Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Tournament Plans
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Chapter 82
At 5 a.m.
Lee Dae-hyuk snapped his eyes open and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“…This is why habits are so scary.”
While working at Daehan Construction, Lee Dae-hyuk’s mornings had always been the same.
Wake up at 5.
Wash up, eat breakfast, and head to the gym by 6:30.
Exercise for an hour, then shower.
Then commute to the office by 9—a grueling schedule.
But now he’d quit the company, and he could afford to start his day a bit more leisurely.
Yet for the past ten days, Lee Dae-hyuk had been waking up at exactly 5 a.m.
“I should at least get my body in better shape before heading to America.”
He wanted to fly to the U.S. right away and meet Steven Jobs, as planned.
But there was plenty to do in Korea first.
For starters, he had to wait for the 100 billion won from Lee Myung-guk to come through.
“Even if I went now, I couldn’t meet Steven Jobs. I’m just a small shareholder.”
He couldn’t just barge in on Steven Jobs without some credentials.
He needed to establish some qualifications first.
“Investing 50 billion should do it.”
Lee Dae-hyuk planned to buy Apple stock with half of the money from his father.
The “iPhone” would officially debut in the media in January 2007.
But the real shockwave it sent around the world came from Steven Jobs’ famous presentation.
June 29, 2007.
Lee Dae-hyuk remembered that day vividly.
As Kim Gun-woo, he had watched Steven Jobs’ presentation live alongside Yoo Jae-man.
Yoo Jae-man, as Apple’s business partner, had attended with him.
And then.
On July 3.
Yoo Jae-man bought up 300 billion won worth of Apple stock.
He couldn’t recall exactly how much he made or when he sold, but he vaguely remembered it being several times his investment.
“Whew…”
Recalling that time, Lee Dae-hyuk let out a deep sigh.
“…Still not enough. I don’t have enough money.”
Excluding taxes and other fees, he had 120 billion won.
But it still wasn’t enough.
However.
“With my father’s investment, that makes 220 billion. That’s enough to go all in.”
Strength filled the eyes of Lee Dae-hyuk as he gazed at the ceiling.
The problem was that it would take quite some time for the 100 billion to be deposited.
Unfortunately, all he could do was handle his tasks while he waited.
“Let’s start with exercise.”
In fact, it wasn’t just exercise—there was a lot to do today.
He had plenty to prepare in Korea before his upcoming trip to America.
“Hurry up.”
Groaning softly, Lee Dae-hyuk rose from the bed.
***
After finishing his usual workout.
Lee Dae-hyuk took Chu Dong-hyun and Lee Sang-wook to a gukbap restaurant.
“Senior really seems to love gukbap.”
Lee Sang-wook chewed his gukbap with a slightly queasy expression.
He had a special history with gukbap, so he ate with mixed feelings.
On the other hand.
“Sang-wook, eat heartily and quietly. Eating is part of training and battle.”
Chu Dong-hyun was focused on his meal—intensely, combatively so.
“Battle?”
“Protein for muscles, fats and carbs for energy. Replenish salts with sweat. To be the best, even meals must have meaning.”
“Ah, got it.”
Chew chew chew—!!!
Lee Sang-wook, replying with a serious face, began focusing on his meal like Chu Dong-hyun.
It was a passionate, fiery eating scene between mentor and disciple.
“…….”
But Lee Dae-hyuk frowned.
The other diners at the breakfast spot were whispering as they watched Chu Dong-hyun and Lee Sang-wook.
“What? Gangsters?”
“Wow, look at their faces. They look scary as hell.”
“Ew, they stink of sweat.”
Hearing the murmurs, Lee Dae-hyuk shook his head.
Chu Dong-hyun, Lee Sang-wook, and even himself.
Fresh from a workout, they looked the part of gangsters to anyone’s eyes.
Sharp gazes. Muscular builds. Intimidating auras.
It was understandable they’d be mistaken for thugs.
But Lee Sang-wook and Chu Dong-hyun, accustomed to such situations, continued eating without protest.
“…Are they numb to it? Or just impressive?”
Lee Dae-hyuk glanced back and forth between them, clicking his tongue inwardly, when.
Chu Dong-hyun, who had finished first, spoke up.
“If you have something to say, spit it out. Why keep glancing around?”
“Me?”
As Lee Dae-hyuk shrugged, Chu Dong-hyun put on a haughty expression.
“I can tell just by looking. So hurry up and say it. But no loans.”
“…….”
“…….”
His joke was so absurd that both men fell silent at once.
Noticing the awkward vibe, Chu Dong-hyun cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Get on with it.”
Prompted by Chu Dong-hyun, Lee Dae-hyuk smiled faintly and explained his plan.
“I’m thinking of holding a fighting tournament with about 100 million won on the line.”
“What? A fighting tournament?”
Chu Dong-hyun’s eyes widened.
Lee Sang-wook stared at Lee Dae-hyuk with shining eyes too.
Pleased by their reactions?
Lee Dae-hyuk continued.
“I’ve had some free time lately. So I laid out our future plans. This tournament is part of that.”
Hearing this, Chu Dong-hyun’s mouth fell open slightly.
Lee Dae-hyuk was talking about the dream he’d mentioned just recently.
The dream of creating his own fighting organization.
“So, what’s the goal of the tournament?”
“Obvious. Scouting new talent.”
“Right. The more fresh faces, the better.”
It went without saying that no fighting organization—or any sports league—could run on just a few aces.
Plus, fighting events only happened two or three times a year due to the nature of the sport.
Injuries were frequent too, so even champions and aces dropped out often.
They needed reliable fighters ready for matches anytime.
