Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Myeongjin Construction (2)
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Nearby café.
Ko Chang-beom, who had moved to a new seat, couldn't hide his bewilderment as he reviewed the phone video Kim Hyun-seong had handed him.
"It's the original black box footage. They figured the back half was enough to prove your self-defense at the police station, so they deleted the front part you're watching now. And it's solid proof that what I told you wasn't just some 'coincidence.'"
His tone was relaxed.
Kim Hyun-seong took a sip of his coffee and stared coldly at Ko Chang-beom.
"......Ahem."
Ko Chang-beom swallowed dryly.
It was exactly as Kim Hyun-seong had said.
On the screen.
The scene proving intent played out.
He rewound it once more to double-check, and as if they were watching it together, Kim Hyun-seong synced his explanation to the footage.
"Thirty minutes before the incident. Three guys gathered in front of the convenience store. At first glance, they look like regular customers, but they don't budge an inch from that spot for a full half hour. Like they're waiting for someone. The pile of cigarette butts on the ground proves it, and the second you show up, Ko Chang-beom-ssi, they pick a fight outright. They shove their faces in like they're begging for a punch, spewing curses, and unlike what they told the cops, they throw the first swing at you."
Thud.
He set down his teacup.
To Ko Chang-beom, whose face was a mask of confusion, he drove home the truth without pause.
"You suspected it yourself, didn't you, Ko Chang-beom-ssi? All these recent incidents piling up. Right after the successor race kicked off with your brother Ko Chang-seok, one bad thing after another hits you, like someone's pulling strings. It's simple. Assume Ko Chang-seok orchestrated it all to knock you down a peg, and every single event falls into place. Stuff like those guys chain-smoking for thirty minutes straight without leaving."
The air turned to ice.
Accident versus intent.
Worlds apart.
And if his one and only little brother was behind it? Ko Chang-beom couldn't let that slide. He'd harbored those suspicions, just like Kim Hyun-seong said. But he couldn't wrap his head around his prestige-university-grad, properly raised brother stooping to hire lowlife thugs.
Bare-minimum caution.
His eyebrows twitched.
Boiling inside, Ko Chang-beom wore an expression like he might erupt any second.
"So, what's your angle in spilling all this to me?"
Right now.
Even Kim Hyun-seong, bearer of the truth, didn't sit right with him.
* * *
Myeongjin Construction.
In his previous life, they'd been a household name among Korea's heavy hitters.
They were just locally respected now, but down the line, armed with rock-solid capital and tech, they launched their own apartment brand and crushed it. Truth be told, it all stemmed from Chairman Ko Myeong-jin's craftsman ethos. He believed a home was where people lived—no cutting corners there—and he jacked up quality even at the cost of margins. That mindset propelled Myeongjin into the big leagues.
The real estate boom on the horizon.
Safety scandals hitting competitors.
Myeongjin apartments earned a "you can trust these" rep, and they took off like rockets.
And through it all.
The two sons? Nowhere in sight.
A hell of a story.
Kim Hyun-seong, just a high schooler back then, knew the details because those brothers turned Daesan upside down.
'The spark was Ko Chang-seok. His dirty tricks gunning for the successor spot got exposed to Ko Chang-beom, who—too dumb to play it smart—hunted him down and smashed his jaw. One punch left Ko Chang-seok with a permanent handicap. Furious, Ko Myeong-jin wrote off both sons as equally worthless and booted them from contention. Hired pro management that day, and with their capital and tech? Bizarrely laid the groundwork for major-corp status.'
People wouldn't shut up about Myeongjin back then.
Word was the idiot brothers would tank the company. Amid the gossip and laughs, the truth came out piece by piece. How Ko Chang-beom ended up swinging. Ko Chang-seok's schemes laid bare one by one. The Ko brothers became the poster boys for brotherly betrayal.
That's how Kim Hyun-seong remembered.
The Ko family future.
What Ko Chang-beom endured.
This incident was part of it, so memory led him straight to the assault site.
'Honestly, Myeongjin's better off unchanged. Big bro Ko Chang-beom isn't ruthless enough to sabotage rivals, but he's your classic incompetent thug with a playboy streak. Little bro Ko Chang-seok? Ruthless—any means for his ends. The Myeongjin that defines Korean apartments? Only happens excluding both. But that's not my problem. Their future matters less than how they serve mine.'
Right or wrong.
Butterfly effects from timeline tweaks.
Didn't give a damn.
If his choices tanked the future? Kim Hyun-seong wouldn't bat an eye.
This life.
Revenge came first.
Family only.
Myeongjin? Just a stepping stone.
Therefore.
"I'll help you. Get revenge on Ko Chang-seok. Make you, the eldest son Ko Chang-beom-ssi, the next chairman of Myeongjin."
Kim Hyun-seong laid his cards on the table.
* * *
Absurd didn't cover it.
A seventeen-year-old high schooler.
The kid yapping about the chairman seat was laughable.
Any other day, Ko Chang-beom would've unloaded a barrage of curses. But weirdly, his heart was pounding.
