sashimi from fishing than anything.
But today, a blood-worthy target appeared after ages.
‘Today's a 9 billion sashimi piece.’
Loyalty as excuse to bring the crew.
Truth was, thrilled to spill blood again.
So.
‘Found you, you fuck.’
Finding Lee Dae-hyuk with the subordinates made him a bit happy.
The dumbass was strolling Haeundae like tempting fate.
And after they tracked his path, he ducked into a dark alley.
Like seducing them.
Lee Dae-hyuk, walking casually, stopped between a shuttered bar and PC bang.
Then.
“This spot looks good.”
Stretching vigorously, he muttered after looking around.
Boss, Become a Chaebol