“Well, with decent fight money, we could recruit plenty of veterans. But how many vets are even out there? Even with mergers and acquisitions, satisfying customers 100% is impossible. Right?”
“Ah, yes….”
Chu Dong-hyun, suddenly revved up, left Lee Dae-hyuk trailing off.
Best to let him vent in moments like this.
“In the end, it all comes down to infrastructure. Infrastructure.”
After ranting about Korea’s fighting scene infrastructure, Chu Dong-hyun reached his conclusion.
“We need fresh blood, stories, and stars.”
“To change anything, you need an overwhelming star, yeah.”
Lee Dae-hyuk agreed.
Humans craved stories instinctively.
Didn’t underdogs beating giants or comebacks give the biggest thrills in sports?
That’s why he was holding a rookie scouting tournament.
“Anyway, so you’re holding a rookie tournament?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll cost a pretty penny. Even with 100 million in prizes, add production, medical, staff wages—you’re looking at 300 million total.”
Chu Dong-hyun’s eyes gleamed.
At the question, Lee Dae-hyuk scratched his chin sheepishly.
“I’m the son of a chaebol family. No need to worry about money.”
“…Jealous.”
His honest response slipped out.
Lee Sang-wook, who’d been eavesdropping, nodded reflexively.
“C-Can I join too?”
“Of course.”
A smile spread across Lee Sang-wook’s face at Lee Dae-hyuk’s reply.
“We’ll see after you win.”
“Yessir.”
Lee Sang-wook wiped the grin off at the immediate rebuke.
Glancing at him, Lee Dae-hyuk resumed.
“To build an organization, we need a foundation. Money and people alone don’t make it appear out of thin air.”
“Organization?”
Lee Sang-wook, unaware of the prior talk between Lee Dae-hyuk and Chu Dong-hyun, chimed in.
He’d thought it was just about hosting a one-off event.
Chu Dong-hyun, who’d been quiet, spoke.
“I’ll explain later. For now, shut up and figure it out from context.”
“Yessir.”
Lee Sang-wook rolled his eyes dramatically and focused again.
“Now, continue. Sponsor.”
Pfft—!
Lee Dae-hyuk chuckled softly at the formal tone and went on.
“We can form an organization anytime. But imprinting it on the public’s mind is tough.”
As a former fighting fan in Kim Gun-woo’s body, Lee Dae-hyuk remembered which organizations had succeeded.
Copying them didn’t guarantee success.
Still, benchmarking was necessary.
“First, hold a fighting event to create stars the public recognizes. Then use variety shows to embed those stars in people’s minds, and naturally form the organization.”
Chu Dong-hyun crossed his arms, deep in thought.
“Stars first… Good idea.”
“It’ll still take time.”
“Estimate?”
Lee Dae-hyuk did some rough calculations.
If things went to plan…
“About two years.”
“That’s fast.”
Chu Dong-hyun looked satisfied.
He’d wait forever if his lifelong dream came true in two years.
“Great. But you’re heading to America soon, right? Who handles the tournament?”
“There’s a great person for it.”
Lee Dae-hyuk’s eyes sparkled.
***
Kim Jae-woon’s officetel.
“Young Master, I really don’t get this one.”
The “great person,” Kim Mi-jin, bowed her head as she looked at Lee Dae-hyuk.
His U.S. trip was trouble enough.
Her husband, Yoon Tae-ho, would spend at least a month—maybe more—in America with Lee Dae-hyuk.
How could she not worry about the sudden separation?
She’d steeled herself with “Just endure a month.”
But now, prepare a fighting tournament?
“Is this a hobby?”
“No, not that.”
Kim Mi-jin set down the investment proposal she’d been holding and sighed deeply.
“Young Master, sorry, but this sounds like just throwing money away.”
Having heard about the fighting tournament, Kim Mi-jin raised her voice without realizing.
And Lee Dae-hyuk.
“Tch…”
Felt a bit awkward in front of her.
Like a kid getting scolded.
He’d meant to tell her about the tournament first.
“But convincing is slower than doing it first and notifying later.”
Kim Mi-jin had been on pins and needles lately.
Because of Lee Dae-hyuk’s constant “incidents”—not quite disasters, but risky.
They always succeeded, but still.
“I’ll relay any orders. But shouldn’t I understand first?”
Roughly 300 million, but it could balloon past 500 million in execution.
Of course, as an employee, she’d follow orders.
But she wanted to know his intentions.
A good reason would motivate her too.
After staring at Kim Mi-jin silently, Lee Dae-hyuk spoke.
“What’s my image to the public?”
“…….”
Kim Mi-jin couldn’t answer.
Lee Dae-hyuk to the masses?
Few even knew his name.
As she stayed quiet, Lee Dae-hyuk turned to Kim Jae-woon, who’d been watching silently beside her.
“Kim Jae-woon, you answer.”
“…To anyone outside investment firms or guys like me… nonexistent.”
“And Lee Dae-hwan?”
At the counter-question, Kim Jae-woon replied.
“A clean chaebol heir with no scandals. The most capable successor among the top 10 groups. That’s the word.”
Only after hearing that did Lee Dae-hyuk speak.
“Public opinion is a key weapon in chaebol heir battles. Especially for someone with my handicaps.”
Illegitimate child, bastard…
No matter how much people loved trashy dramas, the public wouldn’t favor him.
“So I planned this. Donations alone won’t win over opinion.”
Kim Mi-jin murmured, seeming convinced.
“So, a fighting organization…”
Lee Dae-hyuk brightened as she grasped his intent.
“Exactly. Nothing beats sports or culture for reaching the masses.”