'This guy's no ordinary punk.'
Consider it.
Too perfect a bailout from a violence wrap to write him off as some high schooler. Confirmed no CCTV, snagged the black box footage. Nailed Ko Chang-seok's plot off the video. Obvious in hindsight, sure—but not the kind of crisp breakdown a seventeen-year-old spits out.
His mouth went dry.
Myeongjin Construction.
Daesan's pride.
Hand the successor war to that bloodsack? Insane.
That's when it hit.
"You've got backers in this successor fight, right, Ko Chang-beom-ssi? Doesn't it strike you as off? Even a high schooler like me clocks Ko Chang-seok's schemes, but your so-called advisors? Just sweet-talking in your ear. Come on—obvious. They're his moles. I don't expect you to buy into me blind. We're not there yet, and Myeongjin's a Daesan staple. So give me a shot. A chance to build some trust."
Ko Chang-beom flinched.
Spot on, like Kim Hyun-seong said.
His advisors? Endless honeyed words.
Think about it—if they really wanted him in the chair, they'd hustle like this kid.
"I've got a clear roadmap to your win, Ko Chang-beom-ssi. Peeking at step one? No downside. So? Keep going?"
"......You're out of your damn mind."
Creak.
Ko Chang-beom leaned back in his chair.
Tacit green light.
He acted like he was rejecting the madness, but the gesture screamed he'd hear him out.
Kim Hyun-seong grinned.
"Winning the successor game starts with facing facts. Ko Chang-beom versus Ko Chang-seok. Who fits the chairman role? No contest—Ko Chang-seok. You're barely a high school grad; he's business-schooled at a top foreign uni. That's when he stopped hiding his chairman ambitions. Back in Korea, boom—marries into Daesan's elite. From there, his converts in Myeongjin push him as heir, locking in the official lineup. No accidents from jump. He prepped every step to steal your spot, built an ironclad edge. Talent, connections—strip eldest-son status, zero paths to victory for you. And with scandals like this violence rap? Who rallies behind you?"
"......Khh."
Ko Chang-beom turned away, discomfort plain.
Cold hard truth.
Zero room to argue—Kim Hyun-seong had Myeongjin pegged.
Past life.
Vegetative hell, endless rumination.
Hypotheticals fueled revenge dreams. Impossible, yet he pieced puzzles like Myeongjin into plans. Not overnight thinking. Like slapping Park Min-cheol on return, he'd rehearsed pitching Ko Chang-beom a thousand times in his head.
Reality hitting first time.
Scenario looped endless.
Eyes locked on target, he willed focus as his own heart cooled.
"But even with that gap? I say you've got a real shot at this, Ko Chang-beom-ssi."
"......Meaning?"
Interest flickered.
Nailed the reality.
Yet preaching victory?
"You and Ko Chang-seok. He's got the edge, but Chairman Ko Myeong-jin lets it ride. One reason: old-school belief in the eldest son inheriting. That's why it's even a contest. Gap's so wide it shouldn't be, but no heir named. So one question. Hypothetical."
He smiled.
Eyes locked with Ko Chang-beom's.
"If top-dog Ko Chang-seok plummets to your level? Pure ability aside—which son does the chairman pick?"
Instantly.
Goosebumps prickled Ko Chang-beom.
Every word pierced his chest.
"That's when the real fight kicks off. Level the field. Your sole edge as eldest? Unbeatable wedge."
* * *
That afternoon.
Myeongjin's second son.
Ko Chang-seok fielded a call.
[...That's what happened.]
"You fucking morons!"
Slam.
Crack.
Rage-fueled phone toss.
Staring at the wreckage, fury unspent, he heaved ragged breaths.
"Couldn't even pull off something that simple!"
The assault.
Ko Chang-seok's doing.
Tons of plots to trash Ko Chang-beom's image—this one drag him into a fight. Failure? Never crossed his mind. Foolproof setup, easy win. Planned to go public once it festered.
But.
Blew it.
Black box flipped it mutual? Irritation boiled over.
"All 'cause that old fart's eldest-son fetish. What age we in? Still clinging to that archaic 'eldest inherits' bullshit? If my skills slipped a hair, he'd hand the throne to that idiot Ko Chang-beom, no hesitation."
Prestige degree.
Elite marriage.
Gap-fillers against big bro.
Marriage especially loathed, but goals demanded it.
Ambitious as hell, Ko Chang-seok refused to lose the seat to deadweight.
'Stay cool. Lineup's mine now. No curveballs, it flows natural. Can't yield an inch en route. Perfect win—Myeongjin all mine.'
Piece of cake.
His crew called it: past the hump, victory locked.
Then.
Riiiing.
Office line buzzed.
Reining in wrath, he picked up—eyes bulged at the voice.
[Big problem, sir.]
A wildcard.
Unforeseen.
[Ma'am barged into Hanseong Officetel!]
"......What?!"
Bolted upright.
Face drained white.
Hanseong Officetel.
His mistress's crash pad.